Spiritual challenges

Today is the final exams, so Mito and I got up early... although Mito hardly slept through the night because of the excitement.

- Naruto, aren't you worried about the exams, Dattebayo? - The red haired girl asked, sitting on the bed.

- Me and Sasuke are the best students in our class, so why should I be worried? Besides, if the unthinkable happens and I don't pass the exam, I have a few options. I've completed the Irianin course, so I can work as a field ninja medic and go on missions with the team as medical support. Well, the second option is to join the ANBU, I just have an acquaintance who can help me get in. - I replied as I made breakfast for Mito and myself.

- To be supportive, you should have told me that you were worried too, Dattebayo. - Mito mumbled a little annoyed.

- I am not worried about me, but I am sure that you will be fine, Foxy. - I put breakfast on the table, go eat, you need your strength for the exam.

- I won't let you down, Naruto... - Mito said without any confidence in her voice and sat down to eat... and even though she was really worried, it only increased her appetite and the girl ate three times as much as usual. After breakfast, we quickly got dressed and went to the academy for the exam.

Since Mito is a jinchuriki, she is guaranteed to graduate from the academy and become a kunoichi, but she doesn't know that, but she knows that because of her laziness, she is not ready for the exams and is afraid that she won't be able to make the same team as me. As for the future graduates, we'll be on the same team because my Mokutōn is the most reliable way to calm down a jinchuriki, so he won't separate us from Mito.

All the future graduates were seated in the auditorium and Iruka-sensei began to speak:

- Let's begin with the final examination. The task is to make an illusory clone, when you are called, go to the next room. - He said and went into the next room.

- No! Not the clones, dattebayo! - I also reminded her that if she had practiced for a while, she would have been able to make them, but after mastering Transfiguration and Sexy no Jutsu, she had no morals left, so she was unable to continue practicing, just let me remind her a few times to pretend to make an Illusory Clone, but in reality, she was just as lazy as usual.

- Yamanaka Ino! - Iruka's voice could be heard and the blonde princess of the Yamanaka clan hurried into the next room to take her exam.

The students were called in reverse order from the end of the list, so I went to take the test before Mito. When I entered the room, I found myself in a small, empty classroom with a table against the wall, where Iruka and Mizuki, another instructor at the academy, a friend of Iruka's and also a chunin, were sitting. He looked like a normal white-haired man with a slightly mischievous face.

- Tatsumaki, create two clones and you can take the Shinobi Protector. - Mizuki said and without a word, a pair of Illusory Clones appeared beside me, "All in all, five points as usual. - He gave me a mark while I took the step, a bandana with a metal plate engraved with the symbol of the Hidden Leaf Village.

- Go out into the courtyard and wait for the exam to end. - Iruka nodded towards the exit I was heading for," Mito Uzumaki! - he called to the next pupil.

I sat down on a rock next to the tree where the swing was, and after a few minutes, Mito came out and walked towards me.

- So, Mito, did you come by? - I asked.

- No, I haven't. Mito squealed and sat down on the swing, -I'm failing and it looks like I'm going to repeat the year, dattebayo. - the girl said, trying not to burst into tears.

I came up behind my little sister, put my arms around her and began to stroke her, while Mito continued to talk:

- The test caught those damn Illusion Clones and that's the one technique I'm the worst at, Dattebayo. Naruto, you know that I have no problem with Substitution and my Sexy no Jutsu based on Transfiguration, it's perfect, you confirmed it yourself. - Mito looked at me and I nodded, "There you go, dattebayo. I tried to make the best clone I could in the test and I got a pretty good clone... it even stood and dispersed after five seconds instead of immediately.

- Foxy, you lazy little thing, how many times have I told you to practise? - I scolded Mito, but continued to hug and pet her.

- It's all Iruka-sensei's fault, Dantebayo. Mizuki-sensei offered to let me pass, saying that the clone was far from perfect, but that I could get credit for trying, but Iruka ruined it by saying that the clone was no good, and that Sasuke and Naruto had each made two perfect clones, indistinguishable from the original. That Iruka just took my exam and failed, dattebayo. Stupid Iruka-sensei ruined my dream of becoming a Hokage, dattebayo. - Mito spoke frustrated and then looked at me hopefully, "Naruto, what am I supposed to do, dattebayo? I have to stay at the academy for another year, and I wanted to be in the same team as you, and now you are going to be a ninja and I have to stay at the academy for another year, dattebayo.

Before I could reply, an ANBU kunoichi jumped from a nearby tree and landed in front of me and Mito. The kunoichi had long black hair and her mask seemed to represent a white tiger.

- Naruto Tatsumaki, you are summoned by the Hokage-sama, please follow me. - This Kunoichi said.

- Here, Mito, it's probably the Hokage who wants to talk about you. - I said.

- The Hokage only calls Naruto Tatsumaki. - The ANBU-Kunoichi said.

- Okay, anyway, I'll take the opportunity to talk to the Hokage about you, Mito, since you didn't get passed, just because of bad luck. If there had been another shinobi technique in the examination, you would have passed with a perfect score. So I'll talk to the Hokage and explain everything and try to get you a protector. - I encouraged Mito.

- Thank you, Naruto, dattebayo. - said a cheered up Mito.

- Mito, you stay here, okay? - I'm not sure how long it will take to talk to the Hokage, so if I'm going to be gone for a while, you can go home now," I said before I left. - I said before I left and went to the Hokage's office with the kunoichi.

When we reached the Hokage, he looked at my companion and said:

- Byakko, dismissed. - And as the girl left, the old man turned to me.

- Hello, Hokage-sama. Have you been summoned? - I asked Hiruzen... and now he was officially my superior, for when I put the stamp on my head, I became a subordinate of the Hokage, like all Konoha shinobi.

- Yes, Naruto-kun. It's about the examination and your friend Mito Uzumaki's failure. But first, I wanted to ask you a question. Haven't you noticed the strange and prejudiced attitude of the villagers towards Mito? - asked the Hokage.

- It was hard not to notice, probably because of the way Mito is treated by the nine-tailed demon fox jinchuriki. - I replied.

- Oh, so you guessed it and since you are still friends with Mito, you know that she is really important to you. - The old man said.

- I know that Mito is not a Fox Demon like most of the villagers think, she only keeps the Biju inside her to protect the village and me from the Nine Tails, so out of gratitude, I will protect and defend Mito. - I said.

- A commendable dedication to a friend. As you may know, Naruto, the Jinchuriki are very powerful units on the battlefield, comparable in strength to the Kage, and often superior to them. The safety of the jinchuriki is very important to the village, but so is their ability on the battlefield to harness the power of the biju sealed within them. - As the Hokage said, "Just because Mito failed the test by not creating an illusory clone, that doesn't stop us from giving her a genin protector. Because jinchuriki have always had poor chakra control due to the influence of the aggressive biju chakra. In fact, last year, a genin graduated from our academy who had no ninjutsu or genjutsu at all, relying only on taijutsu, and he's not the first such graduate, but sometimes the standard curriculum is not suitable for some shinobi, and the standard requirements are stupid to apply to them as well. And a jinchuriki can certainly not be called a standard shinobi... but still, we could not separate Mito from the general student body in any way, lest someone suspect that she is a jinchuriki and try to harm her.

- I see.

- It seems that you, Naruto, didn't tell your girlfriend about her liaison with the nine-tailed monster, did you? - The Hokage asked.

- Yes, I didn't want to upset her too much. - I replied.

- At the moment, Mito doesn't know that she has a fox in her, and I was going to tell her after the final exams, but then I received a report that your teacher Mizuki is about to betray the village and steal the scroll of the seals, which contains forbidden techniques. To steal the scroll, he plans to use Mito because she's an Uzumaki and the tower was defended by Uzumaki, so he hopes the protection won't work on her. So we thought it would be a good idea to combine a few things at once. After all, we know that Mizuki hates Jinchuriki and will tell her about their nature. So we'll capture the traitor of Konoha at the scene of the crime and test the Jinchuriki's loyalty to the village. You, Naruto, on the other hand, will have to intervene after Mizuki tells Mito the truth about Lissa. The reason for this is to try and smooth things over and calm Mizuki down, but if something goes wrong and Fox starts to get out of control, you can use Mokutōnō to calm him down. I'll give you Coon to help you, he'll also intervene in case of danger, I don't need the Nine-tailed to break free again and start destroying Konoha. - The Hokage said and Tenso in the raccoon mask jumped down from the ceiling.

- Hello Sensei. - I nodded at my mastery of the wood element teacher.

- Naruto, you're a genin now, so we're going on a mission together. - Tenzo said as he took off his mask.

- So, if all goes well, we'll form a powerful attack team with Jinchuriki, Uchiha, you, Naruto-kun... well, and Haruno Sakura will go as support. - said the Hokage.

- And Tenso will be our sensei. - I pointed at the shinobi with the raccoon mask.

- Oh, no, no. Your sensei will be a very powerful shinobi whom I respect, you are very lucky to have such a person to train you and to be your team leader. - Tenso replied.

- By the way, Hokage-sama, is it a good idea to have four people in our team when we usually have three genin and one jounin in the team? - I wondered.

- Hmmm... actually, there's been a lot of discussion about team composition at the Clan Council, as Yamanaki, Nara and Akimichi always work as a team. Hyug, Aburame and Inuzuk always form search teams and try to put them together for efficiency. He is also briefly shown to be a bit of a Jinchuriki and, strange as it may seem, an Uchiha. Sasuke, on the other hand, is a potentially powerful shinobi, but after Itachi slaughtered his Uchiha clan, we all know that he did it to awaken a new level of sharingan, the Mangekyo Sharingan, which gives the bearer of these eyes incredible power, and that the only way to awaken them is to kill someone close to you. So no one wanted their child to risk his life to help Sasuke awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan. - Hiruzen explained.

- So Sakura was left as a sacrificial lamb for the Uchiha? - I clarified and the Hokage looked away, "Well, the answer is obvious. Sorry to interrupt, Hokage-sama.

- Ahem... since teams had to be formed and you had thirty-one students in your class because Uzumaki was supposed to be expelled due to her academic performance in the third year, but she's a Jinchuriki, so we had to keep her, well, thirty-one doesn't divide by three, so you and Sakura were added to this controversial duo of Uchiha and Jinchuriki, no one from the Clan Council objected to such an increased composition of your team.

- Yes, Uchiha is definitely superfluous here. - I spoke quietly, but both the Hokage and Tenzo could hear me.

- As you understand, Naruto, the examination was more of a formality than anything else, because being a genin is a real learning experience, on missions and with shinobi masters. And now, you can go and prepare for your mission. - Hiruzen said.

- Very well, Hokage-sama. - I said.

- I'll take care of everything, Hokage-sama. - Tenzo added and we left the office of the ruler of Konoha.

*And meanwhile, a sad Mito Uzumaki.

I can't wait for Naruto to come back and tell me how his conversation with the Hokage went. I thought Naruto would have to wait a whole year for me and work as a boring doctor in a hospital or some kind of NSA... NSA... I forget.

And unlike me, Naruto really deserves to be a shinobi, he studied better than anyone else in the class, he always helped me, let me cheat, and asked me when I was asked something. And I don't want to join the team without him.

What if I fail again next year? Next year, too? Naruto can't wait that long, not even I have the nerve to ask him to wait more than three years. I'll just have to hope that the Hokage will help me. I'll sit here until I find out.

- Mito..." Mizuki's teacher came to me.

- Mizuki-sensei.

- Let's talk privately. - The teacher called me after him, so I followed him. As we left the academy, Mizuki-sensei asked:

- Mito, you're upset because you failed the exam, aren't you? I could see that you were really upset. - said the teacher.

- I dream of being a Hokage, and Iruka-sensei just ruined my dream... I was very, very upset, dattebayo. - I replied, although Naruto made me even more upset.

- Don't be angry with Iruka, he's just doing his job. Iruka is an orphan just like you, his parents were killed during the Fox Demon attack, so he had to do everything on his own since he was a child. - Mizuki-sensei replied.

- But then why is he picking on me and preventing me from becoming a shinobi, dattebayo?

- Iruka wants you to be strong. Being a shinobi is no joke, it's a very dangerous job, all the teachers just want you to be prepared for those dangers. But I still think you are worthy of being a shinobi.

- Don't you, Dattebayo?

- Yes, that's why I decided to help you and tell you about the secret way to get a protector and become a genin.

- What is it, Mizuki-sensei?

- Mito, you have to prove your shinobi skills in practice, for example, you can steal the Forbidden Seal Scroll from the Hokage's residence, then everyone will be sure that you are ready to become a genin. - The teacher said.

- I... I'll do it, Dattebayo.

- I will help you, but not only must you steal the scroll, you must also successfully escape from the Hokage's residence, hide from the pursuers who will try to find you, and learn a technique from the scroll, for it contains the most powerful jutsu Konoha has ever recorded. I will help you and tell you a good place to hide so you can learn a technique, and when they find you, you will show the Hokage the technique and become a shinobi. - Mizuki-sensei said.

- Difficult... but I'll try... for Naruto's sake, dattebayo.

- Yes, don't let your friend down. - Mizuki-sensei smiled at me... after all, he's much better than Iruka-sensei.

****

When I left the Hokage with Tenzo, Mito was no longer on the swing. I had tagged Mito's clothes with a spatial beacon so that I could move to her at any moment, or just find out where she was, so even though the girl had gone somewhere, I quickly found her and now Mito was finishing her conversation with Mizuki, who suggested that she steal the Seal Scroll from the Hokage's residence, and the foolish girl easily agreed... Although, Mizuki can't be called clever either, because Mito is constantly being watched by the ANBU Shinobi, who have now also heard the traitor's entire plan.

Tenso and I had to keep an eye on Mito, but she waited until the evening and sneaked into the Hokage's residence, where the Hokage had already switched off the defences, just in case, maybe it wouldn't work on Mito anyway, but there's no need to risk it. The red-haired girl stole the scroll she needed and ran into the forest, where Mizuki told her to go, opened the scroll and began to study it.

Mizuki waited for the girl in the forest and, after making sure that she had successfully stolen the scroll, went to the village and raised the alarm that the scroll had been stolen by the Jinchuriki.

Mito was soon found by Iruka-sensei, followed almost immediately by Mizuki, who immediately attacked his friend and Mito and began to throw kunai at them, which Iruka intercepted with his body, shielding his pupil from the attack.

- Mizuki-sensei... what..." Mito looked around.

- Mito, give me the scroll, you don't need it. - Mizuki said.

- Don't give it back, Mizuki used you to steal the scroll, he's a traitor. - Said a wounded Iruka.

- Mito, I'm not so bad compared to you. Remember I told you that Iruka's parents died when the Fox Demon attacked? That was almost thirteen years ago when the Fourth Hokage sealed the Nine Tails, and guess what? You are the sealed Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. - Mizuki said, "Look at you, all redheaded like a fox and that moustache on your cheeks. On the day the fox was sealed, Konoha passed a law that read: "Never tell Mito Uzumaki that she is a nine-tailed demon fox. Mito - you're the one who killed Iruka's parents, your friend Naruto's parents and many other people in the village. - Mizuki spoke angrily, trying to annoy Mito, and he succeeded.

- Mizuki, shut up!" Iruka shouted.

- Mito, everyone around you has lied to you, everyone in the village hates you: Hokage, Iruka, teachers and classmates, even your friend Naruto, they all fear and hate you. - Mizuki said and pulled a four-bladed Fuma-Shuriken out of his back, which he obviously wanted to throw at Mito, who froze in the middle of the forest when he heard these words.

- I think it is time to intervene. - I said to Tenzo.

- Can you handle him? He is a Chunin after all. - Tenzo asked.

- Don't blink, Coon. - I replied, and when Tenzo blinked, I teleported in front of Mito, who was already being thrown a fuma spark by Mizuki. With the element of wind, I deflected the projectile back at the traitor, but he was a Chunin and was able to dodge the huge shuriken.

- Tatsumaki...", Mizuki said reluctantly when he saw me.

- N-nruto. - Mito also noticed me.

- Mito, where did I tell you to wait for me? Alright, I'll tell you later, I'll take care of the traitor Mizuki first. - I looked at the red haired girl and then at my former teacher, -Why did you have to insult Mito, you'll regret it for the rest of your short life. - I pulled out a pair of my spiked kunai.

- Heh, I can take out a punk like you with one hand. - I got a couple of kunai too, and before he could throw them, he felt a pain in his back.

- You can only attack children, you little rat. - I spoke, moving behind the traitor and stabbing him in the back with my kunai, severing his spinal nerve so that he'll never be able to walk again without the help of a highly skilled Irianin.

- Argh." Mizuki fell to his knees and quickly turned to attack me, but his lunge went right through me, "Illusion. - He started to search for the real me, thinking I was the Illusion Clone next to him, but I wasn't, I was just phasing.

- You were wrong. - I said and plunged a second spiked kunai into Mizuki's chakra hearth, I mean the centre of his chest - Now you'll never be a shinobi and you'll never need this again. - I ripped the Konoha Guardian from Mizuki's head.

- ...awwww..." Mizuki mumbled weakly as he fell backwards, the kunai sinking deeper into his flesh... and I poured paralysing poison on the weapon just in case the traitor would scream in pain for the whole village, even though he could feel the pain one hundred percent.

- Oh, Mizuki-sensei, I promised you suffering, and here it is. You shouldn't have involved Mito in your affairs, and perhaps your death would have been painless. - I said... and now I have crippled a man, but I have no remorse, firstly, I can cure this traitor, and secondly, he wanted to hurt my little sister, so he deserves such a fate.

- Naruto... - Mito looked at me and Iruka lay wounded beside her, apparently having tried to protect her from the Fuma Shuriken.

- Mito, so I make arrangements with the Hokage for you to retake the exam using different techniques, I leave the residence and want to make you happy, but you're nowhere to be found. I started looking for you at home and then in the village, and then I heard that there was an alarm in Konoha announcing that Mito Uzumaki had stolen the Forbidden Seal scroll from the Hokage's residence. And now, not only I, but all the shinobi in the village were looking for you. It wasn't easy to find you, but when I did, I realised that you had been tricked and used by the traitor Mizuki, so I neutralised him... safely. - Mito, calm down, stop wasting your chakra, you'll need it when you show your techniques to the Hokage, but before that, let's return the scroll and explain everything to him. - As soon as I approached Mito, she started to crawl away from me.

- Naruto, stay away from me! I'm a monster! I'm a Demon Fox! I killed your parents, Iruka-sensei's parents and many others. Now I understand why I wasn't loved at the orphanage and why the villagers treated me so strangely. The only one who treated me well was you. Me, the one who killed your parents. - The girl spoke as she poured out tears, and her already poor chakra control worsened with emotion, causing visible orange streams of Biju chakra to leak from the jinchuriki's seal.

- Mito, baby, calm down. You didn't kill anyone. - I teleported right behind the girl's back and hugged her," You're not a Demon Fox. You're a beautiful little girl who had the misfortune to be born with a strong chakra capable of holding a Biju. The Nine-Tailed Fox was sealed into you, making you a Jinchuriki - someone who must keep the peace in the village at the cost of containing the strongest Biju sealed within you. I suspected this a long time ago, but as you can see, I didn't treat you any worse. The villagers just needed someone to vent their frustration after Lys attacked, and since Lys was sealed inside you, you were their target. - I spoke and stroked Mito reassuringly.

- You knew, Dattebayo! - The girl looked at me in shock - But why did you not tell me, dattebayo?

- What difference would it have made? My attitude towards you remains the same, and I cannot change the opinion of the villagers. Mito, I tried my best to help you, to make things as easy as possible for you because of the villagers' attitude towards you. I wanted you to live the life of a normal girl, to go to the academy, to make friends, maybe even a boy. - I pressed Mito's nose.

- What are you talking about, no boys, I don't need any boys except you... ahem, I don't need any boys. Here, Dattebayo. - The girl turned away to hide her blush.

- That's all right. I also don't want to handicap anyone... ahem... again. - I looked at Mizuki... let me help Mr. Iruka while you take the rope and tie up Mizuki... so that he can't run... this traitor can't run anymore. Then we'll go to the Hokage and tell him everything. - I finished and kissed the girl on the forehead.

- I... okay, Naruto. - I touched the girl's forehead and blushed.

I healed Iruka's wounds, he had been hit by a few kunai and shuriken, but these projectiles were standard and left the usual stab wounds, which were easy to heal... but healing a crippled Mizuki won't be easy, fortunately, I don't plan to do that. Mizuki herself will be taken away by the ANBU shinobi, so Mito and the cured Iruka went straight to the Hokage.

In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen chatted with Mito for a few hours, telling him about Lissa, how important it was that she kept him in check and protected the villagers, and how he could do without a sermon on the will of fire. In the end, the Hokage gave Mito the Protector.

- I have to show you a transformation or substitution technique to pass the test, Dentebayo? - The girl asked and looked at the protector.

- Mito... what were you listening to? You were told that you are a Jinchuriki, that you are an important fighter in the village and that they would have given you a protector anyway because Jinchurikis have always had poor chakra control. - I replied.

- Oh, so I'm not good at techniques because of the Demon Fox, Dattebayo? - Mito asked.

- No, it's not because of the fox demon, it's because of laziness. Training can improve your chakra control, but you're lazy to train, aren't you? - I looked at the girl sternly.

- It's all Demon-Ly's fault... he's the one who made me lazy... here, Dattebajo. - Mito said and looked away.

- He makes you lie too, doesn't he? - I teleported to where Mito was now looking, and when Hiruen saw my teleportation, he choked slightly on the smoke from the pipe... Tenzo is going to tell me about this ability of mine anyway, so I might as well demonstrate it myself. In general, my ability to teleport is due to my heredity, as my father, the Fourth Hokage, used the Flying Thunder God technique to teleport across the battlefield, which may have altered his genome and given his son the ability to teleport at will without using shinobi techniques.

- Ahem, Mito, we've already decided that you're a shinobi, so come with Naruto tomorrow morning to have your photo taken for your shinobi ID. And Mito, you can wait for your friend at the door, I have to ask him something. - Hiruzen said.

- Alright, Hokage-sama! - Quickly, the girl ran away to avoid my stern look and when Mito came out, the Hokage was already looking at me with a similarly serious look.

- Do you have something to tell me? - Hiruzen asked.

- I don't. - I just answered and there was a knock at the door.

- Hokage-sama. - Tenzo said as he entered the office with the raccoon mask on his face, -I have your report and this as well. - He placed a piece of paper with my two kunai next to it.

- What kind of instruments of torture are these? - Hiruzen looked at the kunai and then at Tenzo.

- We took them out of Mizuki's body... or rather, we took them out somehow, Mizuki almost died. It was Naruto who put the kunai into Mizuki. - Tenso pointed at me and the Hokage looked at me very seriously.

- Oh, thank you for returning them. - Defiantly, I took the two kunai from the Hokage's table.

- Naruto, where did you get these kunai? - The Hokage asked.

- I made them myself. - I replied briefly.

- How and why? - Tenzo asked.

- Simply and because I can. - I answered briefly as well.

- Hm... go on Naruto, I have no desire to make you answer every question like an interrogator. - Hiruzen said tiredly.

- Goodbye, Hokage-sama. - I made my way to the exit and instead of opening the door and walking through it, I used phasing and just walked through the closed door... Tenzo must have mentioned this ability of mine to become invisible in the report.

Mito was waiting for me outside the door, apparently thinking that I was going to tell her off today. She had already managed to bind her protector to her forehead, but normally, she couldn't see the symbol of Konoha because of her red hair.

- Let's go to Ichiraku, Foxy. - I stroked the redheaded girl, "Let's celebrate getting a step.

- Yay! Let's go eat ramen, Dattebayo! - said the girl, who hadn't eaten since the exam and must be very hungry.

- Come on, Noisy Foxy. - I took the red-haired girl's hand.

- Naruto... thank you for helping me. - Mito said as we stepped outside.

- You're my closest friend in the world, of course I'll help you. - I smiled at her and we went to get some ramen.

The next day, Mito and I had to hand in all the necessary papers to register as full-fledged shinobi of Konoha, all the other kids had done it yesterday right after the exam, but we failed because of Mizuki's machinations... Hokage's machinations... and my machinations as well. I feel like an idiot because I had to cheat Mito, but I'll never tell anyone the whole truth about myself, no one will know that I was reborn and no one will know about my system.