Naruto: Shadows of the Divine Flame

Walking out of the Academy with my forehead protector tied firmly in place, I felt the weight of reality settle in. The Academy had been nothing more than a long preparation, a structured environment where the risks were minimal and the consequences of failure were never truly dire. But now, that safety net was gone. I was officially a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf.

The village was alive with activity. Parents congratulated their children, and new genin ran excitedly to show off their forehead protectors. Stalls lined the streets, the scent of grilled food filling the air as merchants called out to customers. The usual warmth of the village didn't seem to reach Naruto, though.

He sat alone on a swing outside the Academy, staring at the ground. Others walked past him without a second glance, some of them even whispering behind his back.

I exhaled, walking toward him. "You're sulking."

Naruto jolted slightly, looking up at me. His face twisted into a weak scowl. "I'm not sulking," he muttered.

I crossed my arms. "You failed. You're allowed to sulk a little."

He huffed and kicked at the dirt, clearly frustrated. "Yeah, well… I should have passed. It was just one stupid jutsu."

"Rules are rules," I said simply. "You'll get another chance next year."

That made him wince. "An entire year? That's forever."

I didn't disagree. Naruto had worked harder than most of the other students, and it was frustrating that something as simple as the Clone Jutsu was the reason he failed. But the test was what it was.

Before I could say anything else, Mizuki approached, a warm smile on his face. "Naruto, I was looking for you."

Naruto sat up, blinking. "Huh?"

Mizuki leaned in slightly, voice dropping just enough to be secretive. "There's another way for you to become a genin."

I raised a brow. That was suspicious.

Mizuki ignored my stare and continued. "It's a secret test. If you pass, you'll be promoted right away."

Naruto shot to his feet. "Seriously?! What do I have to do?"

I sighed. "Naruto."

He hesitated at the warning in my tone, but Mizuki quickly spoke again. "All you have to do is steal a special scroll from the Hokage's office and learn one jutsu from it. That's it."

My stare hardened. "You're joking."

Mizuki turned to me with an easygoing expression. "Raiden, this is a real test. It's a chance for Naruto to prove himself."

I narrowed my eyes. "And you're sure the Hokage authorized this?"

Mizuki's smile thinned. "Why don't you let Naruto handle this?"

Naruto frowned between us, clearly confused. I could tell he wanted to believe Mizuki, wanted to cling to the idea that this was a second chance. But this reeked of something bad.

I could push this further, call Mizuki out here and now—but if Naruto really was dumb enough to try it, I needed to be there to make sure he didn't dig himself into an even bigger hole.

I sighed. "Fine. Do what you want."

Mizuki's eyes flickered toward me before he turned back to Naruto with a reassuring grin. "Meet me at the outskirts of the village after you get the scroll. I'll handle the rest."

Naruto nodded eagerly. "Alright!"

This was going to be a mess.

---

That night, the village was in chaos.

Alarms blared across the village, shinobi running through the streets in search of Naruto—who, in the dumbest move of his life, had actually stolen the Forbidden Scroll of Seals. It was absurd how easily he got in and out of the Hokage's office, but I had bigger concerns.

I found him in a clearing, flipping through the scroll. He was sweating, his fingers twitching from exhaustion. His clothes were torn and dirty, which meant he had already been at this for a while.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked, stepping forward.

Naruto startled, then grinned. "Raiden! Check it out, I already learned one jutsu!"

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Do you realize the entire village is looking for you?"

"I know, I know! But once I show them I mastered a jutsu from the scroll, they'll have to make me a genin!"

I stared at him. "Who told you that?"

"Mizuki," he said, as if it were obvious.

I clenched my jaw. Of course.

Before I could say anything else, a blur of silver and blue shot toward us. Mizuki landed on a tree branch above, eyes sharp with amusement. "You did well, Naruto. Now, hand me the scroll."

Naruto beamed. "So I passed, right? I'm a genin?"

Mizuki laughed. "Oh, Naruto. You're even dumber than I thought."

Naruto's smile faltered. "Huh?"

Mizuki pulled out a large kunai, twirling it between his fingers. "The real reason I had you steal the scroll was so I could take it for myself. You just made my job a whole lot easier."

Naruto stumbled back, eyes wide with betrayal. "You lied?"

I stepped forward, pulling out a kunai of my own. "Obviously."

Mizuki sneered at me. "Oh, and let me guess—you knew all along, didn't you?"

I rolled my shoulders. "That's right."

Mizuki scoffed. "Tch. Of course the 'genius' of the class would see through it. But it doesn't matter. You're both going to die here, and I'll take that scroll for myself."

Without another word, he flung his kunai at Naruto.

I moved without thinking, grabbing Naruto by the collar and yanking him out of the way. The kunai embedded itself into a tree, just missing where Naruto had been standing.

Mizuki clicked his tongue. "Annoying brat."

I tightened my grip on my weapon. "Naruto. Run."

"What?"

"Go find Iruka. Now."

Naruto hesitated, but something in my tone made him obey. He turned and bolted, taking the scroll with him. Mizuki made a move to chase, but I intercepted him, slamming my kunai against his.

"You're in my way, kid."

I smirked. "That's the idea."

Mizuki snarled and pushed forward, trying to overpower me with brute force. I shifted my weight and redirected his momentum, sending him stumbling. His eyes flashed with anger, and he lunged again, this time faster. I dodged to the side, bringing my knee up into his ribs before slamming an elbow into the back of his head. He grunted in pain but managed to twist away before I could follow up.

"You little—"

A blur of orange shot into the clearing. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Dozens of identical clones filled the space, surrounding Mizuki in an instant. His eyes widened in disbelief.

Naruto grinned. "Let's see if you like this version of the Clone Jutsu!"

The next few minutes were a blur of Mizuki getting wrecked.

By the time Iruka arrived, Naruto stood victorious. The scroll was safe, Mizuki was beaten, and, despite everything, Naruto had actually pulled off a proper jutsu.

Iruka sighed, rubbing his temples. "You two are going to be the death of me."

I smirked. "Probably."

Naruto grinned at Iruka expectantly. "So… does this mean I pass?"

Iruka stared at him for a long moment before shaking his head with a small smile. "Yeah, Naruto. You pass."

And just like that, Naruto was a shinobi.