Naruto The Red Spiral Rebirth

Iruka opened his mouth to say something more, but suddenly a sharp, piercing sound split the air behind him.

In that instant, instinct took over. Iruka pushed Naruto aside with his left hand, his body twisting to shield the boy from harm.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Puff! Puff!

Naruto was still mid-air, knocked off balance by Iruka's shove, when the attack struck. A large windmill shuriken slammed into Iruka, pinning him to the wooden wall of the forest hut.

"Didn't expect you to find this place, Iruka," Mizuki sneered, perched on a nearby tree branch with a twisted grin on his face.

Iruka gritted his teeth, eyes narrowing as he realized everything. "Naruto, hand over the scroll to me!" he cried, voice laced with urgency. "Mizuki is using you! He wants the scroll for himself!"

Iruka's only thought was to protect Naruto. If Mizuki still believed Naruto had the scroll, he would target the boy next. That couldn't happen.

Naruto stared in disbelief at the scene before him. "W-What's going on?" he asked, dazed.

"Listen to me, Naruto!" Iruka shouted, struggling against the pain. "No matter what Mizuki says, don't give him the scroll! The Sealing Scroll contains many dangerous jutsu. Mizuki tricked you to get his hands on it. If he succeeds, he'll kill you!"

Mizuki burst out laughing, his face contorted with a sinister smile. "Afraid the boy will find out the truth, Iruka?" he taunted. "Fine. Naruto, let me tell you everything."

His voice dropped, becoming heavy and cruel.

"Twelve years ago... surely you've heard about the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox being sealed away, haven't you?" Mizuki paused dramatically. "Ever since then, there's been a rule in the village. An unwritten rule."

"Unwritten... rule?" Naruto echoed, confused and alarmed.

Mizuki's eyes gleamed with malice. "Yes. A rule that you, Naruto Uzumaki, must never know the truth. No matter what."

"W-What truth?"

"Stop!" Iruka cried out, but it was useless.

Mizuki wasn't done.

"The truth, Naruto, is that you are the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox!" Mizuki roared. "You're the monster who destroyed the village and killed Iruka's parents! That's why everyone hates you!"

Naruto stood frozen. His breathing became erratic. His heart pounded in his chest. The hatred, the glares, the way villagers avoided him—all of it suddenly made sense.

"You've been lied to your whole life," Mizuki continued, eyes wild. "No one ever cared about you. Not your teachers. Not your classmates. Not even Iruka. You're just a beast in human skin!"

Hidden in the shadows, Tom watched tensely.

"Damn it, Kishimoto," he muttered under his breath. "Stick to the script, but don't let the Nine-Tails actually pop out now..."

Tom had already begun preparing his Wood Release. If the seal on the Nine-Tails so much as wavered, he'd suppress it instantly.

Meanwhile, Naruto trembled as rage, fear, and grief twisted inside him.

"No one will ever accept you," Mizuki spat, lifting the giant windmill shuriken from his back. "Even Iruka hates you. You're a cursed existence. And now, you'll die!"

He hurled the windmill shuriken with all his might. It sliced through the air straight toward Naruto.

Naruto's body refused to move. His legs were paralyzed by shock.

Tom tensed, ready to intervene.

"Naruto, get down!!" Iruka's voice rang out.

Iruka leapt from his position like a blur, faster than Naruto had ever seen him move. He tackled Naruto to the ground just in time.

Thud!

The massive weapon embedded itself deep into Iruka's back.

Tom exhaled in relief. "Phew… that was too close."

Naruto stared up at his bleeding teacher in disbelief. "W-Why? Why would you do that?"

Iruka winced through the pain, but smiled. "Because we're the same, Naruto."

His voice trembled, not from fear but emotion.

"After my parents died… no one ever praised me. No one acknowledged me. My grades were terrible. I acted like a clown just to get people to notice me. I figured even being laughed at was better than being ignored."

He looked Naruto in the eyes, tears streaming down his face.

"It was painful. So painful, Naruto. You know that feeling, don't you? That emptiness. That loneliness."

"I'm sorry," Iruka whispered. "You must have been so lonely all this time… and I wasn't there for you. I didn't do enough to help you."

"Hah!" Mizuki scoffed from the side. "What a joke. Iruka still blames you for his parents' death. He's just trying to get the scroll back."

Those words cut deep, and Naruto—still overwhelmed—turned and ran without looking back.

Mizuki smirked in triumph.

But neither of them noticed Tom vanish with Naruto into the forest.

Once he was far enough away, Tom acted. He quickly swapped the real Sealing Scroll with a fake one he had prepared earlier. Naruto, caught in emotional chaos, didn't even sense it.

Then Tom used the Shadow Clone Technique, and one clone immediately set off to follow and protect Naruto.

Meanwhile, the real Tom unfurled the stolen Sealing Scroll under the cover of darkness.

"There's not much time," he muttered. "I need to memorize a few key jutsu and study them later."

As he skimmed the scroll, his eyes locked onto a familiar technique.

"Reanimation Jutsu... Edo Tensei."

Tom grinned. "I'm not pretending to be a hero. In this world, power is everything—and this is one hell of a trump card."

Many of the other techniques were familiar from the Uchiha clan's archives, but this one… this was a gem.

"Hah, I really underestimated the Uchiha clan," he murmured. "They had research even on the techniques from this scroll."

He quickly began memorizing the hand seals and chakra flow required for the Reanimation Jutsu.

But just as he began digesting the core principles, the shadow clone returned with urgent news.

Naruto had run into Mizuki and Iruka again. The situation was heating up.

"If I don't return the real scroll soon, the switch might get discovered," Tom realized. "This next moment is the perfect chance."

He knew what was coming.

According to the original story, Naruto was about to use the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique for the first time.

That burst of chaos was the ideal moment to return the scroll unnoticed.

Tom raced back toward the clearing.

---

When he arrived, Iruka stood bleeding but defiant in front of Naruto.

"You might do anything to get what you want," Iruka was saying to Mizuki. "But Naruto is different. He's not a monster. He's an honest, hardworking boy. Sure, he's not the smartest—but he never gives up."

"He understands pain better than anyone. That's why he has the strength to connect with others. He's not the Nine-Tailed Fox. He's Naruto Uzumaki of the Hidden Leaf Village!"

Tom stopped in his tracks, heart stirring.

"Iruka-sensei…" he thought with admiration. "You're the kind of person who changes destinies. You gave Naruto the sunlight he needed. I owe you one."

He made a mental note. "Next time we eat hotpot, we're bringing Iruka along."

And then, just as expected—

"Multi-Shadow Clone Technique!"

With a burst of chakra, hundreds of Naruto clones appeared in a flash, surrounding Mizuki in a heartbeat.

"W-Wait—what is this—?!"

Naruto's clones swarmed Mizuki, fists flying, rage and emotion fueling every strike.

In the chaos, Tom slipped in unnoticed and returned the real Sealing Scroll to Naruto's possession.

Everything was back in place.

Mission complete.

pàtréóñ(Gk31)