Shikigami Summoning in Konoha

Chapter 66: A Method to Prevent Sasuke's Defection

Indeed, it was Katsuragi who had quickly dealt with Mizuki as Naruto formed his hand seals. Facing Mizuki, who had attained his rank by seniority rather than skill, Katsuragi found him laughably easy to handle.

If not for Mizuki's sneak attack, it was doubtful he could have even taken on Iruka. Watching Naruto's perplexed expression, Katsuragi couldn't help but smirk; Naruto's first burst of action had stalled, and he must be feeling quite frustrated now.

"Alright, alright, don't just stand there dumbly; Iruka-sensei might bleed out if we don't hurry."

Katsuragi glanced at Iruka, who seemed almost shocked by the number of Naruto's clones, and chuckled as he spoke to Naruto.

"Iruka-sensei!"

Prompted by Katsuragi, Naruto snapped out of his daze. Surrounded by his numerous clones, he crowded around Iruka, bombarding him with questions:

"Iruka-sensei, are you okay?"

"Could he be dead?"

"How could Iruka-sensei die, don't talk nonsense."

"But he's so badly injured, how could he not be?"

Somewhat exasperated, Iruka urged, "Naruto, dissolve your shadow clones, please. I have something I need to give you."

The real Naruto, amid his concern, remembered to dispel his clones upon hearing Iruka's words. The multitude of Narutos quickly vanished, leaving only the original.

"Come here, Naruto."

Seeing that Iruka seemed to have something to say to Naruto, Katsuragi did not rush them and silently observed from the side. He suspected Iruka was about to give Naruto his headband.

As expected, Iruka struggled to reach up to his forehead and removed his headband. Seeing what was happening, an excited Naruto eagerly received it, and in a burst of emotion, hugged Iruka tightly, exclaiming, "Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka was seriously injured but managed a joke. "Cough, cough, of course, just kidding," though Katsuragi quickly noted Iruka wincing in pain and intervened, "Naruto, Iruka-sensei is hurt."

Realizing his mistake, Naruto quickly let go, looking guiltily at Iruka's worsening wound and apologizing, "Sorry, Iruka-sensei."

"It's okay."

Despite the pain, Iruka reassured Naruto with a weak smile and added seriously, "Naruto, being a ninja, you might have to endure even worse injuries than this."

"So, if you're not ready, you might as well give the headband back."

"No way!" Naruto clutched the headband tightly, protective as if it were his child, and declared, "Iruka-sensei gave this to me; I can't give it back."

"And I'm going to be Hokage, so how could I be afraid of a few injuries?"

Pleased by Naruto's resolve, Iruka felt a bit relieved, the pain seemingly lessened by the pride he felt, "Okay, but we might have to delay your graduation celebration until after I've recovered."

"Okay, enough chatting."

Seeing the two ready to continue their conversation, an impatient Katsuragi interjected, "If you keep this up, Iruka-sensei, we might have to start planning your funeral instead."

"Uh..."

Both Naruto and Iruka paused, then Naruto, headband now securely in place, helped Iruka up, "Iruka-sensei, don't talk anymore. Let's get you to the hospital."

Subsequently, Katsuragi and Naruto helped Iruka to the hospital. Fortunately, his injuries were mostly superficial, and with the medical ninja's treatment, he recovered quickly. Still, Katsuragi and Naruto insisted he stay in the hospital just in case—though they made sure Iruka was responsible for the medical bills.

A few days later, after registration and photo-taking, Katsuragi faced his first day of being assigned to a squad.

That morning at seven, as he prepared to leave home and spotted a camera on the table, a mischievous grin spread across his face. If his memory served right, today was a significant day for Naruto and Sasuke.

Thus, he made a point to bring the camera along.

Naruto's fortunes seemed to improve with his newfound abilities; he even started to gather a following, including the Third Hokage's grandson. And true enough, Naruto was also the Fourth Hokage's son.

"Hello, Hinata, good morning."

Arriving at their usual meeting spot, Katsuragi greeted Hinata, who approached him with a shy smile.

"Good morning, Katsuragi," she replied softly, walking beside him quietly and obediently.

Upon reaching the classroom, most of the students had already arrived. Katsuragi took a moment to look around; Naruto and Sasuke were there too, sitting together, looking quite the matched pair.

As he and Hinata found seats, a commotion in the hallway signaled the arrival of Sakura and Ino, who were both trying to squeeze through the doorway.

"Seems like it's about to start."

Although he couldn't recall the exact details, Katsuragi knew from seeing Ino and Sakura that the deep bond between Naruto and Sasuke was about to be showcased.

"Eh, Katsuragi, why do you have a camera?"

Noticing Katsuragi fiddling with his camera, a curious Hinata asked.

"Well, we've truly graduated from school, so I thought I'd take some photos to commemorate the occasion," Katsuragi replied with a grin.

Hinata didn't question further and nodded in understanding.

Soon, Naruto and Sasuke began arguing over Sakura, following the original storyline. As Naruto leaned close to Sasuke across the desk, Katsuragi knew the climax was near and readied his camera.

"Click."

With the sound of the shutter, Katsuragi captured the memorable moment. He planned to reveal the photo when Itachi came to invade Konoha, showing him that this was his future sister-in-law.

Would Itachi's expression change then?

"Katsuragi!"

Since everyone else was shocked by Naruto and Sasuke's intense stare, only Hinata noticed Katsuragi taking the photo. She couldn't help but smile mischievously, remembering the photos of Neji in women's clothing that Katsuragi had shown her.

"Don't tell them about this, okay?"

Seeing Hinata's smile, Katsuragi whispered, partly joking that if Sasuke found out, he might have to add another target to his list—ensuring that no picture could lead Sasuke to defect.

But, perhaps this was also a way to prevent Sasuke's defection.

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