Starts In Konoha: Unlocking Shadow Clone

"Uh, this..." Kiba stood there in a daze, opening his mouth for a long time but unable to utter a word.

Naruto's speech just now also made him feel guilty, realizing that he had underestimated Naruto over the years.

But now that he'd lost the bet, he was supposed to hand over Akamaru to Naruto, which left him in a bind. If he didn't give Akamaru to Naruto, it would be breaking his word, but if he did, how could he face the others back at the Inuzuka Clan? He couldn't bear the thought.

"I haven't eaten dog meat for a long time… I'm really craving for it." Naruto smirked, licking his lips as he took a big step toward Kiba.

Hearing this, Kiba's face instantly turned pale. It was bad enough he had to give up Akamaru, and now Naruto wanted to eat Akamaru?

He took a deep breath, and without any further hesitation, he dropped into a perfect dogeza right in front of Naruto!

"Naruto, I was wrong. I shouldn't have underestimated you. But Akamaru is my partner, my friend... I can't give him up. Can you ask for something else?" Kiba said with a flushed face.

Saying this was basically breaking the bet, but for Akamaru's sake, he was willing to do whatever it took.

Seeing this, Naruto raised his eyebrows slightly.

He didn't expect that Kiba was so reliable that he was willing to kneel down for Akamaru. This changed Naruto's opinion of Kiba.

"Alright, we're classmates, there's no need for such formalities. Get up. I don't need Akamaru, but how about you cover my meals for a month instead?"

Naruto originally just wanted to make Kiba suffer a little, and now that his goal has been achieved, there is no need to take it too far.

Besides, for Naruto, a month's food is much more important than Akamaru.

"No problem, no problem at all, thank you so much, Naruto!" Kiba stood up and hugged Naruto with enthusiasm.

The other students had been watching the exchange, and seeing that the two had resolved things peacefully, they got up and left the classroom to share the good news with their families.

Soon, the once-busy classroom grew quiet, leaving only Naruto and Sasuke.

"I didn't expect you to hide so deeply. I underestimated you before. You are indeed very strong." Sasuke spoke first.

"I thought you didn't know how to give compliments." Naruto smiled and said, "Well, since you did, let's go celebrate with a meal. It's on me."

"Why?" Sasuke asked with puzzled expression.

"I see everyone else is off celebrating with family. But we're both orphans, so let's stick together and keep each other company." Naruto shrugged.

"So pointless." Sasuke was silent for a moment, then scoffed, put his hands in his pockets, and walked away with his usual cool demeanor.

"This stubborn jerk." Naruto muttered, shaking his head as he turned to leave.

But before he could even walk out of the classroom, a white-haired young man slipped into the classroom.

'Huh? Mizuki? What is he doing here?'

Naruto couldn't help but frown. He knew Mizuki was up to no good, and now that he had no need for the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, he'd rather avoid getting entangled with this dangerous guy.

Turning to leave, Naruto was about to walk out when…

Bang!

Mizuki reached out and closed the classroom door, then said seriously: "Naruto, don't leave yet, I have something to tell you."

'Huh? You're forcing me to stay?'

Naruto felt annoyed in his heart, but he still showed a puzzled look on his face and asked: "Mizuki-sensei, what is it?"

"Naruto, your hard work has paid off, and I'm genuinely happy for you. But sometimes, effort alone isn't enough." Mizuki said gravely.

"Is that so? I'd appreciate your guidance, Mizuki-sensei." Naruto responded.

With just the two of them in the room, Naruto knew he'd have to play along for now and see what Mizuki had in store.

Mizuki hesitated for a long time before revealing a pained expression, and whispered, "What I'm about to tell you, Naruto, you must keep to yourself. Twelve years ago, something major happened, a matter forbidden by Sandaime Hokage-sama to ever be spoken of. It involves you. Have you ever wondered why people in the village look at you with such contempt? It's not your imagination, it's because you are the Nine-Tails demon fox that attacked Konoha twelve years ago!"

Hearing this, Naruto was somewhat speechless. He'd thought Mizuki would guide him slowly with emotion and reason, but Mizuki was so eager to spill the truth.

'It seemed that Mizuki was forced into a corner. If he didn't tell me the truth directly, he was worried that I wouldn't take the bait.'

'But if Mizuki was going to lure me into a trap, he'd have to mention the location of the Scroll of Seals.' Naruto was somewhat tempted by this hidden place, so much so that he could not help but ask the system, 'What rewards will I get if I Sign-in at the Scroll of Seals' hiding place?'

'As long as the reward was good, I'd take the risk to go. Otherwise, I'd simply play dumb and leave.'

[Sign-in to at the Scroll of Seals's hidden location successfully will reward you with the power of the Kyubi and a Servant Contract]

'Holy crap! There are actually two rewards, one of which includes the power of the Kyubi. What kind of god-tier reward is this?'

Although he didn't know what the Servant Contract was, the power of the Kyubi alone was enough to tempt Naruto.

Without hesitation, Naruto switched to his acting mode, feigning a look of horror: "I… I'm actually the demon fox? I was wondering why the people in the village don't like me… now it all makes sense."

When Mizuki saw Naruto's reaction, a hint of joy flashed in his eyes, and he continued in a serious tone: "The reason I can tell you this is because..."

Before he could finish, Naruto interjected: "It must be because Mizuki-sensei feels sorry for me and thinks I deserve to know the truth, right? So, what should I do? I'll follow your guidance, Mizuki-sensei."

Mizuki nodded approvingly: "I'm glad you understand my intentions. You're right..."

Naruto interrupted him again, "Mizuki-sensei, by telling me this, you must think that my hard work alone isn't enough. That's true… I lack strong Ninjutsu to support me. And knowing that I'm the demon fox, it's even harder for me to gain access to powerful Ninjutsu. Who knows if I'll survive long enough to get stronger. Since you've revealed the truth to me, does this mean you plan to teach me powerful Ninjutsu?"

Mizuki's eyes lit up: "Naruto, you're more perceptive than I thought. Yes, though I don't know any powerful Ninjutsu myself, I do know where the Scroll of Seals is kept. It contains many advanced techniques."

Naruto acted even more excited: "Mizuki-sensei, as long as you tell me where it is, I'll steal the Scroll of Seals and bring it back as a gift for you!"

"Naruto, your heart is in the right place. I didn't tell you this to get anything in return, but the fact that you can share this with me shows that you are sincere and know how to repay a favor. Then, I will give you this map that marks the location of the Scroll of Seals. Study it well and act tonight."

Mizuki handed the map to Naruto. Initially, he planned to double-cross Naruto after the heist, but Naruto's obedience and cleverness had surpassed his expectations. He even felt a strange admiration for him, considering taking Naruto with him and leaving Konoha once they had the Scroll of Seals.

But Mizuki could never have imagined that Naruto had already seen through his little schemes.

The only reason Naruto was cooperating was so he could sign-in at the Scroll of Seals' hiding place.

Not only that, but he was already plotting how to pin the whole thing back on Mizuki.

This move was truly a case of playing along with the scheme...