Naruto: Different Path

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That night, Naruto went to bed early to rest up, and the next day, he headed straight to Mizuki's office. 

Without beating around the bush, he said, "Mizuki-sensei, I heard that the Scroll of Seals has some powerful jutsu, but I don't know where it's kept." 

As expected, Mizuki's eyes darkened with a sinister glint. "Naruto, I know where the Scroll of Seals is, but you can't tell anyone I was the one who told you." 

Naruto couldn't help but laugh internally—Mizuki had been after the Scroll for a long time. 

However, Naruto played along, pretending to be serious. "Got it, Mizuki-sensei," he replied.

Mizuki then told Naruto the location of the Scroll of Seals, thinking he could finally use Naruto to steal it. That night, Naruto decided to act.

Under the cover of darkness, Naruto stealthily made his way toward the location of the Scroll of Seals. 

While he knew the Third Hokage might be aware of his actions, Naruto wasn't too concerned. 

After all, the Hokage might be turning a blind eye, and even if he were caught, he wouldn't face severe punishment as a child. 

Moreover, Mizuki would likely take the fall as a scapegoat.

There were ninjas guarding the scroll's location, but whether it was due to sheer luck or something else, Naruto managed to steal the Scroll of Seals without much trouble. 

However, only a short time after obtaining it, he was discovered. 

As he fled with the scroll, Naruto thought, "I won't have much time with this scroll, and Mizuki will surely show up soon. I have to act quickly."

He dashed into the forest and hid, immediately opening the scroll. The first technique listed was the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu. 

Naruto knew he had to master this jutsu right away to have any chance of dealing with Mizuki. 

The hand seals for the Shadow Clone Jutsu were simple; they were just an enhanced version of the standard Clone Jutsu. 

After only a little practice, Naruto successfully learned it. 

However, this technique had a major downside—it consumed a lot of chakra, making it unsuitable for most people.

After learning the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu, Naruto quickly skimmed through the rest of the scroll, not expecting to master any more jutsu but hoping to memorize their training methods. 

He glanced at the Rasengan and then read about the Flying Thunder God Technique before Iruka suddenly appeared.

"Naruto, come back with me," Iruka said as he approached. 

Naruto stood up and started walking toward him, thinking, "That was fast. I didn't even get to learn that many jutsu."

Just then, Mizuki launched a sneak attack from behind, and Iruka was hit by several shuriken, leaving him gravely injured. 

Naruto could have pushed Iruka out of the way, but he wanted to see if Iruka would truly stand up for him.

Seeing Iruka injured, Mizuki turned his attention to Naruto and hurled a giant shuriken at him. 

To Naruto's surprise, Iruka shielded him with his body and yelled, "Naruto, run!"

Even though Naruto didn't originally belong to this world, he couldn't help but feel a wave of emotion. 

He picked up a kunai and walked toward Mizuki. 

Seeing Naruto approaching, Mizuki sneered and said, "Hand over the Scroll of Seals, and I might let you live." Naruto didn't respond. 

Instead, he charged straight at Mizuki. Mizuki laughed loudly at first, but Iruka shouted anxiously, "Naruto, run! You're no match for Mizuki!"

Seeing Naruto kick toward him, Mizuki's face quickly grew serious. 

He raised his kunai to block, but Naruto's movements were fluid, like water flowing through a stream, attack after attack with no pause. 

The more Mizuki fought, the more alarmed he became, thinking, "I underestimated him—this is no ordinary Academy student."

Even though Mizuki was at the same level as Iruka, he was caught off guard by Naruto's sudden skill. 

However, as the fight dragged on, Mizuki started to regain control of the situation. 

Still, he was worried—if he didn't finish quickly and the village's Jonin showed up, he'd be in trouble. 

Deciding to use psychological tactics, Mizuki stopped on a tree branch and called to Naruto, "Naruto, do you know the truth? Iruka has always hated you because you're the Nine-Tails' demon fox."

Iruka didn't have time to stop him before Mizuki revealed the secret. However, Naruto didn't react much. 

He glanced at Iruka and said, "Why would someone who hates me risk his life to save me? You, Mizuki, used me to steal the Scroll of Seals." 

"In the end, you're the one who wants to learn the forbidden techniques from it."

Furious at being exposed, Mizuki snarled, "So, you figured it out, brat. Then you can die right now!" Mizuki charged at Naruto, but Naruto found it laughable. 

He quickly formed a hand sign. "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Instantly, Naruto created a thousand clones with ease.

Now surrounded by many Narutos, Mizuki lost his will to fight. His legs trembled as he gripped his kunai. 

Naruto smirked and taunted, "What happened? Weren't you just saying you were going to kill me? Come on, give it your best shot!"

All the clones rushed Mizuki, beating him to the point where his body was unrecognizable. 

Watching his student handle the situation so impressively, Iruka couldn't help but feel proud. Naruto then approached Iruka to check his injuries. 

Luckily, they weren't life-threatening. Together, they carried the half-dead Mizuki to the Hokage's office.

When the Third Hokage saw the injured Iruka, he put down his pipe and sighed. "This was all Mizuki's doing. Iruka, go home and recover properly..."

The most important takeaway from this incident for Naruto was mastering the Shadow Clone Jutsu. 

Additionally, he learned the methods for training the Rasengan and the Flying Thunder God Technique, which was an incredible gain.

Naruto was eager to learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu to speed up his training. 

Using shadow clones, he could exponentially increase his training speed. 

However, with the support of someone like Yamato, Naruto could maintain around a hundred clones for training purposes. 

Training differs from battle—fighting requires bursts of power, while training requires sustained effort over time. 

Naruto could maintain this many clones thanks to his excellent chakra control and the immense strength of his mental energy. 

Even though he could only handle around a hundred clones, it was still impressive.

From then on, in a remote corner of Konoha, it wasn't uncommon to see a hundred Narutos climbing trees, running on water, or practising shuriken throwing each night. 

Thankfully, Naruto had chosen an isolated area, so no one noticed.

One day, since there were no classes, Naruto went to the forest as usual to train. 

Suddenly, he saw a few kids surrounding a small girl. Walking closer, he realized it was none other than Hinata Hyuga. 

Even though she was shy and quiet, Naruto knew that one day, she would grow into a beautiful woman.

Naruto leapt out from the forest, shouting, "What kind of skill is it to gang up on a little girl? Get out of here!"

Seeing that it was just a boy their age, the kids laughed, "Everyone, let's take him!"

"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto summoned twenty clones, surrounding the kids. Sensing the situation had turned against them, someone shouted, "Run!"

In an instant, the kids scattered and disappeared. Naruto didn't bother chasing them. He turned to Hinata and said, "If anyone bullies you again, just come find me."

As shy as ever, Hinata softly whispered, barely audible, "Thank you, Naruto."

Feeling proud of his heroic act, Naruto thought, " This girl won't forget me now. 

He waved his hand and, trying to act cool, said, "If you ever need anything, just come to me." Then he walked away, satisfied with himself.

Though this seemed small, it left a deep impression on Hinata. 

Naruto hadn't expected it so easy to win a girl's heart, and he realized he needed to pay more attention to his image from now on. 

Speaking of his image, Naruto changed his hairstyle to a more stylish one.

With his cool new look and impressive school performance, Naruto, like Sasuke Uchiha, became known as a genius of their class, attracting many girls' attention. 

However, unlike Sasuke, who was aloof and distant, Naruto was more social and easygoing, making him even more popular among his classmates.

School life continued as usual, with Naruto diligently training using his shadow clone method. 

He quickly mastered tree climbing and water walking, gaining much better control over his chakra. 

He figured it was time to start learning the Rasengan and the Flying Thunder God Technique, but he couldn't neglect his taijutsu training either.

Both the Rasengan and the Flying Thunder God were extremely difficult techniques, even with the help of shadow clones, to speed up his progress. 

Plus, shadow clones had a drawback—they accumulated fatigue, which often left Naruto exhausted and falling asleep during class. 

Thankfully, being one of the top students, Iruka gave him only a little trouble about it.

Another side effect of Naruto's intense training was his enormous appetite, which the Third Hokage helped control. 

Despite all the fatigue, Naruto's accelerated training had allowed him to progress at an incredible rate, mastering jutsu at a speed that stunned even seasoned shinobi. 

The years at the Ninja Academy flew by as Naruto immersed himself in his training. Finally, the day of the graduation exam arrived. 

The test was relatively simple: it involved basic taijutsu, the three basic jutsu (Transformation, Substitution, and clone jutsu), and some general ninja knowledge. 

For Naruto, who was now considered a genius alongside Sasuke Uchiha and admired by many girls, it was a walk in the park.

Over the years, Naruto had mastered the Three Basic Jutsu to a level very close to Kakashi's, and his taijutsu was just a bit behind Rock Lee's. 

When using two shadow clones, even Lee had to admit defeat. 

Regarding ninjutsu, Naruto had not only learned the Rasengan but also mastered the incredibly difficult Flying Thunder God Technique. However, he kept this as his trump card, only to be used in life-or-death situations.

Naruto's good looks, top performance, and approachable nature made him even more popular than Sasuke. 

Even Sakura Haruno, who had once had a crush on Sasuke, found herself leaning more toward Naruto, though she still had some lingering feelings for Sasuke.

After the exam, the students were assigned to their teams. Sakura and Ino Yamanaka hoped to be on a team with Sasuke and Naruto. 

The team assignments, however, were based on balancing the members' abilities. 

Ultimately, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto were placed on the same team, much to Sakura's delight. 

Naruto, of course, didn't ask the obvious question of why he was teamed up with Sasuke.

After the teams were announced, the students waited for their Jonin instructors. 

Kakashi, known for his legendary lateness, finally showed up after all the other Jonin had long since left. 

"Sorry I'm late," he said, appearing at the door with his mask on.

Naruto wasn't surprised by this at all. Sasuke looked a bit annoyed, while Sakura seemed like she was about to explode. 

Though Kakashi was late, Naruto still thought he seemed like a pretty cool guy.

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