Sasuke, who had been preparing to wait for Naruto to come to him—froze in place.
Naruto failed the exam?
Did that mean he hadn't actually improved by leaps and bounds?
No… that was impossible!
Yesterday's fight had been real, and that different aura around Naruto—there was nothing fake about it.
So what was going on?
Naruto had said he'd tell him the truth after the exam, but now he'd failed… should Sasuke still go looking for him?
After all, Naruto had just failed. Going over now would be… awkward, wouldn't it?
For a moment, Sasuke didn't even know whether he should show his face in front of Naruto.
Hinata stared in the direction Naruto had left, worry filling her pale eyes.
Sakura blinked—then couldn't stop the curve of schadenfreude tugging at her lips. She turned to Ino and said, "See? I told you. In the end Naruto's still a dead last. Him beating Sasuke-kun yesterday was definitely just a fluke. Someone like him—how could he possibly pass the graduation exam?"
That faint discomfort Sakura had felt from Naruto no longer hovering around her seemed to find a place to vent.
Ino didn't join Sakura's gloating. She simply frowned at Naruto's retreating back, puzzled.
Naruto ignored all the reactions behind him. He walked straight to a secluded corner where hardly anyone passed, and sat down against a large tree.
Naruto knew perfectly well: it wouldn't be long before that hypocrite Mizuki-sensei came looking for him.
Sure enough, before long—just as Naruto expected, Mizuki appeared around the corner.
He wore that carefully practiced expression of sympathy and warmth as he approached.
"Naruto," Mizuki said, his voice dripping with concern. "Don't be too upset. Iruka-sensei had no choice either—he has his reasons."
Naruto kept his head lowered and replied in a heavy, subdued voice, "Yeah… I know. I just… it's just that this is the fourth time I haven't passed. It hurts."
"Since you want to graduate that badly," Mizuki leaned in, lowering his voice like he was sharing a secret, "I'll make an exception and tell you a special way to graduate."
Naruto looked up at the right moment, staring at Mizuki with carefully performed urgency. "What way?"
"As long as you can get the Scroll of Seals tonight," Mizuki coaxed, "and bring it to the designated location to hand it over to me…"
His tone turned generously indulgent.
"I'll make an exception and let you graduate—becoming a genin!"
Naruto watched Mizuki's performance with a calm, empty stillness inside. He had already sentenced him to death in his heart.
Naruto knew this well: as the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, ANBU were always watching him.
Not to mention the Third Hokage's crystal ball—used with the Crystal Ball Jutsu—could observe everything he did.
Whether the Third Hokage was watching right this second didn't even matter. If the ANBU simply reported Mizuki's words and actions, Mizuki would be finished.
Even so, Naruto's face lit up as if he'd grabbed hold of a lifeline. He agreed without hesitation.
"Okay! I'll go get that… Scroll of Seals thing! Tell me where it is!"
Mizuki looked thoroughly satisfied at Naruto's dense, easily-hooked reaction.
He carefully explained how to find the Scroll of Seals—and how to avoid the guard routes he knew.
He emphasized again and again that they had to meet in Konoha's back mountains, and that Naruto absolutely couldn't tell anyone. Only then would it "count" as passing.
Naruto nodded hard, committing the "exam content" to memory.
They separated—each with completely different intentions.
Naruto, of course, had no intention of actually stealing the Scroll of Seals again.
Across countless loops, he had already read and learned everything on it that was worth reading and learning—he even had his father's signature technique, Flying Raijin Jutsu, down cold.
Stealing the scroll would be effortless for Naruto now—but pointless.
All he needed was a simple Transformation Jutsu to create a scroll convincing enough to pass as the real thing.
For now, Naruto only had to quietly wait for the appointed time.
And before that…
Maybe he could go find Sasuke first.
After all, he had told him last night that after the graduation exam, he'd explain why he'd become stronger.
Naruto wasn't about to tell Sasuke anything about time loops—that would be meaningless.
But with his overwhelming experience, telling Sasuke how to grow stronger… that was still possible.
...
---
Meanwhile, inside the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, frowned, a pipe in one hand as the other worked through a mountain of paperwork.
A figure appeared soundlessly in the center of the room, dropping to one knee—an animal mask covering their face.
Hiruzen looked up. It was an ANBU member tasked with monitoring Naruto's movements.
"What is it?" Hiruzen asked. "Has Naruto shown any abnormalities?"
He set the documents aside, his gaze shifting instinctively to the crystal ball at the corner of his desk. He placed his palm on it—chakra stirred—and he activated the Crystal Ball Jutsu.
Naruto's image appeared within the crystal.
He was walking through Konoha's streets, calm. No pranks. No obvious despair.
Hiruzen thought, He seems normal enough. Even if he failed the graduation exam this morning, his emotions look stable. At worst, he studies another year—hardly a big deal.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, the ANBU spoke.
"Hokage-sama. Uzumaki Naruto made contact with Mizuki-sensei earlier, in a secluded area behind the Academy. Mizuki attempted to entice Naruto into stealing the Scroll of Seals tonight, promising he would be allowed to graduate afterward."
"What?"
The hand holding Hiruzen's pipe twitched.
This was completely unexpected.
His eyes left the crystal ball and locked onto the ANBU, his brow tightening further.
"Mizuki…"
The name instantly dredged up a buried memory.
Years ago, during a mission to seize a confidential scroll, Mizuki's squad secured the scroll and withdrew back to Konoha—only to learn that one of their teammates had died during the operation.
In the report filed afterward, Mizuki insisted the teammate had suffered a leg injury by accident… and died because of it.
Another ninja from the same squad also stated that he had heard the sound of the man collapsing; Mizuki checked and confirmed the death, and beyond that, he knew nothing.
But ANBU's deeper investigation revealed inconsistencies: the leg injury did exist, but it wasn't fatal.
The true cause of death was suffocation.
There was clearly something else going on.
There was no direct evidence pointing to Mizuki—but the incident raised alarms among Konoha's upper ranks.
In the end, out of caution and an inability to fully trust him, the higher-ups decided to strip Mizuki of his eligibility to serve as an Academy instructor.
And yet later, thanks to his comparatively strong overall performance among his peers, his teaching ability, and the gentle, agreeable persona he maintained day to day, the shadow of the past seemed to fade—and he ultimately became a teacher anyway.
That old incident was gradually forgotten by most.
And now, after all this time, he had set his sights on Naruto—tempting him into stealing the Scroll of Seals.
Hiruzen's gaze darkened.
Mizuki's ambition had finally, completely revealed itself.