Disclaimer:
Naruto and all of its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
“Dialogue”
‘Thoughts’
-Author notes-
Chapter 20: The Scroll Thief
Sho stood at the gate of the Hyuga compound, watching as dozens of ninjas leap across the rooftops of Konoha.
They moved in coordinated patterns, spreading out across the village like a net being cast over the water to catch some fish.
There were also red lanterns flickering along the streets, casting an eerie glow.
The usual nighttime quiet had been shattered by shouts and the pounding of feet.
‘Something huge is happening.’ Sho realized, even though he didn’t understand the gravity of the situation.
A group of ninja gathered near the compound gate; their voices sounded urgent.
Sho crept closer, trying to overhear their conversation as they talked to the Hyuga guards.
He managed to catch part of their conversation.
“-The Forbidden Scroll.
Stolen right from under the Hokage’s nose.”
“Who could have done something so reckless?”
“Someone saw a figure… a blonde person, wearing some kind of orange jacket, jumping out of the window.”
“Orange?
That sounds a lot like-”
“Shhh!.
Don’t say it.
We can’t talk about it.
We need more information.”
Sho’s froze.
‘Blonde… orange jacket?…’ This was a ninja village.
People tended to prefer mutted color for their clothes.
Colors that helped them blend with the environment.
There was only one person he knew who wore such vibrant clothes.
The same person he’d spent the entire day searching for.
‘Could Naruto be the person they are all looking for?.
But what did he steal that would warrant such a ruckus?’
Sho had never heard of any forbidden scroll, though he could imagine the Hokage’s office contained many dangerous secret techniques.
All ninja villages had secret techniques, after all.
But the idea that Naruto, who couldn’t even pass the genin exam, could sneak into the Hokage’s office and steal something like that sounded ridiculous.
Not to mention…’Why would Naruto do something like that?’
His mind raced, trying to make sense of it.
Naruto was reckless, impulsive, and sometimes made bad decisions when he was upset.
But stealing something as dangerous as a village secret technique?
That didn’t sound like him.
‘He failed the exam.
He was devastated.
Someone must have told him something…’
A chilling thought surfaced.
‘Mizuki Sensei…could he?-.’
“Hey, kid.” One of the guards noticed him hovering nearby.
” You shouldn’t be out here.
A dangerous criminal is on the loose.”
Sho realized the two guards were now looking at him, but neither of them seemed to realize who he was.
Sho forced himself to speak calmly.
“What is that Forbidden Scroll they were talking about?”
The guard frowned.
“That’s classified information.
Only high-ranking ninja are supposed to know.”
“Wait…” The other guard approached.
“Aren’t you…”
Sho turned to leave.
“That’s Shokuhi Sama!” One of the guards finally recognized him.
“Hey, wait!.
Where are you going?!” the guard called after him.
“Get back inside.
It’s too dangerous to be outside right now!.”
“Sorry, but I can’t do that.
I’ll be careful!” Sho shouted over his shoulder, already running.
He had only turned the first corner when a text box appeared in front of his face, almost making him run into a wall.
“Whoa!”
[EMERGENCY QUEST DETECTED!]
Quest: Stop the Village’s Traitor
Objective: Identify and stop the ninja who is manipulating events to harm Konoha’s interests.
This traitor is using a young ninja as a pawn for his own objectives.
Warning: The traitor is a chunin-level threat.
Reward: 5,000 Experience Points, 2 Free Stat Points
Penalty for Failure: The scroll will be lost.
The pawn will be killed.
The traitor will escape.
Time Limit: 1 Hour
Do you accept?
[YES] / [NO]
Sho didn’t hesitate.
He didn’t need a quest as an incentive, but he was not going to reject it.
“Yes.
I accept!”
The notification vanished, replaced by a new message.
[Quest Accepted: Stop the Village’s Traitor]
Progress: 0%
Recommendation: Locate the pawn before the traitor does.
Follow the golden thread.
‘Golden thread?’
Sho blinked, and then he saw it.
A faint golden line, glowing in the darkness, stretching out from his feet and leading toward the village’s edge.
‘Is that…
a quest marker?’
The system was guiding him.
He looked at the golden string, then at the direction it pointed.
The forest area near the East Gate.
‘That’s…it’s close to the clearing.’
Before the golden string vanished, Sho took off running, disappearing into the shadows of the village streets.
The houses blurred past Sho as he ran.
‘I have to find him.
I have to get to Naruto before Mizuki does.’
He followed the golden thread through the village, past the ramen shop, past the academy, past the Hokage monument.
The string led him toward the edge of the village, toward the forest.
And then he nearly collided with someone.
“Shokuhi?!”
Sho skidded to a halt before looking at the person he almost ran over.
Iruka-sensei stood before him… his face was flushed with exertion, his eyes wide with surprise.
“Shokuhi, what are you doing here?!” Iruka demanded.
“You should be at home!
There’s a thief on the loose!”
“I know.” Sho was panting, but he forced the words out.
“It’s Naruto…right?.
I was trying to find him.”
Iruka’s eyes narrowed.
“What?
How could you possibly-”
“I overheard a conversation of some ninjas near my home.
They mentioned seeing someone with orange clothes and blonde hair.” Sho met his teacher’s gaze.
“I know he stole the scroll.
But he didn’t do it on his own.
Someone tricked him.”
Iruka’s expression flickered between confusion and disbelief.
“Tricked him?.
What makes you think that?”
“I…” He could not say it was because of the System.
“I saw him talking alone with Mizuki Sensei.
I couldn’t hear what they were saying,g but…there was something strange about Mizuki Sensei.
There is something wrong with him”
Iruka frowned.
“That is a very serious accusation, Shokuhi.
What makes you think th-”
“There is more.
Yesterday, during the exam… when Naruto was taking his test, Mizuki was staring at him with…
I could see the hatred in his eyes.
And after Naruto failed, Mizuki was smiling.
Like he was happy.”
“That’s…” Iruka was silent for a long moment.
Then he shook his head.
“Mizuki has been my colleague for years.
I’ve never seen anything-”
Please, sensei.” Sho grabbed Iruka’s arm.
“I’m not asking you to trust me blindly.
But Naruto is in danger.
If someone else finds him first, they might attack him.
They might treat him like a traitor without even asking for his side of the story.
They might…”
The villagers already hated him.
He cannot imagine what they would do if they thought he was also a traitor.
Something in Iruka’s expression shifted.
His jaw tightened.
“Where is he?
Do you know where he went?”
Sho looked at the golden thread, still glowing faintly in the darkness.
It pointed toward the forest.
“There is a clearing ahead.
Naruto and I sometimes use it as a training area.
It’s near the village edge.”
Iruka nodded, his decision made.
“We’ll split up.
You take the north path.
I’ll take the south.
We’ll meet at the clearing.”
“Wait, sensei, I can lead you t-”
But Iruka had already disappeared, leaving some leaves behind.
But his sensei was already gone, swallowed by the darkness of the forest.
Sho stood alone in the empty street, the golden thread still glowing before him.
‘It doesnt matter.
If I follow this, it should lead me to Naruto.’
He looked at the golden string.
It was pointing directly into the forest.
Not north.
Not south.
Straight ahead.
‘The system knows where Naruto is.
It’s telling me to go this way.’
He took off running, chasing the golden thread through the darkness.
The forest was dark and silent.
Sho followed the thread through the trees, his feet finding the familiar path.
‘Naruto has to be here.
He has to be.’
And then the golden thread stopped moving,g and a moment later, it vanished.
“Wait…what?” Sho skidded to a halt, his heart pounding.
The thread had led him to a small clearing…not the training one, but a different one.
A more secluded one.
He did not find Naruto here, but there was someone ahead.
Standing at the center of the clearing…was Mizuki.
Sho froze, his breath catching in his throat.
‘No.
I was supposed to find Naruto.
Why is Mizuki here instead?’
This was his mistake.
He had assumed the main objective of the quest was to find Naruto because that is what he wanted to do.
But the quest objective was to ‘Stop the Village’s Traitor’.
Mizuki noticed his presence immediately and turned to look at him.
The man’s expression shifted from surprise to recognition.
“Hyuga-San?” His voice was soft, almost gentle.
“What are you doing here?
It’s dangerous to be out alone tonight.
Haven’t you heard?…
A dangerous thief is hiding around this area.”
Sho forced himself to stay calm.
“I have heard.
I also know who the thief is…I need to find him before others do.”
Mizuki’s expression didn’t change.
“So you know who the traitor is…what a shame, huh?.
You think you know someone but-”
“Naruto is not a traitor!” Sho exclaimed.
Mizuki’s face settled into a mask of concern.
“No, perhaps not.
But in any case, we do need to find him before something bad happens.
I’ve been searching everywhere.
I’m so worried about him.” He stepped closer, his voice dripping with false sympathy.
“Poor boy.
He must be so scared.”
Sho felt his stomach turn.
‘He’s lying.’ He could see beneath that mask.
He needed to locate Naruto before this man did.
“I’ll keep looking then,” Sho said, stepping back and prepared to turn.
“Wait.” Mizuki’s voice sharpened.
“Don’t you want to know what I found?”
Sho paused.
“What do you mean?.
You said that you didn’t kn-”
“I mean…” Mizuki’s eyes narrowed.
” I heard that you’re that demon’s only friend, aren’t you?
The only one in the academy who actually talks to him.”
Sho’s blood ran cold.
“Demon?…what are y-.”
“Don’t play dumb with me, Hyuga-San.” The false concern was gone now, replaced by something cold and predatory.
“You’ve always been close to him.
I suppose the pariah of the Hyuga clan found something in common with the pariah of the village.”
Mizuki stepped closer, and Sho instinctively stepped back.
“You are going to help me find him,” Mizuki demanded.
“You know where he is, dont you?”
[Quest Progress: Stop the Village’s Traitor]
Progress: 20%
Traitor Identified: Mizuki
The system confirmed what Sho already knew.
‘He’s the traitor.
He’s been manipulating everything.’
“I don’t know where he is,” Sho said, his voice steady despite his racing heart.
“I was looking for him just like you.”
Mizuki let out a cold laugh.
“Surely, you know more than that.
You, his only friend, have no idea where he ran off to?” He shook his head slowly.
“No, Hyuga-San.
I can tell that you are lying.
And I’m tired of playing games with children.
That scroll is my ticket out of this hellhole and to my revenge.”
He reached behind his back and pulled out a kunai, the blade gleaming in the moonlight.
“I guess I’ll have to make you talk.” His smile was predatory, hungry.
“You’re coming with me, Shokuhi.
I bet you will be useful to have a hand.”
Sho took a step back, his hands raised in a guard position.
“I won’t help you harm Naruto.”
Mizuki’s smile widened.
“We’ll see about that.”
Mizuki lunged forward.
Sho got ready to fight.
‘This is bad.
This is really bad.’
[Status Update – End of Chapter 20]
Name: Hyuga Shokuhi
Level: 5
Title: The Eclipsed Spare / The Unbreakable
Stats:
Strength: 6
Agility: 6
Vitality: 6
Perception: 6
Chakra Capacity: 7
Chakra Control: 8
Status Effects:
Chakra Vein Constriction (Mild) – Permanent
Brittle Bones (Mild) – Permanent
Byakugan Inefficiency – Permanent
Passive Skills:
Endurance: Intermediate (Level 1)
Shuriken Throw: Novice (Level 7)
Quick Learner – All skill experience gained is increased by 15%.
Active Skills:
Clone Technique: Novice (Level 7)
Transformation Technique: Novice (Level 8)
Substitution Technique: Novice (Level 8)
Gentle Fist: Novice (Level 9)
Desperate Strike
System Functions:
Inventory – 10 Slots, 50 kg
Quests Active:
Stop the Village’s Traitor
A.N: