Naruto hodgepodge

In the yard of Naruto's new home, the sun shines through the sparse clouds and onto the lush green grass. Naruto sits in front of a specially made easel, holding a paintbrush in his hand, concentrating on painting a new volume of the world of One Piece on the canvas.

At this moment, Naruto's sight inadvertently passed over the wall and fell on the neighbor's yard. He saw Sai and his brother Shinya standing in front of a huge scroll, each holding a paintbrush, painting in a way he had never seen before. Sai used a strange technique called "super beast fake painting". His brushstrokes passed through the air, and a faint ink color condensed and formed, and finally turned into lifelike beast patterns, jumping on the canvas. Shin was gently guiding him, and his smile was like the warm spring sun, making the whole picture full of harmony and warmth.

Naruto was deeply attracted by this wonderful scene. He put down his brush involuntarily, walked quietly to the wall of the courtyard, and observed more carefully. Although Sai looked cold and taciturn, whenever he was immersed in painting, his eyes seemed to twinkle with stars, revealing his infinite love and pursuit of art. And Xin always encouraged and guided Sai with his gentle voice, allowing him to bravely express his emotions and imagination.

After a long while, Naruto finally couldn't hold back his curiosity and whispered, "Sai, Shin! What are you drawing? It looks so cool!"

Sai was slightly stunned when he heard this, then turned to look at Naruto, with a barely perceptible surprise flashing across his face. Shin smiled and waved at him, motioning him to come over.

"Naruto, are you also interested in painting?" Xin asked gently.

Naruto nodded and said excitedly, "I've always loved drawing, but I've never seen anything like you guys drawing. It's amazing that you can turn objects in drawings into real things!"

"I didn't expect that Naruto also likes painting. This is called Super Beast Fake Painting. Use a pen infused with chakra to depict various animals on paper and give them moving "life." Xin said on the side. After all, the main mission of the two was to protect and befriend Naruto. Because of this mission, some of their cruel training was temporarily stopped by Danzo.

After hearing the explanation from the letter, Naruto's surprise became even greater. He widened his eyes, as if a new world had opened up. "Giving life... this is simply amazing! But the painting is a bit abstract and I don't quite understand it."

Sai was standing by, watching his brother Nobumasa patiently introducing his paintings to Naruto. His signature cool expression was still on his face, but there was a subtle emotion flashing in his eyes. He curled his lips slightly, and said to Naruto in his unique venomous way, slightly provocative: "Huh, abstract? How can you, an outsider, understand? This is called the high degree of artistic concentration, which is incomprehensible to an outsider like you."

Hearing this, Xin shook his head helplessly, patted Sai's shoulder gently, and tried to smooth things over in a gentle tone: "Sai, don't be like this. Naruto is praising your unique paintings. We all have our own way of expressing art, don't we?"

Naruto smiled and waved his hand, indicating that he didn't mind Sai's words. "It's okay, Sai's paintings are really special, I like them very much. I also want to learn this unique way of expression."

Shin smiled and nodded, looking at Naruto encouragingly, "That's great, Naruto."

Hearing this, Xin gently patted Sai's shoulder, signaling him not to say that. He turned to look at Naruto, his smile as warm as before: "Sai is like this, he says one thing and means another. In fact, he is also very happy that someone can appreciate his paintings."

Naruto smiled and shook his head, indicating that he didn't mind Sai's attitude. He knew that everyone had their own personality and way of expression, and Sai's sharp tongue might just be a way for him to protect himself.

"I really want to learn this!" Naruto said seriously, "I think it would be wonderful if I could turn the world in the painting into reality!"

Xin smiled and nodded. He took out an exquisite scroll from his arms and handed it to Naruto. "This is the basic technique of Super Beast Fake Painting and some elementary pattern drawing methods. You can take a look at it first. But be careful, using chakra to paint requires a certain amount of control and skills. Don't rush for success."

Naruto took the scroll as if he had obtained a treasure, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "Thank you, Shin-nii! I will definitely study hard!"

Sai curled his lips, and although he had some subtle emotions in his heart, he didn't say much. He knew that Naruto was their important mission target, and this common love for painting might become a special bond between them. So, he silently regarded this "same hobby" as a precious "sharing" in his heart, even though he was not very good at expressing this feeling in words.

Afterwards, the three of them sat together and began to discuss painting techniques. Shin patiently answered Naruto's questions, and although Sai didn't talk much, he would occasionally offer some unique insights. The three of them became familiar with each other while painting and chatting.

Time passed quietly, and when Naruko called Naruto back through the mind link, Naruto reluctantly said goodbye to Sai and Nobu. Naruto felt that the person who sent these two people was very good, and he got a skill for free. He began to imagine how cool it would be to draw something like a blue dragon, a white tiger, a black tortoise, and a red bird. However, the fake super beast painting involves some sealing techniques, which are not so easy to master, and still require a lot of practice.

------

In the dark night, deep in the dense forest outside Konoha Village, Mizuki and his teammates were chased by the enemy while performing a mission. Faced with the enemy's relentless pursuit, several people tried their best to escape.

A Ye accidentally stepped on a trap and fell to the ground. Shui Mu immediately ran to the side of the fallen A Ye. A Ye said in a weak and hurried voice: "Shui Mu, save me... my legs..."

He looked back at his teammates, a trace of struggle flashed in his eyes, but was immediately replaced by determination: "I'm sorry, Aye, for the mission..."

Before he finished speaking, Mizuki quickly approached Kai and covered his nose with his hand, causing him to suffocate to death. This scene was witnessed by Orochimaru, who was about to rush to the base at the edge of Konoha to test the curse seal and the Impure World Reincarnation Technique.

Orochimaru walked out from the shadows, his snake eyes flashing with a strange light: "What an unexpected decision, your name is Mizuki."

Mizuki panted and looked at Orochimaru with complicated eyes: "You...you are Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru chuckled, "Of course, and I admire your decision making. As a reward, I will grant you power."

As he spoke, Orochimaru summoned a huge python, which opened its bloody mouth and rushed straight towards Mizuki. Mizuki instinctively wanted to dodge, but the snake bit his arm accurately, and a cold force instantly surged into his body.

As the python bit, a dark curse mark slowly emerged on Shuimu's arm. It was the symbol of the earth curse mark. Shuimu felt an unprecedented power surging in his body, but it was also accompanied by severe pain and uneasiness.

Orochimaru looked at Mizuki with satisfaction: "Very good, Mizuki. This curse will give you great power, but it will also become a shackle on your heart. Remember, power always comes with a price."

Mizuki gritted his teeth, endured the pain and shouted: "No... Lord Orochimaru, don't kill me."

Orochimaru sneered: "In this world, the weak can only be dominated. Mizuki, if you want strength, come to me. This map will guide you to find more power, but the premise is that you can survive."

Orochimaru left a map and disappeared, leaving Mizuki alone to catch his breath. He looked at the curse seal on his arm, and felt a desire for power in his heart. However, Mizuki was not tempted by Orochimaru's invitation. He thought highly of himself. As a proud Chunin of Konoha, how could he follow a traitor? So he chose to ignore the desire for power and tried to treat it all as a nightmare and forget it as soon as possible.

But fate didn't seem to let him off easily. After the mission, facing the death of his teammate Aye, Mizuki lied that Aye died of a serious leg injury in order to cover up the truth of his own killing. He tried to attribute everything to nature and misfortune, but ignored the insightful eyes of the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen quickly realized that something was wrong when he checked the mission records. Based on the details of Aye's sacrifice, he found an obvious contradiction between the traces of suffocation and the leg injury. These clues were like fine needles that pierced his trust in Mizuki.

But if we look back ten years, when Konoha was still at war before White Fang died, Mizuki's mission-first behavior was a must-follow ninja code. But in recent years, with the signing of a peace agreement by the five major powers, the advent of peace and a truce with the major powers, White Fang's behavior of challenging ninja rules has gradually been recognized by more people.

Konoha usually doesn't care about the results of general missions. Preserving Konoha's strength is Sarutobi Hiruzen's current policy, so now Konoha's ninjas, including Hiruzen, recognize White Fang's concept that companions are more important than missions. And the ninja school, a place to cultivate future hopes, can't tolerate Mizuki's behavior. So, the Third Hokage did not directly question Mizuki, but silently crossed Mizuki's name off the teacher list.

When the results of the teacher assessment of the Ninja School were announced, Mizuki stared at the densely packed list on the blackboard, but he could not catch his own name while looking around, and he could not help but feel an indescribable frustration and resentment in his heart. At this moment, his plastic friendship partner, Umino Iruka, recognized his name from the list with a look of joy. The undisguised excitement, like a sharp blade, deeply hurt Mizuki's sensitive and jealous heart.

Unable to hide the turbulent waves in his heart, Mizuki finally suppressed his reluctance and turned away from the examination room expressionlessly, revealing his determination and reluctance. In his heart, he secretly vowed that for such a "vulnerable" Iruka, he could successfully obtain the teaching qualification, and he vowed to make the Hokage revoke Iruka's teaching qualification of the ninja school in the future.

In the Hokage's office, sunlight shone through the half-open window lattice, scattering on the quaint desk. Sarutobi Hiruzen was gently meeting the new teacher Iruka. With a smile on his face, he handed a heavy list to Iruka, his eyes flashing with expectation and encouragement: "Iruka, congratulations on officially becoming a teacher at the Ninja School. This is a list of students in the class you will be in charge of."

Iruka took the list and browsed through the names one by one. When his eyes fell on the names "Uzumaki Naruto" and "Uzumaki Naruko", he was slightly stunned. He remembered all the legends about Naruto. Although the current situation seemed different, the truth about the Nine-Tails was not directly exposed as in the original Naruto's rampage when he was a child, and Naruto did not attract attention with pranks like in the past, but Naruto's beard and the indescribable awe of the people around him made people vaguely feel the mysterious aura related to the "Nine-Tails" on him.

Iruka sighed softly, looked up at Sarutobi Hiruzen, and said with a hint of hesitation: "Hokage-sama, I... I'm afraid I'm not suitable to be Naruto's teacher. The Nine-Tails sealed in his body is the murderer of my parents. Although I know that Naruto himself has done nothing wrong, but when I heard this name, the Nine-Tails hidden deep in his body forcefully drilled into my mind. For someone like me, I don't think Naruto will open his heart to me."

Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes became deep. He slowly stood up, walked to the window, looked at the busy Konoha Village outside the window, and said earnestly: "Iruka, it's not that I can't understand your feelings. He is the same as you. Naruto's parents also died in the Nine-Tails Rebellion. The people in the village avoided him. The Fourth Hokage wanted the villagers to regard Naruto as a hero. With this wish, he sealed the Nine-Tails and died. Naruto needs a teacher who can guide him and understand him. Please, Iruka."

Iruka listened to Sarutobi Hiruzen's words, with mixed emotions in his heart. He recalled his lonely childhood and the three generations who gave him warmth and guidance. Gradually, the hesitation in his eyes was replaced by determination. He nodded, his voice was light but full of power: "Hokage, I understand. I will do my best to understand and help Naruto and every student in the class."

Just like that, under the illumination of the will of fire, Iruka put aside his worries and prepared to meet the challenge of being a teacher.