Burning Cherry Blossoms

By

Ragnorokrising

--

Prologue

Naruto wiped the sweat from his forehead as the last Shadow Clone disappeared. "That's one cool jutsu! Wonder what else is in here." he pulled more of the scroll out and found a seal. Written on it were six surprising words:

Do not unseal unless Naruto Uzumaki

"What's my name doing in the forbidden scroll?" Naruto said. He recalled Iruka's lessons on seals, the only ones he listened to, and sliced his finger open. He wiped his blood on the seal and jumped back when a blast of smoke exploded from the paper. When it disappeared, a sword and a scroll were lying on the paper. Naruto grabbed the sword and turned it over in his hands.

"Naruto, where are you?" Naruto turned towards Iruka's voice. The sword and scroll could wait. He strapped the sword to his back and put the scroll in his kunai pouch. Then Iruka came into the clearing.

"Iruka-sensei, I did it! I learned a technique from the scroll! Now you can pass me!"

"Naruto, what are you talking about?"

"He's talking about the mission I gave him." Iruka and Naruto turned in the direction of the new voice. Mizuki smiled down evilly at them.

"Mizuki, you did this?"

"Oh don't act so surprise Iruka." he pulled the giant shuriken off his back. "I was going to kill Naruto and take the scroll, but I guess I get to kill as a bonus."

"Iruka-sensei, what's going on?" asked Naruto.

"Don't worry about it, just run." Iruka yelled. Mizuki smirked.

"Hey Naruto, would you like to know why everyone in the village hates you?"

"Mizuki no! It's forbidden to tell Naruto!" Iruka yelled, but Mizuki ignored him.

"It's because twelve years ago, the fourth Hokage didn't kill the nine-tailed fox, he gave up his life to seal it into you. You are the nine-tailed fox! And now I'm going to finish what he started!" he tossed the giant shuriken straight at Naruto, who was too stunned to move.

Blood splashed onto Naruto's face. He looked up in surprise.

Iruka had taken the giant shuriken in the back to protect Naruto. "Naruto, take the scroll and run." Naruto backed away. He grabbed the scroll and ran through the trees.

"Ha, like you could lose me so easily!" Mizuki yelled. Iruka struggled to his feet and threw several smoke pellets down as he ran. Mizuki rolled his eyes and jumped after him.

Naruto kept his steady pace even thought it was exhausting him quickly. He ducked as one of Mizuki's shuriken hit the tree by his head.

"Naruto, give me the scroll! I can run faster!" Naruto saw Iruka standing a few feet away. He tossed the scroll to him. "Got'cha Kyuubi!" he said. In a puff of smoke, he became Mizuki.

"Actually, I got you." Naruto said with a smirk as a sizzling sound filled Mizuki's ears. He threw the scroll as high into the air as he could. It turned into a log with hundreds of exploding tags on it. A giant explosion rocked the trees.

"How'd you know I wasn't the real Iruka?!"

"Because, I'm the real Iruka." Naruto turned into a smiling Iruka, who turned and fled. A few feet away, Naruto hid.

'Is what Mizuki says true? Am I the nine-tailed fox? Am the Kyuubi that killed so many?'

"Trust em kid, you're nothing like that over grown fur ball." someone said.

"Who said that?"

"It was me, the weapon on your back." Naruto grabbed the sword handle and pulled the blade out. A faint pink outline surrounded it.

"Is this... magic?"

"Hardly. I am a zanpakutou. If you'd read the damn scroll like you were suppose to, you would know this."

"I was kind preoccupied by the giant shuriken flying towards me."

"Like I haven't heard that one before. Look, the point is, that Mizuki guy is gonna kill you. And since I'm only alive as long as you are, I have to keep you alive. So do exactly as I say. I'm only going to allow this once."

Mizuki and Iruka stared each other down in a clearing, both preparing to kill the other.

"Hey Mizuki, up here." standing on a branch was none other then Naruto. The sword was still glowing in his hand.

"Ah, the mighty Kyuubi." he said. He spun the last giant shuriken on his finger until it was a buzz saw. He pulled it back and started to throw it when Naruto moved his fingers into a hand sign.

"You hurt Iruka-sensei. Now I'm gonna have to kill you." a blast of chakra filled the clearing, highlighting Naruto in dark pink. One thousand copies of Naruto formed around them, in the trees, on the ground, and some in the air. The all raised their swords so they were vertical in front of their faces.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura," they said as one. The swords dissolved into pink cherry blossoms. Mizuki saw them and burst out laughing.

"What are you going to do, drown me in cherry blossoms?" up in the trees, a lone man stared in amazement. His single eye was wide in surprise.

'That's the sword sensei couldn't get to work. How can his kid do it?'

"Naruto One Million Cherry Blossom Barrage!" the cherry blossoms started to swirl around the clearing. All the trees they touched were cut apart. Then they spread into twenty small liens and shot towards Mizuki.

The screaming lasted three full seconds, then what was left of Mizuki was dead.

A/N: So I got this idea and I thought you guys might like it. Tell me what you think.