Naruto:The Yajuu Sannin

He was about to begin work on it, but his eyes continued wandering the page until it stopped on the next entry. It was a seal that practically screamed at him. It looked so familiar that Naruto felt his face pale when he finally recognized what it was.

While the shape of the formula and key parts were different, it was the jutsu formula for the project he had been working on in private for three years. He bit his lip as he looked between the two goldmines that he had discovered. Here was a treasure trove of information that could potentially finally help him master his secret technique without all of the negative side affects, but Naruto wasn't stupid. It had taken him three years to get where he was with the technique, and Mizuki-sensei said he had to master one by the end of the night.

Making up his mind; he pulled out a scroll and ink as he began making a copy seal to record all of the information regarding his project. As he was about to place it on top of the scroll, he faltered. He quickly unfurled the entire scroll and skimmed his eyes across the bottom of the page and a wave of relief swam over him as he did.

Always check for an anti-theft seal. If he had placed the copy seal, all of the contents of the forbidden scroll would have been wiped clean, and he knew jiji would have been furious if that happened.

Slightly altering the contents of his copy seal, he held it over the section regarding the teleportation technique and poured chakra into his scroll. With a flash of light, a copy image was now safely within his own scroll. 'Photo seal complete.'

Ensuring that it was safely secure in his bag, he returned his attention back to the kage bunshin and got to work.

"I want every available off-duty jounin out there searching for Naruto. We cannot allow that scroll to be lost or stolen. Am I understood?"

"YES SIR!" an echoed cry responded to the Hokage.

The old man was deeply concerned as he could only wait for one of his subordinates to return with some news. As soon as the kage had regained consciousness, Kitsune had sped off in pursuit of the orange-clad boy. His aura promised a world of pain.

Of course, Hiruzen was worried about the boy's well being, but the leader side of him was more concerned about the contents of the scroll. It would be a disaster if a scroll listing many of the Nidaime's forbidden jutsu were to fall into enemy hands. Especially when the scroll contained two jutsu that the professor considered as the most deadly in all of Konoha's records. The Hiraishin and Edo Tensei were two of the deadliest jutsu ever created, and the details of how to perform them now were in the hands of an impulsive young boy being led into some kind of trap.

(Hours later)

It had taken him some time, but he had finally caught onto the boys scent. About five minutes ago, he had been following a barely noticeable track, until the boy's chakra signature lit up like a flare in the sky.

When he finally arrived in the clearing, he came across the young boy in the deep embrace of Iruka Umino sobbing with happiness into his flack jacket. He noted the lack of a hitai-ate on the older boy's forehead and put two-and-two together. He glanced over at the twitching form of the other academy instructor Mizuki. The man was beaten to a pulp and required medical attention, but he would certainly live. Kitsune sniffed at the air. It was heavy with the distinctive smell that a kage bunshin's cloud created. Piecing the picture together, Kitsune dropped to the floor and hung the forbidden scroll across his back. After the target was secure, he began making his way towards the duo.

Naruto smiled and ran up to him, only to be met with a forceful open palm to the throat. Ignoring the boy's sputtering and spasms of pain, he knelt before the chunin still leaning against the tree.

"You are injured Iruka-san. Do you require immediate medical attention?"

The man shook his head as he leaned forward showing his injury. "Windmill shuriken to my back, but it managed to miss my spine. The flack jacket absorbed most of the damage."

Kitsune nodded and began helping the man to his feet. He then turned his attention back to the boy who had finally regained his ability to speak. The blonde boy was about to speak up, when he was met with an icy glare and a more than uncomfortable amount of killing intent.

"And just what did you think you were doing?"

"But Mizuki-teme said-"

"I realize what happened. I can piece the picture together. What I can't understand is how you could be so stupid as to not realize that something was wrong. Did you not think that it was somewhat suspicious to steal one of the most heavily guarded scrolls in all of Konoha? Or did you not think something was wrong when I decided to attack you?"

The blonde boy took a step back under the heavy scrutiny. "I get that you're mad but-"

"I'm not mad," the older boy cut him off, "I'm disappointed."

This shut the boy up as he held his head down in shame. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Don't be sorry. Be smarter."

A few seconds went by, before the blonde felt the familiar touch of the older boy's hand on his head. He looked up and met the older boy's eyes. He noticed that their coldness had faded away.

"I expect more from a fellow shinobi of the leaf," he said as he tapped the forehead protector on top of Naruto's head. The boy was shocked as more tears threatened to fall from his face. He held his head high and vigorously nodded.