| abstract
| - After Naruto defeated Pain, Iruka, along with Suzume and Daikoku Funeno approach the ruins of the Academy to salvage things for class. They split up and Iruka sees the destroyed academy, remembering when he began as a teacher and the day Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned Naruto Uzumaki to his class. Though he refused at first, due to Naruto being the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails, Iruka accepts. The next day, Naruto pulls a prank on Iruka but instead of scolding him, Iruka tells Naruto sit in his seat, remembering the advice given to him from Daikoku. When seeing Naruto being bullied by the other students because of his failed attempts to be better than Sasuke, Iruka tells them not to bother a kid like him. The next day, Naruto learns that Sasuke is the only surviving member of the Uchiha clan. After class, Naruto wants to join Hibachi and his friends in their "test of courage" though Hibachi tells him to not follow them. Naruto pranks them later in the night by dressing up as a fox demon. Hearing them say they saw a fox demon, Iruka runs to the Konoha grave site and learns it's Naruto. Recognising Iruka's glare as the same one everyone else in the village gives him, Naruto runs off with the intent not to return to the Academy again. The next day, with Naruto is absent in class and denied to be seen by the Third Hokage, Iruka sits in the park where he meets Kakashi Hatake and discusses his issues of being Naruto's teacher. Kakashi remembers when after his mission with him, Iruka decides to become an instructor at the Academy to pass the Will of Fire to the next generation. Hibachi and his friends decide to let Naruto in their group if he would do their test of courage. Hibachi was told by his father that in the hills, there are corpses left by enemy ninja. Naruto agrees to get an item from a corpse in the hills. Hibachi tells his friends that there are still enemy ninja in the hills after Naruto left. When Iruka sees that Naruto is absent in class, Hibachi says he hasn't seen him, but Shikamaru Nara, having heard of his trick, tells Iruka who runs out the classroom to find Naruto. Remembering Suzume telling him of the enemy ninja, Iruka tries to find Naruto before the enemy ninja find him. Elsewhere, Kakashi hears from Shikamaru and Chōji that Iruka went to look for Naruto in the hills. Iruka finds Naruto and tries to get him to go back to the Academy, but Naruto refuses and tells him that he doesn't understand him. Naruto uses his Sexy Technique to escape Iruka before finding a kunai with a paper on it. Three enemy kunoichi approach Naruto, demanding that he gives them the kunai but he refuses, having them resort to get it by force. Finding his Sexy Technique useless on women, Naruto flees before running into Iruka as he protects the boy while evading the kunoichi until Kakashi arrives and easily defeats the female ninja. Iruka gives the Third Hokage the paper that was hidden on the kunai that Naruto found. Iruka then thanks Hiruzen for making him Naruto's teacher which made him remember why he became a teacher. Now being strict with Naruto to keep him from getting into trouble, Iruka's after class lecture on the Will of Fire gave Naruto his aspirations to become the next Hokage someday so everyone would respect and look up to him.
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