Chapter 5: Monuments and Mischief
A month had passed since the Great Academy Paint Incident, and Sora, the self-proclaimed Crimson Prankster of Konoha, had been laying low. Well, as low as a mischief-loving redhead with a mysterious pranking system could lay.
"Time to level up," Sora grinned, scrolling through his mental list of potential targets. "Genin, you're next!"
His first victim? A newly promoted genin named Jiro, known for his less-than-subtle appreciation of Jiraiya's literary "masterpieces."
"Let's see how you like this, you little perv," Sora chuckled, carefully applying a genjutsu to Jiro's prized copy of "Icha Icha Paradise."
The next day, Sora perched on a nearby rooftop, barely containing his glee as he watched Jiro settle down for some "light reading" during his lunch break.
Jiro opened his book, a lecherous grin spreading across his face. But as he turned the page, his expression morphed into one of utter confusion.
"What the...?" Jiro muttered, rubbing his eyes.
Instead of the usual scantily clad women, the pages now displayed muscular men posing in frilly lingerie. One particularly burly fellow winked at Jiro from the page, his hairy chest barely contained by a lacy pink bra.
"AAAGH!" Jiro shrieked, flinging the book away as if it had burned him. "My eyes! My beautiful, innocent eyes!"
Sora collapsed into silent giggles, watching as Jiro ran around in circles, trying desperately to unsee what he'd seen.
"Prank successful," Sora wheezed, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "Oh man, I wish I could've recorded that reaction!"
As night fell, Sora was making his way home, still chuckling about Jiro's predicament, when a flash of orange caught his eye.
"Is that... Naruto?" Sora squinted, barely making out a small figure scaling the Hokage Monument in the darkness.
Curiosity piqued, Sora decided to investigate. Using all the stealth skills he'd honed over the past months, he made his way to the monument.
"Yo! Whiskers!" Sora called out softly as he approached. "Whatcha up to?"
Naruto, halfway through painting a comically large moustache on the Second Hokage's face, nearly fell off his perch in surprise.
"Who's there?" Naruto hissed, paintbrush brandished like a weapon. "Show yourself, dattebayo!"
Sora stepped into view, hands raised in a gesture of peace. "Whoa, easy there, Picasso. I come in peace. And possibly with better art supplies."
Naruto's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Who are you? And why aren't you trying to stop me?"
"Name's Sora," the redhead grinned. "And stop you? Nah, I'm here to help. You're looking at the mastermind behind the Great Academy Paint Incident."
Naruto's jaw dropped. "That was you? That was awesome! The way Sasuke-teme ended up hanging from the ceiling... pure genius!"
Sora bowed dramatically. "Why, thank you. I do try. Now, about this masterpiece you're working on... mind if I add a few touches?"
Naruto's face split into a mischievous grin that mirrored Sora's own. "Pranking is a very complex art, you know. You sure you're up for it?"
"Oh, I think I can manage," Sora smirked, pulling out his own set of paints. "How about we make this a collaboration?"
For the next few hours, the two boys worked in gleeful harmony, transforming the solemn faces of the Hokage Monument into a riot of colour and absurdity.
The First Hokage now sported a flowing purple mohawk and a t-shirt that read "Wood Style: Grow a Sense of Humor."
The Second Hokage, in addition to his new moustache, had been given a pair of googly eyes and a speech bubble proclaiming, "Water Style: Wet T-Shirt Contest Jutsu!"
The Third Hokage's likeness now featured a bald cap and a goatee, with the words "Old Man Sarutobi's Discount Pipe Emporium" carved beneath.
But it was the Fourth Hokage that was their pièce de résistance. His stone face now bore a striking resemblance to a certain blonde prankster, complete with whisker marks and a cheeky grin. Beneath it, they had painted in large, bold letters: "FUTURE HOKAGE NARUTO WAS HERE!"
As they added the finishing touches, Sora had a brilliant (or terrible, depending on your perspective) idea.
"Hey, Naruto," he grinned, "how about we add some... clan-specific decorations?"
Naruto's eyes lit up. "Ooh, like what?"
"Well," Sora said, trying to keep a straight face, "I've heard some interesting rumours about the Hyuga clan..."
And so, as the first light of dawn began to creep over Konoha, the Hokage Monument bore one final addition: a giant, gaudy neon sign pointing at the Hyuga compound that read "BYAKUGAN PEEPERS ANONYMOUS MEETS HERE!"
As the sun rose fully, illuminating their handiwork, chaos erupted across Konoha.
In the Hyuga compound, Hiashi Hyuga's usually stoic face turned an interesting shade of purple as he stared at the defaced monument.
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" he roared, causing several branch family members to cower in fear. "WHO DARES IMPUGN THE HONOR OF THE HYUGA?"
As his rage built, a small part of Hiashi's mind couldn't help but flash to an image of his shy, gentle daughter Hinata, blushing furiously as she stared at a certain blonde troublemaker. The thought of a future where that boy might become his son-in-law made Hiashi's eye twitch uncontrollably.
"No," he muttered, shaking his head violently. "I refuse to accept such a possibility. NEVER!"
Meanwhile, in the Inuzuka compound, Tsume Inuzuka was howling with laughter at the sight of the Inuzuka clan symbol reimagined as a chihuahua in a tutu.
"Oh, this is too good," she wheezed, leaning on her nin-dog for support. "Kiba! Get out here and see this!"
Across the village, similar scenes of outrage, amusement, and disbelief played out as each clan discovered their new "improvements" on their clan walls or on the Hokage monument.
The Aburame clan symbol now featured cartoon bugs wearing sunglasses and carrying tiny "Bug Rights Now!" protest signs.
The Yamanaka flower shop logo had been replaced with a daisy wearing a blonde wig and thought bubble reading "Mind Transfer Jutsu: Because who doesn't want to be me?"
Even the Uchiha clan hadn't been spared. Their fan symbol now resembled a handheld fan with "Cool Story, Bro" written across it.
As ANBU scrambled to clean up the monument and track down the culprits, two boys sat atop the Hokage Tower, admiring their work.
"I wish we had set up some camera to record all clan head's reaction," Sora said, munching on a victory Dango
Naruto nodded enthusiastically, his face split into a massive grin. "Let's do that next time, Believe it!"
As they fist-bumped, neither boy noticed the amused gaze of the Third Hokage watching them from his office window.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, a mix of exasperation and fondness in his eyes. "Minato, Kushina," he murmured, "your son has found quite the accomplice. I fear Konoha may never know peace again."
He turned to his ANBU guard. "Double the patrols around the monument. And perhaps... invest in some prank-proof paint."
As the sun climbed higher in the sky, bathing the colourful monument in its warm light, one thing was certain: life in Konoha was about to get a whole lot more interesting. And a whole lot more colourful.