Konoha Library
Naruto was sitting at the table, with a hint of anticipation on his face as the book on Jinchūriki lay right in front of him.
When he first arrived at the library, he honestly thought finding anything on Jinchūriki would be impossible.
He had tried before, but found nothing at that time.
Maybe he just didn't check high enough last time.Because there it was now, quietly sitting on an upper shelf.
"Okay, now let's read," Naruto muttered, eager to learn more about Jinchūriki after seeing Gaara.
He opened the book and began reading.
But his happiness didn't last long.Because the more he read about Jinchūriki, the deeper his brows furrowed.
He really had a bad promotion reading midway as he read about how Jinchūriki were treated in their respective villages and what were their traits.
He felt it was too much similar to how he was living and how his childhood was even their ability traits remains the same for him
Most Jinchūriki had unnaturally large chakra reserves and rapid healing.
Although he didn't know exactly how big his chakra pool was, but one thing was certain
He healed fast.
Way faster than others.
He remembered how quickly his injuries disappeared after the fight in the Land of Waves.
"Wait...am I a Jinchūriki...?" The thought alone made Naruto's heart skip a beat.
But the more he thought about it, the more it started to make sense.
He even recalled meeting the Nine-Tails in a strange space once.
At the time, he thought it was just a dream.
But now…?
Now it didn't feel like one at all.
All of these points were pointing in one direction only... that he was a Jinchūriki.
At this moment, Naruto finally realized something — why everybody hated him and treated him like that.
It was all because he was a Jinchūriki.
Until now, he had believed he was the demon fox everyone whispered about.
But now...
Now he understood
Naruto sat there, staring at the book he had just read, clutching its edges tightly
Everything suddenly made sense
The cold shoulders he had received since childhood,The looks of disgust from everyone…
"So… that's why."
He stayed silent, overwhelmed by the emotions flooding his mind.
But along with this realization, something else welled up from his heart.... anger.
"They all knew… every single one of them knew…"
He felt deeply betrayed as he realized they had all known — the Hokage, the villagers, his teachers… even Iruka.The one he had trusted more than anyone else.
All of them knew what he was, yet no one had ever told him.
'Why… why are they hating me then? Shouldn't they hate what's inside me? Why hate me?'
Naruto truly couldn't fathom why people hated him.
He had never done anything wrong, yet they still looked at him like that.He was really trying to control his anger at that moment.
"I didn't ask for this…"
Tears burned at the corners of his eyes, just one shy step away from falling.
"I didn't want this…"
All he had ever wanted… was a normal life.
A place where he wasn't invisible.
Where someone...anyone saw him.
But right now, he just felt hollow.
He broke down, sitting alone in the corner of the library, tears flowing down his cheeks.
He truly felt pain and helplessness at that point, it wasn't his fault at all.
He sat there for hours, sobbing, before finally calming down a little.His eyes were still red from crying. Wiping his face, Naruto gave a helpless smile.
Crying wouldn't get him anywhere.
At least now he knew why people treated him the way they did.
Looking at the book again, he decided to at least finish it before heading out.
He needed to know as much as he could about Jinchūriki, now that he knew he was one himself — even if it hurt him.
But to his horror, when he had just started the next part, the information clearly shook his mind even more.
Even his hands, which he was using to hold the book, were trembling, as he had just guessed something even more terrifying than what he had previously read.
Uzumaki Kushina was the only Uzumaki in the Konoha village after Mito Uzumaki died and became the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki.
'No… no, please… anything but this…'
Naruto was mentally screaming for his assumption not to be true, the one he had come across while reading just now.
But all the facts were right in front of him.
Even if he wanted to guess something else, he couldn't.
And the breaking point came when he learned the date of the Nine-Tails' rebellion — October 10.
It was the same as his birthday.
Danzo had given all of this information. Knowing Naruto's intelligence, he had added additional details so Naruto could easily guess his identity as a Jinchūriki.
He had even included the date of the Nine-Tails' rampage so Naruto would surely realize he was the Jinchūriki.
It was important for his plans and also because he knew that if he had given only shallow clues, Naruto might not be able to guess.
Danzo's plan was nearly perfect.
But he had severely underestimated Naruto's intelligence.Even if fraction of this information had been given, Naruto would have easily guessed the whole situation.
And with this much information, he didn't even have to rack his brain — he knew all of it was true, as everything else aligned perfectly.
"So… I do have parents."
Naruto had moist eyes, That single word parents...had always felt like a fairy tale to him.
it calmed down his raging heart for a few moments, he finally knew he had parents.
But they both died before he could even meet them, which hurt his heart even more.
As he recalled Kushina's face and Minato's, he now understood why they had felt so familiar when he read information about the Fourth Hokage.
Inside the Eight Trigrams Seal
Kurama opened one of his eyes lazily as he sensed the seal weakening again.
"…Again?" he muttered, his deep voice laced with irritation. "What the hell is going on out there lately?"
But then, a dark smirk crept into his voice
"Heh… not that I'm complaining. Every time this seal weakens, it takes permanent damage… and that's just fine by me."
With a low grunt of satisfaction, Kurama closed his eyes again, but some of his residual chakra was already moving in Naruto's direction.
Clank!
The familiar, cold sound of the adamantine chains echoed.
"…"
Hearing the chains again, Kurama had really had enough of this Damn Chains.
"Do you really think I'm weak just because I'm inside a seal? Do you?" Kurama said arrogantly.
The chains tried to suppress Kurama the moment they entered, but this time with the seal greatly weakened, Kurama had regained much more control over his chakra.
At this moment, the adamantine chains were unable to fully suppress Kurama — they were at a stalemate.
Neither side was gaining any advantage over the other.
"Soon…"Kurama's eyes grew bloodier as he spoke."Very soon. I want to see just how many more times you can keep me down."
Even though the adamantine chains held an advantage over him, that was only when the seal was fully stable — not in situations like this.
Not when the seal was weaker. Now, he could finally assert his dominance.
But still, the seal wasn't yet weak enough for him to manipulate Naruto into tearing off the talisman.
So, he calmed down a bit and lay back again, letting the adamantine chains suppress him and his chakra.
While he was thinking about something...
Outside
The wind howled through the streets of Konoha, rattling windows and rustling trees as thick clouds rolled across the sky.
The once-clear blue had faded, swallowed by a looming darkness that spread overhead like a blanket.
Just moments away from the rain pouring down.
Naruto walked silently on the road, heading toward the Hokage building. He had a question he wanted to ask the Third Hokage.
Then Suddenly, he felt something moist on his cheek.
At first, he thought it was a tear, but then another drop fell… and then another.
He wasn't crying it was rain all along.
The rain began to pour slowly at first, then faster. Before long, it was coming down hard.
His hair clung to his forehead, and his clothes were soaked within seconds. But Naruto didn't move.
He just stood there, letting the rain fall on him with his eyes closed.
At that moment, nobody knew whether he was crying… or if it was just the rain pouring on him.
Naruto had learned a lot from the library even the ninja code of conduct and the rules that were followed by everyone in the village.
His Jinchūriki status might have been one of those rules the village had set… a rule to not to be discussed.
Although he understood the literal meaning now, he was still heartbroken...why hadn't anyone told him?
But even now, after knowing all of this, his heart still couldn't bring itself to feel any hatred toward Iruka or anyone else. He didn't know why
It felt like a curse to him...he really wanted to hate them, but couldn't, knowing what the Nine-Tails had done to them.
Because deep down, he understood.
They weren't angry at him. They were angry at the Nine-Tails. And as its vessel, he became their outlet. The face they blamed.
He was never treated like a boy. Only a container
the village he once wanted to belong to, felt more like a cage.
Although he was alive there, he wasn't truly living. He was only surviving thanks to the few people who truly saw him as a person.
But in the Land of Waves… he had tasted something different.
Freedom.
where nobody looked at him with scorn or hatred and they treated him like a normal human being.
That gave rise to a new feeling within him… the desire to break free.
To break free from the cage itself.
He took a deep breath and walked toward the Hokage Tower with brisk steps.
Hokage Tower
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, sat at his desk, buried beneath piles of paperwork.
With shinobi from various villages arriving for the upcoming Chūnin Exams, his workload had nearly doubled.
Between security concerns and the arrangements needed to host the event, the day had been long and draining.
Just then, an ANBU appeared beside him and knelt.
"Lord Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki is on his way to the office."
Hiruzen exhaled deeply, rubbing his temples. "Let him in."
Moments later, Naruto entered completely soaked from the rain.
His hair clung to his forehead, and his clothes dripped water onto the floor.
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes slightly. There was something off about the boy today.
"Naruto… what happened?" he asked, setting his pipe aside.
"Hey, old man. Tell me something."
"What is it?"
"Tell me about them. My parents. Who were they?"
The room went still.
Hiruzen leaned back in his chair and reached for his pipe, taking a slow puff before answering.
"Naruto, I've told you before… there's no point in asking questions like that."
"Why not?" Naruto pressed. "Why is there no point? I want to know."
"Because knowing won't change anything. It won't bring back the dead."
A moment of silence passed between them, heavy but not unfamiliar.
Then Hiruzen continued, his tone calm but firm.
"You should focus on what's ahead. The Chūnin Exams are coming up soon, and I expect Kakashi will enter your team.
Put your energy into training not chasing answers from the past."
Naruto didn't respond. He simply turned and walked out, his wet footsteps echoing faintly in the room.
As the door shut behind him, Hiruzen's expression darkened slightly. He called for an ANBU once more.