At first, Kakashi didn't pay much attention, assuming it was just the villagers' fear of the jinchuriki.
Naruto, of course, was long used to this kind of treatment.
Kakashi stopped at a dango stand to get a snack for both of them.
As they approached, the shop owner glanced up and immediately saw Naruto hesitating in front of the stand.
With a look of disgust, the owner waved them away like flies.
"What are you doing here, you demon fox brat? No wonder business is bad today!" the owner snapped furiously. "Get lost!"
But when he turned and saw Kakashi's cold glare, he froze.
Kakashi said nothing, but a trace of killing intent flickered in his eyes.
He'd heard about Naruto's situation before but had assumed it was just the villagers' fear of the jinchuriki's power. Seeing it firsthand, he realized Naruto had endured not just fear, but open, unfiltered malice.
"Who… who are you?" As a long-time Anbu, even a hint of Kakashi's killing intent was too much for the dango owner, who stumbled back in fear.
But when he spotted the forehead protector, he calmed down—after all, it was a hard rule in the village that ninjas couldn't attack civilians. He felt there was nothing to fear from Kakashi.
He puffed up his chest, shouting, "Are you with this demon fox brat? What are you going to do, attack a civilian?"
The commotion drew a crowd. Although most people kept their distance from Kakashi because he was a ninja, they muttered among themselves.
"Who's that?"
"Dunno. Never seen him with the demon fox brat before."
"Whatever—anyone who hangs out with that kid can't be any good."
"Shh, he's a ninja."
"So what? He wouldn't dare attack people in the village, would he?"
"Hmph, even if that damned demon fox brat has a ninja backing him, we can't be scared!"
"That's right! As long as we stick together, the Hokage will stand up for us!"
...
Kakashi heard all this, and his face grew darker. This was the Fourth Hokage's son, the boy Minato had given his life to protect in the Nine-Tails' attack, now treated like this. Thinking of how he'd neglected Naruto before, Kakashi wanted to slap himself.
"Let's go, Big Brother Kakashi," Naruto whispered, tugging at his sleeve.
Kakashi glanced at the still-yammering dango owner, then let his killing intent burst forth.
The owner, terrified, stumbled and fell on his butt.
Without another word, Kakashi took Naruto by the hand to leave.
But the owner immediately started to wail, "Help! The demon fox brat and his ninja are attacking me! Ninja bullying civilians!"
The ruckus drew even more people over.
Kakashi, surrounded by hostile eyes, drew Naruto closer.
At that moment, there was a commotion at the edge of the crowd.
"What's going on? Don't crowd together—someone could get trampled!"
It was a patrol from the Police Force. The crowd made way.
Kakashi sighed in relief—it was Uchiha Zaito, leading the patrol.
The Police Force members politely dispersed the crowd, while Zaito approached Kakashi, nodded, and then turned to the dango owner.
"What happened here?" Zaito asked seriously.
"Officer, you're just in time!" the dango owner jumped up, "Arrest this ninja! He's with the demon fox brat! And take the brat too!"
"Big Brother Kakashi didn't hit you!" Naruto protested.
"Did you hit him?" Zaito asked Kakashi.
"No," Kakashi said simply.
Zaito nodded and turned to the owner. "You claim he hit you—any evidence?"
"I—he made me fall!" the owner protested weakly.
"Let's ask around—did anyone see this ninja attack someone?" Zaito instructed his squad.
The patrol started asking, but the result was obvious: while people dared to gossip, no one would lie to the Police Force.
"Anything else to say?" Zaito smiled at the owner.
"No, nothing. Just a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding," the owner said, now deflated.
"Since it's a misunderstanding, let's talk about your illegal street vending," Zaito said. "How many times have we told you not to block the road? Seize his stall and bring him in for questioning."
At this, the owner started screaming again. "You only bully defenseless civilians because you're afraid to cross ninja! I'll report you to the Hokage!"
But the Police Force had dealt with plenty like him before. Two uniformed officers just looked at him, smiling, until he finally calmed down. Then they carted away his stall and took him in.
The crowd quickly scattered. Zaito turned to Kakashi, "Kakashi-senpai, I'm on duty, so I won't stay. If something like this happens again, just come to us."
"Understood. Thank you," Kakashi replied.