The scene was... bizarre. Nothing about it made sense.
Just as panic gripped Konoha and its ninja prepared to sacrifice everything to stop the Nine-Tails' rampage, just as villagers scrambled to evacuate... the beast inexplicably calmed.
Jiraiya watched as Naruto's small figure became visible again. He pressed a hand to his shoulder, which had been grazed by the raw chakra, and finally let out a sigh of relief.
But the boy, Naruto, just stood there with a lost look on his face, oblivious to the people gathering around him. He looked completely desolate, as if he'd lost something precious.
But the fear of the Konoha ninja quickly turned to anger. They didn't care what expression Naruto wore; their eyes were filled with annoyance and rage.
This brat… and the Nine-Tails sealed inside him… had once again brought disaster to their doorstep.
Even though the rampage had stopped on its own, it had been a terrifying reminder of what lay dormant in the village. This wasn't some harmless prank like painting the Hokage Rock. A single misstep could have led to catastrophic losses, a repeat of the nightmare from twelve years ago. No one wanted to live through that again.
The ninja surrounding Naruto didn't dare move closer or question him, afraid of triggering another outburst. Their faces were masks of fury, but they remained silent.
This child, they thought, is a menace to this village.
They weren't the only ones watching.
From a hidden vantage point, Kabuto Yakushi clicked his tongue in disappointment as the Nine-Tails' chakra vanished. "It just subsided like that?" he muttered, a hint of regret in his voice.
"Your little scheme failed," Iruka Umino said, breathing a sigh of relief. He didn't even care that his life was still in Kabuto's hands. The end of the Nine-Tails' attack was all that mattered.
"Did it?" A smirk spread across Kabuto's face, his disappointment gone in a flash.
He held up a mask he'd acquired. "It doesn't matter anymore. It's a shame we didn't get to kill the Third Hokage and the Sannin, but we did get our hands on the greatest treasure the Uzumaki clan ever left in this village."
"You!" Iruka's eyes widened with worry as he stared at the mask.
What was it? What could it do?
"Just wait," Kabuto said, his voice fading as his form began to dissolve. "Wait for word from Lord Orochimaru. Your luck has run out."
His final words echoed as he disappeared completely: "When Lord Orochimaru returns, we will rule Konoha with the reanimated bodies of the past Hokage!"
"Rule Konoha..." Iruka's brow furrowed. He was just a chunin, a teacher. He had to report this to the Third Hokage.
No, wait... I'm a teacher.
Then it hit him. Naruto. His student. He imagined the blame, the hatred Naruto was about to face because of this.
Forgetting the pain in his leg, Iruka broke into a desperate run toward the scene. The village had always kept the truth about Naruto being the Nine-Tails' vessel a secret, but after tonight, the boy would surely know.
That kid... he's been misunderstood his whole life, Iruka thought frantically. Is everyone going to misunderstand him again?
Thankfully, he wasn't far. Kabuto had been observing from a spot close to the action. When Iruka arrived, the crowd of ninja was still there, their angry muttering about the Nine-Tails growing louder.
Hiruzen was there too, but he was occupied. A certain reanimated guest was in a deep conversation with him, and the guest's status was so high that even the Hokage couldn't simply walk away. Hiruzen felt completely stuck.
In the center of it all stood Naruto, small and dejected. The familiar whispers and accusations started immediately, a wave of pointing fingers and angry curses washing over him. His eyes filled with sadness and confusion.
"That brat is a disaster!"
"They should have killed him years ago!"
"We can't let this happen again! It's too dangerous!"
"He can't be a ninja! Take his headband and lock him up where he can't hurt anyone!"
"A demon fox will always be a demon fox..."
"He's not human. He'll do it again, sooner or later..."
Gossip. Reprimands. Slander.
This was the soundtrack to Naruto's entire twelve years of life. He'd endured it a thousand times. He'd even hated his own father for a time, blaming him for this cursed existence.
But just moments ago, when he was on the verge of being consumed by the Nine-Tails' hatred, he had reached for the seal... and met his father, Minato Namikaze, on the other side.
It was just a remnant of Minato's chakra, but it was him.
Naruto had been furious, wanting to scream twelve years of pain and anger at the man who had done this to him. But Minato's calm comfort had soothed him. He had promised his father he would face any hardship, that he would work to become Hokage and earn everyone's true recognition.
It felt good, didn't it?
On the day he graduated, he'd met his father and learned about the love his parents had for him.
But this road... it was so, so hard.
The curses grew louder, and Naruto's vision blurred with tears. Having to keep living like this... it was just so hard. The hope he'd felt just moments ago only made the current pain feel so much sharper.
"That kid..." Tsunade said, her eyes fixed on Naruto.
"This is something he has to go through," Jiraiya replied, his voice heavy. He had always known about the village's hatred for Naruto, and he believed this was a trial the boy had to overcome. It was the path of a jinchuriki.
They were outcasts in every village, and they had to find their own way through the thorns, to earn people's respect on their own terms.
As a teacher, Jiraiya was clear on his role. He had to teach Naruto to grow up fast, to face this world, and to break free from the label of "jinchuriki."
"A true ninja," Jiraiya explained, his eyes fixed on Naruto, "is someone who endures."
Tsunade's expression hardened.
But before anyone else could speak, Iruka Umino burst through the crowd, his face flushed with anger. His shout cut through the hateful murmurs.
"SHUT UP!"
"All of you, just stop it!"
"Naruto is not the demon fox! And none of this was his fault!"
The crowd fell silent, stunned. It was as if a traitor had appeared in their midst.
What is this guy talking about?
Did he already forget the rampage that just happened?
"Iruka... sensei?" Naruto looked up, astonished. He was so surprised he forgot to wipe the tears from his face.
"Iruka..." Jiraiya frowned for a moment, then relaxed. He understood what Iruka was trying to do. But it was pointless. People's prejudice against a jinchuriki couldn't be erased by one person's speech. No matter what this chunin teacher said, it wouldn't change their minds.
This is something the kid has to solve himself.
Iruka, however, didn't seem to care. He focused on the one thing he could do. He crouched down in front of Naruto, gently wiping the tears from his student's cheeks with a small smile. "Don't cry, Naruto. What happened today wasn't your fault."
"All this time..." Iruka's own eyes turned red. He placed a hand on the boy's forehead, and his own tears now fell freely. "All this time... we were the ones who were wrong."