Little Naruto walked home confidently, still surrounded by indifferent and disgusted gazes. The Village's malice had not diminished in the slightest; in fact, it had intensified.
However, no one dared to gather and whisper or curse him with malicious words anymore. This was because, unlike before, the malice they held towards him stemmed more from fear.
Everyone avoided him like Sasori.
As the saying goes, good news travels slowly, but bad news spreads fast.
Konoha was, after all, a Village. What had happened that morning was already known throughout most of the Village by the afternoon. It was only because of the ban issued by Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, and the fact that the Wave Country Police Department had actually arrested people, that everyone dared not speak out, despite their anger.
This made Naruto feel an unprecedented sense of clarity. This was how it should be; he was a Nine-Tailed Fox after all.
It was normal for them to be afraid. Constantly bullying and cursing him was simply an inversion of the natural order.
With his hands in his pockets and a gentle smile on his face, he strolled through the streets of Konoha as if he were in his own living room. After all, no one dared to approach him, and everyone would make way for him from a distance upon seeing him.
And no matter where he went, that place would instantly fall silent upon his arrival, the birds hushed. Only after he had left some distance would they dare to quietly mutter curses.
Even the stray dogs in the street corners, sensing the aura of Nine-Tailed Beast Chakra from Naruto from afar, ran away, disappearing without a trace. It could be said that he perfectly demonstrated being disliked by both humans and dogs.
Since that was the case, Naruto was in no hurry to go home.
Naruto spent the entire afternoon wandering around Konoha. He went wherever it was lively, and if a shop showed the most intense malice towards him, he would go directly into that shop, touching things here and looking there. In one afternoon, several shops nearly went out of business.
However, there were a few tough ones who directly cursed at him, with all sorts of vicious curses emerging endlessly.
Then Naruto watched with a look of regret as they were taken away by the Wave Country Police Department for a 'chat'.
This feeling of them being annoyed with him but unable to do anything, and having to go to jail if they cursed him, undoubtedly made Naruto feel even more pleased.
"You little brat, do you really enjoy such a boring game?"
Finally, Kurama, who was lying in the Sealed Space, couldn't hold back anymore.
Naruto was a little surprised and responded in his mind.
"Kurama, aren't you angry anymore?"
Naruto's words made Kurama feel stifled again, and he snorted coldly.
"Hmph, even if I'm angry, can you come in and let me beat you up?"
"Haha, I'll come find you for a fight after I improve my strength next time." Naruto said carelessly.
"Hmph!" Kurama didn't want to get tangled up with Naruto on this topic. After more than a year of getting along, he had long discovered that this little blond brat, Naruto, didn't know what 'face' was at all.
He then said disdainfully, "Is this how you get revenge on Konoha?"
"Well, there's nothing else I can do. I can't do bad things in broad daylight, can I?" Naruto felt a bit helpless in his heart, then a lot of evil thoughts sprouted, and he said sinisterly, "No matter how urgent, I have to wait until night, right?"
"…"
Kurama fell silent. He suddenly realized that the already dim Sealed Space had become even deeper, and even the sealed gate, those individual bars, were stained with dark patterns.
He realized why his Chakra hadn't made this brat lose control. What effect could a drop of sewage have when it falls into an inkwell, other than a ripple?
After obtaining those eyes, Naruto's malice had no more shackles.
— —
Dusk is the boundary between day and night, also known as the hour of twilight.
After a day of wandering, though Naruto still had plenty of energy, the smell of cooking from the buildings on both sides of the street made him feel a bit hungry.
In a corner of the commercial street, Naruto looked at the storefront in front of him, feeling a little hesitant, unsure whether to go in or not.
At the entrance of the shop, the red and white sign was particularly eye-catching, with the bold characters "Ichiraku Ramen" written on it. The steam rising from the ramen wafted through the gaps in the curtain, drawing the footsteps of passersby.
After a moment of hesitation, Naruto pulled open the two curtains and walked in.
Inside the shop, there was only a long counter for customers to eat at. At this moment, two people were already sitting at the counter, one on the left and one on the right, and a man and a woman were busy on the other side of the counter.
Ayame, who had worked with her father for many years, immediately noticed another customer entering. She immediately stopped her work and showed a friendly smile.
"Welcome, may I… Naruto!" Ayame's expression first froze for a moment, then quickly turned to surprise.
"Naruto, you little brat, where have you been all year? We were very worried about you."
Ayame's expression became serious again, looking at Naruto with a look of an older sister worrying about her younger brother.
"Oh, it really is Naruto. You haven't been here for over a year, and my ramen shop has a lot of new items."
Teuchi Ichiraku also turned his head upon hearing the voice and greeted him with a smile.
"Haha, I've been training outside all year, and I just got back today. Teuchi Uncle's new items, I'm going to try them all today."
Naruto laughed and scratched his head. This was one of the rare times he showed a genuine smile to outsiders.
Sure enough, Teuchi Uncle and Ayame Miss didn't bear any malice towards him, even after what happened today.
This could be considered one of his few safe havens in Konoha. However, the malice that suddenly intensified in the shop upon his arrival still made him feel a bit uncomfortable.
He frowned and chose to sit near the other person. Strange, this person didn't have any malice either.
Naruto looked over curiously: a distinctive silver hair, a forehead protector covering his eyes, a mask covering half his face, and a small, coverless notebook.
Kakashi Hatake!
Naruto hadn't expected to meet him here, but he didn't think much of it and sat down next to him as if nothing had happened.
Kakashi Hatake had only glanced at Naruto when he entered. His lifeless eyes had only flickered for a moment before returning to their usual stillness.
"Speaking of which, Naruto has grown a lot this past year. He used to not even be as tall as this counter, hahaha."
Ayame, who was preparing bowls and chopsticks for Naruto, laughed.
"Really?" Naruto also stood up and compared himself again. He was indeed half a head taller than the counter.
However, this was normal. For more than a year, he had been eating various wild foods outside, all high-protein, high-nutrition items, plus the aid of Chakra, he had indeed grown a lot taller.
"It might be because of my training." Naruto explained with a smile, then put on a show-off demeanor and said,
"Ayame Sister, I've already learned Ninjutsu now."
"Ninjutsu? Naruto is amazing."
Ayame's eyes sparkled with admiration. She and her father had run a ramen shop in Konoha for over a decade, so she naturally knew how impressive it was to know Ninjutsu at six years old.
"Speaking of which, didn't Kakashi Lord also learn Ninjutsu at six?"
Ayame suddenly started talking to Kakashi next to her, probably because she didn't feel any hostility towards Naruto from him, so she wanted to introduce the two of them. Geniuses probably had more common topics.
Kakashi's hand, holding the book, instinctively tightened a bit. After a moment of hesitation, he still nodded slightly.
Naruto put on an exaggerated, comical expression and exclaimed, "Eh—this One-Eyed Uncle is as amazing as I am?"
One-Eyed Uncle…
Kakashi's dead fish eyes couldn't help but roll upwards. He didn't respond at all.
The teacher's child, his personality is really completely different from the teacher's.
The atmosphere suddenly became a bit silent, and Ayame, who had started the conversation, also felt a little awkward and changed the subject.
"Naruto, are you ending your training now because you're going to enroll in the Ninja Academy?"
"Mm." Naruto nodded happily, not at all affected by Kakashi's disregard.
Ayame's eyes showed relief: "Since you're going to school, you'll definitely be able to make more friends."
"I will definitely…"
"Bang!"
A loud noise suddenly interrupted Naruto's unfinished sentence. Ayame was also startled, realizing that the customer next to them had finished their ramen, stood up, and slammed their chopsticks forcefully on the table.
Ayame quickly stepped forward with a polite expression and asked, "Customer, was the ramen not to your taste?"
The person snorted coldly, glanced sideways at Naruto's seat, silently muttered "bad luck," then looked at Ayame with a disgusted expression and shouted with a voice loud enough to be heard several streets away.
"The noodles here are the worst thing I've ever eaten! Opening a shop here is a complete waste of land on Konoha Street. You should just go out of business quickly."
After speaking, he quickly walked out without looking back.
Ayame was stunned for a moment. She immediately realized that the person was deliberately causing trouble. Her usually gentle face also turned cold, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, and her cheeks flushed faintly from emotion.
She looked at the clean, empty bowl on the table and gritted her teeth.
She also leaned her hands on the counter, extending her upper body, and angrily shouted at the departing figure, "You! If the ramen wasn't good, why did you eat it all? If you have the guts, come back and explain what wasn't good!"
However, the person quickened their steps and soon disappeared into the crowd.
Ayame couldn't do anything about it and had to clear the empty bowl from the table. Then she discovered another problem.
"This bastard, he dared to eat without paying!"
Ayame became even angrier. She had never seen anyone so arrogant while dining and dashing.
'This guy has a death wish.'
Naruto lowered his head, a fierce glint in his eyes. He had already memorized the person's scent in his mind.
I'll be at your doorstep soon.
"Ayame Sister, I'm sorry."
Ayame's expression softened considerably upon hearing this, though she still carried a hint of dissatisfaction. She said to Naruto, "Naruto, this has nothing to do with you. It's bad enough that this guy ate ramen without paying, but he was also so rude."
At this moment, Naruto suddenly felt a hand touch his head.
He looked back and suddenly realized that Kakashi had already finished his noodles and had turned to leave. He had the Sharingan, and Konoha's higher-ups didn't want him to have too much contact with the Jinchuriki.
And on the table Kakashi had left, there was paper money far exceeding the cost of two bowls of ramen.
"It seems Kakashi actually likes Naruto very much." Ayame looked at the money on the table with some surprise, suppressing a laugh, and said, "Kakashi is also a tsundere."
"Is he?"
Naruto rested his left hand on the side of his face, watching Kakashi's back disappear into the darkness, wondering what he was thinking.