At Naruto's new home, the scene at this moment could only be described as a "disaster." Uzumaki Kushina was bent over, her face full of distress and irritation, painstakingly searching through a mountain of packages and gifts with various wrappings.
Her goal was clear—those gifts that were wrapped especially exquisitely, tied with ribbons, or in pink, ambiguous colors.
"Another one..." she muttered to herself, pulling a pink gift box tied with a bow and smelling of perfume from the pile. Opening it, she saw a piece of chocolate meticulously crafted into a huge heart shape, with a pink letter attached to the side.
Kushina's brow furrowed even tighter. She skillfully sorted this box of chocolate, which clearly carried the implication of a confession, into a "special category" pile next to her that had already formed a small mountain. That area was practically like a small gift shop counter, with bouquets of fresh, vibrant roses... some already starting to wilt, hand-knitted sweaters and scarves, cute-shaped dolls, elaborately decorated cakes... all of them gifts that went beyond the scope of "ordinary friends" or "fan gestures."
Kushina rubbed her throbbing temples and began to seriously consider whether she should contact the orphanage in the Village. She tossed the letter she had just found into a plastic box at her feet, just like the hundreds of similar letters she had processed before. The box was already half full, densely packed with all kinds of letter paper, carrying the different thoughts of who knows how many people.
The long time spent bending over to clean up made Kushina feel a soreness in her lower back. Estimating that Naruto should be coming back soon, she quickly picked up the box full of letters and walked briskly toward the bathroom. After locking the door, she nimbly took out a box of matches. With a soft "crackle," a flame leaped up. Kushina looked with complex eyes at the letter papers in the box, which perhaps contained deep emotions, but still threw the lit match inside.
The flames spread rapidly, devouring the pages, illuminating Kushina's side profile, which carried determination yet also some guilt. Safety hazards? Disappointing people's intentions? These concerns only stayed in her heart for an instant. Compared to these, she cared more about her son's emotional situation, which already satisfied her. As a mother, sometimes one must act as the strictest "firewall."
"Mom... what exactly is this?!" Just as the flames turned the letters into ash, Naruto's astonished voice came from outside the bathroom door. Clearly, he and Satsuki had already returned home.
"Ah! Naruto? You're back? Wait a second, Mom will be done in a moment!" Kushina panicked inwardly, quickly responding twice, hurriedly turning on the exhaust fan, and checking if the ashes were completely extinguished. After confirming it was correct, she adjusted her expression and opened the bathroom door to walk out.
Naruto, outside the door, was completely stunned by the scene before him, freezing in place. He had indeed casually remarked before that the new house was quite big and a bit empty for two people to live in.
But now... let alone empty, one could hardly find a spot in the house to stand safely! Gift boxes of various sizes, with simple or gorgeous packaging, gift bags, packages... like a flood, they occupied every inch of the floor in the entryway, living room, and hallway, stacked layer upon layer, with some piles even taller than a person. It looked more like an unmanaged courier station in a university than a home.
"Naruto... you're back," Kushina tried to squeeze out a slightly weary smile, "Can you help Mom tidy up? Your... 'fans,' their enthusiasm seems a bit too excessive."
"Kushina-san!" Uchiha Satsuki, standing to the side, could no longer hold back, speaking indignantly with obvious dissatisfaction in her voice, "Why don't you just reject those guys directly?! This is no longer expressing goodwill; it's simply disturbing Naruto's life! Can't you see that?"
Naruto also felt a bit strange. Based on his understanding of his mother, the last time a few villagers tried to send gifts to their home to express apologies, they were all swiftly kicked out along with their gifts by Kushina, with a quite firm attitude. How come this time... she accepted so many?
"..." Hearing this, embarrassment and speechlessness flashed across Kushina's face. The reason was somewhat complex. It wasn't that she hadn't turned people away. In fact, most of the first few waves of people who came were blocked by her using excuses like "Naruto doesn't need it" or "Please do not disturb." But later, there were simply too many people giving gifts, and the composition of the people became complex.
More importantly, she did not see guilt or a desire for compensation in the eyes of many visitors, but rather pure admiration, gratitude, and unadulterated enthusiasm. She realized that not everyone who gave gifts had once owed Naruto. While there were villagers who wanted to make up for the past, there were also many who had no ill will toward Naruto to begin with and now simply admired the hero. This was even more true among the Ninja. Many of those coming to express their respects now were the new generation of Ninja who genuinely admired his strength and deeds. Facing this goodwill, Kushina found it really difficult to give the cold shoulder to everyone and turn them away as she would with harassers.
Naruto casually picked up an unsealed, plain cardboard box at his feet and opened it—inside was a fish that had been cleaned thoroughly, with fresh meat, looking perfectly suitable for high-grade sashimi. Zacian was lying listlessly on a patch of space that had been barely cleared out, looking like it was on the verge of Soul Emergence. In front of it was a huge plate piled with all kinds of high-quality, untouched meat—steak, chicken, fish... After the refrigerator and storage spaces were completely stuffed, Kushina had handed the task of "disposing" of the fresh food that simply couldn't be preserved over to it. Now it seemed that although Zacian's appetite was astonishing, it couldn't withstand this endless "feeding."
"Bang, bang, bang!" Just then, a series of urgent knocks suddenly sounded. Kushina immediately became alert, signaling Naruto and Satsuki not to make a sound, and walked briskly to the back of the door, looking out through the peephole, calculating in her heart how to send them away as quickly as possible if it were those enthusiastic villagers or fans.
However, what came from outside the door was a crisp and familiar child's voice.
"Big Brother Naruto! It's me, Konohamaru! I heard you're back?! I have something very important to ask you!" It was Konohamaru Sarutobi.
Before anyone inside could respond, Konohamaru's urgent voice transmitted through the door panel like a machine gun, carrying a child's directness and hurt.
"Everyone in the Village... everyone is talking! Saying that the suffering you endured in the past, Big Brother Naruto, was all, all caused by my grandfather!"
"Saying that because Grandfather was jealous of the Fourth Hokage, he deliberately concealed your identity and didn't let you have a good life! Big Brother Naruto... is... is this true?!"
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