The outrage spread like fire through dry grass.For a moment, all of Konoha seemed to go still. Kushina's furious accusations had already thrown the village into chaos, but now even the Fourth Hokage—the hero who had died protecting the village during the Nine-Tails' rampage—had spoken. That last thread of denial snapped at once.
Naruto Uzumaki really was the son of heroes.Anyone who looked up at the gold-bordered screen knew what was coming next. Regret crept into more than a few hearts, sharp and ugly, but it was far too late for regret now. They had cursed a hero's child as a monster for years, and now the truth was hanging above them for the whole world to see.
This noisy family reunion, at least for the moment, finally began to quiet down.Hashirama Senju was the first to speak. "Naruto Uzumaki... is he from the Uzumaki clan?"Tobirama replied at once, his patience already thinning. "Brother! Isn't that obvious?
Who said Hashirama was stupid? At a moment like this, after the Fourth Hokage and Kushina suddenly fell silent, he immediately stepped in and steered the conversation elsewhere.Anyone with half a brain could tell this was a humiliation for Konoha. Tobirama quickly joined forces with his older brother, doing his best to drag the attention away from the village's disgrace.
Mei Terumi spoke up next. "As far as I know, the Uzumaki clan all had red hair. Naruto Uzumaki... has blond hair, the same as the Fourth Hokage in the records."Mito Uzumaki answered calmly, "Kushina was a pure-blooded Uzumaki. In a case like that, the child often takes after the other parent, especially if that bloodline is just as strong—or stronger.
Hashirama scratched his head in confusion. "Namikaze... After we died, did some powerful new clan rise in Konoha?"Orochimaru glanced sideways at Hiruzen Sarutobi before lazily typing into the chat room."No. The Namikaze line can barely maintain even a small clan. Even if he truly had the potential to rise, hehe...
The words landed like poison.Without question, Orochimaru had just made the already suffocating atmosphere around Konoha even worse. Faces tightened. Eyes shifted toward Hiruzen. No one said anything aloud, but the pressure in the arena became almost unbearable.
Hashirama, on the other hand, completely failed to read the room."Tsunade's hair is blond too... Hmm. Then isn't it obvious?"What?!For one brief, absurd instant, a ridiculous thought flashed through the crowd—was the Fourth Hokage actually Tsunade's illegitimate son, one of the Legendary Sannin's hidden scandals?
But before anyone could unravel that nonsense, the gold-bordered screen continued playing.After the Sarutobi clan ninja left, little Naruto struggled over to the window and forced it open. A wave of damp, stale air drifted out of the room. Then he stood outside the door and waited for the musty smell inside to fade.He tilted up his small, adorable face and stared blankly at the sky.He did not understand why everyone hated him.He stood there all alone until noon.
By then, Naruto was hungry.The room was empty. The moldy smell had not fully cleared. With only a little money in his pocket—his so-called monthly living expenses—he finally gathered his courage and went downstairs.But the world below was far too unfamiliar.Naruto did not know where food was sold, so he could only wander the streets aimlessly, looking left and right with uncertain eyes.
Then a voice abruptly cut through the quiet street."Hey, look. Isn't that him?!"Another civilian, someone who also felt strangely out of place among the ordinary passersby, immediately chimed in. "That's him! Look at the whiskers on his face!
The words spread fast.With those two taking the lead, more and more villagers turned to look. Murmurs rose in all directions. A few days earlier, many ordinary people had already heard similar rumors. Now, with the child himself standing there, those whispers finally found a target.
A suffocating malice instantly closed in on Naruto.He slowed without realizing it. All around him, voices grew louder, uglier, harsher, crashing into his ears from every direction."That's him!""That damned fox demon!""How shameless! Why is he still alive?""I'm going to kill him and avenge my brother!
The malice was no longer invisible.Naruto's smile gradually faded from his face. His small shoulders tensed. He looked around helplessly, not understanding anything except that everyone was staring at him with hatred.Then someone screamed, "Damned fox demon!"A small stone suddenly whistled past Naruto's ear.There had been no warning at all.
The camera focused on the civilian who had spoken first."Kill the fox demon!"An old woman reached into her shopping basket and snatched up an egg.Whoosh—Crack!The throw was dead accurate. The egg smashed right into Naruto's forehead.
Pain exploded through him.Egg yolk ran down his face. Naruto clutched his brow, and tears instantly welled in those deep blue eyes. Watching the child curl up and hold his head, a few people hesitated in pity—but most of them looked as if they had finally found a place to dump all their hatred.They grabbed every egg from the old woman's basket and hurled them at him.
"Fox demon, go die!"In an instant, all kinds of small objects came flying.Naruto cried out in pain and tried to run. But before he could get away, a stone slammed into his leg. Agony shot through him, and he crashed to the ground hard.
That sight seemed to trigger something dark in the crowd.The fox demon had fallen?Good!More and more people rushed in, joining the attack. They swarmed like scavengers, all of them venting their fury on a child who could not defend himself. Naruto curled into a tight ball on the ground, his sobs drowned beneath a storm of cursing and jeering.
He truly did not understand.This was the first time he had ever gone out alone. He had only wanted to find something to eat. Yet in the blink of an eye, the entire street had turned into a nightmare."It's all because of this fox demon! He's the one who killed the Fourth Hokage!""That damned fox demon! Why?! Why did the Third Hokage leave him in the village?!
Then someone threw a kunai.Whoosh—Clang!At that critical moment, a ninja in an animal mask suddenly appeared and blocked the blade. The ANBU operative who had been secretly monitoring Naruto had finally stepped in and stopped the riot from spiraling completely out of control.
Only after the attacks ceased did Naruto slowly open his eyes.A masked ninja stood in front of him. But even then, Naruto could still feel the malice pressing in from every side. It was there in the civilians behind the man. It was even there in the exposed eyes of the ANBU himself.His vision blurred.Then everything seemed to turn red.
A hand seized his arm.It was rough, hard, almost painful. Naruto's whole body already ached, and the grip on his hand hurt badly, but he did not dare make a sound. Through his tear-blurred vision, he could only dimly see himself being dragged away from that crowd.
After the first ANBU took Naruto away, a second masked operative finally arrived on the scene."Stop it! All of you!""This ends here!""The Third Hokage has issued an order!""No one is allowed to mention the words 'demon fox,' or anything similar, in front of Naruto Uzumaki!""No one is allowed to attack Naruto Uzumaki!""Any discussion involving Naruto Uzumaki is strictly forbidden!
One prohibition after another rang out.The street gradually fell silent. But the resentment on those faces did not disappear. Some people even looked angry that they had arrived too late, regretting that they had missed their chance to kill the so-called fox demon with their own hands.
Once the ANBU left, the whispering began again.It did not take long before the news spread through all of Konoha.Naruto Uzumaki—the blond brat with six whisker marks on his face—was the monster that had killed everyone's loved ones. He was the fox demon.
The moment that line appeared on the screen, Kushina finally exploded."Ah—!!!""Hiruzen Sarutobi, I'm going to kill you!!!