Chapter 7: Is This How You Treat the Son of a Hero?
"Naruto, is that really what happened?"
Iruka scratched his head.
Something felt off, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Still, he had no reason to think a ten-year-old kid would lie to him.
After all, what bad intentions could a child who wasn't even a genin possibly have?
"Right—Naruto, hand over the Scroll of Seals you're carrying on your back."
Iruka suddenly remembered the most important thing; his expression turned serious.
He could tolerate Naruto being mischievous and immature.
But when it came to the Scroll of Seals,
there was absolutely no room for compromise!
If that scroll fell into the hands of another ninja village,
it would bring catastrophic disaster to Konoha.
Iruka wasn't willing to take that gamble.
"Oh." Naruto casually unstrapped the scroll from his back and tossed it to Iruka.
Whatever was written inside was useless to him anyway.
He'd have to train slowly to learn it.
Why bother when the system could just trigger options and hand him rewards?
Wasn't that way better than grinding step by step?
Iruka caught the scroll; the tension on his face eased slightly.
Naruto was still the same Naruto—unchanged.
Still his good student.
"Iruka, stop Naruto right now!!! He has the Scroll of Seals!"
"Don't let that brat escape!"
"Damn it—how could our village produce a ninja like this?!"
"I'm going to teach him a real lesson!"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
Multiple figures rushed toward the clearing at high speed.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was also coming, trailing behind the main group.
Mainly because he was worried this mob might actually beat Naruto to death.
If that happened, how could he ever face the Fourth Hokage again?
Besides, he would never allow such a thing to occur.
"Good grief—so that's where the kid was hiding!"
"Iruka, tie him up quick—don't let him run!"
"Huh? Is that Mizuki? Why is there so much blood around him? Who did this…?"
"What the hell happened here?"
The arriving ninjas chattered all at once.
Iruka was afraid they'd misunderstand, so he shouted loudly:
"Everyone, please quiet down! Quiet down—listen to me!"
The crowd instantly fell silent.
Seeing the Scroll of Seals in Iruka's hand eased their panic.
"It was all Mizuki's rotten idea. He wanted to use Naruto…"
Iruka explained the entire situation clearly.
Sometimes having someone else explain things for you works far better than doing it yourself.
And Naruto couldn't be bothered to waste words on this group of idiots anyway.
If they weren't satisfied, he wouldn't mind bringing another catastrophe down on Konoha.
He already had half the Nine-Tails' power.
Worst case, he'd use the Rinnegan to escape.
The sky was wide—the bird could fly wherever it wanted.
But then again…
His wife was still in Konoha.
Not just his wife—his future beautiful little sister-in-law too.
And not only them… there were still plenty of cute girls around.
Ding!
As the son of a hero, how can you allow yourself to be slandered so casually?
Option 1: Curse out these ungrateful white-eyed wolves and force them to re-examine your true identity!Reward: God-Level Taijutsu!
Option 2: Let them run their mouths—ignore them completely.Reward: Child of Endurance (a mostly meaningless title)
"I choose Option 1."
Congratulations, host! You have obtained God-Level Taijutsu!
Naruto took a deep breath. His expression instantly turned cold.
He spoke calmly to the crowd:
"Iruka-sensei, there's no need to explain anything to these white-eyed wolves. They're just a bunch of turtles hiding in their shells."
The atmosphere became eerily quiet.
Iruka looked at Naruto in shock.
He couldn't understand why Naruto would say something like that.
Naruto swept his gaze across the group.
With his now astonishing perception,
he quickly located Hiruzen Sarutobi hiding at the back!
"Lord Third Grandpa, I see you. Come on out—I have something to say to you."
Hiruzen's old face flushed red.
Damn… I hid so well.
How did little Naruto spot me?
Embarrassed as he was,
being called out in front of everyone,
with all the village ninjas' eyes suddenly on him,
Hiruzen had no choice but to step forward awkwardly.
Ahem… "Naruto, what do you want with this old man?"
"Now that the Scroll of Seals has been recovered, everyone should return to the village quickly."
Hiruzen tried to change the subject.
He felt that today's Naruto seemed… different.
Staying here any longer might lead to something bad.
"Yeah… Lord Third is right. The scroll's back—let's head home."
"To be honest, Lord Third is still being too kind. If it were me, I'd take this troublemaking brat back and give him a good beating."
"Too bad he's not my kid. If he were, I'd beat him myself!"
"Yeah… yeah…"
Plenty of people muttered among themselves.
Naruto looked at them calmly—like watching monkeys perform.
His voice wasn't loud, but it was just clear enough for everyone present to hear.
"So this is how you treat the son of a hero?"
The entire clearing fell into dead silence.
A thick layer of shock appeared in Hiruzen Sarutobi's usually calm eyes!
The crowd was stunned.
Their mouths snapped shut instinctively.
Even Iruka beside him broke out in cold sweat.
What the hell?!
When did Naruto find out about this?!
This was supposed to be an absolute top-secret!
Only a very small number of elite jonin who were involved back then—and himself—knew.
Hiruzen had deliberately suppressed the information.
He forbade anyone from mentioning it in front of the younger generation.
The reason was simple:
During the Third Great Ninja War, the Fourth Hokage—Minato Namikaze—had killed a great many ninjas from other villages.
In short, he had many enemies.
Naruto currently had no ability to protect himself.
If his identity were made public,
it could attract those old enemies to assassinate him.
Even the wisest make mistakes.
No matter how many powerful ANBU guarded Naruto 24/7, what good would it do against a truly skilled assassin?
One slip-up could cost Naruto his life!
Moreover, Hiruzen had another small motive:
He wanted Naruto to bear the hatred and blame for the Nine-Tails' rampage that night.
That way, the villagers could vent their anger on a tangible target.
But how had Naruto found out?
Everyone was puzzled.
Then Naruto dropped another massive bombshell.
It struck their consciences hard.
It caught them completely off guard!
"If I'm not mistaken… my dad was the Fourth Hokage, right? He died fighting for the village. And in the end, it all traces back to the Nine-Tails attacking the village that night."
"My dad's gone. My mom's gone too… heh… both parents dead—just because the Nine-Tails was sealed inside me."
"To stop it from destroying the village any further…"
He paused.
His tone grew several degrees colder.
"My mom and dad sacrificed themselves so that all of you ungrateful people could keep living."
"And how have you treated me in return?"
Silence…
Nothing but silence.
The expressions on the crowd's faces shifted again and again.
From anger toward Naruto, to sorrow, to deep unease.
Yes… that terrifying attack wasn't the fault of the Fourth couple.
It was the Nine-Tails' fault!
What wrong had Minato and Kushina done?
And what wrong had their son Naruto done?
Did he choose to be a Jinchuriki?
Had anyone ever asked for his opinion?
No! Not a single person!
They had simply dumped all their own helplessness and ugliness onto a child who had committed no crime.
Just because the Nine-Tails was sealed inside him.
Just because he was the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki.
But… the fault lay with the Nine-Tails—what wrong had Uzumaki Naruto committed?!!
Wait…
Naruto was actually the son of the Fourth Hokage—Minato Namikaze?!
In that moment, everyone froze.
Their expressions were quite a sight to behold.
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