Hated by All

Outside the apartment door.

Sarutobi Hiruzen and Kakashi stood at the entrance, their brows tightly furrowed.

"Uzumaki Naruto isn't home?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen muttered to himself.

But after listening carefully, he could hear footsteps inside, proving that someone was clearly home.

After a moment of silence, Sarutobi Hiruzen said, "Kakashi, open the door."

Kakashi answered respectfully.

Stepping forward, Kakashi used some unknown method, and the door opened with a click.

"Die!!!"

Uzumaki Naruto shouted at the people outside, holding a basin as he dumped its contents over them.

"Splash!!!"

The two outside were drenched from head to toe.

Sarutobi Hiruzen: "..."

Kakashi: "..."

Naruto hurriedly retreated two steps to keep the foul soup from splashing onto his clothes. He had still underestimated the power of this "biological weapon."

This basin of instant noodle broth was practically as invincible as a mop smeared with shit. Just smelling it was enough to make someone faint.

With that thought, Naruto glanced toward the doorway and put on a shocked expression.

"Eh!?"

"Lord Hokage, Lord Kakashi... why are you here!?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen: "..."

Kakashi: "..."

The two stood there dumbfounded, their stiff gazes fixed on the fermented, spoiled broth, instant noodle scraps, insect corpses, and unidentified bubbles covering them...

"Bleurgh!!!"

Unable to hold it in, Kakashi braced himself against the doorframe with his right hand and vomited on the spot.

"Naruto!!!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen roared.

Without another word.

Moving at eighty miles an hour like a gust of wind, Sarutobi Hiruzen charged into Naruto's bathroom.

Naruto sat in a chair with a gentle smile, his blue eyes constantly drifting toward the bathroom door.

After a long while.

Two men emerged from the bathroom with blackened faces and bodies rubbed bright red, as though they had scrubbed off a layer of skin.

Sarutobi Hiruzen and Kakashi's expressions were utterly grim.

They had nearly scrubbed off a layer of skin, yet that smell still lingered on them. What kind of terrifying biological weapon was this?

"Uzumaki Naruto!!!"

"Shouldn't you give me an explanation?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen glared at Naruto through gritted teeth.

When the door had opened, he had noticed Naruto throwing something outside. But Naruto was so young that he hadn't thought whatever he threw could be dangerous, so he hadn't taken it seriously.

And yet...

Sarutobi Hiruzen felt like killing someone.

Damn it... that instant noodle broth had probably been sitting there for at least half a year!!!

Naruto said apologetically,

"I'm very sorry, Lord Hokage. I thought you were people who had come to beat me up. I was so scared that I accidentally dirtied you."

Sarutobi Hiruzen and Kakashi's faces darkened further. So they had taken the blame for someone else!?

This was even worse than if Naruto had been targeting them...

"Huff!!!"

Taking a deep breath, Sarutobi Hiruzen forcibly suppressed the near-maddening rage in his heart and asked kindly, "Forget it. It's not a big deal."

"However..."

"Uzumaki Naruto!!!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression turned stern as he said in a low voice, "Kakashi just told me that you fought with other children and even took their money. Is that true!?"

Naruto nodded slightly.

"Yes. I fought them to protect Little Hinata."

Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned and said gravely,

"Naruto, then why did you take their money? It was certainly wrong of them to hit people, but it was also wrong for you to take their money."

"Your goal is to become the Fifth Hokage. As Hokage, you should protect the weak. How can you bully them!?"

By the end, Sarutobi Hiruzen's tone had become extremely stern, his piercing gaze fixed on Naruto.

Naruto displayed acting worthy of an award. His expression dimmed slightly as he clenched his fists and said aggrievedly,

"That was... because I couldn't get enough to eat..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen and Kakashi were both stunned.

They had considered that Naruto might make excuses, but they had never expected... Naruto to give such a plain and simple reason.

He couldn't get enough to eat!

What an utterly plain statement.

Sarutobi Hiruzen could not help asking, "Doesn't the village give you living expenses every month?"

Kakashi nodded as well.

Naruto lowered his head with a gloomy expression.

"It isn't enough. No one will sell things to me. The rice I buy is mixed with sand, and the vegetables I buy are rotten. I can only eat at Ichiraku Ramen."

"I eat ramen for all three meals every day, and I also need to buy daily necessities... there isn't enough money..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's old face flushed red, and he wished he could crawl into a crack in the ground.

He had given Naruto ten thousand Ryo because he wanted Naruto to live a little more miserably, then play the savior so Naruto would feel grateful toward him.

But hearing Naruto lay it out so bluntly, especially with Kakashi present, made Sarutobi Hiruzen want to die.

Forcing himself to calm down.

Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep breath and asked kindly, "Naruto, what daily necessities did you buy?"

Naruto said aggrievedly, "Windows, tape, bandages, gauze, disinfectant..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen and Kakashi were utterly confused.

"These are daily necessities too?"

Naruto's expression darkened. "At night, people smash the windows of my home. When I walk down the road, people throw stones at me. That's when I use the tape and bandages..."

Naruto was not worried about being exposed over this, because... this was simply his everyday life in Konoha.

Despised by everyone, rejected even by dogs!

Like a rat crossing the street, beaten by everyone!