This is your dad's house!

On the streets of Konoha, Naruto followed behind Namikaze Mirai with a pack on his back.

He asked in confusion, "Uncle, where are we going?"

He had only just woken up today when his uncle told him to pack his things.

"That house was too run-down; Uncle is getting you a better one," Namikaze Mirai said with a beaming smile.

Getting a better one?

Naruto tilted his head.

He had lived in that house for nearly three years, and no one had ever suggested he move.

Uncle, what kind of house are we moving to?

A villager caught sight of this scene, and his eyelids twitched.

"It's the Demon..."

Before the words could be finished, they died in his throat.

The scene of Namikaze Mirai forcing a merchant to apologize was still fresh in their memories.

"Don't provoke him; that guy is a ruthless one."

The entire street actually cleared a narrow path to let them pass.

Even though their eyes were filled with disgust, not a single person dared to make a sound.

Naruto gazed at this scene in a daze.

Whenever he walked down the street in the past, he was often subjected to the villagers' curses, and children would even throw stones at him.

This scene today had never happened before.

"This is the difference that strength brings!"

Namikaze Mirai smiled and stroked Naruto's hair.

He felt this was an excellent opportunity to teach Naruto a lesson.

"Although they treat you as the Demon Fox all the same, if you are kind and weak, they will bully you all the more; but if you are powerful enough that they dare not provoke you, these people will hide from you the moment they see you, just like this."

"When faced with malice, you must strike back immediately. That is the best way to protect yourself!"

Naruto nodded, appearing to understand, yet not quite.

The two continued forward, and without the interference of these villagers, the journey was surprisingly smooth.

Soon, they arrived in front of a building.

Naruto stared longingly at the house before him—a three-story duplex villa with a spacious courtyard outside, planted with many green plants.

Such a luxurious residence was rare even in all of Konoha; he didn't understand why his uncle had brought him here.

"Uncle, why are we here?"

Naruto turned his head to look at him.

"Didn't I say we were moving?"

Namikaze Mirai grinned, and although he was smiling, his right foot was already raised.

BOOM! A sound like an earthquake suddenly erupted, and the entire house shuddered.

"Ehh???"

Amidst Naruto's shocked, dazed, and utterly disbelieving expression, the exceptionally sturdy front door was kicked open, leaving a gaping hole and revealing the layout inside at a glance.

"Who is it?! How dare you kick the door of your Uncle Sarutobi's house!"

The massive commotion clearly startled the occupant inside. Accompanied by an angry roar, the broken door was violently yanked open, revealing a scruffy, wretched-looking middle-aged man.

He squinted his eyes, looking Namikaze Mirai up and down.

"Kid, don't you know the great name of Sarutobi Kento? How dare you kick my door!"

"I know."

"You know and you still dare?! The Third Hokage is my..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a powerful force grab his collar, and in the next instant, he was hoisted into the air and tossed into the backyard as casually as if he were trash.

"Ouch!! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!!!"

Sarutobi Kento landed in a heap, tumbling over and over in the yard, nearly vomiting up yesterday's breakfast.

"Trespassing in someone's home and assaulting a resident—this is a serious crime! I'm going to report you to the Hokage!!!"

Rubbing the large bump on his forehead, Sarutobi Kento trembled with rage, his eyes bloodshot as he pointed a finger at Namikaze Mirai.

"Go ahead if you want to."

Namikaze Mirai did not turn back. He gazed at the layout inside the house, a trace of melancholy suddenly appearing in his azure eyes.

Sarutobi Kento ran off, leaving behind a string of harsh threats before he departed.

Naruto followed Namikaze Mirai into the house, watching him gently stroke the tables and chairs, until he finally couldn't help but ask in a whisper.

"Uncle, is what we're doing... a bit wrong?"

In his naive worldview, breaking down someone else's door and occupying their home were things only very, very bad people would do.

Namikaze Mirai crouched down, smiling as he reached out a large hand to ruffle Naruto's blond hair.

"Because this is your father's house."

Hokage Office.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was in the middle of handling official business, but his heart felt unusually restless; even the pipe he was clenching in his mouth no longer tasted satisfying.

The gaping hole in the wall of the Hokage Office had already been patched, but there hadn't been time to replace the portrait of the Third Hokage hanging there.

His originally handsome, distinguished face had been turned into a giant hole, hanging there like a funeral portrait.

This only made his inner agitation grow.

"Move aside! I need to see the Hokage!"

"Wait! You can't go in, Lord Hokage is currently..."

The sound of arguing outside the office made Sarutobi Hiruzen frown, and before he could dwell on it, the door was pushed open.

The person who stormed in had a head swollen like a pig's; if not for his recognizable eyes and brows, he might not have even identified who it was.

"Is that you, Kento? How did you end up like this?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen signaled the guards who were trying to block the intruder. The guard nodded, stepped out, and closed the door.

With no one left to stop him, Sarutobi Kento's tears gushed out like a fountain. He scrambled toward Sarutobi Hiruzen's feet and latched onto his thigh.

"Clan Leader, you have to seek justice for me!"

"I was just eating at home when my door was smashed in! A blond guy popped out—looked like a delinquent—bringing a smaller blond kid with him, and they just beat me to a pulp!"

"Look at my handsome face, it's been beaten beyond recognition!"

"Wait! You said the people who hit you had blond hair?!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, keenly seizing on the crucial detail.

"Yes," Sarutobi Kento sobbed. "That blond guy was so vicious, he even occupied my house..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a long, deep breath; he roughly understood what was happening.

That day, before Namikaze Mirai left, he had made a threat: he would take back everything his brother had lost, and he was starting with the house.

So that's what he meant! "They're still occupying my house! We absolutely cannot let these villains who seize other people's property get away with it! If word gets out, what will the villagers think..."

"Shut up!"

Before he could finish, Sarutobi Hiruzen glared at him fiercely.

Sarutobi Kento froze, utterly bewildered. He didn't know what he had said wrong; why would the usually mild-mannered Clan Leader be so furious?

"Do you know who it was that hit you?"

"Who?"

Sarutobi Kento looked stunned.

"He is Minato's own brother. You, of all people, should know best who the original owner of that house was!"

Sarutobi Kento petrified on the spot.

What the hell?

The blond guy who beat him was Namikaze Minato's own brother???

Does that mean he was the one occupying someone else's house, and the rightful owner had come to collect? I was the clown all along??? "When Minato and his wife sacrificed themselves, their house became vacant. Naruto was too young to live in such a large place, and you said you wanted to stay there temporarily. I reluctantly agreed, but I never expected you to stay for three years! How am I supposed to talk to you now!!"

Fury burned in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes; he felt like giving Sarutobi Kento a beating himself.

Was Namikaze Mirai just hitting Sarutobi Kento? No, he was hitting his own face!

By tomorrow, the entire village would likely be buzzing with rumors that a member of the Sarutobi Clan had occupied the Fourth Hokage's house for three years, only for the brother to return and drive the squatter out. Where would he put his old face after this? Sarutobi Kento listened, growing more terrified and cold with every word.

Without realizing it, had he actually caused such a massive disaster???

Wait, Minato's brother?

Did that kid Minato have a brother? It seemed he actually did.

What was his name again...

Wait!

The Blue Flash?! The person who hit him was the Blue Flash?! He returned to the village?! Hadn't he been missing for three years? As a member of the Sarutobi Clan, Sarutobi Kento knew the weight of the name "Blue Flash" far better than the average villager.

During the Third Great Ninja War, that title had been even more terrifying than the Yellow Flash!

A warm, foul-smelling liquid trickled down from his crotch.

He had been scared into wetting himself.