Hearing Naruto's declaration, Dark Naruto's face immediately darkened, his red eyes filled with viciousness. "Hokage?! How ridiculous. Have you forgotten how those villagers treated us? That bone-deep loneliness and pain—you couldn't have forgotten it so quickly, could you? Hmph, what is there worth caring about in villagers like that, in a village like that?!"
Dark Naruto's words brought back scenes from Naruto's childhood.
Back then, he had been the fox demon everyone in the village despised, someone everyone avoided like the plague. He had no one to rely on, no one cared about him, and no one paid him any attention.
That loneliness and pain had been so profound that he could never forget it.
But his memories did not contain only pain. He also remembered Hyuga Kagami and Hyuga Rin, who cared for him and treated him like family; Yakushi Kabuto, who patiently guided him; Anko, who looked after his daily needs; and Orochimaru, whom he believed was cold on the outside but warm-hearted within.
Besides that, he had also met many good friends and caring teachers at the Ninja Academy.
Figures such as Kakashi, Iruka, Guy, Shisui, Sasuke, Neji, Sakura, Rock Lee, Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba flashed through his mind one after another like a revolving lantern.
Every one of those figures was like a lamp filled with warmth.
The light from those lamps not only drove away the darkness in his heart, but also dispelled his loneliness, gradually illuminating and warming his dark, cold soul.
Dark Naruto's feelings could affect Naruto, so naturally, Naruto's feelings could affect Dark Naruto as well.
The lamps lit within his heart seemed to illuminate Dark Naruto's soul too, leaving him frozen in place as the viciousness on his face gradually faded.
Thud...
A moment later, Dark Naruto fell to his knees