As noon approached, Naruto stayed with Gaara until Sunagakure's delegation and the prisoners of war had completely vanished from sight, officially setting out on their journey home. Only then did he turn and head back to his small apartment.
Walking through the familiar streets, Naruto could not help recalling the scattered bits of gossip he had heard from other Konoha shinobi earlier—apparently, before coming to find him, his mother had made a special "visit" to the Hokage Building and... beaten up Old man Third?
Thinking of how Satsuki had flown into a rage at those villagers for his sake, warmth welled up in Naruto's heart. It seemed he truly meant a great deal to them. Before he had even figured out how to deal with all that old mess himself, they had already stood up for him...
But Mom should have known her limits, right...? She should have held back enough not to actually beat the old man to death... probably?
Still... how had Mom learned about all those details from the past? Could Old man Third have confessed them himself? That possibility left Naruto somewhat puzzled.
Lost in thought, Naruto unknowingly arrived beneath the slightly rundown apartment building where he lived.
Just as he was about to step onto the stairs leading up, he heard a familiar female voice from above, brimming with anger. The fury in it was obvious, even though she was trying to suppress it.
"I'll say this one last time! Get out! Can't you understand human speech?!"
Several male voices immediately followed, offering ingratiating yet aggrieved excuses.
"No... um, who exactly are you? Why are you in Lord Naruto's home?"
"I have no obligation to explain who I am to you!" The female voice grew even more impatient. "I'm starting the final count now—you're going