A golden light flashed and disappeared. Naruto looked at the sea of people rushing towards him and immediately activated the Flying Thunder God Technique, teleporting with Satsuki directly from the village entrance back to his original small apartment.
He chose the old apartment over the new one based on a fairly reasonable deduction: since the village entrance was already so crowded, his new house, bearing the inscription " Fourth Hokage's Former Residence," would be nothing short of walking into a trap if he went back.
After getting his feet firmly on the ground, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. He truly hadn't expected that the revelation of his true identity would trigger such a... fanatical reaction.
What struck him as even more perplexing was that the crowd that had just gathered included not only ordinary villagers, but also many Konoha Ninja dressed Chunin or Jonin.
Many of them, in the past years, hadn't spoken ill of him or shown discrimination like some villagers had. Did they feel no remorse, and did they really need to go to such lengths?
He glanced at Satsuki beside him. Given the urgency of the situation, he naturally took her with him. At this moment, he could clearly see the furrowed brows on Satsuki's delicate face; the almost overflowing coldness and impatience in her eyes from the village entrance hadn't completely dissipated.
Her right hand was still slightly reaching towards her ninja tool pouch at her waist. Clearly, if the crowd had gotten any closer, or if anyone had tried to make any overly intimate gestures, she probably wouldn't have simply kept her distance.
"Tsk..."
Satsuki muttered under her breath, her voice filled with undisguised disgust, "A bunch of sycophants... What a disgusting reaction."
Naruto didn't reply. He quietly walked to the window, lifted a corner of the curtain with his finger, and cautiously peeked outside. After just one glance, he almost slammed the curtain shut again.
The street below the apartment building was also packed with people! Although not as crowded as at the village entrance, it still formed a sizable crowd, with many pointing and gesturing at the unremarkable apartment building, their faces showing curiosity, excitement, and even... a kind of "reverence"?
"Don't these villagers... need to work?"
Just then, a deliberately hushed conversation came from the hallway outside the door. The voices were very close to the door, as if someone was standing right there.
"Finally, it's our turn! We have to make sure the photos look good!"
"Of course! This is where the Child of Heroes used to live... The Third Hokage is really going too far."
Before Naruto could fully grasp what "taking pictures" and "going too far" meant, Satsuki beside him was already thoroughly enraged by the boundless chatter outside the door.
She darted forward, flung open the apartment door with a "whoosh," and shouted rudely at the person outside.
"Hey! You guys! What are you up to, sneaking around here like that?!"
"Whoa?! Someone's here?!"
"Who are you?! How dare you barge in like this...?"
Two genin, who looked slightly younger than Naruto and Genin probably just graduated, were standing outside the door, holding a portable camera and clearly preparing to take a picture.
They were startled by Satsuki's sudden Gate of Opening and instinctively wanted to question her. But when their eyes fell on Satsuki's outstanding face, both in temperament and appearance, the words caught in their throats, and their momentum unconsciously weakened.
Taking advantage of this moment, Naruto peeked out from behind Satsuki. This time, he finally saw clearly that a brand-new, even "exquisitely" made wooden plaque had been nailed to the wall next to the door at some point, with neat characters engraved on it—
[ Former Residence of the Child of Heroes ]
Naruto: "..."
After a brief moment of stunned silence, the two junior Genin looked past Satsuki and finally focused their gaze on Naruto. Their eyes widened instantly, and their expressions changed from astonishment to excitement.
"Naruto, Young Master Naruto?! You, you're actually here?! Please... please give me your autograph!" One of them was so excited that he was incoherent, frantically searching his pockets for a pen and notebook.
"Me too! Me too! Can we take a picture together?!" Another one immediately chimed in.
The exclamations of the two Genin instantly shattered the previously restrained atmosphere in the stairwell. Downstairs, the villagers and Ninja who had been queuing for "visiting and taking photos" immediately erupted into a commotion.
"What?! Young Master Naruto is upstairs?!"
"Hurry! Get up there quickly!"
"Let me see! I want to see the Child of Heroes with my own eyes!"
A cacophony of footsteps and excited shouts immediately surged from the stairwell, and the crowd began to surge upwards uncontrollably.
Naruto felt a chill run down his spine and, without thinking, grabbed Satsuki's wrist.
"Whoosh--!"
The Flying Thunder God Technique shone brightly once more. Just before the first wave of fanatics rushed up the stairs, the two figures had completely vanished from this " Former Residence of the Child of Heroes," leaving only the door and two bewildered and disappointed Genin outside, holding cameras.
Naruto's new home is in a state that can only be described as a "disaster".
Kushina Uzumaki was bent over, her face full of distress and irritation, struggling to rummage through a mountain of packages and gifts in various shapes and sizes.
Her target was clear—gifts that were exquisitely wrapped, tied with ribbons, or in soft, suggestive colors.
"Another one..."
She murmured to herself, pulling a pink gift box tied with a bow and exuding a perfume scent from the pile of gifts. Upon opening it, she found a large, meticulously crafted heart-shaped chocolate inside, along with a pink letter.
Kushina's brow furrowed even more. She skillfully placed the box of chocolates, which clearly carried the implication of a confession, into a "special category" that was already piled up like a small mountain.
That area was practically a mini gift shop counter, with bouquets of vibrant roses... some of which were already starting to wilt, hand-knitted sweaters and scarves, adorable dolls, and elaborately decorated cakes... all of which were gifts that went far beyond the scope of "ordinary friends" or "fan greetings."
Kushina rubbed her throbbing temples and began to seriously consider whether she should contact the village's welfare home.
She tossed the letter she had just found, along with hundreds of similar letters she had dealt with before, into a plastic box at her feet.
The box was already half full, crammed with all sorts of letters, carrying the unique thoughts of countless people.
Kushina felt a tingling pain in her back from bending over for so long. She estimated that Naruto should be back soon, so she quickly picked up the box full of letters and hurried to the bathroom.
After locking the door, she deftly took out a box of matches. With a soft "snap," a flame leaped up. Kushina glanced at the letters in the box, which might be filled with emotions, with a complicated expression, and then threw the lit match in.
The flames spread rapidly, engulfing the pages and illuminating Kushina's profile, which held a resolute yet somewhat guilty expression. A safety hazard? A betrayal?
These concerns only lingered in her mind for a moment. Compared to these, she cared more about her son's relationship status, which already satisfied her.
As a mother, sometimes you have to act as the strictest "firewall".
"Mom... what is this?!"
Just as the flames completely reduced the letter to ashes, Naruto's astonished voice came from outside the bathroom door. Clearly, he and Satsuki had returned home.
"Ah! Naruto? You're back? Wait a minute, Mom will be right there!"
Kushina panicked for a moment, quickly responded twice, and hurriedly turned on the exhaust fan. She then checked to make sure the ashes were completely extinguished before composing herself, opening the bathroom door, and leaving.
Naruto, standing outside the door, was completely stunned by the scene before him and froze on the spot.
He had casually remarked before that the new house was quite big, and that it felt a bit empty for just the two of them.
But now... let alone spacious, there's hardly a single empty spot in the house where you can even put your feet down! Gift boxes, gift bags, and packages of all sizes and packaging, whether simple or elaborate, have flooded the entryway, living room, and hallway, piled up in layers, some even taller than a person.
It's more like an unmanaged parcel station on a university campus than a home.
" Naruto... you're back," Kushina forced a slightly tired smile. "Could you help Mom tidy up? Your... 'fans' are getting a little too enthusiastic."
"Aunt Kushina!" Uchiha Satsuki, who had been holding back for a while, spoke up indignantly, her voice filled with obvious dissatisfaction, "Why didn't you just refuse those guys?! This isn't an expression of goodwill, they're just disturbing Naruto's life! Can't you see that?"
Naruto was also a little surprised. Knowing his mother as he did, the last time several villagers tried to bring gifts to express their apologies, Kushina had decisively driven them away, gifts and all, with a rather firm attitude. Why... did she accept so many this time?
"..."
Upon hearing this, Kushina's face flashed with embarrassment and speechlessness. The reason was somewhat complicated. It wasn't that she hadn't tried before. In fact, she had turned away most of the initial waves of people who came, citing reasons such as " Naruto doesn't need it" and "Please don't disturb him." But later, there were simply too many people bringing gifts, and their backgrounds became more complex.
More importantly, she didn't see guilt or a desire to compensate in the eyes of many of her visitors, but rather pure admiration, gratitude, and unadulterated enthusiasm.
She realized that not everyone who gave her a gift had ever wronged Naruto. While some villagers wanted to make amends, many others didn't harbor any ill will towards Naruto and now simply admired him as a hero. This was especially true among the Ninja.
Many of those who come to express their respect are new-generation Ninja who genuinely admire their power and deeds. Faced with such goodwill, Kushina finds it difficult to coldly reject them all as she would harass them.
Naruto casually picked up a plain cardboard box that wasn't sealed at his feet, opened it, and found a clean, fresh fish that looked perfect for high-end sashimi.
Zacian lay listlessly on a patch of land that had been barely cleared, looking as if its soul was about to leave its body. In front of it sat a huge plate piled high with various kinds of fine, untouched meat—steak, chicken, fish...
After the refrigerator and storage space were crammed full, Kushina entrusted it with the task of "dealing with" the fresh foods that could no longer be preserved.
It now seems that even Zacian appetite couldn't withstand such a constant stream of food.
"Bang bang bang!"
Just then, a series of urgent knocks sounded on the door.
Kushina immediately became alert, signaling Naruto and Satsuki to keep quiet. She quickly walked to the door and looked out through the peephole, wondering how to quickly get rid of any enthusiastic villagers or fans.
However, what came from outside the door was a clear and familiar child's voice.
" Naruto- nii-san! It's Konohamaru! I heard you're back?! I have something very important to ask you!"
It's Sarutobi Konohamaru.
Before anyone inside could respond, Konohamaru's urgent voice, like a machine gun, came through the door, carrying the directness and hurt of a child.
"Everyone in the village... everyone's talking about it! They're saying that all the suffering you endured, Naruto -nii, was caused by my grandfather!"
"They said Grandpa deliberately hid your identity and prevented you from having a good life because he was jealous of the Fourth Hokage! Naruto- nii-san... is... is this true?!"