Heh, What a Boring Village

Heh, What a Boring Village

Konoha, winter.

Snow fell over Konoha Village, the flakes drifting down like willow catkins and forming a cotton quilt over the earth.

Braving the heavy snow, Naruto pulled on his hood, opened his umbrella, and left home. He walked alone down the street, glancing around from time to time as he watched the passing pedestrians.

If the villagers recognized him, he would have to face those cold expressions and the looks they gave a monster again.

Naruto did not care much about what others thought, but being looked at that way still made him uncomfortable.

After reaching a shop on the street, Naruto put away his umbrella, shook off the snow and rain, and called inside, "Boss, I'd like some rice, bread, and milk."

The shop owner was a middle-aged man sitting beside the stove, wearing winter gloves. After looking around, he spotted the customer who was not even as tall as the counter and smiled.

"Why are you shopping alone, kid? Where are your parents?"

"My family is busy, so they asked me to buy some food. They said it should be enough for a family of three for a week."

As he spoke, Naruto placed the money on the counter, his gaze sweeping over the dazzling array of goods on the shelves.

The shop owner glanced at the bills, which included both loose change and whole notes, then casually put them into the cash box.

Just as he was about to fetch the goods, Naruto's hood accidentally slipped down, revealing his vivid blond hair, sky-blue eyes, and fox-like whiskers.

The village's Demon Fox?

The shop owner recognized Naruto and frowned.

Naruto calmly raised his head and met the shop owner's gaze. Then he pulled his hood back on, as though asking: What exactly are you waiting for?

The shop owner hesitated, gave Naruto an icy look, and turned around to prepare the goods.

During that time, Naruto stood at the door with his hands in his pockets, boredly staring at the shelves as he considered what to eat that night.

At that moment, villagers arriving to shop also noticed Naruto. After avoiding him as they entered the store, they began whispering among themselves.

"That brat is the Demon Fox's incarnation, right? I remember the Fourth Lord was killed by him... and the village suffered enormous losses because of him..."

"But he's just a kid. The Fourth Lord was a hero of the war. Could he really have done something like that?"

Someone voiced this doubt, but another voice quickly cut in.

"You don't understand. That's what makes the Demon Fox so terrifying. He may look like a child, but his body contains power capable of destroying the world. He could go berserk and hurt people at any moment."

"Ah, such a dangerous monster, and the village still allows him to remain here?"

"The Third Lord is too kindhearted. He was afraid that the boy would wreak havoc outside the village if he left, so he kept him here. But we're the ones suffering because of it."

"So that's how it is. But how does a monster like that have the nerve to keep living in this world? If I were him, I'd have killed myself to atone long ago."

The surrounding villagers coldly watched the "Demon Fox" who had once destroyed the village, their eyes full of disgust.

Three years had passed since the Nine-Tails' Rampage, which destroyed more than half the village.

People still had not forgotten the pain of that time. Instead, they had transferred their hatred onto Naruto, the "Demon Fox." As for whether the young Naruto had possessed the ability to cause the Nine-Tails' Rampage, they had never considered it.

Perhaps all they needed was an excuse to vent the oppression that had built up inside them.

Listening to those piercing, heart-wrenching words, Naruto remained expressionless. He merely shot them a cold look when their discussion grew particularly animated.

Some villagers were frightened by his fierce gaze. After barely steadying themselves, they retreated and no longer dared to gossip in front of him.

Naruto found it boring. With a cold snort, he walked over to the shop owner, looked at the packed cardboard box, and said blandly, "Boss, there wouldn't happen to be expired or rotten food in there, would there?"

The shop owner froze for a moment, then swore, "How could there be? This store never sells expired goods."

"There'd better not be. If I find expired food, I'll report your shop to the Hokage and the Military Police Force."

With that, Naruto picked up the cardboard box, which was nearly as tall as he was, and left the shop without looking back.

When the surrounding villagers saw Naruto approaching, they parted like they were avoiding a plague god. Only after he had left did they start cursing words like "bad luck" and "unlucky."

The villager Naruto had frightened earlier moved closer to the shop owner and demanded, "Boss, why sell food to that monster? You're giving him the strength to keep threatening us. A monster that can never be tamed should starve to death."

The shop owner glanced at the villager. "It's still a life. This is Konoha. Even abandoned cats and dogs can't just be left to starve."

The villager sneered. "Is that really it? I saw those goods were all underweight and nearly expired. You're just after the Demon Fox's money. No wonder you're one of the village's most notorious crooked merchants."

"How can charity be called crooked business?"

The shop owner explained guiltily, and cheerful laughter immediately rose from the people around him. Everyone knew he was a notorious crooked merchant.

After opening his door, Naruto dropped the cardboard box to the floor with a thud, then turned around and left again with his homemade fishing gear.

As for the food in the box, Naruto did not even need to open it to know that it was all near-expired food carefully selected for him by that crooked shop owner.

It would not be expired or rotten, but it was definitely the leftovers from the same batch, the ones everyone else had passed over. There would be nothing good inside.

Even then, he had to put up with the shop owner's attitude. Otherwise, the next time he came by, the man would likely turn him away on the excuse that the goods were out of stock. As a four-year-old child, Naruto had no way to deal with that.

Who told him he was the incarnation of the Demon Fox that had destroyed Konoha? From the moment he was born, he had been someone people despised and hated.

Even when he was treated unfairly, the villagers would stand against him. He wondered what the Fourth Hokage and his wife would think if they saw this from the afterlife. They would probably feel very gratified, since this was the village they had protected.

When he arrived by the river, its rapid current had not yet frozen. Naruto cast his hook into the water, watched the splash, and waited for today's catch.

If he came up empty-handed again like the past few days, he would not get to eat meat tonight.

Whoosh, whoosh...

The biting wind made Naruto shrink his neck. After rubbing his hands together to warm his palms, he could not help sighing.

He was Uzumaki Naruto, that much was true, but the soul inside his body belonged to a transmigrator.

In his previous life, he had been a miserable office worker raised in an orphanage. He had loved Hokage since childhood and had, in a sense, grown up alongside Naruto and Sasuke.

After becoming an adult, he had stayed up late grinding through the Boruto finale, furiously mocking the fact that the Hokage's bastard rankings had somehow changed hands.

Then, after waking up from a single night's sleep, he witnessed the iconic scene of Minato Namikaze using the Reaper Death Seal to die alongside his wife, becoming an orphan once again.

Being an orphan was not so bad. Having grown up in an orphanage in his previous life, he had long been used to living alone.

It was just that starting out with Naruto's identity was even more stressful than he had imagined.

In just four years, he had suffered through nannies refusing to feed him, price hikes whenever he bought groceries, bullying from gangs of bratty children, and other terrible incidents.

Those were even more unbearable than a lack of material supplies.

Even with an adult's mindset, he found it hard to endure such malice. He could only grit his teeth and hold on through the Uzumaki Clan's physique.

It was hard to imagine how Naruto in the original story had endured all that malice yet still maintained such a sunny, cheerful personality. Could Asura's Chakra really affect one's personality?

In any case, he could not force a smile and face those villagers full of malice.

Even if the villagers did not know the truth behind his Demon Fox identity, their malice had already affected him.

As he fretted, a fish took the bait. Naruto grabbed the rod and yanked hard, flinging an arm-length fresh fish onto the snow. He knocked it unconscious with a wooden stick, then placed it in his fish basket.

"Fish soup tonight."

A smile appeared on Naruto's face. Just as he was about to cast again, he noticed that the sky had gradually darkened. Somewhat regretfully, he headed home.

It was not that he was afraid of the dark. Mainly, staying up late would affect his growth, and he did not want to end up underdeveloped.

Night was the best disguise. Under the dim yellow streetlights, Naruto removed the hood concealing his identity and happily walked through the streets and alleys, freely breathing in the fresh air without caring about anyone's gaze.

Soon, Naruto stopped. Someone was blocking his path in the middle of the intersection ahead.

The person blocking the way was a girl around his age. She had light purple hair and flawless white eyes, with faint tears glimmering in them, making it hard to breathe for a moment.

At that moment, helplessness was written all over the girl's little face, as though she had gotten lost at a crossroads in life.

Was this Hinata? Naruto was not entirely sure, but those Byakugan definitely belonged to the Hyuga Clan.

Naruto was slightly puzzled. Frowning, he looked toward the end of the dark street and every corner where someone might be hiding.

The young lady of the Hyuga Main Family getting lost outside, then encountering a poor boy who was the Jinchuriki sealing the Nine-Tails—no matter how he looked at it, something felt strange. It was as though it had been deliberately arranged like a script.

After thinking for a few seconds, Naruto decided to turn around and leave, but then he heard Hinata's helpless voice. "Can you help me? I can't find my way home."

Naruto stopped, held out his hand, and grinned with a Demon Fox's smile. "Of course."

Hinata raised her small hand, seeming a little hesitant, but Naruto quickly grabbed it. As he led the way, he asked, "What's your name? Are you related to the Hyuga? Your eyes look a lot like theirs, so I'll take you to the Hyuga Compound."

Naruto asked one question after another. Hinata kept nodding, stammering without saying a word.

More than ten minutes later, Naruto brought Hinata to the outskirts of the Hyuga Compound. Once the guards outside saw Hinata, they hurriedly surrounded her.

Today was an important festival in the village. When had the young lady left the compound?

Seeing the guards surge forward, Naruto instinctively tightened his grip on Hinata's hand, sweat beading in his palm.

Realizing this, Naruto quickly released her hand and smiled at Hinata. "Looks like you're home. I'll be heading back now."

Hinata seemed to want to say something, but Naruto gave her no chance. He left behind only a lonely silhouette.

Though the guards were somewhat confused, getting the young lady home was more important at the moment.

However, the Jonin guard leading them seemed to recognize Naruto and frowned.

After walking several hundred meters, Naruto was drawn by the commotion behind him and turned around. The Hyuga Compound was decorated with lanterns and colorful ornaments, bustling with activity as though they were celebrating some important festival.

Naruto's gaze swept across the compound before finally settling on the outer wall of the Hyuga residence. The wall was a full three or four meters high and looked difficult to climb. It separated the liveliness within from the desolation outside.

The liveliness belonged to others. Only loneliness belonged to him.

Unable to have that liveliness, he could only enjoy the desolation alone.

Just then, a voice sounded beside Naruto's ear.

"Hinata Hyuga's favorability toward you has reached approval. You have received a pair of 'Winter Warm Gloves.' The girl you helped hopes her friend's hands will no longer be cold."

New author, new book. This is my first time writing Hokage, so please take care of me!