Naruto Uzumaki Would No Longer Back Down

That night, Shazo's gains were enormous.

The Nine-Tails' tail was warm, soft, clean, and fresh.

Shazo gave it a thorough petting, naturally plucking a few hairs as well. That was no small gain.

Kushina Uzumaki had demonstrated the Adamantine Sealing Chains before Shazo. This was a direct observation on the soul level; for Shazo, who had been in the form of the Spirit of the Shinigami at the time, it was practically like copying it down directly.

This strongest Sealing Technique was an incredible haul.

Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze had vanished, but none of their dissipating chakra had gone to waste. It had all fallen into Shazo's hands.

Chakra capable of carrying consciousness was today's greatest gain.

Finally, putting it into practice had greatly increased his proficiency with the Spirit of the Shinigami, which also counted as a modest gain.

Naturally, Naruto Uzumaki had gained the most. This seven-year-old had filled the void in his heart ahead of time, and the road ahead would surely be much smoother for him.

Even his resistance to Asura's chakra influence would greatly increase.

Shazo felt that this would force Asura's chakra to exert itself more, making its traces easier for him to discover and helping him seize it.

But Shazo had overlooked the influence of the red-haired woman. He had forgotten just how profound an impact it would have when a seven-year-old child firmly believed his mother's words.

Especially when that influence acted upon Naruto Uzumaki's soul, then took on a distorted form through the "mask," causing tremendous changes in 250 Naruto Uzumaki.

More precisely, Naruto Uzumaki was no longer as boisterous as before. He no longer caused trouble three times a day.

But the trouble he caused had become far more serious.

Naruto Uzumaki began openly pursuing Sakura Haruno, leaving the scheming Sakura with no way out. After she was forced to loudly reject him, he immediately turned around and left, never paying her any attention again.

He no longer noisily competed with Uchiha Sasuke, but during official taijutsu sparring, he truly went all out, beating Sasuke until he questioned his life.

Naruto Uzumaki no longer caused havoc throughout Konoha without restraint, but he began openly taking revenge on the villagers who had hurt him.

If a shop refused to sell Naruto food or daily necessities, he would use paint to blot out its signboard.

If passersby whispered behind his back that Naruto was a monster, he would sneak up on them and suddenly shout, scaring them out of their wits.

If a shop not only refused to sell him anything but also drove him away with a broom, he would turn around and block its entrance with shit.

As for those little brats who dared throw pebbles at Naruto, he would catch them, pull down their pants, and smack their butts until they split into eight pieces.

The Konoha villagers who had grown used to bullying him without him fighting back, and to seeing him flee cowardly, were furious.

In their eyes, that fox-faced brat was a lowly nobody in Konoha, a punching bag for venting their dissatisfaction and releasing their fear of the Nine-Tails.

It had already angered them enough that such a lowlife had been allowed into the Ninja Academy. Now he actually dared to take such arrogant revenge on them.

This was utterly backwards!

The hot-tempered villagers picked up weapons, intending to teach the little monster a harsh lesson and make him understand his lowly status.

Faced with the villagers' fury and escalating violence, Naruto Uzumaki erupted with even greater anger and resentment.

After Shazo entered Naruto Uzumaki's inner world, he helped him meet his father and mother ahead of time.

He already knew that he was not a monster. He had a father and mother who loved him.

Naruto Uzumaki knew that his father was the Fourth Hokage, the hero who had saved Konoha.

He also knew that he was the Jinchuriki who sealed the Nine-Tails, that he was protecting Konoha and its villagers.

These idiots, who had been saved by his father and protected by him, had actually slandered and bullied him all along—and now they even dared attack him...

Naruto Uzumaki recalled his mother's words, as well as what Brother Shazo had told him.

"Naruto, after meeting the Fourth, you can't back down anymore."

"You are the son of a hero, the protector of the village, and the village's most important strategic weapon."

"If anyone from Konoha dares attack you, hit them back hard. You don't need to worry about whether you can beat them."

"Believe me, Konoha will not allow anyone to truly hurt you. Even if you kill someone, the Third Hokage will not punish you in any way."

"As long as you stop backing down and enduring it, others will have to back down."

Thinking of Brother Shazo's words and his mother's teachings, Naruto Uzumaki no longer had the slightest thought of retreating, much less any fear of not being accepted by others.

There was only anger and hatred.

His will pierced through the "mask" and reached 250 Naruto Uzumaki.

So Naruto Uzumaki fought back.

The armed villagers had their bones broken on the spot by Naruto, who coldly tossed them onto the street and let them roll around and wail in pain.

On the third day after Shisui Uchiha's disappearance, while the Hokage faction and the Uchiha Clan were fiercely confronting each other, and at the critical moment when Shimura Danzō contacted Obito Uchiha to prepare for the destruction of the Uchiha Clan—

Naruto Uzumaki publicly injured people on Konoha's streets. His brutal actions caused an enormous uproar in Konoha... my ass!

Nothing happened!

The moment Naruto Uzumaki chose to fight back, the Anbu ninja watching him reported it to the Third Hokage.

When Hiruzen Sarutobi heard that Naruto had been attacked by armed villagers, he was completely dumbfounded.

Naruto being ostracized by the villagers, being cursed at a few times, or even having a couple of stones thrown at him by children—none of that seemed like much to the Third Hokage.

He understood that the Nine-Tails' attack had left Konoha's people unsettled, and the villagers needed an outlet to vent.

Letting Naruto Uzumaki suffer a little was the least costly way to resolve the problem.

After all, Naruto was not suffering any real harm. It was fine for him to endure a little grievance.

But taking up weapons to attack Naruto Uzumaki was something he could not accept.

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not understand when these villagers had developed the delusion that they stood above ninja.

The Third Hokage finally realized that he had indulged the villagers too much in the past.

After receiving the report, Shimura Danzō was equally enraged.

Naruto Uzumaki was the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki, Konoha's strategic weapon.

"Do they not know that Konoha is a hidden ninja village? Do they not know that ninja are Konoha's rulers?"

"Mere villagers dare attack a Konoha Ninja, attack the son of the Fourth Hokage?"

"This is rebellion!"

When Fugaku Uchiha received the report from the Konoha Military Police Force ninja, he smashed the table with a single slap.

The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had been Fugaku's close friend. He had held no prejudice against the Uchiha Clan and had once given Fugaku boundless hope.

The Fourth Hokage's wife, Kushina Uzumaki, had been the best friend of Fugaku's wife, Mikoto Uchiha.

When the Fourth Hokage and his wife had still been alive, the two families had been extremely close.

Because the Third Hokage had put too much pressure on him, Fugaku Uchiha had been unable to look after Naruto, and his heart had long been filled with guilt.

Now that he heard someone had directly attacked Naruto, Fugaku Uchiha's guilt transformed into raging fury.

Shimura Danzō: "Bastards! Arrest them! Arrest every last one!"

"Investigate this thoroughly. Has information about the Jinchuriki been leaked? Were spies involved behind this incident?"

Fugaku Uchiha: "Arrest those attackers and the bystanders too. Teach them a proper lesson!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi: "Arrest them all. Do not let a single rumor spread!"

"Also, from today onward, anyone who calls Naruto Uzumaki a fox demon or a monster will be treated as a spy!"