Because Someone Dug Out My Brother's Eyes

"No," Sarutobi Hiruzen replied decisively.

"Then you'll just let the Uchiha get close to him!" Danzo Shimura stared at Sarutobi Hiruzen, his gaze chilling.

Sarutobi Hiruzen naturally wouldn't allow the Uchiha clan to get close to Naruto Uzumaki, but he also wouldn't allow Danzo Shimura to interfere.

The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki was the village's most powerful weapon. He wouldn't let just anyone near, nor would he let Danzo Shimura, who had gouged out Uchiha eyes, get close.

"I have my own methods."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's words made Danzo Shimura leave in a huff.

Naruto Uzumaki stayed in his small rental room.

He didn't have high demands for his living situation.

But he always struggled to eat well.

He had enough money.

However, the villagers wouldn't sell to him. He disliked stealing and hadn't even considered it.

He didn't know why the villagers hated him, but he knew how great Hokage Grandpa was.

Everyone liked Hokage Grandpa!

Therefore, if he became Hokage, everyone would like him too.

His dream was to become Hokage and make everyone like him!

Knock, knock.

There was a knock on the door.

Then, a familiar voice called out.

"Naruto, are you asleep?"

Naruto Uzumaki's eyes lit up, and he quickly got out of bed to open the door.

"Hokage Grandpa!" he shouted excitedly.

Sarutobi Hiruzen chuckled, picked up Naruto Uzumaki, and walked into his room.

He asked Naruto Uzumaki a few cliché questions: "Have you been good lately?", "Have you made any friends?", "What do you want to do in the future?"

After confirming that Naruto Uzumaki was the same as before, Sarutobi Hiruzen breathed a sigh of relief.

Next, he asked Naruto Uzumaki to recount his day.

Naruto Uzumaki told him everything.

When he talked about eating with a young man who could walk with his eyes closed, his mouth watered.

It smelled so good!

The barbecue from the Akimichi clan was delicious!

If he were alone, even with money, others wouldn't let him in.

But today was strange; everyone's attention was focused on that young man with closed eyes.

The young man was perfectly fine, so why did everyone seem so afraid of him?

Sarutobi Hiruzen, as if happy that Naruto Uzumaki had made a new friend, said with a casual smile, "That young man is very powerful. He destroyed my Hokage Building, and he also damaged many houses in the village, causing immense losses."

"Ah? So they're afraid of him because..." Naruto Uzumaki was stunned.

Was that young man a bad guy?

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded slightly and smiled, "Naruto, your dream is to become Hokage, right?"

"Yes! I want to become the Fifth Hokage!" Naruto Uzumaki exclaimed excitedly.

"But Hokage can't be friends with bad people," Sarutobi Hiruzen said regretfully.

Although Naruto Uzumaki felt something was off, his mind, accustomed to years of manipulation, couldn't figure it out. He said, "I'm not friends with him!"

Upon hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen's smile widened.

But he didn't know that Naruto Uzumaki was quietly thinking to himself, "I have to make him pay me back for that meal!"

The street.

Night was when life truly began.

The immense pressure of life made people enjoy drinking.

Two men, their faces flushed, stumbled out of a sake shop.

They were agitated, grabbing each other's collars.

"Why did you act recklessly at that time!"

"It's your fault I ended up like this!"

"Huh? What did you say! It was clearly you..."

"Bastard!"

The proprietress of the sake shop stepped forward to intervene, "Don't do this, don't do this..."

Passersby gathered around, curious about what was happening.

At this moment, the police force quickly arrived and pulled the two apart.

"Behave!"

But the other party didn't appreciate it.

"Police force, get lost!"

"Just like during the Nine-Tails' attack, hide to the side!"

The Night of the Nine-Tails was the beginning of everything, a matter that the Uchiha could not easily touch.

In an instant, they had angered two Uchiha clan members.

They stopped holding back, pinned the two to the ground, their faces pressed against the cold earth, and tied them up with ropes before taking them away.

However, this scene did not sit well with the surrounding villagers.

"They were just drunk and arguing, right?"

"Couldn't they have just mediated?"

Whispers, like malicious rats, carried the viruses of "police brutality," "killers of the Nine-Tails' Night," and "guilty conscience" throughout the village, spreading and escalating.

And these rumors also reached the ears of every Uchiha clan member.

The next day, early morning.

The weather was beautiful, and the sunlight felt warm and comfortable on the skin.

Six-year-old Uzumaki Naruto groggily woke up, only to hear the sound of slurping ramen beside him.

He turned his head and saw the flat-topped young man who had closed his eyes yesterday.

He was instantly dumbfounded.

He rubbed his eyes, and his blurry vision cleared, as did the flat-topped young man.

Uzumaki Naruto suddenly jumped up, retreating several steps on the bed.

"You... why are you here!"

"Do you know why I destroyed the Hokage Building?"

Jinghuo Uchiha's words instantly lowered Uzumaki Naruto's guard to its limit.

But Uzumaki Naruto remained distrustful, yet he still asked, "Why?"

Jinghuo Uchiha stopped slurping his noodles.

He turned to look at Uzumaki Naruto and said calmly, "Because someone dug out my brother's eyes."

As he spoke, Jinghuo Uchiha suddenly opened his eyes.

They were extremely blurry eyes, looking incredibly cloudy.

But one could still discern the blood-red color that once resided within, representing its past extraordinary brilliance.

Uzumaki Naruto was stunned. Unconsciously, he sat down beside Jinghuo Uchiha, chattering "young man" this and "young man" that, completely forgetting Hiruzen Sarutobi's instructions.

The Anbu outside the window were also stunned.

They hurriedly reported the news to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

By the time Hiruzen Sarutobi rushed over from the Sarutobi clan land, Jinghuo Uchiha had already left.

Before he could even ask Uzumaki Naruto about the situation, he heard Uzumaki Naruto ask him, "Grandpa Hokage, why did your teammate dig out big brother's brother's eyes?"

"..." Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to freeze, mentally cursing Danzo Shimura countless times.

At the same time, he felt uneasy about Uzumaki Naruto, who was somewhat slipping out of his control.

His manipulation of Uzumaki Naruto was achieved by concealing certain information.

For example, he hid the fact that Uzumaki Naruto was the son of the Fourth Hokage and the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.

And the rumors that he was a demon fox had nothing to do with him.

Although he treated Uzumaki Naruto very well, and the villagers treated him well, forming a perfect manipulation loop, he had never lied to Uzumaki Naruto.

Therefore, he comforted Uzumaki Naruto as always.

"Naruto, Grandpa doesn't know either. As Hokage, I have to manage all the affairs of the village, and I'm too busy. Some people have changed their hearts, but Grandpa didn't notice it in time. This is Grandpa's fault."

"Grandpa Hokage..." Uzumaki Naruto was very moved.

"But that young man still destroyed the Hokage Building for no reason. That is the symbol of Konoha." Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't bring himself to say this sentence.

Because he knew that if he pursued it further, he would be the one to suffer.

So, he changed his strategy.

He said kindly, "Naruto, Grandpa can rest for half a day on Saturday. Do you want to go out and play with Grandpa?"