A Poor Child

"At seven years old, he could already vie with the Nine-Tails for control of his body. When he grew up, Naruto would surely be able to suppress the Nine-Tails completely, and might even become a Jinchuriki as powerful as Lady Mito..."

Thinking this, the Third Hokage felt full of hope. He encouraged him, saying, "Naruto, keep it up. You can beat it."

It seemed that the Third Hokage's words gave Naruto strength. Naruto really did overpower the Nine-Tails.

The crimson Tailed Beast Chakra flowed back into his body, and the fox-like features gradually disappeared.

"It's the old man..."

Naruto looked at the Third Hokage wearily, then collapsed and passed out.

The Third Hokage said with relief, "Good boy..."

The group carried Naruto back to Konoha.

Three days later.

Konoha Hospital.

Facing the Third Hokage's kindly questions, Naruto furrowed his brow as he tried to remember. His tone was uncertain.

"That day, I was going home when I suddenly heard a noise. Then, somehow, I passed out."

"When I woke up, I found an old man carrying me through the sky. I was so scared that I struggled as hard as I could, and accidentally fell. Then I passed out again."

"When I woke up, the old man was right in front of me..."

"Who was that person? I don't know. I'm wondering about that too. I have no idea why he suddenly came looking for me..."

Half an hour later, the Third Hokage left.

Naruto lay in his hospital bed, his mind sinking into the Sealing Space.

"Kurama, do you think I can fool Konoha?"

Naruto felt a little unsure.

Although he thought his acting was perfect, he wasn't a professional actor, after all, and had no idea whether he could fool a bunch of old foxes in Konoha.

The thousand-year-old fox, the Nine-Tails, narrowed his eyes. "What's there to worry about? If you can't fool them, leave Konoha and become a rogue ninja."

"Do you really want me to become a rogue ninja?"

When they'd first met, the Nine-Tails had often urged Naruto to defect, out of a desire for revenge against the Fourth Hokage.

But now...

Thinking of the Fourth Hokage, the Nine-Tails stared at his sharp claws, then lowered his head to look at Naruto and fell silent.

Naruto sensed that something was wrong. "What's the matter?"

The Nine-Tails sighed inwardly and replied in a low voice, "Nothing. Try not to become a rogue ninja. On your own, you'd be outnumbered and isolated. It's too dangerous."

"Yeah, I know."

The Uchiha Clan was wiped out, and the Jinchuriki had been lost and then found.

After repeatedly discussing these two matters, Konoha's High Command finally reached a decision.

The Uchiha would take the blame for the Uchiha affair, with Itachi bearing primary responsibility.

But the blame was too heavy for Itachi alone, so they needed to sacrifice a member of Konoha's High Command to appease the other ninja clans.

Danzo was the obvious choice. He had been the one in charge of the operation in the first place, so pinning the blame on him wouldn't exactly be a false accusation.

So the Third Hokage disbanded Root and ordered Danzo to stay home and reflect on his actions.

The blame for losing and then recovering the Jinchuriki wasn't too serious, since they had found him.

The main question was how to handle the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki from now on.

That decision could only be made by the Hokage.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu made a suggestion: there was no need to waste time attending school. They should put the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki under direct supervision and train him separately to build up his combat strength.

The Third Hokage refused. "No. Naruto is Minato's child. We've already let Minato down. We can't let his child down too."

Utatane Koharu said solemnly, "As the Fourth Hokage, Minato was always a man who understood the greater good. I'm sure he would understand."

The Third Hokage naturally didn't believe a word she said, and still refused.

"The Jinchuriki will eventually gain power, so there's no need to rush his training. What matters is his character and his bond with the village..."

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and Naruto was discharged from the hospital.

Sasuke, who was cold from head to toe, was discharged at the same time.

"What a poor child..."

At the hospital entrance, Naruto glanced sympathetically at Sasuke beside him. He'd ended up with a brother whose thought process was out of the ordinary...

But that had nothing to do with me.

Naruto had no intention of striking up a conversation and started to leave.

An arm blocked his path. Sasuke said coldly, "Do you know something?"

"What do I know?"

Naruto looked utterly bewildered.

"The way you just looked at me was exactly the same as a week ago..."

Sasuke's eyes darkened.

A week ago, his family had been happy and his life had been perfect. A week later, his family was shattered and his entire clan had been wiped out.

Yet Naruto had always looked at him with the eyes of someone looking at an orphan, as if he'd known what was going to happen to him all along.

Naruto was speechless. "You're way too sensitive..."

It was just a little glance, and he'd remembered it all this time.

"Answer me!"

Sasuke stepped forward, about to grab Naruto by the collar. Naruto reacted quickly and smacked his hand away.

"If you want to talk, then talk. Keep your hands to yourself."

Naruto explained, "I already told you what happened a week ago, and I apologized... I only looked at you just now because I heard some things about you in the hospital."

Sasuke didn't want to believe him. "That's all?"

Naruto asked in return, "What do you think I should know?"

"You..."

You should have known what was going to happen to the Uchiha and told me in advance, so I could have prevented it.

But Sasuke knew that was just an unrealistic wish. It could never happen in real life.

"Don't look at me like that again. I don't need your sympathy."

Sasuke regained his composure, warned Naruto, then turned and left.

Naruto furrowed his brow in thought. He had a point...

Don't do unto others what you wouldn't want done to yourself.

Having been an orphan in both his lives, Naruto didn't like people looking at him with sympathy either. It made him feel as if he were somehow beneath them.

At the Ninja Academy, Naruto and Sasuke entered the classroom one after the other.

Sakura, Ino, and the other girls in their class ran over. They passed Naruto and gathered in front of Sasuke, their faces full of concern.

"Sasuke, are you okay?"

Word of what had happened to the Uchiha had spread throughout Konoha, and they were all worried their beloved heartthrob might not be able to handle the blow.

Sasuke pushed the girls aside and coldly snapped, "Get lost!"

He had no time to deal with these girls. He had only one goal for the rest of his life: become stronger, then kill that man!

"Sasuke..."

Some of the girls looked worried. Their heartthrob had become so cold.

But some girls were actually into that sort of thing. They cupped their faces in their hands, hearts in their eyes.

"Sasuke's even more handsome now!"

"Naruto, how are you? Are you okay?"

After Naruto returned to his seat, Choji, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Shino came over to check on him.

They were all boys, a stark contrast to the crowd around Sasuke.

But Naruto didn't mind. If anything, he preferred it. He smiled. "I'm fine. Look, I'm here at school, aren't I?"

Shikamaru and the others didn't press him. As members of ninja clans, they vaguely understood that what had happened to Naruto was a very sensitive matter.

It was best not to bring it up if they could avoid it.

After chatting briefly, the school bell rang. They dispersed and returned to their seats.