A Little Disgusting

Subconsciously skipping over embarrassing phrases like "worthy of," "marry you," and "official couple," Hinata told Hiashi about how Naruto Uzumaki saved her, chased away the bad guys, encouraged her to cheer up, and walked her home.

Seeing Hinata's flushed cheeks and the brilliant light in her eyes, completely devoid of her usual timidity, Hiashi felt a moment of mental disorientation.

This must... be an illusion, right? Yes, that's it, an illusion; the child is only three years old.

After Hinata finished speaking, Hiashi didn't tell her to stop associating with the blond brat, but merely cautioned, "Don't run around aimlessly from now on. If you want to go out, tell someone in the family and have an adult take you."

With an adult watching, Hinata shouldn't have any chance to encounter the blond brat.

Hinata returned to her usual demeanor and nodded weakly.

What a headache. Hiashi rubbed his brow and sighed, "Hinata, do not let your uncle's sacrifice go to waste..."

As the new year arrived, Naruto Uzumaki's grand money-making scheme entered deep water and suffered a serious setback.

The owner of the fruit shop fired the first shot in the resistance against Naruto Uzumaki.

"Demon Fox brat, even if you sit at my doorstep until the end of time, I will never yield to you!"

Because his family had all perished during the Nine-Tails Incident, he was the only one left.

The fruit shop owner harbored deep hatred for Naruto Uzumaki, the one who caused all of this, and would rather see his shop go bankrupt than surrender to him.

This display of backbone inspired other merchants who had lost loved ones in the Nine-Tails Incident to stand in solidarity.

"Well said! We support you. We absolutely cannot let that brat continue to be arrogant... We won't yield either!"

They refused to apologize, refused to pay compensation, and even refused to sell goods to Naruto Uzumaki.

Because compared to money, they hated Naruto Uzumaki more; if they could make his life miserable, it would be worth it even if their shops went under.

The result, however, was completely unexpected.

Not only did these resistors' shops not go bankrupt, but business became more booming by the day. A large number of villagers came to shop, even forming long lines, much like people queuing for a viral social media spot.

The villagers said smugly, "Brat, we already know what you're doing. Let me tell you, don't even think about succeeding. The more you sit here, the more we will support the shopkeeper..."

The villagers deeply loathed the fact that Naruto Uzumaki was using their disgust to pressure merchants into apologizing and profiting handsomely from it.

They wanted Naruto Uzumaki to live a miserable and painful life; only then would their hatred be satisfied.

They did not want to see Naruto Uzumaki living carefree and happy, especially when they had inadvertently contributed to it.

It disgusted them to their core.

Therefore, the villagers had long harbored the idea of doing the opposite to spite Naruto Uzumaki.

However, the previous merchants had been too spineless, and the villagers hadn't had time to support them before they caved.

Now that there were finally some tough nuts to crack, they became excited and flocked to support the shopkeepers.

Fight! Fight to the end! Fight until the bitter end! We support you from behind!

Whenever Naruto Uzumaki moved to a new shop to stake out, the villagers would follow and line up, causing the shopkeeper's business to skyrocket and earn a massive profit.

Merchants who were still on the sidelines grew green with envy. They could punish the annoying Demon Fox and make money at the same time? Let's do it!

"We hate the Demon Fox too! Everyone, come buy things at our shop!"

They... including the merchants who had originally yielded and apologized, all joined the wave of boycotting Naruto Uzumaki.

They wouldn't sell even a single grain of rice, not even expired food; it seemed they wanted to starve Naruto Uzumaki to death.

The wave of boycotts was overwhelming, and because so many people were participating, it even started to become a competition.

A half-hearted anti-Naruto stance is equivalent to no stance at all.

Just not selling things wasn't enough; they had to curse him vigorously, but even that wasn't enough—some even wanted to resort to violence...

Bang! Bang! Bang!

But under the education of Naruto Uzumaki's stones, the merchants remembered his background and thought of the Anbu protecting him...

Money had to be made, but one needed to be alive to spend it.

The merchants extinguished the thought of using violence, and they didn't dare to curse him to his face, so they could only curse Naruto Uzumaki behind his back and concoct increasingly vicious rumors.

"How are there so many people?"

Outside the dumpling shop, Shisui Uchiha looked at the line stretching out to the street, his face full of surprise.

Is he really that popular? But it didn't seem like this when they came last time!

"Over there..." Itachi Uchiha held his younger brother Sasuke Uchiha's hand and signaled for Shisui to look at the entrance of the dumpling shop.

The little blond boy was sitting at the entrance of the dumpling shop, carving something with intense focus, completely ignoring the disgusted and cold gazes of the people in the line.

"He..."

Sasuke looked at Naruto Uzumaki, and a strange resonance welled up from within. Naruto Uzumaki instinctively looked up and met Sasuke's gaze.

Second Pillar?!

The two on the side... the one with tear troughs must be Itachi, and the one with the bulbous nose must be Shisui Uchiha.

Having guessed the identities of the three, Naruto Uzumaki didn't have much of a reaction; he nodded at them as a greeting, then lowered his head to continue carving his wife.

This time, he chose one with a large chest: the Raiden Shogun.

Seeing Naruto Uzumaki greet them, the three Uchiha were stunned for a moment.

"This child..."

Shisui knew him, or rather, most ninjas knew him; after all, Naruto Uzumaki's identity wasn't exactly a secret.

But aside from ordinary people with mental deficiencies, any ninja with a bit of insight knew that Naruto Uzumaki was the village's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and had to be treated with caution.

Shisui pondered for a moment and asked, "Does the good business here have something to do with him?"

He had just returned from a mission outside the village and was unaware of what had been happening within Konoha.

Itachi nodded and said, "The villagers hate him. Whichever shop he sits in front of, that shop's business will flourish."

Shisui didn't understand: "But is there any logical connection between the two?"

Could you perhaps explain that more clearly?

Itachi didn't play coy and simply explained the reason.

Sasuke was confused, wondering what a Demon Fox was and why everyone hated him so much.

Shisui's expression darkened: "Has the village done nothing about it?"

A Jinchuriki is a vital asset to the village; it's one thing not to treat him well, but to subject him to constant cold violence—had they lost their minds?

Itachi sighed softly: "The village... perhaps has other ideas."

As devoted Konoha patriots, Itachi and Shisui cared more about the village's interests than even the Hokage, and they desperately wanted to change the Jinchuriki's mistreated situation.

But—

The two exchanged a glance and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Ever since the Nine-Tails Incident, "The Uchiha must not interfere in matters concerning the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki" had become an ironclad rule in Konoha.

Even though they were highly trusted by the Third Hokage, they were no exception.

Moreover, the Uchiha were struggling to protect themselves and didn't have the energy to get involved.

Sasuke grew impatient and shook Itachi's hand, asking, "Brother, are we still going to eat dango?"

Itachi smiled: "No, let's go to another shop."

This shop... although ignorance is no crime, profiting by bullying a child was truly disgusting.

Shisui agreed: "Let's go to another one, then. My treat."