Naruto's Answer

"You have no idea how disgusting that mask seller was!"

I only glanced at his shop and did nothing, yet he insisted on kicking me out and even dared to throw a mask at me? He really gave him a hard time!

I didn't tolerate him at all. I smashed up his entire shop and beat him so badly he couldn't get out of bed for a month!

And then he actually had the nerve to complain about me? Hilarious! I was acting in self-defense. That Third Hokage man might be a bit soft-hearted, but he's still reasonable and wouldn't listen to that scoundrel's nagging!

On the bench, Naruto proudly recounted his glorious achievements to Koko.

Getting carried away, he jumped off his chair and stood in front of the shop, gesturing wildly as if to demonstrate how he had smashed up the shop back then, showing no sign of stopping.

Kō silently listened attentively, but the look in his eyes as he watched Naruto gradually became strange.

Good heavens, this is bullying Konoha's troublemakers in reverse! What the hell?!

"I have a feeling... that even without the Inari God Detection, we can now be fairly certain that Asura Chakra is no longer inside Naruto."

The thought that Prisoner Madara might still be alive troubled him.

If that old man is indeed still alive, wouldn't that mean that I, all these years, and even now, am very likely under the secret surveillance of the Prisoner Madara?

Thinking of this, Kou couldn't help but shiver involuntarily, alertly sensing the movements around him.

After repeatedly confirming that Naruto was the only one being watched from all around, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

I knew it! With the perception I've honed over the years, how could a mere Madara possibly know what I'm thinking?

I'm a man who can even react to Kamui!

I've had a vague feeling since earlier that someone is watching me? Or maybe it's just my imagination!

The radar didn't go off, so this was definitely just me scaring myself!

The battle-hardened Lao Kou ultimately ignored his body's instinctive reactions and chose to trust the perception he had honed day after day.

His gaze regained its previous composure, and he looked gently at Naruto beside him, who was still enthusiastically recounting his glorious achievements.

"Let me tell you, Konoha really needs to seriously address the moral education of those unruly citizens!"

Naruto seemed to have finally found someone to vent to about the words that had been bottled up inside him for so long, and he shouted with deep resentment:

Last winter, when I was taking a walk in the snow, I encountered a group of thugs bullying a little girl!

If I hadn't arrived in time and easily beaten those petty thugs and the big thugs they called in, sending them all to the hospital, that little girl would definitely have been bullied to tears!

Naruto made no mention of Hinata's attempt to stop him from fighting, which ultimately failed, and how she watched him with teary eyes, while he let out a heavy, cold snort.

"If the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too! A troublemaker's child will still be a troublemaker!"

If their inherent flaws are not eradicated at their root, then Konoha will never see the light of day again!

"Uh... I think it's about time."

Kou raised his hand, wiped away a non-existent bead of cold sweat from his forehead, and interrupted Naruto's seemingly endless tale of "the hero who beats the eagle":

I think I understand what you mean.

Naruto's eyes lit up instantly:

Do you really understand what I'm thinking?!

"Ah, that's right."

Kou nodded. Looking at the little fox gazing at him expectantly, he smiled meaningfully and said:

"You hate it here, you're not having a good time here... Am I right?"

Naruto's smile froze instantly.

His lips moved a few times, and the hand that was still hovering in mid-air making the famous shop-smashing gesture froze in place.

"Uh, well, I, I didn't actually mean that..."

"But isn't that exactly what you just meant?"

He tilted his head slightly, feigning confusion, and asked in return:

"The villagers of Konoha are not good to you, and you hate them."

Living in such an environment, can you really feel happy in Konoha?

"The village isn't all those annoying guys!"

Naruto almost instinctively began to defend himself:

"Sasuke, Kakashi, the Third Hokage, the Pervy Sage, Dad... cough cough, Teuchi, Sister Ayame, and Shikamaru and Iruka-sensei, everyone at the Ninja Academy!"

They are all incredibly kind people!

"But those people are ultimately a minority, aren't they?"

Kouchi feigned doubt and continued to press, staring intently into Naruto's slightly shimmering eyes:

Ultimately, the majority of people in the village dislike you, even if there are some who are nice to you, they are a very small minority.

In this kind of environment, are you really happy? Can you really... not care about what those people think?

Why should I care what people who hate me for no reason think?

Naruto straightened his back, met Koko's meaningful gaze directly, and responded matter-of-factly:

"Although at the beginning, I was indeed troubled by those guys' attitudes, and I even secretly cried at home quite a few times."

But ever since my mom... uh, someone said something like that to me, I haven't thought about it that way again!

Naruto looked at Koko, a bright smile blooming on his little face:

"You don't need to care about the approval of people who dislike you for no reason; you only need the approval of the people you care about!"

I totally agree with that super cool line!

As he spoke, Naruto gave Koko a thumbs-up, and a smug smile, bright enough to light up the entire night sky, bloomed on his still somewhat chubby face:

"Now, I'm incredibly happy every single day!"

Hearing Naruto's words, he couldn't help but be slightly taken aback.

"Is it enough to only have the approval of those you care about, instead of caring about the approval of those who dislike you for no reason...?"

He repeated the sentence softly, and the image of a woman with long red hair and a cheerful smile involuntarily appeared in his mind.

"Kakashi is quite considerate; he actually remembered Sister Kushina's words and relayed them to Naruto..."

Looking at Naruto before him, whose smile was sincere and Naruto face showed no trace of gloom, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Seeing that you've taken good care of him, I'm relieved."

He murmured to himself, and the gentle, warm light in the depths of his clear eyes had gradually been replaced by a deeper solemnity.

Now that your worries are over, it's time to get down to business!

Under Naruto's gaze, which was filled with surprise, Koko stood up straight from the bench.

He walked to the opposite side of Naruto and calmly looked at Naruto was still sitting on the bench.

Feeling that gaze suddenly become extremely serious, Naruto blinked in confusion and couldn't help but ask:

"We were having a nice chat, what happened all of a sudden?"

After a moment of silence, he slowly spoke:

"I have gotten the answer I wanted."

His voice was still that childlike tone, but the gentle ease he had just exuded was gone.

"This heart-to-heart talk should probably come to an end now."