"Was Naruto really like that?" Iruka scratched his head.
Something felt a little off, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what.
Still, he believed Naruto had no reason to lie to him.
After all, he was only a child of about ten.
What harm could a child who wasn't even a Genin possibly have in mind?
"By the way, Naruto, give me the Scroll of Seals you're carrying on your back."
Iruka suddenly remembered something, and his expression turned serious.
He could put up with Naruto being mischievous and immature.
But when it came to the Scroll of Seals,
he would never give in!
If the Scroll of Seals fell into the hands of another shinobi village,
it would spell disaster for Konoha.
Iruka wasn't willing to take that risk.
"Oh." Naruto took the Scroll of Seals off his back
and tossed it to Iruka.
There was no point in him reading the stuff inside.
He'd still have to train slowly.
Wasn't it better to wait for the system to trigger a choice and give him a reward?
Why bother training one step at a time?
Iruka caught the Scroll of Seals, and his tense expression softened slightly.
Naruto really was still Naruto. He hadn't changed.
He was a good student of his.
"Iruka, stop Naruto immediately!!! He has the Scroll of Seals!"
"Don't let that guy get away!"
"Damn it, how could our village produce a shinobi like him?!"
"I'm going to teach him a good lesson."
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
One figure after another rushed over at top speed.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had come too,
bringing up the rear of the crowd.
Mainly because he was afraid these people might beat Naruto to death.
If that happened, what face would he have left to show the Fourth Hokage?
Besides, he absolutely wouldn't let something like that happen.
"Well, would you look at that? Naruto's over here!"
"Iruka, tie him up! Don't let him run away!"
"Huh? Is that Mizuki? Why's there so much blood beside him? Who did that..."
"What happened here?"
The shinobi who had rushed over all started talking at once.
Afraid they'd misunderstand, Iruka called out loudly, "Everyone, please settle down. Quiet, please. Hear me out."
The crowd fell silent all at once.
They'd seen the Scroll of Seals in Iruka's hands,
and their worries eased.
"This was all Mizuki's terrible idea. He wanted to use Naruto..."
Iruka explained the whole situation.
It was far more effective to have someone else explain things clearly
than to explain them himself.
And Naruto couldn't be bothered to explain anything to this bunch of idiots.
If they weren't satisfied, he didn't mind bringing disaster down on Konoha again.
He had half the Nine-Tails' power now.
At worst, he could use the Rinnegan's abilities to escape.
The sky was vast enough for a bird to fly wherever it pleased.
He could go wherever he wanted.
But, come to think of it,
his wife was still in Konoha.
And not just his wife—his future sister-in-law, who'd grow into a lovely young woman, was there too.
And that wasn't all... there seemed to be plenty of other cute girls around.
"Ding! As the child of a hero, how can you let people slander you at will?"
"Choice one: berate this bunch of ungrateful ingrates who take advantage of you and still act self-righteous, and make them reconsider who you are!"
"Reward: God-Level Taijutsu!"
"Choice two: their mouths are their own. Let them insult you without responding."
"Reward: Child of Endurance (a title with no real use)"
"I choose one."
"Congratulations, host! You have obtained the ninjutsu God-Level Taijutsu!"
Naruto drew in a breath, and his expression instantly turned cold.
He looked at the crowd and spoke calmly.
"Iruka-sensei, there's no need to explain anything to this bunch of ungrateful ingrates. They're all a bunch of cowards."
The atmosphere fell into an eerie silence.
Iruka stared at Naruto in astonishment.
He didn't know why Naruto would say something like that.
Naruto scanned the crowd.
With his already astonishing perception,
he quickly spotted Hiruzen Sarutobi hiding at the back!
"Grandpa Third, I see you. Come out for a moment. I have something to say to you."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's old face turned red.
Good grief... I hid so well.
How did little Naruto find me?
Awkward as it was,
he'd also been called out in front of everyone.
The shinobi from the village turned their gazes toward him.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had no choice but to steel himself and step forward.
"Ahem... Naruto, what do you need from me?"
"Now that we've found the Scroll of Seals, everyone should head back to the village."
Hiruzen Sarutobi tried to change the subject.
He felt like Naruto seemed a little different today.
If they stayed here any longer,
something bad might happen.
"That's right... The Third Hokage is right. We found the Scroll of Seals, so let's hurry back."
"I'd say the Third Hokage is pretty merciful. If it were up to me, I'd drag this little brat back and beat him for constantly messing around and causing trouble."
"Too bad he's not my kid. If he were, I'd have beaten him already!"
"Exactly... Exactly..."
Many people started talking among themselves.
Naruto watched them calmly,
as if they were monkeys putting on a show.
His voice wasn't loud or soft,
but everyone present could hear him perfectly.
"So this is how you treat the child of a hero?"
The entire crowd fell into dead silence.
A hint of deep shock appeared in Hiruzen Sarutobi's usually unruffled eyes!
Everyone was stunned.
Their mouths instinctively snapped shut.
Even Iruka, standing beside him, broke out in a cold sweat.
What the heck?!
When did Naruto find out about this?!
This was a top-level secret!
Only a handful of elite High Shinobi who'd been involved back then,
and he himself, knew about it.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had deliberately kept the matter under wraps,
forbidding anyone from bringing it up in front of the younger generation.
The reason was simple.
During the Third Shinobi World War, Minato Namikaze had killed many shinobi from other villages.
In short, there were a lot of people who held a grudge against him.
Naruto couldn't protect himself yet.
If his identity became public,
those old enemies might come after him and try to assassinate him.
Even the wisest person could overlook something.
What good would it do to have powerful Anbu guard Naruto around the clock?
If they ran into a powerful assassin,
or made even the slightest mistake,
Naruto's life could still be in danger!
Hiruzen Sarutobi also had another little motive.
He wanted Naruto to shoulder the blame for the Nine-Tails' rampage through the village back then.
In that war
But, come to think of it, how had Naruto found out?
Everyone was confused.
Naruto dropped another bombshell.
It left them wracked with guilt.
It caught them completely off guard!
"If I'm not mistaken, my dad was the Fourth Hokage, right? He died fighting for the village, and in the end, it was all because of the Nine-Tails' rampage back then."
"My dad was gone, and my mom was gone too. Heh... Both my parents died because they sealed the Nine-Tails inside me."
"So it wouldn't keep rampaging through the village..."
He paused.
His voice turned even colder.
"My parents were willing to sacrifice themselves so a bunch of ungrateful people like you could live."
"And how have you treated me?"
Silence...
Nothing but silence.
The expressions on everyone's faces changed again and again.
Their anger at Naruto turned to sorrow and unease.
That's right... The Fourth Hokage and his wife weren't to blame for that horrific attack.
The Nine-Tails was!
What had the Fourth Hokage and his wife done wrong?
And what had their son, Naruto, done wrong?
Did he want to live as a Jinchūriki?
Had anyone ever asked him what he wanted?
No! Absolutely no one! Not a single person!
They'd simply pinned their own incompetence and ugliness on a child who'd done nothing wrong.
All because the Nine-Tails was sealed inside him.
All because the child was the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki.
But... the Nine-Tails was the one at fault. What had he, Naruto Uzumaki, done wrong!!!
Wait!
Naruto was the child of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze?!
At that moment, everyone was stunned.
Their expressions were something to behold.
Before you continue