Mizuki looked at Naruto and laughed mockingly. "Hahaha! Demon Fox, you still don't know, do you? The reason you—"
"Shut up, Mizuki! Stop talking!"
Seeing that Mizuki was about to reveal that Naruto was the Demon Fox, Iruka hurriedly stopped him.
Discussing this was strictly forbidden in Konoha.
So until now, Naruto had only known that the villagers hated him. He had no idea why.
Mizuki, of course, wouldn't listen to Iruka. He laughed and said, "Naruto, the truth is, you're the Demon Fox—the Nine-Tails Demon Fox who nearly destroyed Konoha. That's why everyone in the village hates and despises you."
"You killed their loved ones. Because of you, their family and friends died several years ago."
Mizuki was deliberately provoking Naruto, hoping to make him lose control.
But Mizuki didn't know that Naruto wasn't actually the Nine-Tails Demon Fox. He was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Only a few shinobi who had accompanied Hiruzen to rescue the Fourth Hokage and his wife, along with Konoha's higher-ups like Danzo, knew the secret.
Mizuki didn't know, of course. Like many adults in the village, he believed Naruto was the incarnation of the Nine-Tails Demon Fox.
That was why they hated Naruto so much: they believed he had killed their loved ones back then.
Although the Nine-Tails Incident hadn't lasted long, it had caused immense casualties in Konoha.
Many villagers and shinobi had been killed or wounded.
That was also why Konoha had been unable to stand firm against Kumogakure's pressure afterward.
Too many shinobi had died. Even if they went to war, they couldn't muster many shinobi.
Naruto froze.
He had known nothing about this. It was the first time he had heard Mizuki say anything like it.
His spirits sinking, he murmured, "So this is why everyone hates me."
Naruto felt awful.
The people whose acceptance he had always sought had turned out to be his enemies.
Iruka saw that Naruto's eyes were already starting to turn red.
He shouted anxiously, "Naruto, don't believe him! It's not true. He's lying to you!"
Mizuki cackled and shouted, "Hahaha! Naruto, you didn't know, did you? You killed Iruka's parents! That's why he wouldn't let you pass the exam!"
Naruto's gaze went blank, and his whole body trembled.
Seeing that Naruto was about to lose control, Iruka endured the pain and pulled the ninja tools from his body.
Blood poured out at once.
But he forced himself through the pain and went to Naruto's side. "Naruto, don't believe him. It's not true. You're not the Nine-Tails Demon Fox. The Nine-Tails Demon Fox was sealed inside you."
"The Nine-Tails Demon Fox was the one who killed them, not you. Don't blame yourself."
Although Iruka had hated Naruto when the Nine-Tails killed his parents, Hiruzen later spoke with him, and little by little, his view of Naruto changed.
At school, even when Naruto acted up and kept getting zeros on his exams, Iruka still never gave up on him.
Aside from a few others, Iruka was one of the people who knew Naruto was a Jinchuriki, not the Nine-Tails itself.
Naruto had already begun to radiate the Nine-Tails' blood-red chakra, but he paused when he heard Iruka's words.
He looked at Iruka. "Iruka-sensei, is that true?"
Naruto couldn't bear the thought that he was the Nine-Tails.
He had always wanted the villagers to accept him, yet he believed he had killed their loved ones.
For twelve-year-old Naruto, it was too much to bear.
Iruka's words were easier for him to accept.
It wasn't him who had killed them, but the Nine-Tails Demon Fox.
The Nine-Tails Demon Fox had simply been sealed inside him.
Iruka hurriedly said, "Of course. Those people weren't killed by you. The Nine-Tails Demon Fox killed them."
Naruto wiped his tears, turned to Mizuki, and shouted, "Mizuki-sensei, why did you lie to me?"
Mizuki frowned as he watched Iruka and Naruto.
Naruto hadn't lost control after all.
He had miscalculated.
"Demon Fox, die!"
Since he couldn't make Naruto lose control, he would have to use force.
He took the two enormous shuriken from his back.
"One cripple and one dead-last. I'll kill you both here today!"
Iruka gritted his teeth as waves of pain shot through his body.
Still, he drew a kunai and tried to buy Naruto some time. "Naruto, run! I'll hold him off!"
But how could Naruto run away now? He looked at Mizuki seriously. "Iruka-sensei, I'm staying to help you defeat him."
Iruka's mouth twitched.
That courage deserved praise, but what could Naruto possibly do by staying?
Mizuki was a Chunin, after all—not someone that a boy who couldn't even use the Clone Technique could match.
"Go! He's a Chunin. You can't handle him."
Naruto shook his head and stubbornly said, "Iruka-sensei, I can't leave you here and run away by myself."
Iruka was both touched and exasperated.
"I'm a Chunin. I'm the only one who can handle him. If you stay, you'll only get in my way."
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