Days of Entering the Ninja Academy

The closer they got to the school, the more parents could be seen accompanying their children. The moment those parents caught sight of Naruto, their expressions shifted slightly. While they refrained from any overt actions or obvious displays of hostility due to Iruka's presence, the gazes they cast toward Naruto were filled with a faint, deeply hidden sense of disgust and fear. Though these looks were incredibly subtle, Naruto's keen senses picked up on them all the same.

Whenever a child looked at Naruto with curiosity, their parents would immediately pull them away, turn their heads, and warn them in stern, hushed tones not to have any contact with the blond boy—not even a meeting of eyes.

Surrounded by such overwhelming malice, Naruto felt a momentary surge of agitation.

His right hand, which was holding Iruka's, tightened involuntarily.

It was only for an instant before Naruto returned to his calm demeanor.

Yet, Iruka had clearly felt that slight tremor.

Although he was only a chunin and lacked the clearance to know Naruto's true identity as the orphan of the Fourth Hokage, his training as a ninja gave him a basic understanding of things like Tailed Beasts and jinchuriki.

Naruto was Naruto, and the Nine-Tails was the Nine-Tails.

Naruto was merely a pitiful child serving as a vessel for the Nine-Tails.

He shouldn't have been venting his anger over his parents' deaths on Naruto.

Naruto was only a six-year-old child, after all.

He was just an ordinary orphan who had lost his parents on the same night as the Nine-Tails Incident—at least, that was the cover story the Hidden Leaf Village had prepared for him.

Yet, he was treated like a monster by everyone in the village, ostracized and loathed.

At the thought of this, the expression on Iruka's face softened.

Of course, Iruka would never know that the reason for Naruto's sudden agitation and the tightening of his grip had nothing to do with fear or any other negative emotion; it was simply a momentary failure to suppress the sliver of killing intent within his heart.

My mental state still needs improvement...

Naruto kept his head down, thinking to himself with a touch of self-mockery.

These ordinary villagers? Well, it wasn't necessarily true that he hated them all that much. After all, they weren't the direct cause of his difficult life. These ignorant villagers, who knew nothing of jinchuriki or the nature of Tailed Beasts, treated him as the Nine-Tails itself; that was, in a sense, human nature. Of course, not hating them didn't mean Naruto had any fondness for them. If the opportunity arose in the future, he wouldn't mind kicking these ignorant fools of the Hidden Leaf while they were down. The targets Naruto truly wanted to retaliate against were the high-ranking officials of the Hidden Leaf who sat high above, acting in the name of so-called stability and the greater good of the village—especially that Shimura Danzo, a man Naruto was absolutely determined to kill!

This had nothing to do with justice; it was merely a matter of human vengeance.

It was not just for himself, but also for his deceased parents.

If Uchiha Obito was the primary culprit, then Shimura Danzo's share of the blame was no small matter either!

In this life, Naruto would not be like the original version from his past life, who was foolish enough to want to protect the Hidden Leaf, and who even tried to persuade Uchiha Obito during the final battle, ultimately allowing that guy to be redeemed?

Regardless of what hardships Uchiha Obito had, or whether he had been deceived, this guy was also on Naruto's kill list.

The Uchiha were hateful, pitiful, and lovable all at once. But Uchiha Obito was the most deserving of death.

He was not like Uchiha Itachi, Shisui, or Kagami.

The latter three were Uchiha worthy of respect. Of course, the existence of Uchiha Itachi was somewhat contradictory; after all, choosing to wipe out his own clan for the sake of the village was, to put it bluntly, very difficult to explain or justify. It was undeniable that Itachi had a great side, but he also possessed a twisted, demonic side. He was a highly contradictory figure—both respectable and detestable. One could say he chose to sacrifice his family for "national interest," but his methods and his mindset were not just biased—they were extremely extreme.

Therefore, even in the original story from his past life, the opinions of fans regarding Itachi were polarized.

Naruto felt much the same; there were parts of Itachi he admired, and parts he couldn't understand or even loathed. However, as long as it didn't involve his own life in this world, Naruto wouldn't pay it much mind.

As for the rest of the Uchiha? Heh! Even Madara was more likable than them!

"There we are, Naruto."

After a short walk of about ten minutes, Iruka brought Naruto to the main gate of the Ninja Academy, which was already crowded with parents and their children.

Iruka led Naruto to a less crowded area, leaned down slightly, gently patted Naruto's small head, and said softly with a warm smile, "Naruto, I'm going to go handle your enrollment paperwork. You wait here for me, okay?"

"Yes, Iruka-sensei."

Naruto looked up, a bright smile on his face, and nodded firmly in response.

"Don't wander off. I'll be right back."

Before leaving, Iruka still gave a word of instruction, clearly uneasy.

To be honest, in the world of Naruto, especially for children raised in ninja villages, precociousness was the norm. In this world, it was very common for children to become ninjas and step onto the battlefield at a very young age. The famous "Mr. Five-Fifty-Fifty"—Kakashi Hatake—graduated from the Ninja Academy and became a Hidden Leaf Village ninja at five, then became a Jonin at twelve. Although geniuses like Kakashi were rare, becoming a ninja and entering the battlefield at seven or eight had been a common occurrence in all major ninja villages just a few years ago.

But now? The situation in other ninja villages remained unknown.

Hidden Leaf Village.

In Naruto's eyes, it had become decadent.

A ninja.

Is not playing house.

The Ninja Academy in Hidden Leaf Village advocated for humanistic education.

There was nothing wrong with that.

The education of the Mist Ninja was the one that was perverted and deformed.

However, the education in Hidden Leaf Village was far too gentle. Ninjas only started school at six and didn't graduate until twelve; most importantly, they didn't see a drop of blood during those six years!

To Naruto, this was extremely ridiculous.

A ninja who doesn't see blood?

Can you even call that a ninja?

The Will of Fire of Hidden Leaf Village.

To be honest, Naruto didn't think it was wrong, but it was obvious that by the time it reached the Third Hokage, the Will of Fire had completely lost its original meaning.

Gentleness does not mean weakness, and restraint does not mean concession.

The excessive pursuit of so-called peace.

Only makes the enemy push further and further.

The Third Hokage certainly made contributions to the development of Hidden Leaf Village that could not be erased.

But at the same time.

This Third Hokage was also the biggest reason for the gradual decline of Hidden Leaf Village.

Just looking at his unlimited tolerance toward the outside world, his unlimited indulgence of Shimura Danzo, and the fact that he let Orochimaru go despite having the strength and opportunity to kill him—which led to the later Konoha Crush Plan—one could see just how foolish this Third Hokage had become.

Of course, these matters had little to do with Naruto.

He had no attachment to Hidden Leaf Village.

Even if his father was the Fourth Hokage.

It wouldn't change anything.

Perhaps because he was worried about Naruto being there all by himself.

In less than ten minutes.

Iruka, who had gone to handle the enrollment procedures for Naruto, appeared before him once again. Seeing Naruto waiting there safe and sound.

Iruka quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

In reality, Iruka was indeed worrying a bit too much.

Regardless.

This was the Ninja Academy of Hidden Leaf Village.

No matter how much those parents hated Naruto, they would not, and dared not, take any extreme actions.

"Alright, let's go, Naruto. Teacher will take you to the classroom."

"Yes!"

Naruto nodded, took Iruka's left hand again, and followed by his side, walking toward the interior of the Ninja Academy.