Naruto clenched his fists.
He had already heard these words once last night.
But hearing them again from the Third Hokage still made his chest tighten.
"Then why does everyone hate me?"
The Third Hokage's expression was pained.
"Because of fear."
Naruto stared at him.
The Third Hokage continued:
"They lost their families, their friends, too many things."
"They didn't dare face the real culprit."
"Nor did they know who the real culprit was."
"So they redirected their fear onto you."
Naruto's voice trembled slightly:
"But I was only a baby back then."
"Yes."
The Third Hokage lowered his head.
"So this was the village's fault."
Naruto froze.
He had not expected the Third Hokage to say that.
The Third Hokage looked at him.
"It was my fault too."
No one spoke in the office.
Shin-getsu did not continue provoking him either.
Because those words had to be spoken by the Third Hokage himself.
Naruto was silent for a long time.
At last, he asked in a low voice:
"That Masked Man... was he really the one who got my parents killed?"
The Third Hokage said:
"He was at least involved in the Nine-Tails Incident."
Shin-getsu took out the bloodstained cloth left behind last night.
"This is the second blood sample he has left behind."
"We also have records of Kamui fluctuations."
"Some fragments of memories from the Nine-Tails Incident have also been extracted through ocular techniques."
"The evidence is not complete yet, but the direction is clear enough."
Shikaku took the materials, his expression grave.
"He suffered a loss last night. He will not easily enter the village again anytime soon."
Shin-getsu said:
"So he will change locations."
The Third Hokage looked at him.
"The Land of Waves?"
Shin-getsu nodded.
"Last night, I saw mist through future projection."
"Water