Incitement

Konoha, outskirts of the residential district.

Two furtive figures appeared on the street where Naruto often bought rice balls.

They were the pair of brothers Yamanaka Fu had contacted earlier.

"Big brother, are we really doing this?" the younger brother asked, his voice trembling.

The older brother gritted his teeth.

"This is the last time. Once this is done, the debt will be wiped clean. We'll never get involved in this kind of thing again."

The two exchanged a glance and walked into an alley.

Seven or eight villagers had gathered there, all familiar faces who hated Naruto to the bone.

But after some people had been taken away by the Police Force for beating Naruto, they had become much more restrained. The fury in their hearts had not diminished in the slightest—it had merely shifted from the open into the shadows.

The older brother cleared his throat and lowered his voice.

"Everyone, that Demon Fox came out again today. I saw him buying something at one of the shops by the street. The owner was too scared to sell to him, so he just lingered outside the door, frightening the owner so badly they didn't dare open up."

"What? That beast!"

"I said long ago that we shouldn't let him live!"

Several people immediately became agitated.

A middle-aged man in faded work clothes crossed his arms, his expression dark.

"I don't care whether he spits on people or not. My son was only four during the Nine-Tails Attack. A collapsing roof beam broke his leg. He still limps when he walks."

He paused, his voice carrying hatred suppressed for years. "Who am I supposed to settle this debt with?"

A middle-aged woman beside him chimed in, "Exactly! My husband was a ninja. He died in the Nine-Tails Attack. He couldn't even leave behind any last words."

"Do you know how hard it's been for a widow like me to raise a child all these years? Why does that Demon Fox get to live perfectly well?"

Seeing the mood rise, the younger brother hurriedly fanned the flames.

"I heard from someone in the Police Force that the Demon Fox's seal has become unstable lately. What if he goes berserk one day? Everyone in this area will be finished!"

The crowd fell silent for a moment.

But they were not frightened. Rather, someone remembered what had happened before.

A thin middle-aged man shrank back and said quietly, "But... weren't the people who beat the Demon Fox before crippled by the Police Force?"

"My neighbor is still locked up and hasn't been released yet. Those Uchiha from the Police Force are really ruthless..."

At the mention of the Police Force, several people's expressions visibly changed.

Someone unconsciously stepped half a pace back. Someone else rubbed their arm, as though afraid it would be twisted off the next second.

"Yeah, what if the Police Force comes again after we make a move?"

Another young man hesitated as well. "That Uchiha Zhengye... he's someone who dares kill people in the street..."

The bald, burly man stiffened too.

He feared neither heaven nor earth, but when he recalled Zhengye slicing someone's throat with a single slash, his calves still cramped a little.

Seeing that the villagers before him had grown fearful, the older brother inwardly cursed.

He immediately took over, deliberately lowering his voice with a mysterious tone.

"You don't know this, do you? My cousin works in the ANBU. He said the ANBU will be keeping an eye on the Police Force today and won't let them come over!"

"Really?" someone asked skeptically.

The younger brother backed him up. "Absolutely true! Lord Hokage has long been unhappy with the Police Force arresting people whenever they please."

"The ANBU are here to stop them today. We just need to make our move—the Police Force won't be able to come!"

"Besides," the older brother said, sweeping his gaze around as he raised his voice slightly,

"we're seeking justice for our dead relatives, not beating someone up for no reason. No matter how overbearing the Police Force is, can they really arrest all of us?"

Those words were like a calming pill, suppressing the little bit of fear in everyone's hearts.

The bald, burly man slapped his thigh. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"Let's go!"

"Beat that Demon Fox to death!"

Among the crowd, a bald, burly man rolled up his sleeves, his face flushed red with excitement.

He actually had nothing to do with the Nine-Tails Attack. He had been somewhere else during the attack and had only come to Konoha afterward.

But he was born liking to bully others, especially those weaker than him.

Naruto never fought back, and no one cared if he got beaten. He was the man's favorite target for venting.

Another woman with curly hair cursed loudly. She did not actually bear any deep hatred toward Naruto. During the Nine-Tails Attack, her entire family had been evacuated by the Police Force.

It was just that all the neighbors cursed the Demon Fox. If she did not curse along with them, she would seem out of place.

Over the past two years, she had grown accustomed to it. If she did not curse Naruto a few times every day, she always felt as though something was missing.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she shouted along with the others. "A monster like that deserves to be beaten to death!"

At least half the people in the crowd originally had no deep hatred toward Naruto. They had merely been swept along to join the excitement.

But they all had one clear understanding in their hearts: insulting and beating Naruto was right. It was what should be done.

Seeing that the moment was right, the older brother raised an arm and shouted, "Let's go! We'll find that Demon Fox and seek justice for our dead relatives!"

"Seek justice!"

"Beat him to death!"

More than a dozen people grabbed wooden clubs and stones, pouring out of the alley and rushing in the direction Naruto often went.

Yet within the crowd, one person watched the two brothers with icy eyes.

No evidence or clues can be left behind. It's about time to send you on your way.

He moved like flowing water and quickly arrived beside the brothers.

With a slight movement of his hand, he slipped two Explosive Tags into the brothers' clothes.

Then he silently darted aside and stood in the shadows by the street, forming the opening hand sign for Mind Body Switch.

At that moment, Naruto was squatting by the roadside, feeling the three thousand ryo the Third Hokage had given him in his pocket.

He was hesitating between Ichiraku Ramen, a boxed meal, or rice balls.

Although it was quite a bit of money, he did not know when the Third Hokage would give him money again.

After thinking for a long time, Naruto made up his mind.

It's been so long since I had ramen. I'll go see Uncle Teuchi!

"There he is!"

A furious shout rang out, making Naruto's entire body tremble!

He reflexively crouched down and covered his head just as a stone whistled through the air and smashed into his back.

"Ah!" A piercing pain shot through him, and Naruto screamed as he fell to the ground.

When he looked back, a large crowd was rushing toward him. At the front was the bald, burly man, raising a wooden club in his hand with a savage grin on his face.

"Demon Fox! Die!"

"Give me back my son's life!"

Naruto instinctively hugged his head and curled into a ball.

But this time, he did not silently endure it as he had before.

He remembered what that person had told him.

"Whenever you're bullied from now on, shout for help as loudly as you can. We'll come save you."

Bang!

The club struck Naruto's back. He held back his cry of pain, drew a deep breath, and shouted with all his strength.

"Help! Police Force! Help!"

His voice echoed through the street.

"You still dare call for help!" The bald, burly man kicked and beat him, while secretly rejoicing. Those two brothers were right. The Police Force really didn't come.

At that moment, a Police Force patrol team happened to be passing by nearby.

Uchiha Soji, who had led the team yesterday, was at the front. Hearing the shout, his expression changed. "It's Naruto! Hurry!"

The three-man squad had only rushed forward a few steps when more than a dozen black shadows descended from the sky and blocked their way.

They were the ANBU assigned to watch Naruto.

The team that had grown to twelve members yesterday surrounded the three Police Force officers.

The ANBU captain, Mikawa Ze, wore a fox mask, his voice cold.

"Police Force, halt. The ANBU will take over here."

As he spoke, his hand rested on the hilt of his sword, his presence imposing.

Soji frowned deeply. "Didn't you hear Naruto calling for help? Move aside!"

"By Lord Hokage's order, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's safety is entirely the ANBU's responsibility. You have no authority to interfere!"

Mikawa Ze refused to yield an inch.

Behind Soji, Akimichi Mountain Range said indignantly, "But Naruto is being beaten! Why are you stopping us instead of saving him?"

Mikawa Ze did not answer. He merely kept his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Soji clenched his fists. Although Zhengye had instructed them yesterday that they could arrest people directly,

the other side was ANBU, directly under the Hokage. They were completely different from ordinary villagers.

Without orders, he could not directly attack the ANBU.

And there were too many of them. The three of them could not get through at all.

He gave Yamanaka Saki beside him a look. Yamanaka Saki gave a slight nod and had already formed hand seals.

He transmitted the situation here outward.

At that moment, Zhengye was patrolling another street with a bag of dorayaki in his hand.

Suddenly, a voice sounded in his mind.

Naruto is in trouble, and the Police Force team has been stopped by the ANBU.

Zhengye's expression turned cold. So this was the move you came up with, Third Hokage?

He tucked the dorayaki into his clothes, and his figure vanished from the spot in an instant.