Natsuri and Naruto

Natsuri and Sasuke quickly found their classroom. Unsurprisingly, they were in the same class. Besides Naruto, the class had the other familiar young faces from the original story, along with numerous background extras. There were around sixty students in total.

"Hello, everyone. I'm your homeroom teacher, Iruka Umino. You can call me Iruka-sensei."

Iruka stood at the podium and introduced himself to the students.

Next came the classic self-introduction segment. When it was Naruto Uzumaki's turn, most of the students in the class showed looks of disgust, and even Iruka's eyes shifted strangely.

"This child..." As a teacher, he quickly concealed that strange expression.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. My favorite thing is Ichiraku Ramen. There's nothing I particularly hate. My dream is to become Hokage, then make everyone acknowledge me."

Naruto was far from the cheerful person he would become later. He spoke only in a very soft voice.

"Hahaha! Look, the demon fox actually wants to become Hokage! I'm dying, hahaha!"

"His favorite thing is Ichiraku Ramen? What's so good about food from that little roadside shop? He really is a demon fox. Even the things he likes are different from ours."

Without a doubt, as Naruto spoke, waves of mockery and ridicule echoed throughout the classroom.

Natsuri watched Naruto as he introduced himself, unable to understand why so many people hated him. And what did "demon fox" mean? Were they mocking the whiskers on his face?

"How boring." Shikamaru looked at the rowdy classroom and turned his head away.

Ino, meanwhile, kept staring at Sasuke's back with shining eyes, completely unaffected by the laughter around the room.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto, feeling something strange that he could not put into words. Seeing that Naruto had clearly not even extracted chakra yet, as well as the people mocking him, he quickly lost interest and ignored it.

Standing beside the podium, Naruto felt endless malice washing over him. He stood there blankly.

"It's always like this. Why? Why? Why does everyone hate me so much?" Naruto did not dare face those mocking, angry expressions. He merely lowered his head and said nothing.

Iruka watched Naruto being targeted by everyone. He had wanted to reprimand them, but every cry of "demon fox" pierced his heart as well. Unsure how to treat Naruto, he ultimately did nothing.

"Next."

Soon, after everyone had finished introducing themselves, Iruka announced a break. He then collected everyone's registration forms and left the classroom.

Most of the students formed small groups and began playing together. Some started a ninja game.

"Ah! I died again. I don't want to be a rogue ninja anymore. It's too hard to win," one child complained to his companions.

"Can I join? I can be the rogue ninja," a voice came from behind them.

The child's eyes lit up. He turned around, but after seeing who it was, his expression immediately changed and his face twisted viciously.

"Get lost, you demon fox. Don't come near me."

At the same time, a hand shoved hard at Naruto, whose face wore a bright, almost ingratiating smile.

"You monster, get away. Wipe that disgusting expression off your face."

"Yeah, yeah. How could we possibly be in the same class as a demon fox like you? We're seriously unlucky."

The others snapped out of it as well and began shoving Naruto.

Naruto was soon pushed to the ground by several of them. The smile vanished from his face, replaced by utter dejection, while a mist of tears filled his eyes.

"Hahaha! Look, the demon fox is about to cry."

"Wow, demon foxes can cry? This is the first time I've known that. Looks like demon foxes aren't that scary after all."

"That's right. The demon fox is so weak. How about we play a different game and beat up the demon fox together?"

"That's a great idea. Let's beat up the demon fox. Whoever makes the demon fox cry wins."

Everyone began punching and kicking Naruto. Some even picked up branches and whipped him with them.

"Hey, Shikamaru, is it really okay for us to just watch?" Choji asked Shikamaru through a mouthful of potato chips.

"Let's watch for now. The last time I asked what a demon fox was, my dad looked like it was a huge hassle and told me not to ask. It's probably troublesome, so we should just watch."

"Mm. You're smart anyway. My dad told me to listen to you." Choji continued eating his chips.

Behind a large tree, a pair of pale white eyes watched everything, tears streaming down from them.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata watched Naruto being bullied through her tears, but she was too timid to step forward.

"Hey! What are you doing? Is it fun for so many of you to bully one person?"

Natsuri had watched everything from beginning to end. Though she did not understand why Naruto was so hated, nor what "demon fox" truly meant, she had never been able to stand seeing this sort of thing since childhood. She still stepped forward.

After stopping, everyone saw Natsuri. Seeing that she was a girl, they immediately became arrogant.

"What's it got to do with you if I'm teaching the demon fox a lesson? Mind your own business."

"That's right. Don't think we won't hit girls. If you make us mad, we'll teach you a lesson too!"

"Look, isn't that the Uchiha crest on her clothes?"

"It really is. So that's it. The Uchiha Clan really are accomplices of the demon fox."

"No wonder she's standing up for the demon fox. She's from the Uchiha Clan."

Natsuri had not intended to fight, but when she saw the contempt in their eyes as they spoke of the Uchiha Clan, she could no longer hold back. She immediately swung her fists at them.

There was no suspense whatsoever. They were merely insignificant extras. After Natsuri easily taught them a lesson, they scattered and fled.

Natsuri walked over to Naruto and asked, "Why do they hate you so much? And what does demon fox mean?"

Naruto stared blankly at Natsuri, who had driven them away, and asked, "Aren't you afraid that I'm a demon fox? Don't you want to kill me?"

Their completely mismatched conversation irritated Natsuri, and she displayed the bearing of an Uchiha witch.

"Hey, your name is Naruto Uzumaki, right? Answer my question!"

"I don't know either. Everyone calls me a demon fox. They're afraid of me, and they want to kill me."

Intimidated by Natsuri's presence, Naruto obediently answered her.

"I see. My name is Uchiha Natsuri. Do you want to stop being bullied? As long as you acknowledge me as your boss, I'll look after you from now on. I guarantee no one at the Ninja Academy will dare bully you."

With her hands on her hips, Natsuri spoke boldly.

"You really aren't afraid that I'm a demon fox?" Naruto asked cautiously.

"What's there to be afraid of? You're so small. I could beat you flat with one hand. Acknowledge me as your boss, and I'll protect you."

"Really? Really? Thank you so much, Boss Natsuri!"

Naruto had endured everyone's bullying without crying, but now, as he thanked Natsuri, tears streamed down his face.

"Ah, you're a crybaby too. If someone bullies you, you need to find a way to get back at them. Crying is useless." Natsuri lectured Naruto earnestly.

Naruto hurriedly wiped away his tears. With a smile that came from the bottom of his heart, he said, "Boss Natsuri, it's not that. I'm just so happy. Finally, someone isn't afraid of me anymore."

Clearly dazzled by that smile, Natsuri turned her head away.

"What a strange person. I'll ask my brother about it when I get back."

Everything that had happened at the Ninja Academy was quickly written into a report by the Anbu and Root, who had been keeping a close watch on the jinchuriki.

The reports were delivered separately to Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura.

This was precisely why Yushu was being attacked now.

Yushu gradually recalled what had happened during registration that morning, as well as Natsuri's curiosity toward Naruto at the time.

Yushu understood his younger sister very well. He knew Natsuri was not the sort of person to blindly believe whatever others said.

As for rumors about demon foxes and the like, they would only make Natsuri more curious. They could not frighten her at all.

At that thought, Uchiha Yushu's heart jolted.

"This is bad. Natsuri is in danger!"

Danzo had even dared to attack him directly, let alone his younger sister.

Uchiha Yushu had no time to return home and change clothes. Still wearing his combat outfit, he spread his wings and flew rapidly toward the Ninja Academy.

Along the way, countless ninjas and villagers saw a figure wreathed in golden flames streak across the skies above the Hidden Leaf Village from afar, flying toward the center of the village.

Most of the villagers, unaware of the truth, showed worried expressions, believing that an outside enemy had invaded.

Some ninjas who had carried out missions with Yushu recognized his signature way of traveling.

Even more ninjas believed an enemy had invaded. While shouting, "Enemy attack!" they chased after the figure in the sky.

Uchiha Yushu's mind was occupied solely with the safety of his beloved younger sister. As for the panic he had caused among the Hidden Leaf's ninjas and villagers, he had completely cast it aside.