A Chance Encounter with Iruka and Mizuki

After seeing Naruto Uzumaki successfully catch fish on his own and avoid starving to death.

One of the ANBU hiding in the woods and secretly watching Naruto nodded to the other ANBU, then vanished into the distance in an instant.

The remaining ANBU stayed behind to continue monitoring Naruto.

Naruto suddenly felt that the sense of being watched had lessened slightly.

Ever since he had come to this world, he had felt as if someone had been secretly watching him. It probably was not the villagers he encountered on the road.

Even after entering the woods, that feeling of surveillance had not diminished in the slightest. That basically confirmed it—it was ANBU.

He did not know whether they were ANBU under Hiruzen Sarutobi, or Root's ANBU under Danzo Shimura.

Or perhaps, in order to keep each other in check, both sides had sent ninja.

An ANBU suddenly appeared in the Hokage's office.

At that moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi was busy handling the daily government affairs that required the Hokage's approval.

The masked ANBU reported to Hiruzen Sarutobi, "Lord Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki used his own abilities to spear fish in a stream in the woods. His life is no longer in danger!"

Without even raising his head, Hiruzen Sarutobi continued processing documents and said, "Understood. Continue monitoring him. Remember, you must not let his life be in danger. As for everything else, turn a blind eye."

"Yes!" The ANBU nodded after receiving his orders, then disappeared again, presumably returning to watch Naruto.

"Minato, forgive me. Naruto's identity is too special. He cannot be exposed to the public eye; that would be detrimental to his healthy development! Everything I have done has been for his own good. I hope you can understand."

Hiruzen Sarutobi murmured as he handled government affairs.

At that moment, the door to the Hokage's office was forcefully pushed open. The visitor was Hiruzen Sarutobi's bitter rival, Danzo Shimura.

"Heh, Hiruzen, save those words for yourself. Do you think I don't know what you're really thinking? You can deceive others, but don't deceive yourself. You just want to monopolize and divide up the Fourth Hokage's legacy."

"And all that nonsense about doing it for his own good. You just want the jinchuriki's power in your hands. In your eyes, he is a weapon. Everything you do is meant to make him obey you and become the sharp blade in your hand!"

Danzo Shimura mercilessly exposed Hiruzen Sarutobi's lies. The two had grown up together, practically wearing the same pair of pants.

If Hiruzen Sarutobi farted, Danzo Shimura could probably guess what it smelled like.

There was no one in the world who understood Hiruzen Sarutobi better than Danzo Shimura.

"Enough, Danzo. This is the Hokage's office. I hope you will watch your words!" Hiruzen Sarutobi cut Danzo Shimura off without mercy.

Although the ANBU in the Hokage's office were all Hiruzen Sarutobi's trusted subordinates, appearances still had to be maintained.

Danzo Shimura unceremoniously sat in the chair opposite Hiruzen Sarutobi and said, "Hiruzen, I heard the Nine-Tails jinchuriki nearly starved to death at home?"

"Heh, with your intelligence network, do you really need to go out of your way to ask? I imagine Root's ANBU have already reported the situation to you. Naruto is fine now, so there is no need for your concern, Danzo."

"Hiruzen, you should have listened to me. Hand the Nine-Tails jinchuriki over to me. Only in Root can the Nine-Tails jinchuriki be brainwashed into Hidden Leaf's most loyal weapon!"

"Enough, Danzo!" Hiruzen Sarutobi roared, cutting Danzo off.

"Naruto is Minato and Kushina's child, not the weapon you claim he is. I will properly raise him into a ninja of Hidden Leaf. Wherever the leaves of Hidden Leaf dance, fire burns on. The fire's light will continue illuminating the village and cause new leaves to sprout."

"I will make Naruto understand the meaning of the Will of Fire. Danzo, don't try any little tricks. Remember, I am the Hokage!"

"Hmph, you will regret this, Hiruzen!" Angered by Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Danzo Shimura stormed out through the door.

With a bang, the door was violently flung open. After leaving behind that classic line, he disappeared from sight.

As for Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, even he himself did not know which parts were true and which were false.

Everything was merely for the sake of consolidating his own interests in Hidden Leaf.

Now, back to Naruto.

With the luck of his first attempt, Naruto began to get the hang of it, gradually gaining more experience.

He was even able to spear several fish in succession.

After stringing the fish together, Naruto prepared to head back and rest.

Then he felt the sense of surveillance intensify again. Naruto guessed that the ANBU who had left earlier had returned.

Those people really were monitoring him without giving him any breathing room.

He was obviously just a child. Other than the Nine-Tails sealed within him, he had no fighting ability at all.

They really were going to great lengths!

But all of it was pointless. Sooner or later, he would take proper revenge on them—no, he would properly repay them!

Along the way, the villagers still pointed at him, the disgust on their faces completely undisguised.

Naruto had already grown accustomed to it and did not argue with them.

When the children by the roadside saw Naruto, urged on by their parents, they picked up stones and threw them at him.

Naruto could only dodge miserably, but he was still struck by several stones.

One stone hit Naruto squarely on the head.

Blood slowly flowed down from Naruto's head.

Naruto became somewhat enraged and glared fiercely at the children and the adults behind them.

"This demon fox dares to look at us like that? Teach him a lesson!"

Those adults were somewhat frightened by Naruto's expression. They all felt as though something hairy was watching them.

It was as though some unawakened beast was warning them through Naruto's eyes.

"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing?"

Just as those adults were about to incite their children to launch another wave of attacks against Naruto.

Mizuki and Iruka Umino, who happened to be passing by, saw what was happening. Iruka Umino immediately rushed in front of Naruto and shielded him behind his body.

Naruto recognized Iruka by then. The person beside him looked like Mizuki.

However, Naruto had not yet entered the Ninja Academy, so naturally he could not call out their names. After all, ANBU were still watching him.

For now, he could only hide himself as much as possible and avoid revealing anything unusual.

"Isn't that Iruka? Iruka, why are you protecting that demon fox? You should know that your parents also died in that incident. Don't you hate this demon fox?"

One of the men recognized Iruka and asked him in confusion.

Those words struck Iruka deeply. Yes, his parents had died during the Nine-Tails Rampage. Did he hate it?

He turned to look at Naruto. Of course he hated the Nine-Tails for his parents' deaths, and a trace of resentment entered his eyes.

But then he looked at Naruto, whose head had been smashed open and was bleeding continuously, yet who did not utter a single word and could only silently endure it.

It felt as if something fiercely clenched Iruka's heart. Regardless of whether this Naruto was the demon fox's incarnation.

At the very least, right now, he was only an innocent child!

"Move aside! He's already injured. I need to take him to the hospital. If Lord Hokage finds out that you threw stones at Naruto, you will definitely be punished!"

Hearing Iruka invoke the Hokage, the villagers could only give up.

Ignorant as they were, they naturally could not understand why, if Naruto truly was the demon fox's incarnation, their wise and mighty Third Hokage had not killed him, but instead allowed him to remain in the village.

Mizuki had not wanted to get involved, but when he saw Iruka rush out, he could only help as well.

Supported by Mizuki and Iruka, Naruto was taken to Hidden Leaf Hospital.

Even in the hospital, whether they were passing patients or working doctors and nurses, the looks they gave Naruto were astonishingly uniform.

That was why the Naruto from his previous memories had silently endured even when he was sick, relying on himself to pull through.

Even doctors whose duty was to save lives and heal the injured hated him just the same.

One doctor had been resting in his office when an ANBU ninja suddenly appeared and whispered something into his ear.

Only then did he reluctantly get to his feet, leave the office, and head into the hall outside, where he saw Naruto.

He brought Naruto inside and properly treated him.

Iruka accompanied Naruto through the entire process. When he even heard that Naruto had no money to pay the medical fees, he took out some of his meager salary and covered the expenses for him.

At the hospital exit, Iruka said to Naruto, "Well then, perhaps we'll meet again someday. Take care of yourself. We're leaving now!"

No matter which world he was in, Iruka was always this gentle. No wonder he would later attend Naruto's wedding as Naruto's father.

"Um, may I ask what your name is?"

Even Naruto, who knew the anime's plot well, was moved by Iruka's gentleness. There really were people this kind in the world.

Naruto could no longer hold back his tears. Some things might be known in advance, but experiencing them firsthand was an entirely different matter.

"My name is Iruka Umino. This is Mizuki. We're both teachers at the Ninja Academy. If you get the chance, when you reach school age, you might see the two of us there. See you!"

The two slowly walked away beneath the setting sun, leaving Naruto only with their retreating figures.

Why only one figure? Naruto was only watching Iruka. Who was Mizuki? He did not know him at all!

"Thank you, Teacher Iruka! You're a good person!" Ignoring the astonished looks around him, Naruto shouted loudly toward Iruka's retreating figure.

Iruka could not help the corners of his lips from rising. Naruto is definitely not a demon fox!

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