Naruto Uzumaki Was Also Waiting

To be honest, Naruto Uzumaki was still quite young at this time and couldn't really handle things.

Seeing that the only person who cared about her had arrived—Iruka Iruka-sensei —and that the teacher immediately expressed concern for her, a concern that was heartfelt, pure, undisguised, and genuine, she felt a pang of sadness.

Upon realizing this, Naruto Uzumaki burst into tears, unable to maintain his usual carefree and nonchalant demeanor.

After all, the events of today had such a profound impact on him; how could he possibly bear it?

When Iruka saw his student Naruto in this state, he was heartbroken and immediately offered him a lot of comfort and reassurance.

And so, not far from the riverbank, the teacher and student almost broke down in tears. Naruto Uzumaki cried his heart out, feeling extremely wronged and miserable, as if his life had been a joke.

Iruka understood Naruto Uzumaki's feelings perfectly, so he simply held his student in his arms without saying a word, offering only comfort and solace.

When Naruto had finished crying, when his turmoil of grievances and his whirlwind emotions had gradually subsided, Naruto Uzumaki finally came to his senses. He stopped crying and, sobbing, asked his teacher Iruka what had happened.

There was nothing he could do; Naruto Uzumaki's abilities were limited. Even though he tried his best to find out more, he couldn't get a clear picture. He gathered all sorts of information piecemeal, and even combining these pieces of information didn't create a complete picture.

Seeing Naruto's emotions gradually stabilize, Iruka felt very conflicted, feeling sorry for Naruto and heartbroken. He wondered whether he should tell Naruto the whole story.

He was initially hesitant, but when Iruka realized that these things had already spread throughout Konoha and Naruto would be late sooner or later, he could only nod helplessly and indicate that he would tell Naruto.

So Iruka chose a safe, quiet place and carefully told Naruto everything he had learned from the public trial.

As a result, Naruto Uzumaki learned many inside stories about Konoha, including the dark side of the Konoha 'Konoha High Command and the true nature of the village, as well as the true nature of his beloved Hokage grandfather. In particular, he finally understood his own background.

It turns out, I wasn't a demon fox, nor was I an orphan. I really was the last surviving child of the Fourth Hokage! And my mother was a great hero who helped save Konoha!

When Naruto Uzumaki realized this, he felt incredibly wronged, as if no one in the world could be more aggrieved than him.

Come to think of it, he was the orphan of the Fourth Hokage, someone who should have been a high-ranking figure in Konoha, yet he had fallen to the level of an orphan whom everyone could bully! How could he possibly accept that?

If that were all, it would be fine.

However, his parents died for Konoha, and they were great heroes. As an orphan, he did not receive the treatment he deserved!

Not only was she orphaned at birth, but after her birth, she caused so much destruction and harm to the Nine-Tails. All these accusations were pinned on her, falsely accusing her of being a fox demon incarnate, which led to her being criticized, hated, and bullied by so many people.

He's the son of a hero! Yet he's suffered this treatment, and for so many years! How can Naruto Uzumaki accept this?!

Therefore, Naruto Uzumaki felt extremely resentful and tormented by all this injustice; in short, he was in unbearable pain.

But that's not all. Naruto Uzumaki also learned that the reason his parents died was because they were ostracized, targeted, and framed by someone from within Konoha!

The only people responsible for his parents' deaths, besides the heinous Danzo, were his grandfather, the Hokage, who had always taken care of him! This was even more unbelievable to Naruto Uzumaki Hokage!

Not only that, but thinking back to his childhood, when the Hokage would often come over to check on him and show concern, Naruto Uzumaki now feels that the Hokage's expression back then was extremely fake and disgusting!

Besides the information concerning himself that Naruto Uzumaki knew, Iruka also told him many other things, such as the many evil deeds committed by these Konoha High Command.

But Naruto Uzumaki didn't care about any of that, because he was a true victim. He only cared about his own sense of injustice, and he couldn't care less about others.

Seeing his student Naruto grow increasingly resentful and tormented, even becoming somewhat distorted by the series of blows, Iruka knew this couldn't go on.

Having no other choice, Iruka could only find a way for Naruto Uzumaki to vent his frustrations: the fates of Danzo, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and others.

While comforting Naruto and calming him down, Iruka then told Naruto Uzumaki about the outcome of the public trial, especially highlighting the fates of Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hearing the verdicts and the fates of the two men, Naruto Uzumaki felt genuinely relieved and his mood improved considerably. He felt a sense of satisfaction, as if he had finally avenged his great enemy and that his enemies had gotten what they deserved.

Furthermore, to give his student a further outlet for his emotions, Iruka told Naruto would be formally executed at the Danzo Memorial Stone the next day.

Upon hearing this, Naruto had been almost completely despondent, finally had a glimmer of light in his eyes. He immediately declared that he would definitely go to watch Danzo, that great villain, be executed the next day, no matter what.

Getting back to the main point, this is why Naruto Uzumaki is now standing among the crowd.

He didn't sleep a wink last night, tossing and turning in bed thinking about those things, waiting for this moment, waiting for Danzo to be executed.

Standing in the crowd, he noticed that the people of Konoha were keeping their distance from him and that they were apologetic and embarrassed in their eyes, yet they still didn't dare to come over.

Realizing this, Naruto Uzumaki's expression grew even colder. He couldn't help but sneer inwardly, filled with mockery and disdain for these people.

Just then, when Naruto Uzumaki was looking down on and even loathing these people, Umino Iruka arrived. He appeared behind Naruto Uzumaki and patted Naruto on the shoulder.

Naruto turned around and saw that it was his teacher who had always cared for and loved him. He couldn't help but force a smile to show that he was alright.

Seeing his student Naruto pretending to be strong, Iruka neither called him out nor discouraged him. Instead, he gave Naruto a bright smile to comfort him.

After that, the teacher and student said nothing more, simply standing in the crowd, looking in the direction of the Memorial Stone, waiting for Danzo to be formally executed.

Time ticked by, and the execution time announced by Konoha drew ever closer. The surrounding Konoha citizens grew increasingly restless, discussing amongst themselves, their anticipation growing, their tension and uncertainty intensifying.

Finally, as the time drew near, the people who were supposed to come arrived one after another.

The procedure was similar to yesterday's public trial; the first to arrive were none other than the Anbu Ninja responsible for maintaining order.

When the Anbu Ninja arrived, especially with the dignified Anbu Ninja personally maintaining order, the Konoha citizens, who had been discussing and even becoming somewhat restless, immediately quieted down and became much more orderly.

Once order was restored, the Anbu Ninja began to build a platform on the open space cleared by the people in front of the Memorial Stone.

This platform is about the same height as the judgment platform in front of the Hokage Building yesterday, but it's a bit smaller.

Even though it's smaller, so many people below can clearly see what's happening on the platform, and they understand that this newly built platform is no longer a trial platform, but rather an execution platform.

Once the execution platform was set up, the numerous Anbu Ninja maintained order at the scene once again.

The scene was much more orderly now, and basically no one dared to cause trouble at this time; everyone was waiting anxiously and nervously.

Next came the arrival of some of the more important figures.

The first to arrive was the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was accompanied by two Konoha elders Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura.

Under the angry and accusing gazes of the crowd, these three old men had no choice but to bite the bullet and climb onto the execution platform, standing beside it.

Even though they weren't the ones to be executed this time, they had still made many mistakes, and when they stepped onto the execution platform, especially when they were stared at by so many angry people, they were still terrified, at a loss, and very afraid and uncomfortable.