Rin's Questioning: Why Massacre the Uchiha Children? Why Did Naruto Suffer So Miserably?

Dense attacks rained down on Rin Nohara like falling stars.

Rin Nohara's face went pale. She was not an expert like Uchiha Shadian, capable of facing this calmly without changing expression. She was merely a lowly chunin, and not even a combat ninja. She was a medical ninja, responsible for logistical rescue.

"Don't be afraid, little girl. Stand firm." A voice suddenly rang out in Rin Nohara's mind.

"Y-You... who are you?" Rin Nohara asked in confusion.

"I am the Nine-Tails." The voice continued echoing in Rin Nohara's mind.

"You're the Nine-Tails? Aren't you under Brother Shadian's control?" Rin Nohara asked.

"He already released his control over me earlier. No more talking. Stand firm—I'm about to detonate it."

The Nine-Tails opened its massive jaws and blasted the swamp beneath its feet with a reduced Tailed Beast Bomb.

Bang!

A massive explosion erupted at once, sending up towering waves of air.

Using the recoil from the shockwave, the Nine-Tails finally broke free of the swamp's trap.

"This is bad! The Nine-Tails escaped!"

"Move! Don't let it get away!"

"We have to seal it! We can't let it rampage across the Land of Fire!"

Facing the Nine-Tails alone, Hiruzen Sarutobi still dared to fight. After all, he had experience battling the Nine-Tails seven years ago. Holding the Golden Cudgel transformed from the Demon Monkey King, he charged forward at the head of his forces.

"You're Rin, aren't you?!"

"Do you still remember Konoha?!"

"Hurry and make the Nine-Tails stop!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi extended the Golden Cudgel until he was close to Rin Nohara, then shouted at her.

"Third Hokage Grandpa, it's me." Hearing Rin Nohara's confirmation, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression changed. He had previously doubted whether Rin Nohara had truly been resurrected, but now it seemed she really had returned to life. Uchiha Shadian truly possessed the ability to bring people back from the Pure Land.

"Rin, make the Nine-Tails stop first!" Hiruzen Sarutobi continued shouting. "We cannot allow the Nine-Tails to keep causing destruction!"

"Third Hokage Grandpa, I have a question. Why did you order the slaughter of the entire Uchiha Clan? Why did you do that?" Rin Nohara did not directly answer Hiruzen Sarutobi's words. Instead, she questioned him.

"The Uchiha Clan intended to launch a coup and seize Konoha's authority. Ordering the suppression of the Uchiha Clan was something I had no choice but to do," Hiruzen Sarutobi answered.

"But why did you have to kill even those innocent children? They were clearly innocent," Rin Nohara demanded.

"That was Danzo's order. I knew nothing about it." Hiruzen Sarutobi decisively pinned the crime on Shimura Danzō. He was the kind and benevolent Third Hokage—how could he possibly issue such a cruel order?

So it had to have been Shimura Danzō. Even if it was not him, it still had to be him.

If he admitted that he had done it, then his time as Hokage would be over.

"What about Naruto? Naruto was clearly Teacher Minato's child, the descendant of a hero. Why did he live such a miserable life in Konoha? Why did all the villagers reject him, slander him as a demon fox, refuse to let him enter their shops, and even sell him expired milk? Why didn't you step forward and stop all of this?" Rin Nohara questioned.

"What? That demon fox is the Fourth Hokage Minato's child?" Some ninja who did not know the truth trembled upon hearing this.

"How is that possible? Isn't that guy the incarnation of the Nine-Tails? How could he be the Fourth Hokage's child?"

"Impossible."

Some of the more conscientious ninja were completely stunned upon hearing this.

The reason they had rejected Naruto Uzumaki was because someone had told them he was the incarnation of the Nine-Tails. That was why they had followed along, shunning him and calling him a demon fox.

"The Nine-Tails being sealed inside Naruto is the village's highest secret. It cannot be casually disclosed," Hiruzen Sarutobi said in a heavy voice.

Rin Nohara continued, "You all call him a demon fox. Doesn't that make it obvious that he's the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki? What highest secret? And whether the Nine-Tails is inside Naruto has absolutely nothing to do with whether he is Teacher Minato's son."

"Or did you deliberately conceal Naruto's identity as Teacher Minato's son, deliberately allow people to spread rumors that he was a demon fox, and deliberately make him suffer all those hardships in order to test his stability? As long as he became unstable, you could kill him at any time. That way, even if you killed him, people would only think you had killed a demon fox who endangered the village, rather than the son of a hero. Not only would they not see you as a criminal who murdered a hero's son, they would instead regard you as a hero who saved the village by eliminating a dangerous demon fox."

Hiruzen Sarutobi hurriedly said, "Rin, how could you think of me that way?"

"I have never thought that."

"I hid Naruto's true identity only to protect his safety."

"Otherwise, if outsiders learned he was Minato's son, those enemies who bore grudges against Minato would surely come after Naruto to take revenge."

"They would vent their anger toward Minato on Naruto."

"As Hokage, Naruto's safety was what I had to prioritize."

Rin Nohara said, "Konoha has so many outstanding ninja. Are you afraid enemies could sneak into the village and attack Naruto?"

"If that were really the case, why weren't the identities of other ninja's children concealed as well?"

"Why was it only Naruto?"

"He is Teacher Minato's and Kushina's son!"

"They gave their lives to protect the village from the Nine-Tails' calamity. Why treat the only son they left in this world like this?"

"You only needed to say a single sentence to end Naruto's miserable treatment."

"You only needed to tell everyone that he was Teacher Minato's son, not the reincarnation of a demon fox. Then he would not have continued suffering those cold words, mockery, and disdainful looks. I believe there are still kind-hearted people in the village. Once they learned the truth, they would not continue treating Naruto with such cruel words."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "The Nine-Tails is the village's highest secret. No matter who it is, no one can reveal even the slightest bit of information concerning the Nine-Tails. Although this is unfair to Naruto, the secrecy would be just as strict for anyone. The village was not deliberately targeting Naruto."

"I believe that after enduring these hardships, Naruto will understand my good intentions someday."

"Having experienced these hardships, I believe Naruto will surely become an even more outstanding ninja than his father, Minato."

"In the future, there will definitely be a place for him as Konoha's Hokage."

"Rin, hurry and make the Nine-Tails stop!"

"You are a kind child, and you are also Konoha's companion. I believe you do not want to see your companions get hurt."

Rin Nohara fell silent.

Once, in order to prevent Kirigakure's scheme from succeeding and to protect her companions in the village from harm, she had decisively chosen to sacrifice herself, willingly dying beneath Kakashi's Chidori.

But now, her resolve wavered.

Was a village that did not even spare young children truly worth protecting?