Everyone Goes Dark, Who Goes Dark Isn't Going Dark

Year 51 of Konoha!

A start that makes you want to keep an eagle like yourself!

Won 8.75 million in the lottery and started writing novels at home. I hear everyone who reads my books wins!

Birth time! 22:13!

Death time! 22:24!

In a mere 11 minutes, the Nine-Tails was sealed and both parents died!

"So... who am I?"

[Important notice! This book is extremely awesome and the pacing is lightning fast!]

"Get the hell out of here, you fatherless and motherless monster!"

The grocery store owner's hand aggressively snatched the tuna rice ball that had just touched Naruto's fingertip, and without even looking, slammed it fiercely into the swill bucket beside his feet.

"Splash--"

The turbid, spoiled slop splashed up, staining the hem of his washed-faded trousers.

The sour and stinking smell rushed straight into his nasal cavity, mixed with the fishy stench of the owner's saliva, choking Naruto into a fit of violent coughing.

"Cough, cough, cough... Cough, don't be like this... I have money! I really have money!"

He clutched the three coins in his hand, his fingertips straining until they turned white, his nails deeply embedded into his palms.

He forced out the most humble and pleading expression on his face, lowered his head very low, and said with a voice on the verge of tears: "Please sell it to me, I haven't eaten for two days..."

Yet no one saw.

Inside his lowered head, what was surging in the depths of his eyes was a madness that was about to overflow.

A wave of stinging pain came from his forehead; just now, the owner thought he was blocking the way and fiercely smashed him with the back of a kitchen knife, and warm blood was flowing down along his brow bone, dripping into his eyes.

The world instantly dyed into a sheet of scarlet.

Naruto raised a hand to cover his temples.

Not from fear of pain.

But from fear of others seeing the gradually frantic smile at the corners of his mouth that he could barely suppress.

"Alright, alright, alright, very good."

"You Konoha bastard dogs, if I go dark, you all forced this on me!"

He cursed word by word in his heart: "An old piece of trash selling rice balls, and you dare to shit on my head."

"It doesn't matter."

"Sooner or later, I will shove this entire swill bucket into your mouth."

He knew it too well.

Every corner of this village was under the surveillance of Hiruzen Sarutobi's Telescope Technique and the Root.

As long as he revealed even a trace of hostility toward the villagers, the next second... the label of "Nine-Tails out of control" would be slapped onto him.

By then, he would be imprisoned by the Root, completely reduced to a war weapon without a mind.

Therefore, he could only endure the pain, enduring the hatred that was about to tear him apart, and like a stray dog, tuck his tail between his legs and turn to leave.

The curses behind him chased after his footsteps, stabbing into his ears one after another.

"Nine-Tails Demon Fox!"

"Why hasn't this monster died yet!"

"Get out of Konoha!"

Returning empty-handed to that dilapidated apartment of only ten square meters.

"Bang!"

Naruto slammed the door shut and locked it.

All the cowardice on his face instantly vanished without a trace.

He leaned against the cold door panel and slowly slid down to the ground.

He raised a hand to wipe the blood from his temple and licked it on the tip of his tongue; the rusty taste exploded in his mouth.

"This month, the 189th time."

"How wonderful, who would have thought, two and a half months after transmigrating, I've actually fallen to the point where I can't even get a bite to eat. What a lousy place! Lousy place! Lousy place! No one loves you at all, Naruto Uzumaki!"

Two and a half months ago, he transmigrated and became Naruto Uzumaki, who had just turned ten.

Here, the villagers had been brainwashed by the higher-ups, treating him as the demon fox that destroyed Konoha.

Old people spat at him, children hit him with stones, and merchants refused to sell him anything.

Naruto nowadays dined at the same table as dogs.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi."

Naruto uttered this name, and the chill in his voice could almost freeze the air.

"You old schemer, your abacus is really calculatingly loud. Just wait, I'm going to chase all the way to the top step by step, and I'll make the whole Konoha regret it!"

He got up and opened the refrigerator; inside was only half a piece of whole wheat bread with green mold, and a bottle of orange juice that had expired three days ago.

"Deliberately making the news of me being the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki known to everyone, letting the village isolate me, hostilely target me, and drive me into a desperate situation."

"Then you yourself put on a kind and amiable appearance, occasionally tossing me a couple of rice balls, just wanting me to treat you as my only family member."

"Willingly being PUA'd by you, being an obedient dog of Konoha for the rest of my life, and dying for your so-called Will of Fire!"

"Which of the Five Great Nations' Jinchuriki identities isn't top secret? Only I, this Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, can have even an old vegetable-selling grandmother on the street point at my nose and curse me as a monster."

Naruto clenched his fists fiercely, causing the plastic bottle to creak; the expired orange juice splashed all over his hand, yet he acted as if he felt nothing.

"Make me admit defeat? In your dreams!"

These two and a half months, it wasn't that he hadn't thought about cultivating.

This world was too dangerous; at ten years old, one had to go to the battlefield, not to mention the madmen who would later kill their masters and destroy the world, eye techniques that could overturn the heavens and earth, and villains who would upend the entire Ninja World at a moment's notice.

Without strength, he couldn't even survive.

Yet every time he calmed down to refine chakra, that chakra of the Nine-Tails filled with monstrous malice would crazily ram into his meridians like a madman.

That faint bit of chakra he had just gathered instantly scattered completely.

Two and a half months after transmigrating, he couldn't even practice the most basic Three-Basic Techniques clearly.

This tangible and touchable despair was about to drive him crazy.

"Bang, bang, bang."

The sound of knocking suddenly rang out.

Naruto's pupils shrank abruptly.

All his hatred was pressed into the deepest part of his heart within 0.1 seconds.

The coldness in the depths of his eyes faded, replaced by a cowardly expression.

Then he trotted over to open the door...

"Grandpa Hokage? Why are you here?"

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi at the door holding a paper bag and smiling amiably, Naruto's eyes instantly lit up, that gaze as pure as a sheet of white paper.

"Hehe, came to see our little Naruto."

Hiruzen Sarutobi lifted the paper bag and handed it over, smiling with his eyes curved into crescents, the wrinkles on his face bunching together, looking incomparably kind.

"Passing by the rice ball shop, I bought you some fresh salmon rice balls and hot milk, plus some apples."

"That's great! Thank you, Grandpa Hokage!"

Naruto happily took the paper bag, acting as if he were holding some rare treasure.

The next second, his face collapsed, his eye rims turned red, and large tears pattered down.

"Grandpa Hokage, why... why does everyone hate me so much?"

He sniffed, his voice choked with sobs: "They all call me a monster and won't sell me food. I clearly didn't do anything wrong..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and reached out to pat his head.

"Naruto, between people, there are always gaps and misunderstandings."

"But as long as you hold kindness in your heart, strive to grow stronger, carry the Will of Fire, and gain everyone's recognition, one day, everyone will let go of their prejudices and accept you."

"Yeah!"

Naruto clenched his small fist, a bright and cheerful smile blooming on his face.

His gaze was filled with "determination".

"I will definitely become Hokage! Become the most amazing person in the village! Make everyone recognize me!"

"Haha! Good!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled until his eyes narrowed, and he patted his shoulder with satisfaction.

"Our little Naruto can definitely do it. When that time comes, you must well protect everyone in the village, alright."

"Yeah! I definitely will!"

Naruto nodded forcefully, smiling with a pure expression.

This act, he played without a single flaw.

He knew it too well; Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't come to see him today at all, he had come to test him.

Just now when he patted his head, there had been a faint chakra fluctuation on his fingertips—that was checking whether he had been eroded by the Nine-Tails' chakra.

"Alright, Grandpa is leaving first."

Hiruzen Sarutobi thumped his lower back, pretending to look exhausted.

There is a pile of things waiting to be handled in the office. Alas, my old arms and legs are getting more and more useless.

Grandpa Hokage, you must take care of your health!

Naruto immediately wore a worried expression, his tone carrying just the right amount of concern.

If you wear yourself out, Naruto will be worried.

Rest assured, Grandpa's old bones are still holding up.

Hiruzen Sarutobi still maintained that kind and amiable look, then turned and left the apartment.

The moment the door closed, the smile on Naruto's face vanished instantly without a trace.

He lowered his head to look at the paper bag in his hands, his gaze icy.

He tossed it onto the floor casually, and the rice balls and apples inside rolled out, scattering across the floor without him even giving them a single glance.

Acting, you really know how to act.

Naruto let out a sneer, his voice filled with undisguised disgust.

Heh, the Will of Fire, truly remarkable.

Old man, if not for the fact that I know the entire plot, I probably would have been fooled by your hypocritical appearance.

I certainly won't walk the old path of that fool.

The Hokage Office Building.

The amiability on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face had long since faded. He sat behind his desk, smoking his pipe expressionlessly.

Swirling smoke blurred his face, obscuring the emotions deep within his eyes.

Thud!

The door was pushed open rudely.

Shimura Danzō, with bandages wrapped around his right eye and a cane in his left hand, radiated a gloomy aura as he walked straight in.

Sarutobi.

Danzō's voice was hoarse and cold. You've seen the situation of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. You can't handle it; besides me, no one can handle him.

If you can't control him, you might as well hand him over to my Root. I will teach him well. I guarantee he will be Konoha's most obedient and sharpest blade.

Don't dream, Danzō.

Hiruzen Sarutobi put down his pipe and said in a deep voice.

He is Minato's child. He deserves to have a normal life.

Hahahahaha!

Danzō burst into loud laughter as if he had heard the greatest joke in the world, his laughter filled with relentless mockery.

Sarutobi, you are still as hypocritical as ever!

Back then, the person who ordered the blockade of the news that he was the Fourth's son was you! The person who tacitly allowed the whole village to know his identity as a Jinchuriki was also you!

Look at your grandson Konohamaru, who wants for nothing, pampered and protected by everyone in Konoha.

And look at the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki! He can't even get a full meal, being cursed at and treated like an animal by random street vendors!

Enough! Danzō!

Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his palm on the desk, his expression instantly sinking.

I am the Hokage! My decisions are not for you to question!

Hmph.

Danzō let out a cold snort, stood up leaning on his cane, his gaze full of disdain and ice.

Hypocritical and cowardly old man. One day, you will regret today's decision.

The malice of the Nine-Tails is not something a ten-year-old child can bear. Sooner or later, he will lose control. By then, this monster you raised with your own hands will destroy the entirety of Konoha.

With that, he turned and left.

Bang!

The office door was slammed shut violently, the loud noise echoing in the empty corridor for a long time.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in his chair, remaining silent for a long time.

He picked up his pipe and relit it. Amidst the smoke, his gaze was complex and hard to read.

Minato... I'm sorry.

Everything is for Konoha!

Inside Naruto's apartment.

Huff... Puff...

Naruto collapsed onto the floor, completely exhausted, his body soaked in sweat as if he had just been fished out of the water.

Just now, he had attempted to refine chakra thirty-seven times in a row.

Every single time, he was battered and scattered by the raging malice of the Nine-Tails, to the point where he couldn't even condense a shred of chakra by the end.

On the floor beside him lay a water balloon that he had squeezed until its color faded. This was the first step of the Rasengan, the only advanced ninjutsu whose complete training method he knew, yet he couldn't even cross the first step.

He didn't dare to practice in the woods outside the village; Hiruzen Sarutobi's Telescope Technique could survey the entirety of Konoha.

As long as he dared to expose a shred of anomaly, what awaited him was the endless cage of the Root.

Damn it... Damn it all!

Naruto punched the floor.

There are only two and a half months left until the graduation exam.

He gritted his teeth so hard that his gums were practically bleeding.

Forget the Rasengan, I can't even cast the Clone Technique!

Could it be that my transmigration was just so I could walk the old path of that fool again?

The more he thought about it, the more powerless he felt. He desperately wanted to cultivate, to survive, to take revenge, but he couldn't see a shred of hope.

The Nine-Tails weighed down on him like a massive mountain.

I am not resigned...

I am truly not resigned...

Just as his emotions hit rock bottom, on the verge of being completely consumed by despair.

A cold, emotionless mechanical voice exploded in his mind without warning!

[Ding! Host's intense desire for darkening detected!]
[God-Tier Darkening System, successfully bound!]