We Must Lock Up the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki!

After summoning Danzo to his office, the Third Hokage and Danzo once again got into an argument.

It was still basically centered around Konoha's Tailed Beast Jinchuriki.

The Third Hokage quickly put a stop to Root spreading rumors throughout the village, and he gave Danzo one final warning.

If Danzo had any more ideas about Naruto, then he should not blame him for disregarding their past friendship.

After that, Danzo gave a cold snort, and the office once again saw...

Danzo: "Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi: "Danzo, I'm Hokage!"

But once such dangerous rumors had spread, how could they possibly be so easily stopped...

"I heard that guy is often over at the grove east of the village head."

"We have to capture him and hand him over to the Hokage!"

"That's right! For the village's safety, Naruto must be kept under strict watch!"

"Exactly! Even if he's the Fourth Hokage's son, it doesn't matter!"

The Villagers had already been whipped into a frenzy by Root ninjas.

Now, these people would not listen to anything. They only wanted to bring Naruto to the Hokage Building, then force the Third Hokage to lock the boy up.

No matter what... they were doing this for everyone's good.

Over a hundred Konoha villagers gathered together, carrying all sorts of tools as they marched furiously toward Riverside Grove.

"My entire family died on the night of the Nine-Tails Rampage. I will never tolerate anything like that happening again!"

"Me too! My house had just been built, and that damned Nine-Tails destroyed it!"

"That brat is too dangerous!"

"Tie him up!"

"Right! Lock him up too!"

Sasuke, who was heading home after school, stopped in his tracks when he saw such a massive crowd.

He knew that annoying guy was in trouble.

Sasuke took another look, shook his head, and continued toward home.

But after only a few steps, the image of Naruto being tied up by those angry people suddenly appeared in his mind...

He even imagined Naruto being burned to death by the Villagers.

"Damn it! What am I even thinking about!"

"Why should I care whether that guy lives or dies?!"

Sasuke said that, but his body uncontrollably began running toward Riverside Grove.

He took the side paths, which would get him there a few minutes ahead of the Villagers.

Sasuke ran with all his strength. The scenery before him rushed backward, yet he still felt he was not fast enough.

Faster!

Even faster!

That guy could only be defeated by him, not taken away by those idiots!

Sasuke believed that being taken away by those people meant nothing but permanent imprisonment or death...

In any case, he did not want a good opponent to vanish from his life just like that.

Chirp—chirp—

Naruto had no idea what was happening in the village. Looking at the fallen tree before him, he questioned the fox in his stomach strangely.

"Big Fox..."

"Can we change the training method..."

Just now, after he knocked down this tree thick enough for a person to wrap their arms around, Big Fox had insisted on giving him some kind of weight training...

Listen to that!

Was that even something a person would say?!

He was only six and a half. He was still a child.

Wasn't it a little too ridiculous to make a six-and-a-half-year-old swing around this tree?

Naruto estimated that the tree beneath his feet weighed at least two or three hundred pounds.

And it could only weigh more, not less...

"Enough nonsense!"

"Lift it up for me!"

"If you don't swing it a hundred times, you're not going home today."

Naruto: ...

To be honest, Naruto really wondered whether Kurama was going to train him to death.

He even felt that he might as well train with Uncle Guy...

At least Uncle Guy trained according to human limits, unlike Kurama...

Kurama's standard was to train him to death as long as he did not actually die.

If anyone else became Teacher Kurama's student, they would probably be peeing blood within three days...

Naruto looked at the tree beneath his feet, which was even bigger than him, and subconsciously swallowed.

It's so huge... how am I supposed to pick it up?!

He slowly crouched down and circled the tree several times, trying several angles, but he still could not find a place to get a grip.

His physique might be absurdly strong, but without finding a point to exert force from, he really could not lift such a massive tree.

After thinking it over, Naruto punched several dents into the trunk, using them as handholds.

"Hey—"

With a low growl, Naruto slowly rose from his crouch, and the tree on the ground was lifted bit by bit.

Naruto estimated the tree before him weighed over two hundred pounds, yet he forcibly lifted it up just like that.

"B-Big Fox!"

"Can I put it down first... my back is kind of itchy, I want to... scratch it."

Naruto looked like a weightlifter at that moment, holding the tree aloft with both hands. However, he was in terrible shape, his face and neck flushed red, and he even stuttered as he spoke.

It was clear that Naruto was exerting an enormous amount of force.

Moreover, when he lifted it just now, leaves had fallen through his collar, making his back itch unbearably.

"Enough nonsense!"

"Swing it!"

Hearing the fox's urging, Naruto could only grit his teeth and begin swinging the five-meter-long tree despite himself.

Whoosh—whoosh—