The rabble: It's all the higher-ups' fault

"No way! This is Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? Short, scrawny, and sickly, like some skinny little monkey. He doesn't look strong at all!"

"We saw him shaking in fear in the Land of Waves earlier. He didn't even have the guts to fight, and he's the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? Konoha sealed a Tailed Beast inside a useless brat like that?"

"Unbelievable. He's nothing like the vessel of the Nine-Tails that's supposed to be able to destroy the world!"

Voices of doubt, mockery, and astonishment rang out across the Five Great Hidden Villages.

Everyone was shocked to learn that Naruto was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. None of them thought much of this seemingly frail blond brat.

Meanwhile, at the heart of the storm, Konoha had plunged into unprecedented panic and chaos, even more turbulent than during the Uchiha Clan Massacre or the sky screen's arrival!

"Jinchūriki? What's a Jinchūriki? We've always said Naruto was the demon fox. How did he suddenly become the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"

"Was the demon fox thing just a rumor? Naruto... Naruto is actually the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?!"

In the streets and alleys, villagers stared at one another in shock, their eyes filled with dread and belated fear. They muttered incessantly, utterly at a loss.

For years, all of Konoha had spread the story that Naruto was the demon fox reincarnated, a bringer of disaster who would ruin the village.

They had ostracized him, bullied him, and hurled insults at him, pouring all their resentment and malice onto him.

Yet deep down, they had always considered Naruto nothing more than a powerless, pitiful orphan.

Even if they cursed or hit him, he had no way to fight back.

All their bullying had been a one-sided outlet for their anger, with no consequences whatsoever.

But now, the sky screen had laid bare the truth: Naruto was no demon fox. He was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!

He was the vessel that held the world-destroying Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, a terrifying being who could flatten all of Konoha if his power erupted!

They had freely cursed such a being, punched and kicked him, treated him with cold disdain, and even encouraged their children to shun and bully him!

At the thought of what they had done, countless Konoha villagers went cold all over. Their legs shook uncontrollably as fear surged through their hearts like a rising tide.

"We're doomed... After everything we did to him, if he loses control of the Nine-Tails one day and it breaks loose, we'll all die!"

"I even threw stones at him and called him a demon fox. How did I dare?!"

"I always thought something was wrong with that kid, but I never imagined he was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. The higher-ups really kept us in the dark!"

"Exactly! They should've told us sooner. If they'd told us it was the Nine-Tails, I wouldn't have bullied Naruto."

"I should've figured it out ages ago. I actually failed to connect the demon fox to the Nine-Tails. I'm such an idiot!"

"So it's all the higher-ups' fault. If they hadn't kept it hidden, we definitely wouldn't have bullied Naruto."

"That's right! The Hokage and the others are responsible!"

Panic, regret, and unease spread wildly through Konoha. All the malice they had once directed at Naruto had now become blades of fear turned against themselves.

Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was ashen.

The secret he had concealed for years had finally been revealed to the public by the sky screen.

The villagers' bullying of Naruto, the truth the higher-ups had deliberately concealed, and the terrifying threat posed by the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki were all laid bare before the entire Shinobi World.

Inside the Konoha Ninja Academy, the students stared at the sky screen, stunned and bewildered.

They were still young and spent their days learning basic ninjutsu at school. They had never encountered the deeper secrets of the Shinobi World and had no idea what a Jinchūriki or the Nine-Tails truly meant.

Their faces blank with confusion, they turned curious yet timid gazes toward Naruto Uzumaki beside them.

Standing among them, Naruto was just as confused.

He scratched his tousled blond hair, his blue eyes filled with puzzlement, and instinctively murmured, utterly bewildered, "Jinchūriki? I'm the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? What even is that?"

Ever since he was little, the villagers had called him a demon fox. He had endured endless cold looks and bullying, but no one had ever told him why.

This identity that had suddenly been thrust upon him left him completely lost.

Sasuke Uchiha, however, paid no attention to the subject of Jinchūriki.

His brows knitted tightly as a figure suddenly surfaced in his mind, making his heart lurch. His fingers quietly curled into fists.

Was it him?

At the same time, viewers throughout the Shinobi World began shifting their attention to the mysterious man. Speculation about his identity rose from every direction.

Many thought of the Uchiha Clan Massacre and boldly declared that this man was probably Uchiha Shan, who had fled Konoha!

On the sky screen, events continued to unfold rapidly.

Kakashi had not led Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura far through the forest before a phantomlike figure suddenly dropped from above, landing squarely at the junction ahead and blocking all four of them.

It was the mysterious man!

"What exactly are you trying to do?"

Kakashi's expression changed sharply. He instantly shielded his three students behind him, his Sharingan snapping open. His entire body tensed as he watched the man with utmost vigilance, as though facing a formidable enemy.

The mysterious man chuckled, his lazy voice edged with chilling amusement. "What am I trying to do? You'll find out soon enough."

Kakashi demanded sharply, "Who are you?!"

"Who am I?" The mysterious man chuckled again, his voice filled with an arrogance that looked down on everything. "Just think of me as a ghost of the Uchiha Clan. What do you think I stopped you for?"

A ghost of the Uchiha Clan?

Kakashi's pupils contracted sharply, disbelief flooding his eyes as he cried out, "Impossible!"

The word had burst from his mouth almost before he could think!

"What's so impossible about it?"

The mysterious man sneered. The instant his words fell, his right eye lit up with a scarlet glow.

His Three-Tomoe Sharingan slowly opened, the tomoe turning steadily within it.

The evidence was irrefutable!

Throughout the entire Shinobi World, only members of the Uchiha Clan could activate and deactivate the Sharingan at will!

Kakashi's heart sank. He quickly realized what the man wanted and spoke in a low voice, trying to redirect the conflict. "Your enemy is Uchiha Itachi. This has nothing to do with Sasuke. You shouldn't go after a child!"

"I decide whether it has anything to do with him!"

The mysterious man's voice was icy, leaving no room for negotiation.

"Run!"

Kakashi wasted no more words, barking the command at Sasuke and the others.

Then he shot forward, attacking the mysterious man. He intended to hold him off alone and give his three students a chance to escape.

In the blink of an eye, the two were locked in combat. Chakra clashed violently, and the thunder of ninjutsu echoed through the forest.

But Sasuke stood rooted to the spot, not moving a single step.