The Nine-Tails Had a Stomachache (1/2)

"Sorry."

On her way to buy food, Naruto accidentally bumped into a Chunin. She lowered her head in apology, then walked around him and continued on. But the disgusted words from behind made her clench her fists.

"What bad luck. I just got back from a mission and got bumped into by this monster! I really don't understand why Lord Hokage lets her walk freely around the village."

In the shop, Naruto struggled to place the groceries on the counter and pulled out wrinkled bills to pay. When the cashier saw that Naruto was the one paying, their attitude took a complete turn from the way they had treated the previous customers.

Carrying a large bag of groceries, Naruto trudged home with difficulty. To avoid running into too many people, she took a shortcut. In a narrow alley, she saw three boys surrounding a girl. The girl had a pair of distinctive white eyes, and the three boys were pointing at her because of them.

Hinata Hyuga...

Wasn't this Naruto and Hinata Hyuga's first meeting in the original story? She had never expected to run into something like this just by taking a shortcut.

Should she interfere or not?

Hinata Hyuga was from the Hyuga Clan's Main Family. Naruto didn't believe no one was watching over her. If they were simply standing by while Hinata was bullied, could they be from the Branch Family?

Thinking of the recent events, this should have been the part where Neji's father died in place of the Main Family's twin.

What a carefree little miss~!

Naruto shrugged and continued forward, looking at the three boys blocking the path.

"Hey, you're blocking my way!"

"Huh? Why should we move for you?" As soon as the boy spoke, his companion tugged on his arm.

"My mom told me never to get close to Naruto Uzumaki. She's the incarnation of the Nine-Tails, a monster!"

Even though he had deliberately lowered his voice, Naruto still heard him clearly.

Putting down her things, Naruto stepped forward and punched the talkative boy in the face. A tooth flew out of his mouth. She turned and struck another boy under the chin, then twisted her body and kicked the last boy, who had yet to react, to the ground.

"Get lost!"

The three boys looked at Naruto in terror, supporting one another as they fled.

Naruto turned to look at Hinata Hyuga, who had her hands pressed to her chest, her face full of fear.

"If you don't want to be bullied, then work hard and become stronger." With that, Naruto patted dust from her hands as if she had touched something filthy, picked up the things on the ground, and left.

Hinata Hyuga stared blankly at Naruto's departing back, her young face flushing red.

The girl with messy golden-blond hair left a deep impression on Hinata Hyuga, one she could not forget for a long time.

Chapter 4: The Nine-Tails Had a Stomachache (1/2)

After leaving the alley, Naruto saw one boy sitting on another boy's shoulders, happily pointing at a dango shop.

"Brother, I want dango!"

"Sure. I'll buy Sasuke whatever he wants."

Heh, brother worshipper! Heh, little-brother worshipper!

Naruto coldly watched the deeply devoted Uchiha Gunbai brothers head toward the dango shop. She noticed that Itachi Uchiha already wore a forehead protector.

So Itachi Uchiha didn't have nasolabial folds when he was little!

As if sensing Naruto's gaze, Uchiha Sasuke turned to look at her as she examined him and Itachi Uchiha. For some reason, Sasuke Uchiha made a face at Naruto, sticking out his tongue playfully.

"This brat..."

Naruto's mouth twitched. This sudden bout of silliness from the lively, cheerful Uchiha Sasuke left her speechless.

After returning home and putting all the groceries in the refrigerator, Naruto lay on her bed and skillfully entered her inner world. She found where the Nine-Tails was and lay on top of it, narrowing her eyes.

The Nine-Tails gave a dissatisfied snort but did not drive Naruto away.

"Kid, shouldn't you have had enough by now?" the Nine-Tails suddenly said.

"Hm? What do you mean?" Naruto rubbed against the Nine-Tails, slid down from its body, ran before it, and looked up into its eyes.

"I'm saying that you should know you're treated like this because I'm inside you. Stop coming to see me all the time, kid!" The Nine-Tails propped up its chin and looked at Naruto impatiently.

"It has nothing to do with you, Nine-Tails. After going through that disaster, they just wanted someone to hate."

"They want me to obediently listen to them, yet they refuse to treat me properly. The Will of Fire is nothing but a joke." Naruto looked up at the Nine-Tails, a mocking smile appearing on her young face.

"You mean Konohagakure deliberately made you the target of the villagers' hatred?" The Nine-Tails looked at Naruto with interest.

"That's right. To stabilize people's hearts, what they needed wasn't the son of a hero who imprisoned the Nine-Tails within his own body. They needed a so-called monster, the incarnation of the Nine-Tails, for people to hate. ☆☆"

"Nine-Tails, in a few years, once I'm strong enough to leave Konohagakure, I'll set you free." Naruto's young face was full of confidence as she held out her tiny clenched fist.

"Hahaha! You're the first person to say you'll give me freedom. Then I'll wait and see, Naruto!" The Nine-Tails froze for a moment before bursting into laughter. It extended one finger and touched Naruto's little fist. Red Chakra spread outward like ripples.

"What... is this?"

Naruto could feel an additional power within her. She had never refined Chakra before, so there should have been no Chakra inside her body. That meant this Chakra could only belong to the Nine-Tails.

"Why?"

"I don't want you to die before you fulfill your promise to me. Struggle to survive and grow stronger! Then fulfill your promise." The Nine-Tails smiled, baring its sharp teeth.

Looking at the Nine-Tails' almost ferocious smile, Naruto felt no fear. Instead, warmth rose from the bottom of her heart. Her heart, long chilled by Konohagakure's cruelty, gradually warmed.

"Mm, I won't die so easily! If I die, it'll be because you ate me!"

Naruto nodded solemnly and smiled brilliantly, like a ray of sunlight illuminating this cold, damp place.

This cold, damp place, like an underground sewer, was where the Nine-Tails resided.

Five-year-old Naruto had grown much taller. Only her messy golden-blond hair remained unchanged. Her deep blue eyes were unfathomable, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking.

Naruto lay on the Nine-Tails' head, rolling around in boredom. The Nine-Tails' mouth twitched, its expression filled with helplessness. Naruto lazily narrowed her eyes and patted its head.

"Nine-Tails, do you know how to refine Chakra?"

"Refining Chakra too early at your age will do your body no good." As a Tailed Beast that had lived for who knew how many years, the Nine-Tails naturally knew how humans refined Chakra. But it did not want to tell Naruto. With Naruto's current malnourished body, if not for the support of her Uzumaki Clan bloodline, she would have long since been hospitalized from malnutrition.

"I really want to grow up faster!" Naruto lowered her head. Her blue eyes instantly turned blood-red, her pupils narrowing into vertical slits. "I can't hold myself back from killing those ignorant fools anymore! My idiot father used my body to protect them! Yet they dare treat me like this!"

"I've been trying so hard! So hard! To suppress the urge to kill them!" Red Chakra surged from Naruto's body like a cloak, wrapping around her.

Suddenly, the Nine-Tails' tail coiled around Naruto's body, absorbing all the red Chakra pouring from her. Once Naruto's blood-red eyes returned to normal, she lay on the Nine-Tails' head, gasping heavily.