After resting for a while by the training field and haphazardly stretching her sore muscles, the sun was already high in the sky. Shira felt that it was about time; if she stayed any longer, Captain Reppu might come out looking for her.
He called out to Rock Lee was still earnestly demonstrating the key points of a Taijutsu move to Naruto.
"Okay! Let's go, Li. It's time to go back."
Rock Lee, still feeling a bit unsatisfied, finished his attack, wiped his sweat, and said to Naruto, "We have to go back now. Naruto, you should go home early too, don't stay out too late."
Naruto jumped down from the tree root, blinked his big blue eyes, looked at Rock Lee, then at Shira, and the light on his face that had been shining because someone was talking to him seriously seemed to dim a little, but it was quickly covered up by a carefree smile.
"Oh! I see! Thank you for letting me watch the training! Next time... next time, can I come again?" He asked cautiously, clearly testing the waters.
Looking into his eyes, which were clearly expectant yet trying to appear indifferent, Shira felt a surge of complex emotions well up inside her.
He nodded, trying to make his tone sound casual, "Well, if there's a chance."
Naruto immediately perked up again and nodded his little head vigorously. "Mmm!"
The three of them left the training ground together and walked back along the way they came. Shira and Rock Lee walked in front, while Naruto jogged alongside them, asking questions curiously from time to time, mostly about things like "how good are Taijutsu " and "how much sweat do you have to break?"
Rock Lee always answered very seriously. Although some of his statements sounded a bit too passionate, his sincerity was genuine.
Shira occasionally chimed in with a word or two, but most of the time she listened and watched, the "original work" in her mind and the reality before her eyes like two threads, slowly intertwining.
At first, there weren't many people on the road. Occasionally, villagers or ninjas would pass by, and if they saw Shira and Rock Lee, two boys who were soaked in sweat and clearly had just finished training, they would at most glance at them a couple of times before hurrying away.
Naruto walked beside them without seeming to attract much attention.
But gradually, as they walked into the streets closer to the village center and where there were more people, the atmosphere began to change.
First came a few elderly women sunbathing under the eaves of houses along the street. They were chatting idly with their eyes half-closed when they saw the three approaching. Their gaze swept over Shira and Rock Lee without lingering, but when it landed on the small blonde figure in the middle, their chatter came to an abrupt halt.
The wrinkles on their faces seemed to freeze suddenly, their lips turned down, and their eyes revealed an undisguised mixture of disgust, fear, and contempt.
They bumped arms, gestured towards Naruto with their lips, and whispered in a tone they thought was low but was actually clearly audible, with a sharp, whistling quality:
"Look... it's that child again..."
"A fox spirit..."
"What bad luck! Stay away from him!"
"Why is the fox spirit hanging out with two strange boys...?"
The sound wasn't loud, but it was like tiny ice needles piercing the air. Naruto, who was listening to Rock Lee with his head tilted back, froze for a moment, his arm unconsciously tightened, and his steps slowed down slightly.
But he quickly lowered his head again, pretending not to hear, and just kicked at the pebbles on the ground, muttering something unintelligible.
Shira didn't stop walking, her face expressionless, but her eyes darkened. Sure enough, it was the same as she remembered, even more direct...
He felt a lump in his throat, wanting to say something, but the words caught in his throat, making him feel powerless to speak. What could he change? Reveal the truth?
That would only cause more trouble. He could only keep walking forward, pretending not to hear the whispers, but his eyes were always on Naruto out of the corner of his eye.
Rock Lee heard it all clearly. His thick, dark eyebrows furrowed instantly. He stopped, turned around, and looked at the old women with a puzzled expression, then at Naruto was standing with his head down, no longer saying a word.
His face was still flushed and sweaty from training, but his usually clear and bright eyes were filled with genuine confusion.
"Ah, Shira," Rock Lee tugged at Shira's sleeve, his voice tinged with annoyance, "What are they talking about? What 'demon fox'? Are they talking about Naruto? Why are they saying that?"
His voice wasn't deliberately lowered, and it sounded exceptionally clear in the suddenly eerily quiet street. The old women immediately shut their mouths, their eyes darting away as if they hadn't just been speaking.
Naruto suddenly raised his head, glanced quickly at Rock Lee, a hint of panic and embarrassment flashing in his large blue eyes, then quickly lowered his head, his azure eyes darting uneasily across the ground.
Shira sighed inwardly, patted Rock Lee on the shoulder, and whispered, "Let's go, don't ask anymore."
"But..." Rock Lee wanted to say something, but seeing Shira's face and Naruto's almost shrinking-back expression, he swallowed his words.
His brows furrowed even more, and the confusion in his eyes deepened.
They continued walking. But the road ahead seemed to be blocked by an invisible barrier. The villagers who came towards them, whether they were housewives carrying vegetable baskets or craftsmen carrying tools, would immediately change their expressions if their eyes fell on Naruto.
Some people, as if they'd seen a plague, quickly pulled their children to the other side of the road, pointing at Naruto as they went, and whispering urgently to their children:
"See that? That's a fox demon! Stay away from it, whatever you do, don't get close!"
"Don't look at him! And don't talk to him! Got it?"
"Hurry, hurry!"
The children, being pulled along by the adults, turned around in Naruto, their eyes filled with curiosity, fear, and a sense of rejection stemming from being indoctrinated.
Naruto stopped kicking the pebbles. He hugged himself tightly, his pace slowing down until he almost fell behind. He kept his head down, but Shira could see the small patch of his face that was visible; his lips were pressed tightly together, and the tip of his nose was a little red.
Once, a little boy about the same age as Naruto, probably being dragged aside by his mother, stumbled and dropped the candy in his hand, which rolled to Naruto's feet.
Naruto subconsciously stopped in his tracks, looked at the brightly wrapped candy, and then looked up at the little boy who was being quickly pulled away by his mother, still looking back longingly at the candy.
Without much hesitation, Naruto bent down and picked up the candy. Then, holding the candy, he ran a few steps, reached out his hand, and tried to hand it back to the little boy, even managing a slightly stiff but definitely kind smile on his face.
"Your candy..."