Shira Earth Flow silently, her gaze sweeping over the figures that hurriedly avoided her, over the faces that showed either disgust or fear, and finally landing on the blond child beside her who was trying to straighten his back and whose smile was still somewhat stiff.
Those deliberately suppressed yet clearly pronounced words like "fox spirit," "bad luck," and "stay away" were like invisible whips, lashing at this child who knew nothing, and also at a hidden corner of Shira's heart.
In a daze, he seemed to see not the villagers of Konoha, but the blurry and grotesque faces behind the screens of that information-explosive era.
They don't need evidence, they don't need to understand; all they need is a label, a "fact" that is constantly spread, distorted, and amplified, to nail a person to the cross of public opinion and enjoy the distorted sense of justice and security brought about by collective rejection.
"Demon Fox".
What a simple word. It encapsulates so much unvented fear, the pain of losing loved ones, and the weakness of desperately needing a concrete object to bear all the hatred when faced with incomprehensible disaster.
The Nine-Tails' Attack, the disaster Obito that bastard Obito, shattered countless families. Does the hatred of these villagers have a root cause? Perhaps it does.
But who should be hated? The masked man who manipulates the Nine-Tails, the out-of-control Tailed Beast, or... this child who knows nothing, born simply because that power was sealed within him?
Hatred needs an outlet. And when the real culprit is hidden in the darkness, and when the immense disaster becomes so abstract that it leaves people powerless, this living, breathing child, who is seen as an "outcast" because of the seal within him, becomes the most natural target.
Hating him and rejecting him seems to sever ties with the disaster, as if it can comfort the deceased and soothe one's own restless fear and trauma.
But this hatred fermented and distorted through word of mouth. From fear of the "sealing container" to the demonization of the "fox spirit incarnation," and then to the "disaster star that brings misfortune."
The truth has long been distorted beyond recognition, leaving only ever-increasing collective prejudice and unbridled malicious venting.
Just like on the internet, a video with its beginning and end cut off, along with a few inflammatory words, can quickly ignite indiscriminate anger and drag a person into an abyss of no return.
No one cares about the truth; individual suffering only fuels the revelry.
Was Naruto innocent? He was more innocent than anyone else. He didn't even know what the " Nine-Tails " was or why he had to suffer all this.
Are the villagers hateful? Those who have lost loved ones and whose lives are shrouded in shadow, their suffering is real.
They transformed this pain into years of cold, brutal violence against another innocent person.
Shira couldn't judge these villagers from a superior position, because they were all human, and human beings are complex. Not everyone can be a saint, and not everyone can calmly face a suspect who might cause the death of their loved ones...
But what about those who may not have been directly harmed, but were simply swept up in the atmosphere, blindly followed, or even enjoyed the thrill of this "correct rejection"...?
What difference is there between them and those strangers from their own time who casually typed on keyboards, hurled insults, and trampled on others?
Shira noticed the fleeting envy in Naruto's eyes when he occasionally glanced at the toys in the hands of children on the roadside; she also noticed the sudden brightness in Naruto's eyes when he was praised by Rock Lee, as if he had received the most precious gift in the world.
This child longs for nothing more than a little warmth, a smile without reservation, and a touch that won't be pushed away.
What the world gave him was a high wall built all around him, impenetrable, and countless cold, rejecting eyes behind it.
Obito is hateful; he sowed the seeds of tragedy. But isn't this spreading hatred, this distorted propagation, this collective unconscious atrocity also a driving force that perpetuates and amplifies the initial tragedy?
Shira took a deep breath. The evening air in Konoha was slightly cool, but it couldn't dispel the heaviness in his heart. He knew the trajectory of history, and he knew that Naruto would eventually break down this wall and win everyone's approval.
But that's the future, bought with countless tears and sacrifices. And right now, this little Naruto, still trying to force a smile at the world, is personally bearing the full weight of that wall.
What can he do? Change the villagers' deep-seated beliefs? Reveal the so-called "truth"? He can't do that; it will only cause greater chaos and hostility.
He was merely a passerby, an observer who knew a part of the future. As an outsider and a transmigrator lacking sufficient power, he currently had no ability to change anything. He had to protect himself first before he could protect others!
But perhaps, like the stubborn, hot-blooded idiot Rock Lee next to me who only believes what he sees with his own eyes, at least we can avoid becoming part of this wall, right?
At least for this moment, we can offer this child, isolated by the world, a little bit of genuine, unlabeled kindness.
This act of kindness is small and cannot change the thickness of the wall. But at least it can bring a sliver of light into the shadows at the corner...
Shira gathered her scattered thoughts and refocused her gaze ahead. The sunlight cast long shadows of the three of them, intertwining them as if temporarily breaking down some invisible barrier.
The road is still long, and the wall remains. But perhaps every step we take has meaning, right?
----The following is the author's comment from December 27th:
Happy New Year! May all my readers be happy Tenten! Always remember to love yourself first, then love others! Your own happiness is paramount! And above all, your health comes first!
Oh right, the author chose the pure text option, and I got first place in the class on the monthly exam (●◡●) That's really great!
However... I got 121 in Chinese, 44 in Math, and the author/poet holds ⌓‿⌓