“Uncle, where are we going?”
On the streets of Konoha, Naruto clutched Mirai’s hand, nervously hiding behind him.
He didn’t understand why his uncle was taking him out.
The villagers…
His azure eyes darkened like smoldering embers doused with water.
Mirai gently ruffled Naruto’s hair, his voice soothing.
“Silly nephew, you are not a demon fox. Uncle will prove it to you.”
“R-Really?”
Naruto looked up, a flicker of hope in his dim eyes.
Since birth, the name “demon fox” has always been associated with him.
Wherever he went, people cursed him as the demon fox, the one who killed the Fourth Hokage and his wife!
But he didn’t even know the Fourth Hokage.
Nor did he understand how he had supposedly killed them!
His uncle said he would prove he wasn’t the demon fox.
How would he do that…
Naruto wondered timidly in his heart.
Passersby on the street recognized Naruto, angrily pointing.
“It’s the demon fox!”
At the sound of his voice, the surrounding villagers immediately turned their gazes, faces contorting with loathing.
“It is the demon fox! How dare he come out!”
“Hmph! He killed the Fourth Hokage and his wife! And so many villagers!”
Hearing the villagers’ hateful voices, Naruto’s newly brightened eyes darkened again.
Did I kill so many people?
Am I the cause of all this?
Maybe I shouldn’t be alive…
Feelings of pain and guilt surged, overwhelming Naruto’s fragile heart.
Suddenly, a warm force settled on his shoulder.
“Nephew, don’t listen to them. You’re not a demon fox!”
Naruto looked up and saw Mirai’s gentle smile. In those eyes, he saw hope and kindness he had never seen before.
“Yes, Uncle.”
He nodded, feeling a bit of strength return.
Mirai turned, his eyes cold as he scanned the villagers.
“If I hear ‘demon fox’ again, don’t blame me for being rude!”
His voice wasn’t loud, but the pressure within it was like a heavy mountain suddenly pressing down on the villagers.
It wasn’t just pure intimidation; he also used electromagnetic power to manipulate the air, compressing its density!
This made the pressure even more terrifying!
I was almost suffocating!
Sweat trickled down their foreheads, Adam’s apples bobbed nervously, and the villagers parted to make a path, allowing Mirai to lead Naruto through.
No one dared to speak, and the air was deathly silent.
Naruto held Mirai’s hand, following him quietly across the street.
Only after they left did the oppressive feeling lift.
“That guy is too domineering! Don’t they respect the village?”
“Right, we can’t let someone like that stay in the village. We must report to the Hokage!”
“Yes! Let’s find the Third Hokage! There are so many of us, how can we be afraid of one person?”
“Drive the demon fox out of the village!”
The crowd’s chatter grew louder, their earlier fear becoming shame and resentment.
This humiliation was transferred to the demon fox.
They would go to the Hokage and demand Naruto be expelled from Konoha!
Initially, it was just this street.
Soon, the growing crowd influenced other villagers.
More and more villagers joined, shouting slogans.
“Drive the demon fox out of Konoha!”
“Drive the demon fox out of Konoha!”
The momentum grew.
The gathered shouts reached Naruto’s ears.
He stopped, tears welling in his eyes.
“Uncle…”
The entire village wanted him gone.
Mirai knelt, ruffling Naruto’s golden hair.
“Don’t worry, Naruto. You’re not a demon fox. Just stick with me.”
“Okay.”
Naruto nodded.
But the loud voices behind him still affected him.
He bit his lip, holding back the tears threatening to fall.
Uncle said good children shouldn’t just cry.
They should have the courage to face everything.
…
“Lord Danzo, there’s trouble in the village!”
Danzo’s single eye narrowed when he heard his subordinate’s report in a dark alley.
“What happened?”
“It’s about the demon fox. Things have escalated unexpectedly. The villagers are rallying to the Hokage Tower to protest, demanding the Third Hokage expel the demon fox from Konoha.”
“What?!”
Danzo’s heart skipped a beat!
How did things escalate like this?
If the villagers rioted, it would be hard to control!
The villagers might not know, but Danzo was obvious!
Naruto wasn’t just any demon fox; he was the Nine-Tails’ Jinchuriki!
Konoha’s most important weapon!
There’s no way Hiruzen would, or could, expel him from the village!
If other villages’ ninjas found out, they might do anything to capture Naruto!
“Damn it! What happened? Wasn’t the plan just to pressure him through public opinion? How did it turn into a protest?”
Danzo gritted his teeth.
He punched the nearby wall in frustration.
If this blew up, and Hiruzen blamed him.
He wouldn’t get away with it!
“It’s… it’s Mirai…”
The reporting Root member’s voice trembled slightly.
“He’s walking around the village with the demon fox, seemingly deliberately provoking the villagers.”
“Mirai! It’s you again!”
Danzo’s eyes turned red!
…
Uchiha Police Force
“We confess! We confess everything!”
“Don’t hit me!”
The captured villagers were so terrified they confessed everything without needing torture.
They revealed everything about Root recruiting them, how much they were paid, and what they were told to say.
No details were spared.
“Just as I suspected.”
Uchiha Setsuna’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The public opinion storm was too strange. He didn’t believe for a second it wasn’t orchestrated.
It reminded him of the White Fang incident over a decade ago…
As he pondered.
“Elder Setsuna, there’s trouble!”
An Uchiha clan member came to report.
“What is it?”
“The villagers are rioting, demanding the Hokage expel Naruto.”
“What?!”
…
“Drive the demon fox out!!”
“Drive the demon fox out of Konoha!”
“Drive the demon fox out!!”
The protesting villagers’ ranks swelled, their voices merging into a cacophony above Konoha, resounding through the sky.
Watching from a tree, Kakashi felt his head pounding.
A splitting headache!
“How did it come to this? I must inform the Hokage immediately!”
Hokage’s Office
Hiruzen, busy with paperwork, froze upon hearing Kakashi’s report.
Thunk!
The pipe he had been holding fell from his mouth.
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