"Iruka stammered as he announced the result: 'Uzumaki Naruto, wins!'"
The fight was too short, and ended too quickly.
The result was also completely unexpected.
The entire battle couldn't even be described as "evenly matched."
It was simply Uchiha Sasuke getting beaten up one-sidedly.
From beginning to end, did Sasuke even get a real chance to fight back?
He only managed a sneak attack once—using a combination of Body Replacement and Clone Jutsu to get behind Naruto and attack with a kunai—only to be predicted and countered.
When did Naruto become this strong?
Just after a few days of training, he could perform this well?
On the rooftop of the Ninja Academy.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood on the rooftop and asked the ninja beside him, whose face was mostly covered, with silver hair and only one eye showing.
"Kakashi, what do you think?"
Hatake Kakashi replied softly, "Physically, the two are about the same. Sasuke might even be a bit stronger."
"But Naruto has more real combat experience."
"He's also using chakra to boost his speed—a technique similar to the Body Flicker."
"His instincts are sharp, too. As expected of the Uzumaki bloodline. He must have awakened a sensing ability."
"That's why Naruto won so decisively."
"If Sasuke had used clones more effectively or activated his Sharingan, the result might have been different."
Sarutobi smiled, "Just now, he really reminded me of the Fourth. Didn't he remind you of him too?"
Kakashi didn't respond.
"One is the last of the Uchiha clan, the other is the child of the Fourth Hokage—your teacher," Sarutobi continued. "I intend to assign you as their team leader."
"If anyone in Konoha can guide them, it's you."
Kakashi nodded. "Understood."
"And one more thing," Sarutobi added, his gaze fixed on Naruto, who had sat down at the edge of the crowd. "Naruto wasn't like this before."
"He suddenly changed—his personality, his talents."
"ANBU found nothing suspicious. He hasn't contacted anyone unusual, and the Nine-Tails' seal remains intact."
"Find out the reason. A Jinchūriki must not be left unchecked."
Kakashi nodded again.
Sarutobi opened his mouth as if to say something more—something like, "Be kinder to him."
But he didn't say it.
He felt there was no need.
Uzumaki Naruto was the child of Kakashi's teacher, the Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato. By logic, that made them like brothers. And what kind of older brother wouldn't look after his younger brother?
Sarutobi left.
The Hokage's duties were heavy.
Kakashi remained on the rooftop, his gaze occasionally drifting to Naruto—but most of the time, it lingered on Sasuke's gloomy, hateful expression.
"Genius" Naruto's life didn't improve.
He thought that once he revealed his talent, life would become something like it was at the Shinō Academy in the Soul Society.
But...
Nothing really changed.
His classmates still refused to befriend him.
The teachers still disliked him.
Some girls even treated him worse—How dare you beat up our handsome Uchiha lord?!
Naruto wasn't disappointed though. Ever since the Third Hokage came to "interrogate" him, he had lowered his expectations.
But he was puzzled.
His time in the Soul Society and at the Shinō Academy taught him one thing:
"Hate" needs a reason—most people treat strangers with neutrality at worst.
And "love" needs a reason too.
He had already shown he was outstanding. He'd given them a reason to love him.
But they still treated him the same.
That could only mean...
The reason they hated him was far stronger than the reason he was offering for them to love him.
It wasn't because he was an orphan, or mischievous in the past...
Then what could it be?
Looking into the distance at the Hokage Rock.
The four massive faces.
Naruto had memorized their names and deeds by heart.
The First Hokage united the ninja world.The Second founded the ninja academy.The Third was still alive—old and immortal.The Fourth died young, saving the village from the Nine-Tails.
Wait...
The Nine-Tails?
His "inner power" was also a fox. It knew nothing of the Soul Society or Seireitei—but it knew Konoha.
Naruto hadn't connected these two facts before.
But now, he had no choice but to think about it.
He entered his inner world.
"Brat, don't bother me!" The Nine-Tails immediately grew irritable at his arrival.
Naruto looked up into those golden eyes. "I heard a rumor when I was little. That the Fourth Hokage saved the village from the Nine-Tails."
"Was that you?"
The Nine-Tails grinned, unashamed. "Yeah, it was me. You just figured that out?"
"I'm not your alter ego in some friendship game."
"Brat, I'd eat you alive if I could."
Naruto said nothing and took another step forward.
He wasn't especially shocked that the fox inside him was the Nine-Tails.
Even if it was the reason the village hated him.
Hate?
Maybe just a little.
But now, Naruto didn't care about what the village thought of him. He had another home now. The Soul Society was much better than Konoha.
He looked forward.
A red gate.Seals etched into it.It was the truth of the "seal."
"So you hate me because the Fourth Hokage sealed you in my body?" he said quietly, striking the root of the fox's hatred.
The Nine-Tails didn't reply, only gave a gruff snort.
That golden-haired man…
Naruto asked again: "Why me?"
"Of all the children, why did the Fourth choose me—an orphan?"
Someone as dangerous as the Nine-Tails shouldn't be sealed in just any random child. In the Soul Society, even big kids shielded smaller ones when food was scarce.
The Nine-Tails' expression changed. It leaned in, scrutinizing Naruto. "No one in Konoha told you?"
Naruto shook his head, confused. "Even the fact that you're the Nine-Tails was something I figured out myself."
If he hadn't gone to the Soul Society, he probably wouldn't even know there was a fox inside him.
"Then let me tell you," said the Nine-Tails, stretching out a claw and tapping Naruto's forehead with a crazed grin.
"The Fourth Hokage had no other choice but to seal me into you."
"Because—you're his son!"
"You were the only vessel available before his death!"
Naruto froze.
His face twisted in disbelief.
His eyes went blank—then glared fiercely at the fox.
His father—whom he'd never met, had no photo of, not even a name—was the Fourth Hokage?
"Impossible!" Naruto couldn't believe it.
His life experience gave him no reason to believe it.
If he were the Fourth Hokage's son, he would be the child of a hero.
Would the child of a hero be hated by the entire village?
Would the child of a hero have no friends?
"I'm not lying," said the Nine-Tails, baring its fangs in a manic glee. "Konoha lied to you. They never told you the truth. They just want to use you as a weapon of war."
"A village like this—what's the point of it even existing?"
"Come on. Break the seal. You want my power, don't you?"
"Break the seal and it's yours."
"Let's destroy this village together."
Naruto took a deep breath—even though there was no need in this inner world.
He wanted to ask "Grandpa Third" the truth—but then a memory resurfaced.
He was very young at the time.
He once asked the Third for a photo of his parents—he was told there wasn't one.
He asked for their names—he was brushed off.
And just days ago...
The Third Hokage was no longer someone he could trust.
He was the one who kept Naruto from knowing his parents' identities.
The Nine-Tails kept talking.
"Shut up!" Naruto snapped, glaring. "I'm not going to listen to you!"
The Nine-Tails narrowed its eyes. "I like that look in your eyes."
"But even now, you still want to protect Konoha?"
Naruto clenched his fists. "Konoha..."
"I'm not protecting it."
"If you were sealed in me by my father—"
"I'll find him and ask him directly."
"I'm not going to listen to you!"
"You, who killed my father!"
(End of Chapter)