Lying in his hospital bed, eating fruit that Hinata fed him personally, Naruto was thoroughly enjoying the rare moment of peace.
In his previous life, he had been a lone bachelor who had never experienced the care of a girl.
This was his first time being treated like this—across both lives.
Once he sensed through his malice perception ability that the Third Hokage and Kakashi had left the hospital, Naruto finally turned to Hinata and asked her about what had happened in the past few days.
From Hinata's hesitant responses, Naruto's brows gradually furrowed.
Despite his efforts to intervene, the incident with the Cloud delegation had still occurred.
However, this time, the person they kidnapped wasn't Hinata, but her not-yet-one-year-old younger sister, Hanabi. Everything that followed unfolded exactly as Naruto remembered from before.
To save his daughter, Hiashi Hyuga killed the leader of the Cloud delegation, which led the visiting envoy to lodge a formal protest.
Under pressure from the village and higher-ups, the Hyuga Clan was forced to hand over Hiashi's twin brother, Hizashi, as a scapegoat—offering him up as a "sacrifice" to preserve the peace treaty between the two nations.
Naruto wasn't a member of the Hyuga clan, so he didn't want to judge the "Caged Bird" system.
But the Third Hokage's response to the incident deeply disappointed him. According to the Nine-Tails, the masked ANBU that had tangled with him during the rampage had actually been a member of the Cloud delegation.
This meant that the Cloud had intentions of taking him too.
And yet, even after both the Hyuga main family and the village's jinchuriki had been threatened, the Third Hokage still chose to compromise with the Cloud.
Was he not afraid of being called a coward by his own ninja?
Or perhaps... the general public was willing to trade dignity for the illusion of peace?
Putting himself in the village's shoes, Naruto felt as though Konoha had just been slapped across the face—losing the dignity expected of the top ninja village.
Shaking himself out of his spiraling thoughts, Naruto looked at the still-nervous Hinata and said, "Hinata, your sister just went through a kidnapping... Did you forget what I told you before? You ran out here again, didn't you?"
Hinata shook her head, her tone unusually firm. "That's not it… Father gave me permission. As long as I finish my lessons, I can use the rest of the time freely—as long as I'm back before dark."
Seeing Hinata speak without stammering (though still shy), Naruto smiled sincerely.
Apparently, she didn't yet know what had happened to Hizashi. The Hyuga Clan had done a good job of shielding the main family. Still, for Hiashi to allow her to visit like this, he must have already guessed Naruto's true identity.
Was this Hiashi's way of fighting back after being forced to sacrifice his brother—by supporting Naruto in secret?
The peaceful moment didn't last forever. Naruto and Hinata chatted about many things, but eventually, she had to leave.
As Naruto watched Hinata walk away under the protection of the Hyuga family guards, only he and the Nine-Tails remained in the room.
He picked up the ninjutsu scrolls the Third Hokage had left behind. They contained instructions for several C-rank Wind Style jutsu techniques.
They included a variety of methods for manipulating wind-nature chakra—this was the most comprehensive set of Wind techniques Naruto had seen so far.
To be fair, the Third Hokage had never been stingy when it came to Naruto's training.
Still, Naruto couldn't help but feel that none of these jutsu compared to the Rasengan.
Compared to flashy techniques, he preferred simple, overwhelming power.
Putting the scrolls aside, Naruto was eager to grow stronger—but a hospital room was no place to train.
That afternoon, the Third Hokage returned to check on him.
After confirming Naruto had fully recovered, the Hokage helped him complete the discharge process and handed him a key.
Naruto's old apartment was currently being repaired—after all, it had become nearly uninhabitable.
After moving into the new place, Naruto couldn't help but feel uneasy. The room wasn't clean, and the fridge was nearly empty. It gave him a strong sense of unease.
He had to fill the fridge.
With that thought in mind, Naruto headed into town.
Familiar streets, familiar people.
Naruto was prepared to ignore the usual stares, as he always had—when he suddenly noticed something different.
The villagers' gazes weren't just hateful anymore... they were fearful.
As if he were some kind of man-eating monster.
Ignore them.
Naruto walked into a shop he often visited and greeted the usual stingy shopkeeper.
He was just about to start bargaining as usual when the shopkeeper hurriedly brought over a large pile of goods and laid them in front of Naruto, smiling nervously and flatteringly.
"F-Fox Demon—no! I mean, Lord Naruto! These items are all free! You don't have to pay a single coin!"
Naruto frowned. He couldn't understand why someone so greedy would suddenly be so generous.
But the moment he frowned, the shopkeeper dropped to his knees and started slapping himself.
"Lord Naruto! I—I was wrong before! I shouldn't have sold you fake goods! Please forgive me!"
Naruto's thoughts stirred.
It seemed that during the time he was unconscious, some harmful rumors had started circulating.
Was it because villagers had seen him lose control?
Determined to get to the bottom of it, Naruto lowered his voice and asked, "Boss... have there been any rumors about me going around the village recently?"
"I—I can't say. Those people are too dangerous…"
"Are you sure you won't say anything?"
Faced with Naruto's quiet threat, the shopkeeper finally spilled the rumors that had been spreading lately.
After hearing the details, Naruto's face darkened. He placed money on the counter, took his goods, and left—leaving behind a trembling shopkeeper.
Even though Tenpū was dead, he had left behind a mess.
To deceive the Third Hokage, Naruto had deliberately rampaged in front of witnesses—and now the villagers were convinced he really was the Nine-Tails. The rumors were only getting worse.
But after seeing the destruction Naruto had caused, no one dared express hatred to his face.
Instead, they treated him with excessive respect—terrified he might lose control again and kill them all.
Just days ago, when they suspected he was the Nine-Tails, they bullied and hated him—even their children dared to hit him.
But now that they were sure of it, they bowed and scraped—afraid to anger him.
So this… is what being a jinchuriki is really like.
Naruto gave a bitter laugh—not sure if he was laughing at himself, or at the villagers.
The Nine-Tails heard the self-deprecating laugh and spoke inside the seal:
"Naruto, this is the life of a jinchuriki. It's also the fate of the tailed beasts. Doesn't it make you want to destroy everything?"
"It's a shame your seal was reinforced. Otherwise, you might've given them a real show."
"No," Naruto replied calmly, shaking his head. "I don't feel the urge to destroy everything. I just find the villagers a little pitiful. But… I am starting to feel like I don't want to stay in the Hidden Leaf anymore. I want to leave."
The Nine-Tails was momentarily surprised.
"Leave? With your current strength? Who would let you leave the village? A jinchuriki is a precious weapon—no way they'll let you go."
"Unless you undo the seal and accept all of my power. But you don't have that ability."
Naruto looked at him seriously and said, "That's why I need to work harder. Only by growing stronger can I truly control your power, instead of going berserk from just a sliver of chakra."
The fox snorted. "And why would I lend you my power?"
He rolled his eyes. "Even if you escape, I'm still a prisoner inside you."
Naruto smiled. "Even prisoners want to see the outside world sometimes, right? I really want to explore—see all the different landscapes."
"And who knows… maybe I'll find a way to leave without using your power at all."
(End of Chapter)
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