The money Naruto handed over was more than enough—it wasn't about the price anymore.
He slapped another tael down on the counter.
"One tael for the clothes. This one as compensation for the damage. As for you… you deserve what you got!" Naruto sneered at the shopkeeper in the back hall, then turned to leave.
"Stop him! That damned demon fox! He's a murderer!"
"Go report to the Third Hokage! Have him severely punish the demon fox!"
"I knew it! That thing killed countless villagers years ago. Now it's back again!"
The villagers swarmed him, their voices filled with hatred. Every insult carried the same words—demon fox. Fingers pointed, curses flew, and venom dripped from their mouths as they mocked not only Naruto, but his parents and anyone who might have cared for him.
And for Naruto, it was the last straw.
He said nothing. With a single hand seal, the street was suddenly flooded with a thousand shadow clones. They covered the roads, the rooftops, surrounding the mob in a suffocating counter-encirclement.
"You want me dead? Then stay here and die instead! Lice don't itch when there are too many, and debts don't weigh you down when they pile high!" Naruto's eyes burned with fury.
"You call me a demon fox? Then today I'll show you how demonic I can be! All of you—die!"
Each word he spat dripped with rage and despair. He had always pitied the Naruto of this world, who grew up hated and still sacrificed himself for the same village that despised him. But standing here, living it himself, his hatred for Konoha only deepened.
"Even if I am a demon fox, I'm the one protecting you. But you? Are you worthy of being protected?"
"If the Fourth Hokage knew you would treat his son this way, would he have still died for you? He gave his life for this village, yet his child has only ever been repaid with scorn. And Kushina… if she knew, she would burn this rotten place to the ground!"
Naruto's heart screamed with bitterness. He was an outsider here, yet he couldn't help but empathize—his father died to protect these very people, and in return, they tried to destroy his son.
As one, the thousand shadow clones drew their kunai, ready to strike. Naruto's gaze was cold. A Konoha like this… is better off erased.
But just as he opened his mouth to give the order, a familiar voice thundered across the street:
"Stop! Naruto!"
Naruto froze, recognizing that voice. His hand holding the kunai lowered—only slightly. The shadow clones remained, their steel still glinting in the sunlight.
"Naruto! What are you doing? These are villagers of Konoha! And you… you are a shinobi of Konoha! It's your duty to protect them!"
Iruka's voice trembled with both fear and desperation.
"Didn't you tell me yesterday you wanted to be a great ninja? To be acknowledged by everyone? Have you already forgotten that?"
Earlier that morning, when Naruto hadn't shown up at the Academy, Iruka had assumed he'd overslept again. But today was the team assignment ceremony—Naruto wouldn't dare miss it. Worried, Iruka set out to find him.
Then he heard the shouts: "The demon fox has attacked!" Panic seized his heart. And when he arrived, what he saw nearly froze his blood—Naruto, surrounded by a thousand clones, kunai drawn. If he had been even a moment later, the street would already have been a bloodbath.
"I haven't forgotten!" Naruto roared back.
"I've always wanted to be Hokage, to be acknowledged, to be loved by the villagers! But them?!" His chest heaved as he pointed at the trembling mob.
"Look at them! Are they worthy of my protection? They've never called me anything but demon fox! What did I do wrong?"
"For twelve years, all I've heard is their hatred! They glare at me, they avoid me, they curse me! They refuse to sell me food or clothes! When I starved, I could only eat at Ichiraku, or sneak into the mountains to fish!"
"Tell me, Iruka-sensei, what crime have I committed against them? Did I steal from them? Kill their families? I was just a child! What could I have possibly done to deserve this?"
His voice cracked, raw with pain.
"Why me? Why discriminate against me? Why curse me?"
Twelve years of grief, anger, and loneliness erupted from him all at once. He was the victim—just like them.
His parents had died under the claws of the Nine-Tails. Yet while the fox was sealed away, the villagers had chosen him as their scapegoat. For twelve years, he bore the hatred meant for a monster.
Iruka bowed his head, shame washing over him. Naruto was right. He had always been right. Naruto wasn't the one at fault. He should have been celebrated as the village's hero, the boy who carried the burden of the Nine-Tails for their safety.
But people were cowards. They feared the strong and trampled the weak. If the real Nine-Tails stood before them now, not a single one would dare raise their voice.
If one person bullied Naruto, ten others would follow. If a hundred saw it, a hundred would join in. And when the entire village witnessed it, all of them would learn to treat the young Naruto the same way.
That was human nature.
Iruka understood this all too well. He could feel Naruto's pain, his anger, his sense of injustice. But he said nothing. He couldn't say anything. He had no right to, and deep down, he didn't dare.
Naruto's voice cut through the silence.
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto! If any of you aren't convinced, then come at me! But remember this—next time, I won't hold back!"
"From today onward, the old Naruto is dead! From now on, if anyone dares to stop me, I'll kill them! If anyone dares to curse me, I'll kill them!"
"If you don't believe me—then come and try!"
His words were ice-cold, each syllable echoing in the stunned silence. The shadow clones that filled the streets vanished in an instant, leaving behind an empty space within the crowd.
Naruto's eyes swept across the villagers, his glare sharp enough to pierce steel. "Now… I'm leaving. If you're not afraid of death, then stand in my way."
With that, he lifted his foot and stepped forward.
The crowd shrank back, their bodies trembling. The murderous intent radiating from Naruto was undeniable—so thick it seemed to choke the air itself.
Iruka, standing at his side, felt it most clearly. He knew Naruto wasn't bluffing. That killing intent was real. Yesterday, when Naruto had fought Mizuki, his aura had carried provocation—reckless, defiant, but still controlled.
But today… today was different. This was pure bloodlust. If anyone dared to block Naruto's path now, Iruka had no doubt—Naruto would truly strike them down.