Why are these people so nosy…?
Finally, after escorting Satsuki to the vicinity of the Uchiha Clan Compound entrance, Naruto secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Along the way, the undisguised pointing and whispering from all directions were truly uncomfortable.
Of course, this time, the focus of those gazes and discussions was not on him, the 'demon fox,' but entirely on Satsuki, who was bowing her head beside him.
However, this focus was not malicious, but a heavy kind of pity.
"Look… is that the child? I heard that last night the Uchiha Clan… were all… "
"What a sin… at such a young age, she experienced this kind of… "
"Shh! Keep your voice down! Don't let her hear! But I heard… it was her older sister, how could she do it… "
"I heard that because of this incident, that terrifying organization was also drawn in, and another major disaster almost happened… "
The hushed discussions pierced him like dense needles. Every compassionate gaze, every sigh of "how pitiful," was like repeatedly tearing open Satsuki's bloody wounds, making her already bowed head sink even deeper.
Naruto could clearly feel the girl's body stiffen beside him, which made him feel an inexplicable irritation, yet he couldn't stop everyone's mouths.
In today's Konoha, two bombshell pieces of news swept through every corner like a hurricane, causing unprecedented shock.
One was the Uchiha Clan Massacre. As Konoha's undisputed largest and most prominent Shinobi clan, they were almost completely slaughtered overnight, with only a few survivors remaining. The impact of this news was undoubtedly earthquake-level.
However, such a horrifying case, in the storm of public opinion, could only rank second.
What truly topped the topic charts and sparked widespread condemnation was the revelation of the monstrous crimes of a deceased high-ranking official—Danzo Shimura.
Desecrating the First Hokage's remains, stealing cells for forbidden research, secretly harming Uchiha comrades who fought alongside him during the Third Ninja World War to acquire the Sharingan, creating numerous "missing" cases.
Maintaining secret cooperation with the already rogue and infamous S-rank rogue ninja Orochimaru, continuing inhumane human experimentation, even kidnapping innocent villagers and lone ninja to use as test subjects for his insane research…
Each of these publicly exposed crimes, to their horrifying extent, completely overturned people's understanding of "Konoha High Command" and ignited widespread public outrage and condemnation.
In comparison, the truth of the Uchiha Clan's destruction was temporarily obscured, which instead focused people's anger more on the deceased Danzo.
Although demanding that Danzo's numerous evil deeds be made public was a condition Naruto proposed as Menma, he currently had no mind to pay attention to the clamorous discussions and condemnations outside.
All his attention was focused on the girl beside him; he absolutely did not want Satsuki to walk that lonely path alone, as she did in the original story.
Stepping into the Uchiha Clan's streets, a deathly silence enveloped them. The Uchiha Clan Compound, which was usually not particularly bustling but full of life, was now completely empty, leaving only an unsettling quiet.
On the streets, human-shaped outlines drawn with white chalk, representing the positions of "corpses," were shocking to behold, with large patches of dried, blackened blood remaining nearby.
Naruto silently looked at these traces, his heart somewhat complex. He couldn't distinguish which were real bloodstains and which were realistic fakes left by the biological counterfeits generated by Gold Experience… Perhaps, both were present.
He said nothing, made no attempt to comfort her with empty words, but simply and silently stayed by Satsuki's side, walking alongside her, step by step, deeper into the Uchiha Clan Compound.
There was still a long distance from the entrance to the clan head's residence.
Then, the sky suddenly turned gloomy without warning, and fine drizzles of rain began to fall, quickly forming lines and pattering down. This rain, which came to set a lonely mood in the original story, arrived as scheduled.
The rain hit her face and body. Satsuki seemed to be in such shock that she didn't even react at first, just continued walking blankly.
It wasn't until the rain soaked her hair and clothes, bringing a cold sensation, that she was startled awake from her sleepwalking state.
She instinctively stopped, then suddenly turned her head, looking at Naruto beside her with an almost panicked gaze, filled with deep helplessness and pleading…
She wasn't worried about the rain, nor was she afraid of the empty streets. She was afraid—afraid that Naruto would leave because of this sudden rain, that he would find it troublesome, that he would consider accompanying her for this last stretch of the journey a burden, and that he would abandon her alone.
She didn't know what she would do if Naruto really left, if she would have the courage to walk this path to her already shattered "home" alone.
She didn't want to be alone.
Absolutely not.
Naruto looked at Satsuki's side profile, made even paler by the rain, and her slightly trembling shoulders. He hesitated for a moment, then reached out and touched Satsuki's wet hair.
Honestly, he had wanted to do this for a long time, but wasn't sure if the proud Satsuki would flinch away.
But now… Satsuki only paused slightly, without any resistance or evasion. Instead, as if seeking comfort, she continued to gaze at him with eyes brimming with tears, filled with fragility and dependence.
"You, huh…" Naruto sighed, "Have a little faith in me, okay?"
After speaking, he took Satsuki's hand and quickly ran to the eaves of a nearby house to take shelter from the increasingly heavy rain. Both their hair and clothes were already slightly damp from the rain, clinging to their bodies and bringing a chill.
Once steady, Naruto quickly formed a simple hand sign with both hands.
Boom!
With a soft sound, another identical Shadow Clone appeared beside them.
"Go," Naruto's main body instructed concisely.
The Shadow Clone nodded. The next second, Chakra erupted from his feet, and he instantly dashed into the rain curtain at the high speed of a ninja traveling, his figure disappearing at the end of the street after a few leaps.
"Let's wait here for a bit," Naruto explained to Satsuki beside him, "He'll bring an umbrella over right away. I told you, I'll stay by your side, and I mean it."
Upon hearing this, Satsuki lowered her head deeply, making her expression unreadable. She only nodded slightly, almost imperceptibly, to indicate she had heard.
However, her body unconsciously leaned a little closer towards Naruto.
Naruto felt her subtle reliance and sighed again in his heart. He said nothing more, only gently stroked Satsuki's rain-soaked hair, off and on.
— — — — — —
Meanwhile, on the other side, the Shadow Clone who had rushed into the rain, after running a sufficient distance to ensure he was completely out of Satsuki's line of sight, suddenly stopped again and formed hand signs once more.
Boom!
Another puff of white smoke flashed, and another clone appeared.
One of the clones continued to sprint towards the nearest general store without stopping.
And the aura around the other newly created clone suddenly changed dramatically! A faint, illusory figure glowing with blue and pink light appeared behind him.
Immediately, this clone rushed at full speed towards Konoha Hospital.
His mission was to use that power, which could heal anything, to fulfill his promise to Satsuki of "one hundred percent recovery."