"Sorry for the mess, Iruka-sensei. Looks like we caused you some trouble."
Tōma said it with a polite smile that didn't match the battlefield of groaning bodies behind him.Iruka, who'd arrived furious, forced himself to check every fallen student first. Thankfully, they were bruised and hurting, but nothing serious.
Once he finished assessing the damage, he exhaled sharply.
"…All right. Someone explain. Why did this fight break out?"
"I only caught the end of it," Tōma replied. "But it started with them ganging up on Naruto.Naruto. Tell him everything."
Naruto stiffened, but he didn't hide anything. He recounted the entire chain of events—the near collision, his apology, the insults, and how it escalated.
Iruka frowned."So you didn't hit anyone. You apologized. And they still attacked you?"
Naruto nodded nervously."Y-yeah…"
"Don't worry," Tōma said, nudging Naruto lightly. "Iruka-sensei and I believe you. Right, sensei?"
"…Yes." Iruka nodded firmly.His frown wasn't doubt. It was disbelief—and disappointment.That even children were parroting the village's whispers so deeply.
"Sensei…" Naruto murmured, unsure, small.
Iruka looked at him for a long moment, then knelt and rubbed Naruto's messy blond hair.He straightened the boy's torn collar with a gentle hand.
"You didn't do anything wrong, Naruto. I'm here for you. Always."
Naruto's breath hitched.
He looked at Iruka… then Tōma… then everyone around him:
Kiba, bruised to hell but grinning with all his teeth.Shikamaru rubbing his jaw, muttering about "what a drag."Chōji munching on something again like nothing happened.Sasuke glaring at Tōma with a mixture of annoyance and awe.Shino, silent behind dark glasses.Hinata turning red and averting her eyes the moment Naruto looked back.
Naruto didn't cry when he was hit.Didn't cry when he was mocked.Didn't cry when he fell.
But now, surrounded by people standing with him—His tears overflowed without restraint.
"H-hey, hey, enough of that." Iruka patted his shoulder, smiling softly.This time, he truly understood.
"HAH! Look at him, crying like a baby!" Kiba cackled.
"I—I'm not!" Naruto barked back, wiping at his face completely ineffectively.
Tōma watched the scene unfold with a quiet smile.He couldn't change the world, not really.But small shifts like this…? He was glad to be a part of it.
Up on a nearby rooftop, an old man in a ceremonial robe puffed on his pipe.
"Mm. Not bad. Not bad at all," the Third Hokage murmured, eyes warm.He knew Naruto's stubborn pride.For him to cry… it meant he'd finally found bonds of his own.
Beside him, an ANBU knelt and delivered the report.They normally ignored minor scuffles—Naruto getting punched wasn't new—but when half the kids involved were clan heirs, protocol demanded escalation.
"So," the Hokage asked, "one first-year took down all these fourth-years alone?"
"That's correct," the ANBU answered. Even he sounded impressed. "It seems Iruka-sensei's earlier assessment of Fujimoto Tōma was… accurate."
The Hokage chuckled."A promising one, hm?"
He vanished in a wisp of smoke, leaving the ANBU to continue monitoring.
Meanwhile, the fourth-year homeroom teacher—a chūnin with a temper—finally arrived.
"What's the meaning of this?! Iruka! As a teacher, how dare you lay a hand on students?!"
Iruka blinked, stunned."When did I—? No, no, sensei, you're mistaken! That's not—"
As Iruka hurriedly explained, his own thoughts derailed for a moment.He'd grown used to Tōma's brilliance, to the point where he hadn't even questioned how a first-year could dismantle a group of older students.But thinking about it now…
His practical ability might be even more frightening than his grades.
"You expect me to believe a child did this?" the chūnin snapped. "Stop making excuses!"
Iruka met his eyes."For most kids? No. But this kid is Fujimoto Tōma.So yes… I believe it."
The man's expression twisted.He didn't want to believe it—not when it meant his students had been flattened by someone three years younger.
Tōma finally stepped forward.
He wasn't tall.He wasn't imposing.But he looked the chūnin directly in the eyes, completely unshaken by the man's rising pressure.
Behind him, Naruto clenched his fists.
"Tōma…" he whispered, guilt creeping in.I caused another mess… I didn't want anyone dragged into my problems…