Lying on the hospital bed and munching on the fruit Hinata had brought, Naruto finally felt some peace. In his past life, he'd been single, lonely, and never had a girl fussing over him. Now, for the first time ever—past and present—he was getting the royal treatment.
With his curiosity kicking in, Naruto started asking Hinata about what had happened in the past few days after the Third Hokage and Kakashi had left the hospital. Hinata answered hesitantly, and Naruto's brow slowly furrowed.
Despite his efforts, the Yunyin Mission incident still happened. This time, it wasn't Hinata who was taken—it was her baby sister, Huahuo, less than a year old. And the sequence of events was exactly as he remembered: Hyuga Hidetsu killed the leader of Yunyin to save his daughter, was questioned by the envoy Xingshi, and eventually, under pressure from the village and high-level officials, the Hyuga clan was forced to hand over Nichizuki's younger brother, Nichiza, as a scapegoat—becoming pawns in a so-called peace treaty.
Naruto wasn't part of the Hyuga clan, so he didn't comment on the fairness of the caged-bird system. But the performance of the Third Hokage left him extremely disappointed. Kyuubi had informed him that the ninja who tangled with the Anbu that day was none other than a member of the Yun Yin Mission—meaning Yunyin had intended to handle this themselves. And yet, the Third Hokage had compromised at every step.
Wasn't he worried about the village ninjas calling him a coward? Or was the entire Konoha leadership just hoping for a false peace? Naruto couldn't help but think Konoha had been slapped hard and had lost the dignity of being the No. 1 ninja village.
Shaking off his dark thoughts, Naruto looked at the shy Hinata. "Hinata, your sister was just kidnapped, and you sneak out again? Did you forget what I said before?"
Hinata shook her head firmly. "No… I have my father's permission. After finishing my homework, I can manage my time freely, as long as I return before dark."
Naruto smiled from the bottom of his heart. Even now, Hinata didn't know what might happen if her sister was taken. The Hyuga clan protected their own fiercely, but the fact that her father allowed her to go out made Naruto wonder—had he already guessed his true identity? Was this Hinata's subtle counterattack against the Third Hokage for forcing her sister to be handed over?
Time passed quickly. Naruto and Hinata chatted until they had to part ways. Once Hinata left under the guard of her family, Naruto was alone with Kyuubi in the ward. He picked up some ninjutsu scrolls the Third Hokage had left—several C-level wind escape techniques. They covered all sorts of applications for wind chakra and were the most complete wind escape techniques Naruto had ever seen.
Training-wise, the Third Hokage had never been stingy, but Naruto preferred simplicity and brute force over fancy tricks. Putting the scrolls down, he realized he couldn't exactly practice in the hospital…
In the afternoon, the Third Hokage returned. After confirming Naruto's full recovery, he completed the discharge procedures and handed him the key to a new home. The old ward had been damaged beyond use and was under urgent repair.
Arriving at his new place, Naruto felt a little awkward. The room was messy, and the refrigerator wasn't stocked—a definite crisis. Determined to fix it, he went out into the familiar streets.
The pedestrians looked… weird. In the past, they had only looked at him with disgust. Now, fear danced in their eyes, as if he were a man-eating monster. Naruto ignored them.
At a familiar shop, Naruto greeted the profiteer. When he tried to bargain like usual, the shopkeeper nervously dumped a pile of goods in front of him.
"Naruto-sama… all these are for you. No payment!"
Naruto frowned. This was the same profiteer who normally tried to squeeze every last coin out of customers.
Seeing Naruto frown, the man panicked, fell to his knees, and smacked himself a few times. "Master Naruto! It's my fault! I shouldn't have sold you fake goods before—please forgive my disrespect!"
Naruto thought for a moment. During his coma, the village had started spreading rumors about him again. Had they seen the chaos he'd caused while rampaging?
He lowered his voice. "Boss… what rumors have been spreading about me in the village?"
The profiteer trembled but spilled the details. After hearing him out, Naruto put his money down, grabbed the bag of goods, and left—leaving the man trembling behind.
Even though Tianfeng was dead, he had caused a lot of trouble. The villagers had witnessed Naruto's rampage, confirming the rumors of him being a demon fox. Before, they had insulted him and even threatened children; now, knowing the truth, they treated him with fear and respect, terrified that one misstep might trigger another rampage.
Naruto chuckled to himself. Was he laughing at the villagers… or himself?
Kyuubi's voice echoed in the sealed space. "This is the life of a Jinchuriki. And for tailed beasts too. You feel like destroying everything, don't you?"
Naruto shook his head. "No… I don't want to destroy anything. But seeing the villagers makes me sad. I… I feel like leaving Muyeyin Village. I want to see the world outside."
Kyuubi rolled his eyes. "Leave Konoha? With your strength? Who would let you leave? You're the village's top-tier combat asset. Unless you break the seal and fully accept my power—which you can't—you stay put."
Naruto's eyes narrowed with determination. "Then I'll work harder. I'll grow stronger, so I can fully control your power, instead of going berserk over a tiny bit of chakra. And… I need to understand why you lend me your strength."
Kyuubi snorted. "Even if you escape, I'm still trapped in your body."
Naruto grinned. "Even a prisoner wants to see the outside world, right? I want to explore, see different scenery… and maybe, one day, I won't even need your power to do it."
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