The next morning, in the Ninja Academy classroom, Naruto sat in a corner with his chin in his hand, his gaze focused on the semi-transparent light screen that only he could see—
[Time until Uchiha Massacre: 12:34]
...Under these circumstances, the great filial son... the great filial daughter still accepted Danzo's proposal?
His fingertips tapped on the desk. The image of the black-haired girl with the deep tear troughs appeared in Naruto's mind—Itachi Uchiha, the "Itachi the God" who had shouldered the sin of the massacre in the original story. In this timeline, she still teamed up with Danzo, the one who had killed Shisui?
So the Hokage mindset is in full force, huh?
But what really annoyed him wasn't this, but... even though there was hope, those guys still wanted to launch a coup?
Through Shisui's intelligence, he already knew the situation within the Uchiha—clan head Fugaku was trying to buy time by using "Satsuki's friendship with the jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails," but the hawks just couldn't wait. They were even considering a more dangerous idea.
Using Satsuki to control the jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails? So they're targeting me now?
And the funny thing was, these people felt they had nothing to fear because, with the existence of the [JIN] organization, the great nations didn't dare to make any rash moves, so they could start a civil war without any worries?
Damn it, are these people afraid the Uchiha clan won't die fast enough?
With Naruto's current strength, stopping the massacre would be a piece of cake. But the problem was... some of the Uchiha really deserved to die.
Those hawks who were clamoring to "control the Nine-Tails" and "seize power by force" would only be a scourge if they were left alive.
So, what was Naruto worried about? The answer was Satsuki's psychological well-being.
This thought was deeply rooted in Naruto's mind.
The most direct solution was clear: as [Menma], he would wipe out the Uchiha hawk faction before the night of the massacre.
But the problem was—the reason.
If he didn't explain anything...
In the eyes of the world, it would just be the leader of the [JIN] organization suddenly slaughtering the Uchiha clan. What would Satsuki think? She would hate the person who killed her clan members with a passion. And if one day she found out that [Menma] was [Naruto], the pain of being betrayed by the person she trusted most would completely destroy her.
What if he told her the truth?
Publicly declare that "the Uchiha were planning a coup, and I fought for peace"?
No...
Naruto knew what that would mean. The entire Uchiha clan would be branded as "traitors." Satsuki would have to bear the stigma of being from a "rebel family," suffering the cold stares and ostracism of the entire village. Those evasive glances, those hushed whispers, that deliberate distance...
Just like himself. He absolutely could not let Satsuki endure that kind of stigma.
"Morning, Naruto."
A familiar voice interrupted Naruto's thoughts. Satsuki stood by his desk with her schoolbag, the morning light casting a golden halo on her long black hair. She deftly pulled out her chair and sat down.
"Oh, morning, Satsuki," Naruto said, his serious expression replaced by his usual smile.
Satsuki placed her textbook on the desk. The atmosphere at home had been getting stranger and stranger lately. Her sister Itachi's eyes were always gloomy, and yesterday she had even gotten into a conflict with the clan elders. The sister who was once so gentle was now so strange it was scary.
Can sister ever go back to the way she was?
She prayed silently. What worried her even more was that the relationship between her sister and her father seemed to be getting more and more tense. The entire Uchiha compound was shrouded in a suffocating low pressure.
It wasn't until she walked into the classroom and saw that blond figure that the heaviness in her chest finally eased.
"Naruto," Satsuki suddenly said, her gaze drifting out the window. "The weather seems to be getting colder lately."
"Mhm... I guess so," Naruto said, following her gaze. A cool autumn wind rustled the treetops. "It's already December."
The autumn wind blew in through the window, flipping the pages of the book on the desk. Satsuki looked at the falling dead leaves outside and, as if remembering something, looked at Naruto.
"By the way, I remember your scarf was stolen and trampled on by those nasty guys last time, right? You haven't bought a new one yet, have you?"
Naruto's fingers paused slightly.
He still remembered what had happened last winter very clearly—a few boys from his class had secretly taken his scarf from the classroom during lunch break. They had not only trampled it until it was covered in mud but had also deliberately thrown it back at him with a grin.
"Is the demon fox cold too?"
"Want us to give you one?"
At the time, Naruto had just calmly picked up the dirty scarf and patted the dust off it. The boys, seeing this, had become even more triumphant, even provocatively leaning in—
"The school rules say that students can't fight each other outside of sparring~"
"Do you want to get expelled?"
The next second, screams echoed through the hallway.
Naruto had beaten them until they were crying for their parents, their faces bruised and swollen, trembling on the ground. Expelled? Are you kidding me? The jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, the orphan of the Fourth Hokage, getting expelled from the Ninja Academy? Unless he went to assassinate the Hokage tomorrow, that was simply not going to happen.
Afterward, the children's parents had come to the school in a rage to demand an explanation. As a result, Iruka-sensei had given both the parents and the students a thorough scolding in front of everyone.
In the end, not only did those children bow their heads and apologize to Naruto, but they also paid for the scarf.
But Naruto hadn't bought a new scarf.
One reason was that winter was almost over.
And the second... he found that he didn't actually need a scarf at all.
Having trained with Might Guy for years, his physical condition was already far beyond that of an ordinary person. Even if he jumped into a frozen river in the dead of winter, he wouldn't even sneeze. That scarf was just a habit from when he was little.
But Naruto didn't say that he didn't need a scarf, because Satsuki had suddenly asked him about it... knowing her, she had probably prepared a scarf to give him.
"Because winter was almost over last time, so I haven't bought a new one yet," Naruto said, scratching his head. "I guess it's about time I did."
Satsuki's eyes instantly lit up, but the next second, she turned her face away, forcing down the smile that was about to spread across her lips. "You're such a procrastinator... oh well, I'll do you a favor then."
She pretended to casually take a package from her small bag. The wrapping paper was a deep blue, and the corners were neatly folded, clearly carefully prepared.
"When I was buying a new scarf a few days ago... I accidentally bought an extra one. It's a waste to just leave it, so you can have it."
The package was unwrapped, and inside was a brand-new, deep red scarf. The soft wool material glowed warmly in the morning light.
Naruto took the scarf, a smile unconsciously forming on his lips. "I see... well, thanks a lot. But, Nidaime, isn't this scarf a bit too big?"
He held up one end of the scarf and found that when unfolded, it was almost long enough to be a small blanket.
Satsuki immediately bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "I told you I accidentally bought an extra one! It's normal for the size to be wrong!" She puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms. "If you don't want it, give it back!"
"I want it, I want it!" Naruto quickly pulled the scarf towards him, afraid she would really take it back. He shook out the scarf to see how long it was.
Just then, a folded piece of paper fluttered out from between the folds of the scarf.
The autumn breeze happened to blow through the classroom, and the light piece of paper twirled in the air, drifting between the two like a falling leaf.
Before Naruto could react, he saw the color drain from Satsuki's face. A flash of panic appeared on her face, and she almost instinctively reached out to grab the flying piece of paper—
The light piece of paper floated in the air. Satsuki's fingertips were just a little short. Just as she was about to jump up and grab it, she suddenly stopped.
No! If I jump up to grab it, won't that just tell everyone there's something wrong with this piece of paper?!
She forced down the impulse and, with feigned composure, reached out to naturally catch the paper, planning to nonchalantly say, "I can't believe there was trash in the scarf. What a disgrace to the Uchiha."
However, fate seemed to have other plans. The piece of paper was carried away by the gentle breeze and, just before Satsuki could naturally grab it, it landed squarely on the face of Ino Yamanaka, who was in the middle of a yawn.
"Hmm?" The little blond loli groggily took the piece of paper off her face and rubbed her eyes. "What's th—"
Her voice died in her throat.
[Custom Order: Scarf for Two][Client: Satsuki Uchiha]
Ino froze.
Her gaze slowly moved from the piece of paper and met Satsuki's inky black eyes—at some point, Satsuki had appeared in front of her, her shadow completely enveloping her small figure.
Satsuki leaned in slightly, her lips almost touching Ino's ear. Ino could feel a cold sweat instantly break out on her back, her fingers unconsciously trembling.
"Listen up... throw this paper away immediately."
The piece of paper in Ino's hand suddenly felt as heavy as lead.
"And..." Satsuki's breath tickled her ear. "About what's on this paper... if you dare to tell anyone, I will..."
Ino nodded desperately, tears welling up in her eyes, but she didn't dare to let them fall.
Satsuki straightened up and, with a blank expression, returned to her seat, deliberately looking away from Naruto. She never would have thought that a custom order would have the receipt tucked inside... she had almost been exposed!
"Um... if you don't like it!" The tips of Satsuki's ears were so red they looked like they would bleed. "J-Just give it back!"
Her voice was clearly sulking. Naruto looked at her and couldn't help but smile.
Little tsundere...
He gently touched the scarf. Its soft texture reminded him of something from a long time ago.
"Satsuki," he suddenly said, his voice a little softer than usual. "I remember a long time ago, you walked me home once, right?"
Satsuki's body visibly stiffened.
"...Mhm," her voice suddenly became small. "So what?"
Don't make me remember that day...
That day, she had almost revealed her true feelings in front of Naruto; her dignity had almost been completely destroyed.
Although in Naruto's eyes, Satsuki probably never had any "dignity" to begin with.
Naruto looked at her slightly red profile, the smile on his lips deepening. He pulled at the scarf and said seriously, "I wanted to thank you. Thank you for the scarf. I really like it."
Satsuki's shoulders trembled slightly.
"How about this," Naruto continued, his blue eyes shining in the sunlight. "Tonight, I'll walk you home?"
Satsuki was stunned. She slowly turned her head, her dark eyes widening slightly, a look of disbelief in them. But she quickly regained her proud expression and snorted lightly.
"Hmph... since you're so insistent..."
Her fingers quietly clutched the extra part of the scarf, her voice growing smaller. "I suppose I can give you that chance..."
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