[The next day.]
[Little Naruto woke up from his sleep.]
[He lazed around in bed for a bit, then sat up and picked up the notes he had written down yesterday.]
[He looked at his first impression of the fox demon, which he had written at the end the night before.]
[The corners of little Naruto's mouth lifted slightly.]
["It should be an interesting big fox."]
["But now it seems…"]
[Little Naruto lifted his shirt again and looked at his abdomen, which had already returned to normal.]
["That cage seems to have been reinforced."]
["I don't know when I'll be able to talk to it again next time."]
["But one thing is certain—if I think about the fox demon in my heart…"]
["Whatever I say, and whatever I see, it can hear and see as well."]
[After fully waking up, little Naruto immediately wrote down this discovery too.]
[After reading it over several times, he suddenly heard a tearing sound—]
[Rip—]
[Little Naruto tore out the page containing his analysis.]
["To avoid unnecessary trouble, I'll tear it up after writing from now on."]
[Only then did little Naruto get out of bed.]
[As for why he wrote things down—]
[It was very simple. During his studies, little Naruto discovered that although his memory was quite good and he could remember many things, the fastest and easiest way to truly remember something was to write it once, then read it again. That left a very deep impression.]
[Gradually, it became a habit.]
[Ino and Sakura had also learned this method from him.]
[It was a relatively efficient learning technique.]
[While washing up, someone knocked on little Naruto's door.]
[When he opened it—]
[he saw Sakura standing outside, wrapped up tightly, her small face flushed red.]
[She was carrying a large bag of near-expiry food in her hands.]
[Looking closely, even the exposed, fair skin on her body was steaming slightly.]
[Clearly, the weight and the distance had been no small challenge for her.]
[Little Naruto quickly took the bag from her hands and welcomed her inside.]
[After she sat down, little Naruto hurriedly poured her a cup of warm water.]
["Tired?"]
[Seeing Sakura recover her breath while still smiling at him, little Naruto helplessly tapped her wide forehead.]
["Did you eat breakfast?"]
["No!" Sakura shook her head repeatedly.]
[Little Naruto smiled and shook his head. "Why did you suddenly think of buying things for me?"]
["I thought that in this kind of weather, the traps on the back mountain wouldn't have any harvest."]
["And the water's frozen too—it's winter, so fishing isn't easy anymore…"]
["So I bought these for you on my own."]
[As she spoke, Sakura hurriedly added before little Naruto could respond:]
["I know all your money is spent on buying books!"]
["And we usually read them together with you—so we can't let you be the only one paying!"]
[Looking at Sakura's flushed face as she excitedly explained herself, little Naruto's lips curved upward slightly.]
[This girl is pretty cute.]
Uzumaki Kushina: "Mmm~ my Sakura is so cute~ Let Auntie give you a hug~"
Hearing Kushina's words, Sakura's face turned slightly red.
Aunt Kushina… why does she always say "my this, my that"…
Yamanaka Inoichi's face instantly darkened.
This was the difference between raising a daughter and raising a son.
Of course, Kushina was mostly referring to the black-frame world.
Uchiha Mikoto looked at her close friend helplessly.
"Kushina, you can't say things like that…"
Before Mikoto could finish, Kushina replied righteously:
"I'm also Black-Frame Naruto's mother. I'm talking about the black-frame world."
But after saying that, she stuck out her tongue a little, feeling embarrassed herself.
There was no helping it—every girl in the black-frame world satisfied her.
She wanted to grab them all and make them call her Mom.
Watching the progress on screen, Uchiha Mikoto frowned slightly.
"It's about time."
The black-framed giant screen continued.
["Mm, I understand. But one thing is one thing—I'll keep a record."]
[As he spoke, little Naruto took out his ledger.]
[It carefully recorded everything he had received from the four kids, then converted it into monetary value.]
["When I have the ability to earn money in the future, I'll pay you all back."]
["If you don't want that, I'll convert it into food instead."]
[Seeing Sakura about to speak again, little Naruto put on a serious face.]
["You're not allowed to refuse."]
["Mm~" Sakura could only nod obediently.]
[Seeing this, little Naruto suddenly found it amusing, and another girl's figure appeared in his mind.]
['Maybe since they're both from ninja clans, Ino might know her.']
['As for Sakura… her family probably has very little contact with them.']
["By the way, Naruto, I didn't manage to buy any books about history—but I heard some news!" Sakura suddenly said while helping crack eggs in the kitchen.]
["Oh? Let's hear it," little Naruto replied, standing on a chair without turning his head.]
["When I went to buy books, I heard the bookstore owner say to someone: 'Those hateful Uchiha arrested Inoue again yesterday—damn it! Inoue didn't do anything!' And the other person said, 'Sigh, there's nothing we can do—but there is good news!'"]
['What good news? That the fox demon is going to be executed?']
[At this point, Sakura's small face looked adorably fierce, clearly speaking up for little Naruto.]
[Little Naruto was already used to this.]
[In his heart, he silently added another mark to the bookstore owner's account.]
['No—it's about the Uchiha. They seem to be inseparably linked to the fox demon incident!']
['After discussion among the higher-ups, it seems an order has been issued to make the Uchiha clan move to the edge of the village!']
['That's great!']
[...]
[Sakura faithfully relayed the conversation between the bookstore owner and that person.]
[Little Naruto's brows knit slightly as he listened.]
[Uchiha?]
[They seemed to be one of Konoha's ninja clans. He'd heard they were very strong—you could often see them on the streets… The Uchiha clan seemed to all wear clothes bearing their clan crest.]
['The Uchiha are responsible for security—arresting people is normal. So why are they hated by so many?']
['And the fox demon incident is inseparably linked to them?']
['That's possible. That old man probably secretly issued a ban.']
[Little Naruto recalled the gag order he had heard about earlier.]
[Then he thought of how the Uchiha he encountered in daily life always seemed to deliberately avoid him.]
[Because he was the fox demon.]
[At first, little Naruto thought they hated him. But after hearing Sakura's news, he immediately changed his view.]
[The only pity was that there was too little information.]
["So the Uchiha clan—a great clan—has likely been ostracized."]
["If you think about it carefully, managing security and enforcing the law… if someone deliberately spreads bad rumors behind the scenes…"]
[Little Naruto murmured, then his eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had almost grasped a key clue.]
[But that flash of insight disappeared just as quickly, leaving him to frown in deep thought.]
[—Sizzle—]
["Ah!"]
[Sakura cried out and snapped little Naruto back to reality.]
[Looking down—oh no. The fried eggs were burnt.]
Fourth Raikage: "Hahaha~ the Uchiha's good days are coming to an end."
Ōnoki: "Konoha did a pretty good job sealing information about this."
Terumī Mei: "At this point, the black-frame world seems likely to expose a lot of information. It'll probably restore the original sequence of events. I'll bet an A-rank Water Release technique that the Uchiha affair is absolutely connected to those four in Konoha!"
Fourth Raikage: "Hey, hey, that's basically a guaranteed win!"
Senju Tobirama's face was dark.
Senju Tobirama: This is too much!
Senju Tobirama: If things continue like this, the Uchiha absolutely won't just sit and wait!
Senju Tobirama: I refuse to believe you traitors can't grasp balance—you're simply trying to slaughter the Uchiha! Did I ever teach you like that?!
Shimura Danzō: "Hiruzen is merely following your will, Tobirama-sensei."
Senju Tobirama: Bullshit!
Senju Tobirama: You're forcing them to rebel against Konoha so you can cleanse them!
Shiranui Genma: "When Lord Minato was alive, he was repairing relations between the village and the Uchiha… but afterward…"
Uchiha Izuna: Nothing to say. They deserved it! Karma!
Uchiha Izuna: You toyed with my brother, and in the end you even got wiped out by your own people!
[While little Naruto and Sakura were eating breakfast—]
[the snow outside continued to fall.]
[After the absurd Hyūga incident, Konoha's higher-ups turned their blade toward the Uchiha clan.]
[This winter, they would be forced to leave the village's core and be driven to the outskirts.]
[Seeds of rebellion were planted at this moment, and the sprouts of a coup began to emerge.]
[However, under the suppression of Clan Head Uchiha Fugaku, the hawkish faction restrained itself.]
[The reason Fugaku gave was also reasonable.]
[The timing was not yet ripe—endure for now, plan in secret, and seek opportunity.]
["Shisui has already been sent into ANBU. Once things stabilize, I'll have Itachi enter ANBU as well."]
["For now, endure. I'll also have Sasuke take the initiative to attend the academy's preparatory class, to show the higher-ups that we, the Uchiha, accept our fate."]
["After all, we are also part of Konoha."]
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