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What kind of parent throws their own kid under the bus like that?!
A "lesson they'll never forget"? Does she even know how to spell the word death?
This was the same ruthless monster who could wipe out the entire Shimura clan without breaking a sweat. The kind of man even the Third Hokage would think twice about crossing.
And she expected him—a mere chūnin—to handle that?
Tokumi couldn't for the life of him understand how their perfectly ordinary fruit shop had managed to offend someone like this.
When he saw his mother's lips twitch, ready to fire off another insult, his soul practically left his body.
Especially under Akira's ice-cold gaze. It felt like his heart skipped a beat.
"Mom, stop! Please, just stop talking! If you keep going, our whole family's done for!"
Tokumi pleaded.
The shop owner shot her son an irritated look. "What are you scared of, you idiot? He's just some brat who hasn't even graduated from the Academy yet. You're a chūnin! What the hell are you afraid of?"
That was it.
Tokumi snapped.
He lunged forward in a single step. Under his mother's hopeful gaze, he brought his hand down in a sharp chop—
Thud!
She dropped instantly, unconscious.
"Sorry, Mom. I'll explain later… if there even is a later."
He gently lowered her to the ground, then turned to Akira—and dropped to his knees with a heavy thump.
"I'm sorry! My mother didn't know who she was dealing with. Whatever she did to offend you, I take full responsibility!
Punish me instead! I'll accept anything—just please, spare her!"
He bowed three times, forehead hitting the ground.
Naruto stared, stunned.
He'd been bracing for a beating. He never imagined this was how it would end.
He glanced at Akira, disbelief written all over his face.
Since when did this smug jerk become so terrifying?
A chūnin actually kneeling and begging for mercy?
Did that mean… Akira was already stronger than a chūnin? Strong enough to be jōnin-level?
Naruto sucked in a breath.
That was scary.
Did that mean he'd never beat Akira in a fight?
"Forget it," Akira said flatly. "I'm not wasting my time arguing with some shrew."
"Right, right, of course!" Takumi echoed from the floor.
He didn't have a choice. Survival came first.
Akira didn't spare him another glance. He turned and swept his eyes across the other shopkeepers lining the street.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In an instant, every single storefront slammed shut. The owners vanished inside like frightened mice.
They'd all seen it—a chūnin kneeling before a kid who hadn't even graduated from the Academy.
What did that say?
It said this "kid" wasn't ordinary.
If even a chūnin didn't dare offend him, what chance did they have?
"Let's go, Naruto. Quit spacing out."
Akira waved him over.
Naruto snapped back to reality and hurried after him, eyes practically glowing.
"Akira! Akira! You have to tell me—how did you do that?!"
"Power," Akira replied calmly. "If you're strong enough, the people who hate you shut up real fast."
Naruto blinked. "So… you really are as strong as a jōnin?"
Akira stared at him, speechless. How Naruto managed to jump to that conclusion was beyond him.
He decided not to bother explaining and changed the subject instead.
"Forget that. Let me ask you something, Naruto."
He looked at him seriously.
"Do you want to know why everyone hates you so much?"
Naruto didn't hesitate.
"Yes!"
His voice came out sharp and eager.
"You know? Then tell me! I'll treat you to ramen every day!"
"You can keep the ramen."
Akira shook his head slowly.
"The reason people hate you… is because you're the Nine-Tailed Fox."
Naruto froze.
"So… you think that too?"
His voice dropped to a whisper. His face went pale.
He had always thought of Akira as his only real friend.
If even Akira believed he was some demon fox…
That hurt.
Noticing Naruto's crushed expression, Akira sighed lightly.
"Let me rephrase that. There's a Nine-Tailed Fox sealed inside you. You're human. You're not a monster."
Naruto stared at his own small hands, shaken.
"There's… a Nine-Tails inside me?"
He looked up urgently. "Then can you take it out of me?"
Take it out and you'd die, you idiot.
Akira swallowed the comment.
"This isn't something I can explain standing around here. I'll take you to see someone. Let that old man tell you the truth himself."
His eyes hardened.
"So you understand who's really responsible for everything you've suffered."
"Old man? Who?"
Naruto scratched his blond hair, confused.
"Of course," Akira said, glancing toward the Hokage building, "I mean the Third Hokage—Hiruzen Sarutobi."
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi was chain-smoking.
His eyelids twitched. A bad feeling gnawed at him.
Ever since he'd heard that Uchiha Akira had come into contact with the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, the sense of impending disaster had only grown stronger.
And then—
Bang!
The office door was kicked clean open.
Akira strode in like he owned the place, Naruto at his side.
"Third Grandpa!"
Naruto waved enthusiastically.
After all, the Hokage was one of the few people in the village who treated him kindly—and sent him money every month.
Naruto was genuinely grateful.
He was also curious. Why had Akira brought him here?
Did the Third know how to remove the Nine-Tails?
"Uchiha Akira. What are you doing here? You're not welcome."
Hiruzen Sarutobi ignored Naruto and glared at Akira, teeth clenched.
Bringing the jinchūriki here… this was bad. Very bad.
"Drop the act, old man," Akira said coldly. "Tell Naruto the truth."
"What truth? I don't know what you're talking about."
He looked uneasy.
Akira scoffed. "Still pretending?"
He turned to Naruto.
"Naruto, your real identity is the son of the Fourth Hokage—Minato Namikaze."
Naruto's breath caught.
"The year you were born, someone released the Nine-Tails and used it to attack the village.
Your father, Minato Namikaze, sealed it inside you to protect Konoha. And to save you… he gave his life.
You're not some demon fox.
You're a hero. The son of a hero."
"I… I'm the Fourth Hokage's son? I'm a hero?"
It sounded insane.
"It's true," Akira said firmly.
He looked at the Third.
After a long pause, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded.
"He's right. Your father was the Fourth Hokage."
There was no point denying it anymore.
Naruto felt a rush of emotion—joy at finally knowing who his father was.
But then, confusion flooded in.
"If I'm the Hokage's son… if I'm a hero… then why?"
His voice trembled.
"Why does everyone treat me like a monster?"
Akira's expression hardened.
"Because someone deliberately spread rumors."
He raised his hand and pointed straight at the Third.
"And that someone is him.
The 'kind old grandpa' you respect so much is the real reason you've been treated like a plague."
"That's nonsense!" the Third snapped. "Danzō spread those rumors! It had nothing to do with me. Don't listen to him, Naruto!"
"Then why didn't you clear it up?" Akira shot back.
"As the Hokage, all you had to do was stand up and say Naruto isn't the Nine-Tails. Everyone would've believed you.
He wouldn't have grown up drowning in hatred.
So why didn't you?"
Naruto looked at the Third, desperate.
"Yeah… why didn't you tell everyone?"
The villagers respected him. If he'd spoken, they would've listened.
So why?
Why let him grow up alone, hated?
The Third opened his mouth, scrambling for an explanation.
But Akira cut him off with a cold laugh.
"Why?"
He looked at Naruto.
"When everyone hated you, shunned you, made you feel like the whole world had abandoned you—didn't it hurt?"
Naruto nodded vigorously.
"When you felt no warmth from anyone… this old man stepped in. Gave you attention. Gave you just enough kindness to feel like sunlight after a storm.
And why do you think he did that?"
"Shut up! That's complete nonsense!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi roared, cutting Akira off mid-sentence. He looked ready to explode.
But the moment his eyes fell on Naruto, his expression changed. The fury vanished, replaced by the familiar, kindly old-grandfather smile.
"Naruto, you have to trust me. Everything I've done was from the bottom of my heart. I only ever wanted to help you."
Then he shot Akira a furious glare.
"And you. Don't you dare use your filthy mind to slander my noble character!"
The answer he got was a crisp, familiar sound.
Smack!
Hiruzen flew backward and slammed into the wall.
Akira lowered his hand, voice cool and flat. "I wasn't even finished. Why are you panicking?"
He didn't spare Hiruzen another glance. Instead, he looked at Naruto and continued.
"This old man's goal was simple. Make you grateful. Make you believe he's the best person in the world. Once you're convinced of that, your thinking gets shackled. And once that happens, you're perfectly under his control.
"And the Nine-Tails inside you? That overwhelming power? It becomes a blade in his hand. A weapon he can use however he likes."
"From the very beginning, every bit of kindness he showed you was for one reason only. To better control the Nine-Tails inside you.
"As for you, Uzumaki Naruto… in his eyes, you're nothing more than a tool."
Akira tore away Hiruzen's mask of decency right in front of Naruto.
Boom.
The truth hit Naruto like a thunderclap.
His head spun. His chest felt hollow and cold.
The truth was cruel. The person he had believed treated him best in the entire village… was the very one who had ruined his life.
"So that's why everyone hated me… it was because of you, Third Grandpa."
Naruto stared at Hiruzen, eyes unfocused, face drained of color.
In that instant, the image of the kind old grandfather shattered completely.
He felt cheated. Betrayed. The pain was unbearable.
"No, Naruto. It's not like that. Listen to me. It's not what you think…"
Hiruzen tried to explain, but Akira cut in coldly.
"That's enough, old man. You still have the nerve to call yourself his grandpa? Don't make me sick."
The disgust in Akira's eyes was undisguised.
Then he turned back to Naruto.
"And his hypocrisy doesn't stop there. Naruto, do you remember who you really are? You're the son of the Fourth Hokage.
"Your father was the leader of the entire village. You really think he left nothing behind?"
"But what happened? This old man seized all of your father's assets. Then he dribbled out a pitiful allowance each month. He took what was already yours and 'gifted' it back to you, expecting gratitude in return. I've never seen someone so shameless.
"And look at you. You couldn't even afford a proper meal at lunch today."
Each word drove the knife deeper.
Naruto's gaze toward Hiruzen shifted. The grief was gone.
What remained was hatred.
This wasn't some kind old grandfather.
This was a demon in human skin. A monster that wanted to devour him whole, bones and all.
"That's not true! I'm not as despicable as you claim. When Naruto grows up, I'll naturally return all of Minato's assets to him."
Hiruzen kept trying to defend himself.
But Naruto wasn't listening anymore.
His anger swallowed everything. His consciousness sank into darkness.
And then, a voice echoed in the depths of his heart.
"Naruto… that old man is the one who ruined you. Don't you want to kill him?"
"Yes."
The answer came without hesitation. Hatred had already taken root.
Inside Naruto's inner world, deep in a dark underground water prison, the Nine-Tails opened its massive fox eyes wide, staring at the boy who had nearly lost himself.
Its voice was smooth, coaxing, irresistible.
"Good. Come here. Just tear off that sealing talisman and let me out. The moment I'm free, I'll kill that old man for you.
"And not just him. Anyone who's ever hated you… I'll slaughter them all."
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Like a puppet pulled by invisible strings, Naruto walked slowly across the shallow water toward the prison gate.
Outside, in the real world—
A frigid, sinister chakra suddenly burst from Naruto's body.
It was violent. Oppressive. Just standing near it made one's skin crawl.
"Not good. That's the Nine-Tails' chakra! Damn it! The jinchūriki is losing control!"
Hiruzen shouted urgently.
"Get the sealing squad! Now! We can't let the Nine-Tails break free!"
Akira glanced at him, eyes full of contempt.
"It's just a Nine-Tails. What are you freaking out for?"
"..."
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