On the streets of Konoha, Naruto Uzumaki walked with his head down, wandering the pavement aimlessly. He had just learned from Kakashi Hatake that Sasuke Uchiha had left for the Four Star Village, and his mind was a mess.
Sakura Haruno followed close behind, her expression a mix of disappointment and worry. She was disappointed that Sasuke had left without a word and worried about Naruto's condition.
Whispers followed them everywhere.
"Look, that weird kid is back. Should we go apologize?"
"Come on, we didn't do anything wrong. The one who lied was Hiruzen Sarutobi."
"Exactly. Besides, look at him. Those whiskers on his cheeks are creepy. It's easy to mistake him for a monster."
"If we apologize now, he'll remember our faces. He might even retaliate. No thanks."
"Everyone else is keeping quiet, so I'm not saying anything either. That stuff happened ages ago anyway. He's probably forgotten."
"Keep your voice down! Don't you remember what happened to the Shimura Clan? It was because they..."
"Shut up! You want the ANBU to drag you in for tea?"
Because Naruto hadn't yet saved the village from Pain like he did in the original timeline, the villagers hadn't truly accepted him. They had stopped insulting him, sure, but the fear and resentment still lingered beneath the surface.
Walking behind him, Sakura felt a chill run down her spine. The whispers felt like needles pricking her skin.
If this was how they treated the "Fourth Hokage's son"—a hero's child—she couldn't imagine how vicious they must have been before his identity was revealed.
She finally understood why Menma was so cold and cruel. Compared to that, Naruto's current kindness was practically a miracle. If she had grown up hearing this garbage every day, Sakura would have turned out like Menma, maybe even worse.
She picked up her pace, jogging to block Naruto's path.
"Naruto. About Sasuke... We're going to bring him back to the village, right?"
Naruto blinked, snapping out of his thoughts. "Bring him back? Why would we need to do that?"
He looked at her, genuinely confused.
"Sasuke isn't in danger. He just went to the Four Star Village to get strong enough to beat Itachi Uchiha. Once he takes down that criminal, he'll come right back to us."
Naruto had seen the way Haku treated them, and he knew Sasuke wasn't the type to get tricked easily. He believed the Four Star Village was just after Sasuke's Sharingan. Maybe they even had a grudge against Itachi, giving them a reason to train Sasuke.
If it had been Orochimaru who took Sasuke, or someone else who wanted to sabotage Konoha, then Naruto would be worried. But this? This was just Sasuke chasing power.
"Huh?" Sakura stared at him, baffled. "Then why have you been wandering around looking so depressed?"
"I'm not depressed!" Naruto's expression twisted into a manic grin. "With Sasuke gone, I don't have any competition anymore! Hahaha!"
Sakura flinched. A second ago, he looked like a quiet, somewhat handsome guy. Now he looked like he was about to crack someone's skull.
Seeing Sakura's reaction, Naruto quickly dialed it back, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
"I was just... thinking about training," he muttered. "Sasuke's going to get Tailed Beast chakra in the Four Star Village. He's gonna skyrocket in power. Meanwhile, I can't even control my Two-Tails properly. I'm getting left in the dust..."
He had spent the last hour mentally harassing Menma about it, eventually resorting to childish nicknames like "Dear Big Brother" and "Idiot Onii-chan."
Menma had finally snapped and offered a solution: endure the insults to strengthen his mind. Use an unshakable will to resist the Nine-Tails' negative chakra.
The problem? After Naruto's identity came out, the insults were too weak to even register. It was like being hit with wet paper towels.
Sakura sighed. "..."
Here she was, worried about the weakest link in their team, while Naruto—who was already miles ahead of everyone else—was worried about falling behind.
"Quit moping, kid. I've been looking all over for you."
A sharp voice cut through the air. Naruto and Sakura turned to see Tsunade, looking less than pleased, with Shizune trailing behind her, holding her pet pig.
"Jiraiya and I are going to teach you how to train. Come on."
Tsunade and Shizune had been searching the village for hours. Naruto had been walking in circles for so long that they were getting annoyed.
"Train?" Sakura looked at Naruto, confused. "You know her?"
"We've met," Naruto said quietly. "Don't let her looks fool you. She's actually over fifty and the granddaughter of the First Hokage. I think her name is Tsunade. She's one of the legendary Sannin, just like the Perverted Sage."
"It's Lady Tsunade!" Shizune hissed, trying to defuse the situation.
"Calm down, Lady Tsunade! He's just a kid!"
But it was too late. Tsunade's face had gone dark. Her lips turned down, her eyebrows shot up, and a vein throbbed on her forehead. She'd definitely heard the word "old woman."
BOOM!
She stomped the ground, shattering the concrete and leaving a small crater.
A terrifyingly calm smile spread across her face.
"Age is irrelevant," she said sweetly. "Everyone gets disciplined by their elders eventually."
She picked up a nearby rock and crushed it into dust right in front of Naruto.
"You have three seconds to catch up, kid. Or I'm going to teach you a lesson you'll never forget."
Naruto: "!!!"
Sakura: "!!!"
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