After a month had passed, Naruto was finally allowed to go outside again.
Humming a little tune, he strolled casually down the main street, ignoring the villagers around him.
Although the Third Hokage had issued a strict order forbidding the villagers from mentioning the words "demon fox" in front of Naruto, it did nothing to change their opinion of him, nor did it stop them from keeping their distance.
In fact, in a way, the Hokage's decree only made the gap between him and the villagers even wider.
But none of this really mattered to Naruto. He had always lived by one principle—treat others the way they treat you.
As he sensed the hostility in the air around him, the Nine-Tails chuckled maliciously.
> "Brat, it seems your Hokage grandpa hasn't been able to change a thing. The malice these humans give off is even thicker than it was a month ago."
> "Why not accept my chakra? I'll go on a killing spree for you and make them drown in regret."
Naruto ignored the fox's whisper and continued to wander the streets. He planned to use the allowance the Third Hokage had given him to buy some spices and side dishes to improve his bland meals.
The rest of the money, he'd save up to buy books to better understand the world.
Upon entering a store, Naruto once again saw the crooked merchant who had previously sold him nearly expired food. The man was just finishing up with his last customer.
When he saw Naruto, the merchant immediately put on a frosty expression.
> "You again, brat? I'm telling you, rice prices have gone up. You'll have to pay double this time."
Naruto forced a fake smile and said coldly:
> "I'm not here to argue about you selling me expired food. I'm just here to buy some spices and side dishes. But if you refuse to sell to me, I'll go tell everyone outside that your shop's goods are cursed by the demon fox and tainted with misfortune."
> "The demon fox's curse…?"
The merchant immediately realized he'd said something wrong and clamped his mouth shut. He glanced nervously at Naruto, who had just referred to himself as the demon fox, and cursed him silently in his heart.
Naruto had a point—if that rumor spread, his business would suffer badly.
After a brief hesitation, the merchant looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then quickly grabbed some spices from the shelf, stuffed them into a bag, and handed them to Naruto.
> "Damn my luck, running into a brat like you. Now get lost. Go on, get out."
Naruto took the bag, placed his money on the counter, and then stood at the entrance of the store and shouted loudly:
> "Don't buy from this store! Everything here is cursed by the demon fox!"
The merchant's face turned a mix of red and green, and when he rushed out to explain, he realized Naruto was already gone.
Bag in hand, Naruto sprinted through the streets. Only when he reached a quiet alleyway did he stop, clutching his stomach and catching his breath.
That's when the Nine-Tails commented in a low voice:
> "Brat, honestly, that crooked merchant wasn't even that hostile toward you by this village's standards. He just hated that you messed with his business."
> "I know he's just a scam artist. The others won't even sell me anything. But that doesn't mean selling me overpriced expired food was okay."
> "I was just getting even. His sales are probably going to drop a lot over the next few days."
Once he caught his breath, Naruto stood up and continued wandering through the village, looking for his next target. Unlike the Naruto in the original story, he held grudges.
After repeating the same trick a few more times, Naruto had gathered a decent haul.
The Nine-Tails propped its chin on its paw and said:
> "Didn't think you were the vengeful type, brat. Using the Hokage's order to get back at the villagers."
Naruto, clearly in a good mood, laughed:
> "I've always believed in rewarding kindness with kindness, and repaying resentment with honesty."
The fox snorted, never missing a chance to get a jab in:
> "Brat, doing that will only make them hate you more. Your situation might get worse than before."
Naruto looked at the Nine-Tails with a half-smile and replied:
> "And when I smiled at them in the beginning, did they accept me? Since they won't change, I might as well start following my own heart."
The Nine-Tails tapped its claw against the ground, clearly pondering something.
After settling his scores with the villagers, Naruto was ready to head for the outskirts of the village. Compared to the bustling heart of Konoha, he'd always preferred the quieter forests.
Under the trees, mushrooms and wild greens were everywhere, and streams teemed with fish and shrimp.
Besides fishing, Naruto also planned to collect some "flower-caps" and "white-stems" (edible mushrooms), in preparation for hosting the Third Hokage next time. After all, neither the resilient Uzumaki body nor the strongest Hokage would be killed by a bit of food poisoning—at worst, just a stomachache.
On his way past a park, Naruto suddenly stopped and looked deeper into the trees.
> "White-eyed freak! White-eyed freak! That's what you are—just a freak!"
Three boys about Naruto's age were surrounding a girl, jeering at her. The girl was half-kneeling on the ground, clutching her head in helpless fear.
After tiring of their mockery, the boys began to laugh among themselves.
> "So you're not just a white-eyed freak, you're a crybaby too! No wonder nobody wants to play with you. All you ever do is cry!"
One of the boys picked up a handful of snow and walked toward her.
> "Your eyes are so gross. What do you think will happen if I shove snow into them? Wanna find out?"
Hinata flinched in fear and began crawling backward to get away.
Seeing this, the Nine-Tails glanced at Naruto.
> "Isn't that the girl you helped last time? So? Not planning to help her this time?"
Naruto stood still, unmoved, seemingly with no intention of intervening.
This made the Nine-Tails a bit curious—it couldn't wait to see what Naruto was really thinking, or what he was planning to do.
At that moment, two of the boys noticed Naruto.
> "Look! It's the demon fox! The demon fox is here to save the white-eyed freak!"
> "I knew it! They're working together! Trying to destroy the village in secret!"
The shouting caught everyone's attention. The boy with the snowball lowered his hand, and Hinata's eyes lit up with a glimmer of hope.
The three boys gathered together, emboldened by their numbers. They moved toward Naruto.
> "The adults are scared of you, demon fox. But we're not. We're gonna be ninja someday, protect the village. And that means getting rid of monsters like you!"
With that declaration, the lead boy stepped up to Naruto and raised his fist.
THUD. THUD.
Before he could land a hit, he was already sprawled out on the ground, knocked down. Na
ruto cracked a wicked grin as he stepped
toward the other two boys.
> "So… I heard you called me the demon fox? And wanted to run me out of town?"
(End of Chapter)
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