The Third Hokage took a deep breath, closed Naruto's composition notebook, and said,
"Iruka, Naruto already knows he's the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. He's accepted what it means to be the host of the demon fox."
Iruka froze in place. Suddenly, everything made sense.
Naruto's reclusive and emotionally distant behavior wasn't without cause. He knew the truth and had accepted the burden of being a jinchūriki. That explained why he kept his distance from almost everyone, only interacting with a small circle of classmates.
Putting himself in Naruto's shoes, Iruka realized that if he had learned he was the demon fox, he would've reacted far worse than Naruto did.
After a brief silence, Iruka spoke sincerely:
"Lord Third, even so, my opinion of Naruto hasn't changed. If this keeps up, it'll harm both him and the village."
The Third took out his pipe. He always smoked when dealing with difficult issues—perhaps it helped numb the pressure.
"Believe me, I worry about Naruto too. But there are too many matters in the village that require my attention… So, Iruka, can I ask you to keep looking out for him?"
"…That's part of my duty as a teacher," Iruka replied, though he sounded conflicted.
"But guiding a student also requires the involvement of their guardians. I can't do it all on my own. I'll still need your help, Lord Hokage."
The Third sighed quietly.
"I'll do what I can to support your efforts. But it seems… you've finally moved on from that shadow in your heart."
Iruka scratched his head.
"Even though Naruto is the jinchūriki, it was the Nine-Tails that killed my parents. At first, I resented him. But after spending time together, I could see it—he hasn't been consumed by the Nine-Tails."
"I believe that, with time, others in the village will come to understand Naruto the way I have."
"After all, bringing misguided students back onto the right path—that's the mark of a great teacher."
"…Let's hope so," the Third Hokage replied. But he wasn't optimistic.
He didn't believe the villagers would ever truly understand Naruto, nor did he think Naruto could fully understand the villagers.
As long as Naruto continued to trust him and follow his guidance, that was enough.
Still… it had been a while since he'd visited Naruto. Maybe it was time to reconnect, to build their bond again.
Back on the training grounds…
Sasuke had just escaped from a crowd of fangirls and made his way to Naruto, who was hiding out in the corner. Without any small talk, he asked:
"Naruto, how did you interrupt that jutsu mid-cast?"
Naruto glanced at him and replied dismissively,
"Forming hand seals is a waste of time. As long as you strike someone's chakra pathways before they convert chakra into a jutsu, you can interrupt the technique."
"Besides, ninjutsu is mostly used to test the waters. When it comes down to it, fights between real ninja are settled with taijutsu."
Then Naruto gave Sasuke a teasing look.
"Don't tell me you didn't know that, genius of our class—Uchiha Sasuke?"
Sasuke's expression darkened, but he responded:
"I know I'm not as strong as you. But I want to know—have you already learned other jutsu? Is that why you know how to disrupt someone else's technique?"
Naruto didn't reply directly. Instead, a sudden gust swirled on the ground, sweeping fallen leaves into the air and sending them flying toward Sasuke.
Watching the perfectly spiraling leaves, Sasuke clenched his fists.
At that moment, he truly understood the gap between himself and Naruto. The way Naruto carried himself—it reminded him of his brother.
While Sasuke was still deep in thought, Naruto walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and said:
"After school today, I can teach you a method to train more efficiently. But in exchange, I want you to teach me your shuriken-throwing technique. I keep scoring poorly in that class, and it's pulling down my overall ranking."
Sasuke's expression brightened slightly, and he replied with a hint of pride:
"Uchiha throwing techniques are the best, of course. But aren't you worried that if you teach me how to train faster, I might surpass you?"
Naruto just smiled and shook his head.
"Not at all. I'll grow faster than you regardless. I'm only offering to teach you because you're one of the few people in our class who reached out to me first. I don't shortchange my friends."
Sasuke gave a cold snort and walked away.
As he left, Chōji frowned, clearly feeling ignored—but he didn't say anything, choosing instead to continue eating his chips.
Shikamaru, however, opened his eyes and glanced at Naruto and the departing Sasuke. A thoughtful look crossed his face.
As one of Naruto's few friends, Shikamaru had clearly sensed the changes in him over the past few days. He just didn't know if those changes were good or bad.
But no matter what, he wouldn't bring it up. And he certainly wouldn't tell anyone else.
The Nara clan's way of survival was always to remain an observer and make the most beneficial choice from the sidelines.
After school, Naruto and Sasuke headed into a small wooded area.
It was their seventh time training together there. Their sessions followed the same pattern: Naruto attacked, Sasuke got beaten. Through this "friendly" sparring, both rapidly gained practical combat experience.
Naruto kept his promise and taught Sasuke how to use shadow clones to multi-thread his training.
But after straining himself, Sasuke could only manage three shadow clones at once—far less effective than Naruto, who had the Nine-Tails aiding his chakra control. When Sasuke dismissed the clones, he nearly passed out from chakra exhaustion.
Looking at Sasuke collapsed on the ground like a dead dog, Naruto couldn't help laughing—he laughed heartily and without restraint.
Sasuke slowly sat up, glaring at the grinning Naruto.
"Tell me… do you really train this hard every day?"
Naruto nodded.
"Every single day. I've never once skipped."
Sasuke looked puzzled.
"Why? Is it because your parents had high expectations for you? My father's strict with me, but even he doesn't push me this hard. You don't even have time for yourself."
Naruto smiled faintly.
"Well, sorry to disappoint. I'm the demon fox, remember? I don't have any parents. When I'm bored, the only thing I can do is train. It beats going out and facing all those hateful, fearful stares."
Sasuke went silent for a moment before replying:
"I have parents, but I understand how you feel. The Uchiha are in a pretty similar situation."
He truly did understand. While his classmates might treat him well, the Uchiha clan as a whole was ostracized in the village. Every day he heard his clan members complain about how they were treated—and just as often, he heard villagers mutter resentfully about the Uchiha.
His clan had been pushed to the margins of society.
Naruto glanced at him and said with a half-joking tone:
"Then you should go find some friends—just like we did. The village is big. There's bound to be someone who understands what the Uchiha are going through."
"And even if no one does, it's fine. All a person really needs to do is live true to themselves."
(End of Chapter)
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