The whispers started low, insidious.
"It's That Thing."
"Look, That Thing is hurting people!"
"I knew he'd cause trouble!"
"What's he doing?"
"Did he... did he attack that boy?"
"Is he going to eat Kitano?"
"There's blood! See? Proof he's dangerous!"
"Someone tell Hokage-sama! Get That Thing out of our village!"
The same villagers who'd ignored Hinata's plight moments before now stopped, their faces hardening, gazes fixed on Naruto. Fingers pointed, murmurs grew into open accusations.
"No! You don't understand! He was helping me!" Hinata cried out, desperately trying to make them see, trying to defend the boy who'd defended her. But her small voice was lost in the rising tide of anger. No one listened. No one wanted to believe her.
Or perhaps, deep down, they knew. The truth didn't matter. Only their truth mattered.
He was Naruto Uzumaki. The vessel. The Demon Fox incarnate. That was all they needed to know, all they wanted to know. It was easier than confronting their own fear, their own prejudice. Just like they'd turned on the White Fang years ago, their venom towards Naruto was even less restrained.
'This village...' Naruto thought, a familiar bitterness rising.
"My Lady." A figure flickered into place beside Hinata – a Hyuga shinobi, instantly recognizable by his clan's pale eyes and the headband marking him as part of the main family's guard. His sudden appearance momentarily stalled the villagers' advance. Civilians knew better than to provoke active shinobi, especially one from a powerful clan.
But the Hyuga guard's first act was to shield Hinata protectively. Then, he turned a glare filled with pure loathing onto Naruto. "Stay away from Hinata-sama, monster."
His words were a spark in dry tinder.
"No! He saved me!" Hinata sobbed, struggling against the guard's hold. Her pleas were useless. The Hyuga ignored her, swiftly lifting her into his arms and disappearing in a blur of motion, leaving Naruto utterly alone to face the mob.
'Hyuga...' Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly, watching the spot where they vanished. The sheer intensity of that guard's malice... it felt deeper, more personal than the usual fear and resentment. 'Something's not right there. Why the hell are even clan ninja's hating me? Danzo?'
"Get out! Get out of Konoha!"
*Whizz! Thunk!*
A sharp pain flared on Naruto's forehead. A rock, thrown hard, struck him, drawing blood. He could have dodged it easily if it came from a civilian. But the speed, the accuracy... 'Was that thrown by a shinobi hiding in the crowd?' He didn't have time to pinpoint the source.
"Get out! Demon!"
The dam of resentment, held back for years by the Third Hokage's decree, finally broke. The air filled with shouts and projectiles. Stones, rotten vegetables, eggs, clumps of mud – a messy, hateful barrage rained down on him.
Yet, no one dared get close enough for a physical confrontation. Fear still held them back – the deep-seated terror of the Nine-Tails, the creature they believed stood before them.
Naruto didn't move. He stood perfectly still, letting the garbage and stones hit him. He didn't dodge, didn't flinch. He didn't argue or shout back. He simply watched them, his blue eyes unnervingly calm, scanning the crowd as if memorizing each furious face. Waiting for someone to escalate this into physical so he could properly retaliate without consequences.
A chilling coldness began to spread through his chest. 'Where were the Anbu? The guards supposedly watching over him? Were they distracted? Or maybe just waiting.' Waiting to see if he'd snap, waiting for an excuse. 'There!' He sensed them, though – less than twenty meters away, their own veiled hostility a palpable presence, like a flickering lamp in the darkness.
'Fourth Hokage... you really messed up,' Naruto thought, the sting of rotten fruit on his cheek barely registering. 'So many people want your son dead. Your student, your subordinates... all vanished when you needed them most. What exactly did you protect this village for?'
He wasn't the hero of some storybook. Not Asura Otsutsuki's reincarnation, no destined savior. They wanted him to forgive this? To protect these people? Repay their hatred with kindness? Then how do you repay kindness? He shook his head, almost imperceptibly. 'No. I am who I am. Naruto Uzumaki.'
'You want me gone? You want me dead? Fine. But not yet. Not like this.'
Finally, fueled by the mob's frenzy, one man broke through. Driven mad by Naruto's unnerving stillness, he snatched up a discarded hoe lying nearby and swung it wildly towards the small boy.
Just as the rusted metal was about to connect, just as Naruto tensed to counterattack-
"Stop!"
A sharp *thwip* echoed through the square. A shuriken embedded itself deep into the wooden handle of the hoe, pinning it against a nearby wall, inches from Naruto.
A tall figure stepped deliberately between Naruto and the stunned crowd. On his back, the unmistakable red-and-white Uchiwa fan of the Uchiha clan.
'Uchiha? They're the ones stepping in?' Naruto watched, surprised.
"Assaulting a child? Inciting a riot? What is the meaning of this?!" the Uchiha demanded, his voice sharp with authority, his stern gaze sweeping over the villagers. No one dared meet his eyes.
"The Military Police...!" someone whispered, fear replacing anger.
The Konoha Military Police Force. Tasked with maintaining order within the village, enforcing regulations, arresting criminals. Staffed entirely by the Uchiha clan. Powerful, yes, but also deeply distrusted, their perceived arrogance rubbing many the wrong way. After Naruto himself, the Uchiha police were probably the most disliked group in Konoha. But dislike didn't negate their authority. Not yet, anyway.
"Disperse! Now!" the Uchiha officer commanded.
Grumbling, resentful, but unwilling to defy the Police Force, the crowd slowly broke apart, melting back into the streets like shadows.
"Oh, you poor thing. It's alright now. It's over." A woman stepped out from behind the stern Uchiha officer. She approached Naruto hesitantly, her eyes filled with a gentle pity that felt startlingly different from the glares he was used to. She knelt, carefully taking out a handkerchief and beginning to wipe the grime and egg yolk from his face. "There, there."
"Thank you..." Naruto said quietly, relaxing slightly under her touch. Like Nekobaa, he sensed no malice from her, only warmth. And something else... a faint, familiar scent, like sunshine and spices. Like his mother, Kushina, somehow. It felt safe.
The woman's eyes softened further. "You can call me Aunty Mikoto," she said gently. "I knew your mother, Naruto. She and I were..."
"That's enough, Mikoto," the Uchiha officer interjected, his expression unreadable but firm. "We should go."
Mikoto hesitated, looking reluctant to leave the small, battered boy. "Take care of yourself, little one," she murmured, finally standing and rejoining her husband.
"Bye, Auntie Mikoto!" Naruto called after her, managing a small wave. He glanced at the officer. "Thanks, uh... Serious Uncle."
Once Naruto was out of sight, Mikoto Uchiha pressed a hand to her mouth, her voice trembling. "Fugaku... Kushina's boy... he looks so..."
"We did what we could," Fugaku replied gruffly, his gaze shifting towards a large tree nearby. "The Uchiha have troubles enough of our own." For a split second, the black in his eyes seemed to deepen into a sharp, spinning red.
"Hmph! Useless!"
With Fugaku's quiet sound of disdain, a few leaves on the distant tree rustled.