Chapter 4: Chapter 4: I'm not the problem
But the wooden stick didn't hit Naruto's head as it used to.
In the split second he acted.
A cold flash swept through.
The kunai cut through the soft wood, the broom head fell to the ground, kicking up dust.
"You bastard! My broom!" Anger overwhelmed the convenience store owner's mind. He didn't realize what it meant for the other person to fight back; he only cared about his belongings. He raised his hand, wanting to attack again, "Damn you, you never bring anything good..."
Before he could finish his sentence.
Naruto grabbed his wrist, tripped him, and threw him to the ground.
With a swing of the kunai.
The convenience store owner looked up, still wanting to continue cursing.
With a clang—
The kunai nailed the ground just past his nose, vibrating slightly, fragile like a violin string.
He was momentarily dazed.
A sharp pain shot through his tailbone, spreading electrically throughout his body, causing his hair to stand on end.
The pain brought him back to his senses.
His arm was twisted at an unnatural angle, not broken, but the muscles and tendons were stretched to their limit, causing severe discomfort.
These sensations overpowered the anger in his mind.
He began to panic, realizing he was being hunted: "What... what do you want to do?"
The demon fox...
"To buy something." Naruto continued looking into the store, staring at the clock. "Don't worry, I will pay. Will you welcome me this time?"
The convenience store owner gritted his teeth: "I won't welcome you..."
Naruto applied more force, increasing the angle of the arm twist.
The store owner broke into a sweat, hurriedly changing his tune: "Welcome, welcome! Of course, you're welcome."
Naruto gave a cold smile, grabbed the kunai, and threw it back into his pocket before walking into the convenience store.
If it had been three years ago, he wouldn't have used this method.
But...
During his three years in the Soul Society, he learned that in some "necessary" situations, violence was far more effective at solving problems than other methods.
"Food" was not a necessity in Rukongai.
Ordinary souls wouldn't feel hunger.
Only souls with spiritual power had the need to eat.
Thus, the price of food was extremely high.
If one didn't want to starve, they had to resort to some unsavory methods.
In the first half year, Naruto survived using this method.
It wasn't until later, when he found a job and had a stable source of income, that he gave up "robbery" and spent a year repaying the total cost of the food he had taken.
Walking into the convenience store.
The numbers on the clock ticked away.
It wasn't broken.
So... the three years he spent in the Soul Society had barely passed in Konoha, or even hadn't moved at all?
He pondered this question while selecting ingredients.
A piece of meat, two potatoes, some seasoning, and a bag of rice, costing less than six hundred ryo.
This was the market price.
Naruto didn't take advantage of the situation.
But after he left, the convenience store owner couldn't wait to close the door and report to the Konoha Police.
This is outrageous!
I knew we shouldn't have let that damn kid into the ninja school.
Now he learned a few skills and dares to attack innocent, pitiful people like us.
What about in the future?
Hokage Office.
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was reviewing official documents.
A ninja knocked on the door and entered: "Lord Third, that Uzumaki kid has caused trouble again!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen, accustomed to these incidents, spoke calmly: "What prank has Naruto pulled this time?"
"He had a conflict with a convenience store owner and injured him." The ninja gritted his teeth, extremely angry.
Upon hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression turned serious.
Uzumaki Naruto was a troublemaker.
But previously, it was just pranks limited to the school grounds, aimed at attracting attention.
But now... he actually injured someone?
This was the first time, a breach of the bottom line.
It had escalated into a real conflict.
"Where is Naruto now?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked.
The ninja replied: "He went home."
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed in relief. If he went home, the situation didn't need to escalate further: "Got it. I will give him a good talking to."
"This time, Naruto really went too far."
Uzumaki Naruto's residence was not far from the Hokage office, in the village center's low-rent apartment building.
It didn't take Sarutobi Hiruzen long to get there.
He raised his hand and knocked on the door.
Frowning, he was filled with doubt.
He had always been very strict in his teachings to Naruto, and Naruto had always been obedient. Even when he was bullied to such an extent, he never fought back.
But today...
The door quickly opened, and Naruto, wearing an apron and holding a kitchen knife, came out to greet him. When he saw Sarutobi Hiruzen, his eyes lit up, "Third Hokage Grandpa!"
In Konoha, he was the person who treated Naruto the best.
Bearing the title of "Hokage," he was also the most powerful and knowledgeable person in the entire village.
Naruto had really wanted to see him!
Whether from emotions...
Or the questions filling his mind—why he went to the Soul Society, why he came back, and why he hadn't changed even though three years had passed in Konoha.
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked through Naruto and into the house, feeling a bit dazed.
A house where you could see the end from the entrance.
Clean...
Tidy...
Only ingredients on the table—potatoes, meat, and rice cooking on the stove.
It didn't look like Naruto's home at all.
Such a big change in just a few days.
But the important matter was the "hitting" incident; these changes weren't as important. Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled and asked, "Naruto, today a convenience store owner came to complain, saying you hit him. What was the conflict between you two?"
So he came for this matter.
Naruto corrected him, "I didn't hit him; he attacked me first."
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded, "Why did he attack you?"
"I wanted to buy some ingredients to cook," Naruto said confidently. "But as soon as I entered his convenience store, before I said anything, he wanted to hit me."
"I just stopped him from attacking me and wanted to do business with him."
"I paid for the things I bought."
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt slightly relieved.
So that's how it was?
It wasn't an intentional "revenge attack," which was a relief.
He softened his tone, "Even so, Naruto, you could have come to me."
"Fighting isn't a good thing, Naruto. Remember what I taught you? No matter what, you shouldn't..."
Naruto was stunned.
Two memories surged in his mind.
One was from the Soul Society, where he was starving and had to snatch food, the shop owner chasing him with a knife, cursing and showing a vicious face.
But after he worked to pay off his debt, the shop owner was very relieved and said that Naruto hadn't done anything wrong; he just had to show that he couldn't be robbed easily, as weakness would lead to being bullied. If he thought Naruto was problematic, he would have called the Shinigami long ago.
Becoming "ugly" to survive was not a sin.
Naruto's willingness to make amends made the situation ultimately beautiful.
The other memory was older, related to the Third Hokage, fragmented.
Every time he fought back when bullied as a child, the Third Hokage would appear to comfort him.
It felt warm then, as only the Third Hokage cared for him in the whole village.
But now looking back...
Those who bullied him were never punished, not even scolded. They continued to bully him the next day.
Those comforting words now seemed to teach him to be weak and endure.
In comparison...
Naruto found he preferred the shop owner's curses.
"Do I need to find the Third Hokage every time I want to buy something?" Naruto interrupted Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was taken aback.
Naruto spoke decisively, "When the Third Hokage is around, they respect you and let me buy things. But once you leave, they won't welcome me again."
"I can only stockpile a lot of stuff each time."
"But I paid for the things I bought, not a penny less."
"If he tries to hit me and I stop him, and he gets hurt, that's his own fault."
"Am I wrong?"
"Am I supposed to just take the beatings and curses without fighting back?"
"Am I supposed to live on instant noodles every day? Is it wrong to want to eat some normal food?"
"Am I supposed to fish and hunt in the mountains for food?"
His pent-up emotions exploded in a series of questions, like shurikens, leaving Sarutobi Hiruzen stunned, unable to respond.
It wasn't that he didn't know how to answer.
He just didn't expect Naruto, who had been enduring for so many years, to suddenly and without warning, explode.
"Naruto, there may be some misunderstandings, but the village is a whole..." Sarutobi Hiruzen began his usual speech, trying to morally bind Naruto with the "greater good" of the village.
Naruto wasn't buying it.
Or rather, the old Naruto would have cared about the "village" as his only place of belonging.
But now...
He interrupted Sarutobi Hiruzen again, "Third Hokage Grandpa, if the problem lies with them, please solve their problem."
"Why come to solve the problem of me, the victim?"
With a bang, the door closed heavily.
Naruto didn't want to talk to Sarutobi Hiruzen anymore.
Let alone share the doubts and secrets in his mind.
The accompanying ninja shouted, "Uzumaki Naruto, is this how you treat the Hokage?"
"Come out and apologize properly..."
His shouting was stopped.
Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his hand, "No need, it's my oversight."
He sighed, feeling heavy-hearted and a bit ashamed.
His eyes fell on the door.
He could hear the sound of a knife chopping on the cutting board inside.
He really owed the Fourth Hokage a lot…
~~~
New Series! Alright! Come on!
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