Naruto: I, who fooled the ninja world, was hailed as a savior.

Chapter 143 Uchiha Shisui's Suspicion

"Hoo! Hoo!"

With his vision blurred, the stone path beneath his feet seemed endless, and Naruto could still hear those cold words echoing in his ears.

All he wanted to do was run back home as quickly as possible, back to that quiet house where, at least no one would point fingers at him, and hide himself away.

But just as he was desperately fleeing down the street, everyone he encountered would frown and back away.

boom!
It was as if he had crashed into a wall that was not hard but surprisingly solid; the huge impact caused him, who was already as light as a willow catkin in the wind, to lose his balance.

The small body fell backward, landing heavily on the cold ground, its palms scraping painfully from the rough surface.

"I'm so sorry!" Naruto blurted out almost instinctively, "I... I didn't mean to..."

He didn't dare to look up at the person he had bumped into, afraid of seeing another pair of eyes full of disgust. His small body shrank into a ball out of embarrassment.

However, the expected scolding did not come.

A hand reached out in front of him, appearing in his downcast gaze.

The hand was long and slender with distinct joints, bearing calluses from years of practice, yet its movements were exceptionally gentle.

Instead of pulling him up directly, it quietly laid out in front of him, like a patient, silent invitation.

Naruto was stunned by what he saw, his voice caught in his throat. He tentatively raised his head and looked up along the hand.

What came into view was the person's body, with one hand supporting their knee, lowering their center of gravity, and leaning slightly forward.

There was no coldness or anger on that face as he had expected; instead, there was a smile that felt unfamiliar and bewildering to him.

The sunlight fell on that face, and even those pure white eyes seemed to radiate a gentle warmth.

"Yes, it's you..."

A faint light seemed to flash through Naruto's mind as he recalled the image of him slapping three children away with three backhands. He blurted out, "That strong older brother?"

"It's you." Hinata Kumokawa seemed to remember him too, extending his hand and asking, "Are you alright?"

Naruto instinctively wanted to raise his hand to grasp it, but just before his fingertips were about to touch it...

"Wait, Lord Hyuga Kumokawa, don't touch him!"

A slightly tense but loud voice abruptly broke the tranquility of the surrounding streets.

Hinata Kumokawa looked up following the sound and saw a middle-aged man next to him.

"Ahem, you are unaware of this."

The man wore a fawning smile, mixed with a self-righteous shrewdness: "This child is the reincarnation and incarnation of the nine-tailed fox that killed the Fourth Generation Lord!"

This sentence was like a stone thrown into water, instantly creating a huge ripple.

“Look at that child’s face…”

"Yes, yes, yes! It's him. I've heard about him too."

"Lord Yun Chuan, you are a young and promising hero just like the Fourth Hokage was back then. You mustn't let this guy get involved with you!"

The cacophony of whispers and shared understanding surged forth like a icy tide, instantly freezing and sealing back the barrier that had just begun to show a crack.

The crowd, which had quieted down slightly upon seeing Hyuga Kumokawa appear, resumed its noisy buzzing, with several pairs of eyes watching Uzumaki Naruto with tension and a hint of scrutiny.

"me……"

Naruto's hand, which had just been raised, froze in mid-air. The faint flame that had just ignited was instantly extinguished by the cold water, leaving only icy coldness.

He lowered his head again, not daring to look at Hinata Kumokawa's face, fearing that after learning his "identity," the other party would also show the same coldness and aloofness as everyone else.

He could only bury his head even lower, the tears he was trying to hold back welling up in his eyes again.

However, under everyone's gaze, Hinata Kumokawa's smile faded considerably.

It doesn't disappear, but rather, like the thin snow of early spring, it quietly melts away at a certain temperature, revealing a more serene underlying color.

He did not respond to the villagers immediately, nor did he look down to see Naruto's expression.

Those pure white eyes slowly lifted up.

He scanned the faces of the villagers, which were filled with self-righteous goodwill and deep-seated prejudice.

"..."

When those eyes, devoid of any emotion yet seemingly able to penetrate the soul, calmly swept over everyone chattering away.

The originally noisy discussions gradually subsided until they disappeared completely.

The villagers, who had previously spoken with absolute certainty, suddenly felt a pang of guilt.

It was as if some of the unbearable things deep within their hearts were reflected without any obstruction by those pure, white eyes.

As a result, the street fell into a deathly silence, so quiet you could hear a pin drop, and everyone instinctively held their breath.

Hinata Kumokawa's gaze fell on the face of the man who had first spoken up to remind him.

"A nine-tailed fox reincarnated? Who killed the Fourth Hokage?"

He looked at the villager with a faint smile on his face and asked in a calm voice, "Where did you hear these claims?"

"This, I..."

The man was taken aback by the question, and his face turned somewhat embarrassed and flustered.

His eyes darted around, and he stammered for a long time before his gaze fell on another woman beside him. He pointed at her as if grasping at a straw: "Yes, it's her! I heard it from her!"

Upon hearing this, everyone instinctively looked in the direction he was pointing, and the woman he had mentioned instantly became the focus of attention, her forehead beaded with sweat.

Hinata Kumokawa's gaze naturally shifted to the woman.

Under that calm yet inexplicably oppressive gaze, the woman swallowed hard.

"This this……"

Her voice was dry and tight, filled with barely concealed panic, as she blurted out, "Everyone, everyone's saying it! It's been all over the village for ages! Who, who doesn't know?"

"I see, that's what everyone says..."

Hinata Kumokawa nodded slightly, neither confirming nor denying, his gaze slowly sweeping over the silent crowd around him. His calm voice clearly spread out: "So, who is it?"

"Among those present, is there anyone who has personally witnessed this child doing anything to harm others, even something trivial?"

Upon hearing this, even the air seemed to freeze.

Deathly silence.

The crowd looked at each other, speechless for a moment. Disgust and fear spread like a plague; people scrambled to distance themselves, hurl insults, and even taught their children to regard it as a monster.

But the root of this disgust and fear is simply the rumor that "everyone says so," as if no one has actually seen the child harm people.
Actually, this is their weakness. It's not that no one has thought of this, but it has nothing to do with them.

Their idea is to avoid causing trouble for others and not to provoke trouble. This seemingly normal idea has evolved into collective indifference and bullying.

In their view, even if Naruto Uzumaki really wasn't the reincarnation of the demon fox, so what? In the end, they hadn't done anything heinous, had they?

Everyone's doing this and saying this, so there must be something wrong with him, right?

If someone really holds a grudge later, you can just bow and apologize, right?
I've already apologized, what more do you want from me?
Therefore, even though they were speechless in the face of Hinata Kumokawa, some people still harbored a faint resentment.

As a result, Hinata Kumokawa's expression softened again, and that gentle, approachable smile reappeared.

"Everyone, we are all villagers of Konoha," he said gently. "Living under the same roof, sharing the trials and tribulations of the ninja world, we are family who rely on each other."

"How can family members hurt each other based on baseless rumors without any evidence?"

“Even if it weren’t this child here, I would still believe in any of you without hesitation.”

[Your lie has been judged as "sweet talk," causing emotional fluctuations in Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, and others, reaching the level of "believing it to be true," thus gaining 700 Truth Points.]

At some point, the pupil on the hilt of the sword at Hyuga Kumokawa's waist opened.

These words were like warm spring water flowing into a lake of hearts, slowly dissolving the resentment in the hearts of those present, and their furrowed brows unconsciously relaxed.

Some of them even showed a hint of guilt on their faces. Uchiha Sasuke, who was watching this scene from a distance, also stared at Hyuga Kumokawa with some curiosity.

Naruto also raised his head at this moment, his blue eyes wide open, filled with disbelief.

He stared blankly at Hinata Kumokawa, the golden sunset casting a hazy glow on his tall, slender figure, as if covering him with a layer of light, making it impossible for him to look away.

Just as Naruto's mind went blank, filled with unprecedentedly complex emotions, Hyuga Kumokawa looked at him again.

This time, Naruto didn't have to hold it himself.

That strong, large hand firmly grasped Naruto's small, dusty hand, which was frozen in mid-air.

A warmth, like the temperature of sunlight, spread clearly and quickly from their clasped hands, creeping along Naruto's arm and dispelling the previous chill.

Naruto was so moved by the sudden warmth that he felt as if his bones had been removed, and he was easily lifted up by Hyuga Kumokawa's arm.

He steadied himself, still keeping his head down, but his small body was no longer so stiff.

Hinata Kumokawa did not immediately let go of his hand; the warmth enveloped him, giving him an unprecedented sense of security and warmth.

"I'm the one who should apologize."

Hinata Kumokawa said casually, as if the conversation had never happened, and laughed, "You tripped and fell, did it hurt?"

"I see you're here for breakfast. To make amends, how about I treat you to ramen?"

The sudden apology caught Naruto off guard. He quickly shook his head and stammered, "N-no, it's okay... No, that's not right, I was too rash. I couldn't..."

This sudden act of kindness left him somewhat bewildered, even revealing his verbal tic, and he instinctively tried to pull his hand away to escape.

But the next moment, a very clear sound rang out.

Gulu!
The sound came from Naruto's stomach, seemingly in protest, and made all his movements freeze instantly.

Hinata Kumokawa clearly heard the "protest" and let out a low chuckle, a hint of mockery but no malice in it.

"Let's go," he said in a joking tone in a low voice. "You don't want me to let you go back and then you'll be lying in bed crying from hunger, do you?"

(As shown in the picture above, it's still from episode 700 of the anime, I really cried QAQ)

Upon hearing this, Naruto's heart skipped a beat, and he felt a strong surge of emotion welling up inside him. His nose twitched slightly.

Hinata Kumokawa didn't give him any more time to hesitate. With a force that seemed perfectly natural, he pulled the still dazed Naruto along and started walking forward.

The villagers who had not yet dispersed watched this scene with complicated expressions. No one stepped forward to say anything, and surprisingly, there was no resentment.

On the contrary, they genuinely felt that Hinata Kumokawa's personality was really too good. Even when facing a child who was suspected to be a "fox spirit incarnate", he was so gentle, and they inexplicably felt a sense of respect for him.

"Sasuke, I've been looking for you for a long time. What are you doing here?"

As Sasuke Uchiha watched the two figures, one large and one small, leave, a voice filled with laughter and doubt suddenly came from behind him.

Sasuke turned his head in the direction of the sound and saw a boy with long, narrow eyelashes carrying a small katana on his back.

"Brother Shisui," he called out, then looked at the two figures in the distance and said softly, "That must be Hyuga Kumokawa, whom everyone has been talking about lately."

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Shisui followed his gaze and looked up at the figure in the distance.

He did not witness what was happening here, and his impression of Hinata Kumokawa was limited to what others had told him.

A war hero, a hardworking genius, a traitor to the Hyuga clan...

For Shisui, who valued his clan and village equally, his first impression of the name Hinata Kumokawa was very good before he even met the real person.

However, as he watched that figure from afar, a figure being observed by everyone on the street, Shisui slowly frowned.

"What's with this feeling...?"

He has now awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan and possesses the strongest genjutsu, "Kotoamatsukami," making him arguably the most skilled genjutsu user in the entire Hidden Leaf Village.

As a master of illusion, one is extremely sensitive to changes in oneself and the environment.

Moreover, because he hadn't witnessed what had just happened, he keenly sensed an invisible and colorless aura and noticed that his emotions seemed to have fluctuated inexplicably.

However, the remaining aura was extremely faint, so faint that he wondered if it was just his imagination...

"Brother Zhishui?"

Sasuke, who hadn't received a response for a long time, turned his head and saw Shisui frowning and staring intently into the distance. He tugged at Shisui's sleeve, puzzled.

Uchiha Shisui's thoughts were interrupted. Knowing his personality, he wouldn't make baseless assumptions, so he simply shook his head to dispel any doubts, looked down at Sasuke, and smiled, saying:
"It's alright, let's go. Your brother has a mission with the Dark Guard today, so I'll accompany you."

Upon hearing this, Sasuke Uchiha's expression immediately fell, and he muttered, "It's happening again. You said it would be the last time."

"Alright, alright, don't you know your brother yet?"

Shisui chuckled and pressed his shoulder, talking as she pushed him to turn and leave.

Before leaving, however, he turned his head one last time to look into the distance, taking a deep look at the figure leading the little child as they disappeared around the street corner.

Recently, the dissatisfaction of the clansmen with the village has become increasingly intense, and the things they say at clan meetings have become increasingly bold, making him feel more and more distressed as he is caught in the middle.

He desperately wanted to resolve the conflict between the village and the clan, but he couldn't think of a solution yet. He was already mentally and physically exhausted and had no energy left to worry about anything else.

So, I hope that feeling I just had was just my imagination...

(End of this chapter)