Naruto: I'm in Konoha, my name is Uzumaki Menma

Chapter 209 The Treatment of a Hero's Son

Inside Menma's two-story house in Konohagakure, Menma and Kushina quietly appeared.

Menma wore his signature black tracksuit, and his spiky black short hair made him look smart and neat.

He looked around his training room.

"Mom, disguise yourself a little." Menma pointed to Kushina's ashen face and striking red hair.

Kushina nodded and formed hand seals.

After a surge of chakra, her red hair turned into an inconspicuous dark brown, and the fine black cracks on her face were somewhat concealed. Her skin tone was adjusted to resemble that of an ordinary woman, but her gray eyes could not be completely eliminated, making her appear slightly tired and weathered.

Wearing a simple, dark green cotton-padded jacket, she looked like an ordinary woman with a haggard face and a sickly appearance.

Pushing open the door, the chilly winter wind of Konoha, carrying with it the hustle and bustle of the streets, immediately hit me.

It wasn't mealtime or the weekend; the servants had already finished their work and gone home.

It hasn't snowed in Konoha yet, and although the sun is shining brightly, it's not very warm.

The two walked on the streets of Konoha, with Kushina curiously observing the village.

There were many pedestrians on the street, all bundled up in thick winter clothes, hurrying along.

The rebuilt streets of Konoha seemed wider than Kushina remembered, and the shops had updated their signs, but the familiar lively atmosphere and the unique tension of the ninja village remained.

Menma walked naturally half a step to Kushina's side, like a boy accompanying his mother out.

His voice was not loud, but it clearly reached Kushina's ears: "After the Nine-Tails' rampage, many surviving ninjas claimed to have seen the Sharingan pattern in the Nine-Tails' out-of-control eyes."

Menma's gaze swept over the members of the Konoha Police Force patrolling on both sides of the street. The Uchiha fan symbol was clearly visible on their uniform armbands.

"The rumors spread like wildfire throughout the village. At that time, Danzo Shimura, who was in charge of the Root operation, used the excuse of 'maintaining order and preventing the Uchiha forces from controlling the Nine-Tails' to forcefully prevent the Uchiha clan from participating in the battle to suppress the Nine-Tails, and only allowed them to be responsible for evacuating and transferring the villagers."

Kushina paused slightly, her pupils behind her sunglasses contracting.

"As a result..." Menma's voice carried a hint of sarcasm: "In the eyes of the villagers, the Sharingan appeared in the Nine-Tails' eyes, and the Uchiha clan 'just happened' not to appear on the most tragic battlefield... The seeds of suspicion and resentment were sown. Over the years, the rumors have never subsided."

He pointed towards the outer reaches of the village: "The Uchiha clan's territory has now been moved to the most remote corner of the village. The conflict between the Konoha Police Department and the villagers is escalating, and the Uchiha clan is now almost isolated in Konoha."

His gaze swept across an alleyway where two men dressed as ordinary villagers stood, but with sharp eyes and a cold aura, silently watching the street. Their gazes lingered especially on the patrolling Uchiha security guards, clearly Root's informants.

Kushina listened in silence, her hands clenching quietly inside the sleeves of her cotton-padded jacket.

The Konoha she remembered, which, despite its disagreements, was generally harmonious, now seemed to be covered by an invisible crack.

The two walked along the street.

Turning a corner, the enormous Hokage Rock suddenly came into view.

First generation, second generation, third generation...

Beside the Third Hokage, the young stone statue of Minato Namikaze overlooks the entire Leaf Village.

Kushina stopped abruptly.

She tilted her head back, staring intently at the statue at the water gate.

The morning light outlined the handsome silhouette of the stone statue, its familiar face seemingly transcending life and death.

Her resurrected body couldn't feel a heartbeat, but the deep longing and pain gripped her soul.

Her ashen face, though masked, revealed little emotion, but her body trembled slightly, and the hem of her dark green cotton-padded coat swayed gently in the cold wind.

Mianma didn't urge her, but just stood quietly beside her.

Just then, Menma's gaze swept across the crowd and landed on the opposite side of the street: "He's here."

Kushina snapped out of her daze and looked eagerly in the direction Menma was looking.

A small, thin figure could be seen walking alone on the sidewalk.

The striking golden hair, like a stubborn little flame, stood out against the gray winter landscape.

He was wearing an old orange coat and a red scarf around his neck. His face was red from the cold. He had his hands in his pockets, his head down, kicking at the pebbles on the roadside.

The lonely shadow was stretched long by the winter sun.

It's Naruto!
her child!

Kushina almost couldn't control herself and rushed over!

However, just as she took a small step, wanting to get closer to Naruto, the whispers of the surrounding pedestrians reached her ears.

"Tsk, that fox spirit is out again..." An older woman carrying a vegetable basket frowned, pulling her companion aside to deliberately take a few steps. Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly over. "The Third Hokage is too soft-hearted. This kind of jinx should be driven out of the village!"

"Exactly! Who knows when he'll go crazy again? The Fourth Hokage might have been killed by him..."

"Get away from me! Get away from me! What bad luck!"

Each whisper, filled with malice and fear, was like a poisoned needle, piercing Kushina's heart!

She stopped in her tracks, staring in disbelief at the villagers she and Shuimen had risked their lives to protect.

As Naruto passed by, the surrounding villagers hurried away as if avoiding a plague, keeping their distance and casting undisguised disgust and fear in their eyes.

Naruto seemed to have gotten used to all of this by now.

He kept his head down, kicking pebbles, but his small shoulders seemed to have shrunk even more.

At that moment, Naruto stopped in front of a small stall selling steaming hot oden and roasted sweet potatoes.

An enticing aroma wafted in the cold wind.

He tilted his little face up, his blue eyes fixed longingly on the fish balls bubbling in the pot and the fragrant sweet potatoes on the grill, his little hand unconsciously reaching into his empty pocket.

"Hey! Kid!" The burly stall owner immediately straightened his face, waving his tongs like he was shooing away flies, his voice rough and full of disgust.

"What are you looking at! If you don't have money, get lost! Don't block my business! You unlucky thing!"

Naruto shuddered at the sudden reprimand.

He suddenly lowered his head, like a frightened little animal, and quickly turned and ran away. His small figure quickly disappeared into the crowd at the street corner, leaving only a hurried back view.

“Naruto…” Kushina instinctively reached out, but only grasped a handful of cold air.

She stood frozen in place, her resurrected body trembling violently, her pale, ashen face appearing even more ashen beneath the disguise.

Those gray eyes couldn't shed any real tears, but tiny gray-white scraps of paper began to fall silently and softly around their eye sockets!
Like broken teardrops, they swirl in the cold wind and fall silently to the ground.

Menma stood silently beside her, reaching out and gently pressing Kushina's trembling shoulders, which were shaking with extreme anger and heartache.

He could feel the Nine-Tails' chakra surging beneath that cold body, almost breaking free of its restraints.

The two silently followed the direction Naruto had disappeared in, keeping a distance.

Kushina's steps were heavy, as if filled with lead.

She witnessed firsthand the various acts of malice that Naruto suffered.

As Naruto approached the shop window, the shop owner slammed the window shut.

Several children, dressed in thick cotton-padded coats and led by their parents, ran away quickly under their parents' stern gazes and tugging. One of the older boys even turned back, made a face, and shouted, "Monster!"

A ninja wearing a Chunin vest, walking hurriedly, frowned noticeably when he saw Naruto walking towards him. He subtly changed direction, creating a distance of at least three meters, and his eyes were filled with cold scrutiny and aloofness.

An invisible wall of fear, hatred, and gossip completely shut that small, golden figure out of the crowd, out of warmth and kindness.

"Why..." Kushina's voice was filled with suppressed grief and indignation. She suddenly grabbed Menma's arm, her fingertips digging so hard they almost embedded themselves in his clothes.

"Where is the Third Hokage?! Where is Kakashi?! Where is Jiraiya? Where are Minato's subordinates?! Why...why is no one taking care of him?! Why is no one standing up...to stop these vicious rumors?! Are they just letting Naruto...grow up alone...in a place like this?!"

She was like a wounded lioness, letting out a mournful cry to protect her cubs.

Menma grasped Kushina's hand, his azure eyes gazing in the direction of the Hokage Rock, his voice low: "The Third Hokage gave Naruto a place to live and sent him living expenses every month."

Menma's gaze swept over the two Root agents, barely visible in the shadows of the street corner: "But some people are secretly fanning the flames, letting the rumors about the 'demon fox' become a poisonous thorn rooted in the villagers' hearts. I don't know why the Third Hokage didn't refute the rumors, as for Jiraiya and Kakashi..."

Menma sighed, "Jiraiya is no longer in the village, and Kakashi is immersed in his own darkness. How much energy can he spare to illuminate another child who is also shrouded in darkness? Besides, they are not Naruto's blood relatives. The Third Hokage did not explicitly assign them. Whether it is Jiraiya, Kakashi, or Fugaku, Mikoto, and my father's former subordinates, rashly approaching the 'Demon Fox' will only attract more suspicion and criticism."

As Kushina listened, her body trembled even more violently, and it seemed as if even more scraps of paper were falling.

She watched Naruto's small figure finally disappear into the secluded alley leading to his cold apartment, a door that shut out all the malice and warmth of the outside world.

"Konoha... how could it have become like this..." Kushina's voice was filled with despair and heartbreak. She looked up at the statue of Minato Namikaze on the Hokage Rock in the distance and felt only utter irony.

The village that the couple risked their lives to protect was treated so cruelly by their child.

Compared to Menma, who was kidnapped by the mysterious masked man, although he was trapped in the illusion world for fifteen years, he had a complete family in that illusion world that gave him affection and warmth, allowing him to grow up smoothly.

Naruto, who was under the care of the Third Hokage, had to endure such rumors and gossip.

Kushina couldn't imagine how strong young Naruto must have been to survive in such a malicious environment!

(End of this chapter)