Sky Curtain: Short Video Commentary on Konoha Villagers

The celestial canopy appeared, spanning the entire sky.

[A Critical Commentary on the Villagers of Konoha]

Ninjas from all over the ninja world stopped in their tracks, looked up, and fixed their gazes on those six words.

Hidden Cloud Village.

The Fourth Raikage, A, looked at the words on the sky, puzzled.

"Villagers of Konoha?"

"What are those civilians who don't even have chakra doing here under this suddenly appearing celestial canopy?"

Konoha was established.

Madara Uchiha turned to look at Hashirama Senju, his chin slightly raised.

"Hashirama, what is this thing? Did your brother make this?"

Hashirama Senju looked puzzled and scratched his head.

"I can't reach it."

Konoha Village.

Street vendors, blacksmiths, and housewives all stopped what they were doing and looked up at the sky.

"Look! This suddenly appearing canopy in the sky is talking about us!"

"They must be praising us for being hardworking and kind, the cornerstone of the Will of Fire!"

A mask vendor patted his chest and shouted loudly, spitting as he spoke.

"The villagers of Konoha are of the highest moral character in the entire ninja world! This sky curtain should definitely commend us! Let the good character of Konoha spread throughout the ninja world!"

Hokage Building.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's pipe hovered in mid-air, the burning tobacco emitting a faint red glow.

He didn't seem puzzled by the appearance of the sky, as if he had become numb to its presence.

He stared at those words, quickly going through the names of the villagers in his mind.

Jiraiya, who rarely returned to gather material but was caught by the security forces, stroked his chin and laughed a few times.

"Maybe the Heavenly Curtain will praise the simple and honest folk customs of our Konoha, using it to slap the faces of other ninja villages."

As the entire ninja world speculated, the characters on the sky began to change.

Lines of large red characters were continuously projected onto the light screen.

Refuse to yield to strength.

Do not back down because of fear.

The stronger I am, the more I bully them.

The more dangerous it is, the closer I'll get to your face.

This is my domineering nature.

Dead silence.

The entire ninja world fell into a deathly silence that lasted for several minutes.

Subsequently, the emotions of all parties underwent a precipitous reversal.

Inside the Raikage Building in Kumogakure, Ai suddenly stood up.

"The stronger you are, the more you bully others?! The more dangerous you are, the closer they get to your face?!"

"The villagers of Konoha actually dare to bully a strong person?! Aren't these people even afraid of death?!"

The land of rain.

Nagato sat in her wheelchair, her eyes fixed on those few lines of text.

"A bully who is strong..."

When it comes to the strong shinobi of Konoha, the first person Nagato thinks of is Jiraiya.

Was the teacher bullied by the villagers of Konoha before?

Akatsuki's stronghold.

Deidara's mouth dropped open, his jaw almost falling to the ground.

"Hmm? A bully?"

Deidara slammed the clay in his hand into a ball and smashed it hard on the ground.

"These villagers are even crazier than my art! Aren't they crazy?!"

Hidan's scythe clattered to the ground, sending sparks flying.

"I dare to get so close because I'm immortal, what gives them the right?!"

Konoha was established.

Madara Uchiha turned his head and stared intently at Hashirama Senju.

"Hashirama!"

Madara Uchiha roared.

"You call these villagers?!"

"Even I wouldn't dare say that the stronger you are, the more you can bully others, yet the commoners in your village dare to do this!"

Hashirama Senju retreated repeatedly, his hands flailing wildly, sweat beading on his forehead.

"Ban! Let me explain! I really didn't know they were so strong!"

Madara Uchiha pulled out a fan from his back and pointed it at the village under construction below.

"I'm going to go and confront these villagers today, and see how they bully me!"

Konoha Village.

The atmosphere on the street was frozen solid.

The villagers, who had been cheering just seconds before, were now completely dumbfounded.

The mask seller's mask fell to the ground and broke in two.

"Is...is this referring to us?"

An elderly woman carrying a vegetable basket shook her head repeatedly, and vegetable leaves fell all over the ground.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"I even kill a chicken with my eyes closed, how could I possibly bully someone stronger!"

After a brief pause, a deafening protest erupted throughout Konoha Village.

Anger spread rapidly among the crowd.

Tens of thousands of villagers flooded the streets, converging on the direction of the Hokage Building.

"Disgrace! This is blatant disgrace!"

"We are law-abiding citizens! Completely law-abiding citizens!"

"Tianmu is spreading rumors! When have we ever bullied the strong?"

"Produce the evidence! Without evidence, it's slander!"

The crowd waved hoes, brooms, and frying pans, shouting their grievances.

In front of the Hokage Building, ANBU ninjas lined up to block the surging crowd.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood on the rooftop, a fine layer of sweat beading on his forehead.

His hand holding the pipe remained suspended in mid-air, hesitant to put it into his mouth.

"A bully who is strong..."

Hiruzen muttered those four words, and several images flashed through his mind.

The figure of Sakumo Hatake lying in a pool of blood.

A scene depicting young Naruto being pelted with stones while walking down the street.

The scene depicts the Uchiha clan being isolated by the entire village.

Hiruzen's breath caught in his throat for a moment.

Could it be... that Sky Screen is about to expose those things?

Jiraiya abandoned his usual nonchalant attitude, his gaze sweeping across the protesting crowd below, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Old man, if Tianmu really releases the evidence, the village's reputation will be completely ruined."

Konoha 48th year.

Minato Namikaze stood at the window of the Hokage's office, looking down at the indignant villagers below.

Kushina Uzumaki walked up to him and tugged at his sleeve.

"Water Gate, the villagers are usually quite kind. Is there a mistake with the canopy?"

Minato remained silent.

As he watched the civilians waving farm tools and shouting their innocence, the image of Kushina being pointed at and gossiped about because of her red hair when she first came to Konoha flashed through his mind.

Ordinary people have no chakra and no ninjutsu.

But their rumors can sometimes be more deadly than a sword in hand.

Konoha 60th year.

On the training ground.

Naruto pointed at the sky, shouting loudly, waving his hands wildly in the air, and asked in confusion.

"What's this sky saying? And what the heck is 'overbearing'?"

Sasuke stood to the side, his hands in his pockets, his gaze coldly sweeping over the red words on the sky.

"You're a bottom-of-the-barrel student, what do you know?"

Sasuke uttered a few words, his chin slightly raised.

"Haven't you experienced enough malice from ordinary people?"

Naruto got stuck.

He recalled how people avoided him as he walked down the street, and the whispered curses he heard.

"monster."

"Fox spirit."

"Stay away from him."

Naruto lowered his head, kicking at the pebbles on the ground with his toes, and stopped talking.

Kakashi leaned against the tree trunk, his head throbbing slightly.

The deep-seated scars of memory were reopened.

His father, Hatake Sakumo, was known as the White Fang of Konoha, a top-tier ninja whom even the legendary Sannin had to give way to.

He did not die on the battlefield, nor did he die by the enemy's sword.

But he died because of the gossip in the village.

Those companions he saved, those villagers he protected, used their words to drive a hero to his death.