Sakura's words left Naruto momentarily stunned.
Now that he thought about it—he was right. He did have a lot of friends. Maybe things weren't as miserable as he'd believed. Perhaps he had just been overthinking it.
Sure, the villagers shunned him, but as long as his friends didn't, wasn't that enough?
Seeing that Naruto's emotions had calmed, Yoruha said,
"Have you ever thought that maybe the villagers don't hate you because you're the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki—but rather because you're always pulling pranks and causing chaos in the village? Maybe they're just annoyed by you."
Naruto froze.
Yoruha's theory wasn't unreasonable.
Yes, the villagers might fear him for being the Nine-Tails' vessel, and that explained their distance. But their dislike of him—that part was on Naruto himself.
He had always thought pranks would draw people's attention. Yet all they did was reinforce their negative image of him—make them more certain that he was dangerous, that the Nine-Tails' host must be wicked by nature.
The Chūnin Exams had already proven the opposite: when Naruto showed real skill and stopped fooling around, the villagers were willing to accept and even acknowledge him.
Other villages might genuinely loathe their jinchūriki—some even tried to assassinate them—but Konoha wasn't like that.
Historically, Konoha's jinchūriki rarely faced attacks from their own people.
After all, the first jinchūriki was the wife of the First Hokage, who seldom even left her home. The second, Uzumaki Kushina, had it rougher—before marrying Minato, she was constantly under ANBU surveillance, her surroundings sealed with defensive barriers. Yet even then, she was never attacked by fellow Konoha shinobi.
Compared to her, Naruto had lived a far freer life. He had no barriers, no confinement. From childhood, he roamed the village as he pleased. Even when he defaced the Hokage Rock, his punishment was merely to clean it off.
That leniency was proof of the Third Hokage's protection.
The Hokage Rock symbolized Konoha's history—its very soul. Defacing it was like dancing on the graves of the village's greatest heroes. Yet Naruto's "crime" was brushed off lightly.
Anyone else would've been imprisoned for life—or worse.
To Yoruha, it was clear: the villagers' rejection came mainly from Naruto's own methods of seeking attention. His actions only deepened their prejudices instead of dispelling them.
Naruto didn't know how to respond.
"Think about it," Yoruha continued. "The villagers are afraid you might lose control because of the Nine-Tails. It's normal for them to keep their distance. But if you stopped being so reckless—if you didn't keep pulling pranks—don't you think they might realize you're not so bad?"
"Look at Shikamaru, Iruka-sensei, Sakura, and Sasuke—they all know you're the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. So why can they accept you?"
"Because they've spent time with you. They know you're not a threat."
"But the villagers haven't. To them, the few moments they see you are the only moments they know of you—and those are the ones where you're acting out. So of course they cling to that image."
"It's perfectly normal for them to be wary. Frankly, I think the fact that they haven't tried to harm you shows how kind-hearted they actually are."
Naruto fell silent at that.
Yoruha went on, "So if you can learn to control the Nine-Tails' power—turn it into a force that protects Konoha—who would dare reject you then?"
Naruto blinked. "Control the Nine-Tails inside me? But that's the Nine-Tailed Fox! How could a human possibly control something so evil? I don't even want anything to do with it!"
Yoruha sighed inwardly. That's the Nine-Tails we're talking about—the strongest of the nine tailed beasts—and he's looking down on it?
"Do you even realize how powerful that creature inside you is?"
Naruto nodded. "I know."
His expression darkened as he spoke. "When I was little, there was one time its power exploded out of me. I can still remember it—the sheer, overwhelming evil of that strength."
Yoruha hadn't expected Naruto to actually recall that moment.
"The tailed beasts are each village's strategic weapons," Yoruha explained. "And their jinchūriki are just as important. But there's always the danger of losing control—of the beast seizing your consciousness. That's why people fear them. In truth, jinchūriki in other villages have it far worse than you."
"You can move freely, live openly. Most jinchūriki can't. Some are even assassinated by their own people, simply because the risk of them going berserk is too great."
"When a jinchūriki loses control, many lives are lost—and people remember that destruction as their doing, not the beast's. Naturally, they become hated."
"You do know the Fourth Hokage sacrificed himself to seal the Nine-Tails and save Konoha, right?"
Naruto nodded, face full of respect. "The Fourth Hokage has always been my greatest hero. I want to be like him someday—to become a hero too."
Yoruha smiled. "If the Fourth sealed the Nine-Tails inside you, don't you think he must have had some hope or expectation for you?"
"Maybe he wanted you to master that power—because once you do, you'll become unimaginably strong. You could protect the village, just like he did. You could be its hero."
Naruto stared at Yoruha in wonder. "Really? You think that's what the Fourth Hokage wanted?"
It was the first time anyone had ever suggested such a connection between him and the Fourth—and Naruto's heart leapt with joy. After all, he had idolized that man for as long as he could remember.
Yoruha nodded. "Why else do you think his sealing technique converts the Nine-Tails' leaking chakra into your own? Haven't you ever wondered why your chakra reserves are so enormous—far greater than anyone your age?"
Naruto blinked in surprise.
Beside him, Sasuke—who had been listening silently—stiffened when he heard his name mentioned. He turned toward Naruto, eyes narrowing with curiosity. He'd never realized Naruto's chakra might exceed his own.
Naruto himself was astonished. "Really? My chakra is greater than Sasuke's?"
When Yoruha nodded, Naruto's face broke into a wide grin.
He had always seen Sasuke as his rival—so hearing that he surpassed him, even in one area, filled him with pure delight.