Konoha Village, the Sarutobi clan residence.
A typical Japanese-style courtyard, with the main house and side house standing separately, accompanied by a meticulously maintained garden. The owner of the house was almost never home at this time of day in the past, as his workload was comparable to a "black-hearted company," and he would only return with a tired body when it was time to sleep.
However, at this moment, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, having taken off his robe of the god of war and changed into comfortable casual clothes, was staying in his bedroom.
He sat on the tatami with his back to the sliding door, staring intently at a crystal ball emitting a faint halo in front of him.
His face had a slightly unnatural flush, his eyes were focused, and the scene reflected in the crystal ball had flowing light and shadows, which did not seem to be any proper Ninjutsu reconnaissance footage...
"Grandpa! Are you there?! How much have you been hiding from me?!"
His grandson's voice, filled with obvious dissatisfaction, suddenly came from the corridor outside the door, piercing his eardrums.
Hiruzen Sarutobi jumped in fright, hurriedly canceled the Ninjutsu on the crystal ball, shoved it under his quilt, and quickly adjusted his sitting posture.
"Konohamaru, haven't I already told you?" He cleared his throat and said in as steady a tone as possible toward the sliding door, "Many things, when you grow up a little more, you will naturally underst..."
The sliding door was pushed open somewhat roughly with a "clatter," and Konohamaru Sarutobi's angry little face appeared first. Behind Konohamaru Sarutobi, Uzumaki Naruto followed with a helpless expression.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze moved past his grandson and landed on Uzumaki Naruto, the seriousness on his face instantly turning into a casual smile.
"Oh, Uzumaki Naruto has come too." He greeted, "How is it? Are you adapting to the new identity and new treatment arranged by Jiraiya?"
The distress on Uzumaki Naruto's face was obvious, "...To be honest, I'm a little scared. Like this now... Is there any way to make them not so 'enthusiastic,' and just... um, not harass my normal life so much?"
Uzumaki Naruto had basically pieced together the whole picture of how things had fermented.
First, the Fifth Hokage Jiraiya had publicized his dual identity, the son of the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze and the Personal Disciple of the Fifth Hokage. This in itself was enough to ignite the topic.
Secondly, in the announcement and subsequent publicity, Jiraiya had strongly promoted Uzumaki Naruto's heroic performance in the "Konoha Crush Plan" not long ago.
Fighting the rampaging One-Tails Shukaku single-handedly, saving countless villagers and Ninja, and protecting the Village. This perfectly bound his identity as the "son of the hero" with his achievements as a "contemporary hero."
Then, the most critical link was the "memories" that spontaneously circulated among the villagers and were constantly supplemented with details. More and more people began to talk openly or privately, recalling what kind of life Uzumaki Naruto had actually led in the Village in the past.
A strong contrast was thus generated and fermented rapidly. The orphan of a sacrificed hero had not only failed to receive the comfort and honor he deserved but had instead endured years of cold treatment and pain amidst ignorance and prejudice.
However, after knowing his own life experience, this child not only did not hate the Village but chose to inherit his father's will, stepping forward at a critical moment to save countless people who had once hurt or ignored him, and even saved the entire Konoha.
Feelings of guilt, over "the hero suffering injustice," driven by these complex emotions, some villagers who had participated in the cold violence began to subconsciously look for "reasons," trying to excuse their past, or find a "person responsible" for this huge injustice.
The conclusion soon pointed to a ready-made and sufficiently weighty target: why didn't the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi announce Uzumaki Naruto's identity as the "son of the Hokage" earlier?
If everyone had known from the beginning that Uzumaki Naruto was the son of the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, and the descendant of a hero, who would, or who would dare to treat him like that? Uzumaki Naruto should have enjoyed the treatment and honor of a hero's orphan, instead of growing up in loneliness.
Following this line of thought, the "reasons" were constantly excavated and "rationalized." The Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze sacrificed to protect Konoha and became a hero, but the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi hid the identity of the hero's son?
Even the parents' former residence that should have been inherited by Uzumaki Naruto was not returned for a time? Even after the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze sacrificed, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi sat back in the position of Hokage, while the son of the hero remained unknown? Even rumors of a demon fox spread?
Just like this, amidst various intentional or unintentional discussions, brain supplementation, and emotional venting, a series of rumors extremely unfavorable to the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi began to spread, and these rumors even became conspiratorial, pointing directly at the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.
It was as if all the contributions he had made to the Village in the past, those real protections, were easily ignored or erased in the face of this collective emotion against "the son of the hero suffering injustice."
"Seriously!" Konohamaru Sarutobi's little face flushed red, "Uzumaki Naruto just told me! He said you never envied the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, and you didn't intentionally let him live that hard life! Since that's the case, why don't you refute those who talk nonsense?! Are you just going to let them misunderstand you like this?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at his excited grandson with an apologetic bitter smile on his face.
"Konohamaru, things... sometimes can't be explained clearly just by whether it was intentional or not. No matter what the reason is, the life Uzumaki Naruto experienced in the past is a reality that actually happened. I cannot deny this point."
"As for those rumors... involving you and making you hear those bad words, it's all my fault, I'm sorry."
In fact, when Jiraiya decided to publicize Uzumaki Naruto's identity and vigorously promote his achievements, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already foreseen that his reputation might take a nosedive.
He understood human nature, especially collective psychology. When people are overwhelmed by strong feelings of guilt and sympathy for "a hero covered in dust," they often urgently need an "explanation," a "reason" to share the responsibility and make themselves feel better inside.
In order to let the Fifth Hokage Jiraiya fully let go, and also not to cause extra trouble, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi had already made a decision in his heart; he was prepared to bear the accusations brought by this part of the rumors.
"Then! Then what is your reason for doing this, Grandpa?!" Konohamaru Sarutobi was obviously not convinced by this vague apology and pursued relentlessly, "Why hide Uzumaki Naruto's identity? There must be a real reason! Tell me!"
"...Konohamaru, some things... you don't need to know yet."
Uzumaki Naruto, who was watching this scene from the side, couldn't help but feel a headache. He actually didn't fully agree with the Third Hokage's approach of keeping things bottled up and bearing them alone.
"Third Hokage... Grandpa." Uzumaki Naruto interjected, "Why don't you just explain a little bit? Konohamaru Sarutobi isn't an ignorant child anymore. He has the right to know some of the truth, at least to know that you are not the kind of person they say you are. It's better than letting him guess wildly or believe the rumors outside."
He looked at the Third Hokage's still silent profile and waved his hand helplessly, "...Forget it, I also know that persuasion is troublesome. If it really doesn't work, I'll explain it to Konohamaru Sarutobi myself."
He changed the subject and returned to his most urgent problem. "But right now, is there any way to stop the villagers from 'enthusiastically' harassing me? I mentioned it to Jiraiya, and he just smiled and said, 'Isn't this great!', but it's really annoying! I don't even dare to go out properly anymore!"
"Huh?" The Third Hokage turned his head to look at Uzumaki Naruto with slight surprise, "You... don't you like this?"
He was indeed a little surprised. According to the mirror he had observed, Uzumaki Naruto's team of admirers was spectacular, including many young and cute girls.
If this treatment were replaced by Jiraiya, he would have been overjoyed long ago, his tail would have been in the sky, and he would have wanted to patrol the streets every day.
"This is not a question of whether I like it or not!" Uzumaki Naruto's voice inevitably raised a little, revealing rare irritation, "If this continues, I won't even be able to live normally or Cultivate normally in Konoha! Every time I go out, I get surrounded, and my house is full of things sent by people I don't even know that I don't need at all. What is this!"
"...Uzumaki Naruto," looking at the genuine distress on Uzumaki Naruto's face, the Third Hokage finally spoke slowly, "It's not that I don't want to help you. It's just that... I am no longer the Hokage. For the villagers and most Ninja today, my words no longer have much'say.' Everyone prefers to believe the 'facts' they see with their own eyes and the announcements issued by the current Hokage."
He paused and gave a suggestion that was not a solution, "This wave of public opinion is mainly because the news broke out in the last two days, and the momentum is strong. Perhaps... after a while, everyone's enthusiasm will naturally cool down, and the situation will improve? Forcing to suppress or explain now may have the opposite effect."
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