Chapter 18
Over the years, no matter the reason, Sakura had helped Naruto a lot.
He had long ago come to see her as a true brother—one with no hidden motives or complications.
Even back when he didn't know Sasuke was actually Sakyo, he'd actively tried to set Sakura up with Sasuke.
Wait… why "brother"?!
Never mind that. The important thing now was that Sakura was being targeted like this—even her mother was being dragged into the mess. There was no way Naruto would pretend he hadn't seen it.
"Uzumaki Naruto!!!"
An ANBU roared, trying to intimidate him.
But who was Naruto?
A transmigrator. He knew exactly how far he could push.
Just look at jinchūriki in other villages. Sure, Naruto got bullied and ostracized every day.
But if he really lost it and killed a few—or even dozens—the village couldn't touch him. At most, they'd lock him up.
After all, he was the village's walking nuclear weapon. You really want to kill me? That'd just create a tailed-beast-free window for your enemies to smash you!
That was the real reason Naruto could act so recklessly.
He completely ignored the ANBU, still glaring at the middle-aged men with such intensity they practically collapsed under the pressure.
At first, none of them dared speak—because ANBU and academy teachers were right there.
Unfortunately…
Every single one of those ANBU and teachers had one thing in common.
All bark, no bite!
Which meant…
What Naruto was saying might actually be true!
Sakura had never been in a situation like this. Her initial rage had already faded. She tugged on Naruto's sleeve and whispered, "Naruto, just let it go. We didn't really lose anything."
Minimize the drama—that was her mindset now.
At the same time, she felt deeply grateful to Naruto…
She never imagined he'd go this far for her, even confronting ANBU and teachers. Maybe… everything he usually said was actually sincere?
"Sakura, leave this to me."
Unlike his usual joking tone, right now Naruto spoke to her with complete seriousness—calm, steady, and impossible to refuse.
Finally, one of the middle-aged men cracked. Shaking, he stammered, "It was Murata who told us to do it!"
Naruto frowned. That sounded like nonsense. "Who the hell is Murata?"
The man: "Uh… the gift shop owner… when he hired us, he was really angry, said he'd make sure you two wouldn't have it easy…"
"Oh~ Got it. You can scram now."
Right in front of the ANBU, Naruto calmly dismissed them. Once they were far enough away, he turned to the ANBU and said, "It was Murata—the gift shop owner."
Iruka frowned. From the moment he arrived, he'd sensed something off about Naruto. The boy rarely got this angry.
Now, hearing him basically hint at something to the ANBU, Iruka asked directly, "Naruto, what are you saying? You can't just… because of this, go and…"
He couldn't even finish the sentence.
Thinking about jinchūriki in other villages—what they were capable of—Iruka suddenly worried Naruto might follow the same path.
Facing Iruka, Naruto gave a helpless smile. "Iruka-sensei, what are you talking about? I just care about that shop's business, that's all. I'm not planning to kill anyone. Besides, even if I went, I wouldn't find the owner anyway, right?"
As he spoke, he winked at the ANBU—dropping heavy hints.
The meaning was crystal clear: If you don't drive him out, he's dead.
The ANBU obviously weren't high-ranking decision-makers. Their only real power regarding jinchūriki was reporting up the chain. That's why they hadn't dared intervene earlier.
If he went berserk, who'd take the blame?
Naruto? The shop owner? The ANBU? Or the middle-aged troublemakers?
"Come on, Sakura."
Without wasting more words, Naruto led Sakura and Sakyo away.
He bulldozed through the crowd, and even the ANBU instinctively stepped aside…
Once the three of them were far enough, the ANBU started murmuring among themselves. Finally, one of them flashed toward the Hokage Tower…
…
Hokage Tower.
Sarutobi Hiruzen continued smoking his pipe as he listened to the ANBU's report. Then he spoke: "Is that so?"
When it came to Uzumaki Naruto, Hiruzen had to take things seriously.
The ANBU nodded. "Yes!"
He recounted everything exactly as it happened—no exaggeration, no omission.
Hiruzen stood and walked to the window, gazing at the distant Hokage Rock with a headache.
After a moment, he instructed the ANBU: "Give that gift shop some compensation. Tell them to leave Konoha."
The ANBU looked up in surprise. "What??"
"Uh… yes!"
Realizing he'd spoken out of turn, the ANBU quickly bowed his head.
To reassure him, Hiruzen added, "Don't worry. I'll handle Naruto personally."
"Yes!" The ANBU vanished in a Body Flicker.
Right now, Hiruzen didn't want to see things escalate further.
If Naruto really turned into the kind of jinchūriki other villages had, Hiruzen would have no choice but to take harsh measures.
That would make him even more ashamed in front of Minato.
So, before it came to that, Hiruzen wanted to understand what was truly in Naruto's heart…
…
At a fork in the road, Naruto spoke to Sakura, who was about to leave. "Sakura, if anything like this happens again, you have to tell me."
Sakura gripped her mother's hand tightly, head lowered, and whispered, "Okay…"
If her mom weren't there, Sakura would definitely have started bickering with Naruto—and he would've fired back even harder.
But those usual exchanges were stifled by her mother's presence.
After Naruto walked away, Sakura's mom suddenly said, "Sakura, you've got good taste."
No matter what, Naruto had shown how much he cared about her daughter, so Sakura's mother spoke quite seriously.
Sakura felt speechless yet helpless. She knew her mom had taken the middle-aged men's words seriously.
Saying she was friends with the monster—even the monster's girlfriend…
Damn it… now her mom misunderstood. How was she supposed to explain?
Sakura kept her head down, lost in thought, as the two of them slowly walked away.
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