There were looks of contempt directed at him. People whispered insults and other things the boy preferred not to hear.
With his eyes fixed on the ground, he walked alone through the crowd and closed his eyes, hoping he wouldn't have to see those disgusted looks directed at him. His steps were filled with discouragement, and somehow, they conveyed a sad aura of loneliness.
Suddenly, he stopped in one place, staring at something in particular. That something was a mask shop.
'Great...'
A smile formed on his face when he saw one of the masks hanging on the wall. It was a white fox mask with small pink details.
He wanted that mask, but he checked his pockets and realized he didn't have enough money. So all he could do was look at it with a sad smile. However, standing in front of the shop for so long caused the owner to come outside holding a broom in his hands.
"Get out of here, brat! You're scaring away my customers!"
The boy was startled and fell backward. Even so, before leaving, he looked at the mask one last time with sadness.
"You want this?! Then take it and get lost!"
The shopkeeper grabbed the mask and threw it at the boy's face.
In response to the hostility, the boy covered his face to avoid getting hurt and then noticed that several people had gathered nearby to watch the commotion.
"It's Naruto..."
"That brat..."
"They should lock him up. That way, he won't cause trouble for anyone."
The voices echoed through Naruto's mind, making him feel alone in the middle of the crowd. He tried to hold back the tears that were about to well up in the corners of his eyes, so he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, enduring until everyone had left.
However...
"How much for the mask? I'll pay double. Just tell me."
A boy with black hair and silver eyes picked up the mask from the ground and showed it to the shopkeeper, who didn't know how to react.
"I'll pay for it. Tell me the price."
Naruto, still lying on the ground, looked at the silver-eyed boy in confusion. That scarf looked expensive, just like all of his clothes. There was also an emblem on the back of his beige sweater that looked very similar to the Uchiha clan crest, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it.
"One hundred ryo..."
The shopkeeper answered.
"I see. Then that'll be two hundred ryo, right?"
The shopkeeper, a little confused, nodded. At the same time, the boy pulled some coins and bills from his pocket and threw them at the shopkeeper's face.
"What do you think you're doing, brat?!"
"The same thing you did to him..."
He turned around and extended his hand toward Naruto, completely ignoring the fact that he had just shut the shopkeeper up.
"Here you go."
And he handed the mask to the boy.
"What...? But you paid for this... It's yours..."
"It's yours now..."
When the silver-eyed boy said that, Naruto's eyes lit up, and a smile formed on his face. Never in his life had he received a gift from anyone. In fact, he had never imagined that someone would give him a gift. So this made him extremely happy. On the other hand, the silver-eyed boy, Toru, looked at the happiness on Naruto's face and felt curious. He had done this on a whim. He hadn't done it to help the boy in front of him or to humiliate the mask shopkeeper. Basically, he had simply done the first thing that came to mind.
"Well, I'm leaving. I have things to do."
As stealthily and quickly as he had appeared, Toru disappeared, leaving Naruto deep in thought. He knew he had seen the emblem on that boy's back, but he still couldn't remember where. He simply shook his head and thought about how strange that boy was. Even the expression on Toru's face was, to some extent, depressing.
"Ha~. What a weird guy-ttebayo..."
—Somewhere in the Forest Surrounding Konoha—
'Hm... I'll have to buy more wires, but I spent the last of my money on that mask...'
In the middle of the forest surrounding the village, inside a small, poorly constructed cabin, Asahi Toru silently lamented having exhausted one of the few resources he had at his disposal. The cabin was slightly charred and, in short, in terrible condition. This was due to the various failed experiments that had been carried out there.
There were bandages wrapped around his arms, not only because of the injuries he received whenever one of his experiments failed, but also because of something else he didn't want to remember. Even so, he relaxed and lay down on the floor, surrounded by scrolls and various pieces of metal, wires, and other things.
"Is anyone here? Hello?"
A voice came from outside. Toru remained silent in response, as he recognized the voice. However, he hadn't expected the boy to enter the cabin.
So he stood up and looked toward the door.
"What are you doing here?"
The visitor, Naruto, was startled by the sudden interaction with the boy who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. So, somewhat nervously, he extended his hand, showing the mask Toru had given him. "I just wanted to return this to you..."
"Hm..."
He stopped whatever he was doing and stood up.
"Your name is Naruto, right? I told you the mask is yours. You don't have to pay me back for it. If you don't want it, just throw it away."
"But you spent a lot of money on the mask. I don't want to owe you anything either..."
"I told you before. You don't owe me anything. Now go. Your parents must be looking for you."
Although Toru already knew that this boy, the demon child everyone called him, had no parents, he had to say something to make Naruto leave him alone. At least, that was what he hoped. But nothing turned out the way he expected.
"I don't have parents, so no one is going to worry about me."
Seeing this, Toru simply felt tired. He didn't understand why he felt empathy toward Naruto. Surely it was another one of his whims, but he had no way of knowing. No one would notice something like that, so an idea came to his mind.
"If you want to pay me back for the mask, then you'll have to work for me. You'll help with my research. Two hundred ryo for a week, but the final decision is yours."
Two hundred ryo for a week was basically slave labor. Even so, Naruto looked excited when he heard the offer. No one had ever needed him for anything, and now that someone was making him an offer like this, he couldn't help but feel happy.
"Really? I can help you?"
"It'll be for one week. If I see that you're useless, I'll kick you out of my laboratory."
"I see..."
Naruto smiled excitedly and gave him a thumbs-up.
"Then let's make the most of this week! But... laboratory? This is just an old, run-down house."
"It's my laboratory. This is where I conduct my research on mechanisms that shape chakra. It can be charged like a battery and used for..."
Toru began talking at length. All Naruto could hear was "blah, blah, blah, blah," and he started feeling overwhelmed.
"I didn't understand half of what you said. Sorry."
"Whether you understand it or not isn't important. You'll be my assistant."
"Hehe. Okay. Let's get to work-ttebayo."
—One Week Later—
It was the final day. Naruto and Toru were putting out the flames in the cabin because the battery Toru had built had exploded, and it was all Naruto's fault, just like every other day. This boy always ruined everything, but Toru couldn't bring himself to kick him out. Surely, it was because he had taken pity on him.
"Everyone always looks at me like that... I don't understand... What did I do wrong? I've never gotten into trouble. I've never messed with anyone. I just don't understand."
Toru knew why everyone looked at Naruto that way, but he was forbidden from talking about it. So he offered him a solution.
"If you want everyone to respect you, become Hokage."
"Become Hokage? Hey... That could actually work pretty well!"
"I wasn't being serious, but if you want to aim for that, you'll have to study a lot and train a lot. Keep in mind that every child dreams of becoming Hokage, so you'll have plenty of competition."
"If you put it that way, it sounds pretty fun. And speaking of dreams... What do you dream about? What's your goal, Toru? Thanks to you, I'll become Hokage. So, what do you want to do in the future?"
He took his time answering, but nothing came to mind.
"I don't know, but I suppose I'll be there when you become Hokage. If that ever happens."
"Really? That's awesome. Then, in the future, I'll be there when you become someone amazing."
"If you say so..."
He silently stared at the sky. A small snowflake fell in front of him and melted against the ground.
'Dreams don't always come true. Can Naruto really become Hokage? It sounds ridiculous when I think about it...'