"Retribution? What do you mean by that..."
While Fugaku and Naruto were whispering to each other, Mikoto and the others began to slowly gather around, curious about their hushed conversation. But because their expressions still carried traces of anger from being riled up by the villagers earlier, the scene unintentionally gave the illusion that a whole group was cornering Naruto for questioning.
That illusion only added fuel to the fire for those arrogant and ignorant villagers, who already thought themselves above others. The previously dying whispers picked back up over the training ground, now with renewed intensity—spiraling into an uncontrollable storm of gossip.
"Hey, look over there. Isn't that Lord Uchiha Fugaku, head of the Uchiha Clan, standing next to that monster?"
"Ugh, that's not all. Look closely—Hyuga Hiashi, the head of the Hyuga Clan, is there too!"
"Huh… now that you mention it, what are those two important figures doing at this year's academy registration?"
"Hah! Shows what you know. See those kids next to them? I'm guessing they're their direct descendants. Otherwise, why would such big shots show up personally?"
"That makes sense. And those two kids do look like they're about the right age to start school…"
"Huh? But why are those two lords standing around that monster? Don't tell me they brought it here themselves for registration?"
"No way. Seriously? Are you saying they're signing their own kids up for school alongside that beast…?"
"Th-they must be out of their minds, right? Unless—wait—what if they're impostors like the pervert who snuck into the village last night pretending to be one of the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya-Sama?"
"I doubt it. That guy only got away with impersonating Jiraiya because the real one's always off on missions. But Fugaku and Hiashi are always in the village—especially Fugaku! He's the captain of the village's police force! Faking their identities? You'd have to be brain-dead or have a death wish."
"True, true. But still—why would they do this? Aren't they worried that beast might kill their children?"
"Heh, you guys really don't get it, huh? Clearly, this is an order from the Third Hokage. He's probably instructed them to monitor the thing. See how angry they looked just now after that screech? You can tell they don't actually want their kids getting too close either. But hey, when the higher-ups give orders, even the clan heads gotta follow, right?"
"Ahhh, that makes sense now… No wonder they look so bitter. Sacrificing their own kids just to keep an eye on that monster—now that's what I call noble."
"Right, right! That's gotta be it… Poor guys, really. Such fine children, sent straight into the jaws of a beast."
As more and more villagers began chiming in with wild theories and unfounded assumptions, Fugaku and Hiashi were suddenly rebranded—within the warped logic of these self-righteous onlookers—as noble figures sacrificing their own children for the good of the village. The two men couldn't help but feel a mix of exasperation and amusement. A wave of helplessness washed over them.
'These idiots… They're spinning such wild tales, even I'm starting to believe them. Who knew they were so good at coming up with this crap?'
With arms crossed, Fugaku's mouth twitched uncontrollably. As if unable to bear the sight, he only gave the villagers a fleeting glance before looking away, lifting a hand to his forehead and sighing deeply. He glanced sideways at Hiashi, whose expression was just as weird, and quipped with bitter humor:
"Honestly, with storytelling talent like this, we could pluck any one of them at random, train them a little, and send them off to trick enemy factions. I wasted all that effort hand-picking and grooming people from the clan!"
"Exactly," Hiashi said dryly. "Looks like we've underestimated the 'hidden potential' of our dear villagers."
As he spoke, Hiashi glanced to the side—and spotted his beloved daughter, who had somehow gathered her courage and walked out from behind him. She was now standing obediently by Naruto's side, chatting and giggling.
Watching that innocent, angelic smile light up her young face, Hiashi suddenly grinned. His lips curved upward, and he furrowed his brows into an exaggerated look of grief and sacrifice, all while casting a knowing wink at Fugaku.
"But hey… those folks aren't entirely wrong. Fugaku, old friend, you can't let anything happen to that precious son of yours. How about we leave the tough job of 'monitoring' Naruto to my hopeless daughter? No need for you to trouble yourself."
Fugaku blinked at the sudden remark, momentarily confused. The villagers might not know Naruto's true identity, but surely Hiashi, who'd participated in the operation against Danzo last year, did? He even bragged just the other day about how well his daughter would get along with Naruto, clearly treating him like a future son-in-law already.
More importantly, as someone being gossiped about, Hiashi should've known full well that no such absurd order to 'monitor Naruto' even existed.
'What? Sasuke's not—wait, no no no, of course not. How could I let you do that?'
Fugaku's face twitched. After catching the meaning behind Hiashi's look, he quickly waved his hands and backpedaled, his eyes crinkling as he nodded ever so slightly with a smirk.
"Look, I've got two sons. But you Hyugas? Just the one precious daughter. If something were to happen to her, it'd be a real loss. Better to let Sasuke handle this. I believe he can keep Naruto in line."
"Sigh… No need to trouble yourself, Fugaku. Let my Hinata take care of it."
"No, no, I insist—it should be Sasuke."
"Don't be a stranger, Fugaku. Hinata's—"
"No, no. Sasuke's better suited—"
Back and forth they went, right in front of the crowd of villagers, each man trying to shoulder the 'dangerous mission' of letting their own child monitor Naruto.
Their outstanding performances drew admiration from the onlookers, while those convinced they had cracked the mystery grew even more smug—boasting to their neighbors about their sharp insight.
And this? This was exactly the outcome Hiashi and Fugaku had hoped for when they started this act. They still didn't fully understand the little "suggestion" Naruto had mentioned earlier, but one thing was clear: if Naruto's words were true, then the more smug these villagers became, the sweeter the eventual backlash would be.
And since they both unconditionally trusted Naruto, neither man doubted him in the slightest.
In the end, they'd boost their families' reputations by publicly playing the role of selfless guardians and get to watch the villagers eat their words when karma finally struck. Two birds with one stone—what's not to love?