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Chapter Four: Hatred Ignited
The silence in the Hokage's office stretched on, heavy and suffocating. Naruto stood frozen, his body trembling, his young mind struggling to process the truth he had just been handed. His wide blue eyes were fixed on Hiruzen, disbelief and pain swirling in them like a storm.
"…It's true."
The words wouldn't stop echoing in his head. The Nine-Tails hadn't lied. His parents… they had known. They had known what kind of life he would live. And they still gave him up.
Naruto's chest burned. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. His small fists shook at his sides as a tidal wave of emotions—betrayal, anger, sadness, confusion—came crashing down all at once.
"You…" Naruto's voice cracked as he tried to speak. He looked at Hiruzen, his vision blurring with tears. "They… they gave me up?! They didn't even… think what it would mean for me?!"
"Naruto—" Hiruzen began, his voice calm but strained, trying to reach the boy.
"DON'T!" Naruto screamed, his voice shrill and broken. His tiny hands swept across the Hokage's desk, throwing stacks of papers into the air. The ink brush holder toppled over, scrolls clattered to the floor, and the old crystal ball rolled and cracked against the wall.
Naruto grabbed whatever he could reach — books, ornaments, even a paperweight — and hurled them violently across the room. Tears streamed down his whiskered cheeks as he wailed with every throw, each object an outlet for the unbearable pain twisting inside him.
"I HATE THEM!" Naruto screamed, his voice hoarse. He grabbed an ink bottle and flung it with all his strength. It shattered against the wall, black ink splattering across the portraits of the Hokage. A thick stain spread across the face of the Fourth Hokage, dripping down like dark tears.
Naruto stared at it, his whole body shaking. His vision tunneled in on that face. Blond hair. Warm smile. Cold, unfamiliar eyes.
"That's him, isn't it?!" Naruto screamed, his voice breaking into sobs. "The Fourth Hokage! He's the one who sealed that monster inside me! He's the one who made me like this!"
His little fists clenched so tight his nails dug into his palms. "I HATE HIM! I HATE THE FOURTH HOKAGE! I HATE MY PARENTS THE MOST! THEY GAVE THEIR CHILD AWAY! THEY GAVE ME AWAY!"
His scream cracked, broken by sobs that wracked his small frame. He collapsed to his knees, fists pounding the floor again and again. "Why?! WHY?! Why did they do this to me?!"
Hiruzen's heart ached as he watched, helpless. The room was destroyed, the boy's spirit torn apart. He tried to step forward, but Naruto's raw grief and fury built a wall between them.
Naruto's voice broke into one final scream, his throat raw and his tears blinding him. "I HATE THEM! I HATE THEM ALL!"
And then he turned and bolted, his small figure darting through the open door before Hiruzen could react. The sound of his sobs echoed down the corridor, fading as he disappeared into the tower's halls.
The office fell into an eerie silence. The floor was littered with torn scrolls, shattered glass, and broken memories. The once proud Hokage's office now looked like a battlefield of emotion.
Hiruzen turned slowly, his weary eyes falling on the portraits of the Hokage. His gaze lingered on Minato's picture, the ink splattered across it like a wound. For a long moment, he simply stared.
Finally, the old man sighed heavily, his shoulders sagging with the weight of his failures. "Minato… Kushina… forgive me. Forgive me, because now… your son hates you more than anyone else in this world."
In the shadows, Kakashi had not moved once during the entire outburst. His visible eye was locked on Minato's portrait, the ink-stained smile of his late sensei haunting him. His hand clenched into a fist so tightly the skin split, blood dripping silently to the floor.
I should have done something… anything… Kakashi thought bitterly, his teeth grinding. But I did nothing. I failed you, sensei. I failed you, Kushina. And now… Naruto hates you. Because of me. Because of all of us.
He lowered his head, his silver hair hiding his face as the blood from his hand dripped steadily. I am a failure. As your student. As your comrade. As a member of Team Minato.
The office remained silent, save for the quiet drip of blood and the lingering echoes of a child's scream of hatred.
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