Amano Ren turned his head, his gaze locking onto the child who had thrown the stone. For a brief moment, his eyes transformed into feral beast-like pupils, radiating a deadly aura—but it vanished almost immediately.
"Ahhh! A monster! His eyes are different!"
The child, the only one who had seen it, was terrified and collapsed to the ground, twisting backward in fear. His companions hurried to help him up, anger flashing in their eyes as they glared at Amano Ren.
"You monster! Get out of Konoha!""Monster! Die!""I don't understand why the Third Hokage would let you stay here!""Just go die somewhere!""Exactly! Kill him! Mom said you killed Dad!""Get lost! You don't belong here!"
The children continued hurling insults and profanities at Amano Ren.
"I really want to kill them…"
A flicker of murderous intent passed through Amano Ren's eyes. He hadn't wanted to reveal it before, but training was about acting according to one's will. If he couldn't do what he wanted, how could his cultivation proceed smoothly?
As for the future? Hah. Even if he didn't kill these kids now, when the time came for them to accompany him in destroying Konoha, they would die anyway.
Thinking this, a dark energy—visible only to him—flared in his hands. Six ominous talismans formed instantly and shot into the bodies of the children.
"The Seven Days Death Curse," Amano Ren muttered coldly to himself. "This talisman was originally meant for that woman, but you made a mistake. Actions have consequences. I am no saint, and this world doesn't need saints."
He ignored their shouts after that. After all, he had no interest in arguing with a bunch of children who were about to die.
Oblivious to their impending fate, the six children celebrated, thinking they had triumphed.
As he walked along the street, Amano Ren calmly endured the hostile glares of ordinary citizens. He had no intention of using the curse again. Talismans like the Seven Days Death Curse were bound by causality. The Tongtian Talisman didn't have the ability to ignore it.
A few children he could handle, but with larger numbers, his progress in innate energy cultivation had limits. He wouldn't sacrifice his long-term growth for trivial enemies.
Of course, that didn't mean he wouldn't kill them eventually. When the shinobi arts of this world developed to the stage depicted in the original story, he would execute them without hesitation—after all, the Naruto-world training system didn't care about morality or karma.
"Honestly… I might not be as patient as I thought. Maybe the anger I'd suppressed all this time just exploded. I'll need to watch that in the future."
"Hmm… Ichiraku Ramen."
Suddenly, Amano Ren's steps slowed. He looked at the Ichiraku Ramen shop on the right. Hesitating briefly, he stepped inside.
"Welcome! What would you like to eat?"
The elderly chef asked instinctively but froze for a moment when he saw Amano Ren. He quickly recovered and smiled kindly.
"A medium-sized seafood ramen, please," Amano Ren said calmly, taking a seat.
"Right away, please wait a moment," the chef replied cheerfully, heading inside to prepare the ramen.
It didn't take long. The chef returned with an enormous bowl of seafood ramen and placed it before Amano Ren.
"Sorry for the wait.""No problem, just a short while," Amano Ren replied, shaking his head before taking a bite.
"How's the taste?" the chef asked with a smile."Excellent," Amano Ren paused, then added."Is that so? I'm glad," the chef said, his smile broadening before he went to greet new customers.
Finally finishing, the chef wiped the sweat from his brow and noticed Amano Ren's bowl had been paid for with 100 ryō. He chuckled bitterly, thinking, That kid's certainly mature for his age.
"The taste was good, the portion generous, and I really liked the owner's gaze," Amano Ren mused afterward. Perhaps what the original Naruto noticed first was the chef's eyes—the way he was treated like a person, not a monster.
"Hey! Are you blind? You bumped into me! Didn't you see? Apologize!"
A familiar voice reached Amano Ren's ears. It sounded like the boy who had thrown the stone earlier.
Curious, Amano Ren approached.
A group of boys had surrounded a small girl. She had striking white eyes, yet her small frame and gentle demeanor made her seem fragile and easy to bully. Perhaps that was why the children dared pick on the daughter of Konoha's top clan.
The Hyuga clan? Really? Amano Ren scoffed. Branch family, main family—ridiculous.
"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean it," the girl stammered, curling her hands nervously. It was clearly her first encounter with such a situation.
"Your words are weak! Don't think we fear you just because you're Hyuga!""Yeah, so what if you're Hyuga?""You should apologize if you make a mistake."
The boys persisted, confident despite her status.
"So you dared provoke her even knowing she's from the Hyuga clan?" Amano Ren said, hands in his pockets, expression calm.
"You monster again! Didn't you learn your lesson from earlier?" the boys jeered, growing more brazen.
"Lesson? You mean the one where you fell down scared out of your wits? That was amusing," Amano Ren said disdainfully.
"You…""You what? Do you even know who she is? That's the daughter of the Hyuga clan! You're just a bunch of commoners daring to pick on her—want to die?"
"Sure, the Uchiha control the Konoha Security Division, but even the Hyuga could summon enough authority to have you expelled—or worse. You're just kids; I could make you regret this in an instant."
The boys' faces turned pale. At six years old, they were no match for Amano Ren's words.
Indeed, this was the Hyuga clan princess. Killing them would be as simple as snapping his fingers. Their arrogance in bullying her was utterly foolish.
Still, their petty pride wouldn't let them leave quietly, so they spat out a few final words before fleeing.
"Hmph. If she hadn't apologized, we wouldn't have left so easily.""Yeah, what's the Hyuga clan? The Hokage wouldn't take their side anyway."
Then, one by one, they ran off, looking thoroughly defeated.
"Hah. As if Hiruzen would care if you offended the Hyuga. What are you even thinking?" Amano Ren scoffed, turning to the girl.
"Are you okay?""I-I'm fine!" she replied, bowing her head, cheeks flushed, words slightly stammering.