Chūnin Exam Hall, Konoha
Naruto stared blankly at the screen.
Tears slid uncontrollably down his cheeks.
"I… I really… I really…"
"This is great! I actually have parents! And my dad… my dad was the Fourth Hokage!"
"Uuuuu… my dad was a great hero!"
Beside him, Sarutobi Hiruzen lowered his head in shame when he saw Naruto's reaction.
He really might have gone too far.
What now?
How was he supposed to explain this to everyone?
Orochimaru watched Naruto with great interest.
No wonder this brat showed such potential in the future scenes.
To think he had such a background!
Sarutobi-sensei, you've stirred everyone's anger now.
You probably won't stay Hokage after this.
Sakura was stunned.
"Naruto is the son of the Fourth, Konoha's hero? Why… why did no one know?!"
Growing up with Naruto, she knew all too well how he had been treated in Konoha.
If—
If people had known earlier that Naruto was the Fourth's son…
His treatment definitely wouldn't have been like this.
Even her attitude toward him wouldn't have been the same.
Thinking of this, Sakura turned toward the Third with deep confusion.
The other Rookie Twelve felt the same.
Especially Sasuke.
"Naruto… so you were the Fourth's son."
"But why… why didn't the Third tell you? Or tell the village?"
"It's not even that big of a secret…"
Ever since the Uchiha clan was annihilated, Sasuke had fixated on his background and tragedy.
He matured early and thought Naruto was overly naive.
Now he sympathized deeply with him.
In terms of background and suffering—
Naruto had it even worse than him.
No wonder…
No wonder he always cared more about Naruto than anyone else.
Others—unless they mentioned Itachi—whether it was provocation, admiration, or affection, he didn't care.
But Naruto…
Naruto was the one person he always cared about.
Naruto's challenges — he took them to heart, and he didn't want to lose.
He used to wonder why he cared so much about a dead-last.
Now, after learning Naruto's parentage, he suddenly understood.
"So… Naruto…"
"Will you be angry?"
"Will you hate them?"
"Can you still smile like before?"
"Now… can you understand my pain?"
Kiba Inuzuka: "Nani?! Nani?! Naruto is the Fourth's son? No way!"
Chōji: "Baka! Didn't you hear the Fourth say it himself? Of course it's true!"
Kiba: "Aaah! Then I don't get it — why didn't ANY of us know?!"
"The Fourth is our village's heroic Hokage!"
"He has a son — and the son is the Nine-Tails jinchūriki — why would no one know?!"
Seeing the Third's face turning darker by the second, Shikamaru quickly clamped a hand over Kiba's mouth.
"Kiba! Enough!"
Ino, Tenten, and the others were first shocked, then stared at the Third in confusion.
Kakashi, Might Guy, Kurenai, and many jonin also felt shocked and puzzled.
But they didn't voice it as bluntly as the kids.
Hinata unconsciously stepped toward Naruto.
She wanted to comfort him, but didn't know what to say.
She had always silently watched him — and knew far better than most how much he had gone through.
Because—
Her family had never allowed her to approach Naruto.
No friends.
No understanding.
Constant exclusion and discrimination.
Thinking of this, Hinata became angry.
She glared at the Third, and, gathering all her courage, did something no one expected—
She shouted.
"Third Hokage-sama, you've gone too far!"
"Naruto-kun is the son of a hero! Even if you didn't tell everyone, you should at least have told him!"
"Do you know how much Naruto-kun has suffered?!"
"Do you know how much discrimination and exclusion he faced?!"
"He never needed to go through any of that!"
The Third never expected the first to publicly accuse him to be Hinata — shy, timid Hinata.
Though furious, he forced a bitter smile and began to "explain."
The Third: "I had my reasons!"
Hinata: "Reasons? What kind of 'reasons' justify causing Naruto-kun so much pain?!"
Sarutobi was stunned and furious.
Where did this girl get the courage to scold the strongest Hokage to his face?
Hinata herself didn't know where her courage came from.
If Kushina Uzumaki were alive to see this, she would only say:
"That's true love!"
The Third: "I did it to protect Naruto!"
Hinata: "Protect him? I don't see it at ALL!"
The Third: "Hinata, you're still young. You don't understand many things—"
Hinata: "Then explain them to me!"
The Third sighed.
"The Fourth truly is our greatest hero. Precisely because of that, if other villages or hostile forces learned he had a son, they would never sit still. They would do everything possible to kill Naruto."
"So—! I hid this to protect him!"
"I planned to tell him once he grew strong enough…"
"But the scroll appeared, and everything was revealed ahead of time."
Hinata only grew angrier.
Hinata: "You're lying!"
The Third put on an innocent face: "I'm not lying, Hinata. It's all true."
Hinata: "Everyone already knew Naruto-kun was the Nine-Tails jinchūriki."
"And other villages could have targeted him ANYWAY!"
"That means Naruto-kun was already in danger from the start!"
"So why hide the fact that he's the son of a hero?!"
The Third: "I…"
Now he truly had no way to explain.
Important Note : Based on your requests, I've dropped the prices to 30% OFF 🎉Use Coupon Code: 69BC9 — enjoy more chapters, daily extra updates, better early access, and more benefits. Hurry, the code won't last long! Today it expires . I won't be giving this offer here after. Grab it !
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789