Chapter 69: The Breaking Point
Beneath the surface, Konoha was surging with undercurrents.
No one knew what storm was coming next.
On the other side—
Since the turmoil of the Chunin Exams had ended, Konoha began repairing the damaged parts of the village. Peaceful development was underway.
Because of Konoha's rest during this period, and since the Chunin Exams had just finished, the genin were given a vacation. They had time to rest properly.
And on this day, the young genin of the same class made plans to go out together to relax and have fun.
Naruto received the invitation and originally wanted to decline.
But who would have thought—Ino and Sakura showed up at his door with all the others, blocking his way, waiting for him to come out and play with them.
With no other choice, Naruto joined the shopping trip.
The group wandered together through the bustling streets of Konoha.
Although Konoha had been attacked by the Sand and Sound ninja villages, the damage wasn't severe. Some areas hadn't been touched at all.
That included these market streets and the shopping district.
People came and went on the streets. It was very lively. The sounds of vendors hawking their goods could be heard everywhere, creating a vibrant scene.
Sakura and Ino bounced around like energetic rabbits, looking at all kinds of新奇 things, clearly having a great time.
Kiba and Shino chatted happily together. Hinata was a little shy.
Seeing this, Naruto smiled and walked over to a small stall selling all sorts of odd trinkets and novelties. He started looking at things that caught his interest.
Even though he had lived in Konoha his whole life, because of his dark childhood, Naruto rarely came to these lively markets to look at interesting gadgets.
So Naruto was curious when he saw things he had never seen before.
He picked up a fox mask from the stall. This mask looked no different from the ones ANBU wore. Naruto wanted to buy one for himself as a spare. After looking at it for a moment, Naruto asked:
"How much is this?"
But after Naruto's question, no one answered him.
The stall owner looked at Naruto, frowned in disgust, then snorted coldly, turned his head away, and deliberately ignored him.
Naruto frowned and was about to put the mask down and say something when—
Ino saw that Naruto had found something he wanted to buy. She rushed over enthusiastically, picked up the mask Naruto had been holding, and asked happily and politely:
"Mister, how much is this?"
Seeing Ino step up to ask about the mask, the stall owner's expression softened a bit. He said the price lightly.
Ino held it in her hand for a moment, then smiled at Naruto and said:
"Naruto, do you want this? I'll buy it for you."
Naruto was taken aback. He smiled and was about to say something.
But before he could speak—
The stall owner seemed to hear that Ino was buying it for Naruto. He suddenly stepped forward, snatched the mask from Ino's hand, spat on it in disgust, and said viciously:
"This mask is no longer for sale!"
Ino was startled—a little surprised and confused.
"Why not? You just named a price, which means it was for sale," Ino asked, puzzled.
The stall owner glared at Naruto in disgust, as if looking at something filthy. He didn't bother hiding his malice. He snorted coldly and said:
"I said I'm not selling it, so I'm not selling it! Even if I throw it in a ditch, I won't sell it to that demon fox!"
As the words rang out, the nearby stall owners, shoppers, and villagers all looked over.
When they saw Naruto standing there, they all showed disgusted looks and began whispering among themselves:
"Isn't that the kid?"
"Yeah. Bad luck that he came here. Business is going to be slow for days."
"Someone chase him out already. He's annoying to look at."
"He's a ninja now, so be careful."
"Hah, some ninja. He's just a monster. And he wants to be Konoha's ninja? I don't know what the Third Hokage was thinking."
"Yeah. A monster like that should just be executed already."
"I saw him in the Chunin Exam finals that day. He did okay at first. But as soon as the Sand ninja attacked, he ran out of the village like a coward."
"Hmph. Figures. Even if he became a ninja, he's still a deserter. He probably wet himself from fear."
"So what if he's a ninja? This is Konoha. That kid wouldn't dare do anything to us villagers. If the Third Hokage found out, he'd skin him alive."
Countless malicious words were thrown at him. Malicious speculation and discussion rang out one after another.
Sakura and Ino, standing nearby, both showed looks of surprise and disbelief when they heard this.
They couldn't believe it. They didn't understand why these villagers treated Naruto this way or why they thought so badly of him.
After hearing these words, Naruto lowered his head and closed his eyes. His expression flashed cold. He clenched his fists.
Ino immediately stepped forward to defend Naruto.
"What are you doing? Naruto is a Konoha ninja! He's contributed to this village!"
After the stall owner heard that, he spat.
"Hah. He's not worthy of being a Konoha ninja. The other day, when those Sand ninja showed up, he ran out of the village like a scared rabbit. Don't think we don't know. Get out. You're not welcome here."
He was talking about the day Naruto had fought Gaara.
But what they didn't know was that if Gaara had transformed into Shukaku inside the village, the losses would have been far worse.
Even though Naruto had lured Gaara out to avoid exposing his full strength—because he had his own plans—he had still indirectly solved a major threat for Konoha.
After speaking, the stall owner started walking around his stall, intending to chase Naruto away.
But at that moment—
Naruto suddenly opened his eyes. Deep in his gaze, there was a flash of coldness.
Then, Naruto's cold voice rang out:
"Senbonzakura."
As the words fell—
Above the stall owner who had just stepped out, a pitch-black blade suddenly appeared.
The black blade floated in the air.
When the stall owner saw it, he was startled. Before he could react—the blade suddenly stabbed down.
Puff!
Senbonzakura's blade pierced directly through the stall owner's body, pinning him to the ground.
The stall owner died instantly.
Before he died, his face was frozen in terror, as if he had never imagined that Naruto would actually dare to attack him—a villager of Konoha—right here in the village.
Seeing this scene, the surrounding villagers and stall owners who had been insulting Naruto suddenly screamed in horror. One by one, they fled in panic and fear.
"The Nine-Tails brat killed someone!"
"The monster killed someone! The Nine-Tails is about to appear!"
"I knew it—I knew he'd show his true colors one day!"
"Run! That monster is going crazy!"
Sakura and Ino covered their mouths in disbelief after seeing this scene.
Then, they looked at Naruto and spoke with worry:
"Naruto, you're in big trouble!"
"What do we do? These are Konoha villagers. Killing them violates village law!"
"This is bad, this is bad! The Third Hokage will find out and send someone to arrest you!"
But Naruto couldn't hear their words at all. He ignored them.
His cold eyes swept across the fleeing villagers who had been insulting him moments ago.
Killing intent emerged.
He didn't care what happened next.
At this moment, he only knew one thing—
He didn't have to endure anymore.