"Is it over?"
"No—look! The golden-framed giant screen just lit up!"
"So that's how it is… we were so engrossed that we actually forgot about the gold frame."
"Hey, hey, hey—what do you mean by that?!" Naruto complained unhappily, hands on his hips.
What's wrong with Gold-Frame Naruto?
Did he offend you or something?!
Well… now that you mention it—
Smack—
Neji walked up and slapped him.
Naruto turned his head, glaring angrily—
Only to be greeted by another large hand.
Smack—
Yamanaka Inoichi joined in as well.
Naruto immediately burst into curses, trying to retaliate, but his body froze in place.
Because he had performed an aggressive action.
"Naruto, pull yourself together. Don't let the whispers control you," Neji reminded him kindly.
"You brat, don't make me look down on you!" Inoichi added. "We've helped you this much—can't you work harder to overcome it?!"
"Mmmgh!!!" Naruto widened his eyes.
At least let me go! Don't tie me up like this!
The golden-framed giant screen displayed its scene.
[After escorting Hinata home on that snowy night, Naruto returned to his 'normal' life.]
[Under the villagers' rejection, the indoctrination of the Will of Fire, and relentless mental and physical torment, he gradually began to break down.]
[Spring passed, autumn followed—another year went by. Finally, Naruto reached the end of those days that felt longer than a lifetime.]
[On a peaceful afternoon, Hiruzen Sarutobi personally came to visit and handed him the application for the Ninja Academy.]
[From that moment on, Uzumaki Naruto began his life at the Academy.]
[No longer wandering aimlessly through Konoha like a stray dog despised and cursed by all.]
[Many things happened during his time at school.]
[On his very first day, he was met with vicious remarks from other students' parents.]
[After enrollment, his life was nothing like he had imagined—he didn't make many friends.]
[Gradually, in addition to being called 'demon fox' behind his back, Naruto gained another nickname—Dead Last.]
[Disheartened, Naruto chose to go to the opposite extreme.]
[Time flew by.]
[Uzumaki Naruto still grew up like wild grass.]
[The curses calling him a demon fox and wishing for his death became much fewer.]
[Not because they accepted Naruto's existence, but because his performance now fit their expectations of a ninja.]
[If the fox ever lost control, dying would be meaningless anyway.]
[And Naruto himself grew into Konoha's genuine 'menace.']
[From then on, everything he did focused on making others notice him—forcing them to acknowledge his existence.]
[Endless pranks. Constant, repeated appearances before the villagers.]
[Already terrible academically, his behavior cemented him as the worst Dead Last in history—nothing but zeroes across the board.]
[Lacking motivation, his personality gradually became more domineering due to his conduct.]
Watching the golden-framed screen—
The streets and Hokage Rock covered in paint and dye by Uzumaki Naruto—
The people of Konoha were all pulled into memories.
In truth, it hadn't even been that long ago.
The last incident hadn't even been a year back.
"Absolutely unbearable!"
"Disgusting existence!"
"Third Hokage-sama, if you had dealt with it back then, would we really have all this trouble now?!"
Once those unpleasant memories resurfaced, villagers immediately jumped out to speak.
[Naruto's actions didn't just ruin his reputation—ninjas also began to treat him coldly.]
[And every time they looked up, they could see the Hokage Rock smeared beyond recognition.]
[This undoubtedly damaged the monument's image in everyone's hearts.]
[And completely destroyed Naruto's public goodwill from the ground up.]
[Yet Naruto never received real punishment—the Third Hokage seemed to be indulging him.]
[At first, the Hokage Tower covered the property damage, but as it kept happening, everyone could only grit their teeth and bear the losses themselves.]
[If, in the beginning, many merely followed the crowd in directing their malice toward Naruto, blaming him for the Nine-Tails incident—]
[Then after years of Naruto's behavior, those people truly came to hate him to the core.]
Senju Hashirama: "Ha… hahaha~"
Senju Hashirama: "Gold-Frame Naruto is such an energetic child!"
Senju Tobirama: "..."
Senju Tobirama: "Brother, it's too embarrassing. You don't need to force praise."
Ōnoki: "Sigh… that child just wanted to blend into Konoha."
Uzumaki Kushina: "My child… damn that old monkey. You knew full well this wouldn't improve relations—only worsen the conflict—yet you didn't stop him and kept planting psychological hints!"
Uzumaki Kushina: "Disgusting bastard!"
[At school, the students didn't deliberately target him all the time.]
[But whenever Naruto did something brainless, he would be mercilessly mocked and ridiculed.]
[Whether theory or practice, he was always dead last.]
[Even chakra extraction took him twice as long, yet he still couldn't control it. In his hands, even basic jutsu became absurdly difficult.]
[At first, Naruto's reputation was only terrible among the boys—the girls didn't pay much attention.]
[However, once Naruto set his sights on Uchiha Sasuke—]
[Even the girls who once ignored him began glaring at him.]
Kiba Inuzuka: "Honestly speaking, Naruto can be really annoying sometimes."
Shino Aburame: "That's because of the Third Hokage's guidance."
Kiba Inuzuka: "True. Graffiti on Hokage Rock, and the punishment was just cleaning it up—that's basically indulgence."
Kankurō: "Didn't expect the dog-raiser to have a brain."
Kiba Inuzuka: "You puppet bastard, what did you say?!"
Puppet?
!!!
Deidara: "Art is an explosion!"
Deidara: "Puppets are a minor path!"
Sasori: "???"
The two were about to start arguing—
When they immediately received Nagato's warning.
[The Will of Fire finally took root.]
[Aside from daily pranks, Naruto constantly talked about becoming Hokage.]
[All talk and no action, he fixated on Sasuke again.]
[That guy lived the life Naruto wanted most.]
[Loved by most of the girls in class.]
[Even by his goddess, Haruno Sakura.]
[Naruto failed to notice that there was a pair of eyes in class that often watched him quietly.]
Kiba Inuzuka: "Oh my god~"
Kiba Inuzuka: "If not for childhood bias, I'd seriously ask Hinata—are you blind?"
"Mmmgh!!!"
Bound tightly by Inoichi and Neji, Naruto struggled nonstop.
"He's seriously ill," Inoichi said gravely.
"Yes," Neji agreed with equal solemnity.
[Peaceful days seemed like they would continue forever.]
[However, on one afternoon—]
[Konoha's atmosphere turned extremely strange.]
[Even the Ninja Academy was affected.]
[That day, despite his confusion, Iruka still announced to the entire class:]
["No one leaves after school!"]
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 60 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/senpaistudios1