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"Forget it. Since you're about to get your butt kicked anyway, I'll let you eat first."
Akira waved a hand lazily. "I'll go buy some food. Stay here. Don't wander off."
Naruto snorted. "Are you kidding? With my strength, I'm the one who's gonna win!"
"Oh?"Akira shot him a sideways glance. "So you don't want anything to eat?"
"Hmph! I'm not hungry. I don't need it!"
Naruto crossed his arms and lifted his chin defiantly.
Right on cue, his stomach growled.
"Th-that was just my stomach making noise. It has nothing to do with me!"
He refused to look embarrassed. No way was he losing face in front of that smug jerk.
Akira clicked his tongue. "Whatever. Stay put. I'll grab twenty or thirty pounds of food and stuff your bottomless pit of a stomach."
He waved him off and walked away.
Naruto watched his back disappear, then slapped his own belly. "Traitor! Couldn't you hold it in? Now I look bad in front of that show-off…"
Still, the thought of twenty pounds of food made him lick his lips. His eyes sparkled.
But then another thought struck him.
If I just sit here waiting for Akira to bring food back, won't I look pathetic?
No way. I'll buy something too. That way it's fair. He won't look down on me.
Determined not to be outdone, Naruto pulled out his flattened frog wallet. He opened it and froze.
A few lonely coins stared back at him.
"…Sigh."
That wasn't enough for much. Maybe fruit. Definitely not meat.
Fruit it is, then. Better than nothing.
Just ahead stood a small fruit shop. Decision made, Naruto headed over.
But when he reached the entrance, he hesitated.
He remembered the way villagers usually looked at him.
His steps slowed.
It's just buying something. That's not hard. I can't let Akira look down on me.
If I behave, the owner should sell to me. Yeah. I'll just behave.
After wrestling with himself, Naruto stepped inside.
Bright apples, oranges, pears, grapes. The colors dazzled him. After a moment, he picked up a shiny red apple and looked toward the busy shop owner.
He flashed a bright, sunny grin.
"Auntie, how much is this apple?"
Auntie? Who's he calling auntie? I'm only forty-eight! Not even fifty yet!
The shopkeeper stiffened, irritation flashing through her mind. Still, a customer was a customer. She forced a smile and turned around.
"You want apples? These fully red ones are seventy-eight taels per jin. The slightly less ripe ones over there are fifty per jin. Which would you—"
Her voice stopped mid-sentence.
The smile vanished from her face.
Blond hair. Whisker-like marks on his cheeks.
It was the village's demon fox.
Disgust rose instantly.
She had thought business had walked through the door. Instead, it was that monster.
Naruto didn't notice the shift in the air.
He put down the red apple and reached for the cheaper ones, muttering, "That's expensive… I'll take these instead."
"Get out!"
The roar exploded like a lion's.
She slapped his hand away and pointed at the door with one hand, the other planted firmly on her hip.
"Get out of my shop, you demon fox! Monster! I won't sell you anything! You hear me? Nothing!"
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I'm not a demon fox! I'm not a monster! Why does everyone say that?!"
His eyes reddened as he shouted back.
He didn't understand.
He hadn't done anything wrong.
Why did everyone treat him like this? Why did they all hate him?
"Get out! Don't dirty my shop! Of all the places to crawl into, you pick mine? What rotten luck!"
She waved at him like he was a fly.
"I said I'm not a demon fox!"
Naruto gritted his teeth and pulled out his wallet. He opened it and held it toward her.
"I have money! I'm really here to buy something! Auntie, please… just sell me some apples."
There was pleading in his voice now.
But he didn't care about that. Begging meant nothing if it meant not being looked down on by his only friend.
"Who wants your filthy money? Demon fox money? I wouldn't take it if you gave it to me!"
Smack!
She slapped the wallet out of his hand. Coins scattered across the floor.
Naruto stared blankly at the coins rolling away.
That was everything he had.
For a moment, he didn't move.
"Still not leaving? Fine! I'll throw you out myself!"
She grabbed a broom, ready to drive him out. But looking at the whisker marks on his face, she hesitated.
What if he attacked her?
"Honey! That demon fox ran into our shop! Get out here and chase him off!"
The back door banged open.
A broad, shirtless man stepped out.
He saw Naruto immediately and frowned. "You weren't careful enough. How'd you let that demon fox in? We'll have bad luck now!"
"He snuck in while I was working! Is that my fault?"
She clicked her tongue impatiently. "Forget it. Just throw him out!"
"Leave it to me."
The man loomed over Naruto, sneering down at him.
"Get out. Don't make me do it the hard way."
Naruto kept his head lowered.
As if he hadn't heard.
"Why… why…"
"Damn brat. Asking for it."
The man kicked him hard in the stomach.
Bang!
Naruto flew backward, hit the ground, and rolled out of the shop.
"Here. Take this. You touched it. Don't let it dirty my other fruit."
The shopkeeper grabbed the apple he'd picked up earlier and hurled it outside.
Thud!
It struck Naruto squarely on the forehead. Juice dripped down the bridge of his nose.
He sat there, stunned.
His eyes slowly turned crimson.
An ominous aura began to seep into the air.
The shop owner came out holding a thick wooden club, as wide as a grown man's arm. He swung it a few times for emphasis.
"Get lost! Don't sit in front of my store and scare off customers! If you want to die, die somewhere else!"
The commotion drew the attention of nearby shopkeepers.
"Hey, isn't that the village's demon fox? Camping outside your place? Tough luck, Kaji."
"Chase him off already. Just looking at him makes me sick. Don't let him ruin business for the whole street!"
"Yeah! If he won't leave, use that stick!"
Some watched with schadenfreude. Some offered advice. Others simply enjoyed the spectacle.
To them, the demon fox was nothing but bad luck. A curse.
Not one voice spoke up for Naruto.
"Damn it! I told you to get lost!"
Kaji stormed up to him, raised the club high above his head—
And brought it crashing down toward Naruto's skull.
Smack!
A hand shot out of nowhere and caught the wooden club mid-swing, stopping it inches from Naruto's head.
"Where the hell did this brat come from? Get out of my way!" Kaji barked at the black-haired boy who had appeared between them.
Akira didn't even look at him. He turned instead to Naruto and smacked him lightly on the shoulder.
"Calm down, Naruto. There's no need to lose your temper over trash like this. And didn't I tell you to wait where you were? Why'd you run over here?"
Akira's sudden appearance snapped Naruto out of the rage that had been building inside him.
"I… I just wanted to buy something to eat too. I didn't mean for it to turn out like this. I didn't even do anything wrong. So why does everyone hate me?"
His voice trembled. He fought to keep the tears from spilling.
Then he realized who was standing in front of him and instantly puffed up again.
"And hey, you stuck-up Akira, why should I listen to you? You say stay put and I'm just supposed to stay put?"
Akira blinked. The speed of that mental whiplash was honestly impressive. But then again, this was Naruto.
Meanwhile, Kaji yanked hard on the club in his hand—only to find it wouldn't budge. No matter how much strength he used, it was as if the wood had fused to Akira's grip.
Shock flashed across his face, quickly replaced by fury.
"Kid, don't think having a little skill gives you the right to meddle! I'm teaching this demon fox a lesson for the good of the village. Let go!"
"Oh?" Akira asked calmly. "And how exactly were you planning to 'teach him a lesson'?"
Kaji sneered. "Since the brat insists on sticking around, I'll just break his arms and legs and toss him out."
"I see."
Akira tightened his grip and yanked.
The sudden force dragged Kaji forward in a stumble.
In the same instant, Akira's hand shifted—palm turning into a blade—and struck four times in a blur.
Crack. Crack. Crack. Crack.
All four of Kaji's limbs shattered.
His body collapsed like wet clay, boneless and limp as he hit the ground.
"AAAAAAH—!"
His scream tore through the street.
"So loud." Akira rubbed his ear, annoyed. He crouched, grabbed Kaji by the jaw, and squeezed.
Another sickening crack.
The screaming stopped.
Silence returned.
"Th-That… Akira, you…"
Naruto stared, eyes wide, frozen in place.
He looked at Akira, then at the shop owner twitching on the ground like a broken puppet. His mind simply couldn't catch up.
Watching a perfectly healthy man get turned into a cripple in seconds was… a lot. Even for someone who had just been attacked.
Sure, Naruto hated the guy—but this felt like too much.
Akira glanced at him and clicked his tongue.
Mocked since childhood. Treated like a monster. Drowned in insults.
And yet Naruto still hadn't grown a shred of hatred.
It didn't make sense.
If Akira had grown up in Naruto's place, he would've gone full villain years ago.
Looks like when they got back, he'd need to work on fixing Naruto's mindset.
"AAAAAH!"
A sharp scream shattered his thoughts.
The shopkeeper's wife rushed out from inside. The moment she saw Kaji sprawled on the ground, her face drained of color.
"Dear! Dear, what happened to you?!"
She knelt and checked him over. When she realized he was still alive, she let out a shaky breath of relief.
Then she looked up at Akira.
"You did this to my husband?!"
Her eyes caught the Uchiha crest on his clothes.
"So you're an Uchiha brat. The Third was right—you Uchiha really are evil. So young and already this vicious!"
Akira didn't respond. He simply looked at her coldly.
The woman stood, hands on her hips, glaring.
"Don't think being from the Uchiha clan gives you the right to do whatever you want. Just because you've had resources and training since you were little and picked up a bit of strength, you think you can run wild?
Other people might be scared of you. I'm not.
My son is a chūnin. You're just a brat who hasn't even graduated from the academy yet. Don't think you can mess with him.
If you've got guts, don't run. I'll call my son out and show you what it means when there's always someone stronger out there!"
"Suit yourself," Akira said flatly.
"Fine. You wait right there!"
She dragged Kaji back inside.
Naruto tugged at Akira's sleeve. "Akira… maybe we should run while we can. Not that Lord Naruto is scared or anything. It's just dumb to fight someone we can't beat!"
"Oh? You know when to run from a fight?" Akira raised an eyebrow. "Impressive. Guess you do have a brain."
"Idiot! I'm not stupid! He's a chūnin! If we don't run, we're definitely getting wrecked!"
Naruto hissed urgently, trying to pull him away.
"No need."
"Are you kidding me? This isn't the time to act cool! When you're getting punched later, don't say I didn't warn you!"
No matter how much Naruto pushed, Akira stayed rooted in place.
At the worst possible moment, this guy just had to be stubborn.
Still, Naruto didn't even consider running alone. Akira had stepped in because of him.
He wasn't about to leave him behind to take a beating solo.
If they were getting beaten up, they'd get beaten up together.
That was Uzumaki Naruto's ninja way.
He copied Akira's pose, crossing his arms and lifting his chin, bracing himself for the inevitable.
Around them, shop owners gathered like spectators at a show.
"Those two kids aren't leaving? They've got guts. Probably don't even know how strong a chūnin is."
"With his dad beaten like that, when Kaji's son comes out angry, someone's going to die."
"If that demon fox dies, I'll celebrate."
…
"Takumi! It was this Uchiha brat who did that to your father!"
The shopkeeper's wife stormed out again, dragging a young ninja in his early twenties.
She pointed at Akira. "Go on, Takumi! Teach him a lesson and avenge your father!"
"Sure. Let's see which Uchiha brat is so arrogant that he dares to—"
Takumi rolled his wrists as he stepped forward.
Then he saw Akira's face.
He froze.
His throat seemed to close up, words dying halfway out. His face turned pale. His legs trembled uncontrollably.
Clearly, he recognized him.
"Takumi! What are you standing there for? Hurry up and teach this arrogant brat a lesson he'll never forget!"
With those words, Takumi's face went even whiter.
Mom… are you trying to get your own son killed?
"..."
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