In the end, nearly the entire half-box of tomato scrambled eggs disappeared into the little girl's stomach. Naruto watched with a gentle smile as Satsuki carefully picked at the last grains of rice. She ate with complete seriousness—narrowing her eyes slightly whenever a particularly delicious bite hit her tongue, like a contented cat.
Naruto had zero resistance to that kind of unconscious cuteness.
When the final bite vanished and Satsuki stared blankly at the empty bento box, she suddenly realized what she'd done.
Wait... I clearly said just a taste...
After Naruto carefully packed the empty box back into his backpack, a mosquito-like voice came from behind him.
"Um..."
Satsuki kept her head lowered, mumbling in embarrassment. "Sorry... I think I ate way too much. If you're still hungry... would you like to come to my house for dinner?"
Naruto paused, then his expression softened into a wide, genuine smile. So she wasn't the type to stay stubbornly proud forever.
As the saying goes, "tsundere ruins a lifetime"—but the truly tragic cases usually come from staying "proud" for so long that there's never even a chance to show the "dere" side.
The little girl in front of him carried the inherent pride of the Uchiha clan, yet when she felt genuinely sorry, she could express it openly—even offering to bring someone home for a meal as compensation.
She must have received excellent family upbringing.
A sudden, indescribable pang of regret welled up in Naruto's heart. In the original *Naruto* story... there was no Uchiha girl named "Satsuki."
The implication was obvious.
In roughly three years, after Naruto entered the Ninja Academy, a tragedy would shake the entire ninja world: the Uchiha Clan Massacre.
If one traced the root causes, the web of forces was complicated—but three names stood out as primary culprits.
Shimura Danzo, Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Obito.
Yet the clan's downfall wasn't sudden. It was like a long line of carefully arranged dominoes, and the first one fell on the night Naruto was born.
The Nine-Tails' Attack.
Uchiha Obito assaulted Konoha and unleashed the Kyuubi, leading to the death of Naruto's mother, Uzumaki Kushina. To prevent Konoha's "nuclear deterrent" from being lost, his father, Namikaze Minato, fulfilled his duty as Hokage and sealed half the fox into newborn Naruto's body... But that event wasn't the true beginning of the Uchiha genocide.
What truly pushed the clan toward annihilation was the pair of Sharingan that appeared in the Kyuubi's eyes that night.
Every Konoha ninja who fought witnessed it clearly—and it wasn't unreasonable for the higher-ups to suspect Uchiha involvement.
But... they hadn't wronged the clan at all.
No one could have predicted that the Uchiha controlling the Nine-Tails was Obito Uchiha, who had supposedly "died" years earlier.
To guard against the Uchiha, Konoha's leadership relocated the entire clan to the village outskirts and placed them under heavy surveillance. The proud Uchiha could not tolerate such humiliation.
Under growing thirst for power, the clan gradually fractured. At meetings, hawkish voices grew louder, pushing to seize control of Konoha by force and reverse their clan's decline.
Then came the appearance of the "prodigy."
Uchiha Itachi—the eldest son of clan head Fugaku—was secretly a Konoha spy embedded within the clan. He fed every detail of the planned coup back to the village leadership.
Upon learning this, the Third Hokage clashed with Danzo. Hiruzen advocated negotiation and resolution through dialogue; Danzo demanded the complete elimination of the threat.
Danzo began his moves.
Fearing Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan and its terrifying Kotoamatsukami—which could rewrite a target's will—Danzo ambushed him in secret and stole one eye.
Shisui, now missing a Mangekyō, realized he could no longer use "Otherworldly Deity" to stop the coup. In despair, he entrusted his remaining eye to Itachi, then committed suicide by leaping from a cliff—sacrificing himself to weaken the clan's momentum.
Having lost his closest friend Shisui, Itachi—torn forever between village and family—ultimately accepted Danzo's proposal.
The man who had indirectly caused Shisui's death now became his collaborator.
The massacre began.
No one was spared: men, women, elders, children, even infants. Blood soaked the Uchiha district red. Only young Sasuke survived.
Why...? Why did the peace talks Hiruzen pushed for get completely ignored? Why did Itachi—claiming to act "for Konoha's sake"—personally slaughter his entire clan? Why did he—claiming to "love his little brother deeply"—subject Sasuke to endless torment with Tsukuyomi?
That contradictory behavior was exactly why Itachi's reputation flipped so dramatically online.
Kishimoto tried to frame Itachi as a "guardian in the darkness," glorifying genocide as "necessary evil." But to Naruto, it only felt chilling.
As long as the goal is noble, are there no limits to the means?
Even if the Uchiha truly launched a coup, could their fate possibly be worse than total extermination? Driven to the edge of the village and then wiped out—down to the babies?
Naruto shook his head, forcing the thoughts away. He couldn't comprehend Itachi's mindset, nor the so-called "Will of Fire." He no longer dreamed of becoming Hokage.
He looked at the little black-haired girl before him. This child... would she also die that night?
The thought of Satsuki being slaughtered in the name of some "greater good" made Naruto's heart itch with unease.
No... he had to do something.
The system still showed no sign of activating. For now, the only person he could rely on was himself. Maybe... he could talk to the old man, the Third Hokage?
For example, claim he'd formed an "irreplaceable bond" with her—if anything happened to her, he might become depressed or even abandon being a ninja.
It sounded a bit like a threat, sure.
Naruto knew this kind of concern might be overstepping, but he couldn't help it. He was that kind of person—he couldn't just sit back and watch tragedy unfold right in front of him.
Of course, this was simple kindness—not blind saintliness. That bastard with the mask... he wouldn't be forgiven.
"Thanks, Satsuki. But no need—I'm already full from the food. Actually... seeing someone willing to eat with me makes me happier than the meal itself."
Naruto replied to her invitation with a soft smile. "And watching you eat so happily is the best compliment I could get. You're the first person to truly appreciate my cooking."
"Hm...? Why are you blushing again?" He chuckled lightly. "Never mind—the shy look is adorable. But it's getting late. We should head back and rest."
"Thanks for keeping me company today." He stood, brushing grass clippings from his pants. "I'll come find you again to hang out, Uchiha Satsuki."
At the sound of her full name, Satsuki immediately lifted her head and corrected him in a proud tone.
"If you insist on hanging out with me, I'll reluctantly make time!" She paused, then added, "Also... my name isn't Uchiha Tsuki. It's Uchiha Satsuki."
...Satsuki?
Naruto's smile froze for a split second.
That name... why did it sound so familiar? Almost exactly like his future best friend/rival: Uchiha Sasuke.
Satsuki noticed his odd expression and hesitated before explaining.
"Well... the name combination is a little strange, right? Actually, the name my father originally planned was Uchiha Sasuke... but then I was born a girl, so they changed the 'suke' to 'tsuki'... making it Satsuki."