“Naruto Uzumaki, from today onward, this will be your home.”
The masked ninja spoke coldly to Naruto, who had just turned three years old.
Then, with a slap, he tossed down a sum of money.
“This is your living allowance for the month.”
With that, the ANBU ninja vanished from Naruto’s sight with a whoosh.
Naruto did not immediately pick up the money.
Instead, he silently closed the door after the masked ninja had left.
Only then did he pick up the money from the floor.
After counting it, Naruto curled his lips in disdain and mocked inwardly.
One thousand ryō…
Heh.
What a huge sum of money.
That was right.
The Naruto standing here was no longer the original Naruto.
He was a transmigrator from China on a planet called Blue Star.
And on that planet, there was a popular action anime called Naruto.
As Naruto became wildly popular, people began analyzing it from every possible angle.
After enough secondhand analysis, the hot-blooded passion was gone, leaving behind nothing but cold reality and political scheming.
Even someone like Naruto, who had originally only been an ordinary fan, could talk at length about it after consuming enough fan discussions and derivative works.
And the treatment the protagonist Naruto received had always been a favorite subject of discussion.
That included his monthly living allowance of one thousand ryō.
One thousand ryō was not the same as one thousand yuan.
When even a bowl of ramen cost sixty or seventy ryō, one thousand yuan had six or seven times the purchasing power of one thousand ryō.
In other words, a thousand ryō was not even worth two hundred yuan a month.
That standard of living was outrageously low, especially when he had no property or other source of income.
However, that was not something the current Naruto could change.
So after a brief chill flashed through his eyes, Naruto simply climbed into bed and went to sleep.
Although Naruto could not sense them, as a well-educated and morally upright young man from China who had transmigrated here, he could figure it out without needing to sense them.
There were definitely a lot of people watching him right now.
With people observing everything he did, nothing would feel comfortable anyway.
He might as well lie down and do nothing.
“Lord Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki has been delivered.”
Naruto’s guess was correct.
At that moment, the ANBU member who had escorted Naruto to his new residence was reporting to the Third Hokage in the Hokage’s office.
Meanwhile, the Third Hokage was using his crystal ball together with Shimura Danzō, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado to observe Naruto’s reaction after being moved out of the Sarutobi residence.
“Hmph. Hiruzen, did you see the Jin chūriki’s reaction?” Shimura Danzō said coldly.
“He left a familiar place without crying or making a fuss. To possess such self-control at such a young age means he will surely become difficult to control when he grows older. He should be handed over to Root immediately. I guarantee I will return to you a powerful weapon that will never betray the village.”
“Danzō, don’t forget that Naruto is the Fourth Hokage’s son!” Hiruzen Sarutobi snapped angrily.
“The Fourth sacrificed himself for Konoha, and this is how you intend to treat his son?”
“Hiruzen, everything I do is for Konoha. I’m sure the Fourth would understand,” Shimura Danzō replied proudly.
“Hmph. Danzō, I will not allow you to touch Naruto. Agreeing to your demands and allowing Naruto to live on his own is already the greatest concession I will make to you,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said coldly.
“Hiruzen, we did not force you to make him live alone,” Homura Mitokado said.
“Only by allowing the Jin chūriki to live independently can we determine whether he might lose control and adjust our policies toward him accordingly. Everything we are doing is for Konoha.”
“Our teacher sacrificed his life and entrusted Konoha to us. We have both the authority and the responsibility to protect it,” Koharu Utatane added.
“The Nine-Tails’ attack three years ago must never be allowed to happen in Konoha a second time.”
“Hmph. You have your responsibilities, and I have my own arrangements. Don’t forget—I am the Hokage,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said.
“Hiruzen, you will regret this.”
Whenever Shimura Danzō heard Hiruzen Sarutobi say, I am the Hokage, it infuriated him beyond measure.
Especially after the Fourth Hokage sacrificed himself and that shameless old man, the Third, actually took up the position of Hokage again.
Just thinking about it made Danzō even angrier.
Yet when facing Hiruzen Sarutobi, all he could do was rage helplessly.
When it came to the position of Hokage, Hiruzen had always suppressed him completely.
Still, the fact that Hiruzen Sarutobi had kept Shimura Danzō in check was a good thing for Naruto.
After enjoying a good sleep, Naruto got out of bed.
He began inspecting the house.
Clothes and furniture had already been prepared for him.
There was also enough food in the refrigerator to last several days, so Naruto did not need to rush out to buy anything.
Furthermore, Naruto already knew what kind of treatment awaited him from now on.
Because of that, he needed to make some preparations in advance.
Naruto stared at the underwear in the wardrobe.
He wanted to cut one apart and use it to cover his face.
But if he did that, it would look far too abnormal to the people monitoring him.
In the end, Naruto shook his head helplessly.
He locked the door and walked outside.
When he reached the street—
“Hey, look at that kid. He actually has six whisker marks…”
“Don’t you think those six whiskers look a lot like the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox from three years ago?”
“Could he be…?”
“That’s right! How could a human possibly have six whiskers?”
“It’s him. It has to be him!”
“My husband was killed because of him!”
“My father too…”
“My older sister too…”
In an instant, everyone’s gazes toward Naruto became vicious and furious.
Naruto did not care.
However, the situation quickly spiraled out of control.
“Damn Nine-Tailed Demon Fox! Give me back my son’s life!”
At that moment, an old woman could no longer suppress her hatred for Naruto.
She suddenly picked up a stone and hurled it at him.
Naruto was only three years old.
Even with the memories of an adult, he could not dodge in time.
Smack!
The stone struck his forehead.
Blood immediately poured down his face.
And that was despite Naruto having tried to dodge.
If he had not moved at all, the stone probably would have struck his eye instead.
“Kill him!”
“Kill the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox!”
The old woman’s actions immediately stirred up the entire crowd.
In an instant, countless stones flew toward Naruto.
Naruto could only raise both arms to protect his head.
The rest of his body, however, was completely exposed.
Dense volleys of stones slammed into him.
They were thrown with tremendous force.
These people truly wanted to kill him.
Among them were even people who had attended the Ninja Academy but had failed to become ninja.
Naruto felt as though the bones in his arms had been fractured.
Fortunately, he crouched down in time and curled up while protecting his head, preventing himself from suffering even more serious injuries.
“Stop!”
The ANBU assigned to monitor Naruto finally appeared, belatedly.
They reprimanded the people who had attacked him.
But that was all they did.
Once everyone stopped, the ANBU took Naruto to Konoha Hospital.
Naruto kept his head covered.
His eyes were filled with nothing but cold indifference.
“Pass down an order. From now on, no one is permitted to call Naruto the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, and no one is permitted to use lethal weapons against him.”
After learning what had happened, the Third Hokage merely issued those two prohibitions.
He did not appear before Naruto.
In fact, according to Naruto’s memories, the Third Hokage had never personally appeared before him up to this point.
Even while Naruto had been raised in the Sarutobi residence, a dedicated caretaker had been responsible for looking after him.
Naruto understood why.
The Third Hokage needed to wait for the right opportunity.
Then, like a ray of light, he would shine into Naruto’s heart.
And right now…
The time had not yet come.