“I’m not selling it to you.
Can’t you understand?
Get lost!” Inside the crowded toy store, the shopkeeper raised a broom and made a threatening gesture toward Naruto Uzumaki, as though there were some foul stench coming from the boy that disgusted him.
Among the customers with children, those who were civilians or below the rank of Chūnin all wore expressions of annoyance and stepped aside, coldly watching the scene.
Several Jōnin who knew Naruto’s true identity frowned slightly, but ultimately said nothing.
They immediately took their children and left.
Seeing that the genuinely wealthy customers had all gone, the shopkeeper’s face flushed red with anger.
He glared at Naruto as though he were looking at someone carrying a contagious disease.
“You don’t leave right now, I’m really going to hit you!” But he didn’t know that, compared to the broom held high above him, the hatred in the shopkeeper’s eyes hurt Naruto far more.
Surrounded by dozens of mocking, hateful, or indifferent gazes, Naruto felt as though countless icy hands had seized his limbs.
Yet his throat felt as though it were stuffed with burning coal, choking back all his grievances.
After a long while, Naruto skillfully composed himself and forced out a smile.
“I-I can pay you twice as much.
Three times, if you want.” He pulled handfuls of coins from both pockets and held them out with both hands toward the scowling shopkeeper.
This was money he normally couldn’t spend anywhere.
Naruto opened his clear blue eyes wide and looked hopefully toward a dark green frog wallet on the shelf beside him.
“Please sell me that wallet.
I really like it.” The frog wallet had a wide red mouth, as though it could burst into laughter at any moment.
Its bulging eyes also resembled the goggles Naruto habitually wore on his head.
Because of that resemblance, Naruto had fallen in love with the wallet at first sight.
He had planned to buy it as his own New Year’s gift.
Before coming here, he had thought it had been a long time since he last visited the store.
Perhaps everyone had forgotten about him.
But reality was cruel.
“You want this wallet?” The shopkeeper didn’t even glance at the coins in Naruto’s hands.
He sneered, grabbed the frog wallet, swung his arm back, and hurled it through the doorway.
It landed in the snow-covered street outside.
“Go pick it up!” It was only a little wallet.
Even if he charged Naruto three times the price, how much money could it possibly be worth?
But if this brat stayed here, he really wouldn’t be able to sell anything else.
It was better to drive him outside.
Naruto turned around in panic as the wallet landed in the snow.
He watched as a passerby’s foot stepped on the frog’s wide-open mouth, then kicked it farther down the street.
For an instant, Naruto almost imagined that he heard a miserable croak.
At that moment, Naruto felt that his situation in the village was much like that wallet being kicked around.
His young heart sank into a world of ice.
He hurried out of the toy store, only to trip over the threshold.
The coins in his hands scattered like falling stars, disappearing into the thin snow covering the street.
“Hahaha, what an idiot!” “Even a monster can trip?
That’s hilarious.” “Isn’t that the guy who keeps saying he’s going to become Hokage?” “Seriously, why didn’t he just break his neck?” The vicious words stabbed into Naruto’s back like knives.
But he had neither the time nor the energy to deal with them.
[This is all the money I have…] Naruto wailed inwardly.
He scrambled out of the toy store.
His small body crawled across the street as he picked up the scattered coins one by one from beneath people’s feet.
At the same time, he kept an eye on the frog wallet that had been kicked across the street and was now covered in dirt.
Soon, he had gathered all the coins around him.
Only one remained.
A 100-ryō coin lay in the middle of the street.
The silhouettes of passing pedestrians reflected across the portrait of the daimyō of the Land of Fire stamped onto its surface, the color constantly changing with the clothing of those who passed by.
[A hundred ryō…
That’s enough to buy a whole box of miso-flavored cup noodles.] Naruto stood up.
Apologizing repeatedly as he went, he stumbled through the gaps between pedestrians.
But when he was less than a meter from the coin, two slender fingers suddenly picked it up.
It belonged to a child of around eight or nine years old.
The child held up the coin and looked toward Naruto.
“Tha—” Just as Naruto thought the child was about to return his money, the boy made a face at him.
Then he disappeared into the dense crowd.
“Hey, that’s…” Naruto stood there blankly.
Thin snow covered his pants below the knees.
His little hands were red and dirty, yet he didn’t know where to put them.
After enduring the countless gazes directed at him, Naruto finally lowered his head.
Amid the quiet complaints and curses, he crossed the street and picked up the “battered” frog wallet outside the taiyaki shop opposite the toy store.
The frog was smiling.
Naruto wanted to cry.
But he didn’t want to cry here.
Otherwise, he would only be mocked even more cruelly.
“You’re hurting too, aren’t you?” The frog continued smiling.
Naruto pulled the zipper shut, and only then did its mouth close.
“Let’s go home and eat first.” He muttered to himself.
He patted the shoeprint off the wallet and turned around— Only to collide with a body radiating tremendous heat.
[Oh no.] Naruto hurriedly raised his head.
He found himself staring into a pair of eyes as deep and vast as the ocean.
Yet, unexpectedly, he sensed no hostility from them.
The intense heat radiating from the boy washed over him, sweeping away the coldness that had risen from the depths of his heart.
Naruto thought the boy, who was slightly taller than him, looked familiar.
But he couldn’t remember where he had seen him.
Then Uchiha Tōru spoke first.
“Oh.
It really is you.” [It’s been so long.
I thought he had already left the village.] As he spoke, Tōru opened his free hand.
A 100-ryō coin lay in his palm.
“This is yours, right?” “Eh?
This…” “I saw what happened, so I took it back for you.” Tōru was concise as always.
He had barely said anything.
He had simply shown the boy who stole Naruto’s coin the Uchiha crest on the back of his clothes.
The boy immediately surrendered the coin.
“Thank you.” The moment Naruto reached out and took the coin, he suddenly remembered!
He remembered where he had heard that voice.
He could never forget it.
Because the events of that day remained one of the warm memories he relied upon whenever he felt lonely.
“It was you!” The last trace of coldness inside Naruto disappeared.
It was replaced by inexplicable excitement that flowed through his entire body like alcohol.
Ignoring the disgusted looks of the passersby, he grabbed Tōru’s hand before the other boy could withdraw it.
“You’re the one who gave me that mask last time, right?
In the forest outside the village!
Do you remember me?
You remember me, right?” His sky-blue eyes were filled with intense emotion.
Never before had Naruto wanted so desperately for someone to remember him.
“Mm.” Tōru nodded.
He glanced somewhat helplessly at the hand Naruto was holding.
He was afraid that the heat radiating from his body might burn the boy.
“S-Sorry.
I got too excited.” Naruto embarrassedly released his hand.
Only then did he notice how dirty his own hands and clothes were.
Then he looked at Tōru.
His clothes were spotless, without even a single unnecessary wrinkle.
Naruto suddenly felt ashamed of himself.
“Um…
My name is Naruto Uzumaki.” He lowered his head somewhat shyly.
Apart from Teuchi, Ayame, the old man who occasionally came to see him, and the absentminded girl with the Byakugan, he had almost never spoken with anyone who showed him no hostility.
“You left so suddenly last time, so I never got the chance to ask your name.” “Can you tell me what yours is?” “Uchiha Tōru.” Tōru gave his name.
This time, there was a slight emphasis on the Uchiha part.
Not long ago, he had finally accepted his identity without reservation.
“Haha, I remember that girl saying something about ‘Uchiha’…” Naruto was briefly pleased with his own memory.
Then he glanced at the paper bag in Tōru’s hand.
After looking around, he asked: “Are you alone?” “My mo…
Mom is buying fireworks.” Tōru looked toward Uchiha Mikoto, who was waiting in line nearby.
This time, Mikoto merely waved at Tōru.
Her gaze lingered on Naruto for a moment before immediately shifting away.
She seemed to be searching for something around them.
Eventually, she looked deeply toward one particular direction.
Not far away, behind a rooftop chimney, Kakashi Hatake was wearing a mask.
Two drops of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
He muttered: “Only the Uchiha could pull something like this…” “What are you mumbling about?” An old but energetic voice sounded beside him.
“Are you complaining because you have to work over New Year’s?” “Lord Third?” Kakashi turned around and dropped to one knee.
“What are you doing here?” [A Shadow Clone?] Kakashi noticed that the old man wasn’t carrying his smoking pipe.
“Because Naruto seems to have made a new friend.” Ever since hearing that Naruto had gone out, the Third Hokage had been using the Telescope Technique to monitor Naruto’s every move.
“So I came to take a look.” “I’m sorry.
I was careless.” Kakashi immediately assumed that the Third Hokage had been influenced by Danzō.
“I’ll separate them immediately and make sure they don’t meet again.” But the Third Hokage laughed.
“That’s not what I meant.” With his hands behind his back, Hiruzen Sarutobi first glanced at Mikoto before turning his attention to Naruto and Tōru talking in a corner of the street.
His kindly eyes were filled with amusement.
“By March, Naruto will be entering the Academy too.” “Isn’t it a good thing for him to make some friends ahead of time?” “At least he won’t be quite so lonely.” Kakashi said nothing.
[As if his current situation has nothing to do with you.] [‘Because he’s a Jinchūriki, he needs to learn to endure more than ordinary people.’ Wasn’t that what you said yourself?] “I came here to tell you that, for now, there’s no need to interfere with Naruto and that child.” Sarutobi Hiruzen had recently been paying close attention to Uchiha Itachi, who was about to become a Chūnin.
That child was extremely talented, but he was also too solitary.
There was little hope of using bonds between teammates to keep him attached to the village.
His two younger brothers, however, were still blank slates.
If they could make more friends outside the Uchiha Clan, then perhaps influencing Itachi’s attitude toward the village would become easier as well.
“But Lord Danzō…” “He isn’t in the village.” Hiruzen’s tone was indifferent.
“Yes.” Kakashi relaxed.
That meant no one would be able to make an issue out of this.
“You’ve worked hard, Kakashi.” The Third Hokage’s final words were: “If you want to give Naruto anything, do it over the next few days.” With that, he dispersed into a cloud of smoke and vanished.
It really was a Shadow Clone.
The real Hiruzen Sarutobi was still sitting before his crystal ball, smoking his pipe and quietly observing everything taking place within it.
Meanwhile, most of Tōru’s attention was focused on Naruto’s hair.
Because of malnutrition, the blond hair that should have been bright and vibrant had become extremely dull.
His physical condition was also clearly less than ideal.
“Do you usually not get enough to eat?” Tōru always asked whatever came to mind directly.
His bluntness left Naruto momentarily stunned.
“I-I do.” Naruto’s basic food and water needs were technically met.
Most of the expired instant noodles and milk that shops no longer wanted ended up in his hands.
“Oh.” Tōru paused.
“You don’t get much nutrition, then.” “Doesn’t anyone at home cook for you?” The moment he heard the words at home, Naruto’s expression suddenly darkened.
The three whisker marks on each cheek drooped as though they had been soaked in water.
“At home…
it’s just me.” [If he finds out I’m an orphan, what will he say?] Naruto became nervous.
He was afraid Tōru would treat him differently after learning that.
“…” Tōru remained silent for a long time before asking: “Has it always been that way?” He had been an orphan himself.
But at least he had his sister.
Later, he had also had Sabito and Master Urokodaki.
But this child…
He seemed even younger than Tōru’s current age.
Had he really been living alone in this village all this time?
“Yeah.” Naruto lowered his head even further.
Tomioka Tōru did not ask something like “How did your parents die?” Instead, he looked up at the sky.
There was still plenty of time before sunset.
“Can I go see your home?” The moment Tōru said this, Naruto abruptly raised his head.
“Eh?!” He was surprised at first.
But his expression immediately transformed into one of delight.
“You mean it?” “Mm.” Tōru intended to become friends with this child first and see if he could improve his living conditions.
Aside from the simple fact that he was soft-hearted…
There was another reason.
After improving Naruto’s malnutrition, Tōru wanted to ask him for a strand of hair to serve as the summoning medium for Kyojuro Rengoku.
First, he naturally assumed that the healthier Naruto’s body was, the better Rengoku’s body would be after revival.
In reality, it would make no difference.
Second, since Naruto would be helping him by providing the hair, Tōru felt that he should offer something in return.
Otherwise, he would feel guilty.
“Can I?” Tōru asked again.
Behind the crystal ball, Hiruzen narrowed his eyes.
Wasn’t this friendship developing a little too quickly?
It almost seemed as though someone were pushing things along from behind the scenes.
Still, Tōru was merely a child and posed no threat.
He decided to continue watching.
Naruto nodded vigorously.
“Yes!
Of course!” Then he asked somewhat anxiously: “But will your mom agree?” The children who had previously been willing to play with him had all begun avoiding him after their parents scolded and warned them.
“I’ll tell her.” Under Naruto’s expectant gaze, Tōru walked over to his mother, who was waiting in line, and explained what he wanted to do.
“Eh?
You made a new friend?” Mikoto glanced somewhat unexpectedly toward where Kakashi was hiding, seemingly questioning why he hadn’t stopped them.
Kakashi gave her a hand signal understood only by Jōnin.
[The Third Hokage’s orders.] Mikoto frowned slightly and looked back.
Part of her wanted to simply take Tōru home.
But when she saw Naruto’s two bright eyes, she thought of her old friend, Uzumaki Kushina.
[Since there’s nothing I can do for her…] [And that child must be lonely too, just like Tōru used to be.] “Then Tōru, don’t bother him for too long, okay?” Mikoto gently stroked her son’s hair and smiled.
“Otherwise, I’ll cook dinner myself.” Not far away, Naruto recognized what that expression meant and happily jumped straight into the air.
“I understand.” Tōru nodded.
“Hmm?” Mikoto raised an eyebrow.
“I understand.” A faint blush appeared on Tōru’s face.
“Mom.”