“Because when Tōru is holding my hand, it doesn’t hurt as much as it did before.” After saying this, Naruto lowered his head somewhat bashfully.
It was the first time he had expressed such a dependent feeling to someone his own age.
It was as though Tōru had become the pillar that allowed him to escape his loneliness.
“That goes without saying.” Tōru looked as though he had expected this and explained matter-of-factly, with an almost scholarly seriousness.
“The place I’m pressing right now can cause slight numbness in your hand.
That’s why you feel this way.” For someone with the Transparent World, accomplishing something like this was incredibly easy.
Unfortunately, that answer was completely outside Naruto’s expectations.
During the brief silence that followed, outside the house, Kakashi Hatake—who had been assigned to “protect” Naruto—slapped a palm against his ANBU mask.
He had gained an entirely new understanding of Tōru’s ability to kill a conversation.
Shouldn’t he say something more comforting at a time like this?
At the same time, the Shadow Clone Kakashi had sent to the Hokage’s Office to request instructions when Naruto was injured had also dispersed on its own.
Kakashi had received news that he wasn’t sure was good or bad.
Danzō had returned.
He had summoned the Third Hokage to Root.
In other words, the Third Hokage still knows absolutely nothing about what happened here…
Tch.
This could become troublesome.
Inside the house.
“Eh?
Eh?
Ehh?” Hearing Tōru’s almost completely rational response, Naruto’s eyes shrank into tiny dots.
He felt as though his emotional confession had received no response whatsoever.
There was a faint sense of disappointment.
And yet, it also seemed completely normal.
After all, this was exactly the sort of thing someone with Tōru’s expression would say.
“Your injury itself isn’t serious.
It only damaged the epidermis.
It looks frightening, but that’s all.” Tōru pointed at the back of Naruto’s hand.
“But now I have to remove the wool fibers from the wound.
This will hurt considerably.” “Still don’t want me to knock you unconscious?” “N-No need.” Naruto spoke with obvious stubbornness.
“I’ve set my sights on becoming the Hokage of this village.
Of course I can handle this.” What he was really worried about was that if he passed out, the long-awaited time he had hoped to spend with Tōru would simply disappear.
“All right.” Tōru didn’t try to persuade him again.
He drew a circle over the injured area with the tweezers, finally positioning them over a particularly conspicuous fiber.
Seeing the sharp metal tips so close to his skin, a layer of cold sweat appeared on Naruto’s forehead.
His body tensed again.
He pressed his tongue firmly against the roof of his mouth, preparing himself for the possible agony to come.
“I’ll count to three, then pull it out.” Tōru warned him, as though giving him time to prepare himself mentally.
“…Okay.” A gulp sounded in Naruto’s throat.
“Naruto, a shinobi must learn how to endure.
If you want to become Hokage, this is even more important.
Whether it’s pain or loneliness, they’re all trials meant to temper us…” The old man’s words surfaced in Naruto’s mind.
He secretly made up his mind that, at the very least, he couldn’t cry out in pain in front of Tōru.
“Don’t pull your hand away.
One…
two.” Before he reached three, Tōru had already moved.
Fast.
Precise.
“Aaaaaaaaaah!” “You said you were going to count to three!” And thus, Naruto’s plan to demonstrate the “unyielding perseverance of a Hokage” was completely destroyed.
“It was a strategy to distract you.” Tōru explained coldly.
“Then what’s the point of telling me that—ah!
Why are you doing it again—” “Apparently it worked.” Amid their chaotic exchange, with one sentence following another, Tōru rapidly and precisely removed every wool fiber contaminating the wound.
Only then did the ulceration on Naruto’s hand finally stop worsening.
The intense pain gradually subsided to a manageable level.
His body, which had nearly stiffened into immobility, relaxed somewhat.
He even felt an unreal sense of relief, like someone who had narrowly escaped death.
His entire shirt was soaked with sweat.
Meanwhile, Tōru had reached a conclusion regarding whatever had been mixed into the cleaning solution.
It’s a substance specifically capable of corroding human tissue.
The tweezers, the metal bucket used for washing the mop, the cloth mop, and even Naruto’s floor had all come into contact with it, yet remained undamaged.
That meant it probably wasn’t an ordinary acid or alkali.
It seemed to react specifically with human tissue.
But what kind of person would dare do something like this?
If someone had deliberately wanted to hurt Naruto, then anyone with even a little common sense would have worn rubber gloves while washing the mop.
In that case, this shouldn’t have happened.
But if it hadn’t been deliberate, the danger posed by the cleaning solution was still enormous.
What if Naruto hadn’t gotten it on his hands?
What if it had splashed into his eyes or mouth?
I need to make a trip to the shops.
With that thought, Tōru gathered all the wool fibers he had removed from the wound together with the ruined glove and threw them into the trash.
Naruto watched with a slightly reluctant expression.
He knew the glove could no longer be worn.
He simply disliked seeing something that had kept him company disappear like that.
Before anyone had paid attention to him, he had practically talked to everything in his home.
Those objects had served as substitutes for the friends he had never had.
But now I have a real friend.
The thought lifted his spirits slightly.
The most difficult part of treating the injury was now over.
The questions Tōru had deliberately refrained from asking because he didn’t want to interfere with the treatment could finally be raised.
“Are the shops in the village willing to sell things to you now?” As he took a medicine box from his trouser pocket, Tōru asked expressionlessly, as though making casual conversation.
“Yeah.
Grandpa Hokage’s word carries a lot of weight.” Naruto didn’t want Tōru worrying about his other problems, so he deliberately kept his answer vague.
His cheerful tone combined with his convincing smile could make even neutral words—and even bad experiences—sound like good things.
It was a peculiar talent.
Naruto himself didn’t even realize that he was avoiding the genuinely unpleasant parts of his life.
“Oh.” Tōru responded noncommittally.
He unscrewed the lid of the medicine container.
A faint fragrance of wisteria drifted out.
It eased his slightly restless mood.
This ointment had originally been prepared for Sasuke, who frequently burned his mouth until it turned black.
It was extremely effective against burn injuries.
Recently, Tōru had prepared another batch in case he suffered burns while practicing Flame Breathing.
He hadn’t expected to use it on Naruto so soon.
What he didn’t know was that the bottle he had given Naruto the first time they met had actually been taken away by Hinata.
There was something else Tōru had noticed.
The red energy that had previously repaired Naruto’s injuries had only flowed out in a very small amount from his abdomen today.
It was almost as though the source of that power deliberately wanted Naruto to suffer a little longer.
Thinking about it carefully, it would be best for Tōru to personally handle the entire process of applying the medicine and bandaging Naruto’s wounds.
That way, there would be no risk of complications.
As he applied the first layer of ointment to Naruto’s wound, he asked again, “What about the nearly expired milk in your refrigerator, and that bottle of cleaning solution?” Naruto’s right hand twitched as though it had been struck by electricity.
Tōru had discovered the cause of his injury.
Naruto didn’t want Tōru to keep seeing him looking pitiful after being bullied.
But things never seemed to go according to plan.
Every time, it ended up like this…
Without realizing it, his hair drooped low like the ears of a drenched kitten.
“Tell me the truth.” Tōru remembered what he had been like when he had first met Sabito.
For once, he could genuinely understand what Naruto was thinking.
If it were Sabito, this is probably how he would “comfort” me.
“I didn’t come here because I pity you.
“But if you aren’t even willing to acknowledge and face something that has already happened, then it will be difficult for me to treat you as an equal.” Tōru couldn’t reproduce Sabito’s inspiring tone when saying those words.
As a result, they sounded stern—perhaps even slightly mocking.
But the first sentence struck Naruto’s fragile heart.
I didn’t come here because I pity you.
At least one of the questions that had been weighing on his heart had finally been answered.
And the answer made him happy.
So he naturally accepted the latter half of Tōru’s words as well.
“What exactly happened?” Seeing Naruto recover slightly, Tōru asked again.
“Why did you choose things like these to bring home?
Didn’t you inspect them properly when you bought them?” Although Tōru had already guessed what had happened, he wanted to awaken in Naruto the determination to protect himself, much as he had once awakened Tanjiro’s determination to save Nezuko.
For that reason, Naruto needed to say aloud what he had experienced.
“Well…” Naruto looked down at the translucent layer of ointment covering the back of his hand.
His voice was somewhat subdued.
“Although everyone is willing to sell things to me now, they won’t let me enter the shops.
“After they take my money, they pack everything up and bring it outside.
I only discovered there was something wrong after I got home…” “Nearly expired milk can only be sold for half its original price.
How much did you pay them?” Tōru knew this because he occasionally bought nearly expired milk to make cream at home and eat it the same day.
For that purpose, the milk didn’t need to be particularly fresh.
“One hundred ryō.” (The original price was 100 ryō, roughly equivalent to 60 RMB in purchasing power.) Naruto looked slightly blank.
This was the first time he had learned this essential piece of household knowledge.
“Other hand.” “Okay.” The two—Uchiha Tōru and Naruto Uzumaki—fell into silence.
The only sounds in the room were their breathing and the quiet application of medicine.
They could hear the faint scraping between the damaged door and its frame, along with the occasional howl of cold air blowing inside.
It was almost as though someone might suddenly burst through the door at any moment and shatter the tranquil atmosphere.
“What about the cleaning solution?” “I-I don’t know.” Naruto opened his mouth and shook his head blankly.
“Maybe it was expired too, and that’s why it turned out like that.” In reality, this was the most serious injury he had suffered since he could remember.
But because Tōru had arrived in time and distracted him from the pain, Naruto hadn’t really considered the severity of the injury.
Tōru, however, could no longer trust anything Naruto purchased from the village.
How could Naruto possibly solve his malnutrition problem before the Ninja Academy reopened like this?
Putting aside his urgent need to revive Kyojuro Rengoku, Tōru couldn’t simply stand by and watch this child, whose smile reminded him of Tanjiro, continue living like this.
If the Hokage can’t be relied upon, then Naruto will have to fight for himself.
“Then go and ask them exactly what happened.
If it was an accident, they should compensate you.” But if it wasn’t…
Tōru unfolded the gauze, cut it into strips, and folded them neatly.
He covered the back of Naruto’s hand and wrapped the gauze around it again and again, keeping the tension appropriate.
It inevitably irritated the wound slightly.
Yet Naruto didn’t react at all.
When Tōru raised his head, Naruto’s round face had gone pale.
Clearly, he was imagining some unacceptable possibilities.
“You don’t want to go.” It wasn’t a question.
“I don’t know…” Naruto’s lips trembled slightly.
“Anyway…
you said it’s only that it looks serious, right?
Maybe we should just forget about it…” Even a single hostile look was already difficult for him to endure.
If he actually did what Tōru suggested…
He had already imagined himself going to confront the shopkeepers, only to be surrounded and collectively targeted.
What would they say?
What kind of looks would they give him?
The best-case scenario might be that he wouldn’t even be allowed through the door before being thrown out.
“Do you want to keep eating expired instant noodles and drinking expired milk?” Tōru questioned coldly.
“N-No.” Naruto shook his head.
The feeling of having diarrhea every night was simply unbearable.
“I don’t want to live like I did before anymore.” “Then…” A cloud of white vapor escaped Tōru’s nose.
“Don’t casually hand over your right to decide how you live to someone else!” For once, Tōru’s expression became fierce.
His voice suddenly rose sharply, startling Naruto into complete silence.
“Don’t pretend that what has already happened never happened.
If simply enduring everything were useful, you wouldn’t have ended up this badly injured today!
“Even after the Hokage issued an order, they still dare to treat you like this because they know you won’t fight back.
They know you’ll silently accept it.
“It’s precisely because you don’t dare to stand up for yourself that some people will only become more brazen in bullying you!” “If you don’t even have the courage to protect yourself, then what do you mean by saying you don’t want to live like this anymore?
“And you still say you want to become the strongest Kage in this village and earn everyone’s recognition…” The final sentence came especially loudly.
Especially harshly.
Almost as though the words had been forced through his clenched teeth.
“Don’t make yourself a laughingstock!” Bang!
A sudden surge of wind pressure from outside slammed the door open.
The chair blocking it was knocked over on the spot, helplessly lying on the floor and creaking against the wood.
The warmth inside the house was instantly swallowed by the cold wind.
Fine snowflakes swirled through the doorway like a flock of fluttering white butterflies, dancing in the entrance as though inviting Tōru and Naruto to step outside.
“I know that perhaps no one has stood on your side during all these years.” Looking at Naruto, who sat frozen in his seat while tears flowed uncontrollably down his cheeks, Tōru continued, “But I will support you.
“I’ll go with you and get to the bottom of this.” Naruto raised his head in disbelief.
Snowflakes drifted into the room and clung to his face, almost as though they were wiping away his tears.
“As long as I’m by your side, no one will be able to hurt you.
“This is my promise, from me, Uchiha Tōru.” After saying that, he placed the remaining half of the pre-cut gauze strips in front of Naruto.
His expression became serious.
“I’ve already demonstrated how to bandage the wound.
You can wrap the other hand yourself.” With that, he walked to the doorway and braced the doorframe, which continued trembling under the pressure of the wind.
“I’ll wait outside for half an hour.
If you’re willing to go, come out before I leave.
“I’ll have someone repair the door as soon as possible.” He grabbed the broken handle and pulled the door shut from outside Naruto’s home.
Not another breath of cold wind could enter through it.
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