"Where... where am I?"
Accompanied by a faint groan, Naruto, who had been unconscious for over three days, finally slowly opened his eyes.
At this moment, he felt as if he had just emerged from a nightmare.
In that dream, he had transformed into the Nine-Tails, slaughtering and destroying indiscriminately in the forests outside the village. Countless Konoha shinobi died brutal deaths, some of whom were people he knew.
"You're awake?"
Accompanied by a familiar voice, Allen slowly stepped out from the shadows, placing a tray of steaming food and fresh water in front of the protagonist.
"It's you?! Why are you here!"
Naruto jumped out of bed in a panic, dropping into a guarded stance.
In his memory, the man before him was an enemy of Konoha, an enemy of all shinobi and hidden villages alike.
However, Allen didn't seem to mind. He replied with a smile, "This is the Hidden Sound Village. Naturally, I live here. Or have you already forgotten what happened before?"
"Before?"
Naruto froze for a moment. His expression quickly soured as memories flooded back: the accusations he had hurled at Tsunade before losing control, and the realization that those nightmares weren't just dreams. They were the reality of what occurred after he surrendered his body to the Nine-Tails. He collapsed back onto the bed, his deep blue eyes filled with terror and despair.
To him, the village was home; becoming Hokage was the dream and hope he had carried his entire life.
But now, he had personally destroyed it all.
In his despair, Naruto instinctively covered his face, muttering in a dejected voice, "I... what have I done..."
"No. You did nothing wrong. It is Konoha that is wrong. It is the foolish system of the hidden villages that is wrong! The fault lies with the high command, including the Third Hokage and Danzo. You were merely reclaiming the justice they owed you."
Allen used a calculated, seductive tone, attempting to guide the young boy's thoughts and consciousness.
He refused to believe it, was Asura's chakra truly so potent that it could turn every host into a hot-blooded, tireless hero?
Today, he was determined to change Naruto.
"It wasn't my fault?"
Hearing those words, a spark of light finally flickered in Naruto's dull pupils. He slowly lifted his head.
Allen nodded without hesitation. "Exactly. Anyone else in your position would have inevitably acted the same way. There is no need for you to suffer through self-reproach. Instead, you must consider what comes next."
"Can I... go back to Konoha?" Naruto asked weakly.
"During the time the Nine-Tails was on its rampage, at least a hundred shinobi were killed. What do you think?" Allen replied with a mocking half-smile.
Naruto's face turned deathly pale at the number. He instinctively clenched his fists.
A full minute passed before he began clawing at his messy hair like a madman. "Fine!" he said bitterly. "I guess I have to throw the dream of becoming Hokage out of my head. Kakashi-sensei, Granny Tsunade... and the rest of the village... they'll probably never forgive me."
"On the contrary. It is not you who should beg for forgiveness, but them. Don't forget, these are the people who concealed your parents' identities and nearly handed you over to Danzo to have your emotions erased, to turn you into a mindless weapon of war. You've never seen the members of the Root; you'll never know how dehumanizing Danzo's training is. Do you know why Sasuke hates Konoha so much, to the point of wanting to destroy it with his own hands? Look at these mission records and you'll understand. The village you believed was full of sunshine and warmth never existed. It was merely a facade maintained by the high command, led by the Third Hokage."
With that, Allen tossed a scroll containing the dark history of Konoha in front of Naruto.
Out of curiosity, Naruto opened it. He had only scanned a few lines before a surge of rage rose within him once more.
This time, there was no guilt in his eyes. Instead, he gripped the scroll so tightly his knuckles turned white. Several times he looked ready to tear it to shreds, but he forced himself to finish reading every word.
When he reached the final line, Naruto took a deep breath. Without looking up, he asked, "Is all of this true? Ever since the Second Hokage, the village leadership has been suppressing the Uchiha clan? Kakashi-sensei's father was driven to suicide by rumors they intentionally spread? Neji's father suffered the same fate? Isn't the village supposed to be a place to protect one's comrades? Then why... why did the Hokage make these decisions over and over again?"
"Because that is the game of power," Allen said, his lips curling into a cynical sneer. "To stabilize their grip on authority and ensure no one threatened their status, the Third Hokage, Danzo, and those two advisors committed countless loathsome acts. In their eyes, no one in Konoha is indispensable, except themselves. Especially the 'Will of Fire' the Third constantly preached. To an extent, it is nothing more than brainwashing, turning those who accept it into tools and sacrifices. Unfortunately, you were the poor soul who was brainwashed the most."
As soon as he finished speaking…
BOOM!
Naruto slammed his fist into the wall, leaving a massive crater.
His entire body trembled with agitation. As the truth was unraveled layer by layer, he felt a growing sense of loathing and hatred for the image of the "kindly, grandfatherly" Third Hokage in his memories.
It was that old man who had turned the son of a hero into a loathed "Demon Fox." Not only had he suffered discrimination and bullying since childhood, but he couldn't even fill his stomach, forced to survive on nutritionally void instant ramen and expired milk.
The most ridiculous part was that he had actually believed those cheap, deceptive platitudes. He had been desperate to change everyone's opinion of him through hard work, all to eventually become Hokage.
Watching the volatile emotions play across Naruto's face, Allen's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile. He pointed to the food and water on the table.
"Alright, don't dwell on that for now. Eat while it's hot. You haven't eaten in two or three days; if you continue like this, your digestive system will fail. Besides, this is Otogakure. Konoha's reach won't extend here anytime soon. You have all the time in the world to think."
"Thank you... Thank you for telling me all this. I think I finally understand how Sasuke felt back then."
After bowing solemnly, Naruto grabbed the glass and gulped down half the water before ravenously stuffing food into his mouth.
Though the two had clashed many times in the past, after this ordeal, Naruto suddenly felt that Allen wasn't so detestable after all.
At the very least, this man had let him know who his real parents were, and exposed the fact that the old man, the Third Hokage, had been lying to him all along.