Disappointment—pure disappointment.
That was the expression Danzo Shimura would see again and again in his nightmares. Each time, he would wake up screaming:
"It's not like that! I didn't do it! Teacher, please believe me!"
But every time, the only thing answering him was the dark room and the cold gray walls.
Danzo came back to his senses and slowly sat down, his gaze still locked on the Hokage robes hanging nearby.
---
Outside the Hokage Office, after Hiruzen Sarutobi gave the order, the villagers poured in like a tide. The ANBU tried to force them into orderly lines, but no one listened.
They had only one purpose.
They wanted answers.
They wanted to know whether the things written in the newspaper were true.
They wanted to know why the Hokage had done those things.
They wanted to know whether the deaths of so many important figures were truly connected to him.
With doubt and anger in their hearts, the crowd reached the Hokage Office door. They looked at one another, silently urging someone to push it open.
Yet no one dared.
The person inside was Hiruzen Sarutobi—the Third Hokage, the longest-serving leader of Konoha. His presence alone was overwhelming.
At that moment, the door opened from the inside.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped out with a gentle smile. The crowd instinctively stepped back, but there was no hostility—only unease.
"Come in," he said calmly.
"Whatever you want to ask, I will answer."
He turned and walked back inside. His back looked lonely and heavy as the villagers followed him in.
No one spoke. All eyes were fixed on him.
Hiruzen placed his Hokage hat on the desk and smiled faintly.
"Ask."
Iruka Umino stepped forward.
He was just an academy teacher. His parents had died in the Nine-Tails' attack, and Naruto was his student. No one's feelings were more conflicted than his.
"H-Hokage-sama," Iruka asked, voice shaking, "is Naruto really the son of a hero… and not a demon fox?"
Hiruzen paused briefly.
"Yes. He is the son of the Fourth Hokage. His true name should be Namikaze Naruto. Because of Minato's status and Naruto being the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, I chose to conceal his identity."
"However," Hiruzen continued evenly, "I never called him a demon fox. You did."
"I only stated that the Nine-Tails—the strongest tailed beast—was sealed inside him. The term 'demon fox' was spread by the villagers themselves."
"If you wish to hold me responsible for that alone," he said calmly, "it is not enough."
Iruka froze.
It was true. The Third Hokage had never publicly called Naruto a demon fox.
After the Nine-Tails' attack, everyone hated the Nine-Tails. When they learned it was sealed inside a child, that hatred transferred directly to Naruto.
Most villagers had lost family members back then.
They hated the Nine-Tails.
So they hated the child who carried it.
Because Naruto's identity was hidden, he had no protection, no background—just a vessel in their eyes.
So they cursed him. Insulted him. Isolated him.
Some even warned their children to stay away from "that demon fox."
Konoha rejected Naruto completely.
If Hiruzen had done anything, it was guiding this silence—hiding Naruto's identity and letting things take their course.
The crowd's faces went pale.
They wanted to argue—but when they remembered their own actions, no one could say a word.
Hiruzen gave a quiet chuckle.
"Naruto's suffering may be partly my responsibility," he said, "but more than that, it came from your hatred."
"When Naruto tried to buy food, no one sold to him. Some of you even sold him expired milk."
"Don't push your guilt onto others."
"At the very least," he said calmly, "I have never harmed Naruto. I even used part of my own salary every month to support him."
His presence surged back.
Hiruzen crossed his legs and looked at the crowd, smiling lightly.
The villagers lowered their heads. Silence filled the room.
Then, a voice spoke from within the crowd.
"Hokage-sama, Uzumaki Kushina owned a villa and an entire commercial street in Konoha's most prosperous district."
Hiruzen's expression changed instantly.
He looked toward the source, but the speaker was hidden among the people.
"Who are you?" Hiruzen demanded. "Do you only dare speak from the shadows?"
A soft laugh followed.
"Don't rush, Hokage-sama. It's said that Minato and Kushina's assets were confiscated by you for personal use. Is that true?"
"Hmph," Hiruzen snorted. "I merely safeguarded the inheritance. Naruto was too young. If his wealth had been stolen or squandered, wouldn't that have betrayed his parents' wishes?"
At that moment, Uzumaki Naruto stepped forward.
Or rather—
The presence within him stepped forward.
"So," Minato Namikaze said calmly, "since you say our inheritance was safeguarded… now that I've returned, shouldn't it be returned to our son?"
Hiruzen's eyes shifted.
"Minato… after the Nine-Tails' attack, the village needed repairs, compensation had to be paid, and funds were scarce. I used part of that money."
Minato's voice turned cold.
"My wife and I died for Konoha. And you not only took the inheritance meant for our child—you let him suffer for years."
"Is this your Will of Fire?"
"If I had known you were this kind of person," Minato said, his voice echoing through the office, "I would have let you perform the Reaper Death Seal back then."
The room exploded in shock.
Hiruzen's face went completely pale.
He took a deep breath, stepped forward—
And knelt.
Thump.
(A/N)
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