Chapter 15: An Eye for an Eye
Naruto silently bent down and picked up one of the stones that had just been thrown into the room. Using the same throwing technique as shuriken, combined with the omnidirectional vision of Transparent World, he flung the stones straight out the window toward the Konoha villagers on the street below...
Even after throwing all that trash and garbage, the crowd still wasn't satisfied. Dozens of hate-filled, bloodshot eyes glared viciously at Naruto's apartment like needles, refusing to leave.
The next second, stones whistled through the air and shot toward them.
These people were mostly ordinary civilians with no way to react in time.
Nearly a hundred people packed along the street were all struck in the head.
In an instant, blood flowed from their wounds. Many collapsed unconscious, suffering at least concussions.
Kakashi and the two Anbu monitoring from nearby watched the scene with grave expressions.
One Anbu immediately flickered away to report to the Hokage Building. The other headed toward Konoha Hospital.
Kakashi assessed the villagers' injuries. No one was in danger of dying, though they would definitely suffer. He felt slightly relieved.
Perhaps because he had just witnessed Naruto being pelted with garbage, Kakashi was reminded of what his own father had gone through back then. A heavy feeling settled in his chest.
Among the crowd, he even recognized a few familiar faces — people who had once whispered and mocked his father on these same streets years ago.
They looked much older now, but the harshness between their brows had only grown sharper.
He could have blocked some of those stones for the villagers, but a moment of hesitation had cost him the best opportunity.
[The Third Hokage's orders were only to monitor and protect Naruto. As for those villagers… getting hit by a few stones won't kill them anyway.]
Inside the room, when Sakura looked out the window, her eyes widened in shock and she covered her mouth with both hands.
"Naruto! You just threw those stones at the civilians!"
"They only threw things because they have nowhere to vent their resentment! What they did was wrong, but how could you do something like this?! There are even elderly people among them!"
Sakura was the only civilian-born child in the room, so she felt she could relate the most.
At least, that's what she believed.
Naruto didn't bother arguing. He didn't even glance at her.
There was no point wasting time reasoning with this version of Sakura.
"I'm this kind of person. If you don't like it, then leave. No one's stopping you," Naruto said coldly.
These merciless words made Sakura's face flush red with anger.
She stomped her foot hard, but the next second forced a smile and turned to Sasuke beside her.
"Sasuke, let's go. Staying in a place like this for even one more second feels unlucky."
However, Sasuke didn't leave with her as she hoped. Instead, he looked at her coldly.
"If you want to leave, go by yourself. I don't think what Naruto did was wrong."
Sakura turned to the others, hoping someone would speak up for her.
All she received were looks that said "Are you stupid?"
This strange situation nearly made her choke with frustration.
[What Naruto did was clearly wrong! Why are you all looking at me like that?!]
She thought bitterly.
"Um… maybe we should help Naruto-kun clean up the room first," Hinata suggested softly, breaking the awkward silence as she looked at the messy floor.
The others agreed and began helping clean up the garbage.
Sakura stood aside sulking for a while, but eventually joined in reluctantly, picking up some of the less dirty vegetable leaves.
It wasn't until evening that the room was finally cleaned.
The Konoha 12 sat on the floor, all looking somewhat exhausted.
Naruto walked to the fridge and took out some chilled drinks.
There were nine people in the room, but only eight bottles.
He handed them out one by one.
Sakura's throat was parched. She stood at the back, pretending to wait casually like she didn't care.
When only one bottle remained in Naruto's hand, Sakura thought it was definitely for her and was ready to reach out.
But Naruto simply twisted the cap open and drank the entire bottle in one go.
Everyone else was drinking, yet no one seemed to notice her.
In that instant, her pent-up grievances exploded. Her voice turned sharp and piercing.
"Naruto! I helped you clean the house! Just because I said something you didn't like, you won't even give me a drink?! How petty can you be? Are you even a guy?!"
Naruto couldn't be bothered to explain that there was simply one bottle short. His tone remained ice-cold.
"Picking up a few vegetable leaves counts as helping? Wow, thanks for the huge favor. Now, are you leaving by yourself, or do I need to throw you out?"
Sakura's chest heaved. Tears welled up in her eyes.
She couldn't understand why Naruto's words always hit her right where it hurt most.
Completely broken, she turned and ran out of the apartment.
"Naruto, after what just happened, you probably don't feel like celebrating anymore. It's getting late, so we'll head out," Shikamaru said, rubbing his sore neck. Today's troubles had left him exhausted.
Naruto nodded. "Thanks for helping me clean up."
The others said their goodbyes and left one after another.
The last one to walk out was still Hinata.
Before leaving, she took out a delicate gift box, held it with both hands, and lowered her head slightly as she offered it to Naruto.
"Happy birthday, Naruto-kun…"
After Hinata left, Naruto opened the gift box.
Inside the elegant black box lay a finely crafted bifold wallet. It clearly wasn't cheap.
He played with it for a moment. It reminded him that in the original story, the original Naruto had owned an ugly but cute frog wallet.
Even that ugly little thing had been hard for him to obtain.
...
Konoha Hospital — the wound treatment department was suddenly overcrowded.
Dozens of injured villagers had their heads wrapped in thick bandages, all looking like they were cosplaying Danzo.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood in the hospital corridor, watching the bandaged villagers with worried eyes.
With Naruto causing such a scene, that bandaged old man would probably come knocking again soon.
Just thinking about it gave the Third Hokage a headache. He couldn't help rubbing his temples.
That night, Naruto was cooking.
Fish sizzled in the pan.
Having a strong body was truly convenient — even when frying fish, he could activate Transparent World to check the inside of the fish, achieving the perfect crispy-outside, tender-inside result.
With this ability, becoming a god-tier chef was only a matter of time.
Using the ability more in daily life also helped increase its proficiency.
Just as the fish fillet was perfectly cooked, there was a knock at the door.
Naruto placed the fish on a plate and turned to look outside.
Transparent World was still active, so the figure at the door was completely visible.
"It's that old man again," Naruto muttered with a sigh of helplessness.
--------------------------
Join the inner circle of readers who shape the story & Unlock 100 unreleased chapters ahead of all readers :
patreon.com/inkshield