Naruto clenched his fists as he listened to Inoichi's words.
A crime?
His expression darkened.
"No one here would sell me anything if I looked like myself."
His voice was rather high but steady.
"No one in this village sees me as human."
"They see me as a demon."
"How am I supposed to buy anything?"
The anger in his voice surprised both Ino and Inoichi.
Naruto continued.
"I know Sasuke gets respect."
"People give him discounts."
"They welcome him."
"So I thought if I looked like him, maybe I'd be treated differently, and maybe I could buy a dress."
Before Inoichi could reply, a loud voice suddenly rang out from outside.
"Hey!"
Several people turned.
A stall owner was glaring directly at Naruto.
"You Demon!"
"Get lost!"
"You're not welcome here!"
The shout attracted even more attention.
People stopped what they were doing.
More eyes turned toward Naruto.
More hostile eyes.
"Go home, demon!"
"Nobody wants you here!"
"Why are you even wandering around? Get lost!"
The insults came one after another.
Naruto remained silent.
Unmoved.
This was nothing new.
He had lived with it his entire life like this.
The demon would have killed everyone, but he stayed calm, not to cause a problem for himself
But Ino and Inoichi were different.
Both looked shocked.
Inoichi knew many villagers disliked Naruto.
He knew there was resentment.
But seeing it this openly was another matter entirely.
Even he hadn't expected it to be this bad.
Ino looked around in disbelief.
Then back at Naruto.
"What did you even do?"
Her voice carried genuine confusion.
"Why does everyone hate you so much?"
Naruto looked at her.
"I didn't do anything."
His answer came immediately.
"They've always been like this."
"For a reason, I only recently learned myself."
Ino frowned.
That only made her more curious.
"Then what is the reason?"
"Why would everyone treat you like this?"
Naruto was silent for a moment.
Then he looked directly into her eyes.
"It's been like this since the day I was born."
"They don't see me as human."
"They see me as a demon."
Ino froze.
The bitterness behind those words caught her off guard.
(She too watched sometimes that Naruto is treated badly, but she only thought it was because Naruto did silly things, but she did not expect it from the start of his birth.)
For the first time, she couldn't think of a response.
Naruto watched her quietly.
Then asked.
"Do you really want to know the truth, Ino?"
Without hesitation, she nodded.
"Yes."
Immediately.
Inoichi stepped in.
"That's enough."
His voice was firm.
"This isn't the place."
"And it isn't the time."
He glanced around at the nearby villagers.
"It's a village secret."
"It shouldn't be discussed publicly."
Ino turned toward her father.
Frustrated.
"A village secret?"
"Then why does everyone already know it?"
"Why does everyone hate Naruto?"
Her questions came one after another.
Naruto gave a small scoff.
Then looked at Inoichi.
"If the entire village knows..."
"How much of a secret is it really?"
Inoichi's expression tightened.
Because Naruto wasn't entirely wrong.
The secret was supposed to remain hidden, and they wanted to make Naruto a hero.
That is the wish of the one who sacrificed his life at that calamity.
But the secret somehow got leaked; we don't know who leaked it, though.
Yet over the years, whispers had spread.
Enough whispers to poison an entire childhood.
For a moment, he simply sighed.
Then looked at Naruto.
Naruto noticed the conflict in his eyes.
(Inoichi is very introverted; he rarely speaks and is not very successful in argumentative talk.)
"Don't worry, Mr. Yamanaka."
His voice had calmed Inoichi.
"I won't press the issue here."
He gestured with his thumb toward the villagers still staring at them.
"But I do have one request."
Inoichi nodded.
"What is it?"
"A black outfit."
Naruto answered immediately.
"For tomorrow's photo session."
"That's all I need."
The request was simple.
Inoichi visibly relaxed.
"Fine."
"I'll have one delivered to your apartment tomorrow morning."
Naruto nodded.
"Thank you."
Inoichi then turned toward his daughter.
"I have some work to take care of."
He paused.
Then looked at Naruto and Ino, who is standing beside him.
"Ino."
"Stay with Naruto for a while."
Before either could reply, he walked away.
His mind was already focused on informing the Third Hokage about what had happened today.
He wanted to reduce the resentment Naruto is accumulating day by day, before it becomes worse for the entire village.
Soon, only Naruto and Ino remained.
For a few moments, neither spoke.
They both went outside of the mall and started walking on the road.
The market slowly returned to normal.
People resumed shopping.
While walking....
Ino secretly glanced at Naruto.
Then again.
And again.
Finally Naruto noticed.
"Still curious?"
Ino immediately looked away.
Then sighed.
"Of course I'm curious."
Naruto chuckled.
"Then stop making that face."
"What face?"
"That frustrated face."
Ino instantly crossed her arms.
"I'm not frustrated."
"You are."
"I'm not."
"You are."
Naruto's lips curved slightly.
The smile made Ino pause.
For some reason, this Naruto felt completely different from the loud idiot she knew from the academy.
Calmer.
More confident.
More difficult to read.
Naruto looked at her again.
"If you want answers that badly..."
He shrugged.
"Buy me dinner first."
Ino blinked.
"What?"
Naruto replied.
"A meal."
"You ask questions."
"I answer."
"Seems fair."
For a moment, Ino simply stared at him.
Then her cheeks turned slightly red.
"W-Who said I'm buying you dinner?!"
Naruto laughed softly.
Interesting.
Getting a reaction from her was surprisingly easy.
(...To Be Continued...)