Naruto's POV (Traversing - Hidden Leaf Village Main Gate)
Naruto's POV (Traversing - Hidden Leaf Village Main Gate)
With a smaller group and less important personnel, the travel back to the Leaf was done with relative ease. The group traveled in loose formation towards the Leaf at the speed most Genin were comfortable with. Naruto appreciated the time to reflect on recent events a bit more. He had been subtly hiding from his friends at the front of the pack, his stamina levels to absurd degrees. But he wasn't surprised when Neji and Ino appeared; both looked somewhat frustrated.
"Blondie! Where the hell have you been? We haven't had a chance to talk about recent events!" Ino ranted, jumping in front of the blonde and traversing backward to face him. She had come a long way since the beginning. Now, they easily rival Neji and Naruto.
"You're right about that, but that's how shinobi break their necks," Neji remarked, joining them at Naruto's side. He was a genius and had grown shockingly quickly in the three months. "You really should've sought us out."
"You knew?" Naruto asked.
"I had an idea. You were powerful, but no one should be able to tank my gentle fist, let alone somehow last against an S-rank missing ninja while he casually smacked Ino and me down."
"I…" Naruto paused with an oddly pensive face. "I would've told you both in time."
"I am not one to judge someone else branded at birth without their consent." Neji reasoned darkly. "It certainly was shocking, but it changes nothing. You single-handedly shouldered my wrath and showed me not to simply accept what life has given me. I will not shame myself by forgetting who offered to aid my clan."
"Thanks, man," Naruto said, simply beaming at the Hyuga.
"Listen, I really love to see you two get along; it's adorable. But why the hell have you been avoiding us after the second exam?" Ino said sweetly. Naruto wasn't fooled by her kind demeanor. She was intelligent; her study of psychology had made her a lie detector of sorts. Well, only with him; apparently, he was full of "tells."
"Umm, I haven't been avoiding you two?" Naruto asked somewhat honestly, slightly confused about why she was upset.
"I'll kill you, blondie," Ino promised darkly.
"You left the party unannounced last night, leading Gai and Kakashi to go searching," Neji announced. "Then didn't return until late into the night. I attempted to stay up to talk to you but fell asleep."
"My bad guys, seriously. Had a run-in with the sand creep again. Then we were attacked by two weirdos. Except for the lady weirdo who surrendered to us, she claimed to work for that damn Snake Bastard." Naruto explained.
"Interesting; I heard Sasuke and Yuno Uchiha were attacked as well," Neji added, pondering the recent events.
"Four Leaf shinobi targeted by Orochimaru once again?" Ino complained. "We have enough problems without some murderous creep trying to kill us."
"Hmph, if I see him, I'll kill him for almost killing the Third Hokage." Naruto declared. "That old man needs to hold on till I can take his hat."
"Naruto, you must speak more elegantly when talking about the hokage, ya know?" Neji mocked the blonde with a smirk.
"I'm just honest, ya know?... Hey! That's my line! Don't be a damn copier loser!" Naruto yelled.
"Honestly strange…" Ino grumbled.
"HEY!" Their group was interrupted as the leader of the group of returning shinobi waved his hand, signaling their arrival at the Gate of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
The group shifted into a tight formation. Two Anbu and the Jounin sensei were students who were either returning to train or mourning their failure. The Genin were at the back, watched by several Anbu hidden in the forest. A home defense core of Anbu had been formed, and the members' identities were hidden even more than most Anbu cores. They worked outside the walls, considered the first line of defense against any pursuer. The mysterious squad is being dubbed the "Phoenix Core."
As they walked in, the civilians cheered at their arrival. Such was tradition for exams held outside the safety of the walls, the odd custom being used as some measure of celebration for the survivors. 'Not that they would celebrate with me,' Naruto thought darkly to himself.
More subtlety is a way to mourn those who would never return. Even Naruto had heard there was always death during the Chunin Exams. This one had not been different. They cheered despite that, happy to see so few missing. The cheering continued even for the Genin….. Until Naruto, Ino, and Neji crossed through the gates. Their gaze landed on him, studying and memorizing each and every eye-catching detail painfully in their mind. The recollection and news of the nine tails seemed to echo within them, reminding them of who he was, eyes dilating and fixating upon his form. He felt like some object at the museum getting stared at by the people. Slowly, the gazes became hostile, silent threats, narrowed eyes, snarls, and recognition. They were all there. Still, he continued pretending not to notice them, almost feeling responsible for everything because of their gazes. There was a howl, and some people just fainted upon remembering that night, realizing a breathing proof of that nightmare walked among them.
Naruto kept his walk steady. He raised his guard and did his best to ignore the tension. Soon, the silence was broken, some glasses breaking, some people falling down. They spoke in whispers like speaking some secret in the ears, some worse than others, seeping honeyed voices, poison subtly dripping from their words. Naruto felt his stomach tie in knots as the common folk of his home let their voices be heard.
"Demon." One whispered.
"Kyuubi was alive all this time… Lord Fourth lied?" Another asked, seemingly disturbed.
"The tailed filth survived! We sh-" There was an audible struggle as those most sensible silenced the man. Not out of morality, no, they wished to avoid being associated with such.
"This damn trash!" Another screamed. Seemingly, the first yell had set up something akin to a chain reaction.
"Kill it!" shards of glass were launched towards him, missing its mark by a million.
"I agree, but we can't take the risk… my wife was killed by it." Another whimpered.
A mob was forming a very…angry mob. People lost rationality, overcome by feelings and a combined thought spreading across the people, surging across the area. The discussions grew louder and louder, and the tension in the air became more and more unbearable.
Naruto flinched at the open discussion of him. Quickly, it became frenzied screams. Most of them cried out in anger or anguish at his presence. Ino subtly grabbed his hand, offering her support. Neji stepped closer as well, openly frowning at the unfolding events. But Naruto barely noticed. He had always known his secret was one to be kept but never imagined this level of hate would be water from the broken dam. He barely heard the whistling in the air, turning to see a beer bottle thrown at him. So shocked was he that it nearly hit him in the face before Ino kicked it away. Just like with the screams once someone else did it, it was like an invitation had been given. Trash, shoes, knives, tools, and an assortment of random objects were thrown. Naruto was stunned by this level of hate. What did he do to deserve all of this? But Ino, Neji, Kakashi, and various other shinobi interfered. Deflecting the debris. Anbu appeared, wrangling the more rowdy villagers. But Naruto could only tremble as he realized many shinobi around him had not moved to defend him. He may not have known them, but his comrades would've let the crowd pummel him…
Before any more pandemonium could start, a large puff of smoke exploded next to Naruto, coating the area around him in smoke. Suddenly, Naruto saw his mother, who stood amongst the smoke. Ino and Neji were perplexed by her arrival.
"Naruto, with me, it's time to talk… things are changing, sweety," Kushina said with a smile, almost reassuring him then and there. "Thank you two so much." Kushina offered to Ino and Neji, who nodded hesitantly, still shocked by the hate directed at their teammate. With that, Kushina grabbed Naruto, pulling him close and puffing away with another body flicker.
"I… why would they do this to him," Ino asked miserably, looking at Neji.
"People always judge people for things they can't help. I know that better than anyone." Neji answered with a fierce scowl. "We need to help him somehow."
"Simply be there and respect his process." Kakashi chimed in, walking up to the two. He was covered in trash, showing he had been active in defense of Naruto. "He's gonna go through things; it will likely affect him greatly. We can only offer to be there and respect his boundaries." Kakashi said, his voice somber. "They never recognize the greats, do they, Obito?" He asked sadly to himself.
He didn't notice Ino and Neji locking eyes and nodding.