Naruto: Naruto's Uchiha girlfriend is too arrogant

Chapter 374 The Uncontrollable Current Situation

A flash of golden light disappeared in an instant. Naruto looked at the sea of ​​people rushing towards him and immediately activated the Flying Thunder God Technique, teleporting with Sasuke directly from the village entrance back to his original small apartment.

He chose the old apartment over the new one based on a fairly reasonable deduction: since the village entrance was already so crowded, his new house, which was marked as the "Fourth Hokage's Former Residence," would be nothing short of walking into a trap if he went back.

Once his feet were firmly planted on solid ground, Naruto let out a breath, still shaken. He truly hadn't expected that the revelation of his true identity would trigger such a...fervent reaction.

What struck him as even more perplexing was that the crowd that had just gathered included not only ordinary villagers, but also many Konoha ninjas dressed as Chunin or even Jonin.

Many of them, in the past years, did not speak ill of him or show discrimination like some villagers did. Did they feel no remorse and need to go to such lengths?

He glanced at Zuo Yue beside him. Given the urgency of the situation, he naturally took her with him. Now, he clearly saw the furrowed brows on Zuo Yue's delicate face; the almost overflowing coldness and impatience in her eyes from the village entrance hadn't completely dissipated.

Her right hand was still slightly reaching towards her ninja tool pouch at her waist. Clearly, if the crowd had gotten any closer, or if anyone had tried to do anything overly intimate, she probably wouldn't have simply kept her distance.

"Tsk..."

Satsuki muttered under her breath, her voice full of undisguised disgust, "A bunch of sycophants... What a disgusting reaction."

Naruto didn't reply. He quietly walked to the window, lifted a corner of the curtain with his finger, and cautiously peeked outside. After just one glance, he almost slammed the curtain shut again.

The street below the apartment building was also packed with people! Although not as exaggerated as at the village entrance, it still formed a fairly large crowd of onlookers. Many people were pointing and gesturing at the unremarkable apartment building, their faces showing curiosity, excitement, and even... a kind of "admiration" expression.

"Don't these villagers... need to work?"

Just then, a deliberately hushed conversation came from the hallway outside the door. The voices were very close to the door, as if someone was standing right there.

"Finally, it's our turn! We have to make sure the photo looks good!"

"Of course! This is where the son of a hero used to live... The Third Hokage is really going too far."

Before Naruto could fully grasp what "taking pictures" and "going too far" meant, Satsuki beside him was already thoroughly enraged by the boundless chatter outside the door.

She darted forward, flung open the apartment door with a "whoosh," and shouted rudely at the person outside.

"Hey! You guys! What are you up to, sneaking around here like that?!"

"Whoa?! Someone's here?!"

"Who are you?! How dare you barge in like this..."

Two genin, who looked slightly younger than Naruto and had probably just graduated, were standing outside the door, holding a portable camera and clearly preparing to take a picture.

They were startled by Zuo Yue's sudden opening of the door and instinctively wanted to question her. But when their eyes fell on Zuo Yue's outstanding face, both in temperament and appearance, the words caught in their throats, and their momentum unconsciously weakened.

Taking advantage of this moment, Naruto peeked out from behind Satsuki. This time, he finally saw clearly that a brand-new, even "exquisitely" made wooden plaque had been nailed to the wall next to the door at some point, with neat characters engraved on it—

[The Home of a Hero's Suffering]

Naruto: "..."

After a brief moment of stunned silence, the two junior ninjas looked past Sasuke and finally focused their gaze on Naruto. Their eyes widened instantly, and their expressions changed from astonishment to excitement.

"Naruto, Naruto-sama?! You, you're actually here?! Please... please give me your autograph!" One of them was so excited that he was incoherent, frantically searching his body for a pen and notebook.

"Me too! Me too! Can we take a picture together?!" Another one immediately followed suit.

The exclamations of the two genin instantly shattered the previously restrained atmosphere in the stairwell. Down below, the villagers and ninjas who had been queuing for "visits and photos" immediately erupted into a commotion.

"What?! Young Master Naruto is upstairs?!"

"Hurry! Get up there!"

"Let me see! I want to see the son of a hero with my own eyes!"

A flurry of footsteps and excited shouts immediately surged from the stairwell, and the crowd began to surge upwards uncontrollably.

Naruto felt a chill run down his spine and, without thinking, grabbed Sasuke's wrist.

"Whoosh—!"

The Flying Thunder God Technique shone brightly once more. Just before the first wave of fanatics rushed up the stairs, the two figures had completely vanished from this "hero's former residence of suffering," leaving only the door and two bewildered and disappointed junior ninjas outside, holding cameras.

------

Naruto's new home is in a state that can only be described as a "disaster".

Kushina Uzumaki was bent over, her face full of distress and irritation, struggling to rummage through a mountain of packages and gifts in various packaging.

Her target was clear—gifts with particularly exquisite packaging, tied with ribbons, or in soft, ambiguous colors.

"Another one..."

She murmured to herself, pulling a pink gift box tied with a bow and exuding a perfume scent from the pile of gifts. Upon opening it, she found a large, meticulously crafted heart-shaped chocolate inside, along with a pink letter.

Kushina's brow furrowed even more. She skillfully placed the box of chocolates, which clearly carried the implication of a confession, into a "special category" that was already piled up like a small mountain.

That area was practically a mini gift shop counter, with bouquets of vibrant roses... some of which were already starting to wilt, hand-knitted sweaters and scarves, adorable dolls, and elaborately decorated cakes... all of which were gifts that went beyond the scope of "ordinary friends" or "fan greetings".

Kushina rubbed her throbbing temples and began to seriously consider whether she should contact the village's welfare home.

She tossed the letter she had just found, along with hundreds of similar letters she had dealt with before, into a plastic box at her feet.

The box was already half full, densely packed with all sorts of letters, carrying the unique thoughts of countless people.

Kushina felt a tingling and numbness in her lower back after bending over to tidy up for so long. She estimated that Naruto should be back soon, so she quickly picked up the box full of letters and hurried towards the bathroom.

After locking the door, she deftly took out a box of matches. With a soft "snap," a flame leaped up. Kushina glanced at the letters inside the box, which might have been filled with emotions, with a complicated expression, but still tossed the lit match in.

The flames spread rapidly, engulfing the pages and illuminating Kushina's profile, which held a resolute yet somewhat guilty expression. A safety hazard? A betrayal?

These concerns only lingered in her mind for a moment. Compared to these, she cared more about her son's relationship status, which already satisfied her.

As a mother, sometimes you have to act as the strictest "firewall".

"Mom... what is this?!"

Just as the flames completely reduced the letter to ashes, Naruto's astonished voice came from outside the bathroom door. Clearly, he and Satsuki had returned home.

"Ah! Naruto? You're back? Wait a minute, Mom will be right there!"

Kushina panicked for a moment, quickly responded twice, and hurriedly turned on the exhaust fan. She then checked whether the ashes were completely extinguished. After confirming that everything was in order, she composed herself, opened the bathroom door, and went out.

Naruto, standing outside the door, was completely stunned by the scene before him and froze on the spot.

He had casually remarked before that the new house was quite big, and that it felt a bit empty for just the two of them.

But now... let alone spacious, there's hardly a single empty spot in the house where you can even put your feet down! Gift boxes, gift bags, and packages of all sizes and packaging, whether simple or elaborate, have flooded the entryway, living room, and hallway, piled up in layers, some even taller than a person.

It's more like an unmanaged parcel station on a university campus than a home.

"Naruto...you're back," Kushina forced a slightly tired smile. "Could you help Mom tidy up? Your...'fans' are getting a little too enthusiastic."

"Aunt Kushina!" Uchiha Satsuki, who had been holding back for a while, spoke up indignantly, her voice filled with obvious dissatisfaction. "Why didn't you just refuse those guys?! This isn't an expression of goodwill; they're just disturbing Naruto's life! Can't you see that?"

Naruto was also a little surprised. Knowing his mother as he did, the last time several villagers tried to bring gifts to express their apologies, Kushina had decisively driven them away, gifts and all, with a rather firm attitude. Why...did she accept so many this time?

"..."

Upon hearing this, Kushina's face flashed with embarrassment and speechlessness. The reasons were somewhat complicated. It wasn't that she hadn't tried before. In fact, she had turned away most of the initial waves of people who came, citing reasons such as "Naruto doesn't need it" and "Please don't disturb him." But later, there were simply too many people bringing gifts, and their backgrounds became more diverse.

More importantly, she didn't see guilt or a desire to compensate in the eyes of many of her visitors, but rather pure admiration, gratitude, and unadulterated enthusiasm.

She realized that not everyone who gave her a gift had ever wronged Naruto. While some villagers wanted to make amends, many others simply admired Naruto as a hero, even those who didn't harbor any ill will towards him to begin with. This was especially true among the ninja.

Many of those who come to express their respect are new-generation ninjas who genuinely admire their power and deeds. Faced with such goodwill, Kushina finds it difficult to coldly reject them all as she would harass them.

Naruto casually picked up a plain cardboard box that wasn't sealed at his feet, opened it, and saw a clean, fresh fish that looked perfect for high-end sashimi.

Zacian lay listlessly on a patch of land that had been barely cleared, looking as if its soul was about to leave its body. In front of it sat a huge plate piled high with various kinds of fine, untouched meat—steak, chicken, fish…

After the refrigerator and storage space were crammed full, Kushina entrusted it with the task of "dealing with" the fresh food that could no longer be preserved.

It now appears that while Zaxiang's appetite is astonishing, it cannot withstand such a constant "feeding."

"Bang bang bang!"

Just then, a series of urgent knocks sounded on the door.

Kushina immediately became alert, signaling Naruto and Satsuki to keep quiet. She quickly walked to the door and looked out through the peephole, wondering how to quickly get rid of any enthusiastic villagers or fans.

However, what came from outside the door was a clear and familiar child's voice.

"Naruto-nii-san! It's Konohamaru! I heard you're back?! I have something very important to ask you!"

It's Sarutobi Konohamaru.

Before anyone inside could respond, Konohamaru's urgent voice came through the door like a machine gun, carrying the child's directness and hurt.

"Everyone in the village...everyone's talking about it! They're saying that all the suffering you endured, Naruto-nii, was caused by my grandfather!"

"They said Grandpa deliberately hid your identity and prevented you from having a good life because he was jealous of the Fourth Hokage! Naruto-nii-san... is... is this true?!"