Naruto: Manipulation-Chapter 140: Naruto Is the Son of the Fourth Hokage!

The crowd stirred.

Voices grew louder, swelling like crashing waves.

Iruka's words at this moment seemed utterly outrageous!

No one present would waver because of Iruka's words.

And none of them would show mercy to Naruto just because he was a child!

A child?

What child?

A twelve-year-old graduate was already a ninja!

"Iruka, don't forget—"

Someone stepped forward from the crowd, reminding Iruka of a painful truth.

"Your parents died in the Nine-Tails attack twelve years ago."

Naruto's expression fell once more.

"I have never forgotten."

Iruka stood up abruptly, facing the ninja who spoke, his voice steady and resolute.

"I, too, once hated this child, just like you."

"As a teacher, I never cared for him enough. That's why this happened today!"

"Everyone has been hating Naruto..."

"Everyone has been bullying Naruto..."

Standing beside Naruto, Iruka clenched his fists and lowered his head.

"But if it weren't for that hatred, if it weren't for all the abuse and scorn, today's disaster would never have happened."

"This was never his fault!"

"We pushed him to the brink of collapse, forcing him to lose himself."

"We—who feared and despised the Nine-Tails the most—forced him to become the very monster we dreaded!"

Yes!

This was their fault!

They were the ones who had given this child such a painful life!

They were the true culprits behind this tragedy!

How could they continue to hate this child—

A child who had done nothing wrong?

"Iruka-sensei... that's not true..."

Naruto quickly grabbed Iruka's arm, trying to calm his teacher down.

Because he knew the real reason behind the Nine-Tails' rampage.

It had stemmed from his hatred for his father, Minato Namikaze.

Because he had resented his father for making him live this kind of life, the Nine-Tails had taken advantage of his anger and manipulated him.

It wasn't because of the people of the village...

"You're injured."

A voice interrupted Naruto.

Shigen's gaze fell on Iruka's leg wound.

"Iruka."

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, noticed the injury as well.

His expression turned serious as he used the moment to shift the conversation.

"What happened?"

That wound...

It was clearly from a blade piercing through.

But all of Konoha had been dealing with the Nine-Tails' rampage tonight—so how had Iruka been wounded like this?

"It was Mizuki."

Iruka's expression darkened as he spoke in a grave tone.

"Mizuki was working with Orochimaru's subordinates. I uncovered their plot, and they tried to kill me!"

The surrounding Konoha shinobi immediately tensed.

They instinctively began scanning the area for Mizuki.

Mizuki, seeing their gazes turn toward him, quickly waved his hands, trying to explain.

A forced, nervous smile spread across his face as he stammered,

"I-It was... that brat... It was Naruto!"

"It wasn't Naruto!"

Iruka's voice rang out in protest.

"This was your and Orochimaru's scheme!"

"You knew Naruto was the son of the Fourth Hokage and Kushina Uzumaki!"

"You wanted to use his Uzumaki bloodline to find the clan's treasure!"

Mizuki's face twisted into a grimace.

"Iruka, what nonsense are you spouting?!"

Gasps of shock filled the air.

The gathered shinobi turned to one another, whispering in disbelief.

Did they hear that right?

Most weren't concerned about some so-called treasure.

They were focused on something far more shocking—

Naruto Uzumaki's true identity!

"Naruto... is the Fourth Hokage's son?!"

"That can't be!"

"How could he be the Fourth Hokage's child?!"

The Konoha shinobi were stunned.

For years, the village had kept this secret buried.

No one had known Naruto's true heritage!

Whether or not Naruto was the son of the Fourth Hokage didn't really matter.

What mattered was—

This child...

Was the son of a hero.

When Obito Uchiha unleashed the Nine-Tails on the village, the Fourth Hokage had given his life to stop it.

He had sealed the beast—

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At the cost of both his and his wife's lives.

But...

Even their sacrifice hadn't been enough.

Their child—Naruto Uzumaki—

Had been sacrificed as well!

This...

This was unsettling!

The ninjas who had once mocked and cursed Naruto instinctively clutched their heads, overwhelmed with guilt.

Even though they still feared and despised the Nine-Tails,

They couldn't ignore the truth—

They had mistreated the son of the man who had died to protect them.

No...

What was wrong with this village?!

How had the child of a hero become the most hated person in the village?

"What have we been doing...?"

A Konoha ninja muttered, his eyes wide in shock.

He looked at the small boy standing beside Iruka,

His voice trembling with self-doubt.

But...

Most were at a loss for words.

They didn't know how to face Naruto now.

Jiraiya's brow furrowed.

His expression was complicated.

He knew—

These people were only willing to accept Naruto now because of his lineage.

But...

Even if they felt guilty for the moment,

They would never truly rid themselves of their fear and hatred of the Nine-Tails.

Only Naruto himself could change that.

The world needed to see—

That the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, Naruto Uzumaki,

Was not a curse.

That Naruto, like his father,

Was a true shinobi,

A protector of the people.

The murmurs continued.

Many of the Konoha shinobi had gone pale.

At that moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi silenced the crowd with a wave of his hand.

His gaze landed on Mizuki.

Compared to Naruto's exposed heritage—

Hiruzen was far more concerned with Orochimaru's scheme.

Mizuki and Orochimaru's subordinates had wanted to use Naruto to steal the Uzumaki Clan's treasure.

But what did they plan to do with it?

"It's not like that..."

"We never found the treasure..."

Mizuki stammered, his voice shaking.

"I only just told Naruto the truth about his past, and then the Nine-Tails went berserk! We never even had time to search for the treasure!"

"The treasure is already gone!"

Iruka's voice was cold.

He sighed, as if Mizuki still hadn't grasped the situation.

"Orochimaru's man already took it."

Mizuki...

Was nothing more than a pawn.

Mizuki's eyes filled with despair.

The treasure...

Was already gone?

But hadn't it been in the Uzumaki Memorial Hall?

Had he...

Been tricked?

"You were used."

Iruka sighed again.

"Orochimaru's man only manipulated you to provoke Naruto into losing control."

"He wanted the Nine-Tails' rampage to kill the Hokage, Tsunade, and Jiraiya—"

"So that Orochimaru's future invasion of Konoha would be that much easier."

Mizuki's face twisted in horror.

That bastard!

He had been a disposable pawn all along!

His rage and fear swirled inside him—

But when he looked at the eyes of the shinobi around him,

His body trembled.

Some felt pity for him.

But most...

Were furious.

Did this fool have any idea what kind of disaster he had nearly caused?!

"Take him away."

Hiruzen ordered.

"Interrogate him and extract every detail!"

The interrogation squad swiftly moved in, restraining Mizuki. The terrified man struggled for a moment before realizing it was futile. His face was pale as he was dragged away, his fate now sealed.

"Search the village immediately!"

Hiruzen's voice was firm, his hands clenched into fists.

"We must not allow that infiltrator to escape!"

"Yes, sir!"

The assembled Anbu scattered at once, moving swiftly to hunt down Orochimaru's subordinate.

If their timing was right, the enemy shouldn't have gotten far.

Perhaps—

They could still catch him.

But...

No matter how thorough their search, they would never find him.

Because Kabuto Yakushi was hidden in a place where no ordinary search would reach.

Root Headquarters

This was Danzo Shimura's domain.

When Kabuto arrived, Danzo's expression was dark.

Seeing an old enemy suddenly appear before him—someone he had once tried to eliminate—did nothing to improve his mood.

Kabuto, however, was unfazed.

Because he knew the information he carried would only make Danzo even more displeased.

"Hmph."

Danzo's irritation was evident on his face.

"You caused quite a commotion tonight."

"You nearly brought disaster upon Konoha."

"A slight miscalculation."

Kabuto sighed as if he were discussing something trivial, as if fate had simply not gone their way this time.

"If the Nine-Tails' rampage had gone as planned, we would have successfully eliminated the Third Hokage and the Legendary Sannin."

He smirked.

"But even so—"

Kabuto adjusted his glasses.

His lips curled into a smile.

"This is still... a small gift from Lord Orochimaru to you, Lord Danzo."

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