At this moment, many ninjas in Konoha were struck by the revelation from Uchiha Obito.
The "fox demon" Naruto, whom they had despised for years, was suddenly revealed to be the son of Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage of Konoha.
The realization stunned them all. How had they not known this? How could it be that the son of the legendary "Golden Flash" of the ninja world had grown up in such ignorance of his heritage? How could no one have cared?
Looking at Naruto's blank expression, it seemed that even he himself hadn't known the truth of his lineage.
Naruto's mind raced as he replayed his childhood memories. He saw a lonely figure standing under the sun, lost in thought. A young boy with blond hair and a few marks on his face, staring off into the distance. The ball he had been playing with had fallen to the ground unnoticed.
"This guy's a monster," someone had once whispered.
"Go, don't look at him," an old woman had urged a child next to her.
The child had looked back at Naruto in confusion, but it was too late to say anything. The hurtful words had already taken root.
Later that night, Naruto had returned home to his empty house. As the lights of the other homes glowed warmly, his house stood dark and cold, isolated. Slowly, he opened the door and walked in, gazing out of the window at the full moon.
Tears had begun to flow from Naruto's eyes, not from anger, but from the quiet, hollow sadness of it all. A silent night.
This scene had repeated itself countless times in his life.
But then, someone had entered his life—a kind and amiable old man, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Hokage, who had always treated him with care.
Hiruzen had smiled warmly and gently patted Naruto's head.
"Grandpa Sarutobi," Naruto had asked with innocent curiosity, "where are my father and mother? Why didn't they stay with me like other parents?"
The sadness in Hiruzen's eyes had been clear.
"They died in the war, little Naruto. They left you behind in the village."
Naruto's small voice had quivered. "Can you tell me their names?"
But Hiruzen had shaken his head regretfully. "They were just ordinary Konoha ninjas. I don't know their names, Naruto. You should stop asking about them."
At that moment, these painful memories flooded Naruto's mind again.
Now, as he stood in Kurenai's arms, his body trembled. His numb eyes, once devoid of hope, began to regain their focus.
He slowly broke free from her comforting embrace, his gaze hardening. He turned to face Sarutobi Hiruzen, his voice cold but steady.
"Grandpa Hokage," Naruto began, "Didn't you tell me my parents were just ordinary ninjas? That they were unknown people from Konoha, and you don't even remember what they looked like?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's face darkened as he heard Naruto's words. There was a heavy silence.
"Then who is this Namikaze Minato they keep talking about?" Naruto asked, his voice calm but chilling in its clarity.
The question hung in the air like a thunderclap.
Iruka, a teacher at Naruto's academy, couldn't hold his silence any longer. He stepped forward, his voice filled with disbelief and frustration.
"Hokage-sama, you didn't know? Naruto is the son of the Fourth Hokage!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's face darkened even further as Iruka challenged him.
"I know about it," Hiruzen replied stiffly, his voice laden with tension. "But there's a reason why I didn't make this public."
Iruka, however, wasn't about to let this go. His voice was tinged with anger and confusion.
"Reason? What reason could there be? Why let Naruto suffer for all these years carrying the stigma of the fox demon? Don't you realize what he's been through?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes narrowed. He took a deep breath, struggling to suppress the anger rising within him.
"I know how he's suffered. But you don't understand the difficulties I've faced," Hiruzen replied, his voice tight.
But the villagers around them were not as forgiving. Yuhi Kurenai, still standing near Naruto, spoke up, her voice full of emotion.
"Naruto has always been the son of the Fourth Hokage. But instead of growing up with respect, he's had to live on the meager 300 yen monthly stipend from the village. That's how he survived as a child—living off that meager relief money."
Her words hung in the air like a bitter truth. Might Guy, standing nearby, also spoke up.
"I've been to Naruto's house. There's nothing there. All he had to eat were instant noodles—nothing but instant noodles. If Kurenai hadn't told me about his situation, I never would've known why Naruto was always eating instant noodles."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's defense crumbled under the weight of their words.
"That's... that's all I could do. I didn't have any other choice."
But his justification sounded hollow to the others.
"You didn't have a choice?" Orochimaru sneered, now stepping into the conversation. "If your grandson Konohamaru had grown up eating nothing but instant noodles, would you be okay with it? What's your excuse for letting Naruto suffer like this?"
Hiruzen trembled in anger, pointing a shaking finger at Orochimaru. "What do you know, Orochimaru? You don't have the right to speak about my family."
But Orochimaru wasn't done. "Your grandson doesn't have to live like that. But Naruto, the son of the Fourth Hokage, does? If I had Minato's complete body, I would've used the Impure World Reincarnation technique to bring him back. Let him confront you properly."
The words hit Sarutobi Hiruzen like a blow. He pointed at Orochimaru, speechless, unable to defend himself.
Around them, the murmurs grew louder.
"Is it true that the Hokage knew all along?" one ninja asked.
"Did we really wrong Naruto all these years?" another whispered.
The voices of doubt spread quickly through the crowd. The villagers began to blame Sarutobi Hiruzen for hiding the truth from them.
"How could we have treated Naruto like that when he's the son of the Fourth Hokage?" someone muttered.
"No, this is Hiruzen's fault. He should have told us the truth," another agreed.
"How could he have allowed this to happen?"
The murmurs grew into a chorus of dissatisfaction, and it became clear: the villagers felt betrayed.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood there, trembling, as the voices grew louder.
At last, he realized there was no defending his actions. The weight of the village's judgment fell on him like a crushing blow.
Finally, Sarutobi Hiruzen, overwhelmed, had no choice but to bow his head. The call for him to abdicate rang through the crowd, and he was forced to step down from his position as Hokage.