Chapter 3: The River
"Sakura, what are you doing here all by yourself?" Ino asked curiously as she sat down beside her.
"My parents told me to go out and make some friends my age," Sakura replied with a helpless expression. "With no better option, I ended up hiding here instead. I just can't get along with those immature kids!"
"Immature, huh?" A few dark lines metaphorically fell across Ino's forehead. Why did she suddenly see the shadow of that friend of hers in Sakura?
"Eh? You're probably talking about Nara Shikamaru, right?" Sakura instantly picked up on who Ino was referring to.
The Nara clan's young heir, Shikamaru—known in the original timeline for his genius intellect, future advisor to the Seventh Hokage Naruto Uzumaki, and brother-in-law to the Fifth Kazekage Gaara.
"You know him too?" Ino looked at Sakura in surprise.
"I've heard a little about him."
Thinking about Shikamaru's personality in the original timeline, Sakura couldn't help but laugh. Maybe his brilliance made him seem listless most of the time, like he had no motivation—but in truth, he was always someone dependable.
"Well, that guy always has this lazy look on his face. Every time Aunt Yoshino forces him to go out and play with other kids, he just says they're all too childish to bother with!" Ino giggled behind her hand. "Though he still ends up getting kicked out of the house every time!"
And so, the two four-year-old girls sat together on the grass, chatting away. Perhaps it was fate—though they had just met, the bond between them felt like that of lifelong friends. Not that Sakura minded at all; it felt surprisingly natural.
"Eh? What's that over there?!"
In the middle of their conversation, Sakura suddenly turned toward the river. She could sense something—someone—floating downstream. But judging by the strength of that soul, it definitely wasn't a fish or shrimp.
"There's… someone drifting down from upstream…" Ino squinted, and her eyes widened in shock. "Wait—don't tell me that's a corpse?!"
"No, it's not a corpse. I can still sense his soul—he's alive!"
Sakura jumped to her feet and dashed toward the riverbank. With the Soul Gem embedded within her, she could perceive souls and even manipulate them. Though her range was still limited, she could clearly detect the soul floating in the water.
As she reached the riverbank, she saw a small figure with golden-blond hair drifting in the current. Raising her right hand, a crimson gleam flickered in her emerald-green eyes—the Reality Gem activated, and an invisible force pulled the boy out of the water and toward her.
"Huh?!"
In that moment, Sakura suddenly sensed a surge of new souls appear out of nowhere. What puzzled her was the dual nature of these presences—half of them radiated murderous intent, while the other half felt completely lifeless, devoid of emotion.
"Uzumaki Naruto?!"
The moment she laid the boy on the ground and saw his face, Sakura understood what was happening.
ANBU operatives monitoring the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki… and Root operatives too?!
Those with killing intent must've been from the ANBU under the Third Hokage—veterans of assassination missions, their killing aura had seeped into their very souls. As for the cold, emotionless ones? They had to be Root agents under Shimura Danzō's command.
Still, this was beyond heartless.
As Sakura began administering first aid to Naruto, she shook her head inwardly. She didn't know how he ended up in the river, but the fact that none of the hidden agents stepped in to help him was simply too much. Sure, Root operatives were trained to sever all emotion—but what about the ANBU? They didn't have such rules, and yet they stood by, watching Naruto nearly drown without lifting a finger.
Sakura found that truly unacceptable.
He was the son of the Fourth Hokage, the hero who had become a vessel to seal the Nine-Tails—and yet the entire village resented him. Growing up in that kind of environment, it was a miracle he still held onto such a bright and unwavering heart. No wonder so many people in the original timeline were moved by his words. It wasn't just Naruto's so-called "Talk no Jutsu" that convinced them—it was the strength of his spirit that made them empathize with him.
"Should we take him to the hospital?" Ino asked nervously.
"No need. We're better off treating him ourselves," Sakura shook her head. Right now, all of Konoha was calling Naruto the demon fox. Even if they brought him to the hospital, the doctors and nurses probably wouldn't lift a finger to help.
"Why not?!" Ino asked in confusion. But the moment Sakura pointed to Naruto's face, she understood.
As someone from a clan with history and knowledge, Ino wasn't like the average villager who blindly believed in ghost stories about "the demon fox in human form." If he really was a demon fox, could people still stand there and point fingers at him without consequence?
"Pfft… cough, cough…"
Thanks to Sakura's somewhat clumsy first aid—and a subtle use of the Reality Gem—Naruto quickly regained consciousness.
"How do you feel?"
Sakura handed him a handkerchief, gesturing for him to wipe his face.
"Thank you… for saving me," Naruto said quietly, accepting the handkerchief. His voice was small, almost afraid he'd scare them away.
"How did you fall in the river?" Ino asked, confused.
"Well… I was trying to catch a fish to eat… but I slipped and got pulled in," Naruto scratched his head in embarrassment. With shopkeepers in the village refusing to sell him food, he had no choice but to catch fish himself. He hadn't expected that to nearly cost him his life.
"You really are a dummy…" Sakura muttered. Looking at Naruto's thin, frail frame, her heart ached. He was a boy, yet skinnier and weaker than even her. His living conditions must be awful—if he weren't a member of the resilient Uzumaki clan, he probably wouldn't have survived this long.
"Ah… sorry…" Naruto's shoulders flinched at her words, and even his golden hair seemed to lose its shine.
"Why are you apologizing?" Sakura gently ruffled his damp hair.
"Because… I'm the demon fox. I must've scared you…"
Naruto forced a small smile, his blue eyes flickering with uncertainty as he avoided meeting her gaze.
"You're not a demon fox…"
Sakura lifted his chin with her finger, making him look into her eyes.
"Look, fox spirits are supposed to be seductive and enchanting. If a fox spirit looked like you, it'd be out of a job."
"Really? I… I'm not a demon fox?" Naruto asked hesitantly, his eyes full of hope.
"This is what a fox spirit really looks like. Got it?"
Sakura suddenly pulled out a sheet of paper. On it were several stylized characters with fox ears and tails—scantily dressed, striking alluring poses, with ridiculously curvy figures.
The moment the paper appeared, Sakura could feel a ripple of emotional disturbance from the ANBU watching nearby. Even the Root agents, known for their emotional suppression, showed signs of fluctuation.
"I really don't look like that…"
At his young age, Naruto was still incredibly innocent. Comparing the illustrations to himself, his eyes lit up. He really wasn't a demon fox after all.
"Um… Sakura, why do you even have stuff like this with you…" Ino's face flushed red. A bit more mentally mature than Naruto, her imagination ran wild as soon as she saw the pictures.
"Oh come on, Ino. It's just a few drawings. Is that such a big deal?" Sakura said innocently. These were just characters from anime and games she'd seen in her previous life—well, okay, maybe a few were from those kinds of anime, but still, was it really worth such a dramatic reaction?
"But… this one, and that one…" Ino stammered, red in the face, unsure how to respond.
"Ahem. Anyway, Naruto," Sakura said with a gentle cough, slipping the paper back into her pocket—and secretly using the Reality Gem to erase it instantly. Better not to let them look too much. She didn't want to corrupt them this early.
"See? They are fox spirits. You? You don't have fox ears or a fox tail. So how could you be one?"
"I see… So I'm not a demon fox… I'm really not…"
Suddenly, Naruto threw his arms around Sakura and began to cry.
As a child bearing the brunt of the village's hatred—facing verbal abuse and even physical attacks on a daily basis—he had buried all his pain deep inside. But Sakura's words were like a beam of light piercing through the darkness. That moment etched itself into his memory forever.
"That's right. You're Uzumaki Naruto of the Hidden Leaf Village—not some demon fox."
Surprised at first, Sakura soon smiled and patted his head gently.
"From today on, I'm your friend. Let me introduce myself—my name is Haruno Sakura. You can call me Sakura!"
"And me! I'm Yamanaka Ino. Just call me Ino!" Ino chimed in with a bright smile.
"Okay! My name's Uzumaki Naruto—but you can just call me Naruto!"
Naruto wiped his tears away, a radiant grin lighting up his face like a little sun.