Chapter 73: A Showdown of Voices

On the street.

The vendors stopped hawking their wares, and the children ceased their playful antics.

Everyone avoided eye contact, doing their best not to cross paths with Fugaku and his companions. Even the students heading to the Ninja Academy carefully skirted around the trio, preferring to take a detour to school.

"Those are the three Uchihas with the Mangekyou Sharingan."

"I heard that the Nine-Tails incident years ago was caused by someone controlling the beast with the Mangekyou. Who was behind it?"

"No need to ask, all three of them must have been involved."

These whispered rumors reached Shisui's ears, filling him with sorrow. He had been on a mission outside the village when the Nine-Tails incident occurred and only learned about the chaos afterward.

Otherwise.

Shisui would have used the power of the Mangekyou to stop the Nine-Tails, preventing the Fourth Hokage's death.

If that had happened, the Uchiha wouldn't be subjected to the villagers' suspicion and hatred, and things wouldn't have come to this point.

As for who controlled the Nine-Tails.

Was it the clan head, or was it Dan?

Shisui didn't dare to ask, and by now, the answer to that question wasn't important anymore.

Compared to Shisui.

Dan wouldn't tolerate the villagers whispering behind his back.

He didn't care about what they said, but their buzzing chatter was like a swarm of flies around his ears, annoying him.

So, he swept his cold gaze across the street.

Anyone who caught Dan's gaze, even without making eye contact, felt as if they were plunged into an ice cellar, as if death was imminent.

The villagers' faces changed drastically, and they quickly shut their mouths.

Silence fell.

The trio continued their journey.

"Whoa, I'm going to be late!"

A blond brat suddenly shouted, his backpack bouncing as he dashed out from an alley, looking like he was in a great hurry.

It was Naruto Uzumaki.

Seeing Naruto, the villagers of Konoha showed the same expression they had when they saw the Uchihas, if not worse.

They tried to avoid him as much as possible.

Naruto, however, whether he was thick-skinned or had simply grown accustomed to this discrimination, seemed to take it all in stride.

Huh?

Upon seeing Fugaku and his companions, he paused for a moment, then ran over with a look of joy on his face.

"Mr. Dan, the barbecue you treated me to yesterday was delicious. I forgot to say thank you, sorry. Hehe."

Naruto looked up, his big blue eyes blinking, and scratched the back of his head with a silly grin.

"You're welcome. Just remember to help me out when I need it," Dan said with a meaningful look.

Upon hearing this, Naruto immediately thumped his chest and promised, "Just let me know if you need anything! My ninja way is to keep my promises!"

When Naruto spoke, Fugaku's face had already changed.

Others might not know who Naruto Uzumaki was, but how could he not?

Fugaku's wife, Mikoto, and the Fourth Hokage's wife, Kushina Uzumaki, were best friends. They grew up together and even got pregnant around the same time.

Sasuke was born just over two months before Naruto.

This blond brat, with the surname Uzumaki and rumors of being a "demon fox brat" following him.

Undoubtedly.

This was the son of the Fourth Hokage, and the current Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails.

Fugaku wasn't sure why the higher-ups in Konoha treated the son of a hero this way, but he knew—

The higher-ups would definitely not want to see anyone from the Uchiha clan getting close to Naruto.

Especially not the three of them, who had awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan.

So, with a serious expression, Fugaku asked his brother-in-law, "Dan, when did you meet this kid?"

"I ran into him while shopping yesterday. Saw the kid was hungry, so I treated him to a meal."

Dan answered truthfully, then turned to Naruto and casually asked, "Have you had breakfast yet?"

"We should get going."

Fugaku didn't wait for Naruto's answer and hurriedly tried to leave, not wanting to delay their important meeting.

But it was already too late.

In a flash, two ANBU members, one wearing a pig mask and the other a frog mask, appeared out of nowhere, standing between Naruto and the Uchiha trio.

"What's the meaning of this?" Dan asked.

"Stay away from this brat, or you'll have trouble," the two coldly warned.

In the face of the ANBU's threat.

Dan chuckled, not taking them seriously. Instead, he raised his voice and retorted, "What brat? Doesn't he have a name? Naruto Uzumaki, right? The Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails."

As soon as the words "Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails" left his mouth.

The two ANBU members were taken aback. They immediately drew their ninja blades, pointing them at the Uchiha trio as if they were facing a great enemy.

So, Dan did know Naruto's true identity.

Fugaku sighed inwardly. He knew that Dan, with his personality, would never approach a stranger's child without reason.

Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails?

Shisui was also taken aback.

After recovering, he quickly tried to sense Naruto's chakra and found that it was... off.

Naruto was also confused.

He first looked at the two masked ninja who had suddenly appeared, then turned to Dan with a curious question, "Mr. Dan, why did you say I'm the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails? What is that?"

Without any hesitation, Dan said to Naruto, "Because you are the Fourth Hokage's..."

"Shut up!"

The two ANBU members could no longer hold back and angrily interrupted Dan's words.

Huh?

Trying to out-shout me? You're asking for trouble.

Dan's eyebrows twitched, and he took a deep breath, gathering it in his throat, then spat out a word.

"Scram!"

This shout, like a sudden thunderclap, echoed down the street.

This was a sonic jutsu.

Dan's voice, mixed with chakra, not only intimidated the soul but also created a substantial shockwave in the air.

Bang! Bang!

The two ANBU members were caught off guard and were sent flying by the shockwave. The word "scram" echoed in their minds, almost shaking their souls out of their bodies.

Naruto was also affected, retreating several steps with a terrified expression before falling on his butt.

Dan looked at Naruto, intending to finish what he had started to say.

"Dan, that's enough."

Fugaku quickly stopped Dan, pleading with his brother-in-law with his eyes not to cause any more trouble and delay their meeting.

Alright.

Dan withdrew his gaze.

The Uchiha trio quickly left.

Watching Dan's retreating figure.

"Mr. Dan, he's a powerful ninja, isn't he? He can send people flying with just a shout. He's way more impressive than the teachers at the Ninja Academy..."

Naruto murmured to himself, his young mind deeply impressed.

As for the two ANBU members, their ears were still ringing, and their masks had somehow cracked.

They looked at each other, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.

"Excuse me, you guys are..."

At this moment, Naruto approached, looking at them curiously.

The two didn't say a word. Under Naruto's puzzled gaze, they vanished in a flash.

Strange.

Naruto could only scratch his head in confusion and head off to the Ninja Academy.