At that moment, looking at her expression, my first reaction was: look at the sin I have done.

And then very quickly, I began to wonder if I, as Masumi, should I know about Naruko's parents?

Referring to Iruka's words, he doesn't seem to know that Naruto is a child of the fourth generation, so if I extrapolate like this, I, as an orphan and teacher, shouldn't know more.

“…… I haven't heard of it. What's wrong? ”

"I ...... On this mission, I met a man who claimed to be my father. And also...... I met someone who was my mother. ”

"Ah......h

I had a hunch that this was going to be a long knee-jerk talk, "You sit down and rest for a while, and I'll pour you a drink." Milk or juice? ”

Naruko hugged Naruto and shrunk into the couch, shaking her head in disgust as if she had given up thinking.

"Then it's milk."

Once I had made up my mind, I went to the kitchen and opened the fridge, poured her a glass of milk, and poured myself a glass of orange juice.

And although she said that she didn't want to drink, I put the milk in front of her, but she still bent down and took a sip.

The girl's blue eyes stared unfocused at a point in the void, as if her mind had detached from her body.

This made her voice speak as ethereal as a wandering spirit: "...... My dad seems to be the fourth generation Hokage. ”

...... I was silent for a moment, feeling that although I should have been surprised, looking at Naruko's appearance, I felt that any disguise was an insult to her. …… Isn't that a good thing? ”

I whispered, as if I would hurt her if I spoke in a heavier tone, "The fourth Hokage is a hero. ”

"But...... If he's a hero, why do people hate me so much? Naruko turned her head in confusion, looked at me and said, "Was my birth a mistake?" ”

"How so!" I said, "Did the four Hokages come up and scold you, saying, 'We shouldn't have given birth to you in the first place'?" ”

“…… Not really. Naruko whispered, "But...... I never thought my parents were such amazing people......"

She couldn't help but turn her head to look out the window—that was exactly where Hokage Rock was.

"I've been thinking about ...... I don't have parents, and no one has taught me how to be liked, so maybe I've done a lot of things wrong and annoying people. But in order to be recognized, even if it's a compliment, I try my best to get people's attention...... However, I also found out that even if they were all orphans, I was the most excluded one, and I kept thinking, why is that? I always felt that maybe it was because my parents were bad that people hated me. ”

“…… There is no such thing. I said, sitting down next to Naruko, wrapping my arms around her shoulders, trying to give her some warmth and telling her that I would always have her back.

Naruko hugged Naruto and fell on my knees and curled up in my arms.

She whispered, "My mother, it's said to be called Uzumaki Kushina." She's so pretty, and she has very beautiful red hair. I don't know why, although Sakura and Zana both said that we look alike, but I just think that she is much better looking than me. ”

I stroked her long hair and whispered, "How could it be, Naruko looks so cute." ”

"But no one likes me." Naruko muttered, "Akane-sensei said that my father seemed to fall in love with my mother at first sight. My dad...... She is very handsome and powerful, and such a good person will fall in love with my mother at first sight, which means that my mother is as popular as Zana now, right? Why, they're all so good, but I'm not likable at all? ”

“…… There must be some misunderstanding. I sighed, thinking to myself, the reason for this is a bit complicated...... "Naruko, the year you were born, Konoha was attacked by a demon fox."

"Demon fox?"

"Hmm...... A fox with nine tails and a powerful chakra. Four generations of Hokage died in battle to protect the village, your mother...... Maybe it was also at that time that you died? In a word...... I don't know what's going on, some people think that you are the demon fox. That's why everybody ...... that."

Naruko suddenly interrupted me and said, "Why do they think I'm a demon fox?" ”

yes...... Why......?

“…… I don't know. ”

"But, why isn't Brother Zhencheng afraid of me?" Naruko raised her eyes and showed a curious look, "Everyone calls me a monster, but when Brother Masumi first saw me, he didn't intend to hide from me at all. ”

"Hmm...... Maybe it's because, when we first met, you looked like just a little homeless girl? At night, it was so cold, I shivered from the cold, and asked me if I wanted to have a cat...... I thought to myself, how can any monster care about pet adoption, right? Moreover, it is most accurate and important to understand what kind of person the other person is compared to rumors, right? ”

I don't know which of my words made her feel happy, but Naruko finally laughed.

"That's right. I'm not a monster, the guy who said I was a monster must have something wrong with his brain! Those guys who don't know anything about me and say I'm a monster have a problem with their brains! ”

"Then ......" Seeing that her mood was much better, I groaned for a while, and still asked, "Naruko to her parents...... What do you think? ”

"Brother Zhencheng." Naruko asked me rhetorically, "Do you like heroes?" ”

"It's not so much that I like ......," I touched her head and said, "It's better to just admire, right?" ”

"I don't understand."

“…… Let's put it this way, if there is a war in the ninja world right now, a large number of ninjas need to be sent to the front line - if they die in battle, their names will be engraved on the memorial monument. They're heroes fighting for Konoha, right? ”

Naruko seemed to understand, "Hmm." ”

"But...... Even if a group of ninjas have been dispatched, the situation on the front line is still critical, and the combat power is far from enough. These people who are willing to take the initiative to support the front line must also be heroes who put their own lives and deaths on the line, right? ”

"Hmm."

“…… I think such people are amazing. It is precisely because of the existence of such people who fight for others regardless of their own safety that people like us can live in peace...... Therefore, no matter how much you respect and respect heroes, it is not an exaggeration. But...... But people really hope that their important people will not become heroes. ”

"Ah......h

"If such a critical situation really occurs, I am very reluctant to take the initiative to sign up, Sister Dou, Naruko, Tiantian, or Ning Ning. Maybe I can't stop you, but I really don't want to—I don't want you to be in danger, and I don't want you to lose your life. So there is absolutely no way for someone like me to be a hero. ”

"Me too!! If Brother Matsumi wants to sign up, I definitely don't want it!! ”

"It's human nature, that's why heroes who are willing to sacrifice themselves are exceptionally great...... They were all very noble people. ”

"Ah......" Naruko was silent, and after a moment, she said, "That...... I can look up to the four Hokage, but don't like him? ”

"Poof. What is this statement? ”

"Because...... He's a great hero, but ...... Suddenly it was my dad...... It's hard for me to like him all at once. Although he is someone else's hero, he has never done me the slightest good! ”

"Well, there's really no way around it...... Then don't like him. I patted her on the head and said helplessly, "However, you can't say this kind of thing casually outside." ”

"I know." Naruko seemed to finally cheer up a little, she touched Naruto and said, "...... Brother Masumi, I suddenly felt that the Hokage didn't seem to be a big deal. ”

"Huh? Why? ”

"Everyone says how powerful the four generations of Hokage are, but he doesn't even protect his most important people."

"But he's guarding the whole village."

"I know, that's why he's a hero. However, if it's me, if Brother Masumi is in danger, I don't care what happens to the others. ”

"Oops...... You say that, even though I know it seems a bit bad...... But I'll be happy. ”

"Really?" Naruko heard me say this, but she bent her eyes and laughed, "I don't want to be a hero anymore, and I don't want to be a Hokage anymore - what's the point of being recognized by people who don't know me at all?" I, just want to protect Brother Masumi, Sana, Sakura, and Ten, as well as Naruto and Noodles, it's enough. ”