[Konoha, Year 60]
Team 7 looked at each other in bewilderment.
Naruto felt that his own childhood hadn't been that miserable. He glanced at Sakura's forehead, then at Sasuke standing with his hands in his pockets, and nodded thoughtfully.
Sakura, sensitive to his gaze, popped a vein on her forehead: "Naruto… what are you looking at?"
Naruto, oblivious, replied: "Looking at your forehe—"
But before he could finish, Sakura's fist came flying.
"Die!"
Naruto ran for his life, clutching his head.
Sasuke watched from the side, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
After hitting Naruto, Sakura turned to Sasuke—her berserk button having been pressed, she momentarily forgot he was her crush.
"And you! What are you laughing at?!"
Sasuke's face instantly returned to its usual expressionless state: "I wasn't laughing."
"You were—I saw it! That arrogant personality of yours really is asking for a punch!"
Sasuke: "…Whatever."
And the three of them started scuffling.
Kakashi stood to the side, also with some black lines of his face.
Now that the Sky Screen mentioned it, he realized that the quality of Konoha's villagers really was quite low.
He himself had been a victim of bullying. Because his father, the White Fang, committed suicide, he was often pointed at and whispered about endlessly as a child.
---
[Hyūga Clan Grounds]
When Hiashi heard that even Hinata had been bullied by Konoha villagers, he was instantly furious.
"What?!"
His voice echoed across the clan grounds. "Those vile commoners, how dare they?!"
Hinata stood to the side and said quietly: "Father… actually, it's nothing…"
"Nothing?" Hiashi looked at her. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Hinata lowered her head, not daring to speak.
Hiashi took a deep breath and instructed his attendant: "Assign a few men to follow the young lady. Find out who these people are."
The attendant nodded. "Yes, Clan Head."
A cold glint flashed in Hiashi's eyes. He wanted to see exactly who had the audacity to look down on the Hyūga clan.
He hoped they had strong backing. Otherwise, they would soon learn why the Hyūga were the strongest clan in Konoha.
Hinata stood to the side, filled with a mixture of gratitude and worry.
'Father… what is he planning to do?'
---
[Somewhere in an Underground Base]
"Kabuto, what do you want to say?"
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, having noticed Kabuto's strange look.
Kabuto gave a sheepish smile, "Nothing, Orochimaru-sama."
---
[Konoha, Year 50. Hokage Office]
"Exactly! Exactly!"
Kushina was indignant. When she first arrived in Konoha, she was frequently discriminated against by the villagers.
She didn't understand what was so strange about red hair… Wasn't Minato a blond?
She turned to look at Minato: "Hey, you've different color hair too. Why didn't they bully you?"
Minato smiled wryly. "Maybe it's a personality thing."
Kushina clicked her tongue. "Tch. Bullies always go after the weak."
Minato walked over and gently put his arm around her shoulder.
"Alright, alright. That's all in the past."
Kushina leaned on his shoulder, remembering those days.
"I remember when I first arrived, they all made fun of me. At least you didn't."
Minato smiled. "How could I? Even back then, I thought this red-haired girl was really pretty."
Kushina's face flushed. "You… you idiot…"
---
[Konoha, Year One]
When Madara heard that the Uchiha clan was bullied because they bullied others, his brow furrowed deeply.
He didn't know… was this a problem with the Uchiha, or was the character of Konoha's villagers really that low?
"And… why do they only bully the Uchiha, not the other clans?"
Madara turned to Hashirama. "Hashirama, you tell me!"
Hashirama scratched his head. "Well… I don't know either."
Madara snorted coldly.
"Hmph, it's definitely that guy Tobirama's doing!"
Hashirama looked helpless: "Madara, stop blaming everything on Tobirama…"
"Then tell me why?"
[T/N: Ain't nothin' but a heartache!]
And the two began bickering.
Finally, Madara made a demand: "Hashirama, you must strengthen the moral education of the villagers!"
He even glanced at the young Hiruzen.
"And you, Hiruzen! Most of these incidents seem to have happened during your tenure. What does that mean? It means your own poor character led to the poor character of the entire village!"
"You probably picked up these bad habits from following Tobirama in the future. Now that you're following me, you absolutely cannot have those nasty traits. You must treat everyone in the village equally."
Young Hiruzen looked completely innocent and had no choice but to nod in agreement.
'Yes, yes. Whatever you say is right.'
---
On the streets of Konoha.
The villagers looked at the Sky Screen and immediately erupted.
"Why does it say we have low character?!" A middle-aged man fumed.
"Where have we ever bullied anyone?!" An auntie nearby chimed in:
"Exactly, exactly! This screen talks nonsense sometimes!"
"We were disciplining them! It was for their own good!"
"Right! If it weren't for us, would they have grown up to be so strong?"
"Exactly! Look at that Naruto kid—without us, would he be so resilient?"
"And when the Uchiha were still around… uh… their behavior really was excessive!"
"…"
The villagers argued back and forth, but their voices grew increasingly uncertain.
---
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Shinobi World, people mercilessly mocked the villagers of Konoha after hearing the Sky Screen's description.
[Land of Lightning, Kumogakure]
A laughed heartily as he watched the Sky Screen.
"Those Konoha folks are really something. They've turned bullying into an art form!"
Killer B rapped beside him: "Konoha villagers' quality low Everyone's got a bully to throw Yeah!"
Dodai nodded with a smile, "In comparison, we in Kumogakure are far more united. We don't have these kinds of problems."
---
[Land of Earth, Iwagakure]
Ōnoki, had already returned to his seat and stretched lazily.
"Konoha… really is interesting."
---
[Land of Wind, Sunagakure]
Rasa had been about to mock Konoha, but when he thought of Gaara's situation, he found himself unable to speak.
When all was said and done, the Five Hidden Villages were mostly the same. Still, the fact that Konoha's villagers dared to provoke even powerful shinobis and major clans was somewhat remarkable.
---
[Land of Water, Kirigakure]
Mei leaned back in her seat, her fingers brushing her lips.
"Hahaha… how amusing. Leave it to Konoha, the quality of their villagers is… really something else. No wonder Konoha's shinobis are so strong—they've learned to endure so much."
But the next second, that smile froze on Mei's face.
---
[Of course, even though Konoha's villagers have low character, at least they only use words, not fists. Kirigakure, on the other hand, is full of violent mobs. At the slightest disagreement, they'll massacre even their own kekkei genkai users.]
Instantly, the Konoha villagers stopped feeling indignant, and burst out laughing collectively.
"HAHAHAHA!"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Leave it to Kirigakure—full of violent mobs!"
"We only use words, and they directly use fists!"
"They even killed their kekkei genkai users? That's much more impressive than us!"
"Kirigakure… terrifying indeed!"
Laughter echoed all over Konoha.
---
[Kirigakure, Mizukage's Office]
"Full of violent mobs?"
Mei's voice squeezed through clenched teeth.
True, those things had happened in Kirigakure's past—but they had changed now! Meanwhile, Konoha's villagers were probably still bullying their own people right this moment!
And why did the Sky Screen have to single out Kirigakure?!
Those people in Konoha were definitely laughing at them right now.
Damn it!
---
Meanwhile, the people of other hidden villages were also surprised. They had thought that Konoha was already quite extreme—but it turned out there were worse.
No wonder Kirigakure was also known as the "Bloody Mist Village." Konoha's shortcomings really paled in comparison.
After all, there was still a significant difference between using words and using fists.
*****
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