Back at the dining hall, after Kushina had stormed out, the silence stayed as Minato got up from his seat and walked to the front to face everyone. He knew what he was about to say was supposed to be a secret but for the sake of his son, he was going to divulge it. Minato didn't need to quiet anyone down or get their attention because that was already done, all eyes were on him, waiting for what he was about to say.

"This is in regard to the incident that took place earlier today." He began, only to be interrupted by a man in the back.

"How can we know he won't lose control like that again? The safety of the village should come first and he should be banished!" There were nods and mutters of agreement within the crowd. Minato put up a hand to quiet them down.

"He won't lose control like that again because it was no accident. Naruto had lost control because he was put under the effects of genjutsu specifically designed to provoke the rampage." People started to speak up but quieted down as Minato continued speaking. "We don't know yet for sure who did this but we have a few suspects. In the meantime, Naruto will have an escort at all times for his safety and the safety of the villagers until the culprit is caught. From this point on, I expect no discrimination against him. Don't forget he's the reason you're all sitting here right now. That is all."

As Minato began to walk back to his seat, all the villagers started talking immediately. Questions, comments, gossip, what their Hokage had told them was certainly news and they didn't know what to do with it or how to feel. "Why did you tell them what happened?" Sakura asked as Minato sat down. "Wasn't it supposed to be top secret?"

Minato nodded in agreement. "It was supposed to be but for the sake of Naruto, if the villagers knew the truth, perhaps the hate toward him would stop."

Sakura thought this over, then a thought occurred to her, she chuckled, "I wonder how Naruto's going to feel about the whole escort thing."

"Considering how good he is at Shadow Clones, I'd say this is going to be interesting." Kakashi commented.

Minato rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile, "Shadow Clones, is that so?"

"It's his specialty." Sakura informed, taking a bite of stew.

Kakashi agreed. "That's how he managed to perfect the Wind Element Rasen-Shuriken in just a few days."

"Uh, what, just a few days?" Minato stuttered out in surprise.

"More like a week but you get the gist." Yamato said.

"Amazing." Minato praised.

"Wait until you see it in action." Ino said. "It makes this noise, almost like what a diamond shining in the sun should sound like."

Choji shook his head. "It sounds more like raining shards of glass."

Yamato shrugged. "Regardless, it's a sight to see."

Naruto and his mother conversed for many hours. Naruto even asked the question he always wanted to ask his mother; how did she and Dad fall in love? The answer, the story to that question was better than Naruto could ever expect. He felt warm and happy inside and this was one of the few times in his life where he felt completely at peace.

But like with every moment, it needs to come to an end. It was late at night and a lot of the people had left the dining hall but many were still there, simply conversing. Kushina walked in first, an almost challenging look on her face to the few who still remained. Naruto walked in after her, indifference on his face. His friends and father were still there, hoping for his return. Kushina sat by Minato as Naruto continued walking to the front to put his bowl in the bin just like everyone else. "Is he alright?" Minato whispered to Kushina.

Kushina smiled cheekily. "He's fine. He's stronger than we thought ya know." Naruto sat back down at the table. The only ones left at that table were his friends and parents, Iruka, Kakashi, and Yamato. All his friends' eyes went to him, a mix of worry and pity in them.

"Why are you giving me that look? There's nothing wrong." Naruto asked.

"Yeah, but-" Choji began.

"But what?" Naruto smiled genuinely. "This isn't like back then, it doesn't bother me anymore. They're just scared and people do stupid things when they're scared. You'd leave too if you were trying to eat and you had cups being thrown at you. To be honest I thought I was going spill my food all over myself."

If they thought Naruto hadn't grown before, they definitely thought so now. They looked back on Naruto's life, really looked. He'd gone through many phases in his discrimination through the years and he'd done everything in the book. He had pleaded with people, he had been depressed, he had been angry, he had played pranks, heck, there was even a period where he had stopped talking all together, not that any noticed or cared at the time. But now, Naruto had stopped caring. He let go of all the negative feelings and tried to see it through the eyes of the villagers and tried to think about how they felt. Yes, Naruto had grown.

Naruto looked outside the entrance of the tent. "It's pretty late. I say it's a good time to go to bed. I woke up late and I'm tired, I can only imagine how you guys are feeling." He sounded a bit sheepish at that last part but he was right. Only when Naruto had mentioned that had they realized how tired they were. Perhaps it is a good idea to go to bed.