Naruto, just standing there by himself while everyone else went home to their families, really got to me; it makes me wonder how much that loneliness fueled his drive to be Hokage later on, just for that acknowledgment. It’s wild how Shikaku didn't join in the village's hatred, letting Shikamaru treat Naruto like a normal kid—I think he saw something in Naruto that others were too blinded by fear to even glimpse. And my heart genuinely swelled when Iruka finally accepted him, especially after we’ve seen Iruka's own struggles just trying to even look at Naruto for so long.