The mask was cracking. After 12 long years, it was finally cracking. The sad thing was that of all the things that could've cracked it, it was just one sentence that did the trick.

Even though it was just one sentence, Naruto obsessed over it. The sentence made his head spin with a self-hatred he didn't even realize he had until now. This one sentence made him rethink his entire life.

After all the beatings and harsh words from the others in his village, it was weird that this one sentence cracked the mask he had so-carefully molded over the years. Apparently, this sentence was just that powerful.

"You should have died!"

It was just one sentence that a random villager shouted out during one of his weekly beatings. But, soon, after every hit, kick, or cut the villagers inflicted on him, they all shouted that sentence in unison.

The sentence haunted his dreams that night. Usually, he would have had other nightmares, but that night, it was that one sentence that plagued his dreams. It repeated over in his head until it was finally morning.

In the morning, he found that he didn't have the strength to keep up his mask.

So, Naruto did something he has never done in his entire 12 years living- he let his mask fall.