Could I Not Join the Uchiha Clan and Still Survive?

"Minato was the one who suggested the picnic. If you want to go, discuss it with him.

"I'm only responsible for cooking. I'm not handling anything else."

Without hesitation, Chiyue dumped the responsibility on Minato. He waved at the dumbfounded Minato and took off running.

"Wait for me!"

Just as Minato was about to chase after him, he found himself blocked.

"Minato, I was wondering if I could join your picnic too?

"I'm sure, for the sake of our classmates' friendship, you wouldn't refuse, right?"

Kushina smiled as she raised a small hand and made a gesture.

I still haven't settled things with you over last time. If you refuse, you know what will happen.

Could he dare refuse?

Chiyue, you bastard! You only know how to dump things on me.

Minato was on the verge of tears.

He hurriedly said, "Kushina, that's not right. As classmates, how could I refuse to let you join? Don't worry, Chiyue's grilled meat is absolutely amazing.

"I'll be responsible for hunting tomorrow. You just need to eat."

Patting his chest, Minato guaranteed that he would handle everything.

She only needed to eat.

"Great!"

Kushina jumped up excitedly.

"Minato, you're a good person. Don't worry, I won't hit you. We're classmates, after all."

Classmates?

You were just threatening me!

What kind of classmate was that?

Forget it. He would just prepare a little more food for one extra person.

Anyway, he would not be responsible for grilling the meat. That was Chiyue's job.

Thinking that way, Minato felt much better.

Kushina skipped home, in quite a good mood.

"I'm a Jinchuriki, so I can't just run around wherever I want. I need to think of something, or it'll be troublesome if the picnic spot is too remote."

Kushina fixed her gaze on Tsunade.

If she could not wander around alone, what if she brought Tsunade with her?

Wouldn't that solve the problem?

"Tsunade, I'm going on a picnic with my classmates tomorrow. Come with me."

"No, no. You little brats are going out to play, so why should I tag along?"

"You kids can go play by yourselves. Don't drag me into it."

Tsunade refused decisively.

What a joke. She had finally gotten a few days off and wanted to sleep in. Besides, she was in a bad mood after losing money, so she was not going.

Kushina had come prepared. She knew Tsunade would refuse, so she was not in a hurry.

She simply called out to Nawaki, "Brother Nawaki, yesterday Tsunade took your... mmph!"

Tsunade's expression changed the moment she heard that. She hurriedly covered Kushina's mouth.

If Nawaki found out that she had taken his allowance to gamble—and had fucking lost it—he would definitely come after her.

"Shut up. What do you want?"

Tsunade gritted her teeth and asked viciously.

Come to the picnic with me, or I'll tell on you and have Brother Nawaki make trouble for you.

Kushina began bargaining.

"I..."

"Fine, you win. Alright, alright, I'll go, I'll go. So annoying. I finally got a few days off."

Kushina smugly made a V sign and pulled a face, making Tsunade grit her teeth in irritation.

She had the urge to pin her to the sofa and spank her little butt.

"You're so unfair!"

The next day, Minato rushed into Chiyue's house and accused him of running off and leaving him behind.

"Come on, don't be mad. You're Little Sun—you can't get angry. The sun is supposed to warm people's hearts."

Chiyue waved a hand. "Besides, refusing girls is what I'm worst at, so I could only let you handle it."

Yeah, right.

You were bad at refusing girls?

How many girls at school had you rejected?

When had you ever not ruthlessly turned them down? And now you were saying you were bad at refusing girls!

Who would believe that?

"I agreed."

Minato crossed his arms and chose to give up resisting.

Since he could not resist, he might as well lie flat.

"Pfft!"

Chiyue sprayed a mouthful of water across the room.

"You agreed?"

My brother, that was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Wherever she went, a whole group of Anbu and Root ninja followed behind her. And you agreed?

Well... they were screwed now.

Still, Minato could not be blamed. After all, he did not know Kushina's background.

Besides, Minato had offended Kushina, to the point where he took detours whenever they met.

If Kushina brought that matter up, Minato would have no choice but to agree.

"Of course."

Minato answered as though it were only natural.

"Did I dare refuse? You know how terrifying Kushina is when she hits people. She's even younger than us, but she's terrifying."

The moment he thought of Kushina's red hair flying about and her eyes seeming to burn with flames, Minato shuddered.

"..."

The current Minato really would get beaten badly whenever he ran into Kushina.

Feeling depressed, Minato pulled Chiyue to his feet and headed outside, complaining, "Alright, stop being surprised. I'm not like you two. You both have more Chakra than the other. I really don't know what's wrong with you two."

"Let's go. If we don't leave now, we'll be late. Don't you think it's rude to make girls wait for us?"

After buying all kinds of seasonings, the two arrived at the school entrance.

From far away, they could see red-haired Kushina, along with a blonde woman who looked extremely impatient.

Holy shit!

Tsunade?

Why was she here too?

"Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Why don't you pinch me?"

From a distance, Minato rubbed his eyes.

Wasn't that person standing beside Kushina Tsunade Hime?

"Ahhh!!"

A sharp pain shot through his arm. Minato yelped and jumped high into the air. Face flushed red, he rubbed his arm hard and shouted:

"What are you doing? Why did you pinch so hard?"

Chiyue rolled his eyes.

"Didn't you tell me to pinch you? Of course I had to use some force, or you'd think you were dreaming."

But you used way too much force.

His arm had turned red over a large patch.

Minato looked at him resentfully. Unable to stand that look, Chiyue coughed and turned away.

"Chiyue, Minato."

Hearing Minato's cry, Tsunade and Kushina looked over.

Kushina waved and ran over.

Tsunade's shoulders slumped weakly. She had no interest whatsoever in this kind of picnic.

But Kushina had threatened to tell on her, so she had no choice but to come.

You three could just pretend I was invisible.

Tsunade crossed her arms. At this point, she had not yet developed the impressive figure she would have in the future.

Chiyue glanced at her before quickly looking away so no one would notice.

He could not speak for others, but Tsunade was exceptionally good at beating people up.

Jiraiya had nearly been sent flying away by one punch. This was no joke.

Deliberately hanging back a little, Tsunade said impatiently to the Anbu ninja hidden in the shadows, "I'll be with Kushina today. All of you go back and tell Old Man not to bother me today."

"Yes, Lady Tsunade."

The Anbu ninja did not dare put on airs in front of Tsunade.

Since Tsunade had given her word, there was nothing left for them to do. They only needed to return and report to the Third Hokage.

When they arrived at the riverside where they usually held picnics, Minato plunged straight into the forest.

"You rest for a while. I'll go hunting."

Chiyue did not expect Tsunade or Kushina to do any work. He took out a Kunai and went to gather some firewood.

"You have Uchiha Clan blood?"

Tsunade had no intention of avoiding Kushina and asked directly.

Chiba was starting the fire. Hearing the question, he looked up and answered, "Yes. My mother has always hoped that I would return to the Uchiha Clan, preferably even change my surname back. But I have no intention of returning to the Uchiha Clan."

"Why?"

Kushina was not originally from Konoha, so she naturally had no particular opinion of the Uchiha Clan.

"With your talent, Chiyue, wouldn't joining a major clan mean receiving focused training?"

Among their peers, Chiyue excelled in every subject and was slightly ahead of Minato.

In the teachers' eyes, he was undeniably a genius.

It was also because his grades were so good that the teachers turned a blind eye whenever Chiyue zoned out in class.

It could only be said that students with good grades would inevitably receive some preferential treatment from teachers.

"I don't really like the Uchiha Clan's atmosphere. Maybe I'm just too proud."

Chiyue laughed self-deprecatingly. "Besides, they already reject me. Why should I beg to join the Uchiha Clan?"

"You've got backbone, but you're giving up the chance to receive focused training."

Just from those words alone, Tsunade could not help but think more highly of Chiyue.

Reject me?

I didn't even want to join!

If he could not receive training from a major clan, he would just grow at his own pace.

Could Yagami Chiyue not survive without joining the Uchiha Clan?

"Then learning ninjutsu will probably be difficult, won't it?"

Chiyue was currently considered a Civilian Ninja student.

Only after graduation could the word student be removed, making him a Civilian Ninja.

If Civilian Ninja wanted to learn ninjutsu, they had to exchange the contributions earned from missions for it.

Unless they found a reliable teacher willing to teach them.

"It'll be fine. Everything will get better."

Chiyue firmly believed that.

If I can't make it with cheats, then nobody else deserves to live.

Uchiha Clan?

As if anyone was dying to join you!

The higher-ups had already squeezed you into some corner, and you were still acting proud?

Danzo and the Third Hokage were already coming at you with knives!

Don't be in such a hurry. That day would come sooner or later.

"I'm back."

Not long after, Minato returned carrying two wild rabbits and a small wild boar. He tossed the prey onto the ground and sat down with a thud to rest.

The remaining work was no longer his concern.

Chiyue picked up a Kunai and began preparing the prey. Before long, the aroma of grilled meat spread along the riverbank.

Kushina's eyes shone as she looked at Chiyue as though he were a treasure trove.

Even Tsunade took back what she had said the day before.

She was beginning to look forward to today's picnic, and she had also become somewhat interested in Chiyue.