Kushina Wants to Participate Too

After finally dealing with the Raikage's group, Hiruzen Sarutobi returned to the clan grounds.

His wife, Biwako, was under the eaves, playing with their child.

The sight of his youngest son, Asuma, greatly improved Hiruzen Sarutobi's mood.

After the Second Ninja World War ended, Hiruzen Sarutobi had finally been able to relax. Having a son in his old age was a wonderful blessing.

Just then, his eldest son, Hima, entered the courtyard.

"Mother, your student Kushina is here. She looks anxious."

Biwako smiled. "Kushina is always so impatient. Let her in."

Before long, Hima led Kushina and Minato into the courtyard.

"Teacher! Teacher!" Seeing that the Third Hokage was present as well, Kushina greeted him too. "Third Hokage, you're here too? That's rare. You hardly ever come home."

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt somewhat guilty. Even Biwako's student knew he rarely came home.

"Teacher! Minato is going to take the Chunin Exams! I want to take them too!"

Biwako froze for a moment and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Thinking of Kushina's enormous chakra reserves and her increasingly refined Sealing Technique, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded.

Minato let out a breath of relief at the side. The moment he had told Kushina that he was taking the Chunin Exams, she had rushed over to find her teacher.

Fortunately, everyone here understood Kushina's impatient nature and knew it had not been Minato's idea.

Konoha Village's policies were extremely conservative. For the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, the best course was to remain in the village without moving around. Preventing the Nine-Tails from going berserk took top priority.

In the original story, Kushina eventually became a Jonin, so her own growth had not fallen behind.

Minato said, "Teacher Biwako, Kushina doesn't have teammates yet. Can the four of us form a team together?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Hima. As the captain of the Anbu Squad, Hima immediately began searching for candidates in his mind.

Kushina was rather special. When Biwako had taken her as a student, she had taken only Kushina, without assigning her any teammates.

If Kushina needed teammates, ANBU elites would inevitably have to disguise themselves as Genin and take the exam with her. More importantly, they would need to protect Kushina during the dangerous Chunin Exams.

The ANBU elites were all rather old. They could not exactly find an obvious adult to form a team with Kushina.

Hima swiftly thought of several small-statured ANBU elites and nodded to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Biwako got the message and said:

"Minato, the Chunin Exams are conducted in teams of three. There are no four-person matches, and that would be unfair to the other teams.

I'll find teammates for Kushina. The Chunin Exams do not prohibit alliances, so your two teams can act together."

Minato understood. Kushina's teammates would certainly be reliable and completely follow his lead.

"Alright, Teacher Biwako. Kushina and I will prepare well and strive to put on an outstanding performance in front of the Cloud Hidden Village."

The next morning, Minato sparred with Akimichi Jirokuma at a training ground in Konoha Village.

Akimichi Jirokuma mainly practiced the Akimichi Clan's secret techniques. His strength was decent, but he was far too slow and was utterly dominated by Minato.

As Jirokuma panted for breath, three people entered from outside the training ground.

Kushina stood in the middle, flanked by two adult ninjas with stiff expressions.

Their stiffness and unease made it seem as if they were unwilling to show their true faces.

The two adult ninjas, one man and one woman, were both around twenty. From their builds, they clearly did not look like unremarkable Genin.

Minato understood. These were the ANBU elites assigned to Kushina.

ANBU captains were Jonin or Special Jonin, while their main force consisted of Chunin and Elite Chunin.

The village was truly serious about the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Having just taken over the care of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki from the Senju Clan, it was treating the matter with great care.

With the two teams training together, Akimichi Jirokuma and Haneina felt much better.

Facing Kushina's teammates put less pressure on them than facing Minato, making them more suitable sparring partners.

After three days of sparring, the Chunin Exams officially began.

Minato entered the Ninja Academy once more.

What a pity. By the time he had transmigrated, the original Minato had already graduated, so he had never experienced life at the Ninja Academy.

Now that he had entered the Ninja Academy again, many of the original Minato's memories surfaced.

This was where the original Minato had spent six years. It was exceedingly familiar to him. He knew exactly what was in every corner of the playground and what was on the rooftop.

The first round of the Chunin Exams was a written test, which posed no difficulty for most Genin.

Well, except for his and Kushina's foolish son.

In the original story, Naruto had not been stupid. He had simply been unwilling to put effort into studying.

Many teams had gathered in the classroom corridor.

Within Konoha Village, the most eye-catching team was the team of the Ino-Shika-Cho clan heirs.

Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Choza, and Yamanaka Inoichi were all extremely strong. It could be said that they were second only to Minato's team.

Nara Shikaku would become Konoha's future Jonin Squad Leader and the Hokage's most capable assistant.

Yamanaka Inoichi would become the head of Konoha's intelligence division, while Akimichi Choza was somewhat lazy and did not take a post in the village.

Besides them, there were many people from the original story who had appeared before.

The brothers Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga, the fathers of Hyuga Hinata and Hyuga Neji in the original story.

Inuzuka Tsume, Inuzuka Kiba's mother in the original story.

Aburame Shibi, Aburame Shino's father in the original story.

This generation of Konoha ninjas would become the backbone of Konoha Village in the future.

Seeing these major figures from his generation, Minato's brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

Although the original Minato had eventually become the Fourth Hokage, he had never had a strong power base around him.

During Nine-Tails Night, Konoha Village's ANBU and the major ninja clans had still united around Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had stepped down without truly retiring, leaving Minato Namikaze with nothing but the Hokage's title and none of the Hokage's authority.

His will could not be carried out. He had merely been Hiruzen Sarutobi's subordinate.

Now that Minato had transmigrated here, he would absolutely not let that happen again. If he still became Hiruzen Sarutobi's subordinate, then would his transmigration not have been for nothing?

But as he looked at the ninjas his age, he found no opening at all.

The Ino-Shika-Cho clans had always been dependents of the Sarutobi Clan, so Nara Shikaku and the others would never betray Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The Hyuga brothers belonged to their own faction. The Hyuga Clan was rather closed off and had ordinary relations with outsiders.

As for the Aburame Clan and Inuzuka Clan, their influence was limited.

Suddenly, Minato spotted two teams. His eyes brightened, and he walked toward them.

One was a Senju Clan team, and the other was an Uchiha Clan team.

Since the great clans like Ino-Shika-Cho and the Hyuga Clan could not be relied upon for the time being, the Senju Clan and Uchiha Clan were good choices.

The Senju Clan had prestige, while the Uchiha Clan had strength. They would make excellent allies.

Minato moved, and Kushina followed him.

When the Senju Clan team saw Minato and Kushina approaching, their expressions relaxed, and they were no longer nervous.

"Kushina! We're competitors now!"

Though they said that, the Senju Clan members all gathered around Kushina.

The captain of this team was Senju Chihiro, a highly talented ninja.

"Chihiro, we can help each other in the Death Forest. There's no need for us to treat each other as opponents, is there?"

"Of course, Minato. We can form an alliance."

Minato then drew over Uchiha Mikoto's team as well.

The Uchiha Clan had only recently reconciled with the Senju Clan, so Uchiha Yashiro and the others on Mikoto's team did not resist.

Thus, Minato's team, Kushina's team, Senju Chihiro's team, and Uchiha Mikoto's team swiftly formed a small alliance.

Not far away, Nara Shikaku's expression was complicated. Familiar with the clan's and village's secret plans, he murmured inwardly, The Senju Clan and Uchiha Clan really are stubbornly lingering on... They cannot be underestimated.