Minato, Hyuga Ao, Kushina

[...In summary, the advanced application of Chakra is nothing more than Nature Transformation and Shape Transformation. But even after transformation, the essence of the technique remains Chakra. Under normal circumstances, Chakra cannot be converted into matter. Even the water produced by Water Release techniques mostly consists of pre-existing water molecules.]

[However, some great ninjas are exceptions. They incorporate Yin-Yang attributes or other elements into their techniques, allowing them to create physical objects from Chakra out of thin air.]

"Huff..." Hyuga Ao let out a long breath, put away the scroll, rubbed her sore eyes from reading for so long, stretched beautifully, and flipped off the tree.

She watched Namikaze Minato, who was completely focused on striking the Wooden Dummy. A thought struck her, and she suddenly called out loudly:

"Minato, are you still going to say you're not a Senju?"

Namikaze Minato was startled. His movements broke off, and he had to straighten the Wooden Dummy again, ending this practice session.

Being pulled out of his state of full concentration was very jarring for Namikaze Minato, but in the end he could only say helplessly:

"Ao'er, what's wrong with you now? I was almost done."

Hyuga Ao held up the scroll, pointed to the last passage, and said with a smile:

"Minato, a year ago when school first started, I said you were a descendant of the Senju scattered into Konoha, and you didn't believe me."

"But in truth, the bloodline of the Senju is naturally outstanding, and having a legacy makes a difference."

"Look at this passage. This isn't information just anyone would know."

Namikaze Minato read the last passage of the scroll back and forth twice, then tilted his head toward Hyuga Ao and asked in confusion:

"What do you mean?"

Hyuga Ao's delicate little face was full of seriousness, her lively phoenix eyes brimming with solemnity—exactly the same expression she'd worn a year ago when she was fooling Namikaze Minato. She said leisurely:

"Konoha Village is located in the center of the Land of Fire, surrounded by dense forests that form a natural defensive barrier. Guess how those forests came to be."

Namikaze Minato was puzzled:

"Isn't it because Konoha ninjas have flexible fighting styles best suited for mountain and forest combat, so the predecessors chose this location for the village? The forest naturally existed, right?"

Hyuga Ao smiled at this and closed the scroll:

"Naive. Konoha was originally the territory of the Senju clan and the Uchiha clan. The two strongest ninja clans were sworn enemies, separated by only one river, and they fought for years. With prolonged conflict, how could such dense forests still exist?"

Hyuga Ao paused, her gaze distant, and said softly:

"This forest was created by the First Hokage using Wood Release."

Namikaze Minato was taken aback. But after a year of getting along, his trust in Hyuga Ao had reached a certain level, so he quickly accepted this premise. He came back to his senses:

"But what does that have to do with you interrupting my Wooden Dummy practice?"

Hyuga Ao's smile froze. She thought to herself that Minato wasn't following the script this time. She laughed it off and changed the subject:

"It's noon. Come on, I'll treat you to a meal."

Namikaze Minato sighed. Looking at Hyuga Ao's coaxing little face raised toward him, he had no choice but to act as if nothing had happened. He sighed and pressed his hand to his forehead:

"I really can't win against you."

On the way, Namikaze Minato glanced at Hyuga Ao's profile and thought to himself:

"Usually she looks like such an ethereal person... tsk. What a shame."

Inside Ichiraku Ramen.

At this time, Otsutsuki Ikkaku had just moved to Konoha from another village. He was still young enough that the current Hyuga Ao could call him "big brother."

"Brother Teuchi, two extra-large bowls of Tonkotsu Ramen, extra chashu!"

"Coming right up!" Teuchi replied enthusiastically.

The newly opened Ichiraku Ramen wasn't busy yet, and the two bowls of ramen were served quickly.

Namikaze Minato ate his ramen but couldn't hold back his curiosity. He asked:

"Ao'er, how are you so rich? Aren't you in the same situation as me? You've treated me to ramen quite a few times this past year."

Hyuga Ao looked up, pointed at the birdcage an old man outside was carrying, and asked:

"Minato, if you raised a bird, wouldn't you prepare its food and water?"

Having spent a year with Hyuga Ao, Namikaze Minato naturally knew about the Cursed Seal on her forehead. He realized he had asked something he shouldn't have and hesitated:

"You mean..."

Hyuga Ao looked at the cautious Namikaze Minato and smiled freely:

"Besides, the Hyuga clan is a taijutsu-focused family. Poor for scholars, rich for martial artists. Naturally, they have to make sure we branch family members eat enough. So until I come of age, I get a monthly allowance. Plus what my parents left me, supporting you is pretty easy."

Namikaze Minato was choked by Hyuga Ao's words. What did she mean by "supporting" him? But he recalled how many times he'd paid this past year... Eh, just eat the ramen.

Hyuga Ao watched the silent Minato, smiled slightly, and continued eating her noodles.

On the way to the Ninja Academy, Namikaze Minato seemed to want to say something but held back. Hyuga Ao noticed and asked him:

"What do you want to say?"

Namikaze Minato fidgeted and said:

"How about we stop using Shadow Clones to attend school this semester?"

"What's wrong? Feeling like you can't hold on?"

Namikaze Minato nodded.

"Every day I split off most of my chakra to go to school and learn boxing from you. Even though I don't use much chakra when I'm sparring, it's still exhausting. Even as a Senju, I can't keep this up."

Hyuga Ao glanced at him sideways, thinking to herself, That's not what you said a year ago when I found those Shadow Clone scrolls in your house.

She tugged at the bangs hanging over her forehead, thought for a moment, and said:

"Fine, let's take a year off. You've pretty much mastered Wing Chun anyway. This year the school's starting some ninjutsu training, and your Shadow Clone chakra reserves really aren't enough. Plus, the Ninja Academy's practical combat classes are about to begin."

"But you're basically admitting I was right. Still, you have no idea what a Senju's physical resilience really means."

Realizing Hyuga Ao was about to launch into another round of secret lore, Namikaze Minato focused his attention, ready to listen.

"The Uchiha and the Senju—both come from the same lineage. One inherited the Sage's Eye, the other the Sage's Body."

"The Sage's Eye is the Sharingan. You know what that is. The Sage's Body means inhuman chakra reserves, an inhuman physique, and inhuman recovery. Trust me, you haven't been pushed to your limit yet."

Hyuga Ao turned her head and looked at him suspiciously. "What have you been doing at night? Why do you get tired so easily?"

Then, in a tone of mock gravity, she teased: "Young man, you need to learn some restraint!"

People in the world of the Hokage matured early. Minato clearly caught her meaning. He sighed inwardly, turned his head away, and decided to ignore her antics.

Minato's heart ached, but he said nothing. He couldn't beat her in a fight, so for now, he just had to let it slide. He felt that if this kept up, he'd lose all his temper.

Seeing that Minato wasn't going to respond, Hyuga Ao lost interest and turned back. They walked the rest of the way to school in silence.

Just as their class was starting, the homeroom teacher walked in leading a little red-haired girl.

The moment she saw that Uzumaki Kushina had finally arrived in Konoha, Hyuga Ao's eyes lit up. The main reason she'd been so close with Minato for the past year was her craving for Kushina's Sealing Jutsu.

Sure, she also wanted the heights Minato would reach someday and the help he could offer her, but right now, what she wanted most was Kushina's sealing techniques.

"Minato, Minato, quick, switch seats with me."

At the Ninja Academy, desks were arranged for three students. Hyuga Ao was sitting on the right side of the far-right row. Minato was in the middle, and on his left was a chubby kid from the Akimichi clan.

Though he didn't understand why, Minato quickly swapped seats with her and then waited for Kushina's self-introduction.

Meanwhile, Hyuga Ao used the time to tell the Akimichi kid to move back a row.

The chubby boy didn't want to sit in the back, but under the threat of the class bully's pale, delicate little fist, he obediently moved.

For the past year, both Hyuga Ao and Minato had been attending school via Shadow Clones. Minato's chakra was running low, and Hyuga Ao wasn't much better off.

Both of them were barely maintaining their clones.

But Hyuga Ao had a slight edge, because she'd spent most of the year reading through the books in Minato's house, so she could leave more chakra for her clone.

To conserve energy, she'd adopted a zero-tolerance policy for interruptions from other kids during breaks, aside from class time.

And for anyone who came looking for trouble, she showed off a special trick—hitting the funny bone.

Anyone she struck would feel a tingling numbness in the hit area that lasted over ten minutes. Even if they tattled to the teacher, the teacher couldn't see anything wrong. So everyone else learned to fear her. Hyuga Ao became the undisputed class bully, and her reputation as the genius of the Hyuga clan spread like wildfire.

But Minato's reputation took a hit. People started saying he was Hyuga Ao's kept pretty boy, and she never missed a chance to tease him about it.

"I'm going to become this village's first female Hokage!" Kushina declared from the podium.

Hyuga Ao silently slandered her in her heart: You won't become the Hokage, but you can become the Hokage's woman.

Even as she grumbled internally, her face wore a bright smile. While everyone else burst into laughter, she started clapping. The laughter died down as her applause rang out.

"That's amazing!" Kushina was stunned.

She studied Hyuga Ao carefully, but all she saw was a delicate, cute little girl with Byakugan.

From her appearance alone, you'd never guess such a tiny person could have that kind of presence.

Their homeroom teacher knew what was up and immediately told Kushina to take the empty seat next to Hyuga Ao.

Once Kushina sat down, Hyuga Ao leaned in close, gently lifted a strand of Kushina's vivid red hair, and went straight for the kill:

"Big sister, your hair color is so beautiful."

"Is... is it?" Kushina, who hated her own red hair, suddenly found it praised. Her face flushed bright red, unbearably cute.

"It really is!" Hyuga Ao nodded adorably, using her sweet charm to win over the older girl.

She pointed at Minato. "Look, look, Minato has blond hair. I love making friends with people who have different hair colors from me."

"Because I really want hair of some other color. Black hair is just too traditional and ordinary."

Kushina turned to look at Minato. She thought he seemed a bit effeminate, then ignored him and went back to chatting with Hyuga Ao.

Minato gave Kushina a gentle smile. For some reason, watching the two of them messing around gave him a strong sense of déjà vu, as if he'd seen this scene before.

He shook his head, pushing the feeling out of his mind, and turned his gaze back to Kushina, feeling a strange stir in his heart.