Spiritual Metamorphosis

Hyuga Ao went to school lightheartedly, the good mood from last night lingering until now, almost making her bounce along the road like a player entering a full-dive game for the first time.

Fortunately, her cultivation at the Dan-holding realm kept that impulse in check, but the joy in her eyes was plain for anyone to see.

Ao walked into the school and spotted Namikaze Minato chatting happily with Kushina in their seats. She frowned, sensing something was off.

Yesterday, Ao had temporarily swapped seats with Minato to drive away the third person in their row, freeing up a spot for Kushina.

So here was the problem: after swapping back, the arrangement was Kushina on the left, Namikaze Minato in the middle, and Hyuga Ao on the right.

This was practically protagonist treatment—a childhood friend from a prestigious clan, a princess descended from the heavens with noble status. Was Minato supposed to be some legendary Yasashi protagonist?

Ao slowly conjured a question mark in her mind.

She walked over and patted Namikaze Minato on the shoulder. Minato turned his head, looking at Ao's displeased expression with confusion. What's wrong with her again?

Ao pointed at her original seat and said, "From now on, you sit on the outside, and I'll sit on the inside."

Fine, whatever. Since Ao had spoken, Minato had no choice but to obediently move over. Losing a fight was just that frustrating.

Meanwhile, Ao quickly greeted Kushina and started pulling out scrolls.

Kushina glanced over curiously and saw scrolls with titles like Practical Collision of Wind and Fire Release, Nature Transformation and Shape Transformation, Several Levels of Chakra Control, and A Brief Discussion on Ninjutsu.

Ao said, "Minato, these books are all yours. I've finished reading them."

When Namikaze Minato put the books away, Kushina was a bit shocked. Generally, the ninja world guarded secret techniques and ninjutsu closely, rarely sharing them with others.

Civilian ninja could only learn techniques through merit exchanges or teacher instruction.

For Minato to lend his family's collection to Ao was rare. It showed their relationship was already very close.

Could it really be what she'd heard yesterday—that they were boyfriend and girlfriend?

At that thought, Kushina's heart itched like a cat scratching.

Fortunately, Kushina was straightforward and asked directly, "Ao'er, Namikaze, are you two in that kind of relationship?"

She curled her fingers into a gesture indicating a couple.

Hearing this, Ao and Namikaze Minato exchanged a glance, each seeing a hint of disgust in the other's eyes.

They answered in unison, "No."

"Then why would Namikaze lend you his books, Ao'er?" Kushina asked, puzzled.

Ao began to explain in detail.

It turned out that a year ago, when Ao first met Namikaze Minato, she had shown off a trick of hitting the nerve in the arm. Minato was curious and asked about it.

Then, under Ao's guidance, it turned into Ao teaching Minato Wing Chun techniques and training methods, while Minato let Ao read his family's collection.

Kushina was envious after hearing this. She wished she had a friend like that to train and play with.

Though she wanted to join in, remembering her grandmother Mito and some vague sense of her own identity, the sensible Kushina didn't voice that wish.

Meanwhile, Minato smiled as he watched the girls chatting. He felt that Ao today was different from before, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her heart. She seemed more relaxed and genuine.

A year ago, Ao had used three tactics to build a good relationship with Namikaze Minato.

The first was being overly familiar. For someone like Minato, unless you really annoyed him, he wouldn't reject your deliberate approach. He'd watch to see what kind of person you were.

The second was showing off her mystery and strength, but that didn't attract Minato much. He was mature for his age and only mildly curious.

The decisive tactic was the third: playing on sympathy and sincerity.

Minato had never imagined that in the bright village of Konoha, someone would use a Cursed Seal to control others. When Ao said she wanted to befriend promising people early, hoping they might help her in the future, it was her plea for help that moved him.

Minato wanted to help this girl whose fate seemed sealed. That was how they started exchanging knowledge.

Over time, Minato realized Ao's true nature wasn't bad, and their relationship became what it was now—like good brothers.

In their year of interaction, Minato noticed Ao carried a lot of inner pressure. She rarely felt truly happy and often forced herself to find amusement, like interrupting his Wooden Dummy practice. He couldn't tell if that was her nature or a result of stress.

Minato called these episodes "flare-ups," like occasional spasms. The best response was to ignore her.

But now, Ao seemed much more normal. He couldn't help asking, "Ao'er, has something good happened lately?"

Hearing Minato's question, Ao immediately wanted to share that she'd found a way to undo the Caged Bird. But remembering that Kushina might have Anbu watching her and that the classroom was crowded, she only said, "I'll tell you when we have time."

Kushina was curious about what good news her close friend had, but being smart, she saw Ao's expression and suppressed her curiosity.

Ao looked at Kushina on her left and Minato on her right, feeling very satisfied and happy. Minato could read her mood from her expression, and Kushina stopped asking when she saw Ao didn't want to talk.

Her mind eased, and she felt something settle within her.

The vague sense of unreality in her daily life slowly faded. Combined with the first Caged Bird she had undone last night, Ao's spirit became much purer, the clutter in her mind clearing away.

This past year had been a whirlwind for Ao. Someone who had never deliberately tried to befriend others had gone out of her way to connect with Minato.

What used to be easy, carefree days turned into a routine of punching in the morning and evening, maintaining a Shadow Clone at school while she read Minato's family books, and trying to undo the Caged Bird at night. It was truly exhausting.

Hyuga Ao managed to maintain a year of intense study and training mainly due to the pressure of the Caged Bird and the endurance of her Core Condensation cultivation.

But deep down, she didn't actually like it—it was far too different from the easy days of her past life.

So she grew irritable, her mind crammed with a jumble of thoughts. This period had gone too much against her nature, nearly crushing her into a split personality. She often stirred up trouble, which was what Namikaze Minato called her "episodes."

But then.

At this moment, Hyuga Ao truly faced her own heart and realized she had come to see Kushina and Minato as friends. She finally understood the unique bonds that defined a Hokage and felt the beauty of having such ties.

For the first time, the ninja world gave Hyuga Ao not the cold, unfeeling Caged Bird, but warm friendship instead.

Moved, Hyuga Ao felt the power of that emotion. Under its influence, her control over Core Condensation grew clearer, and her command over her body became more effortless.

Her expression softened, and she finally steadied herself. She gained a real sense of being in the ninja world, clearly recognizing that she was now Hyuga Ao, no longer the person from her past life.

"There's no going back," Hyuga Ao murmured.

She looked at Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, who had given her this feeling of being moved, and swore in her heart:

"Minato, Kushina, I will never let you die. If I can't even protect you two, then what kind of transmigrator am I? I might as well go home and raise pigs!!!"