Malice

Ye Zi's strength was considerable. He gripped the boy's hand without holding back, squeezing so hard the boy let out a pained cry.

"What, what are you doing?!"

The boy whose hand Ye Zi held had a contorted expression, unable to speak from the pain. His companion, seeing this, shouted sternly.

"You're disturbing me." Ye Zi tilted his head, glancing at the speaker with a cold expression. "You're disturbing me," he repeated. Then, he flung away the boy who had been trying to pull Kushina's hair. Not wanting to worsen the situation, he turned and walked back to his seat.

"That bastard." The boy with the buzz cut touched his wrist, muttering under his breath. However, he didn't dare to retaliate. The moment his wrist was gripped, he'd felt as if it might snap. He could only imagine how intense the pain had been.

"Are you okay?" Others looked at the redness and swelling on the buzz-cut boy's wrist, a flicker of fear in their eyes. The impulse that had surged from within them slowly receded.

Strength could always serve as a shield, whether for offense or defense.

"I'm fine."

The buzz-cut boy clutched his wrist, occasionally gasping in pain. He glared fiercely at Ye Zi's profile. He had lost all interest in bullying Kushina and turned to walk back to his seat. The others exchanged glances, their enthusiasm gone, and returned to their own seats.

Seeing the classmates who had surrounded her disperse, Kushina breathed a sigh of relief. If Ye Zi hadn't grabbed that hand, her hair would have definitely been pulled. In that case, she would have surely lost her temper and hit that idiot.

"That person..."

She quietly watched Ye Zi, who was resting his chin on his hand and gazing out the window. Even seeing only half of his profile, she could clearly discern the genuine coldness on his face. After watching for a moment, she slowly walked back to her seat. Just then, she noticed a gaze. Following the gaze, she saw it was that yellow-haired kid.

"What are you looking at?" Kushina retorted unceremoniously.

Minato blinked, then smiled sheepishly and looked away, resuming his conversation with his friends. Although he was chatting, his peripheral vision kept darting towards Kushina, who was sulking in her seat, and... Ye Zi, who was staring out the window.

Time flew by, and half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

Thwack, thwack, thwack!

The dull thuds sounded almost in unison as three kunai hit the bullseye in a straight line, mere centimeters apart.

Ye Zi retracted his outstretched right hand. He stomped his left foot on the ground, using the force to rotate his waist. With a spin, he transferred the momentum to his left hand and forcefully threw the three kunai held between his fingers.

Three dark shadows shot from his hands, and the next moment, three more dull thuds were heard.

Thwack, thwack, thwack!

Zanma looked first at the six kunai embedded in the center of the target, then at the impassive Ye Zi, a hint of surprise in his eyes. He said sternly, "Ye Zi, perfect score."

The test was to throw three kunai, but Ye Zi had thrown three from each hand, and all had hit the bullseye. He hadn't paid close attention before the test began, so he hadn't noticed the extra three kunai hidden under Ye Zi's left sleeve.

Regarding this action that exceeded the scope of the test, Zanma neither praised nor reprimanded him, but he was quite impressed. Everyone had a dominant hand, and they usually used only that hand for ninja tools and weapons. For Ye Zi to understand at such a young age how to maintain both hands at the same level was truly beyond his expectations.

For half a year, Ye Zi had spent all his time practicing with ninja tools, not wasting a single moment of free time. Achieving such accuracy and power now was a result of his own hard work. This was only natural, so there was nothing to be overly happy about.

He strode quickly towards the target, pulled out the kunai from the bullseye, and put them into the ninja tool pouch hanging at his waist. Then, he retreated to the group that had already been tested.

Whether they had been tested or not, everyone looked at him with eyes full of astonishment.

Minato subconsciously raised his left hand. In terms of using ninja tools, he was confident he wasn't inferior to Ye Zi. However, he hadn't deliberately trained his left hand to reach the same level as his right. Realizing the importance of this, he smiled slightly, having found something he needed to do.

"Next, Minato Namikaze."

Hearing the teacher call his name, Minato stepped out of the line and moved to the designated spot. After pausing for a few breaths, he raised his hand and threw three kunai, hitting the bullseye with precision.

"Minato Namikaze, perfect score. Next, Uzumaki Kushina." Zanma glanced at the bullseye, then withdrew his gaze and sternly called out the next person's name.

In this batch, there were only three outstanding individuals: Ye Zi, Minato Namikaze, and Uzumaki Kushina. Unsurprisingly, Kushina also received a perfect score. The others' skill levels weren't bad either; they just lacked consistency.

The end of the assessment also marked the end of class.

Zanma recorded the assessment results in his notebook, meticulously writing evaluations for each person. Finally, these evaluations, accumulated over half a year, would be compiled into a document and presented to the Hokage's desk.

It was currently spring, and pink cherry blossoms fluttered down like countless dancing butterflies, creating a breathtaking sight.

Konohagakure had a place filled with cherry trees, a prime spot for flower viewing every year.

Uzumaki Kushina always took a detour on her way home, just to walk down that cherry blossom avenue. Today, she deliberately took the long way again.

She wasn't the only one who took a detour specifically to enjoy the cherry blossoms; Ye Zi was among them. Of course, there were also those who came to this place for reasons other than the cherry blossoms.

Kushina, a faint smile on her face, ran along the cherry blossom avenue. Her long, vibrant red hair danced in the wind, exuding a unique charm.

She suddenly stopped. The reason was a person standing in front of her.

"Hmph."

Matsuda looked at Kushina with ill intent and snorted.

Seeing that it was a classmate she had beaten up several times, Kushina frowned, clearly sensing trouble. However, if it were just one person, she could just beat him up again. Thinking this, her expression changed slightly when she saw someone who looked somewhat similar to Matsuda walk out.

"You're the one who often makes my little brother cry, aren't you?"

The person wearing a forehead protector walked towards Kushina with a slightly arrogant expression, his arms crossed.

Kushina was unfazed. She pointed at Matsuda with one hand and put the other on her hip, saying unceremoniously, "He's the one who always picks on me. He's just so weak."

"Ugh..." Matsuda leaned back as if struck by an arrow. Being unable to defeat a girl was a constant pain in his heart. And it wasn't just one girl; it was always several people Kushina would easily defeat.

As a brother, he didn't care whose fault it was when standing up for his sibling. All he wanted was to defend his brother's honor and teach a lesson to the one who bullied him.

Matsuda's older brother, Matsushita, cracked his knuckles with a kaka sound and said menacingly, "You bad guy who bullies my little brother will be taught a good lesson."

Kushina took a step back. The opponent was wearing a forehead protector; he was a Genin. She hadn't even graduated from the Ninja Academy yet. Making a swift decision, she turned and ran.

Watching Kushina's retreating back, Matsushita let out a cold laugh and gave chase. Matsuda followed, but at a slower pace than the other two.

This entire scene was observed by two people. One was Minato, and the other was Ye Zi.