"Tsunade, if you really want Kushina to fit into Konoha this morning, you have to be a little more protective of her," Uchiha Dan said seriously, no longer teasing Tsunade.
"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked, a little confused.
"When someone feels anxious and unsettled, they instinctively seek comfort. If they can't find any, they'll feel utterly hopeless," Uchiha Dan explained.
"If someone can ease her anxiety and unease at a time like that, she'll immediately develop a favorable impression of them."
"So you can't just be kind to Kushina in her daily life. You have to pay attention to what happens at school, too. Protect her whenever you can—that's the only way to help her fit into Konoha quickly."
Tsunade pondered this, then nodded. "I understand!"
"But..." Tsunade still looked worried. "They really won't start fighting?"
"Let them fight. We can deal with it afterward," Uchiha Dan said, looking unconcerned.
"But won't we spoil the children if we do that?"
"How does telling them to fight back when they're bullied spoil them?" Uchiha Dan scoffed. "They're going to become ninjas, so there are some things they can't just put up with."
"Parents who let their children bully others are the ones who truly spoil them and raise them to be scum."
"Besides, didn't you say yourself that you have no expectations for Kushina right now? You just want her to grow up happily?"
"If she gets bullied every day at school, how happy do you think she'll be?"
"And what exactly are you worried about? When it comes to fighting at school, who could beat you? What could possibly go wrong?"
"Actually, you're right!" Tsunade immediately stopped worrying after hearing that last line.
Back when she'd gone to school, she'd fought her way to the top. How many people there hadn't been beaten up by her?
So the occasional fight really didn't seem like a big deal.
"But if something like that happens, can Minato handle it?" Tsunade asked.
"Hmph. Even if the whole school jumped him, he'd be fine. I'm not nearly as gentle when it comes to teaching my little brother," Uchiha Dan said confidently.
Well, so much for that!
Tsunade was speechless. Why was Dan always thinking about opening the gates and letting his little brother loose?
She wasn't worried about Namikaze Minato's strength. She'd seen it for herself.
She was worried whether this innocent-looking little guy could command the room.
Uchiha Dan, however, didn't notice what Tsunade was thinking. He was genuinely looking forward to it.
You've got to be kidding.
When Namikaze Minato was two, Uchiha Dan had secretly skimmed a good number of precious medicinal herbs provided by Utatane Koharu and used them to prepare medicinal baths for him.
As Minato grew older, the types of medicinal baths changed, steadily enhancing his potential in every way.
Of course, Dan had benefited from it, too. The results weren't as impressive as Minato's, who'd been taking the baths since he was little, but they'd still helped him considerably.
What's more, Minato had mastered the Chakra Extraction Technique and Chakra Body Strengthening Technique, both improved by Uchiha Dan, at the age of three.
Every so often, Uchiha Dan also used acupuncture to open up Minato's meridians.
And then there was the most scientific and effective guidance Dan had given him all these years.
Uchiha Dan didn't believe there was anyone at the Ninja Academy who could beat Namikaze Minato.
If it came down to a fight, even an ordinary Chunin instructor would end up flat on the ground, despite Minato being only seven.
As Tsunade and Uchiha Dan headed toward the hospital, Kushina entered the classroom under her teacher's guidance.
The moment the students saw Kushina, they fell silent and turned to stare at her.
With so many unfamiliar eyes fixed on her, Kushina grew extremely nervous. But when she saw Namikaze Minato, she gradually calmed down.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Kushina Uzumaki."
"Wow, look at the color of her hair. It's so weird!"
A nasty voice rang out. One boy suddenly called to the boy behind him, making no effort to consider Kushina's feelings.
The familiar, painfully predictable scene had arrived all the same.
"Yeah, I've never seen red hair before," the boy behind him chimed in loudly.
"Hahaha, her hair looks like a tomato. It's so ugly." The first boy, the one with the obnoxious voice, mocked her again. "And she looks so weak. Can someone like that even become a ninja?"
The boy was named Tanaka Genji. He usually threw his weight around at school, and whenever he got the worst of it, he had his ninja older brother stand up for him.
Though Namikaze Minato had taught him a lesson several times, his rotten nature was hard to change, and now he couldn't help himself again.
Humiliated in front of everyone, Kushina's face flushed red. She immediately wanted to say something to put them in their place.
Got it!
Kushina Uzumaki had a sudden idea. She was about to declare that she'd become the village's first female Hokage and scare the daylights out of them.
But just then, Namikaze Minato slapped his desk and stood up. "Teacher, Tanaka Genji just insulted the new student in front of everyone. Aren't you going to do something about it?"
Caught off guard by the moral pressure, the homeroom teacher clearly froze for a moment.
The Ninja Academy wasn't a place for raising hothouse flowers. It was where ninjas were trained.
As long as things didn't go too far, competition was actually encouraged there.
"They're just joking around with each other," the teacher said with a careless laugh. "I'm sure the new student won't mind. Still, everyone should look out for her from now on."
"Who'd look out for her?" Tanaka Genji's obnoxious voice continued, full of sarcasm. "And you, Namikaze Minato—you're always sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. Shut up! We still have a score to settle!"
Remembering how Namikaze Minato had taught him a lesson several times when he'd bullied other students, the boy ground his teeth in anger.
But as soon as he finished speaking, everything went dark before his eyes.
A shoe sole planted itself right on his face and kicked him out of his seat and onto the podium, where he landed face-down at the teacher's feet.
Kushina hurriedly covered her mouth, staring at the scene in disbelief.
Wasn't that way more satisfying than blurting out that I wanted to be the female Hokage just to save face?
And what kind of chuunibyou thing was that, anyway? Why had I even thought of it? If I'd really said it, they'd probably have made fun of me for ages.
Good thing Namikaze Minato stopped me.
But was it really okay for this guy to attack someone right in front of the teacher?
No, not attack—kick!
"Listen up, you jerk! Kushina is my friend. Mess with her, and you mess with me!" Namikaze Minato declared, hands on his hips.
Having been taught by Uchiha Dan since he was little, Namikaze Minato had grown completely different from the person he would otherwise have become.
The kindness deep in his heart hadn't changed, but when it came to people who bullied the weak, his motto was simple: if they wouldn't back down, he'd fight.
His older brother had told him that the Third's weakness and indecisiveness were dragging the village into the abyss.
His brother had also said that people with that kind of personality weren't suited to being Hokage. Otherwise, when the villagers were bullied, all they could do was stand by and watch.
If you wanted to be Hokage, you had to show your strength and step forward at times like this.
Especially when the one being bullied was the younger sister of his future sister-in-law.
"Namikaze Minato, I'm going to kill you! I'll kill you!" Tanaka Genji shouted as he got to his feet, covering his face. "My brother won't let you get away with this!"
The homeroom teacher was in agony. How had they ended up fighting? And right in front of him, too!
But Tanaka Genji's family had always been difficult to deal with. If he handled this badly, he'd have no end of trouble.
Namikaze Minato, on the other hand, was always easy to get along with and kind to everyone.
With that in mind, the homeroom teacher immediately scolded him. "Namikaze Minato, how could you bully a classmate?"
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