Yuhi Kurenai

Namikaze Minato was able to surpass a crowd of deep-rooted clan elites as a civilian genius in his early twenties, defeating legendary S-rank powerhouses like Orochimaru and Jiraiya to become the Fourth Hokage, not because his master was Jiraiya or his wife was the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, but entirely through hard-won combat achievements and his contributions in turning the tide of war.

Relying on the elusive nature of the Flying Thunder God and the one-hit-kill lethality of the Rasengan, his efficiency in killing was nothing short of terrifying.

Sometimes, while other ninja squads would struggle for hours or stand in a stalemate for days without achieving victory, he could harvest dozens of lives in mere minutes, tipping the scales of local battlefields in Konoha's favor.

During the Third Shinobi World War, he was personally responsible for nearly one-third of the enemy's total casualties.

Konoha was able to trade blows with other villages even when on the brink of collapse, and the reason the war ended so quickly—while the Battle of Kannabi Bridge cutting off Iwagakure's supply lines was the surface-level turning point—was that the other four great ninja villages realized that the cost of continuing to fight Namikaze Minato far outweighed any potential gains; it was no longer a war, but a one-sided slaughter.

Although this war made Minato famous, it also earned him enemies across every major ninja village.

As long as Minato was alive, they dared not harbor any thoughts of revenge.

After all, during that war, the high command of the major villages had issued an unprecedented order: if one encountered Namikaze Minato, they were permitted to abandon their mission and retreat without penalty. The fact that they granted such an escape permit to ninjas whose duty was absolute obedience shows just how much they feared him.

But once Minato died, if they discovered that Naruto, the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, was his child and had inherited the Uzumaki clan's constitution, they would risk exposing spies who had been embedded for years just to find a way to transmit that information back.

This was done for two reasons: first, for revenge; second, to prevent the rise of another Yellow Flash who would leave all enemies feeling helpless and terrified.

Villages like Kirigakure, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure might have various reasons for hesitation and would not easily start a war.

But that group of greedy, unscrupulous thieves in Kumogakure would never let such an opportunity slip by.

In the 44th year of Konoha, they kidnapped the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, Kushina.

In the 53rd year of Konoha, during peace talks, they kidnapped the future head of the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Hinata.

After being caught, they even turned the tables and demanded an explanation from Konoha, leading the Hyuga Clan to sacrifice Hizashi Hyuga as a scapegoat to prevent a war.

Qiushui could almost imagine that if Naruto's identity were exposed in the morning, the Fourth Raikage would send an envoy to visit Konoha by the afternoon to kidnap him.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was no longer the God of Shinobi who once commanded the world's respect; he was merely an aging man in his twilight years. Konoha was no longer as rich in resources and talent as it had been in previous years; three consecutive Shinobi World Wars had hollowed out this strongest of ninja villages.

As Hokage, he had too many things to consider.

The severe decline in strength and the survival of the village did not allow him to make any mistakes, because there was no one left who could stand up and hold the line for Konoha.

Although Qiushui understood some of Sarutobi Hiruzen's methods, it did not mean he approved of them entirely. In his view, there were better ways to handle things, but his current status was too low for his words to carry any weight, making it pointless to speak up.

No matter which world one is in, formidable strength remains one of the most important conditions for earning trust and support.

Saturday, 7:30 AM.

Qiushui woke up from his bed. Without rushing to get dressed or wash up, he first formed a hand seal.

With a soft "poof," an identical clone appeared in the room. It rubbed its eyes, let out a yawn, and then consciously sat at the desk, spreading out manuscript paper to begin writing a novel.

As Qiushui put on his coat, he sighed inwardly: Senju Tobirama was truly a genius.

The Shadow Clone Technique was a divine skill for home life, travel, killing, looting, and slacking off.

In battle, it could be used as bait to deceive enemies, but in daily life, it was ridiculously useful. One clone stayed behind to write the novel while the original body went out to handle business. Once the clone was dispelled, all the content and inspiration would return to his mind, meaning he had finished the work without having done anything himself.

When his chakra was low, the clones would disappear after three to five days at most, but now that his chakra reserves had surged, maintaining them for about two months was no problem as long as he wasn't fighting.

Is this the joy of having vast amounts of chakra? Qiushui thought with satisfaction.

Just as Qiushui opened his door, a tall, mature woman stepped out of the room next door. The other party was clearly taken aback for a moment.

He subconsciously scanned her from head to toe.

Her slightly wavy long hair draped lazily over her shoulders, making her features appear even more exquisite and defined. His gaze drifted downward to her mature, curvaceous figure, perfectly accentuated by a well-tailored dress. Below the hem of the skirt were two long, straight, beautiful legs, and most striking of all were her eyes, as magnificent as rubies.

"Senior Kurenai." Qiushui took the initiative to greet her.

He and Yuhi Kurenai had once carried out missions together; they knew each other, and their relationship was quite good.

"Qiushui, long time no see." A smile appeared on Yuhi Kurenai's face as she asked with slight surprise, "Why are you living here?"

Qiushui smiled and explained, "I became a teacher at the academy this year. I wanted to be closer to the school, so I rented a place here."

Although the school dormitories were free, the space was too small, making many things inconvenient. He didn't want to be trapped in such a tiny room every day after work. Now that he was a teacher, his life was stable, so two days before the semester started, he had found an agent and rented this 120-square-meter apartment within the third ring. The monthly rent was 50,000 ryo; it was a bit expensive, but living here was much more comfortable.

"You became a teacher?" A flash of surprise crossed Yuhi Kurenai's eyes, then she nodded. "It suits you well. It's certainly more stable than the days of sleeping in the wild and carrying out missions."

When Yuhi Kurenai and Qiushui were on missions together, she had found his strength to be quite average. His only merits, aside from being handsome, were his obedience to commands during combat and his solid grasp of the basics. Becoming a teacher was indeed a good choice for him.

While the income of an academy teacher was far lower than that of a ninja on active duty, it was stable. Most of the money was made by powerful elite chunin and jonin; ordinary chunin and genin sometimes earned less than academy teachers.

Qiushui gently closed his door and turned to head downstairs with Yuhi Kurenai. He tilted his head and asked, "Senior Kurenai, you're out so early—are you heading out of the village for a mission again?"