You Have No Temper at All

"Just a measly tomato, and you dare yell at people!"

Kotai pointed at Kushina. "From now on, your name is Tomato! Got a problem with that?"

Watching Kotai swagger in front of her, Kushina instead calmed down.

Her hope of making new friends, which she'd gone to bed with last night, had been dashed. She'd finally realized that not everyone was as friendly as Minato.

"I told you before class that my name is Kushina. Are you deaf?"

Kushina's gaze grew increasingly dangerous.

Learning that Minato's kindness wasn't reserved just for her had indeed disappointed Kushina.

But Minato's defense of her had been genuine, and that gave her plenty of confidence to face Kotai and his friends' taunts.

Besides, when it came to fighting, she'd never been afraid of anyone!

Her chakra was much stronger than that of others in her clan, and a body capable of supporting such a vast amount of high-quality chakra was naturally strong, too.

Kushina clenched her fists, her red hair flying as she fixed her dark eyes on the three of them, like a little tiger poised to pounce.

If those three fools so much as made a move, she'd make them regret it!

Unfortunately, first-graders didn't yet understand the meaning of danger.

Seeing that Kushina wasn't afraid and even looked ready to fight, Kotai felt humiliated. He reached out to yank her hair.

Just as Kushina was about to punch that loathsome face, a figure suddenly appeared around the corner of the hallway.

"What are you doing?" Ikkaku Umino barked.

At the sound of his voice, Kotai jumped and quickly pulled his hand back, turning toward the sound.

Ikkaku Umino strode toward them, with Minato following unhurriedly behind him.

Before Ikkaku Umino could say anything else, Minato stepped beside Kushina and said without hiding a thing, "I saw those three following you out, looking like they were up to no good, so I called Teacher Umino. Sure enough, they were giving you a hard time."

Damn it, that busybody!

At Minato's words, Kotai and the other two glared at him furiously.

"Picking on a new classmate, ganging up on someone, and bullying a girl, too..."

Ikkaku Umino's expression darkened. With his overly upright nature, he despised this sort of thing.

"You three, get back to class at once! Copy the school rules ten times! If you leave out a single word, I'll have your parents come handle your withdrawal papers!"

"Yes..."

The three replied listlessly, but before leaving, they still shot Minato a threatening look.

Minato gave them a sunny smile and discreetly flashed them a V sign.

"Sorry. I didn't raise those three properly."

Ikkaku Umino turned to Kushina and Nonō, his tone softening slightly. "Are you hurt?"

"No. Sorry for causing you trouble, Teacher."

Kushina and Nonō thanked him politely.

Only after Ikkaku Umino had left did Kushina angrily shake her little fist. "Damn those three! If Teacher Umino hadn't been there, I'd have made them regret it! Minato, why'd you call the teacher? That's so unmanly!"

At that, Minato smiled innocently. "I just think classmates should get along."

That was a lie!

As a modern person who'd spent more than a decade in school, Minato knew very well that any conflict at school was meaningless, even if you won the fight. Everything was just "a little disagreement between students."

Teachers who were used to such things usually smoothed them over, and it wasn't even rare for them to take the bully's side.

Even if they reprimanded the bully, it would barely matter to him.

And whichever way things went, it wouldn't solve anything for the victim.

In other words, going up against bullies within the school's rules only put you at a disadvantage. It wouldn't teach them a lasting lesson.

Even if you could beat them half to death, that was just the worst kind of lose-lose solution.

But if you stepped outside the school's circle, things got much simpler...

"How can you have no temper at all?"

Kushina looked at Minato in disbelief.

"All right, don't be mad. How about I make you something tasty tonight?"

Minato chuckled. "Crispy fried pork tenderloin?"

"Mm..."

Kushina was clearly tempted. She held up a slightly chubby finger. "I want cola chicken wings, too!"

"Sure!"

Minato nodded, then turned to Nonō. "Sorry for the trouble earlier, Nonō."

"It's all right. I just didn't know you could cook, Minato. That's impressive!"

Nonō praised him. She genuinely thought boys who could cook were wonderful.

"You're too kind."

Minato nodded warmly. Then he felt a force at his back as Kushina pushed him toward the classroom.

"All right! Let's hurry back to class!"

Seeing Minato act just as gentle with Nonō, Kushina was even more convinced of what Nonō had said earlier. Her little face tensed up without her realizing it.

Watching Minato look thoroughly confused, Nonō couldn't help laughing.

Sure enough, only a lively, cheerful girl like Kushina was suited to being close to Minato, wasn't she?

She suddenly remembered what Danzo had said before.

Perhaps there really was a darkness within her.

The proof was that when she'd said those things to Kushina in the washroom just now, she hadn't done it as part of a mission. She'd acted out of jealousy, entirely on impulse.

Once she realized that, Nonō felt a deep loathing for herself.

Especially when Kushina had shielded her without hesitation. In that moment, she'd suddenly felt so vile.

In the blink of an eye, evening arrived.

As soon as Nawaki got home, he smelled the delicious aroma filling the house.

Realizing Minato was making something tasty again, he kicked off his shoes and rushed into the living room. "That smell... is it cola chicken wings? Didn't you just make those last night?"

"It's a long story!"

In the living room, Kushina was reading the manga Nawaki had lent her. At his question, she told him what had happened that day.

When she got to the important part, she couldn't help getting angry again. "Tell me, doesn't Minato have way too much patience? They were being so awful, and he still said classmates should get along!"

"Get along...?"

At that, Nawaki's expression turned strange.

Everyone said Minato had a good personality, and Nawaki didn't deny it. Minato was the gentlest, most considerate boy he'd ever met, bar none.

But if anyone said Minato had a good temper, Nawaki thought that was still up for debate.

Just think: he'd only said Minato looked like a koala, and Minato had scared him so badly he'd clung to a tree and refused to come down.

Nawaki didn't know whether Minato had a good temper, but he knew all too well whether he held a grudge!

Minato Namikaze never let his temper show on his face.

He'd even bet on his own brother that this wasn't over. Those three boys were definitely going to have a very bad time!