Uzumaki Kushina

Looking at the few students remaining in the classroom, Umino Ikkaku sighed, walked to the podium, tidied up his teaching materials, and then said with a helpless expression, "Class dismissed."

Umino Ikkaku paused, scanned the room, let his gaze linger on Uchiha Obito for a moment, and continued, "However, just because class is over doesn't mean you can slack off."

"You have already fallen behind by one lesson; those who just ran out are the students who already possess chakra."

"They are inherently better than you, so you must put in two hundred times the effort to catch up to them!"

Umino Ikkaku was in charge of Class A; in other words, he was leading the elite class.

However, it was not composed entirely of students from ninja clans; every class had a mix of clan students and civilian students.

Even in his Class A, it was the same—the top-performing clan students and the top-performing civilian students were assigned to his class, as this was the tradition of Konoha.

The subsequent classes were organized in the same manner.

Watching the students look somewhat inferior, Umino Ikkaku sighed.

For every batch of students he taught, the civilian students basically felt a sense of inferiority.

This was an inferiority stemming from their family backgrounds and their strength.

He could not change that.

Just as Umino Ikkaku was earnestly warning the students, Yuki Yuichi had already carried a blushing Yuhi Kurenai out of the school.

Just as they rushed onto the street, Uzumaki Kushina happened to be passing by, intending to go to Ichiraku Ramen for a bite to eat.

The moment she reached the entrance of the Ninja Academy, she suddenly saw Yuki Yuichi rushing out while carrying Yuhi Kurenai, and she immediately wore a knowing, motherly smile.

"Yuichi, put me down."

Yuhi Kurenai whispered in his arms; if Yuki Yuichi hadn't had sharp hearing, he wouldn't have heard her at all.

Seeing the people around them smiling as they watched the two, Yuki Yuichi's face flushed red.

Even though his skin was thick enough, he still felt embarrassed as he set Yuhi Kurenai down on the ground.

"If you do that again, I will... I will..." Yuhi Kurenai thought for a long time, then finally, with a flushed face and a pouting mouth, she said indignantly, "I will ignore you for three days!"

Yuki Yuichi scratched his head, then grabbed Yuhi Kurenai's small hand, and the two looked at each other, "Kurenai, I didn't mean to!"

"I..."

Just as he wanted to say something more, he suddenly felt someone behind him and, thinking it was Yuhi Shinku, his heart began to thump wildly.

Startled, he quickly turned his head, and upon seeing it was Uzumaki Kushina, Yuki Yuichi finally let out a slow breath, his inner tension subsiding.

If it had really been Yuhi Shinku, he probably would have been beaten up again.

He didn't know why, but even though Yuhi Kurenai wasn't from the Hyuga Clan, he always felt like he was being watched by Byakugan eyes from the people around them.

"Kid, you look very nervous," Uzumaki Kushina said, looking at him with a half-smile as she observed Yuki Yuichi's reaction.

"What, is the future legend of the ninja world flirting with a little girl at school, afraid that her family will find out?" Uzumaki Kushina narrowed her eyes slightly and teased.

Hearing this, Yuki Yuichi immediately jumped up to defend himself, "How could that be!"

"I just thought there was danger!"

"Is that so?" Uzumaki Kushina continued to look at him with that half-smile, but upon seeing Yuhi Kurenai's blushing face, she didn't say anything more.

The scene of Yuki Yuichi rushing out while carrying Yuhi Kurenai reminded her of when she was a child, when Minato Namikaze saved her from being kidnapped by another village and carried her away.

Back then, Minato had held her just like that.

Uzumaki Kushina thought to herself, unable to help but reveal a happy smile; she remembered that she, too, had been just like this little girl, hiding her blushing face in Minato's arms.

It was from that moment on that she and Minato began to see each other.

Yuki Yuichi looked up at Uzumaki Kushina's smile, feeling a bit strange for a moment, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

As a fake member of the Uzumaki Clan, meeting a real one always made him feel a bit guilty.

Yuki Yuichi had never considered that he actually possessed the bloodline of the Uzumaki Clan, and this fact was not a secret among the higher-ups.

Seeing that Uzumaki Kushina seemed to have fallen into a trance, Yuki Yuichi quietly took a few steps back, then grabbed Yuhi Kurenai's small hand and ran for his life.

"Hmm?" Following his movement, Uzumaki Kushina snapped out of her memories, looked at Yuki Yuichi's retreating back, and couldn't help but smile.

Not long after, Yuki Yuichi stopped with Yuhi Kurenai on another street. Yuhi Kurenai opened her small mouth, panting slightly, and asked curiously, "Yu... Yuichi, why... why are we running..."

"I don't know, but I just wanted to get away..."

Before Yuki Yuichi could finish, Uzumaki Kushina's voice drifted down from above, "Get away from what?"

The expression on Yuki Yuichi's face froze, then, without batting an eye, he said, "Get away from the school. It's just a pity I couldn't talk more with that pretty sister from just now."

"I hope you're really thinking that, kid."

Uzumaki Kushina jumped down from the roof and then used both hands to ruffle Yuki Yuichi's hair, turning it into a bird's nest.

"Don't touch my head, I hate it when people touch my head!" Yuki Yuichi slapped Uzumaki Kushina's hands away, then tidied his hair, looking at her with a resentful expression.

"One day, I will definitely touch yours back!"

"Pfft, that day will never come," Uzumaki Kushina scoffed and reached out with both hands, but Yuki Yuichi dodged her.

"By then, I'll have developed a head-touching jutsu that you won't be able to block!"

"We'll talk about that when the time comes." Uzumaki Kushina winked at Yuhi Kurenai and spoke with a smile.

"I was planning on eating here anyway, so since you two have arrived, let me treat you both to some ramen."

Uzumaki Kushina pointed toward Ichiraku Ramen behind Yuki Yuichi and Yuhi Kurenai, then ushered them inside while introducing it, "I really love the ramen here; the taste is excellent."

"Hahaha, I'm glad you like it, customer!" Teuchi, who was busy at work, laughed heartily upon hearing Uzumaki Kushina's words, "I've sworn to become the person who makes the best ramen in the world!"

Yuhi Kurenai looked around at the decor with curiosity, then pursed her lips and looked at Uzumaki Kushina, "Big sister, we're supposed to go home for dinner."

Yuhi Kurenai's adorable appearance triggered Uzumaki Kushina's maternal instincts, and she pulled her into a hug.

"It's fine, I'll explain it to your father later."

"Mmph... mmm~" Yuhi Kurenai was pressed against Uzumaki Kushina's chest, struggling to catch her breath against the two massive mounds.

Yuki Yuichi watched from the side with a hint of envy, then glanced at Yuhi Kurenai's underdeveloped frame and silently thought that he hoped to receive such treatment in the future as well.

Seeming to sense how Yuhi Kurenai felt, Uzumaki Kushina released her and looked toward Yuki Yuichi.