Was there anything more cursed than Minato coming home?
The answer was obvious: no.
At the village gates, Minato smiled at his two teammates.
"I'll head back first, then. I'll leave the mission report to you."
His teammates were two ordinary Chunin. Minato was the captain of their squad, but instead of ordering them around, he discussed things with them.
"Captain, go on home. Asami and I can handle turning in the mission report!" said a Chunin with a scar on his face, patting his chest.
"Thanks so much." Minato put his hands together in gratitude, then disappeared in an instant.
"Captain's so strong," the Chunin named Asami couldn't help exclaiming. "We wouldn't have finished this mission without him. Right, Shinno?"
"Yeah. He's so strong, but he's far too humble," Shinno said with a sigh.
The two of them headed toward the Hokage Building as they talked.
In the end, they concluded that having Minato Namikaze as their captain was a stroke of good fortune.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
"Kushina! I'm home!" Minato teleported straight to the door and knocked hard.
Uzumaki Kushina was cooking. When she heard him, she dropped her spatula and dashed out of the kitchen. She opened the door and threw herself into Minato's arms.
"Minato! You're finally back!"
"This mission wasn't difficult, so we finished ahead of schedule." Minato beamed, his sunny smile infectious.
"Now we can finally get some proper re—"
Before Minato could finish, a burnt smell drifted out of the kitchen. Uzumaki Kushina's expression changed, and she rushed toward it. "Oh no! My food!"
Watching Uzumaki Kushina hurry away, Minato smiled. "That's the Kushina I know."
He followed her into the kitchen, and the two of them spent a while getting the meal ready.
Sitting at the table, Uzumaki Kushina asked as she ate, "You shouldn't have anything else to do now that you're back, right?"
Though she phrased it as a question, Uzumaki Kushina sounded certain.
Minato smiled at her. "I don't think so."
At that, Uzumaki Kushina instantly perked up and waved a hand. "Then we'll go talk to that old Third Hokage about Yuichi later!"
"He's the only seedling left of the Uzumaki Clan!"
"We have to make sure he gets proper guidance!"
"Mm-hmm." Uzumaki Kushina did all the talking, while Minato nodded along beside her.
Minato was the perfect boyfriend by every standard.
He was strong, gentle, always ready to help, handsome—and he spoiled his wife.
Most importantly, he spoiled his wife.
Meanwhile,
Yuki Yuichi had no idea that Uzumaki Kushina considered him the last seedling of the Uzumaki Clan.
The last seedling of the Uzumaki Clan!
That came with a very high political status in Konoha.
Though the Uzumaki Clan had been wiped out, it had left behind plenty of hidden assets.
For instance, the whole street where Uzumaki Kushina lived belonged to the Uzumaki Clan.
Yuki Yuichi fell out of the tree yet again. Kakashi Hatake walked over, holding a wooden sword in both hands.
"It's about time. We should go eat."
At that, Yuki Yuichi glanced at the sun and estimated the time. It was around noon.
Classes at the Ninja Academy started at one in the afternoon. They had just enough time to grab lunch, head back, and take a shower before class.
"Let's go, then." Yuki Yuichi glanced back at the marks he had carved into the tree trunk.
He could now make it halfway up the trunk.
Having a huge amount of chakra was both an advantage and a disadvantage.
The advantage was that his chakra reserves were deep, so he didn't need to worry about running out. The disadvantage was that precise control was harder.
So even with the twenty-percent training bonus from being a Ninja Student, he was only a little better at tree climbing than an ordinary person.
Still, he had gotten the hang of a few things.
He should be able to master tree climbing within the next couple of days.
Uchiha Obito was still climbing the tree.
Yuhi Kurenai had gone to a nearby stream to practice Water Walking, so the training mat was now Obito's. After Yuki Yuichi had just beaten him up, he had moved it farther away.
He hadn't heard Kakashi Hatake and Yuki Yuichi talking, and was still climbing away tirelessly.
But he was relying on brute force, crudely coating his feet in chakra. Each step made the tree tremble.
As a result, he could only take two steps along the trunk.
Watching him, Kakashi Hatake's mouth twitched. Even an ordinary person without chakra could manage more than two steps after practicing for a while.
"It's time to eat!"
Yuki Yuichi's voice rang out loudly. He wasn't just calling Uchiha Obito. On the other side of the training ground, Might Guy stood up and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Whew! This is youth!"
Uchiha Obito stopped climbing too. His crude technique had used up a lot of chakra, and now he was panting. He lay down on the safety mat and wiped away his sweat.
"I'm exhausted."
Looking at the dent he had stomped into the ground, Uchiha Obito wore a look of immense satisfaction.
"What are you looking at?" Yuki Yuichi came over and crouched beside him, staring at the dent too. He couldn't help commenting, "You really are working hard."
"That's right. I'm a hardworking genius!"
Uchiha Obito replied without hesitation. "A genius like me, who works this hard—once I awaken my Sharingan, I'll be able to beat you into the ground... I mean, Kakashi behind you!"
He had meant to say he'd beat Yuki Yuichi, but then he remembered that Yuki Yuichi had a Sharingan too, and was physically stronger than him.
He had a feeling that even if he awakened his Sharingan, he still wouldn't be able to beat this guy. So he immediately changed his target to Kakashi Hatake.
At his words, Kakashi Hatake raised an eyebrow and scoffed. "Idiot."
"Damn you, Kakashi!" Uchiha Obito jumped up from the safety mat.
"Just you wait. I'll have you flat on the ground in no time!"
"Heh." Kakashi Hatake gave him nothing but two mocking little laughs, not even looking at him with his dead-fish eyes.
While the two of them bickered, Yuhi Kurenai came out, soaked from head to toe.
Every step she took left a wet footprint on the ground.
Seeing her, Yuki Yuichi went over. He'd forgotten that beginners fell into the water when practicing Water Walking.
But it was no big deal. He wasn't too worried.
Kurenai wasn't some sheltered flower; she was going to become a ninja one day too.
Still, that didn't mean he would neglect to show her concern.
When Yuki Yuichi came over, Yuhi Kurenai smiled.
"Yuichi, Water Walking is so hard."
"But I feel like I'll get it soon!"
Yuhi Kurenai smiled again. She'd thought Water Walking would be difficult, but it turned out to use the same technique as tree climbing.
She just needed to be more precise.
But that was still easy for her.
Before you continue