Nagi, Do You Like My Hair?

Kushina covered her mouth in terror.

Yet facing that punch, Uchiha Nagi had none of the panic Kushina had expected, even though his back was turned to the attacker.

He didn't even look back. Instead, the instant he heard Kushina scream,

his gaze crossed the battlefield and landed on the panicked red-haired girl in the distance. He gave her a sly little wink.

The gesture was over in a flash, but it stopped Kushina's scream in her throat, leaving her stunned.

Thud!

The punch landed squarely on Uchiha Nagi's back without resistance!

But there was no scream of pain as they had expected.

The figure of "Uchiha Nagi" blurred, then vanished with a soft poof, leaving a substitution log to drop limply to the ground.

If the Genin had looked closely, he would have noticed that it was the very same log he had used to fool Kushina earlier!

"What?!"

The Genin's sneer froze, turning into disbelief and bewilderment.

The Substitution Technique!

That Uchiha brat had used the Substitution Technique right under his nose!

When had he done that?!

"Looks like your eyesight really is terrible. You couldn't even tell it was a substitute."

Uchiha Nagi's voice sounded right beside the Genin's ear. It was so close that the Genin shuddered in fright. Just as he tried to turn around,

Uchiha Nagi kicked him without mercy. This time, the Genin had no chance of dodging. The force sent him sprawling face-first into the dirt.

Looking at the fallen Genin, Uchiha Nagi didn't seem particularly pleased.

He was just a nobody, yet Nagi had still had to put in quite a bit of effort.

After all, he couldn't use his Sharingan or offensive ninjutsu.

Having to rely only on the Three Basic Techniques while fighting someone physically stronger than him had put him at a serious disadvantage.

The only things he'd had going for him in that fight were his chakra control and his proficiency with the Three Basic Techniques.

Otherwise, he could have dodged at the start and finished the fight with a single Great Fireball Technique.

He'd had plenty of chances to use it.

Uchiha Nagi also glanced at Kushina. When he'd seen her overpower her classmates at school and earn the nickname "Blood Red Pepper," which everyone passed around, he'd known she was exceptionally strong.

Now that he had a Genin to compare her against, he could tell that Kushina was indeed in much better physical shape than he was.

It wasn't that he was weak. In fact, his physique was excellent. But Kushina was an elite selected by the Uzumaki Clan.

"No wonder she'll be able to keep moving even after the Nine-Tails is extracted, and use the Adamantine Sealing Chains to hold it down for a while."

Muttering to himself, Uchiha Nagi walked behind the Genin and kicked him again as he tried to get up.

"Don't rush to your feet. Apologize first."

"Damn brat, why should I apologize?" the Genin roared.

"Why? Because you're picking on someone younger than you, and because your brother's the one who's been picking on Kushina at school every time." Uchiha Nagi raised an eyebrow.

Kushina blushed a little at that. Nagi had exaggerated somewhat.

It was true that the other boy had started it, but as for who was picking on whom... that was debatable.

In the end, with the odds against him, the Genin lowered his head and apologized to Kushina.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have picked on someone younger than me. I'll make sure my brother stops bothering you."

The Genin finished speaking, and Kushina was just about to accept his apology when Uchiha Nagi frowned.

"What else?"

"What else?" The Genin looked dumbfounded. Hadn't he already said everything?

"Think carefully."

The Genin's gaze finally fell on Kushina's hair, and he understood at once.

"I admit I was blind. Your hair looks beautiful."

Only then was Uchiha Nagi satisfied. "Get lost. And make sure your brother doesn't tell anyone at school about this. If I catch him, I'll beat him up every time!"

The Genin's face turned pale. Even without Nagi's warning, he'd never let his brother tell anyone.

A Genin losing to a first-year elementary school student? It was humiliating!

His little brother, meanwhile, stood there staring blankly. He was so scared of Uchiha Nagi that he looked ready to cry, and didn't dare say a word.

At last, the Genin left with his brother, retreating from the scene of their humiliation.

"Nagi, do you really like my hair?"

After the Genin had left, Kushina grew a little bashful, her face turning red.

"Hm? I said..."

Uchiha Nagi didn't finish the question that had been on the tip of his tongue. He remembered saying that her hair looked nice, not that he liked it...

But at that moment, he obviously couldn't be honest about it.

"That's right. I like it."

Uchiha Nagi changed his answer without batting an eye.

Kushina's face turned even redder. Looking at her red hair, she suddenly felt that perhaps it wasn't so hateful after all.

Maybe I should ask Big Sister Tsunade to teach me how to take care of my hair.

Uchiha Nagi studied Kushina's expression and couldn't help feeling that something was off.

He'd only done what he'd done to help a friend who was being bullied. How could he have stood by and done nothing?

He couldn't!

So everything he'd done was perfectly reasonable. But why did it feel as though the story was getting more and more off track?

Besides, he glanced at Kushina again. He really wasn't interested in children. He'd have to wait another decade or so, until she was all grown up.

So there was no need to worry about it now. Maybe the problem would just go away on its own after a while.

And what if it didn't?

Then he'd just... deal with it!

Uchiha Nagi wasn't too concerned about this sort of thing anyway. He wasn't some homewrecker stealing another man's girlfriend.

Homewreckers got involved when both people had feelings for each other. But Kushina and Namikaze Minato weren't into each other yet, okay?

Besides, ever since he'd come to this world, the future was bound to change.

If the future was already uncertain, why assume the two of them were destined to be a couple?

He could just as easily say that in this life, he and Tsunade were destined to be together!

So Uchiha Nagi only felt a little awkward because he knew the original story.

Whatever the future held, he'd have to walk his own path.

He didn't have to change everything just to be different, but he also didn't need to blindly follow convention and be afraid to change anything.