Comforting Kushina

The next day, Uzumaki Kushina walked into the classroom looking dejected, and the moment she sat down, she glared fiercely at Uchiha Nagi.

"What are you glaring at me for? Was I right on the money?"

Uchiha Nagi felt like laughing; did Kushina really think she could graduate early? In her dreams.

"Hmph!"

Kushina snorted and didn't answer, but that attitude was proof enough.

Namikaze Minato couldn't help but chuckle; these two were quite amusing.

"Minato, I've already spoken to my family. Today, we'll go together to ask the teacher for a spot in the graduation exam," Uchiha Nagi said at this moment.

"Alright."

Since Namikaze Minato was the one who first proposed graduating early, he naturally wouldn't refuse.

"Minato, do you know how many people in our class chose to graduate early?" Uchiha Nagi glanced at the other students, feeling a bit curious.

With his lazy personality, he was naturally unfamiliar with most of his classmates; at most, he knew a name, and he certainly couldn't be bothered to gather intelligence on these background characters.

"As far as I can tell, there aren't many choosing to graduate early. The only ones I know of are Uchiha Enichi and Akimichi Yoshimaru," Namikaze Minato replied.

"So it's those two." Uchiha Nagi wore an 'as I expected' expression.

If he hadn't joined the mix, Namikaze Minato's teammates would likely have been those two.

Furthermore, judging by the original plot, there was almost no mention of Namikaze Minato's teammates later on, which proved that those two had likely perished.

Looking at it that way, was following Namikaze Minato actually quite dangerous?

But Uchiha Nagi wasn't them; as far as his current strength went, he was even stronger than Namikaze Minato.

Even if they were just a team of two, he could let Namikaze Minato handle the standard missions while he coasted in the back, only stepping in if they encountered real danger.

Uchiha Nagi felt very secure about this.

Besides, there might be Uchiha Mikoto later on; he remembered that she became a Jonin in the future.

Judging by the age at which she married and had children, she must have become a Jonin before the age of twenty. Her talent was quite decent, and at the very least, she shouldn't be a burden.

Uzumaki Kushina was somewhat unhappy; she had thought that if she just acted a little spoiled, she would be allowed to graduate early.

But things were far more complicated than she had imagined.

If it were peacetime, she could graduate early if she wanted to, as long as her missions were arranged within the village, it wouldn't be a problem.

However, they were currently in the period of the Second Shinobi World War. Although the mission system was still maintained, it had been significantly scaled back, and the only ones still commissioning missions were wealthy, high-profile families.

In terms of missions, those simple tasks suitable for newly graduated Genin were almost non-existent; if there were any, they were just things like weeding.

It could be said that ninjas graduating now were basically all headed to the battlefield.

If it were just that, Kushina might have been able to accept it, but...

She had already realized that even if she graduated normally later, she probably wouldn't be able to go out on missions and would only be able to stay in Konoha.

In this way, she couldn't accumulate military merit or prestige through war, nor could she gain experience or fame through missions.

It could be said that her dream of becoming Konoha's first female Hokage had basically been shattered.

"Alright, stop looking so dejected." Uchiha Nagi tapped Kushina on the head again.

"Hmph, you don't know anything." Kushina was a bit annoyed, and she couldn't tell him about the Jinchuriki situation.

"Heh, isn't it just that you can't go out on missions? Once the war is over, you can just sneak out and join us while we're on missions, can't you?"

Uchiha Nagi remembered that Kushina was quite lawless in Konoha.

Even after she became the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, although there were people watching her, her range of movement was actually quite broad.

One had to wonder, could the Third Hokage really allow a powder keg like Kushina, who could explode at any moment, to move freely inside Konoha? Was he truly not afraid of Kushina going berserk?

One had to know, Kushina wasn't Uzumaki Mito; she lacked that deep, seasoned experience.

At the same time, she wasn't Uzumaki Naruto. Although the sealing jutsu used to seal the Nine-Tails within her was very powerful, it still couldn't completely suppress the Nine-Tails.

In the original story, Kushina had gone berserk because of this and injured Namikaze Minato.

So, was the Third Hokage being bold, or was he truly thinking of the Jinchuriki?

Uchiha Nagi couldn't quite figure it out. As things stood, there were only three possibilities for this Hokage.

Either he was stupid, or he was evil, or he was both stupid and evil...

"Can I really?" Kushina's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Why wouldn't you be able to?" Uchiha Nagi said casually.

Did the Third Hokage intend to convict a Jinchuriki? Besides, with Tsunade around, they couldn't even keep Kushina locked up...

In the end, it would just be left unsettled.

Moreover, Uchiha Nagi remembered that this war lasted for a very long time; the Second Shinobi World War and the Third Shinobi World War were almost linked together.

By the time the war actually ended, the Third Hokage would have long since abdicated.

If Namikaze Minato didn't die because of the Nine-Tails Incident, then Kushina wanting to go out on missions would be nothing more than a matter of giving a heads-up.

"That's great!" Kushina cheered.

Namikaze Minato watched this scene, a trace of confusion in his eyes.

Not knowing anything about the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, he couldn't understand why Kushina had to go to such great lengths just to be able to go out on missions.

Kushina's identity might be somewhat special, and Nagi seems to know about it, Namikaze Minato thought to himself, then stopped dwelling on it.

Since neither of them had any intention of telling him, it proved that it was better for him not to know about this matter.

However, why did he have such an ominous premonition in his heart?

Soon, Uchiha Nagi and Namikaze Minato headed to the office under Kushina's envious gaze to find Inoue-sensei.

"Hmm? It's student Minato and student Nagi. Do you have any business with me?" Inoue-sensei asked with a kind expression.

"Inoue-sensei, we are here to apply for the early graduation exam."

"Eh?" A look of surprise appeared on Inoue-sensei's face, even though those who came here at this time were basically here for this very reason.

But he still hadn't expected these two in front of him to apply for early graduation.

Because they were both far too low-key; during regular classes, they would only act as each other's opponents, with the addition of Uzumaki Kushina at most.

As a bystander, he, their teacher, was very clear that the two of them were definitely holding back during their sparring sessions.

Their true level, even if it didn't surpass Uchiha Enichi, was definitely at the very forefront of this class.

It was precisely because he knew of their low-key behavior that Inoue-sensei believed they wouldn't do something as high-profile as applying for early graduation.

At this moment, upon hearing Namikaze Minato's words, Inoue-sensei's expression also turned serious.