Uzumaki Kushina

Uchiha Nagi felt a bit like complaining; could someone explain what Tsunade went through after leaving Konoha to transform from a flat-chested girl into the number one busty Hokage?

Finally, the bell rang for class to begin.

Inoue-sensei walked onto the podium accompanied by a timid, red-haired little girl.

Uchiha Nagi rested his chin on his palm and watched the scene. It was indeed Uzumaki Kushina, but how on earth did this shy little girl turn into the future Blood Red Pepper?

"Class, this is a transfer student who will be joining our school starting today..."

Before Inoue-sensei could finish, he saw a visibly nervous Uzumaki Kushina close her eyes and shout at the top of her lungs, as if resigning herself to fate.

"I'm Uzumaki Kushina!"

That voice, did it crack? Uchiha Nagi found it somewhat amusing. It didn't feel like much in the anime, but seeing it in person, she was actually quite cute.

At that moment, the students in the classroom burst into laughter.

"Look at her hair color, how did she even get it that bright red? Her hair is so weird!"

Naturally, some unfriendly voices began to rise.

Perhaps there was only curiosity behind it and no great malice, but for a little girl who had just enrolled and arrived in Konoha all by herself, it was certainly not pleasant.

"Hey, hey! Quiet down! Give me some quiet!"

Inoue-sensei shouted, but he couldn't stop the students.

Uzumaki Kushina looked at these future classmates, her gaze sweeping over those mocking her hair, then over Namikaze Minato, who was watching her calmly, and Uchiha Nagi, who seemed rather listless. Finally, she couldn't hold it in anymore and erupted.

"I... I am going to be the first female Hokage of this village!"

The classroom fell silent, stunned by Uzumaki Kushina's outburst.

"Hmm, still a bit timid. At this point, a blood-red demonic aura should be rising behind her to really capture that Blood Red Pepper vibe." Uchiha Nagi raised an eyebrow.

"Haha, Nagi, you're exaggerating a bit." Namikaze Minato chuckled.

However, just then, the students in the classroom seemed to snap out of it and erupted into loud laughter.

"Haha, you? You want to be Hokage?"

"That's the funniest joke I've heard since I was born!"

"Tsk!"

Uchiha Nagi watched the scene and couldn't help but shake his head. Truly, these were the typical Konoha villagers; this scene... was all too normal.

Though he always called them Konoha villagers, the truth was that the other nations were no different.

For instance, Sunagakure, where people would risk their lives to bully others even when they knew they might be killed;

Or Kumogakure, where bullying started in childhood and continued well into adulthood, only to be reversed much later;

Furthermore, Kirigakure was even worse; with their Bloody Mist policy, the Demon of the Mist had simply slaughtered his entire graduating class...

Iwagakure seemed slightly better, but Uchiha Nagi always felt that was just because they had too little screen time.

If you were to expand on Iwagakure's story and introduce a few important characters with tragic backstories, you would likely see the exact same kind of bullying.

"Truly, the Five Great Shinobi Nations—none of them are willing to lose when it comes to bullying. It's practically a unique cultural heritage."

After grumbling to himself, Uchiha Nagi looked at the students still laughing around him and nudged Namikaze Minato with his shoulder.

"Hey, aren't you going to help her?"

Namikaze Minato paused, then nodded. He had already been planning to stand up and defuse the situation; he hadn't expected to be on the same page as Uchiha Nagi.

As expected, Nagi is completely different from the rest of the Uchiha Clan.

With that, he was fully certain of this fact.

He tapped his desk and stood up, drawing everyone's attention before speaking in a gentle tone.

"Um, I also want to become a Hokage who is recognized by everyone in the village."

After speaking, Namikaze Minato tugged at Uchiha Nagi, wanting him to help out as well; the effect might not be as strong if he were alone.

Uchiha Nagi glanced at Namikaze Minato, roughly understanding his intent, and leaned back in his chair.

"Hey! I don't know what you're all laughing at. Didn't I say before? My ideal is just a peaceful life, but do you really think a noble ideal like becoming Hokage is something worth laughing at?"

The classroom fell silent at once.

They had certainly mocked Uchiha Nagi before, but they only dared to do so behind his back; after all, he was still a member of the Uchiha Clan.

Uchiha Enichi looked at Uchiha Nagi with a hint of surprise, then nodded with satisfaction instead of anger.

"That's how an Uchiha should be! Though, it's still lacking a bit."

Uzumaki Kushina looked at the now-quiet classroom in surprise, then turned her gaze toward the two boys who had spoken up for her.

First was the blond one; he looked a bit unreliable, and his voice just now had been a little soft.

Then there was the black-haired one; although his voice was much firmer, he felt a bit like a delinquent, and judging by the attitude of the surrounding students, he didn't seem like someone to be trifled with.

That was her initial impression of Namikaze Minato and Uchiha Nagi.

Inoue-sensei looked at the classroom that had finally quieted down, cast a look of gratitude toward Namikaze Minato and Uchiha Nagi, then proceeded to assign Uzumaki Kushina a seat and began the day's lesson.

Uchiha Nagi also reined in his thoughts and began to study in earnest.

Although he might have seemed a bit high-profile just now, which deviated from his low-key strategy, it was actually perfectly fine.

Who was he? He was an Uchiha...

This level of behavior was merely a drop in the bucket for an Uchiha; it couldn't be called high-profile at all.

This... was reputation!

And Uchiha was synonymous with being high-profile!

By comparison, Uchiha Nagi's actions were as low-key as they could possibly be!

After class.

Uchiha Nagi was resting as usual, leaning against his desk, when an unfamiliar commotion reached his ears.

"Tsk."

Uchiha Nagi opened his eyes with a hint of helplessness and looked toward the back of the classroom; sure enough, Uzumaki Kushina was being cornered there.

Those so-called classmates were currently mocking her to her face, even going so far as to give her the nickname "Tomato."

"Minato, aren't you going to help? If you help now, you could leave a very deep impression on her, you know." Uchiha Nagi patted Namikaze Minato on the shoulder.

Namikaze Minato looked at Uchiha Nagi with a strange expression: "I don't have any such intentions. Do you, Nagi?"

This time, it was Uchiha Nagi's turn to fall silent; he looked at Namikaze Minato, then back at Uzumaki Kushina in the rear.

Indeed, at this point in time, trying to play matchmaker was truly a bit too early.