A Ninja Who Can't Fight Isn't a Good Ninja

In the classroom, Kushina spent her first lesson since arriving in Konoha feeling restless and uneasy; she hadn't taken in a single word about the village, bonds, or the Will of Fire.

She was fixated on the idea that once class ended, she would use the boy in the front row's help as an icebreaker, then naturally strike up a conversation with the two girls next to her who looked so gentle.

That way, she could make her first, second, and third friends at the Ninja Academy.

"Ding..." "Um, I..."

Kushina's social plan, which she had been mentally rehearsing all period, was interrupted before it could even begin.

"Hey, Red-Hair, why is your face so red? Like a tomato. You aren't mad, are you?"

"Are you trying to become a Hokage with peppers growing out of your head?"

"So scary, it's the Red-Haired Demon! My mom said the Red-Haired Demon eats a kid every day, haha... ah!"

Terrifying chakra erupted from Kushina. As her anger reached its peak, her red hair began to float without a breeze.

One punch at a time, Kushina quickly sent the rowdy kids who had been laughing so gleefully crashing to the floor.

Seeing his lackeys falling one by one, Fujitora, the ringleader of the mockery, panicked and pulled out an unopened kunai he had brought from home.

Watching Kushina show off her might, Genichi sighed—why did they have to bring weapons into this?

He stood up quickly, backhanded the kunai out of Fujitora's hand, and followed up with a punch to the gut that sent the boy sprawling to the ground.

"Stop! What are you doing!" Sarutobi Kimura, who hadn't gone far when he heard the commotion, returned to the classroom and his vision went dark at the sight.

"Chiba Genichi, Uzumaki Kushina, and you, Fujitora Oishi, come to my office immediately!" Sarutobi Kimura roared in anger.

"Teacher, Kushina hit us!"

The few disheveled, rowdy kids rushed to complain first; paired with their miserable state, it was actually quite convincing.

"Nonsense! You were the ones mocking me, you brought this on yourselves!"

Having let loose, Kushina felt completely refreshed. The timid, helpless demeanor she had worn earlier vanished instantly, and she stood there like a little chili pepper ready to explode, daring anyone to try and set her off.

Hearing this, Teacher Sarutobi roughly understood the situation; after all, he knew exactly which students in his class liked to stir up trouble and which ones were well-behaved.

Perhaps because his expectations were low, even though Genichi had only been acting normally for the past month, he had come to view him as a well-behaved, obedient student, so he asked, "Genichi, you tell me what happened."

"Fujitora and the others came to mock Kushina the moment class ended. Kushina fought back and knocked them down, and finally, I saw Fujitora pull out a kunai, so I stepped in to subdue him," Genichi said.

"Teacher, you know me—I never lie."

"Hmm, you did well this time, Genichi. As for the rest of you, bring your parents here tomorrow. Now, go back to the classroom and continue your studies. Behave yourselves and don't cause any more trouble."

Teacher Sarutobi thought for a moment and decided to communicate directly with the parents to resolve the issue once and for all.

"Um, sorry, I got you called to the office too," Kushina said, catching up to Genichi. "And thanks for helping me back during the self-introductions, too."

"It's no problem, just a small favor," Genichi replied with a smile. "Don't take what they said to heart. Your red hair is actually quite cute and full of energy."

"Cute or whatever..." Kushina lowered her head, blushing, and fell silent.

The day of school passed by quickly.

It wasn't until she got home after school and saw Granny Mito that Kushina remembered she had been sent to the office by her teacher on her very first day.

"Granny Mito." Kushina greeted the old woman, then felt too embarrassed to say anything else.

"What's wrong? Did someone bully our Kushina?" Uzumaki Mito sensed that the person in front of her was in a strange mood.

"It's nothing, really. It's just... some people were making fun of my red hair, and I couldn't help myself, so I beat them all up," Kushina stammered.

"And the teacher wants a parent to come in tomorrow."

"Just have your sister Tsunade go tomorrow. It'll keep her from just drinking and idling around the house all day," Uzumaki Mito said, handing the task directly to Tsunade.

"Come, tell Granny what happened at school. Did you make any friends today?"

"As for friends, I suppose I met someone. Granny, let me tell you..." Kushina shared the story of her day.

At this very moment, Genichi, who had also returned home, began to sort through the gains from his recent training, using Minato—who was equally talented and hardworking—as a benchmark.

In taijutsu sparring, he won more than he lost; both his strength and speed were firmly ahead of Minato, though Minato's reaction time was faster.

Sometimes, Minato's changes in technique were so quick that he gained the upper hand; in that regard, Minato was truly exceptional. The future Yellow Flash was well-deserved of his reputation.

He couldn't slack off on training his dynamic vision and reaction speed; if he wanted to develop his skills along the lines of the Chidori in the future, these were indispensable conditions.

He couldn't have a self-developed ninjutsu that he couldn't use because of his own physical limitations, right, Kakashi?

As for throwing ninja tools, there was no need to dwell on it; the practical ceiling for that skill wasn't high, so it could be put aside for now.

The Rasengan was also getting close; he could already skillfully burst a water balloon.

Thinking of this, Genichi nodded with satisfaction. Perhaps he could buy a ninja blade later? The limitation of his chakra reserves in the early stages was too great; relying solely on ninjutsu for combat was bound to be restrictive.

If he had a sharp ninja blade, his deterrent power and lethality in close combat would be greatly increased.

The night grew deep. Genichi drank a cup of hot milk and drifted into a deep sleep, filled with visions of the future.