Kushina Gets Jealous

"Uzumaki Shin, don't you think your introduction was a little too brief? Aren't you going to talk about your dreams?"

Teacher Tanaka looked at Uzumaki Shin as he spoke.

"Dreams are all imaginary. Otherwise, why would they be called dreams? You can just think about them while you're dreaming. I don't think I need to say mine out loud."

"All right. Next student, please introduce yourself."

Teacher Tanaka shook his head, then looked toward Kushina.

Kushina looked at the students below and felt a little nervous. Just then, Shin took her hand, helping her feel less anxious.

Once Shin took her hand, Kushina relaxed.

"My name is Kushina Uzumaki. I like Shin, I dislike Tsunade, and my dream is to be with Shin forever."

Kushina gathered her courage and said it.

As soon as she finished, the students, who had been quiet, suddenly cried out in surprise. She was that bold?

"She actually dislikes my big sister." Nawaki was astonished that Kushina disliked his sister, Tsunade.

Teacher Tanaka was at a loss for words. Were girls really this precocious these days?

Shin couldn't help it.

He glanced toward Kushina, but she had already lowered her head shyly, her cheeks turning bright red.

"Ahem. Quiet down, all of you."

Teacher Tanaka coughed twice, then put on a stern face and quieted the students who were shouting in the classroom.

"You two, find some empty seats and sit down for now," Teacher Tanaka said to Shin and Kushina.

Shin looked around and saw that all the empty seats were in the back, so he led Kushina over there.

Next came the introductions from Uzumaki Akiko and Uzumaki Kai. Akiko's introduction was perfectly ordinary; she seemed like a gentle, timid girl.

As for Uzumaki Kai, he merely stated his name coldly, making him seem like someone who was difficult to get along with.

"They're both named Uzumaki, and they both have the same red hair. Are they all from the same clan?"

A pineapple-headed guy glanced at Shin and the others with half-lidded eyes.

"Shikaku, you're actually awake? That's a rare sight."

Yamanaka Inoichi, who was sitting beside Nara Shikaku, spoke up.

"I didn't want to wake up, but you were all so loud that you woke me," Nara Shikaku said, rolling his eyes.

"Hello, my name is Uzumaki Shin. Please take care of me."

After leading Kushina to their seats at the back of the classroom, Shin turned to the girl beside them, who had delicate features and beautiful, long, straight black hair.

The girl looked at Shin, a little overwhelmed, then smiled gently and replied politely, "Hello, my name is Uchiha Mikoto. Please take care of me, too."

Shin froze. He'd only greeted the girl because she was pretty, but he hadn't expected her to be Uchiha Mikoto.

But that didn't seem right.

Shin looked at Kushina, then at Uchiha Mikoto. Was Kushina the same age as Uchiha Mikoto?

No, that couldn't be right. Uchiha Mikoto should have been quite a bit older than Kushina. By rights, she should have graduated from the Ninja Academy by now.

Maybe it's because I'm a transmigrator. In the original story, only Kushina came to Konoha, but now there are four members of the Uzumaki Clan here, counting me.

Even a tiny butterfly flapping its wings could cause a storm. How much more so could a living person?

Looks like I've become one of those amazing people who change the world without even meaning to.

Shin couldn't help feeling pretty amazing.

"Ah! Kushina, what are you doing?"

Shin looked at his arm, which had been pinched red, and asked Kushina.

"Hmph. What do you think, you lecher?"

Kushina gave an annoyed snort. So that was why he'd led her over here—he'd spotted a pretty little girl.

Shin was exasperated. He admitted Uchiha Mikoto was very pretty, but he'd only said hello. How had that earned him the title of lecher?

No matter how pretty Uchiha Mikoto was, she was still just a little girl. Shin wasn't a pervert; how could he be interested in a child? He really didn't understand Kushina.

But then he remembered that Kushina had told the whole class she liked him. She was definitely jealous.

Kids in the Naruto World really were precocious. Uchiha Obito had fallen for Nohara Rin before he was five, and Haruno Sakura had been crushing on Uchiha Sasuke since she was six.

"Uchiha, why are you sitting all the way in the back?" Shin asked Uchiha Mikoto curiously. It was unusual for a girl to sit in the back. At least, that was what Shin remembered from school in his previous life: the back rows were usually for tall students and troublemakers.

"Because nobody else wants to sit with me."

Uchiha Mikoto smiled faintly, a trace of helplessness in her expression. Everyone avoided her, so she'd gotten used to sitting in the back.

"Why?"

Kushina had forgotten all about being jealous and asked curiously. She was very inquisitive, too.

"You're not from Konoha, are you?" Uchiha Mikoto asked in reply.

"That's right. You're amazing—you could tell right away that we weren't from Konoha," Kushina said, gazing at Uchiha Mikoto in surprise.

Uchiha Mikoto shook her head slightly, then said, "It's because I'm from the Uchiha Clan. That's why they don't want to come near me."

Kushina looked at Uchiha Mikoto, not understanding, but Shin could guess at some of the reasons.

The Uchiha Clan's reputation in Konoha was, to put it mildly, complicated. They'd managed to offend practically every clan in the village, along with the common people.

The Uchiha were rather arrogant. It wasn't something Shin could see in Uchiha Mikoto, but it was obvious in the other clan members.

Being so arrogant meant they didn't have many friends, and their overbearing behavior made people dislike them.

On top of that, the Uchiha Clan ran the Konoha Military Police Force, an important department whose main job was to maintain law and order within the village.

The job inevitably brought them into contact with the other clans and the many common people of Konoha.

In the hands of another clan, it really would have been a good job. They could have won the other clans over and united them, while earning a great deal of respect among the common people.

For example, if someone from another clan did something wrong and you turned a blind eye, they would surely be grateful.

But the Uchiha Clan was in charge. With the Uchiha's temperament, they would punish anyone who broke the rules harshly, and even blow minor offenses out of proportion.

When it came to their own clan members, though, they would make a big deal out of nothing, or nothing out of a big deal.

Naturally, this way of doing things angered the other clans and the residents of Konoha.

Unfortunately, the Uchiha Clan was indeed powerful. After the Senju Clan declined, the Uchiha became Konoha's greatest clan. No one dared to provoke them, and people didn't even dare say anything bad about them, or they'd be invited to the Military Police Force for tea.

As the saying went, if you couldn't afford to provoke someone, you could at least stay away from them. So the Uchiha Clan was isolated, which was exactly the sort of situation certain people wanted to see.