Bai Lin Makes a Move

Minato Namikaze was also an orphan, adopted into the same orphanage as Bai Lin.

This was the future Fourth Hokage, the Yellow Flash, a genius whose talent stood at the pinnacle of the ninja world.

From the moment Bai Lin first saw him, he had been hatching a calculated plan to groom him into his most trusted subordinate.

After all, this was the man who would one day develop the Flying Thunder God, a successor to the Will of Fire; bringing him into his camp now meant securing the most reliable right-hand man for his future bid for Hokage and his campaigns across the ninja world.

Over the years, Bai Lin had truly poured his heart and soul into Minato Namikaze.

He not only treated him like his own younger brother but also spent every day racking his brain to feed him the chicken soup for the soul from his past life, all to establish a towering, magnificent image in Minato Namikaze's heart.

As time passed, the status Bai Lin held in Minato Namikaze's heart had long since surpassed that of the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi by an immeasurable margin.

On the other side.

Minato Namikaze quickly caught up to Kushina Uzumaki, spreading his arms to block her path, his chest heaving slightly: "Kushina, please stop running! My boss has something he wants to say to you."

"Move!" Kushina pushed Minato Namikaze away with a stubborn glare. "You're all the same, you all hate my hair. Deep down, you're probably calling me Tomato, aren't you!"

"You people in Konoha are all so detestable. This so-called Will of Fire is nothing but empty talk."

"That's not true, I don't hate your hair," Minato Namikaze said hurriedly, his tone urgent.

"Move aside, or I'll have to make you!"

Kushina stepped back, assuming a fighting stance.

If this sissy dares to stop me, I'll beat him until even his own mother wouldn't recognize him.

Kushina thought to herself.

"Please stop, Kushina."

"Given your strength, you won't be able to beat me."

"I didn't mean to insult your hair, and my boss isn't that kind of person either. I just hope you can stop and talk for a moment."

Minato Namikaze clearly hadn't realized that he had inadvertently insulted Kushina.

What?

I can't beat you?

As expected, this sissy is mocking me too!

Kushina didn't even hear the rest of his sentence; she only registered the six words: "You won't be able to beat me."

She was from the Uzumaki Clan; when had she ever endured such contempt?

I, Kushina Uzumaki, of the Uzumaki Clan, will not lose to anyone!

"You actually look down on my strength!"

"In that case, let me see what kind of skills you have, you sissy!"

"Let's see if you're as good as you claim!"

Kushina was a person of fiery temperament; before the words had even left her lips, she attacked.

She clenched her fist and swung it straight at Minato Namikaze's face.

Minato's expression shifted, and he quickly dodged to the side. At the same time, chakra surged beneath his feet, and he retreated several steps in an instant, evading the strike.

"Kushina, I didn't mean it! Please don't be angry!" He waved his hands frantically, looking anxious.

Minato Namikaze's nature was never aggressive toward fellow villagers, and his sunny disposition made it impossible for him to actually fight Kushina.

"Enough talk! Take this!" Kushina pressed her advantage, closing in step by step as her fists rained down like a storm.

So this is all Minato Namikaze amounts to?

He's forced to retreat by me, yet he dares to say I can't beat him.

Today, I'll show you the consequences of mocking me!

But Minato Namikaze was far too agile. Even though she came within a hair's breadth of hitting him several times, he always managed to narrowly evade her at the very last moment.

Kushina was still too young; she failed to realize the gap between them and simply continued to swing her fists blindly.

"If you have the guts, stop dodging and fight me fair and square!" Kushina shouted angrily.

"Why are you running! If you're too scared to fight, just admit defeat!"

Seeing that her relentless attacks were failing, Kushina's frustration flared even higher. She leaped onto a nearby old locust tree, hoping to find an opening.

But just as she steadied herself on the branch, the unexpected happened. A cold glint shot out from behind her—a shuriken, aimed straight at her back!

Oh no, a shuriken! I can't dodge it.

Kushina's entire body stiffened. By the time she realized the attack, her physical reaction was already a beat too slow.

"Clang!" A figure appeared instantly beside Kushina, a long sword deflecting the shuriken aimed at her. The person who arrived was none other than Bai Lin.

He stood beside Kushina, pulling the stunned girl into his arms just as she was about to fall, his expression icy.

"Who gave you the nerve to attack a villager in Konoha?" Bai Lin's gaze locked onto a spot behind a tree, his eyes cold.

Kushina, still shaken, leaned against Bai Lin's chest, a cold sweat already drenching her back.

I was nearly struck by the shuriken; even if the thrower hadn't aimed for my vitals, being hit would surely have resulted in injury.

She gazed at the boy's upright back beside her. The lingering chill of that lethal intent still clung to her heart, yet this boy had dissolved the crisis with a single strike of his blade.

A complex surge of emotions welled up within her.

So cool!

How can there be someone so handsome in this world!

I really want to be friends with him, though I wonder if he'll hate my red hair.

People in the ninja world are always precocious, and Kushina was no exception.

When she saw the handsome face of Bai Lin, it was exactly like Bietian Ying seeing Gaoleng Zuo; her eyes transformed into the shape of hearts.

"Come out!"

"As a ninja, attacking a fellow villager is your first crime."

"Hiding in the shadows and shooting arrows from the dark is your second crime."

"I suspect you are a spy sent to Konoha by an enemy village with malicious intent, which is your third crime."

"I have the right to apprehend you, take you to the Konoha Military Police Force, and hand you over to the Third Hokage for interrogation!"

Bai Lin's voice rang out with authority. He gripped the Kusanagi Sword firmly, released Kushina from his embrace, and spoke in a cold tone.

There was a moment of silence behind the tree before two figures slowly stepped out.

"It's you!" Kushina recognized one of them; he was one of the people from the ninja academy who had tried to bully her, only to fail and be sent flying by her Humanoid Kaiten.

"Don't... I only heard from my younger brother that this person named Kushina bullied him, so I wanted to vent some frustration on his behalf."

The older man who stepped out from behind the tree was about twelve or thirteen years old. He wore ordinary clothes and had an ordinary appearance, with a Konoha forehead protector that identified him as a Konoha ninja.

Faced with such accusations from Bai Lin, he looked flustered and raised his hands to show he had no malicious intent.

If Bai Lin's charges were to stick, he would be rotting in a cell for the rest of his life, so he dared not be careless.

Following closely behind him was a cowering boy—the very same one who had mocked Kushina at school earlier that day. He kept his head down, not daring to look at her.

"Nonsense! It was your brother who mocked my hair first and teamed up with others to corner me! I was only acting in self-defense!" Upon hearing the man's words, Kushina's anger flared instantly.

"You lack the strength, yet you dare to bring help. Just like this blond brat, you're both sissies without a shred of masculine spirit."

Kushina stood with her hands on her hips, berating them. Her red hair swayed slightly with her anger, but her gaze remained fixed on the two behind the tree, refusing to yield an inch.