Transfer Student Kushina Uzumaki

Afternoon.

During class, Shiraha had been reading Introduction to Medical Ninja Fundamentals.

Halfway through the lesson, Sakamoto Midorikawa was called out by a ninja.

When he returned, a girl of about eight or nine followed behind him.

Her cheeks were round and plump, and she had long, flame-red hair that was so vivid it left a lasting impression at a glance.

"This is the student who transferred into our class today—"

Before Sakamoto Midorikawa could finish, the girl, who had looked somewhat reserved, suddenly raised her head and announced loudly, "I'm Kushina Uzumaki!"

"Wow! What a weird verbal tic!"

"Haha, look at the color of her hair."

"Seriously, how can hair be that red?!"

"With that round face, she looks just like a tomato!"

The moment Kushina Uzumaki finished speaking, the mischievous boys in class began whispering to one another, mocking her hair color and appearance.

From the moment Kushina Uzumaki entered, Shiraha's gaze had been entirely fixed on her.

Because the moment she came in, the Energy Particles around them had become much more active.

To a Wizard, every kind of power had a source and emitted radiation.

Chakra was also a type of radiating energy, and it had a strong attraction to the Energy Particles in the air.

When a ninja with powerful Chakra appeared, the Energy Particles in the surrounding space became active.

Of course, only Shiraha, who had learned the Meditation Method, could sense it so clearly. So far, he had not discovered any other ninja with this ability.

The most obvious example had been the Third Hokage, who had come to the Ninja Academy to give a speech at the start of the school year.

Could this new student, who was about the same age as him, possess Chakra as powerful as the Third Hokage's?

A look of surprise appeared on Shiraha's face as he watched Kushina curiously.

The Uzumaki Clan lived together in the Land of Whirlpools, where they had founded Uzushiogakure. They had been friendly with Konoha for generations. It was said that most ninjas of this clan were born with extraordinary Chakra and vitality.

Not long ago, Shiraha's parents had died in the war while supporting the Land of Whirlpools.

Unable to resist, Shiraha activated his Innate Spell, Eye of Truth, to inspect Kushina's stats.

"How is this possible?!" Though the display was incomplete, Chakra alone was enough to leave Shiraha utterly incredulous.

Chakra: 23900 (normal theoretical value)

Kushina's Chakra was more than a hundred times his!

"This is beyond ridiculous—ridiculous to the absolute extreme!"

Not every Uzumaki clansman could be this monstrous, or else they would not have been exterminated.

This girl named Kushina Uzumaki had a huge secret.

He was very curious.

Faced with the boys' mockery, Sakamoto Midorikawa hurriedly called for silence.

But because he was usually rather gentle, the students were not afraid of him. Even after he called out several times, the class did not quiet down.

Kushina's face reddened slightly. She clenched her fists tightly, as if gathering her courage, then declared in a loud voice:

"I-I want to become this village's first female Hokage!"

The instant they heard her declaration, the class fell silent. Almost every student had dreamed of becoming Hokage.

But few had the courage to say it publicly like she had, since they would only be mocked for overestimating themselves.

At that moment, Minato Namikaze stood up and gave Kushina a gentle smile.

"I also want to become an outstanding Hokage recognized by the villagers."

Kushina felt challenged.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Just as the class fell into silence, loud applause came from the back row.

Everyone looked toward the sound and saw Shiraha standing and applauding. "Welcome, Kushina!"

Shiraha's grades were average, and he had a gentle personality. Most importantly, he was exceptionally handsome.

So when he began clapping, some of the girls joined in. Before long, half the class was applauding to welcome the new student.

Sakamoto Midorikawa smiled approvingly. Shiraha truly was an outstanding inheritor of the Will of Fire, so united and friendly.

"Kushina, find an empty seat and sit down." Sakamoto Midorikawa pointed to an empty seat in the back.

Kushina nodded and walked toward the back row.

When she saw the vacant seat beside Shiraha, her gaze visibly lingered for a moment. In the end, however, she went to the last row and sat in the empty seat behind him.

—Yagami Shiraha—

Kushina instinctively looked at Shiraha seated in front of her, then at the name label attached to his desk.

Sakamoto Midorikawa's lesson was quite interesting, but Shiraha had not heard a single word. His attention was entirely focused on the person behind him.

With radiation at this level, her cells definitely meet the requirements. With what I did just now, I only need...

"Class dismissed."

Sakamoto Midorikawa had no intention of dragging out the lesson and left the classroom as soon as class ended.

The break lasted ten minutes.

The previously quiet classroom erupted into noise within seconds.

Some of the boys had looked like wilted eggplants during class, completely listless.

They were already strong, so why did they have to study such boring theoretical knowledge? It was no fun at all.

But the moment class ended, they became full of energy, as if they could barely resist jumping up to chase and roughhouse around the classroom.

Noise and laughter instantly filled the entire room.

After fooling around for a while, several mischievous boys grew bored and came to the last row.

A boy missing one of his front teeth grinned at Kushina Uzumaki, who was lying facedown on her desk.

"Tomato!"

Kushina Uzumaki glanced at him. Her chubby cheeks puffed up with anger, but she still held herself back.

To mischievous boys, it was not anger they feared—it was getting no reaction at all.

"Red hair, a fat round face—she really does look like a tomato!" another boy chimed in.

"I hate tomatoes the most. They're sour as hell!"

"Everyone hates tomatoes. How could anyone ever recognize her?"

"Hahaha, exactly!"

The boys' teasing was childish, but Kushina's cheeks instantly flushed bright red when she heard it.

"Haha, she's admitted it herself!"

Her reaction made the boys laugh even louder.

Most children from Ninja Clans in the class had a strong sense of crisis. On the contrary, many children without much of a background were no different from elementary school students in Shiraha's memories and loved to fool around.

Their loud laughter drew the attention of the others, but everyone merely watched without any intention of stepping in.

"A red, round tomato!"

Seeing that Kushina still did not react, the boys began pushing their luck.

Kushina sprang to her feet and glared at the boys around her.

"The tomato's angry!"

One of the boys grinned and reached out, grabbing Kushina's hair.

Kushina clenched her fists. She could not hold it in any longer. She was going to beat these guys senseless.

"Hair this red is ugly as hell!" the boy sneered. Just as he was about to yank Kushina's hair hard, a pale hand suddenly seized his wrist.

When he turned his head, he found Shiraha, who had been watching from the side.

"Shiraha, what are you doing?"

A smile appeared on Shiraha's face. "Yusuke, a little welcoming of the new student is enough. If you start getting physical, the joke goes too far. The girls are watching."

He did not use any force, merely offering a reminder.

Yusuke turned around and saw that the entire class had fallen quiet, with the girls all watching them.

Considering that he might not be able to beat Shiraha, and taking into account Shiraha's popularity in class, Yusuke smiled sheepishly and released Kushina's hair. "Hehe, I was just joking with her."

Shiraha released his wrist.

Kushina also unclenched her fists and returned to her seat.

At that moment, she noticed that the blond boy with fair skin seated in front of her was looking at her with a smile, clearly enjoying the show.

Kushina immediately scowled at him. "What are you looking at?! Is it that funny?!"

Minato Namikaze froze for a moment, then gave an awkward smile and turned away.

Even so, he still secretly turned back from time to time to watch Kushina.

Soon, the class bell rang.

"Class dismissed. There will be a practical test next week, so work hard and don't slack off."

After leaving those words behind, Sakamoto Midorikawa walked straight out of the classroom.

Shiraha also slung his schoolbag over his shoulder and left.

But he walked very slowly.

At the school gate.

Kushina caught up to Shiraha in a few quick strides.

"Shiraha! Please wait!"