The fact that Uchiha Kurohane had awakened the Sharingan at the age of nine was too shocking. It shattered the Uchiha Clan's record for awakening the Sharingan since Konoha's founding.
The entire venue descended into complete chaos. Even Uchiha Setsuna could not restore order, and he could only suspend the clan assembly.
Using homework as an excuse, Uchiha Kurohane immediately slipped away.
At the same time.
Kushina Uzumaki entered Uzumaki Mito's room and seriously spoke to her grandmother, who was sitting on the bed with her eyes closed.
"Grandma, can you teach me powerful Ninjutsu? I want to grow stronger!"
Kushina Uzumaki recalled how she had been so frightened when Uchiha Kurohane was surrounded by three Genin that she had done nothing at all.
She felt deeply ashamed and regretful.
Although the outcome had been good, and Uchiha Kurohane had easily defeated the enemies.
That was because he was strong, and because the enemies this time had only been Genin.
When they participated in the ninja war in the future, they would encounter Chunin and Jonin, and the number of enemies would grow even greater.
Kushina Uzumaki wanted to fight alongside Uchiha Kurohane when that time came. She wanted to protect him, so she wanted to grow stronger.
Seeing the determination in Kushina Uzumaki's eyes, Uzumaki Mito looked surprised.
"You will become Konoha's Jinchuriki. Konoha's ninja will use every means possible to protect you. You do not need to fight yourself, so why do you want to grow stronger?"
Kushina Uzumaki's little face flushed red. She shyly lowered her head and poked her index fingers together.
"That's because... because... there's someone I want to protect."
After hesitating for a while, she finally voiced what was in her heart.
Uzumaki Mito revealed a gratified smile.
As a Jinchuriki herself, she understood the tragic fate of Jinchuriki.
She believed that the way to make a Jinchuriki happy was to fill her empty heart with love.
As a Konoha ninja, Uzumaki Mito knew how exclusionary Konoha's ninja could be.
She had always worried that Kushina Uzumaki would be unable to find friends at school.
Now, she knew her worries had been unnecessary.
A strong curiosity rose in Uzumaki Mito's heart.
Kushina Uzumaki had only been at school for two days. Who had she already wanted to protect so badly?
Who could possibly be that capable?
Uzumaki Mito immediately thought of a golden-haired Pineapple Head—Namikaze Minato.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had once told her that Namikaze Minato was a genius rarely seen in a hundred years.
He possessed outstanding talent and ranked first in his class. Even more precious was that he had comprehended the Will of Fire at such a young age.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had personally assured Uzumaki Mito back then.
Namikaze Minato would definitely protect Kushina Uzumaki well, so she need not worry.
Uzumaki Mito trusted Sarutobi Hiruzen's judgment and was full of expectations for Namikaze Minato.
With the tone of someone eager for gossip, Uzumaki Mito asked with a smile.
"Who is the person you want to protect? Is he your boyfriend?"
Kushina Uzumaki's little face turned even redder, and she immediately retorted shyly.
"D-Don't talk nonsense. He's just a classmate..."
Kushina Uzumaki stammered nervously, unable to even speak properly.
Watching the little girl who could not hide her feelings, Uzumaki Mito sighed inwardly at the beauty of youth.
"Don't be shy. Grandma isn't an outsider. I'll support your relationship."
Kushina Uzumaki was so embarrassed she wished she could disappear into the ground. To keep her grandmother from overthinking things, she continued explaining.
"No, Grandma, you really misunderstood. There's really nothing between us. We're just ordinary classmates... If I have to put it that way, he should be my little brother!"
Uzumaki Mito raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"What is a little brother?"
Because Uzumaki Mito had remained inside the barrier all this time and usually had no one to talk to, she had fallen out of touch with the times.
She did not quite understand what young people meant by "little brother" these days. She had not asked last time, but this time, she could not help wanting to ask in detail.
Kushina Uzumaki had a competitive personality. Hearing the question, she proudly puffed out her chest.
"I'm his boss. I'll protect him, and he'll listen to my orders. That's what a little brother is."
Although Kushina Uzumaki admitted in reality that she was Uchiha Kurohane's little sister.
Because she was older than Uchiha Kurohane, though, Kushina Uzumaki believed in her heart that Uchiha Kurohane was the one who should be her little brother.
And she was extremely proud of having a little brother.
Uzumaki Mito was rather conservative and understood "little brother" as a man who was afraid of his wife.
She had happened to think Namikaze Minato was somewhat effeminate, so she concluded that her guess had been correct.
Thinking she had learned the answer, Uzumaki Mito did not continue questioning her.
"Alright, then. I'll teach you a powerful Ninjutsu that can make you dozens of times stronger."
Kushina Uzumaki's eyes immediately lit up upon hearing that.
She lunged toward Uzumaki Mito's bedside, grabbed her hand, and asked.
"Dozens of times stronger? What Ninjutsu could be that amazing?"
Uzumaki Mito pursed her lips in a smile and proudly spoke the name of the technique.
"Multi-Shadow Clone Technique."
(Tsunade once said that Naruto's fighting style was very similar to his mother's. At the time, Naruto only knew the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique and the Rasengan.
Since Kushina Uzumaki had the complete Nine-Tails inside her, she had far more chakra than Naruto. It was therefore reasonable to infer that she had learned the Shadow Clone Technique.
As an aside, the later Chronicles of Minato said that Kushina was confined within a barrier and could not leave.
However, the earlier databook showed that Kushina Uzumaki had completed many A-rank and S-rank missions.
This showed that Kushina being confined was a later addition to the setting. Naruto often did this, with contradictions before and after in its lore.
So do not dwell on the details in this story.)
Chirp, chirp, chirp~
The birds outside the window woke Uchiha Kurohane.
Uchiha Kurohane slowly climbed out of bed, yawned, and subconsciously looked at the clock on the table.
8:55.
There were only five minutes left before he was late!
Yet his heart remained utterly calm.
After obtaining the abilities of the Yatagarasu Substitute, he could exchange positions with any crow that had signed a Summoning Contract with him, anytime and anywhere.
He had signed Summoning Contracts with hundreds of crows and secretly stationed them throughout every corner of Konoha, including some at the Ninja Academy.
He only needed one second to form hand seals before instantly teleporting to the Ninja Academy.
After washing up, Uchiha Kurohane immediately formed hand seals. However, rather than teleporting to the school, he teleported to an empty forest.
Although yesterday's battle had been very easy, Uchiha Kurohane had encountered a problem during the fight.
He did not know the cooldown for the Yatagarasu Substitute's automatic activation when it was attacked. This was extremely important, and he needed to find out.
Uchiha Kurohane took a shuriken from his shoulder bag and slashed at the skin on his arm.
This was to trigger the Yatagarasu Substitute's ability to activate automatically when attacked.
With a bang, Uchiha Kurohane exchanged places with a nearby crow and instantly appeared on a tree branch.
Uchiha Kurohane silently counted three seconds, then used the shuriken to slash at his arm again.
Scratch~
This time, he did not exchange places. A three-centimeter wound was cut into his arm, and a thin line of blood seeped from it.
Not exchanging places meant that the Yatagarasu Substitute's automatic activation cooldown was more than three seconds.
Uchiha Kurohane licked the blood from his wound, felt the rusty taste in his mouth, and continued testing.
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