The Princess and the Knight

Kushina Uzumaki's smug smile froze instantly.

Her delicately carved, jade-like face wore a look of utter bewilderment.

"Wait, I should be older than you. I'm ten, how old are you?"

"Nine."

"Just as I thought! I'm older, so I'm your big sister. You should be the one acting as my little underling."

Being the underling to a kid younger than herself felt humiliating to Kushina, and every fiber of her being resisted the idea.

As a man, Uchiha Kurohane was equally dissatisfied with the term "little underling," and he spoke in a tone that brooked no argument.

"Age has nothing to do with it. Whoever is stronger is the big brother. I saved you, so naturally, you should be my underling."

Feeling belittled, Kushina puffed out her cheeks and retorted indignantly.

"Don't get the wrong idea! I was just about to make a move on them myself. I'm not some weak woman."

"Who cares? I saved you, so you're my underling now."

"Don't be unhappy about it. There are perks to being my underling; if you ever run into danger, I'll come to protect you."

"What is that supposed to mean? You're so unreasonable..."

Though she complained, Kushina felt a strong, fluttering sensation in her heart, deeply moved by his promise to protect her.

Having arrived in Konoha all alone, she felt completely insecure in this strange place.

Her heart was filled with loneliness and isolation; she longed to make friends, to fit into Konoha, and more than anything, to be protected by someone.

Kurohane's words had struck exactly where she was most vulnerable.

"You don't want to? Fine then, suit yourself. Goodbye."

Knowing the loneliness hidden within her, Kurohane employed a "hard-to-get" strategy and turned to leave once more.

Kushina immediately grew anxious.

"Alright, fine! I'll be your underling. But you have to keep your promise—if I'm ever in danger, you have to come save me, okay?"

In Kushina's heart, Kurohane was a prince charming who had descended from the heavens.

She sincerely hoped that if she ever faced danger again, he would be there to save her once more.

Compared to that, being his underling was a small price to pay.

No, Kushina decided that while it was read as "underling," it was written as "princess."

They weren't in a relationship of underling and boss; they were princess and knight!

Once she settled on this interpretation, she no longer felt humiliated; instead, she felt a touch of romance.

However, still lacking a sense of security, she worried that Kurohane might go back on his word and wanted to bind him with a promise.

"Let's pinky swear."

Kurohane had only intended to tease her; he hadn't expected it to actually work, and he felt quite surprised.

So, Kushina had really become his underling? Was she that easy to win over?

Was it because she was too young and too naive?

Girls really are easy to trick when they're young.

Now, back to the question Kurohane had pondered earlier.

If Kushina hadn't married Minato and hadn't died, would she have become Hokage?

(The manga stated that Kushina was a kunoichi of the same caliber as Tsunade and fought with the same style as Naruto.)

Kurohane believed the answer was a definitive yes.

With the power of the Nine-Tails and the powerful sealing jutsu of the Uzumaki Clan, her strength would surely far exceed Kakashi's.

She likely would have become the Sixth Hokage after Tsunade.

Tsunade might not even have needed to return; Kushina could have stepped up directly as the Fifth Hokage.

Now that Kushina had become his underling, his goal of becoming the man of the Five Kage had taken a massive leap forward!

[Ding! Kushina Uzumaki has become the host's underling. Achievement "Underling Kushina" unlocked. Obtained trait: "Kushina Uzumaki's Chakra A."]

(Kushina Uzumaki's Chakra A: The host gains Kushina's Earth, Water, Yin, and Yang chakra.)

Possessing the bloodline of the Uzumaki Clan, Kushina was born with vast reserves of chakra.

Take her son, Naruto, for example.

Kakashi once mentioned that, excluding the Nine-Tails' chakra, Naruto's own reserves were four times his own.

And it wasn't that Kakashi had low chakra; he simply couldn't deactivate his Sharingan, which caused a constant drain.

Thus, Naruto's innate chakra was already immense.

Since Kushina could easily suppress the Nine-Tails, her chakra reserves were many times greater than Naruto's.

Having obtained her chakra trait, Kurohane would never have to worry about running low on chakra again.

Uchiha Kurohane pursed his lips into a smile and extended his finger to hook it with Kushina Uzumaki's.

A pinky swear with her!

A moment later, Uchiha Kurohane walked out of the restroom, his expression one of utter, incredulous shock.

So, Yang-style chakra could strengthen the body.

His physique, already honed since childhood to be on par with a varsity athlete, had become even more robust.

Even those parts that could not be trained were significantly reinforced by the Yang-style chakra.

He was no longer a little brother; he was an emperor!

That evening, Kushina Uzumaki sat obediently at the dining table, smiling as she waited for the meal.

Seeing the happy look on Kushina Uzumaki's face, Uzumaki Mito smiled and asked, "Kushina, did something good happen at school today?"

"Hm? Why do you ask that, Grandma?" Kushina Uzumaki tilted her head, asking back in confusion.

"It's the first time you've smiled since coming to Konoha. You must have encountered something pleasant, right?"

Kushina Uzumaki hurriedly covered her mouth with her small hand. "I wasn't smiling; I was just thinking about dinner."

Seeing Kushina Uzumaki's shy demeanor, Uzumaki Mito laughed even more happily. "You must have made a friend. Don't be shy—tell Grandma what happened at school."

Uzumaki Mito was the beloved wife of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and the current jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails.

Because Senju Hashirama had passed away so early, she had lived a solitary life.

She had lived alone in loneliness for thirty years!

Furthermore, as a jinchuriki, she could not leave the barrier, so she spent every day in the old mansion on the outskirts of town, living a dull and monotonous life.

Uzumaki Mito was truly, deeply lonely!

Since Kushina Uzumaki had arrived in Konoha, she hoped to learn about life at the Ninja Academy through her.

Kushina Uzumaki bit her cherry lips, pondered for a moment, and then whispered shyly, "It's not just a friend; I took in a little brother."

Kushina Uzumaki felt that telling the truth would be too embarrassing, so she altered the facts slightly.

On the other hand, she believed she could have beaten those three delinquent kids, so she reasoned that she wasn't truly Uchiha Kurohane's subordinate.

"Oh? You took in a little brother on your very first day of school? That's truly impressive!"

"I was right, wasn't I? You are so strong; you will surely earn the recognition of the Konoha ninja and one day become Hokage!"

Hearing Uzumaki Mito's praise, Kushina Uzumaki became even more smug.

She puffed out her flat chest and thought to herself: I only humored him and verbally agreed to be his little sister because he's younger than me and too childish. I'm the woman who is going to be Hokage; how could I possibly be his subordinate? In reality, he's the one who's my little brother! I'm his big sister!

While Kushina Uzumaki was lost in her dreams of being a big sister, Uchiha Kurohane was eating ramen alone at the Ichiraku Ramen Shop.

He slurped his noodles while contemplating his future plans.

After saving Kushina Uzumaki, he had gained the Uzumaki bloodline and a massive amount of chakra.

He was no longer an ordinary ninja; he could finally begin his operations.

On the other hand, he discovered that female ninja were not as difficult to approach as he had imagined.

On the contrary, since he knew the personalities and futures of these female ninja, he could use that information to build good relationships with them.

After forging deep bonds with these female ninja, he could emulate the Daimyo of the Land of Fire and establish a private ninja force—the Twelve Guardian Ninja Maidens.

With their help, he could manipulate the Five Kage from the shadows—becoming the man behind the Five Kage.

Because Uchiha Kurohane had transmigrated quite early, many of the female ninja who appeared in the original story had not yet been born, or were still infants.

He was referring to the Mizukage Terumi Mei and the Tsuchikage Kurotsuchi.

Uchiha Kurohane could trick them while they were still young, making them his subordinates just like Kushina Uzumaki.

Tsunade was only in her twenties now, still a green, inexperienced girl; she wouldn't be hard to win over either.

The real problems were the Raikage and the Kazekage, as neither of them were women.

Uchiha Kurohane would need to support the female ninja of their respective villages to rise to power.

There were quite a few female ninja in the Cloud Village; he tentatively planned to support either Samui or Yugito.

The beautiful ninja of the Sand Village were fewer in number, consisting only of Temari and the long-since-deceased Pakura (referring to the original timeline).

Wait, he had almost forgotten one more...