Kushina Wants to Prove Herself

"If you know you're in the wrong, then don't get in my way. Do you want to see me get punished by the teacher because I spent all my time protecting a female classmate instead of doing my homework?"

Yoshino Nara pondered for a moment, then shook her head helplessly.

"Fine, you have a touching reason this time. I'll pretend I didn't see anything. Hurry up and copy it; I'm going to tell the teacher about how they bullied Kushina and you so they get punished instead."

After saying this, Yoshino Nara turned and ran off to find the teacher.

Uchiha Kurohane let out a sigh of relief and picked up his pencil to continue copying the homework.

Just then, he heard a chime, knowing his reward had arrived.

[Ding! The host's act of saving a female classmate has moved Yoshino Nara. Yoshino Nara feels guilty for her past opinion of you, achieving the milestone "Yoshino Nara's Guilt" and granting the trait "Yatagarasu Substitute."]

(Yatagarasu Substitute: The host's Kekkei Genkai, Yatagarasu, gains a new ability. The host can perform hand seals to release space-time ninjutsu, instantly swapping positions with any summoned crow. When under attack, the host can instantly swap positions with the nearest crow. There is a cooldown period when automatically triggered by an attack; it cannot be used consecutively. The host's clones, shadow clones, etc., count as summoned crows and can also be used for position swapping.)

After understanding this ability, Uchiha Kurohane couldn't help but exclaim.

Isn't this just a variation of Namikaze Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique!

Namikaze Minato can instantly teleport to the side of an object marked with a Flying Thunder God seal, while the Yatagarasu Substitute is an instant position swap.

Essentially, they are both instant displacement skills.

However, the Yatagarasu Substitute has the added ability to automatically swap positions when attacked.

This can prevent sneak attacks and also allow for a forced one-for-one trade with an enemy.

For example, when Namikaze Minato and Killer Bee were pointing blades at each other, Minato could only trade wounds with Killer Bee, so he didn't dare act rashly.

But with the Yatagarasu Substitute's ability to automatically transfer when attacked, one could confidently strike at Killer Bee in the same situation.

Another advantage of the Yatagarasu Substitute is that crows can fly and move at will, allowing Uchiha Kurohane to adjust his transfer destination freely.

The Flying Thunder God seal is fixed, and although one can release the second stage of the technique by throwing a kunai, the kunai flies in a straight line, making it much more restricted than the Yatagarasu Substitute.

However, when using the Yatagarasu Substitute normally, it requires hand seals to release, which is where it falls short of the Flying Thunder God.

But through training, the speed of hand seals can be increased.

The essence of hand seals is to assist in refining chakra; as long as one has enough chakra, they can simply clap their hands together and release the ninjutsu directly.

After Yoshino Nara had walked far away, Kushina Uzumaki leaned toward Uchiha Kurohane's ear and whispered.

"Why are you lying? You clearly told me just now that you didn't do your homework because you were training at night."

Uchiha Kurohane hadn't expected Kushina Uzumaki to still be hung up on such a trivial matter.

"Don't worry about the details. I really did have a fight with those three, so it doesn't count as a lie."

Kushina Uzumaki pouted her cherry lips and said earnestly.

"My grandmother used to say that details determine success or failure. As a ninja, you must pay attention to details!"

"And she also said that lying is wrong; you shouldn't lie!"

Kushina Uzumaki was unexpectedly a stubborn little girl.

Uchiha Kurohane looked into Kushina Uzumaki's beautiful eyes and said seriously.

"A righteous lie isn't called a lie; it's called justice."

"Justice doesn't need to worry about details, only the results!"

Uchiha Kurohane reached out and pinched Kushina Uzumaki's soft, rosy cheeks.

"Don't talk so much, little tomato. Just listen to what I say."

"Ah—"

Kushina Uzumaki let out a dainty cry as her cheeks were pinched, rubbing her face with her hands and asking indignantly.

"You keep talking about justice, but what exactly is your justice?"

"My justice is peace in the ninja world!"

At that moment, the clouds in the sky parted, and brilliant sunlight pierced through, spilling onto Uchiha Kurohane's handsome face, casting a gorgeous golden filter over him.

Kushina Uzumaki felt that Uchiha Kurohane was shining in her eyes, and she was filled with admiration for his dream.

"Your dream is peace in the ninja world? That's so noble!"

Kushina Uzumaki's hometown had been destroyed by war; she knew the cruelty and sorrow of war and was filled with hatred for it.

She understood the greatness of Uchiha Kurohane's dream in an instant.

Her heart was filled with emotion, and at that moment, she truly had the thought of following Uchiha Kurohane and becoming his subordinate.

"As long as you know that, come and help me out."

"...Eh, how do you expect me to help you?"

Kushina Uzumaki felt that she and Uchiha Kurohane were only ten-year-old children with limited abilities; she had no idea what they could possibly do for peace in the ninja world.

Uchiha Kurohane shoved a pencil into Kushina Uzumaki's small hand.

"By helping me copy my homework, of course. Take out your history workbook; I haven't done mine either..."

Kushina Uzumaki stared at the pencil in her hand, stunned for a moment, before she slammed the table and retorted loudly.

"What kind of dream is 'peace in the ninja world'? You just wanted to trick me into doing your homework for you!"

"Give me back the emotions I just wasted!"

"The teacher will be here in twenty minutes. I don't have time to argue with you now. If you don't want to help me, just stay out of my way."

This time, Uchiha Kurohane poked Kushina Uzumaki's cute little cheek with his finger, pushing her aside...

"Alright, stop poking me! Fine, considering you helped me yesterday, I'll copy it for you..."

Although Kushina Uzumaki complained, she still obediently picked up the pencil and began copying the homework for Uchiha Kurohane.

Four o'clock in the afternoon, school was out.

The chunin teacher had barely left the classroom when Uchiha Kurohane pushed his chair back, stood up, and stepped onto the windowsill.

Seeing this, Kushina Uzumaki was dumbfounded. She hurriedly grabbed Uchiha Kurohane's hand and asked blankly, "Wait, what are you doing?"

"Going home after school, obviously."

Kushina Uzumaki blinked her large eyes in surprise. "Are you planning to jump out the window?"

"Yeah. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. If I leave through the classroom door, I'd have to walk all the way around the hallway and climb down the stairs."

Kushina Uzumaki tilted her head and thought for a moment, deciding that made sense.

They weren't ordinary people; they were ninjas who spent their time leaping through forests and across rooftops. Jumping from a second-story window was nothing.

While Kushina Uzumaki was still thinking, Uchiha Kurohane had already leaped out the window.

Kushina gritted her teeth and jumped out after him.

With a soft thud, her two fair, short legs landed steadily on the ground, and she quickly followed behind Uchiha Kurohane.

"Wait, those three guys didn't come to school today. They might be plotting revenge against you, so you need to be careful."

Uchiha Kurohane felt nothing but disdain.

"They're cowards who only pick on the weak. If they want revenge, the target is definitely going to be you."

"Instead of worrying about me, you should worry about yourself."

Uchiha Kurohane knew the original plot; the delinquent students beaten up by Kushina Uzumaki would bring their older brother to seek revenge.

He would send a crow to track Kushina Uzumaki, and when that genin came to cause trouble for her, he would use the Yatagarasu Substitute to instantly swap places with the crow, appearing just in time to play the hero saving the damsel.

Kushina Uzumaki pouted, grumbling to herself.

How am I the weaker one!

You haven't seen me in action yet; my fists are very hard.

Back in the Village Hidden in the Whirlpools, they called me Kushina the Hammer!

However, Kushina Uzumaki didn't argue.

She still believed those three delinquents would seek revenge on Uchiha Kurohane, so she decided to follow him secretly.

If he ran into danger, she would step in to protect him.

Kushina Uzumaki wanted to use this opportunity to repay the favor from yesterday and prove her strength to Uchiha Kurohane.

She didn't want to be looked down upon by Uchiha Kurohane; she was going to prove that she wasn't a weakling!