I Accidentally Tied Her Up Like That

"Mirai! Can you teach me that kunai throwing technique from yesterday again?"

"Mirai, can you spar with me during Taijutsu class? My parents said I'd benefit from learning more from you!"

"Me too, me too! Mirai!"

Early the next morning, Mirai Uzumaki and Kushina Uzumaki walked into the classroom side by side and were immediately surrounded by a group of girls.

The red-haired boy stood in the middle of the little girls, a faint smile on his face.

Feeling that the watchful gazes were still there, Mirai did not let his guard down in the slightest.

"Sure. The key to Shuriken Throwing Technique is..."

Minato Namikaze sat in the front row, turning to watch the scene with a hint of envy in his azure eyes.

He muttered quietly, "That's amazing... Mirai's only been here for two days, and he's already so popular."

A bespectacled boy beside him leaned over. "Minato, you're not bad either. You got full marks in yesterday's throwing class too."

"It's different." Minato smiled, his gaze falling on Mirai Uzumaki as he was surrounded by the girls.

"Mirai isn't just skilled. He has this... how do I put it? He makes people want to get close to him.

I think that if you want to become Hokage, the first thing you need is everyone's recognition."

"You want to become Hokage?"

"Yeah." Minato nodded seriously, his golden hair gleaming in the morning light. "I want to become a Hokage who can protect everyone."

There was a light in his eyes when he said that.

On the other side, Kushina Uzumaki sat at her desk with her cheeks puffed up like a pufferfish.

Her red hair drifted slightly behind her, a sign that her emotions were fluctuating.

Watching the group of girls chattering around Mirai Uzumaki, she unconsciously picked at the surface of her desk.

"What the heck... I was the one helping him yesterday..." she muttered under her breath.

"And Mirai came to school without even combing his hair. What do these people even see in him...?"

Just then, Mirai Uzumaki broke free from the crowd and sat down beside her. "Yo, Kushina. What are you spacing out for?"

"Nothing!" Kushina huffed and turned her head away.

"...Your cheeks are puffed up like buns."

"None of your business!"

Mirai Uzumaki thought for a moment, then took a piece of candy from his bag and placed it on her desk.

"Here. Grandma Mito stuffed it into my hand before I left this morning. She said it's sweet tangerine flavored."

Kushina glanced at the candy, then at him. The corner of her lips involuntarily lifted, but she quickly suppressed it. "...I'm not a child."

"Then I'll eat it if you won't."

"Give it to me!" Kushina snatched the candy, unwrapped it, and shoved it into her mouth. "At least you have some conscience..."

Mirai Uzumaki smiled but said nothing.

Kushina was a little tsundere. He had known that from the start, though she was easy enough to appease.

She would grow into a stunning beauty someday!

You had to start early when finding a girlfriend. I, Mirai Uzumaki, was only doing this to preserve the purity of the Uzumaki bloodline, okay?

Without realizing it, Mirai Uzumaki's peripheral vision swept toward a corner of the classroom.

A quiet girl with long, straight black hair sat there reading, as if everything around her had nothing to do with her.

Izumi Uchiha.

The aloof girl who had landed all three kunai precisely in the bullseye during yesterday's throwing class still wore the same expressionless face today.

"Mirai! Stop looking, class is about to start." Kushina tugged on his sleeve.

"Oh, right."

That afternoon, it was practical combat class.

Toriyama Kazunari stood on the training ground with a roster in hand.

"Today's practical combat class will be one-on-one matches! The rules are simple: no lethal Ninjutsu, and stop when appropriate! Losers aren't allowed to cry!"

A burst of laughter rose from below.

As for the rule about lethal Ninjutsu, it was obviously aimed at Mirai Uzumaki. Most of the other second-year little brats had not even been introduced to Ninjutsu yet.

"All right, those whose names I call, step forward—first match, Kushina Uzumaki versus Yamanaka Midori!"

Kushina perked up and skipped onto the field.

Her opponent was a girl with a golden ponytail who looked a little nervous.

"Begin!"

Kushina took a deep breath and recalled the Taijutsu fundamentals Tsunade occasionally taught her—

Although Tsunade spent most of her time at gambling tables, the occasional burst of inspiration that led her to offer a few pointers was already a crushing advantage over ordinary students.

Kushina dashed forward, twisted aside to evade Yamanaka Midori's punch, and followed up with a sweeping kick—

Smack!

Yamanaka Midori hit the ground face-first.

"The winner is Kushina Uzumaki!" Toriyama Kazunari's whistle rang out.

Kushina turned around and waved at Mirai Uzumaki below the field, her smile bright as sunshine.

Mirai Uzumaki gave her a thumbs-up.

More students fought one after another, but honestly, the battles between little brats had no technique to speak of. Watching them made Mirai Uzumaki drowsy.

Only when Minato Namikaze stepped up did he become a little more alert, wanting to observe the strength of the future Fourth Hokage during his childhood.

Minato Namikaze came from a civilian background and had yet to learn any Ninjutsu, but his Taijutsu alone was enough to crush ordinary students.

Minato Namikaze won beautifully, like blazing sunlight melting snow. Even though his opponent lost, he did not look too embarrassed.

Minato even reached out and helped him up. "You weren't too bad yourself, as an opponent!"

His gentle smile made him seem like a little sun.

"Next match—Mirai Uzumaki versus Izumi Uchiha!"

The entire field fell silent for a moment before erupting into excited chatter.

"Whoa! The strongest against the strongest?"

"You all saw Mirai's Adamantine Sealing Chains yesterday, right? He tied up more than ten people in one move!"

"Izumi is amazing too! She hit the bullseye with all three throws in throwing class!"

"Mirai's definitely going to win!"

"Of course he is. Mirai knows Ninjutsu!"

Mirai Uzumaki stepped onto the field. In just two days, he had already gained plenty of little fangirls.

Izumi Uchiha slowly walked forward from the other side. Her long, straight black hair swayed gently in the wind, and her expressionless face revealed no emotion.

But her clenched fists betrayed her.

During yesterday's throwing class, this red-haired boy had scored the same full marks as her. On top of that, he had thrown all three kunai at once, arranging them in a precise vertical line.

To be honest, she was a little unconvinced.

How could a genius of the Uchiha Clan be outdone by someone else?

"Begin!"

The moment Toriyama Kazunari finished speaking, Izumi Uchiha moved.

Her Taijutsu was highly polished, her movements clean and sharp without a trace of waste. Her footwork was nimble, and her transitions between offense and defense were nearly seamless.

It was obvious that she had undergone strict training at home.

Mirai Uzumaki shifted aside to evade a punch, ducked beneath a sweeping kick, and retreated several steps in a row.

"Whoa! Mirai's backing up!" someone below the field cried out.

"Izumi Uchiha is so strong!"

But Mirai Uzumaki was not panicking. At this stage, Izumi Uchiha had not awakened her Sharingan yet.

Though her Taijutsu was solid, she lacked any true finishing move. Most of her attacks followed practiced patterns.

Sure enough, after several exchanges of Taijutsu, Izumi Uchiha saw that she could not break through and leaped backward to widen the distance. Her hands rapidly formed seals.

"Katon: Great Fireball Technique!"

She drew in a deep breath and forcefully exhaled!

A massive fireball nearly two meters in diameter shot from her mouth, carrying a scorching wave of heat as it blasted toward Mirai Uzumaki!

The entire field erupted!

"That's... the Great Fireball Technique?! How old is she?"

"The Uchiha Clan is way too ridiculous!"

"I didn't expect Izumi to know Ninjutsu too! Is Mirai going to lose?"

The little brats did not understand which Ninjutsu were strong and which were weak.

The Great Fireball Technique looked no less imposing than Mirai Uzumaki's Adamantine Sealing Chains!

The fireball howled toward him, and the heat curled the hair of the students in the front row.

Mirai Uzumaki's eyes narrowed slightly.

A C-rank Ninjutsu was indeed impressive for a seven-year-old, but to him—

He shifted to the side and lightly pushed off the ground, slipping past the edge of the fireball in one smooth motion. He even had enough room to pat nonexistent dust off his shoulder.

"Not bad. You can already use the Great Fireball Technique at this age."

He praised her sincerely.

Izumi Uchiha's expression only turned colder. She felt that he was being perfunctory.

"You used Ninjutsu first!"

The corners of Mirai Uzumaki's lips rose. His sleeve twitched slightly, and a Golden Chain silently shot out.

"Adamantine Sealing Chains!"

The chain was incredibly fast, taking a tricky angle as it curled around Izumi Uchiha's ankle from the side.

By the time Izumi realized something was wrong, it was too late. The chain wrapped around her ankle, throwing off her balance and sending her tumbling forward—

At the same time, a second chain shot out from Mirai's other sleeve, precisely winding around her waist, arms, shoulders...

By the time Izumi Uchiha reacted, she had already been suspended in midair by the chains in a rather awkward position—

Her legs were spread apart, her arms bound behind her back, and her entire body hung half a meter above the ground in the shape of a "T."

The entire field went silent.

Izumi Uchiha's face flushed bright red.

The blush spread from her ears all the way down her neck, standing out especially clearly against her black hair.

She gritted her teeth and struggled desperately, but at its peak, even Tailed Beasts could not break free from the suppressive force of Adamantine Sealing Chains.

Mirai Uzumaki was far from that level, of course, but Izumi Uchiha was still only a seven-year-old girl.

"Let... let me go!" Her voice trembled with extreme humiliation and anger.

Mirai Uzumaki froze for a moment, only then realizing that the way he had tied her up seemed a little inappropriate.

"Uh—Teacher, I won! Announce the result already!"

Toriyama Kazunari finally snapped back to his senses and hurriedly blew his whistle. "The winner is Mirai Uzumaki. Mirai, hurry up and put her down!"

Mirai Uzumaki quickly withdrew his Adamantine Sealing Chains. Izumi Uchiha dropped from midair, staggered a step, and steadied herself. She lowered her head, her black hair hiding her expression.

She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails nearly dug into her palms.

"Izumi..." Mirai Uzumaki walked up to her, wanting to say something.

Izumi suddenly raised her head. Her eyes were slightly red, but there were no tears in them—only a blazing fire.

"I'll defeat you," she said, enunciating each word. "I definitely will."

With that, she turned and walked back to the end of the line. No one dared to speak to her along the way.

Mirai Uzumaki watched her stubborn back and scratched his head.

"...Looks like I made an enemy."

Kushina leaned over and stared at him suspiciously. "Those chains just now... why did you tie her up like that?"

"That... that was an accident! My control isn't precise enough yet!"

"Really?"

"Really! Truer than pearls!"

Kushina huffed, but there was a hint of a smile hidden at the corner of her lips—

Mirai was still the same Mirai who went to and from school with her and brought her candy. That had not changed.

At the edge of the crowd, Minato Namikaze silently watched everything unfold. Along with his envy, there was now another trace of contemplation in his eyes.

To become Hokage, being popular was not enough.

You also had to be strong—strong enough to earn everyone's recognition.

He watched Mirai Uzumaki's back and quietly clenched his fist.

"I need to work hard too."