Chapter 8

"Your Ice Release did surprise me, but it freezes things a little too slowly!"

Then his expression hardened. "It's over!"

With that, he charged straight at Liuyun.

"Yes! It's all over!" A strange smile curled across Liuyun's lips.

That smile gave Minato Namikaze a sense of foreboding.

Before he could think any further, the scenery before him changed, and a figure appeared in front of him.

Minato Namikaze's expression changed. "Oh no! Genjutsu!"

In reality, Liuyun slowly walked up to Minato Namikaze and pressed a kunai against his neck.

He turned toward Wang Tenggangyi nearby and smiled faintly.

"Teacher! Can we call it now?"

Seeing Minato Namikaze's expression, Wang Tenggangyi immediately understood.

This kid really was full of surprises.

As that thought crossed his mind, Wang Tenggangyi appeared between Liuyun and Minato.

Chakra surged through him as he reached out to clap Minato Namikaze.

At the same time, he shouted, "Minato! Wake up!"

Minato Namikaze gradually emerged from his daze. Feeling the cold metal against his neck, he gave a bitter smile.

"I lost this round! Can you tell me when you cast your genjutsu?"

Liuyun put away his kunai, turned, and slowly walked toward Mikoto and Kushina, leaving his casual reply ringing in Minato's ears.

"When I kicked you!"

"When you kicked me? During our first exchange?"

Minato Namikaze froze, his bitter smile deepening.

Liuyun really did think of everything!

"Minato! Don't be discouraged! You did very well! Just work toward beating him next time!"

Wang Tenggangyi patted Minato's shoulder reassuringly.

He had high hopes for Minato Namikaze's talent and certainly didn't want him to get trapped in a spiral over today's fight.

"Don't worry, Teacher Wang Teng. I'm not that fragile! I'll definitely beat Liuyun next time!"

"Good!" Wang Tenggangyi nodded.

Turning around, he shouted, "I'm sure you all know how this fight turned out!"

"All right! I declare Uchiha Liuyun the winner of this sparring match! Class dismissed!"

With that, Wang Tenggangyi vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.

He needed to report this to the Third Hokage. A prodigy had emerged in his class, and he couldn't afford to overlook it.

Meanwhile, the system's cold voice rang out in Liuyun's mind again.

"Congratulations, host, on completing Option 1. Reward: mental energy doubled."

Liuyun's mind felt astonishingly clear, and his eyes shone brighter. He could even vaguely sense the mental energy within his mind.

Just then, Uchiha Mikoto and Kushina ran straight up to him.

Both girls' faces were flushed with excitement.

Mikoto managed to remain somewhat reserved, but Kushina, their little ringleader, had no such restraint.

She hooked an arm around Liuyun's neck and shouted happily.

"Liuyun! I had no idea you were this strong! You actually beat that girly boy Minato Namikaze!"

Her voice made Minato Namikaze stumble as he walked nearby.

A crack formed in his heart. So that was how Kushina saw him.

A girly boy! Minato Namikaze gave a miserable smile.

He had lost to Uchiha Liuyun in combat, and now even the girl he secretly liked thought that of him.

At that moment, Minato Namikaze looked utterly forlorn. Ignoring everyone else, he vanished in a flash.

He needed to find somewhere deserted and lick his wounds like a lone wolf.

Meanwhile, Kushina's words left Liuyun speechless. She really was unbelievably oblivious.

If I hadn't shown up, you'd have ended up marrying that girly boy you're talking about.

Of course, everything had changed now.

He shook his head with a smile and said suggestively, "I'm good at plenty of things. You'll find out someday!"

"Really? Then I'll make sure to discover them!"

Kushina tilted her head, looking completely serious.

"Congratulations, Liuyun! You're number one in the class!" Shikaku and his two companions approached.

"Minato just didn't know my moves. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been such an easy fight!"

Liuyun shook his head, his tone modest.

"Either way, you won this time!" Shikaku paused, then answered earnestly.

"As for next time, who can say?"

"That's right! At least I won this time!"

After Shikaku and his companions left, classmates from the prominent clans, including Hiashi and his brother and Hana Inuzuka, followed in their wake.

The night wasn't as scorching as the day, but it wasn't much cooler, either.

At the recently opened Ichiraku Ramen, Liuyun, Kushina, and Mikoto sat on brand-new seats.

They waited for the young owner to work his magic.

Kushina chattered like a little bird, animatedly recounting Liuyun's performance that day.

Amazement might as well have been written across her face.

Liuyun and Mikoto listened with smiles, the atmosphere wonderfully warm.

"Why aren't either of you saying anything?" After finishing, Kushina looked at their expressions and puffed out her cheeks in displeasure.

"Well, you're doing the talking! All we have to do is listen!"

Uchiha Mikoto smiled with her lips pressed together.

"True! With me here, you two only need to listen!"

Kushina patted her flat chest and nodded solemnly.

Her obliviousness could rival Naruto's, making Liuyun chuckle.

She's so adorable when she gets all muddleheaded!

I really want to wait until you grow up and have a proper turn at being Cao Cao!

(After feedback from the experts in the comments, this humble author has removed the Ice-Ice Fruit's side effects!

When using the Ice-Ice Fruit, aside from converting stamina into chakra, all its other abilities are available, including Elementalization! Please stop roasting me, everyone! Boo-hoo!

My Kushina Is the Smartest! (Third update!)

Of course, Liuyun was only entertaining the thought. If he really wanted to win both girls over, he would at least have to...

He rubbed his chin, thinking carefully. It seemed that in the Naruto World, sixteen was already...

Hinata seemed to be exactly sixteen in Shippuden...

Kushina and Mikoto are both nine now. They'll be ten next year.

The Second Shinobi World War runs from year thirty-two to thirty-seven. That means right when it ends, I can...

Hehehe! At that thought, a smile that any man would understand spread across Liuyun's face.

"Ugh! Liuyun must be thinking about something naughty again. Look at that smile. It's disgusting!"

Kushina knitted her brows, her little face full of disdain.

"It really is a little disgusting. He's probably thinking about something dirty again!"

"I've seen him like this several times over the past few months!"

Uchiha Mikoto nodded in firm agreement, then reached out with her fair little hand and gave Liuyun's waist a vicious twist.

The ultimate technique women mastered without a teacher!

The pain at his waist instantly snapped Liuyun out of his reverie.

"Ow! Ow! Mikoto, quick! Let go! Let go!"

Clutching his waist, Liuyun hastily made a show of sucking in several sharp breaths to convey just how much it hurt.

In reality, it didn't hurt him at all. Mikoto hadn't used any strength.

How can a man get anywhere without playing for sympathy? Sometimes you've just got to act pitiful.

Don't be one of those clueless guys who never understands what women are thinking.

Otherwise, you're doomed to stay single forever.

In his previous world, men outnumbered women by thirty million, and some men still hadn't found wives by middle age.

Why could some men change women as easily as changing clothes?

And why could they manage it without even being rich kids?

Because they understood women and knew what to say. Sometimes, talking was an art in itself.

Liuyun's cries produced immediate results.

Uchiha Mikoto's face filled with worry, and she began blowing on and rubbing the spot with her fair little hand.

"Liuyun! Are you okay? I... I didn't use any strength!"

As she rubbed his waist, Uchiha Mikoto hurried to explain. Her anxious expression made his heart ache.

"Mikoto! You care about him so much that you've lost your head. I can tell at a glance that he's faking!"

Kushina leaned over, thrusting out her flat chest with complete confidence.

She extended a fair finger and exposed him without mercy.

"Look, there's no pain on his face at all. He's just shouting that it hurts. He's obviously pretending to get your sympathy!"

Uchiha Mikoto followed Kushina's finger with her gaze, only to find Liuyun smiling sheepishly.

She rolled her eyes at him in exasperation and withdrew her hand.

"You little jerk! How could you joke about something like that?"

"I was just trying to lighten the mood!" Liuyun scratched the back of his head and grinned shamelessly.

Then he glared fiercely at Kushina beside him, tilted his head, and asked in puzzlement.

"Since when did you get so smart?"

"Are you saying I'm stupid?"

Kushina's expression changed, and she put on an adorably fierce look.

The sight made Liuyun wish he could hop into a time machine and travel to Konoha ten years in the future, then...

"No! No! My Kushina has always been the smartest!" Liuyun hurriedly waved his hands.

"Pah! Shameless! Since when was I yours?"