Seeing Kushina again

The first day of school arrived right on schedule.

Lately, Amamiya Maki had been feeling rather unsettled.

With Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, taking an interest in him, no one could have carried on as though nothing had happened.

But once he calmed down and thought it over, he felt there was little danger.

Orochimaru had appeared this time because Nawaki had specifically asked him to.

Across all of Konoha, Nawaki's connections were about as impressive as they came.

The First and Second Hokage were his grandfathers, Tsunade was his sister, and Orochimaru was his teacher.

His pedigree could not have been purer. He was Konoha's own, through and through.

Like it or not, that was how it was.

Konoha's privileged young masters were privileged young masters. Why keep cooking up conspiracy theories all day?

Who was all that effort even for?

Once he figured that out, Amamiya Maki actually felt a little regret.

Had he known there was no real risk, he should have simply become Orochimaru's student.

The scientific knowledge accumulated in Orochimaru's head was undoubtedly the most valuable treasure in the entire shinobi world.

He was a top-tier scientific talent, on a completely different level from those muscle-headed ninja who only knew how to fling jutsu around and fight with brute force.

After spending so long in the shinobi world, Amamiya Maki had long since figured out its rules.

Without an elite bloodline, getting anywhere was next to impossible.

Ten thousand ordinary ninja could not compare to a single Uchiha with a powerful heritage.

Especially the kind who opened his mouth and went, "Aaaaaaaah!!! Even Kamui can't hide these tears!!!"

His strength and vision would instantly surpass those of ninety-nine percent of the shinobi world.

For ordinary people without a bloodline to bolster them, technology was the only way to turn things around.

The old saying had it right: the poor relied on mutations, while the rich relied on technology.

The only catch was that Orochimaru's technology was far too dangerous.

Still, the current Orochimaru would not experiment on people from his own village yet.

At worst, some lousy outsiders would have to suffer, and the blame would have nothing to do with him.

Amamiya Maki sat in the classroom, these thoughts tumbling chaotically through his head.

Second-year classes had officially begun, but the lessons remained much the same.

They had merely added subjects such as trap construction, threat-level assessment, and basic ninja principles.

The largest portion of their daily lessons still consisted of Clone Technique training and repeatedly studying the contents of Hiruzen Sarutobi's speeches at meetings.

At the front of the classroom, Junji Ito droned from the textbook.

The students below fell into two distinct camps: half were dozing over their desks, while the other half secretly practiced hand seals with their heads lowered.

Jiro Matsumoto was flat on his desk catching up on sleep, his drool soaking nearly half a page of his textbook.

Ever since Amamiya Maki had punched him to his knees at the Training Ground, he had toned things down considerably. At least he no longer dared to start trouble in the classroom.

Still, Amamiya Maki occasionally saw him secretly practicing taijutsu during breaks, his movements noticeably more disciplined and solid than before.

Clearly, that beating had knocked some sense into him.

He finally understood that wasting time inventing rumors to smear others...

Was not as worthwhile as steadily honing his own strength.

But that was precisely the second stage of a Konoha troublemaker's development.

Once he discovered that no amount of effort could let him catch up to someone else's birthright, he would fly straight into a rage.

Then he would immediately enter the third stage.

A Konoha troublemaker at that stage could be summed up in one sentence.

"Why improve yourself when you can attack someone else?"

One thing Amamiya Maki found reassuring was that Hiruzen Sarutobi was still in his prime, busy with administrative duties.

He had not yet reached that restless old age when he would visit the Ninja Academy every day with nothing better to do, holding meetings to remind everyone he existed.

He only appeared in public when he needed to raise the villagers' spirits and reassure them.

For instance, endorsing the opening of the Barbecue Restaurant or giving public speeches on major holidays.

By now, Yakushi Nonō had withdrawn from their school's F3 trio.

She was currently following Tsunade around and had no time whatsoever to study the Ninja Academy's rudimentary lessons.

Tsunade would not have let her study them anyway.

As Tsunade's apprentice, all she needed to do now was stay by her side, just as Shizune would in the future.

She was essentially following Shizune's path, accompanying Tsunade year-round to train and gain experience.

Amamiya Maki had not seen her in some time.

But whenever Nonō learned something new or encountered something interesting, she would rush over to share it with him.

The Yin Seal, for example.

It was an elite secret technique Mito had passed on to Tsunade, and now Tsunade had taught all of it to Nonō.

In addition, Tsunade had also given her the two secret techniques she was currently developing and refining-the Strength of a Hundred Technique and Creation Rebirth.

But Tsunade had repeatedly warned her never to use them lightly unless she had absolutely no other choice.

That was because Tsunade had yet to perfect either technique.

Neither technique could resolve Granny Mito's current predicament. They would only worsen her condition.

Thus, Tsunade was in no hurry to perfect them, but she believed Nonō had talent and might find a different path.

And so she had taught her both techniques.

Whenever Amamiya Maki listened to Nonō sharing what she had learned, he merely nodded quietly.

He knew better than anyone how terrifying the price behind those two techniques was.

The Strength of a Hundred Technique required cursed seal markings to cover the entire body, overtaxing its potential.

Creation Rebirth achieved self-healing through rapid cell division, essentially burning through one's lifespan.

Both paths were dangerous roads that shortened one's life.

But he did not tell Nonō about those hidden dangers.

If Tsunade dared to teach them, she naturally had ways to manage the risks.

Besides, Nonō was extremely cautious and dependable.

With her temperament, she would only consider using them on herself after confirming they were safe.

In that respect, Nonō was better suited to being a medical ninja than the genius Tsunade.

Tsunade was a born prodigy, long accustomed to succeeding at everything, and sometimes overlooked the fact that ordinary people could not bear the cost of her trial and error.

But Konoha's culture did an excellent job of making up for that.

Ordinary people would attack geniuses: "What the hell are you teaching? You think you're teaching your own cabinet?"

Geniuses would attack ordinary people too: "Look at your own shortcomings. If you suck, practice more!"

Nonō was cautious at every turn, only moving steadily forward after making absolutely certain each step was safe.

Just as Amamiya Maki's thoughts wandered, a sudden burst of clapping pulled his attention back to the classroom.

At the front, Junji Ito kept clapping his hands, signaling for the entire class to quiet down and pay attention.

Beside him stood a petite girl with a head of red hair.

Amamiya Maki recognized her at once.

Kushina Uzumaki.

Kushina stood with her hands clasped in front of her, her fingers unconsciously twisting together so tightly that her nails pressed her knuckles white.

Her gaze swept anxiously across the class, unable to find anywhere to settle, until it finally dropped forlornly to the tips of her shoes.

Amamiya Maki followed her gaze.

She wore a brand-new pair of shoes, their uppers spotless and uncreased, clearly prepared especially for her first day of school.

Kushina took a deep breath, silently rallied herself, then abruptly raised her head.

"My name is Kushina Uzumaki... ya know!"

Her voice was loud, but even Amamiya Maki, sitting in the back row, could clearly hear the faint tremor hidden at its end.

Her signature "ya know" came out fast and rushed, as if a second's hesitation would let her nerves swallow it back down.

"My dream is to become Konoha's first female Hokage!"

The classroom fell silent for half a second.

Then, like cold water splashing into boiling oil, uproarious laughter exploded throughout the room.

"An outsider with hair like a tomato thinks she deserves to be Hokage?"

"Your hair's freakishly red. Are you some kind of monster?"

"What backwater did you crawl out of? You reek of tomatoes!"

"Obviously an outsider. Did you come to Konoha to beg?"

"I hate tomatoes more than anything. Just looking at her makes me sick!"

Mockery poured in from every direction, each remark striking precisely where Kushina was most sensitive.

Amamiya Maki noticed that it was not just the boys jeering. Several girls in a corner were whispering too.

Their voices were indistinct amid the noise, but the contemptuous looks they exchanged made it clear their comments were just as nasty.

Bullying at Konoha's school had never distinguished between boys and girls.

Red hair earned ridicule, the Byakugan earned mockery, wearing a bodysuit invited jokes, and even wearing a mask got you branded a Jiahao outright.

As long as you were different, you became a target.

At the front of the classroom, Kushina pressed her lips tightly into a stiff, straight line.

In truth, she had already prepared herself mentally.

Before she came, Nawaki had told her that the children at the Ninja Academy said nasty things, but most were simply immature and meant no harm.

He had looked deeply guilty as he said it, as though all that malice, which had yet to happen, were his fault.

At the time, Kushina had thought he was exaggerating.

Compared with the adults' cold, cutting remarks in Uzushio Village, what did a few children's jokes matter?

Only when she actually experienced it herself did she realize that Nawaki's description had been restrained enough.

Her fingers clenched the hem of her clothes, her knuckles turning white with the force, her entire body stiff with tension.

Junji Ito frowned and tapped the blackboard, trying to maintain order, but it accomplished nothing.

Once these Konoha students started running their mouths, they were far beyond what a single Chunin teacher could suppress.

He knew that perfectly well too. After a token attempt to stop them, he signaled with his eyes for Kushina to leave the front and take a seat.

Amamiya Maki leaned back in his chair and watched the scene calmly.

Tomato Monster. These people of Konoha had already slapped a new nickname on Kushina at lightning speed.

He had to admit that the girl's mental resilience already far exceeded that of her peers.

Any other girl, publicly mocked by the whole class as a monster and a freak, would have broken down crying long ago.

She merely gripped her clothes in silence, lowered her head, and quickly left the front of the classroom.

Wilting like a frostbitten eggplant, Kushina picked an empty seat by the wall and sat down.

She neatly put away her schoolbag and obediently folded her hands on her desk, but her gaze quietly slipped past the edge of her textbook toward the back row.

Several people sat there, but her gaze cut precisely through them and briefly lingered on one face.

It was neither a plea for help nor curiosity, merely confirmation.

Confirmation that the person who had once praised her hair as sunshine was still in his old seat.

The next instant, she quickly withdrew her gaze and pretended to sit attentively.

Amamiya Maki caught that moment.

Those vivid red eyes flashed in the sunlight, like two cherries sunk beneath the water yet stubbornly trying to float back up.

He made no move, merely turning to look out the window.

Outside, the sunlight was warm and bright, just like the weather that day in Granny Mito's courtyard when he had told Kushina her hair resembled the sun.

At the front, Junji Ito continued his lesson, writing the hand seal sequence for the Clone Technique on the blackboard.

The whispering in the classroom never ceased, and now and then he could still hear a hushed "red-haired monster."

Kushina's back was rigidly straight as she faced the blackboard, looking as though she were listening intently.

But the pencil in her hand had yet to move even a fraction.

She was not listening. She was barely holding on, enduring it.

With every ounce of willpower she had, she forced herself not to turn around and confront those jeering at her.

She knew perfectly well that turning around to argue would mean declaring outright war.

And right now, she did not have a single ally in this classroom.

The bell rang for the end of class right on time.

Amamiya Maki got up to head to the Training Ground when a red figure suddenly blocked his desk.

The red-haired girl tilted her small face up, staring straight at him with stubborn, earnest eyes.

She only reached Amamiya Maki's shoulder, and the way she raised her head carried a tenacity that refused to yield.

He was the only person she had found who had praised her red hair and never mocked her.

She desperately wanted to confirm whether that gentle compliment had been genuine.

"Do I have to be treated like this by everyone just because my hair is different?"

Amamiya Maki looked down at the indignant girl before him.

Her cheeks were puffed out, hurt hidden in her eyes alongside a stubborn refusal to give in, like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on but had not yet decided to fight back.

An inexplicable pang of emotion stirred within him.

In Konoha, you never needed to do anything wrong.

As long as you were different, as long as you were not "ordinary" enough, you would be ostracized and bullied.

Red hair was wrong, blond hair was wrong, the Byakugan was wrong, and having no parents was wrong too.

This was Konoha's unwritten rule.

As Amamiya Maki pondered this, a gentle voice suddenly chimed in.

"They don't mean any harm. Everyone in Konoha is like this. You'll get used to it."

Minato Namikaze walked over with his trademark gentle smile, his tone so sincere that it left no room for argument.

Amamiya Maki turned to look at him, his eyes filled with disbelief.

He could understand where Minato was coming from, though.

After all, Minato himself sported a conspicuous mop of spiky blond hair, and he was an orphan with no one to rely on.

He must have endured plenty of ridicule and exclusion from his peers growing up.

He had long since grown used to that kind of malice and could brush it all off with a smile.

But his ability to withstand pressure was S-rank, while Kushina was only just getting started.

Holding a newcomer to his own standards was no different from asking someone who had just learned to mold chakra to take on a jonin alone.

Amamiya Maki looked at Minato, inwardly ranting, Are you seriously normal?

People insult you for being an orphan, call you a freak, and you can still calmly say they don't mean any harm?

Completely oblivious to his exasperation, Minato kept smiling at Kushina and raised a hand to point at his blond hair.

"Look, blond hair like mine is rare too. Maki used to call me Hedgehog Head all the time."

"Everyone's just teasing. Once they get tired of saying it, they'll stop on their own. You just have to get used to it."

Kushina stared blankly at Minato's hair for a few seconds.

His blond hair shone brilliantly in the sunlight, just as conspicuous as her red hair, just as likely to make everyone turn and stare when he walked down the street.

Then she turned to look at Amamiya Maki.

"Why do you keep caring so much about how other people see you? It'll alienate you from yourself!"