While Minato Namikaze hesitated, he had already missed his chance to help Kushina Uzumaki. He looked down, observing Uchiha Lei, who usually kept a low profile.
Uchiha Lei looked up at Minato Namikaze. Their eyes met, and they nodded to each other.
The next moment~
Kushina Uzumaki threw her arms tightly around Uchiha Lei and burst into tears:
"Lei, you scared me to death! I was so afraid something had happened to you. Sob..."
Uchiha Lei lowered his head, raised a hand to stroke Kushina's head, and comforted her gently:
"Kushina, I'm strong. You don't need to worry. You're the one who's been suffering."
Still sobbing, Kushina Uzumaki raised her head and choked out a reply:
"Sob... I'm fine, Lei! Thank you for caring."
Tap, tap, tap.
Approaching footsteps sounded beside them.
They looked toward the sound and saw Uchiha Mikoto walk up to them.
Mikoto's eyes were a little red and swollen, but she had wiped away her tears. Seeing Kushina Uzumaki hugging Uchiha Lei, she frowned slightly, pursed her rosy lips, and glared at Lei.
Uchiha Lei smiled with narrowed eyes, clasped his hands in an apologetic gesture toward Mikoto, and mouthed, Mikoto, Kushina hasn't had it easy either. Please be understanding.
Uchiha Mikoto gave a soft huff and turned away, her cheeks puffed up in anger.
Hearing someone approach from behind, Kushina Uzumaki released Uchiha Lei, took a step back, and turned around with reddened eyes. When she saw that it was Uchiha Mikoto,
Kushina Uzumaki knew she had caused a misunderstanding with Mikoto, Lei's childhood friend, so she bowed slightly and apologized loudly:
"I'm sorry! I know you're Lei's girlfriend! I shouldn't have hugged him just now. Please don't give him a hard time."
Hearing Kushina Uzumaki's apology and how tactfully she spoke, half of Uchiha Mikoto's anger faded. She turned around, reached out with both hands to help Kushina straighten up, and replied gently:
"It's all right. This isn't your fault!
I'm Uchiha Mikoto. You can call me Mikoto."
Kushina Uzumaki stared blankly for a moment at Mikoto, who was so close to her, then replied softly:
"Hello, Mikoto! I'm Kushina Uzumaki. You can call me Kushina."
Afraid Uchiha Mikoto would misunderstand, Uchiha Lei hurried to explain:
"Mikoto, Kushina is a transfer student in our class!
She's been bullied because of her hair color. I might be her only friend."
At the words "only friend," Kushina Uzumaki turned to give Uchiha Lei a grateful look, then turned back and nodded to Uchiha Mikoto, sounding somewhat forlorn:
"Mikoto, Lei is right. I'm from the Uzumaki Clan!
I've only just arrived in the village. Lei is my only friend."
All of Uchiha Mikoto's anger faded. She held Kushina Uzumaki's hands, looked at her sincerely, and spoke slowly:
"Kushina, I can be your second friend!
From now on, we're sisters."
"Really, Mikoto? You're so pretty, and my hair color is so strange..."
Uchiha Lei reached out and took hold of the red hair behind Kushina Uzumaki, then said with a slight smile:
"Kushina, your hair color is beautiful! And you're cute, too. You'll definitely be a real beauty when you grow up."
At Uchiha Lei's praise, Kushina Uzumaki blushed bright red and shyly lowered her head, stealing glances at Lei now and then.
Seeing her newly acknowledged sister Kushina Uzumaki looking like a girl falling in love, Uchiha Mikoto glared angrily at Uchiha Lei and scolded him softly:
"Lei, let go of Kushina's hair! Don't go touching girls so casually. It's very rude."
"All right, I'll let go."
Forced to let go of Kushina Uzumaki's hair, Uchiha Lei turned to look at the trio of troublemakers, who had gotten to their feet.
The three glanced at Uchiha Lei and found him glaring at them.
"That sickly kid is terrifying! Run!"
With their arms around each other's shoulders, the three ran off into the distance.
Seeing the trio flee in panic, Uchiha Lei, Uchiha Mikoto, and Kushina Uzumaki all burst out laughing.
Minato Namikaze, up in the cherry tree, also laughed aloud, drawing Uchiha Mikoto's and Kushina Uzumaki's attention.
Minato Namikaze rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, walked down the tree trunk, and greeted them softly:
"Hello, I'm Minato Namikaze!
I'm in the same class as Uchiha Lei and Kushina Uzumaki."
Smiling, Uchiha Mikoto introduced herself in reply:
"Hello, I'm Uchiha Mikoto!
I'm in the third-year elite class."
"Hello, Mikoto. It's a pleasure to meet an upperclassman like you."
Seeing Minato Namikaze's signature sunny smile, Uchiha Lei's heart tightened. He walked to Uchiha Mikoto's side and introduced himself as though staking his claim:
"Hello, Minato Namikaze. I'm Uchiha Lei."
Minato Namikaze nodded to Uchiha Lei and replied:
"Hello, Uchiha Lei. I'm Minato Namikaze."
Seeing how protective Uchiha Lei was of Uchiha Mikoto, Kushina Uzumaki felt a pang in her heart. She looked at Mikoto enviously and said quietly:
"Mikoto, you're not just pretty! I heard you're the school beauty, too. I'm so envious that you have Lei by your side."
"Kushina, you're pretty, too! I'm a year older than you. You'll be even prettier later, and you'll have someone by your side, too."
At Uchiha Mikoto's praise, Kushina Uzumaki nodded to her. As she imagined having someone by her side in the future, Uchiha Lei's handsome face immediately came to mind, and she turned to look at him again.
Uchiha Mikoto noticed that her newly acknowledged close sister, Kushina Uzumaki, kept staring at her childhood friend, Uchiha Lei.
How could Uchiha Mikoto not understand how much being rescued by a hero had affected Kushina Uzumaki? She glanced at Lei and found that he really was handsome now that his health had recovered, then reached out and pinched his right arm.
"Hiss~"
Uchiha Lei sucked in a breath of cold air from the pain, raised a hand to rub his right arm, and asked helplessly:
"Mikoto, what did I do wrong?"
Uchiha Mikoto planted both hands on her hips, turned to stare at Uchiha Lei, and scolded him:
"Being handsome is wrong! Not keeping your hands to yourself is wrong, too! What? Am I not allowed to teach you a lesson now?"
Noticing the ninja watching from hiding nearby, Uchiha Lei frowned slightly, turned to the others, and said:
"It's getting late. Whatever else there is, we can talk tomorrow.
Kushina, Minato, see you tomorrow. Mikoto, let's go home."
Uchiha Lei waved goodbye to Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze, took Uchiha Mikoto's hand, and walked toward the Uchiha Clan Compound.
"Kushina Uzumaki, I'm Minato Namikaze. You can call me Minato!"
Minato Namikaze introduced himself to Kushina Uzumaki with a brilliant smile!
Kushina nodded and replied, "Hello, Minato. I'm Kushina Uzumaki!"
Then Kushina turned and continued looking in Uchiha Lei's direction until he was completely out of sight.
Seeing how casually Kushina replied, Minato Namikaze felt a little disappointed and said goodbye:
"Kushina, I'll be going now. See you tomorrow!"
"See you tomorrow, Minato!"
After saying goodbye to Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki turned and skipped cheerfully toward the Senju Mansion.
The Uchiha Clan Compound~
Holding Uchiha Lei's hand, Uchiha Mikoto returned to her little courtyard!
A large tree stood on the right side of the courtyard, with a clothesline running between its trunk and the wall, hung with all sorts of clothes!
A red throwing-weapon target sheet hung half-detached from the side of the trunk. Long unused, it had dried and cracked, looking ready to fall off at any moment!
Beside the large tree were a stone table and four stone stools!
On the left was a small vegetable garden filled with various vegetables, melons, and fruits. The soil was moist, making it clear that someone tended it!
Cooking smoke was already rising from the roof of the wooden house, and the aroma of food drifted out!
The wooden doors of the four-room house-the main door into the living room and the door to the kitchen beside it-stood open!
Holding Uchiha Lei's hand, Uchiha Mikoto happily walked into the living room of the main house!
Before you continue