A lesson

Anyone who often slept in class knew that time flew when you slept through lessons.

Soon, as the teacher announced the end of class, Qianye Lan and Kushina woke up in unison.

Qianye Lan glanced around. The students who had insulted him were still there.

He stood straight up, walked over to them, and said calmly, "Come outside."

Their necks visibly shrank back. They sat motionless in their chairs, not daring to move, pretending to be quails.

Seeing them like this, Qianye Lan sneered. "If you can't back it up, watch what you say from now on."

With that, he reached out and patted their faces under their humiliated gazes, then returned to his seat.

When he got back to his seat, Kushina said to him, "Thanks for earlier."

Qianye Lan looked at her in utter confusion and couldn't help asking, "What are you thanking me for?"

Kushina said earnestly, "For helping me out of that situation earlier."

Qianye Lan shook his head. "They were just too noisy. They were disturbing my sleep."

Determination showed on Kushina's little face. "Whatever the case, I still want to thank you."

Qianye Lan shook his head. "Thank me if you want. I'm going to eat."

With that, he took out the lunch he had prepared and began eating.

Kushina looked at the lunch box in his hands in confusion and asked, "We have to bring our own food?"

Hearing her confusion, Qianye Lan patiently explained, "Of course. The school doesn't provide meals."

Kushina's little face immediately fell. As a princess of the Uzumaki Clan, she might not have lived in pampered luxury, but at the very least, someone had always taken care of her basic needs.

Now, Kushina sighed softly and thought, I'm probably going to go hungry today.

Meanwhile, Mito Uzumaki, who was at Kushina's home, also discovered the lunch box left there.

She smacked her forehead. "I'm getting old. I can't even remember things like this anymore. It looks like little Kushina will have to go hungry today..."

At the Ninja Academy, Kushina watched Qianye Lan eating with relish and couldn't help swallowing.

Then she looked at Qianye Lan pitifully.

When Qianye Lan finished eating, he noticed that quite a bit was left, and his brow furrowed.

It looked like he had made too much today, but throwing it away would be wasteful.

He didn't want to eat leftovers for dinner, either.

Just then, he sensed someone watching him.

He turned his head and found Kushina looking at him longingly.

Then Qianye Lan came up with an idea.

He asked tentatively, "Didn't you bring lunch?"

Hearing that, Kushina immediately nodded her little head, looking at him eagerly.

Qianye Lan tentatively held out the lunch box. "I have some left. How about..."

Kushina's eyes instantly lit up, and she was just about to reach for the lunch box.

Qianye Lan drew his hand back again and held up one finger. "But I have one condition."

Kushina hurriedly asked, "What condition?"

Qianye Lan said tentatively, "Wash this lunch box for me."

Kushina bobbed her little head like a chick pecking at grain. "No problem."

With that, she reached straight out and took the lunch box from Qianye Lan's hands.

Watching this from a distance, the Third Hokage sighed with feeling. "What a good child. He helped a new classmate fit in quickly, and when he saw that she hadn't eaten, he even gave her his own food."

After seeing this, the Third Hokage turned away, thinking firmly, A good child like this absolutely must not be handed over to Danzo.

But the Third Hokage was troubled over who should guide him. Jiraiya? No. Tsunade? No.

After thinking it over, the Third Hokage felt that Hatake Sakumo and Orochimaru were the only somewhat reliable options.

"Forget it. I'll think about it later."

By now, Kushina had finished eating and asked Qianye Lan where she could wash the lunch box.

Qianye Lan pointed her in the right direction and told her she could put it straight inside his desk once she had washed it.

Following the direction he pointed, Kushina spotted the sink.

She walked over alone and began washing the dishes.

Meanwhile, Qianye Lan found a quiet spot and continued refining chakra.

Any excess chakra would be stored in the system space anyway. Rather than sit around doing nothing, he might as well train.

Meanwhile, the students who had been jeering earlier exchanged glances and surrounded Kushina, who had just finished washing the dishes.

Their leader looked at Kushina and sneered. "Tomato, let's see who can help you this time."

The others also looked at her with hostile expressions.

Bullying the weak and fearing the strong was normal for them. Even after Qianye Lan had taught them a lesson in public, they hadn't dared to fight back.

Yet they lashed out fiercely at the person they had victimized.

Unfortunately, they had picked the wrong person this time. She was a princess of the Uzumaki Clan.

Kushina's bloodline was naturally of the purest kind, and she was more than capable of teaching these civilian ninja, who didn't even know the Three Basic Techniques, a lesson.

Before they could make a move, Kushina, who had long wanted to teach them a lesson, struck first and beat them until their noses were bruised and their faces swollen.

Kushina merely flexed her wrists casually and said with a stern face, "If you ever dare to bother me again, I'll..."

With that, Kushina shook her fist at them.

Seeing this, they hurriedly scrambled to their feet, wailing for their parents, and ran out of sight in a flash.

This would probably leave them with quite a lasting fear of Kushina.

Watching their retreating figures, Kushina shook her head in boredom and returned to the classroom with the clean lunch box.

After putting the lunch box in the designated spot as Qianye Lan had requested, she realized he wasn't there.

Kushina could only sit in her own seat, looking bored.

Meanwhile, the troublemaking children she had just taught a lesson went straight to their homeroom teacher to complain.

After hearing them out, their homeroom teacher sneered. "What, you're saying a girl who just transferred here beat you up?"

The troublemakers hurriedly nodded.

The homeroom teacher pointed at his own head. "Do you take me for an idiot? Four boys got beaten up by one girl?"

Seeing that they still wanted to argue, the homeroom teacher simply waved them away, signaling for them to leave at once.

The homeroom teacher utterly detested these troublemakers, too.

Their grades were at the bottom of their year, and they caused trouble every day. Contacting their parents only ever got him one response: "They're only children."

Even if they really had been beaten up this time, that newly transferred girl had done a good deed.

By now, Qianye Lan had finished refining chakra and returned to the classroom to take a drink of water.

Seeing Kushina still sitting in her chair, he kindly reminded her, "We have a practical lesson this afternoon. It's outside."

Only then did the dazed Kushina come to her senses. She thanked him, then stood up and followed him to the training ground.

Once they arrived at the training ground, Qianye Lan found a quiet spot to wait for class.

Kushina came over as well and said, "Thank you for the lunch."

Qianye Lan waved a hand, indicating that it was nothing.

Kushina also asked the question that had been puzzling her for half the day. "Um, what do you think of my hair?"

Because of the mockery that morning, Kushina was now feeling a little unsure of herself.

Qianye Lan glanced at her, then said, "I think it looks pretty."

He really wasn't lying about that. He genuinely thought it looked pretty.

Kushina also sensed Qianye Lan's goodwill and sincerity.

Although she didn't have the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, she could still sense a person's goodwill toward her.

Her little face instantly flushed red, and she gave a mosquito-quiet "Mm."

Then Kushina asked, "Um, what's your name?"

"Qianye Lan. And yours?"

"Kushina."