Hearing Kushina Uzumaki introduce herself, Shin'un couldn't help glancing at Minato Namikaze a short distance away.
In truth, from a certain perspective, Kushina Uzumaki's words would carry more weight than the Hokage's in the future.
"Hahaha, she said she wants to become Hokage?"
"Hokage? Didn't she say she wants to become the Hokage's woman?"
"Idiot, she meant she wants to become Hokage."
"..."
Just as Shin'un expected, events unfolded as they had in the original story, and some people began mocking Kushina's dream.
Having only just arrived, Kushina didn't dare say anything. She simply lowered her head and stared at her toes.
"Enough. Having a dream is a good thing. Would any of you dare say your dream is to become Hokage?"
One remark from Mizukawa Masaru silenced everyone mocking Kushina.
They really wouldn't dare.
In terms of strength, they were at the bottom of the class.
In terms of academics, they were about on par with Tsume Inuzuka.
Now, it seemed even their courage fell short of the new girl's.
Knowing they had nothing to say, the children all shut their mouths.
After glaring at the students below, Mizukawa Masaru swept his gaze across the classroom and spotted the only empty seat.
"Kushina, your seat is over there."
Seeing where Mizukawa Masaru was pointing, Shin'un immediately realized something was wrong. He straightened up and looked left and right, only to discover that the only empty seat was beside him.
"Hello, may I sit here?"
Kushina's voice sounded beside him, and Shin'un looked up.
Kushina stood with her head lowered, her eyes rimmed red, showing faint signs that she was about to cry.
"Of course."
Shin'un quickly made room, moving to the innermost seat in the row.
"Thank you."
Seemingly realizing that her new deskmate didn't reject her, Kushina thanked him quietly.
Shin'un nodded in response without speaking.
Admittedly, it was rather cruel for an eight-year-old child to leave her homeland and family, come to an unfamiliar land, face a crowd of strangers, and have to meet her fate of becoming a jinchūriki.
No matter how one looked at it, she ought to deserve sympathy and pity, but Shin'un didn't think so.
Shin'un knew Kushina's personality well.
Competitive and lively described her best. Kushina Uzumaki had absolutely no need for anyone else's unnecessary help.
Besides.
Shin'un didn't dare recklessly change the original plot.
If Kushina Uzumaki didn't fall in love with Minato Namikaze, would Naruto Uzumaki have to follow the Great Sage's example and spring out of a rock?
Finally, Shin'un really liked Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki as a couple in the original story...
Time flew by, and two or three days passed.
The morning classes had ended, and Shin'un pulled his lunch box out of his shoulder bag.
Though the rice and dishes were cold, Shin'un was still growing and ate with relish.
Clang!
The noise at the back of the classroom startled Shin'un, and he turned to look.
He hadn't expected the famous scene of Kushina being bullied from the original story to arrive so soon.
"Hey, hey, hey, your hair is actually red. That's seriously weird."
"Like a tomato?"
"Yeah, exactly!"
"..."
Watching the bullying at the back of the classroom, Shin'un held his lunch and began treating it like popcorn as he watched.
With Kushina's personality, she wouldn't simply let them bully her.
Sure enough, only a few short minutes passed before Kushina could no longer hold back.
"Let me make this clear first. I hate tomatoes too!"
As Kushina finished speaking through gritted teeth, she immediately grabbed the arm of the child pulling her hair.
As the candidate for Konoha's next jinchūriki, Kushina Uzumaki was outstandingly talented even among the Uzumaki Clan.
And aside from their Sealing Jutsu, the Uzumaki Clan had always been known for their exceptionally gifted bodies and enormous chakra reserves.
Now that Kushina Uzumaki had reached the end of her patience and begun to lash out, her talent immediately showed itself.
Tightening her grip on the arm in her hand, Kushina suddenly exploded into action.
An Armstrong spin cleared out everyone around her, and she then threw the person in her grasp to the floor.
Kushina straddled him, raised her arms, and began pounding the person on the floor with alternating punches.
Suddenly, as Kushina got carried away with her beating, a chance glance caught Minato Namikaze smiling at her up ahead.
"What are you looking at, you sissy!"
Minato Namikaze started in surprise, quickly wiped the smile off his face, and turned to face the front.
Enjoying the feeling of witnessing the original story's history, Shin'un watched happily from the side with his lunch box in his hands, taking one mouthful of rice after another without stopping.
"Screeech."
Kushina pulled out her chair in a huff and sat down heavily. She glanced at Shin'un beside her, her mouth opening and closing as though she wanted to say something.
"Hmm?"
Shin'un watched Kushina hesitate, looking as though she wanted to speak but didn't know how to begin.
Shin'un simply gulped down the food in his lunch box in one go and spoke indistinctly to Kushina:
"What? Want to ask why I haven't helped you these past few days?"
Hearing Shin'un say exactly what was on her mind, Kushina hurriedly shook her head.
"No, no, no, I just..."
As she spoke, Kushina lowered her head and fell silent.
Seeing Kushina lower her head, Shin'un knew his words had probably hit largely on the mark.
"Do you know why they bully you?"
Hearing Shin'un's question, Kushina took hold of her red hair.
"Because I look different from them."
Shin'un shook his head and said:
"That has nothing to do with it."
Kushina froze, then turned to look at Shin'un.
Looking at Kushina's reddened eyes, Shin'un decided to tell her the truth.
"Because you're from another village."
Kushina looked somewhat confused by Shin'un's words.
Seeing that Kushina was still puzzled, Shin'un used actual examples as evidence.
Shin'un pointed his thumb at his own hair.
"My hair is different from most people's too. It's naturally silver."
He then pointed at the others in the classroom.
"That kid you just called a sissy has naturally blond hair."
"The guy in the back row who's always complaining about being tired has a natural pineapple head, and his hairline looks like a dog chewed on it."
"Hey, Shin'un! I heard that!"
"There's orange hair, pink hair, and blue hair too, but do you know why nobody bullies them?"
Only after hearing Shin'un's words did Kushina realize it, and she quickly asked:
"Then why is that?"
"Didn't I already tell you? Because you're from another village, and you don't have any family in Konoha."
Kushina froze. What Shin'un said was true.
"Don't you have any adults you trust in Konoha? Bring them to the classroom for a visit, and I guarantee nobody will bully you again."
"Really?"
"Oh, just give it a try. You've got nothing to lose."
Kushina found Shin'un's words a little hard to believe, but she had already decided to try.
Shin'un turned back to his desk and prepared the textbooks he would need that afternoon.
In Shin'un's view, as long as Kushina was willing to bring someone she trusted to the Ninja Academy, her bullying problem would readily resolve itself.
Of course, if a child from an ordinary family was being bullied, this method wouldn't necessarily work. It might even make the bullying at school worse.
But Kushina was different. There were very few people in Konoha she could trust.
Mito Uzumaki was one, but the first Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was getting on in years and probably couldn't come.
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi was another.
Given the importance of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Hiruzen Sarutobi would presumably make time to visit the Ninja Academy.
After all, opportunities to gain Kushina's trust and affection were few and far between.
Never mind the Third Hokage, Shin'un reckoned Kushina could even go to Shimura Danzō for help.
That ambitious Darkness of the Shinobi World would probably dispatch Root ninja on the spot to tie up everyone who had bullied Kushina and deliver them to her.
Imagining such a scene, Shin'un actually found himself looking forward to it a little.