"Class, we have a new student today. Let's give her a warm welcome!" Kazuki Uemura, the academy teacher, announced as he clapped his hands to gather everyone's attention. The sound reverberated through the classroom, but the students seemed more curious than enthusiastic.
A young girl with bright red hair, tied in a loose ponytail, stood nervously at the front of the room. Her deep violet eyes scanned the sea of faces, a mix of curiosity and anxiety flickering within them. She took a deep breath, then smiled brightly.
"Introduce yourself," Uemura-sensei encouraged.
Kushina took a small step forward, gathering her courage. "Hello, everyone! My name is Uzumaki Kushina. It's a pleasure to meet you all. I hope we can get along and be good friends!" Her voice was cheerful and strong, but her heart pounded in her chest.
Instead of welcoming applause, the room filled with whispers.
"Red hair? That's strange."
"Konoha doesn't have red-haired people. Could she be a… devil?"
"She looks like a pepper! A spicy, red pepper!"
Kushina's smile faltered as the whispers grew louder. She bit her lip, trying to hold back the tears threatening to well up in her eyes.
'They don't know me yet… They'll warm up to me soon,' she thought, trying to stay positive.
Kazuki Uemura's face hardened, and a vein throbbed on his forehead.
"Bang!"
Uemura slapped his hand down on the desk, startling the students.
"Enough!" he barked.
"Is that any way to speak about a classmate? Where are your manners?"
Silence fell over the room, and the students stopped whispering, avoiding the teacher's stern glare.
Turning back to Kushina, Kazuki's face softened. "Don't worry about them," he said gently.
"Find an empty seat, and let's get started with the lesson."
Kushina nodded, grateful for the support. She bowed to Kazuki in thanks, then turned to face the room, searching for a place to sit. Her heart still pounded, and her face felt flushed, but she refused to let the whispers defeat her.
She noticed a few empty seats at the back of the classroom, near the window. With her head held high, she walked past rows of curious eyes and slid into a seat near the middle of the back row. She remembered what Mito Uzumaki had told her before she came to Konoha;
"Make friends, get along with everyone, and you'll feel at home in no time."
But now, with Mito gone, those words felt like a distant echo in a vast emptiness. Kushina's eyes watered, and she blinked quickly, determined not to cry in front of everyone.
Steeling herself, she turned to the boy sitting next to her. "Hi, I'm Kushina," she said, her voice steady.
The boy, who had been gazing out the window, turned his head slightly to look at her. His dark eyes were calm, almost indifferent.
"I am Shirai," he replied flatly as if merely stating a fact.
Kushina hesitated, not quite sure what to make of his tone.
'Why does he seem so uninterested?' she wondered.
'Should I try harder?' But she refused to be discouraged.
"Nice to meet you," she continued, forcing a smile.
"Um." Shirai gave a small nod, then turned back to look outside, clearly uninterested in further conversation. He seemed distant, as if lost in his own thoughts.
'I shouldn't get too close to her,' he thought, his gaze fixed on the world outside.
'She's the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki. Getting involved with her could mean trouble…'
The lesson began, and Kushina tried to pay attention, but her thoughts kept drifting. She hadn't slept well since arriving in Konoha, and the teacher's voice began to blur into a dull drone. Her eyelids grew heavy, and she found herself drifting off.
Suddenly, a snicker broke the quiet. Then another. She heard a faint whisper,
"Red-haired devil…"
Kushina's eyes snapped open. The whispers grew louder.
"Blood-red pepper!"
"She's a monster!"
Kushina felt her face flush with anger. She clenched her fists tightly under the desk, her nails digging into her palms.
'How dare they?!'
Shirai glanced sideways, noting the fury building in her eyes.
'These kids have no idea who they're messing with,' he thought, mildly amused.
Kushina stood up abruptly, her chair screeching against the floor.
"Who are you calling a monster?!" she shouted, her voice shaking the windows.
The classroom went silent, all eyes on her. Then, a boy in the front smirked and spoke up.
"I heard red-haired witches eat children!" he taunted, his voice mocking.
Kushina's patience snapped. Her chakra flared, and before anyone could react, she lunged at the boy. He yelped in surprise as she grabbed his collar and sent him crashing to the floor.
The air seemed to thicken with tension. A surge of chakra pulsed through the room, making the hair on everyone's neck stand up. The Anbu, who had been watching Kushina from the shadows, tensed, ready to intervene.
'Is this… Nine-Tails' chakra?' one of them thought, gripping his kunai tightly.
"You… You all die!" Kushina screamed, her voice raw with fury. Her red hair began to float around her, moved by an invisible force, and her chakra radiated with an intensity that made even the bravest students step back in fear.
She grabbed another boy by the shirt, lifting him off the ground with surprising strength. Panic filled his eyes as she threw him aside like a ragdoll.
Shirai watched calmly, his expression unreadable. 'Does her power make this aggressive?' he wondered.
Inside him, in the vast, dark recess of his mind, a tiny, white Nine-Tails yawned and stretched lazily, entirely unfazed by the chaos outside.
Shirai sighed inwardly. 'At least my Nine-Tails is quiet…'
He had been an ordinary guy once, a fan of the Naruto franchise, especially the Mobile Game where he had worked hard to unlock special abilities and summon creatures.
He had spent countless hours, and a lot of money, to obtain the white Nine-Tails. And then… somehow, he had ended up here, in this world, with a power no one else could see.
Kushina's rampage continued, knocking over desks and scattering papers everywhere. The students she attacked lay groaning on the floor, nursing bruises and cuts.
"She's so scary!" one of them cried.
In the third row, Minato Namikaze watched, his mouth open in shock. He had noticed Kushina's red hair earlier and thought it was pretty. But now, seeing her like this, he realized there was much more to her than he'd first thought.
Trying to diffuse the tension, Minato let out a nervous chuckle. "Well, she's definitely… energetic."
Kushina whipped around to face him, her eyes blazing. "What's so funny?!" she yelled.
"Laugh again, and I'll smash your face too!"
Minato blinked, startled by her intensity. "Uh, sorry!" he stammered, raising his hands defensively.
"I didn't mean to—"
Kushina slammed her fist on the desk, cracking the wood. "Then shut up!" she snapped.
Kazuki Uemura burst back into the room, his eyes wide with shock at the scene before him.
"What happened here?!" he demanded, looking around at the chaos. His heart sank.
'This is going to be a nightmare to explain…'
"Teacher, Kushina hit us!" a few students wailed, pointing accusingly at her.
Kazuki sighed heavily. "Kushina, is this true?" he asked, trying to remain calm.
"They called me names," Kushina muttered, her fists still clenched. "They said I was a monster."
Kazuki nodded, understanding. "I know it's hard, but violence isn't always the answer. You need to learn to control your temper."
Minato raised his hand cautiously. "Sensei, maybe we could all try being a bit kinder to each other? I'm sure Kushina didn't mean to hurt anyone."
Kushina glared at him, but a small smile tugged at her lips despite herself. "Don't act like you're helping me," she muttered.
Kazuki looked around the room, seeing fear in the eyes of some students but also curiosity and a hint of respect. He knew they had a lot to work on, but he also sensed that there was something special about Kushina.
'Kushina Uzumaki,' he thought, 'you're going to be a handful, but I have a feeling you're exactly what this village needs.'