[Ding! Mission issued: The Arrival of the Red Hot Habanero]
[Choice 1: Respond to Kushina. Declare your intention to become Hokage in class before Namikaze Minato does. Reward: Cut x1]
[Choice 2: Bully Kushina. Join the other students in mocking her hair. Reward: Draw Tickets x5]
[Choice 3: Ignore Kushina. Observe the original timeline play out. Reward: Exp. Candy XS x3]
[Choice 4: Depending on other actions taken, different rewards will be issued.]
Wait, isn't this the scene from the original timeline where Kushina first shows up? Uchiha Hayato sat up straight, reaching over to pet the Chimchar that was trying to cause trouble in the classroom.
He started analyzing the mission options and their rewards. Cut was a Normal-type move, and pairing it with a ninja blade would boost its power significantly.
Draw Tickets were a gamble, since there was no guarantee of pulling anything good. Ignoring Kushina, on the other hand, offered the reward most suited to his current needs.
Hayato was still growing. Exp. Candy could rapidly increase his chakra reserves, stacking up over time and pushing him into a period of explosive growth sooner rather than later.
But he refused. He already had a system designed to change the ninja world. If he was still going to sit on the sidelines after all that, he'd be nothing but a coward.
"Look at that hair color. Unbelievable!"
"How does it even get that red? So weird."
"Alright, alright, settle down, everyone quiet down!"
The teacher, Yamaue Yohei, pressed both hands downward, trying to calm the commotion.
The girl standing at the front of the classroom was Uzumaki Kushina. Her red hair blazed like fire, falling loosely past her shoulders, framing a pale face. It should have been a striking sight. But right now, Kushina's expression was timid. She bit down on her lip, then shouted out her lie.
"I... I'm going to become this village's first female Hokage!"
She didn't actually want to become Hokage. She just didn't want to be treated like an outsider.
Kushina knew she was alone in this village. Could she really call Konoha her second home? She didn't know. She just wanted to fit in.
"What? That's hilarious. A female Hokage?"
Namikaze Minato frowned. He didn't like how the other students were talking about Kushina. A girl bold enough to say she wanted to be Hokage out loud had to be someone he and Hayato could be friends with. Just as he was about to stand up and come to her defense, Uchiha Hayato beat him to it.
"Shut up, all of you! Can't you hear she's in the middle of introducing herself?"
Yamaue Yohei awkwardly waved his hands, trying to defuse the situation, but some of the students clearly weren't going to let it go.
"What? Uchiha Hayato, who do you think you are?"
A tall, white-haired boy shot to his feet, irritation all over his face. The students around him began to stir.
"Who do I think I am? I'm just stating facts. Compared to you lot, I like Uzumaki Kushina a hell of a lot more. At least she doesn't talk trash about people she's never met."
Hayato smiled coldly. Ever since he'd arrived in this world, he'd despised those bystander brats from the Naruto story who stood around running their mouths. Naruto, Kushina, both of them got shunned and picked on as kids by the people around them.
Including himself. Because of his Uchiha blood, aside from Minato, barely any of the boys were willing to be his friend. Now that things were changing, he wasn't about to act the way he used to.
The boys erupted. Hayato's words had dragged half the class into it.
"You looking for a fight? What's so great about the Uchiha clan?"
The tall boy cracked his knuckles, and several other male students around him looked just as eager to throw down.
"Nothing great about us. But the Uchiha are still part of this village. We don't bully our own."
Chimchar's eyes lit up. It sensed the tension in the air, and its expression turned serious. The flame on its tail flared high.
The tall boy glared at Hayato, thoroughly annoyed. Chimchar's presence only made it worse.
I'll take out your little pet first!
Chimchar might have looked unusual, but it was freshly hatched. It wasn't exactly big.
The white-haired boy signaled the other students with his eyes, charged forward, and swung a fist straight at Chimchar. "Die, you stupid monkey!"
A faint, cold smirk settled on Hayato's lips. The other kid swung first. No reason to hold back now.
"Go, Koen!"
"RAWR!"
Chimchar reacted in a flash. Its body tilted just slightly, nimbly dodging the heavy punch, then launched itself at the tall boy's flank. Both tiny fists blazed with scorching flame, closing the distance in the blink of an eye.
Fire Punch!
The tall boy didn't even have time to react before fire caught his robe. He cried out in pain, stumbling backward, ripping off his outer coat. But Chimchar was right on him, leaping and pressing the fiery assault, leaving the kid scrambling and helpless.
"You're all too slow!" Hayato hopped lightly, appearing behind another student who was winding up an attack like a shadow. The boy tried a flying kick, but Hayato was far faster. He caught the leg, twisted his body, and hurled the kid across the room.
Seeing this, the rest of the boys rushed in. One particularly agile student tried to close the gap fast and lock Hayato in a grapple. If he could pin him, the numbers would do the rest.
Minato blinked in surprise. He genuinely couldn't figure out how things had escalated this fast, but he wasn't the type to watch a friend fight alone. He jumped in immediately. Ganging up on someone wasn't something he'd stand for.
Yamaue Yohei stood frozen at the front of the classroom, completely blindsided. He was a chunin. He had more than enough ability to break up a bunch of kids. But a full-blown brawl was another matter entirely.
"Kushina, come with me to see Lord Third. This started because of you, so it's better if you explain it yourself."
He left a Shadow Clone behind to keep an eye on things. As long as nobody got seriously hurt, let them duke it out.
Yamaue Yohei had given up trying to think his way through this. When the sky's falling, let someone taller catch it. Lord Third was his superior. Let him sort out this mess.
...
Inside the Hokage's office, the still-young Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, stroked his goatee. Today was Kushina's first day in Konoha. He'd planned to observe her closely, but he hadn't expected to witness this.
A faint smile crossed his face. He found himself deeply intrigued by Uchiha Hayato. An Uchiha child who would stand up and speak for someone else, setting aside clan boundaries to think about the people in the village. It reminded him of an old, dear friend: Uchiha Kagami.
Hiruzen set down his pipe with a sigh. Though compared to Kagami, Hayato was far more impulsive. Getting into a fistfight with his classmates. Then again, that was exactly what you'd expect from a boy his age.
His gaze drifted to the little monkey darting nimbly through the scuffle, and a question formed in his mind. Enma never mentioned having offspring like that...
"Lord Third, Yamaue Yohei requests an audience!"