As time passed, the previously empty classroom gradually filled with more and more students.
Children of this age gathered together — ostensibly to study, but in truth, the classroom merely served as their meeting place. A group of kids clustered together, chatting about interesting things and letting out innocent laughter, making the entire room somewhat noisy.
Amidst this chaos, Minato sat quietly, engrossed in the Ninja Manual he held in his hands. Its pages worn and its corners slightly frayed, the book showed clear signs of being read over and over again.
Yet he firmly believed that, just like ninjutsu, anything could only be improved through constant practice. At the moment, he didn't know much advanced ninja techniques, but for every powerful ninja, mastering the basics was absolutely crucial.
What he could do now was to focus on strengthening that foundation. He still had plenty of time to catch up with the great ninja before him.
In this atmosphere, Moto Kouda walked in and loudly announced, "Alright, everyone, quiet down..."
His words carried obvious authority. The once noisy classroom quickly fell silent. After all, these weren't ordinary children; they would eventually become ninjas carrying out missions.
Absolute obedience to orders was one of the core tenets of a ninja's code — a discipline drilled into them from the very beginning. Even students at the Ninja Academy needed to cultivate this from an early age — they must obey commands without question.
Minato carefully put away the manual, turned his gaze forward, and waited for class to begin.
"Before today's lesson, I'd like to introduce a new student to all of you. From now on, she'll be studying together with everyone."
After Moto Kouda spoke, he quickly stepped outside the classroom. As soon as he left, whispers immediately broke out among the students. Clearly, they were all eager to meet this new classmate.
Minato and Mikoto exchanged glances across the aisle of seats. They already knew beforehand about the arrival of this new student.
It was a while later when Moto Kouda returned first, walking into the classroom with his left hand gently holding onto a child beside him. It was a girl with long red hair. Since her hair was quite long, the students couldn't clearly see her profile right away.
However, her delicate facial features could be faintly made out.
At the sight of her, Minato's heart abruptly trembled. In front of his eyes, he seemed to see someone else — someone also with flowing, wind-blown long hair... and fiery red locks.
The face belonging to that red-haired figure was extremely blurry. Minato desperately tried to see it clearly, yet no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get closer.
Unconsciously, he let out a low groan, drawing the attention of those around him.
A classmate nudged him and asked, "Minato, are you okay?"
Snapping back to reality, Minato flinched slightly, turned to the boy beside him, and said, "I'm... fine."
The other student didn't think much of it further. But Minato lightly frowned, puzzled as he silently murmured to himself, "What's wrong with me..."
"Alright," said Moto Kouda, "why don't you introduce yourself to everyone."
Moto Kouda gently released the little girl's hand and spoke with a warm tone.
The soft words also caught Minato's attention. Under the gaze of all the children in the class, the little girl slowly turned around, though her head remained lowered, appearing somewhat shy.
"That hair color looks really strange…"
"Yeah, who even has hair that red?"
The students whispered among themselves. On the podium, the girl kept her head down, a strand of bangs hanging over her eyes. She reached out with her small, childish hand and twirled a lock of hair between her fingers. Her wide eyes carried a hint of confusion.
Her tiny movements went unnoticed by the gossiping classmates—except for one boy who couldn't look away.
Faced with the whispers, the little girl clenched her fists tightly, so hard that her veins were visible. Taking a deep breath, she shouted with all her might,
"My name is Kushina Uzumaki, and I will be the very first female Hokage this village has ever seen!"
Her voice carried an unusual accent, and such a shocking declaration not only silenced the entire classroom—it even startled Moto Kouda for a moment.
Minato heard her words. For some unknown reason, his heart ached slightly, but at the same time, he felt joy at having met someone who shared the same dream as him.
Then he stood up, placed his hand on his chest, and smiled kindly as he said, "My dream is also to become the Hokage who protects every family in the village."
Facing Minato's kindness, Kushina didn't immediately accept it. Instead, she watched the blond-haired boy cautiously.
"Hehe, never expected my class to have two students with such lofty ambitions. That's truly reassuring."
As a chunin, Moto Kouda had sharper observational skills. He noticed Kushina's wariness and let out a pleased chuckle to ease the awkwardness.
"Minato, you may sit back down now," Kouda said, glancing at the classroom before turning to Kushina again. "Kushina, you can sit over there."
He pointed toward a direction—a vacant seat beside Mikoto Uchiha's, by the window.
Hearing this, Kushina marched forward and sat beside Mikoto, ignoring the murmurs around her.
Seeing this, Moto Kouda gave a bitter smile. This child's personality was completely different from Minato Namikaze or Mikoto Uchiha…
After Kushina sat down, she glanced sideways slightly. Mikoto smiled warmly at her and softly whispered while covering her mouth, "Hello, my name is Mikoto Uchiha. From today onward, we are classmates and friends."
Outwardly carefree, she was actually deeply perceptive and emotionally attuned inside. She could sense that in this class, only the blond boy who had just stood up to speak to her and this girl beside her showed no bias about her hair color.
Yet regarding the former, she somehow felt he seemed rather weak.
"Hmm…"
Still, she acknowledged Mikoto's presence and glanced in Minato's direction. In a slightly timid voice, she asked,
"What's that guy's name?"
Seeing her like this, Mikoto could understand. After all, it was their first meeting, and it seemed the classmates weren't particularly kind to new students.
Following the direction of her gaze, Mikoto looked over before turning back and said, "His name is Minato Namikaze. He's genuinely a good person."
As Mikoto spoke about Minato, her face lit up with a smile. Within this class, it seemed Kushina was the first person with some prejudice against him.
"Minato Namikaze… huh?" Kushina murmured to herself while slightly lowering her head.
But she only hesitated for a moment before directing her gaze toward the podium. For the sake of her own dreams, naturally she had to give it her all.
The Ninja Academy would be where her dreams truly began!
Seeing Kushina's energetic expression, Moto Kouda felt a bit more at ease. It seemed this child, though slightly peculiar in personality, might change under Mikoto's influence.
What surprised him, though, was how Minato—who usually paid close attention during class—kept glancing subtly toward Kushina after her arrival.
Still, Moto Kouda didn't dwell on it much, since Kushina's earlier actions might have already left a deep impression on him.
Even as a teacher, it's impossible to understand everything that goes through their minds at this age.
He then withdrew his gaze, looking at the group of youthful faces before him, smiling slightly. "Students, let's begin class!"
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