Inuzuka Ryo sat down with an awkward shuffle, but still managed a proud glance at Yuki Seisui, as if to say, You'll never surpass me.
Seeing the matter concluded, Yamanaka Yukio turned to the door and gestured for someone to enter. A small red-haired girl walked timidly into the classroom.
"This is our new classmate," he announced.
"I… I'm Uzumaki Kushina…" she began, but before she could even finish, a buzz of chatter erupted in the room.
"Look at that hair color! That's unreal!"
"Yeah, yeah! How do you even get it that red?"
"Haha! She looks just like a big red tomato!"
The class instantly descended into chaos. Voices overlapped, children laughed and pointed. Yamanaka Yukio hurried to restore order.
"Quiet! Quiet!"
Kushina's face turned bright red as she clenched her fists and shouted loud enough to silence everyone:
"I'm going to become the first female Hokage of this village!"
The impact of her words was stronger than any teacher's scolding. The classroom fell into stunned silence.
"Minato," Yuki Seisui said, nudging his classmate, who was frozen in place, "you okay?"
Snapped from his daze, Namikaze Minato smiled gently. "That's a great dream. Mine's the same, to become Hokage."
His smile was warm and radiant, like sunlight. But to Kushina, Minato looked like a total softie, almost girly. Not even as cool as the boy with a dog on his head sitting next to him.
"Alright," Yamanaka Yukio sighed in relief, wiping imaginary sweat from his brow. Looks like I'm still far from being a top-tier teacher.
He scanned the classroom. Only two empty seats remained, together in the back, by the window.
"Kushina, take the seat by the window back there," he instructed.
"Okay!" she replied, walking confidently toward the spot. As she passed Minato, she gave a loud, dismissive hmph.
This kind of soft guy could never become Hokage, Kushina thought to herself. I, Uzumaki Kushina, always speak my mind!
"Minato, looks like she doesn't like you at all," Yuki Seisui said, sighing. "You're hopeless at winning girls over."
As the princess of the Uzumaki clan, Kushina must've felt out of place and uncertain upon arriving in Konoha. Even with guidance from Uzumaki Mito, it was natural for her to feel lost.
This is the perfect time for a bold approach.
Kushina was no ordinary girl, she was the little princess of the Uzumaki clan. And her strongest backer? The still-living Uzumaki Mito, wife of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama. A ninja from the Warring States era who survived into the present, Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, and master of all Uzumaki sealing techniques.
In short: the most powerful person in the entire village.
By all definitions, Kushina was a super-elite rich girl, what one might call a "legendary rich lady."
As Yuki Seisui reflected on this, an image of Uchiha Haru suddenly popped into his mind, startling him so much he shook his head violently.
Too scary… Is this the sinister nature of the Uchiha? How did she sneak into my thoughts like that?!
"Minato, you'd better step up your game," Seisui said seriously, noticing how Minato kept sneaking glances at Kushina.
"If you don't try harder, you'll never land yourself a rich girl."
Minato choked at that, his face turning crimson. "I just… I just thought her red hair looked nice!"
"Oh~?" Seisui raised a suspicious brow, clearly not buying it. Minato looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole.
Suddenly, as if gaining sudden insight, Minato smirked and snapped, "Why don't you worry about Uchiha Haru instead!"
"…Touché," Seisui replied, clearly feeling the sting.
It was an uncomfortable subject. For the past month, training had started simply enough, just taijutsu and basic drills. But before long, Uchiha Haru began challenging him to duels every time they crossed paths.
Clearly trying to settle a grudge.
Seisui never let her win. Every duel ended in her "death," but she never gave up. It was as if she were an emotionless machine.
He was starting to be afraid of her persistence.
Just then, Yamanaka Yukio spoke from the front of the class. "The holiday's over, so this afternoon we'll begin our first combat training. Time to see if anyone's been slacking."
His gaze landed suspiciously on Yuki Seisui.
"Seisui, if you skip the test again… heh heh," he added with a creepy chuckle.
The chill down Seisui's spine was immediate.
"This afternoon's test will be one-on-one duels."
"You're screwed," said Nara Shikaku, poking Seisui in the back from behind.
"If Yukio-sensei's got his eye on you, that's big trouble."
"Uncle Yukio's not that bad," offered Yamanaka Inoichi from nearby. As fellow clan members, the two Yamanakas were close.
"Ugh," Seisui groaned. He turned to Shikaku and said, "Quit poking my back."
"Why? It's just your spine."
"Exactly. I don't like people poking my spine."
Even Minato, who had been quietly sneaking peeks at Kushina, looked over in surprise. Who thinks like that?
Soon enough, it was time for combat class.
The class gathered on the training field. Yamanaka Yukio held a list in his hands, while the students each drew a number from a box to determine their matchups.
Yuki Seisui stared at the number 1 on his slip… and on Minato's.
There's no way this isn't rigged.
Sure enough, Yukio called out, "First match, Namikaze Minato versus Yuki Seisui!"
The two boys stepped forward and faced each other.
"Form the Seal of Confrontation!"
Just as Seisui had suspected, the draw was a setup. Yukio had been watching each student closely during training, assessing their strength. He realized that the only one who could put up a fight against Seisui was Minato.
This revelation excited him.
Two civilian-born geniuses in one class! That was a testament to his teaching, even if he hadn't taught them anything yet.
Still, this would look great on my résumé as a top-tier instructor!
"Minato, I'm not holding back today!"
"Funny, I was going to say the same thing!"
"Minato!"
"Seisui!"
They shouted each other's names like rivals in a heated battle manga, eyes burning with determination.
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