That night, Kushina lay quietly in bed.
The bedroom was so silent that she could clearly hear her own heartbeat.
As she reflected on recent events, she found it difficult to fall asleep.
Kushina knew she was special.
Even among the Uzumaki Clan, renowned for their abundant chakra reserves, she stood out as the most exceptional.
Compared to her peers, her chakra was not only greater in quantity but also superior in quality, accompanied by an exceptionally strong suppressive force.
Kushina suspected this might be why she was chosen to be sent to Konoha, but she didn't know the exact reason.
All she knew was that her future lay in Konoha, where she would become a part of the village.
Even back in the clan, Kushina had heard that Konoha was Whirlpool Village's staunchest ally, and the largest and most prosperous ninja village in the Shinobi World.
This filled her with anticipation, though beneath that excitement lurked a hint of apprehension.
She worried about being mocked as a country bumpkin, about her speech patterns becoming a laughingstock, and about being bullied in this foreign land.
But fortunately... none of those things happened.
Sister Tsunade, who was looking after her, proved to be warm-hearted yet gentle, and rumor had it she was the granddaughter of the First Hokage.
Her younger brother, Nawaki, though not particularly clever, was equally warm and straightforward.
And then there was Minato... his cooking was truly delicious!
And he's so kind too!
This is wonderful!
I'm not being rejected! This is amazing!
Kushina closed her eyes, hugged her blanket, and rolled around on her bed a couple of times, a smile playing on her lips.
Tomorrow, she would go to school...
The thought of making new friends tomorrow made Kushina so excited she could barely sleep. Fortunately, children tire easily, and she soon drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Kushina woke up early, only to find Minato already preparing breakfast.
"Good morning," Minato greeted, noticing she was awake. "It's still early. You could go back to sleep."
"I... I'm not one to sleep in!" Kushina blurted out, flustered. This was their first time alone together, and she couldn't help but feel nervous, blurting out an untruthful remark.
In reality, she absolutely loved sleeping in!
"Is that so?" Minato chuckled, sensing her insincerity. "Then how about you help me with something?"
Perhaps feeling a sense of purpose and belonging, Kushina's eyes lit up. "Sure, sure! What do you need?"
"Could you boil a few eggs and heat up two cartons of milk?" Minato retrieved the eggs and milk from the fridge and started boiling water. "Once the water's boiling, put the eggs in. After eight minutes, take them out. Then, when you turn off the heat, just leave the milk cartons in the hot water to warm up."
"No problem! Leave it to me!"
Kushina brimmed with enthusiasm. Noticing Minato standing by the counter, kneading something, she leaned over curiously. "What are you making?"
"Lunchbox for later."
Minato held up a perfectly round rice ball covered in finely chopped seaweed.
"Today's lunch is a rice ball with marinated pork, using the leftover charcoal-grilled pork from last night."
"Do you really have to prepare all this every day?" Kushina asked, feeling a little incredulous. She hadn't expected Minato to even bother with making lunches.
"Actually, most of the time, I have my Wood Clone handle it. But today's workload was light, so I felt like doing it myself." Minato chuckled. He wasn't that foolish.
The drawback of the Wood Clone technique was that it required physical contact with the original to synchronize information. However, this also meant that fatigue from the clone wouldn't transfer to the original unless synchronized.
So, the first thing Minato did every morning was create a Wood Clone to make the lunches. Then, he took his time to wash up, humming as he prepared breakfast.
After finishing the lunches, the Wood Clone would discreetly transform into a large tree or wooden post in the courtyard, serving as a training tool for his Shadow Clones. It was, quite literally, a convenient tool.
Soon, breakfast was ready, and heavy, sleepy footsteps echoed from the living room.
"Yaaawn... Good morning," Tsunade said, entering the kitchen and pausing to glance at the two.
For some inexplicable reason, Tsunade felt a sudden, inexplicable irritation seeing Kushina standing beside Minato.
"Tch!"
"???"
The two in the kitchen stared in bewilderment.
Did she just make a dismissive sound?
What's going on?
When Tsunade stormed off to the bathroom with a pout, Kushina turned to Minato, utterly perplexed. "What's wrong with Sister Tsunade?"
"I have no idea..."
Minato shook his head, genuinely bewildered. He'd never seen Tsunade act like this before; she was usually so kind to him.
Could it be her period?
The thought flashed through his mind, and understanding dawned on him.
That must be it! It has to be!
After breakfast, Tsunade drove the three to school and personally escorted Kushina to the teacher's office.
When Minato entered his classroom, he was immediately surrounded by a group of girls.
"Good morning, Minato-kun~"
"Good morning."
"Hey, Minato, what do you think of my new dress?"
"It suits you perfectly..."
Minato greeted the girls politely. "Everyone, listen up. A new friend is transferring to our class today, and I hope you'll all get along well."
"Minato-kun's friend? A boy or girl?" Koyabukuro Kaoru asked instinctively.
"A girl."
"Hmm—"
Several girls immediately let out ambiguous sounds, tinged with hostility, though none dared to embarrass Minato.
"Well then, I hope we can all get along well~"
"Right, she's Minato's friend after all."
Minato nodded with a smile and sat down by the window at the back of the classroom, casually placing his textbook on the seat next to him to save a spot for Kushina.
The girls who had been eyeing the seat with predatory intent reluctantly gave up.
"Tch, that guy, he's always hogging the spotlight," Kota grumbled from his seat in the front row near the door, his tone sour.
Perhaps because of his overwhelming popularity with girls, Minato had never been particularly well-liked among his male peers. Aside from Shinnosuke and a few others, most boys seemed to harbor a simmering resentment towards him.
After all, boys are naturally jealous, and their competitive instincts can be even sharper in such matters.
"What can you do? He's just too skilled. Even Shinnosuke isn't a match for him," another boy replied.
Tetsuo, sitting next to him, sighed helplessly. For the past two months of Taijutsu combat classes, no one had ever been a match for Minato. Even those who resented him wouldn't dare provoke him easily.
"Hey! Seo, what do you say?"
Kota glared at the bespectacled boy sitting to his right.
The boy adjusted his thick-rimmed glasses, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "No matter how skilled that guy is, he's still just one person, right?"
Kota and Tetsuo exchanged a glance, then leaned in close, sharing a mischievous chuckle.
Soon, the school bell rang.
The students returned to their seats as Umino Ikkaku entered the classroom with Kushina.
Kushina scanned the room nervously, searching for Minato. When she spotted him waving from the back row, she let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Ikkaku began, "Okay, everyone, let me introduce..."
"I... I'm Uzumaki Kushina! Debane!" Before he could finish, Kushina blurted out, her nervousness getting the better of her, even including her habitual "Debane" at the end.
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