"…They used Fire Release, so I instinctively used Water Release. But after I extinguished their flames, the ANBU showed up. Not only did they block my Water Release to protect the Uchiha, they even tried to capture me and take me to ANBU to silence me.
Luckily, I was smart. The moment the ANBU appeared, I used a shadow clone to stay behind while my real body escaped. Otherwise, I'd already be in ANBU custody—maybe even dead by now," Uzumaki Rin said pitifully, as if he had suffered an enormous injustice.
As for the destruction caused by his Water Release—
He didn't mention a word.
Not even the name of the jutsu.
If it were anyone else, they might have questioned what kind of Water Release required ANBU intervention. But Tsunade didn't care about that at all.
Right now, she had only one thought:
The Uchiha dared to bully Rin.
And the ANBU not only failed to intervene—they even helped the Uchiha when they were losing.
This wasn't over.
"Let's go. We're finding the Third Hokage. If he doesn't give us an explanation today, he can forget about keeping his office," Tsunade said, grabbing Rin and heading out.
At that moment, two figures appeared.
Without even looking, Rin knew it was Minato and Kushina.
"Rin, are you alright?" Kushina rushed over and carefully checked him from head to toe.
"I'm fine. Good thing I ran fast. Otherwise, the ANBU would've taken me away to silence me," Rin said, looking wronged.
"What?! The Uchiha dared to target you—and ANBU even helped them?!" Kushina exploded with anger, even Nine-Tails chakra beginning to leak out.
The Uzumaki clan had already been nearly wiped out. Now only she and Rin remained.
And someone dared to target him?
Did they think the Uzumaki clan had no one left?!
"Minato! Take me there now! I'm tearing down the Uchiha compound—and then the ANBU headquarters!" Kushina roared.
"Kushina, calm down—calm down. Rin is fine, isn't he?" Minato quickly tried to soothe her.
"What do you mean he's fine?! What if something had happened?! I'm going to avenge him! Are you coming or not?" Kushina snapped.
"I—I'm coming… But maybe we should visit the Third Hokage first?" Minato said helplessly.
"Right! Let's go find that old man and ask why his ANBU tried to take Rin away!" Kushina said angrily.
And just like that, with Tsunade and Kushina leading the charge, Rin was dragged straight toward the Hokage Tower.
Minato could only follow behind with a bitter smile.
There was nothing he could do.
Even if he became Hokage one day, facing these two… he'd still be powerless.
"Lord Hokage, that's what happened."
Inside the Hokage's office, two ANBU Jonin were reporting the situation.
"I see. You may—"
Boom!!!
Before the Third Hokage could finish speaking, the office door was kicked open violently. The wall beside it cracked, and the entire door exploded into fragments.
"Old man! Why did your ANBU try to capture Rin?! Why did they ignore the Uchiha bullying him—and even help them instead?!" Kushina shouted furiously.
The Hokage's guards, hidden in the shadows, silently swallowed their saliva.
No one dared step forward.
Tsunade breaking things in the Hokage's office was already a regular occurrence. As for Kushina—her identity wasn't exactly a secret to them either.
With both of them here?
Anyone who stepped out now had a death wish.
"Rin, come here. Tell Grandpa what happened. How did the Uchiha bully you? And why did ANBU try to take you?" the Third Hokage asked calmly.
He didn't argue with Kushina.
There was no reasoning with her in this state.
So he turned his attention to Rin, who stood there with a pout and a wronged expression.
"Well… after school, some Uchiha stopped me. They said they'd beat me until I couldn't take care of myself. I tried to reason with them, but they didn't listen and attacked me.
But I didn't expect them to be so weak. I beat them, but I didn't use much strength. They might've fallen down, but they definitely weren't seriously hurt.
I thought it was over, but then they suddenly used ninjutsu on me—Great Fireball Jutsu. I was scared, so I instinctively used Water Release to defend myself.
Right after I blocked their attack, ANBU showed up and said I used ninjutsu, so they wanted to take me away."
Rin deliberately avoided the key details and spoke with a pitiful expression.
"Old man, what do you have to say now? Your ANBU are colluding with the Uchiha," Tsunade added coldly.
The Third Hokage felt a headache coming on.
Why was it that Rin's version and the ANBU's report sounded similar—
Yet felt completely different?
According to Rin, he was the victim.
But according to ANBU, if they hadn't intervened, the Uchiha group would've been killed by a massive Water Release attack.
Something didn't add up.
"Cough… you two, explain why you helped the Uchiha," the Third Hokage said, shifting the pressure onto the ANBU.
"Lord Hokage, if we hadn't blocked Uzumaki Rin's Water Release: Great Waterfall Jutsu, all eight Uchiha would have died," one of the ANBU replied.
Great Waterfall Jutsu?!
Minato, standing nearby, was stunned.
When Rin mentioned using Water Release earlier, everyone assumed it was something minor like Water Wave—a C-rank technique.
No one expected—
An A-rank Water Release.
Great Fireball was only C-rank. Even with skill differences, a few academy students couldn't possibly withstand the full force of a Great Waterfall Jutsu.
If ANBU hadn't stepped in—
They would've been crushed.
"Cough… Rin, why did you use Great Waterfall Jutsu? Against a C-rank technique, you should respond with something similar. Using such a high-level jutsu wastes too much chakra—you could easily exhaust yourself," the Third Hokage said with a forced smile.
He wasn't planning to blame Rin.
The Uchiha had brought this on themselves—and dragged ANBU into it.
As long as Rin was appeased, everything else could be handled.
But no one expected Rin to reply:
"Chakra can run out? I thought it was infinite. I always felt like it just replenishes immediately after being used."
Cough—!
The Third Hokage nearly choked.
What kind of statement was that?!
He looked at the people in the room.
Tsunade—Senju clan, chakra reserves far beyond normal.
Kushina—Uzumaki clan and Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Chakra depletion? What's that?
Rin—Uzumaki clan, awakened Sage Body. At five years old, his chakra was already on par with a Kage.
…Say no more.
Comparing normal people to these monsters was meaningless.
Which meant—
Only Minato was normal.
At that realization, the Third Hokage suddenly found Minato much more pleasant to look at.