“Good morning.
That bento…”
“I ate it.”
Gekko Ryun, sitting through a Will of Fire lecture, yawned lazily as he spoke.
Kushina leaned against her desk, twisting a strand of her hair around her finger.
She asked somewhat nervously, “How was the taste?”
“…..Hmm, it was okay.”
Sigh.
Last night, he had forced himself to finish it, adhering to the principle of not wasting food.
He couldn’t expect a little girl’s first cooking attempt to be delicious.
At least the sentiment was good.
“Really?” Kushina’s eyes curved into happy crescents.
“I made one for you today too!”
“……”
Soon after, Kushina’s eyelids began to droop, and her little head sank down.
During regular Will of Fire classes, usually only he and Minato managed to stay awake.
As everyone knew, he was a fervent admirer of the Will of Fire.
How could he possibly allow himself to sleep during such a class?
His gaze swept over the front row and paused slightly.
Huh?
Where’s Minato?
The fleeting thought of doubt passed through his mind, but he didn’t dwell on it.
He propped his textbook upright and began attempting to create a Chakra Mark.
A moment later, an intangible, formless seed materialized at his fingertip.
Looking down, he couldn’t see anything.
‘Invisible to the naked eye, and consumes very little Chakra.’
After a moment of contemplation, he noted this information down.
He glanced at Kushina, who was dozing off beside him, and gently tapped her arm with his finger.
“Kushina, why is the Third Hokage called the strongest Hokage?”
Kushina jolted awake, her head snapping up as she instinctively put on a thoughtful expression.
“Because…
because…
the Third Hokage is a rare master of all five natures, proficient in over a thousand Ninjutsu.
He’s truly worthy of the title ‘Professor of Ninjutsu’.”
The teacher nodded approvingly.
“Very good answer.”
Kushina patted her chest and let out a long sigh of relief.
Gekko Ryun smiled faintly.
Strongest Hokage?
Try saying that to Senju Tobirama’s Edo Tensei combined with his Mutual Explosive Tag Technique.
And even if you get past Tobirama, Senju Hashirama’s Wood Release Great Buddha is waiting.
[Current Mark Count: 1/3]
Suddenly, he closed his eyes.
In the void of darkness, a point of light appeared beside him.
It was Kushina, marked by his Chakra.
‘Success!’
He felt a slight sense of relief.
The original timeline was somewhat muddled, and he couldn’t be sure exactly when Kushina would be kidnapped by Kumogakure.
He only knew it was roughly within these next few years.
Frankly, the idea that Kumogakure could successfully kidnap the next Nine-Tails Jinchuriki from within the heavily guarded Konoha, right under Mito Uzumaki’s nose…
It was truly imaginative.
The more he thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.
If that event were real, every single member of the Anbu and Root should commit seppuku to atone for their failure.
In the original story, Kushina relied on leaving traces of her red hair for Minato to find her and ultimately be rescued.
But now, with his involvement…
rather than pinning hopes on something like leaving clues, he preferred a more “direct” approach.
Ninja Tools Throwing Practice Class.
“Next, Gekko Ryun.”
The teacher called his name from the roster.
The Ninja Academy curriculum was divided into theoretical classes and practical combat classes.
Theoretical classes included Ninja World geography, Ninja World history, fundamentals of Chakra theory, usage and maintenance of Ninja Tools, trap creation and identification, detailed explanation of intelligence gathering, tracking and counter-tracking, and more.
Of course, there was also the indispensable, unshakable daily Will of Fire class.
Practical classes were much simpler, consisting of basic physical training, the Three Basic Jutsu, and Ninja Tools throwing.
“Now for the moving target training test.
I will throw targets in random directions.
Understood?”
He nodded.
“Do your best!”
He stood in front of the pre-marked line, hearing Kushina’s cheers from behind.
Looking back, Kushina was waving her hand vigorously.
“Begin!”
As soon as the words were spoken, three circular targets flew out in different directions.
His right hand reached for shuriken, holding them between his fingers, his gaze firmly locked onto the moving trajectories of the targets.
As he raised his hand, his wrist flicked, and three shuriken left his hand simultaneously, spreading out in the air.
“Thud!”
With three muffled sounds almost overlapping, the shuriken embedded deeply into the target surfaces.
Gasps came from the line.
The teacher’s pupils contracted, staring at the shuriken that were almost half-buried, a flash of astonishment in his eyes.
“All three hit.
Continue.”
This time, five circular targets flew out.
He held two shuriken in his left hand and three in his right, making a quick judgment before flicking both wrists simultaneously.
“Four hits, one miss.
Total score: eight throws, seven hits!”
After announcing the results, the teacher gave him a deep look.
Eight hits out of seven throws—still some distance from Minato’s usual perfect score on moving targets.
But this power…
“Next, Hayato.”
Gekko Ryun walked back into the line.
Kushina’s eyes sparkled.
“So amazing!”
He shrugged and showed Kushina his hand.
The calluses were all marks left from practicing swordsmanship and Ninja Tools throwing techniques.
“The training must be tough, right?”
“Diligence makes up for shortcomings,” he paused, “but it’s still not enough to achieve Minato’s level of hitting all moving targets.”
“You’re already really good!” Kushina encouraged him.
According to his estimation, to catch up to Minato Namikaze in the Ninja Tools throwing subject, one would need either exceptional dynamic vision, like the Sharingan, or Minato’s level of neural reaction speed to drastically shorten reaction time, or learn special Ninja Tools throwing techniques, such as the Uchiha clan’s Shuriken Manipulation Technique.
Using specially made threads to control the trajectory of Ninja Tools, even achieving complex maneuvers like mid-air direction changes.
“Eight throws, three hits.
Next, Kushina Uzumaki.”
Hayato walked back into the line with an unpleasant expression.
Someone sneered, “Forget Minato-sama and Ryun-sama, you’re even worse than me.
How dare you mock us before?”
Hayato scoffed, “What’s so great about Ninja Tools throwing?
To become a ninja, the most important thing is to learn Ninjutsu!”
“You haven’t even mastered the Three Basic Jutsu, and you want to learn other Ninjutsu?
Do you think you’re the Hokage?”
“Who says I can’t?
Just wait and see!”
Hayato gritted his teeth, snorted coldly, and searched the crowd for Minato Namikaze’s figure.
Gekko Ryun ignored these noises and whispered, “Don’t be nervous.
Do your best!”
“Mm, I’m going.” Kushina steeled herself and stepped forward.
She had never practiced Ninja Tools throwing before.
“Ready.”
A moment later.
“…Eight throws, one hit.
Next.”
Laughter erupted from the line.
Kushina’s face flushed red as she ran back.
He comforted her, “It’s fine, just practice more.”
Shuriken throwing was nothing particularly important for someone with massive chakra reserves.
Especially for Kushina, who could easily become one of Konoha’s top fighters by relying on her immense chakra, talent in Fuinjutsu, and status as the next Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
The principle was simply overwhelming force.
“Mhm!”
Kushina nodded firmly.
Gekko Ryun glanced at Hayato, who was laughing the loudest.
You again?
Why is it always you?
Just mocked for hitting three out of eight, and now you turn around to mock someone for hitting one out of eight…
Is this some kind of mockery conservation law?
Hayato noticed his gaze and looked over, instinctively shrinking back.
But soon, as if remembering something, his face flushed red, and he actually glared back.
His eyes held undisguised provocation.
Gekko Ryun’s lips slowly curved into a smile.
Interesting.
Did he gain a new trump card?
Over the past three years, this troublemaker from Konoha had periodically tried to challenge him and Minato, seeking to wash away the “shame” of his previous apology.
Hayato glanced with disgust at Kushina’s red hair.
“Minato Namikaze isn’t here, so it’s your turn.” Hayato pointed at him and shouted loudly, “Sensei, I challenge Gekko Ryun!”
“Hmm?”
The teacher, who had just finished the shuriken throwing test and was packing up the score records, looked over.
“Are you sure?”