The next day.
Gekko Ryun, sporting dark circles under his eyes, pushed the door open and set off on the path to the Ninja Academy.
Last night, he had tirelessly practiced his swordsmanship and taijutsu, reveling in his newfound power with immense satisfaction, only stopping when his entire body ached.
Just one piece of green-quality equipment—aside from the temporarily unusable [Maiden’s Blessing] trait—a single trait that enhanced strength could provide such a significant boost.
What about higher-level equipment then?
And what about after gathering all twelve pieces of equipment?
The mere thought of it filled him with adrenaline, making him eager to collect all twelve pieces of equipment immediately and cram them into the slots.
『I need to find equipment materials and make money.
I must make money!』
The cost of thirty thousand ryo per refinement was indeed not cheap.
Ordinary ninjas earned money through missions.
The village took nearly half of the mission commission, and if there was a team leader, a large portion had to be shared with them.
For a genin, thirty thousand ryo was equivalent to completing several C-rank missions.
Moreover, he was still a Ninja Academy student and didn’t have the authority to take on missions.
『I must find another way to earn money for equipment…』
When the time came, with a wave of his hand, as long as he had enough money, he could grab it all and refine it in an instant.
“Good morning, Ryun-kun.”
Before he knew it, he had arrived at the Ninja Academy, where a blond boy at the entrance greeted him.
“Good morning, Minato.”
Minato Namikaze’s smile was gentle and radiant.
“I was a bit rude yesterday.
I’m very sorry.”
“That was a normal spar, and besides, we already formed the Seal of Reconciliation, didn’t we?”
Gekko Ryun waved his hand dismissively.
Losing was just losing; his spirit wasn’t so fragile that it couldn’t handle a defeat.
This mindset had been forged over three years of never once defeating Minato Namikaze.
“Minato, are you free after school this afternoon?
Let’s have another match.”
After a night of familiarization, with his current strength, he now had the ability to catch Minato off guard and injure him.
As long as he obtained Minato Namikaze’s blood and found a way to get some money, he could immediately refine his second piece of equipment—[Minato Namikaze’s Kunai].
Considering that the traits of [Kushina Uzumaki’s Red Hair] were “Luck” and “Strength,” which were related to the character’s personality and abilities, [Minato Namikaze’s Kunai] was likely to yield talents related to speed…
By then, with enhancements in both strength and speed, he might even have a chance to surpass Minato Namikaze.
He was looking forward to it.
Mainly because Minato Namikaze was a bit too strong.
Many people thought he relied solely on the Flying Thunder God and Rasengan, using one trick to dominate, with a simplistic combat system.
During his Ninja Academy days, Minato Namikaze, without those crutches, might not have been that strong.
He used to think the same way.
Until Minato Namikaze displayed…
terrifying combat intuition and nerve reaction speed.
In a Ninja Academy where even the Three Basic Jutsu were barely mastered by most, he was simply overpowered.
Minato Namikaze paused for a moment and apologized, “I’m very sorry, but after school, I have to train under a certain master.”
Gekko Ryun’s heart stirred.
Could he already be in contact with Jiraiya at this point?
“How about tomorrow?”
“Well…
these past few days have been…
How about we wait until the next class combat test?
It’s in half a month.”
“Alright.” He nodded.
Minato Namikaze smiled and said, “For our match in half a month, I’ll need to keep working hard too.
Ryun-kun is really strong.”
Gekko Ryun: “…”
What little sunshine?
He suspected this guy was a wolf in sheep’s clothing!
‘Half a month…
Even with Jiraiya’s guidance, it’s unlikely he’ll make any leapfrog improvements, right?
It shouldn’t be possible, right?’
A sense of urgency rose in his heart again.
Why did it feel like things were getting a bit unstable once more?
…
During the morning classes, he racked his brains trying to figure out how to make money.
To achieve “equipment freedom,” a conservative estimate would require several million ryo…
Gekko Ryun rested his chin on his hand, looking troubled.
‘I can’t just borrow money from someone, can I?’
Among the people he knew, there wasn’t a single wealthy one—all were broke buddies.
Except for…
Kushina Uzumaki.
‘That’s too sinful.
Borrowing money from a little girl…
I might as well ask Tsunade instead.
At least she’s a blonde big sister.’
‘Wait, Tsunade?’
Tsunade had been fond of gambling since childhood, allegedly learning it from Senju Hashirama.
The nickname “The Legendary Sucker” didn’t seem to be circulating yet.
But as everyone knew, barring any unusual circumstances, this person lost every time she gambled.
‘If I could find Tsunade and bet opposite to her…’
After pondering for a moment, Gekko Ryun decisively shelved this tempting idea.
‘Forget it.
Let’s keep it as a backup option.’
It wasn’t that he was worried about not being able to find Tsunade; he could always run into her by staking out Konoha’s gambling dens.
The main issue was that Konoha Village’s martial prowess was a bit too abundant.
He wasn’t sure if Tsunade’s Will of Fire-infused monstrous strength punch had a principle of not hitting children.
‘It needs to be low-cost and generate money fast…
How could I forget about Jiraiya!’
A flash of inspiration seemed to strike his mind.
His furrowed brows instantly relaxed as an idea to emulate Jiraiya took shape.
‘Does Jiraiya even know what “Icha Icha Paradise” is?’
‘It’s necessary to open the eyes of these Ninja World folks.’
‘For example, something like “Young Jiraiya’s Ninja Academy grades weren’t ideal…”‘
Just then, the classroom suddenly grew noisy.
He looked up.
Today’s sunlight was just right, slanting through the window into the classroom, casting patches of light on the floor.
The teacher led a red-haired girl into the classroom.
“This is Kushina Uzumaki.
Starting today, she’s transferring to our class,” the teacher said from the podium.
“Everyone, please get along well.”
Kushina stepped onto the podium, facing the entire class.
She took a deep breath.
“My name is Kushina Uzumaki.”
Her voice was clear and bright as she scanned the classroom, her gaze passing over unfamiliar faces one by one.
First, she saw a gentle-smiling blond boy, and finally, her eyes settled on Gekko Ryun, sitting by the window in the back row.
A flicker of joy appeared in her eyes.
“My dream is—”
She straightened her chest.
“To become Konoha’s first female Hokage!”
Minato Namikaze’s gaze lingered on her red hair, lost in thought.
The classroom fell silent for a few seconds.
“Pfft!”
A boy in the front row snorted with laughter.
“Hahaha, she wants to be Hokage?”
“Do you even know what you’re saying, you red-haired monster?”
“What weird red hair.
It looks like it’s smeared with ketchup.”
Mocking voices surged like a tide.
The boy who spoke first laughed so hard he rocked back and forth, even exaggeratedly wiping tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes.
Kushina stood in place, her small face puffed up, fists clenched tightly.
“Who are you calling a monster?
Say that again!”
The boy burst into even louder laughter, taunting, “My grandma said red hair means you’re a monster.”
Minato Namikaze snapped back to reality, furrowing his brows as he looked at the arrogant boy, wanting to say something.
Gekko Ryun watched the masked man standing outside the door—the same one who had taken Kushina Uzumaki away yesterday.
The masked man remained silent, just standing outside and observing.
The teacher who had led Kushina into the classroom didn’t intervene either.
‘Konoha is truly a bunch of lunatics!’
He had no interest in listening any further.
Casually picking up a book from the desk, he flung it at the boy laughing the loudest.
Thud!
The book slammed heavily onto the desk, emitting a dull sound.
The classroom fell silent as the boy turned to look.
Gekko Ryun said coldly, “Shut up.
You’re disturbing me.”
The boy shrank back under his glare but retorted stubbornly, “I wasn’t talking about you.”
“Did you forget what you said about me three years ago?
Or how you tried to corner me after school?”
As Konoha’s most famous slogan, when he entered the ninja academy three years ago, he had also shouted about wanting to become Hokage.
There was no helping it—it was very much the Will of Fire.
“I already apologized.
It’s in the past.”
Gekko Ryun: “…”
So these people really think an apology fixes everything?
Is this the traditional skill?
The teacher standing at the podium cleared her throat.
“Alright, everyone, let’s welcome Kushina.”
Scattered applause echoed through the classroom.
Minato Namikaze clapped the loudest.
“Kushina, where would you like to sit?”
A hint of anticipation flickered in Minato Namikaze’s eyes.
Kushina Uzumaki stepped down from the podium.
She felt a gaze on her and turned to glance curiously at the blond boy, then walked without pause to the very back row.
“Ryun-kun, we meet again.”
The energetic girl extended her hand.
Minato Namikaze: “…”
Snowflakes drift, the north wind howls~