Chapter 3

"Come on, eat! Why aren't you eating? This meal is on me!" Uzumaki Kushina laughed heartily, patting her flat chest.

Yagumo stared helplessly at the bowl of tonkotsu ramen in front of him, not daring to move. The story began a few minutes earlier.

After completing the mission, Yagumo's first reaction was to quickly retreat, but the speed of the jounin was incredibly swift. Before he could react, Uzumaki Kushina was already in front of him.

"Little boy, you checked me out twice in just a few seconds, and that comment was deliberately said for me to hear, right?"

Uzumaki Kushina smiled and placed her right hand on Yagumo's shoulder. In an instant, he lost his ability to react, even though she had no ill intentions. The massive amount of chakra naturally suppressed him.

"Of course not," Yagumo responded weakly. This was the enhanced perception from the Nine-Tails' influence, even a slight glance was noticed.

"Since you have such good taste, I'll treat you to my favorite food," Uzumaki Kushina said happily.

"Because... you're happy to be complimented on your hair color?" Yagumo thought to himself. Although he was reluctant, he couldn't resist Uzumaki Kushina's strength and was dragged closer to the ramen stand.

"Two bowls of tonkotsu ramen, Uncle Ichiraku."

Yagumo sneakily glanced at the flustered Moriyako, savoring the aroma of the rich tonkotsu broth.

"Eat..."

A few minutes later, looking at the empty bowl, Yagumo couldn't help but think:

"Really delicious."

"Why were you sneaking glances at me?" Uzumaki Kushina wiped the oil from the corner of her mouth and asked Yagumo.

Admitting it, Uzumaki Kushina was very beautiful, with a slender yet powerful figure, especially her flawless long legs.

"This..."

"I get it, you must have fallen in love with me at first sight, right? Too bad, I already have a boyfriend," Uzumaki Kushina said to herself.

"Of course not!! I'm going to be late for class... Goodbye, sister!" Yagumo grabbed Moriyako's wrist and ran towards the academy, looking like a boy whose secret had been exposed.

Watching Yagumo run away, Kushina's lips curved into a beautiful smile.

This was the second time someone had genuinely praised her red hair, and the first was her current boyfriend, Minato Namikaze.

"Poof."

A blond-haired boy appeared behind Uzumaki Kushina, with a handsome and gentle face, wearing a warm smile.

"Kushina seems to be in a good mood today."

"Just met an interesting boy."

...

"Huff... huff..."

After running a few hundred meters and realizing Kushina wasn't chasing him, Yagumo stopped. Being late was just an excuse.

"Hope I won't be targeted."

"Submit the mission."

A familiar sensation surged from deep within his body. The feeling of growing stronger made Yagumo deeply fascinated, and he couldn't help but smile.

"So, Yagumo, do you really like that kind of girl?"

Moriyako spoke softly, and for some reason, Yagumo detected a hint of coldness in her voice.

"Of course not." Yagumo answered seriously, his tone filled with convincing sincerity.

...

The first-year instructor was named Kiyoshi Keisuke, a rather strict middle-aged man with sharp, eagle-like eyes. Yagumo guessed he had recently left the battlefield and was suffering from post-traumatic stress.

The four morning classes were all basic knowledge, including geography, history, power distribution, and brainwashing courses about always being loyal to Konoha and the Hokage.

Yagumo diligently took notes, as these lessons could potentially save his life in the future.

For example, in the class on ninja techniques, if Asuma Sarutobi had paid attention, he wouldn't have failed to recognize the Kekkai Genjutsu used by Hidan in the future...

Thinking about this, Yagumo began to listen more attentively, occasionally sneaking glances at Asuma Sarutobi, who was whispering with Kurenai Yuhi.

"Good job, Hidan."

To Yagumo's surprise, on the first day of school, the homeroom teacher, Kiyoshi Keisuke, arranged an in-class test, where students would fight each other.

Test requirements: No weapons allowed, being knocked down means failure, and surrendering without a fight is not allowed!

Kiyoshi Keisuke's exact words were: "Konoha's ninjas do not need cowards!"

After eating Moriyako's lovingly prepared lunch box without expression, Yagumo went to the training ground outside the classroom to watch the battle list on the wall.

Among them: Kakashi Hatake vs. Asuma Sarutobi

Uchiha Eien vs. Hyuga Shinkai

Hyuga Yami vs. Uchiha Asuka

Near the end, Yagumo saw his name, and his opponent was Kenta Koyama, another civilian ninja.

Asuma Sarutobi usually acted carefree, but when he clashed with Kakashi Hatake, Yagumo understood the depth of the ninja clans.

Both of their agility was certainly above seven, and their strength, while slightly weaker, was definitely not below five. In other words, these two were currently insurmountable mountains for Yagumo.

Asuma Sarutobi, though not bad, was undoubtedly more exceptional. After a dozen moves, he was thrown and fell heavily to the ground.

The two made the seal of reconciliation.

Several rounds of tests followed, broadening Yagumo's horizons and helping him understand the gap between the ninja clans, which was mostly due to physical strength.

"Next pair of students."

"Kenta Koyama and Yagumo."

"Good luck, if you can't handle it, just admit defeat. It's okay to lose... after all, you've never been good at fighting since you were little."

Moriyako whispered.

"Okay, I understand."

In his memory, the original owner was indeed not good at fighting, so this battle could only be abandoned. After all, a change in personality takes time.

"Seal, the seal of opposition."

"Please teach me."

Their gazes collided in mid-air. Kenta Koyama had dark skin and appeared to be stronger than Yagumo's current body.

After the fight began, Yagumo suddenly punched Kenta Koyama's shoulder, but was easily dodged. Kenta Koyama countered by striking Yagumo's chest, causing Yagumo to lose balance in his "panicked" attempt to punch back.

Kenta Koyama took advantage of Yagumo's loss of balance, forcefully pushing him down. As Yagumo fell, he quickly grabbed Kenta Koyama with his left hand.

"Indeed, I haven't successfully extracted chakra yet."

Although the chakra extraction method had been distributed, due to the lack of guidance, few civilian students could extract chakra overnight.

This was one of the reasons he chose to hide his abilities, as he had no chakra in his body during the entrance test two days ago.

The audience below burst into laughter, clearly mocking Yagumo for being so easily defeated.

The result was as Yagumo had expected, perfect. Although the civilian genius persona was good, the most likely outcome was to end up in the Root or Anbu, neither of which was in Yagumo's plans.

After making the seal of reconciliation with a "frustrated" expression, Yagumo returned to the viewing area. There were still several more pairs of battles, and some performed even worse than Yagumo.