21. Kushina and Minato

"First place, Hanekawa."

Eichiro couldn't help but praise, "Hanekawa's progress since enrollment has been evident to all. Everyone should learn from him."

Kakashi instinctively clenched his fist.

Though it was just a trivial physical training exercise, he couldn't help feeling a bit dissatisfied.

After all, he'd always been first in every area in the class.

"Ah!"

Might Guy clutched his head dramatically.

If it hadn't been for the sudden cramp he experienced near the finish line, he might have won.

But no matter. Physical training wasn't everything—what thrilled him was discovering a new rival.

"Kakashi actually lost?"

Obito Uchiha seemed more upset than if he'd lost himself. "Damn it! Kakashi is only allowed to lose to me!"

Nohara Rin glanced at Hanekawa, who was still catching his breath but looked composed even drenched in sweat. Her curiosity grew.

Why was someone from an ordinary ninja background so strong?

After defeating Sarutobi Asuma, he'd now outrun Kakashi and Might Guy. Could it be their class was about to produce a genius from the civilian ranks?

Rin thought of Minato Namikaze, who had been taken as a disciple by Jiraiya.

"It's just physical training."

Sarutobi Asuma gritted his teeth.

The next second, he saw the petite figure of Kurenai stand up and walk over to Hanekawa.

Suddenly, he just wanted to go home—he was exhausted.

"Hanekawa, you're amazing!"

Kurenai jogged over to Hanekawa and sat down beside him. She exhaled deeply and pushed her damp hair behind her ears, revealing her fair forehead.

Hanekawa nodded weakly.

To surpass Kakashi and Guy in the final stretch, he'd pushed himself to the limit, and now he was utterly drained.

But inside, he was exhilarated.

Two skill boosts and a month of hard work had finally brought him to their level. This cheat-like ability was truly impressive.

Of course, only when it came to running.

In a fight, he knew he still wouldn't stand a chance.

---

With physical training over, school was dismissed.

Hanekawa told Kurenai to head home as he made his way north.

He'd spent much time training at Training Ground 4 and had familiarized himself with the area.

North of Training Ground 4 lay the infamous Forest of Death, a natural wonder created by the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, using Wood Release.

As he walked, Hanekawa noticed footsteps behind him.

Turning around, he saw Kakashi.

"Heading to train?"

Hanekawa asked.

Kakashi gave a slight nod.

Today was a little different—he intended to push himself harder after losing in physical training.

"You too?"

Kakashi asked in return.

"Something like that," Hanekawa replied after a moment.

Normal ninjas wouldn't bother training with explosive tags. If he mentioned it, others might think he was just wasting money.

But Hanekawa had his own system to grind progress bars.

---

At Training Ground 4, Hanekawa continued walking north.

Kakashi glanced his way, curious but didn't ask further.

After some thought, Kakashi began his running exercises.

"Sorry, I had a mission and got delayed," said Sakumo Hatake as he arrived half an hour later.

Kakashi shook his head, indicating it was fine.

"Why are you running today?" Sakumo asked, a bit surprised.

"Warm-up," Kakashi replied calmly.

For some reason, he didn't want to tell his father about losing to Hanekawa in physical training.

Still, he had to admit his father's instincts were spot on.

Hanekawa's rapid progress was starting to put a bit of pressure on him.

Of course, Kakashi still believed that in the end, he would be the one to win.

____

The Forest of Death.

Dense branches formed a canopy that blocked out most of the sunlight. Even though it was daytime, the forest felt as dark as night.

Suddenly, Hanekawa's eyes lit up. He picked up his pace, and the scenery opened up—a wide and spacious riverbank came into view.

Hanekawa pulled out an explosive tag and casually tossed it.

Boom!

The ground erupted, leaving a shallow crater, with scorched earth all around.

Cheap things are never good.

The problem wasn't the explosive tag—it was him.

Hanekawa felt that the power of this 300-ryo tag was weaker than the simplest Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu.

Focusing his mind, he opened his system panel and checked the progress bar.

It had increased by 1%, proving that explosive tags were considered ninja tools and did indeed contribute.

Hanekawa resumed his training.

The experience reminded him of his childhood, setting off firecrackers during New Year's celebrations. Unfortunately, once he grew older and had money, he no longer had the chance to play like that.

Before long, the ground was riddled with craters, and waves of invisible heat distorted the air.

"Who's the idiot?!"

A furious shout came from afar, growing closer.

Hanekawa turned toward the voice and saw a young woman with striking red hair approaching.

"Was this your doing?"

Her expression softened slightly when she saw him.

"I'm practicing with explosive tags," Hanekawa replied, blinking innocently.

"Explosive tags?"

The red-haired woman scoffed. "No wonder I haven't caught a single fish."

Since he was just a kid, she didn't get too angry.

"Fish?"

Hanekawa quickly realized what she meant. "Wait a moment."

He jogged to the riverbank, where most of the fish had already been scared off by his explosive tags.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Hanekawa walked upstream and soon spotted a school of fish. He casually tossed another explosive tag.

Boom!

The river surface rippled, and several fish floated to the top, unconscious.

"Come over!" Hanekawa called to her.

"Using explosive tags to catch fish? Only you could think of that."

The red-haired woman glanced at the floating fish and couldn't help but laugh.

The value of all the fish combined probably didn't even match the cost of a single tag.

With a casual wave of her hand, she formed a net out of chakra and scooped up the fish effortlessly.

Hanekawa's lips twitched.

Her chakra control is terrifying.

He had a pretty good guess about her identity—red hair carried a special significance in the ninja world.

"Hey, kid, what's your name?"

The red-haired woman tossed the fish into a bucket she had brought along.

"I'm Hanekawa," he replied.

"Uzumaki Kushina."

She shook the bucket, the fish splashing inside, and extended an invitation. "There's too much fish for just two people. Want to join us?"

Two people? Minato Namikaze?

As a fan of the original story, there was no way Hanekawa would miss this chance. He nodded enthusiastically.

"Follow me," Kushina said, carrying the bucket and leading the way.

---

A few minutes later, Hanekawa spotted a blond young man busy preparing food.

"Minato! Look!" Kushina beamed, showing him the bucket. "I'd say this is three or four pounds!"

Who asked you?

An odd thought popped into Hanekawa's head.

Back in his past life, a neighbor used to love fishing. Whenever that man caught something, he'd stroll around the neighborhood bragging about how much his catch weighed.

One time, after catching seven or eight pounds of fish, he made three laps around the entire community.

"The smell of explosive tags," Minato Namikaze remarked, sniffing the air.

"Sharp as always," Kushina laughed. "He used explosive tags to catch them."

Minato took the bucket and started cleaning the fish while Kushina chatted with Hanekawa.

She seemed like she hadn't had a conversation in ages—she was incredibly talkative and full of energy.

Hanekawa couldn't get a word in edgewise.

______

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