Chapter 4: No One is Allowed to Bully Her!!

The new students' courses were mostly theoretical, as the development of the human body goes through a process that also lays the foundation for chakra. This group of children, who were in their growth phase, could extract very little chakra. 

In fact, in Minato's class, there were five or six students who could not truly condense their chakra at all.

"That's it for the morning lessons, everyone! Remember to eat a good lunch!" announced Kunio Shindō after declaring the end of class.

The previously calm classroom was instantly filled with an energetic atmosphere and noisy chatter. Shindō smiled and shook his head, glancing briefly towards Minato.

During the morning lessons, Shindō had been observing Minato, who was normally well-behaved and diligent. However, Minato had not been listening to the lecture at all and had been staring at the new transfer student, Kushina Uzumaki, the whole time.

"Ah, what does this even mean? I can't understand it at all," Kushina said in frustration, clutching her long red hair and staring intensely at the ninja handbook on her desk in front of her, speaking with a strange verbal tic.

Even though she had resolved to treat this as the first step toward her dream, after experiencing the morning lessons, she realized that she was not good at any of it!

During the morning class, Shindō had lectured mainly on basic information about chakra, including its source, nature, and some condensation methods. Kushina found it all confusing, despite trying her best to pay attention. Some people are just better at certain things than others, and Kushina was clearly not well-suited for theoretical studies.

Next to her, Mikoto smiled faintly. As a member of the Uchiha clan, such lessons were naturally simple for her, as she had studied these topics even before entering the Ninja Academy.

Observing the students of different personalities in his class, Shindō smiled softly, organized his teaching materials, and left the classroom.

During the lunch break, students generally did not go home, instead eating the boxed lunches they had prepared that morning.

Meanwhile, Kushina continued to stare intently at the ninja handbook in front of her, oblivious to the increasingly noisy atmosphere in the classroom around her.

"Come on, don't think about it anymore. Do you want to eat lunch together?" a gentle voice called out, snapping Kushina out of her trance.

Mikoto was tilting her head, her black eyes hopeful as she looked at Kushina. Undeniably, Mikoto was very beautiful, with a gentle aura that made it hard to dislike her.

Caught off guard by the invitation, Kushina blinked before a faint blush appeared on her chubby little face.

"Heh," Mikoto couldn't help but laugh at Kushina's adorable reaction. She took out a bag and placed it on the desk. "These are rice balls I made myself. Please, help yourself!"

Mikoto gestured invitingly, and under her expectant gaze, Kushina slowly reached out her small hand towards the bag of rice balls.

At that moment, an unfriendly voice rang out. "Hey, newbie, you think you can just take Mikoto's stuff?"

The two girls turned to see a boy standing in front of a desk. 

Kushina looked stunned, while Mikoto frowned. "Akasaka, this has nothing to do with you! I told her she could take them!"

The boy named Akasaka was one of the more mischievous kids in the class. As Mikoto spoke, two or three other boys approached, Akasaka's friends.

"You know, that hair color of hers is really weird, like red thread," one of the boys said, standing in front of Kushina and eyeing her red hair.

Kushina's childish face scrunched up unhappily at his words, but she simply turned and started to walk away, retorting, "What's it to you?!"

However, the other two boys had already blocked her path. Akasaka shifted his gaze from Mikoto and said, "You're quite sassy for a newbie."

The four boys, around the same age as Kushina, had cornered her at the edge of the classroom. Concern flashed across Mikoto's face before her eyes landed on Minato's seat.

Minato was indeed facing their direction, but he had one arm propped on his desk, the other hand brushing his bangs aside from his forehead. His expression was strange.

"Minato..." Mikoto was startled, having never seen him like this before, but she was also worried about Kushina and unsure of what to do.

In Minato's mind, the image of the red-haired woman appeared again, her face becoming clearer. This time, he saw the anguished expression on her face.

It seemed to be a dimly lit room, and the woman was curled up on a bed, her long red hair scattered in disarray. Tears glistened in her beautiful eyes as she bit her lip, whimpering in pain.

Minato couldn't stop these visions from appearing. His whole body trembled as he watched, not wanting to see her suffering like this. Although he didn't know who this woman was yet, he knew he never wanted to see her hurt or in anguish like this. He would pay any price, even his life, to prevent it without hesitation.

"With that hair like red thread and that round baby face, we'll just call you Tomato from now on."

"I hate tomatoes the most. If they were in a lunch box, I'd definitely leave them behind!"

Hearing these taunting voices, Minato's agony eased slightly as he raised his eyes to see Akasaka and the other boys surrounding and mocking Kushina, pointing at her bright red hair and calling her hurtful names.

Kushina stood there, her face flushed with embarrassed anger, her tiny fists clenched tightly as her body trembled slightly.

Seeing her reaction, Akasaka's mischievous nature took over as he grabbed a strand of Kushina's long hair, commenting, "What a weird color."

Mikoto's dark eyes flickered as she prepared to intervene, but then an enraged voice cut through all the classroom noise.

"No one is allowed to bully her!"

In the eyes of the Ninja Academy students, Minato's form seemed like a ghost, suddenly appearing in front of Akasaka. He swiftly kicked Akasaka hard in the stomach.

Wham!

Akasaka went flying out the back door of the classroom from Minato's powerful kick, slamming against the corridor wall.

The entire class fell silent, staring in shock. The normally gentle and humble Minato had become furious, all for the sake of a new transfer student.

Mikoto and Kushina were stunned, with Minato now protectively standing in front of the latter, his blue eyes burning with ferocity!

(end of chapter)