Chapter 58: Once Again

"Huh?" Kushina let out a surprised sound, the scatter-brained girl only now noticing Hiashi Hyuga's presence. 

However, Hiashi paid no mind to Kushina's words, staring at Minato and Kushina with profound wariness in his eyes.

Possessing the Byakugan, he could see that these two possessed chakra reserves unmatched by even lower-ranked ninja - a rarity among the nearly 300 exam participants.

Especially that redheaded girl, her chakra levels could only be compared to Nawaki, the grandson of the First Hokage who had already become a lower-ninja.

Nawaki possessed the bloodline of the Senju clan, renowned throughout the ninja world for their powerful life force and chakra reserves.

Yet this girl, younger than even Nawaki, had such an immense chakra pool?

Then there was Minato Namikaze. Due to his clash with Uchiha Homura a year prior, he was considered something of a celebrity at the ninja academy, though most students like Miyazaki Satoshi in Minato's squad had forgotten him.

But Hiashi had not forgotten - Minato's chakra was actually stronger than his own despite inheriting the powerful Hyuga lineage.

Through his Byakugan, Hiashi could also see that the blinding speed Minato displayed was the result of instantaneously gathering chakra and releasing it in his legs.

The Body Flicker Technique.

The Hyuga specialized in the Gentle Fist taijutsu, so they were all proficient in the Body Flicker as well. However, Hiashi had not fully mastered it yet.

There were variations of the Body Flicker, and unlike Minato's version of explosively releasing chakra for bursts of speed, the Hyuga's focused on utilizing pure physical speed and power in high-speed movements.

"Why is this guy staring at us so intently?" Beside Minato, Kushina noticed Hiashi's extremely wary gaze, despite the fact they had helped him deal with those two nuisances.

Minato explained, "In the Forest of Death, anyone could potentially be an enemy. Even though we're all ninja academy students, we can't let our guard down. Especially since he's currently at a disadvantage - if we teamed up to take him down, he wouldn't even have a chance to flee."

Kushina promptly stuck out her lip with a pout. "Geez, you're always overthinking things about other people."

Minato gave a slight smile in response. The mindset of those raised in major clans was naturally different from regular civilian-born kids like them.

They were destined to become ninja from birth, requiring them to discard certain useless things.

Such as the innocence typical of children their age.

The lower-ranked ninja defeated by Minato and Kushina's combined efforts quickly fled with his unconscious comrade in tow. Their carelessness and underestimation were the biggest factors leading to this failure. 

By underestimating Hiashi and Hizashi, they were instantly crushed when the brothers took advantage of the darkness. Then by underestimating Minato and Kushina, he and his partner were beaten after just a few clashes.

Ultimately, it was their grave mistake of underestimating their opponents that caused their downfall.

Before entering the Forest of Death, their instructor had warned them about similar overconfidence, but they had paid it no heed.

In fact, most of the lower-ranked ninja eliminated over the course of this day had failed due to that same arrogant mentality.

Seeing that one retreat, Hiashi also turned and departed directly.

Watching him leave, Minato's eyes narrowed slightly. Although unsure if this guy could be considered a friend, at least he wasn't an enemy.

The reason Hiashi had lingered was likely concern that Minato and Kushina were being careless - even if eliminated, opponents could still retaliate out of petty resentment while retaining fighting ability.

Now that he had withdrawn, Hiashi no longer had reason to remain.

"What a weird guy." In Kushina's view, not only did Hiashi have an odd appearance with his pupil-less eyes, but his personality of viewing others as insignificant reminded her of that jerk Uchiha Homura.

Minato gave her a gentle smile, then turned to the other three. "You all get some more rest. It'll be my turn on watch soon."

Their watch rotation had Miyazaki Satoshi first, followed by Akasaka, with Minato taking the final shift.

The others all nodded, though the previous incident had rekindled some unease in their hearts. Having Minato on final watch instinctively put them at ease, however.

He seemed to possess a unique reassuring aura.

Being kids, it didn't take long before they drifted off to sleep, with Miyazaki and Akasaka even letting out contrasting snores.

"So noisy," Kushina grumbled irritably as she opened her eyes, getting up to plop down next to Minato by the campfire with a disgruntled look.

Minato turned his face toward her, then reached out a finger to lightly boop her petite nose, smiling. "You never even fell asleep, did you?"

Ever since Hiashi had left, Kushina had been leaning against a tree trunk, periodically cracking her eyes open a slit to watch Minato - something he had naturally noticed.

"Busted again," Kushina puffed out her cheeks before replying, "You always see right through me no matter what."

Minato gave a slight smile. "Of course, I'm always watching over you after all. So there's no way you could hide anything from me."

Kushina's expression flickered, gazing at Minato's face, made even more handsome by the firelight, left momentarily dazed.

"What's wrong?" Minato turned his head, and Kushina's look suddenly became evasive.

Ever dense about such things, Minato simply continued, "Alright, get some sleep. We still have two more days ahead, you'll need all your energy."

Instead, Kushina abruptly turned to face him directly, her large eyes fixed on Minato. "Minato, can we always stay together like this from now on?"

Minato was suddenly struck motionless, Kushina's words echoing in his mind - a feeling like he had heard that same line before.

An inexplicable emotion welled up within his heart, causing glistening tears to fall from Minato's eyes.

"Why are you crying?" Seeing the tears on Minato's face, Kushina quickly reached out to wipe them away.

Feeling her soft touch on his cheek, Minato unconsciously raised his hand to cover hers, staring into her eyes with a resolute gleam. "I will always stay by your side watching over you. No one will ever be able to take you away from me again!"

Kushina's expression stirred emotionally before she let out a light laugh. "Dummy, what do you mean 'again'? We've always been together, haven't we?"

Minato was momentarily dazed, unsure why those particular words had slipped from his lips so naturally.

"Yeah..." He finally responded with a nod, asking Kushina, "Aren't you going to sleep?"

Kushina flashed a grin. "I'm totally full of energy. I just slept earlier, so I'm not tired at all. Plus, didn't you just say we'll always be together from now on?"

Minato's expression softened, giving her a firm nod.

Illuminated by the firelight, the smiling faces of the boy and girl seemed to declare - this time, nothing and no one would ever be able to separate them again!

(End of Chapter)