Chapter 13: UZUMAKI KUSHINA

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Looking at the few students left in the classroom, Umino Ikkaku sighed, walked to the podium, sorted out his teaching materials, and said helplessly, "Let's get out of school."

Umino Ikkaku paused, looked around, and finally let his gaze rest on Uchiha Obito, before continuing, "However, you can't slack off after school."

"You are already one step behind. Those who just ran out are all classmates with chakra."

"They are inherently better than you, so you have to work twice as hard to catch up with them!"

Umino Ikkaku leads Class A, which includes both Ninja students and civilian students. The ninja students are typically those with the best entrance test scores, while the civilian students are the top scorers among non-ninjas. This practice is a tradition in Konoha.

Seeing the students' inferiority complex, Umino Ikkaku sighed. The civilian students in his class often struggled with low self-esteem due to their family backgrounds and lack of strength, and this was something he couldn't change.

Just as Umino Ikkaku was giving his earnest warning, Yuichi Yuuki had already run out of the school, holding the blushing Yuhi Kurenai.

As they reached the street, they happened to see Uzumaki Kushina, who was heading to Ichiraku Ramen.

When she saw Yuichi Yuuki rushing out with Yuhi Kurenai in his arms, she immediately smiled broadly.

"Yuichi, put me down," Yuhi Kurenai whispered. Her voice was so soft that it was barely audible unless Yuichi Yuuki had excellent hearing.

Noticing the amused expressions of people around them, Yuichi Yuuki blushed. Even though he was usually thick-skinned, he felt embarrassed and set Yuhi Kurenai down.

"If you do this again, I'll ignore you for three days!" Yuhi Kurenai pouted and said, her cheeks flushed.

Yuichi Yuuki scratched his head, then took Yuhi Kurenai's hand, and looked directly at her. "Kurenai, I didn't mean to—"

Before he could finish, he felt someone behind him. Thinking it was Yuhi Shinku, he felt his heart race. Quickly turning around, he saw Uzumaki Kushina. Yuichi Yuuki exhaled in relief.

If it had been Yuhi shinku, he might have been in trouble again.

Uzumaki Kushina, noticing Yuichi Yuuki's nervousness, teased, "Kid, you look very nervous. Are you afraid your family will find out you were with a little girl from school?"

Yuichi Yuuki, flustered, denied it, "No way! I just thought there might be danger!"

"Really?" Uzumaki Kushina continued to tease, but seeing Yuhi Kurenai's blushing face, she decided not to push further.

The sight of Yuichi Yuuki holding Yuhi Kurenai reminded Kushina of when Minato had carried her in his arms when she was a child. She couldn't help but smile at the memory.

Yuichi Yuuki noticed Uzumaki Kushina's smile and felt a bit awkward but couldn't quite place why. As a fake Uzumaki clan member, he felt a bit guilty around real Uzumakis.

Seeing that Uzumaki Kushina seemed lost in thought, Yuichi Yuuki took a few steps back, grabbed Yuhi Kurenai's hand, and quickly ran away.

"Huh?" Uzumaki Kushina snapped out of her reverie, looked at Yuichi Yuuki running away, and smiled warmly.

Soon, Yuichi Yuuki and Yuhi Kurenai found themselves on another street. Yuhi Kurenai, slightly out of breath, asked, "Yuichi, why are we running?"

"I don't know, I just wanted to get away," Yuichi Yuuki replied.

Before he could say more, Uzumaki Kushina's voice came from above, "What are you trying to get away from?"

Yuichi Yuuki, with a straight face, responded, "I was just trying to avoid trouble."

"I hope you really think that," Uzumaki Kushina said with a wink, then jumped down and ruffled Yuichi Yuuki's hair playfully, making it messy.

"Don't touch my head! I hate it when people do that!" Yuichi Yuuki said, brushing off Kushina's hand and fixing his hair, a bit resentful.

"I'll develop a head-touching jutsu just for you!" Uzumaki Kushina laughed.

"Then we'll talk about it later," Kushina said, winking at Yuhi Kurenai, and then continued, "We were planning to eat here, so I'll treat you both to ramen."

Pointing to Ichiraku Ramen, Kushina led them inside and said, "I love this ramen. It tastes great."

The ramen shop owner, hearing Kushina's praise, laughed and said, "I promise to make the best ramen in the world!"

Yuhi Kurenai looked around curiously and then at Uzumaki Kushina, "Sister, we're supposed to go back home for lunch."

Uzumaki Kushina's maternal instinct kicked in as she hugged Yuhi Kurenai.

"It's fine. I'll explain it to your father later."

Yuhi Kurenai, nestled in Kushina's arms, felt a bit overwhelmed but was comforted by the warmth. Yuichi Yuuki, envious, silently wished he could be treated like that someday.

Sensing Yuhi Kurenai's feelings, Uzumaki Kushina released her and turned to Yuichi Yuuki.

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