Chapter 2: Academy

"I'm Kin, as you can see, an Uchiha, although I don't really want to admit it."

Kin spread his hands, showing an indifferent attitude, which made the Uchiha students in the class glare at him. If it weren't for Inoue Sensei standing above them, they would have given him a hard time.

They had never seen an Uchiha with such garbage talent.

Inoue Satoru, wearing a green Ninja vest with a Konoha forehead protector around his neck, despite his young age, had white hair all over. He cleared his throat twice, feeling a headache coming on. He didn't need to think twice to know that this was a problematic student.

There was already one in the class, and adding another was a big problem!

"Kin, you've introduced yourself, you can sit down now."

Kin crossed his arms and sat down, hearing whispers around him, his ears twitching slightly.

The enhancement of basic internal skills was comprehensive, and his hearing was naturally not weak.

"Isn't he the Uchiha who hasn't passed the Ninja exam for two years?"

"Why is he in our class?"

"Yeah, aren't those who didn't pass the exam all sent to Class C?"

The Academy was divided into classes A, B, and C. Although it was said that there was no difference between the three classes, the actual result was that Class A mostly consisted of ninja clan children or outstanding commoner children.

Class B had a few ninja clan members with poor talents and mostly commoners, like a certain Uchiha who hadn't been able to use Ninjutsu and had been in Class B for years, yet this time he was sent to Class A.

No one knew what was going on.

As for Class C, that was the strongest class, as it consisted of those who had returned from the ranks of ninjas to the Ninja Academy.

In their student days, they were kings and rulers; in their ninja days, they were perennial failures.

Commonly known as the garbage concentration camp.

In theory, even as an Uchiha, Kin should have gone to Class C. After failing the first exam, due to his Uchiha identity, he was kept back in Class B, and this time, even the Uchiha title should have been meaningless. How did he end up back in Class A?

Whatever the reason, Kin didn't care; in fact, he was quite happy.

Because...

Kin turned to the blond boy beside him, showing a toothy smile.

"Oh, you must be Minato Namikaze. I heard you've been dominating the top spot for years."

Minato Namikaze looked at Kin's smiling face and responded with a perfect, flawless sunny smile.

It was truly a clash between evil and justice.

'Kin: I'm definitely not evil!!'

"It's just the result of hard work. Senpai Kin, please guide me this year."

"Of course, of course."

Kin patted Minato Namikaze's shoulder, indicating that he would watch over him for the next year.

At that moment, a sense of killing intent came from behind.

Kin turned his head to see a red-haired girl glaring at him with hostility. She seemed to be saying something slowly, but no sound reached Kin's ears.

Using his basic Ninja skills of lip-reading, Kin understood the message.

"What do you want with my friend!"

Kin responded with what he thought was a brilliant smile and even gave a thumbs up.

"Bang!" Kushina Uzumaki slammed her fist angrily on the table, drawing the attention of everyone in the classroom.

Kushina's reputation for being fiery red was well-deserved.

She went straight to confrontation.

"What are you looking at!"

Everyone turned their heads in surprise, knowing that she was the ancestor who once beat up a Genin before even entering the Ninja Academy.

"Kushina, we're in class right now," Inoue Satoru reminded, knowing full well not to mess with her.

Despite Kushina's lack of response, the class continued as usual.

Kin ignored the aggressive stares behind him and felt drowsy listening to the class.

He was only familiar with two people in the class; the rest were strangers to him.

Minato Namikaze, a default subordinate of the fiery red chili pepper (Kushina Uzumaki), gave Kin an apologetic smile.

Kin sensed the overflowing killing intent from behind, but he didn't care; he was too tired.

Amidst the killing intent and Inoue Satoru's lecturing voice, Kin fell asleep.

There wasn't much to listen to in his final year of classes. Despite the tension, there were only three main topics.

The first and most common was about the Will of Fire indoctrination.

They talked about how Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen elevated the village, along with a small part about the village's founding by the First Hokage and the heroic sacrifice of the Second Hokage.

As for other achievements, they weren't in the textbooks; you had to seek them out yourself.

After all, Sarutobi Hiruzen, known as the "Strongest Hokage," couldn't be compared to his predecessors.

Other courses included Ninjutsu training and combat practice.

When the school bell rang at the end of the day, several Uchiha clan members wanted to pick on Kin. After all, as a member of the Uchiha Clan, having no talent in Ninjutsu was extremely embarrassing, and they thought it would be better to force him to drop out.

Unfortunately, dropping out was not an option for the Uchiha; it was a privilege reserved for civilian students.

On the twilight path, boys and girls walked home.

The twilight illuminated Kushina's profile with a slight radiance, giving her a sacred aura.

Minato Namikaze's face turned slightly red.

Kushina, unaware of any awkwardness, was instead angry.

"Minato, you're my little brother (A Yakuza way when they refer to their henchman); don't show that jerk any kindness."

He was her only little brother, and she couldn't let anyone take him away. Seeing Minato Namikaze blushing a little made her criticize his somewhat effeminate manner.

At that moment, a body fell from a tree they were passing, startling Kushina. She screamed and hid behind Minato Namikaze.

When she saw who it was, Kushina charged forward again, her hair waving angrily as she approached.

"You Uchiha jerk!"

It turned out to be Uchiha Kin hanging upside down from a tree branch.

"After all, you were the one bad-mouthing me first. Consider us even now that I've scared you."

"I wasn't scared!" Kushina retorted stubbornly.

"That's not the issue right now."

He turned to Minato Namikaze with a smile. "Minato, how about a friendly match between classmates?"

After all, Minato Namikaze was one of the few geniuses in the world of ninjas. Kin had his eyes on him.

Minato Namikaze scratched his head, wanting to refuse. He didn't like these sudden sparring sessions.

Kushina intervened, hands on hips, blocking Minato Namikaze. "If you want to bully my little brother, you'll have to go through me first!"

"I refuse," Kin shook his head. "I'm afraid I'll make you cry, and then someone will come looking for trouble with me."

He was even more afraid of triggering the Nine-Tails inside her, which would spell disaster for him.

"I'll make you cry first, you jerk!"

Kushina charged angrily, throwing a right hook that was fast and heavy, even producing a "whoosh" sound as it cut through the air.

Unfortunately, a powerful punch is useless if it doesn't connect.

Kin simply stepped back, narrowly avoiding the right hook. Kushina followed up with a left hook, which he also easily dodged.

No matter how fiercely Kushina attacked, Kin deftly evaded her punches, moving within the remnants of her strikes. Aside from ruffling his hair with the wind of her punches, he remained unscathed.

It wasn't until Kushina stopped, panting heavily.

Kin hadn't even broken a sweat, wearing a playful smirk on his face.

"That's all you've got?"

"You jerk!"

Furious, Kushina threw a right roundhouse kick. Kin took a step back just in time to dodge it, then extended his left leg to trip her left leg, throwing her off balance and making her spin in mid-air before landing flat on the ground.

Kin stood with his hands behind his back, exuding an air of mastery.

"I'm going to kill you!!" Kushina erupted, wanting to go all out against Kin, but Minato Namikaze rushed in and held her back.

"You're not his match. I'll avenge you," Minato assured her.

Kushina looked at Minato with skepticism, but his sunny smile gave her confidence in his abilities.

"Minato, beat him to a pulp for me!!" Kushina shouted.

Minato smiled confidently, releasing her and walking towards Kin.

The two stood facing each other.

A gentle breeze blew.

Without words, they moved in the next moment.

Becoming two swift shadows, they collided rapidly, their fists and feet clashing and creating a gust of wind that lifted Kushina's red hair and clothes.

She watched in astonishment as the two battled rapidly.

"They're so strong. Are they really just students from the Ninja Academy?" she marveled.

With Minato Namikaze, who had consistently topped the charts, and Kin, considered a waste, their Taijutsu skills surpassed even most Genin.

Although she could hold her own in a fight, her reliance was entirely on physical prowess.

The two before her were all about speed and technique.

Yet, in the midst of battle, Minato Namikaze felt a heavy weight on his heart.

He underestimated him.

With every clash against Kin, his opponent's strikes were incredibly heavy. If it weren't for Kin wearing short sleeves, he would have thought there were iron blocks hidden in them.

And his opponent's reflexes were too fast.

Kin was like a killing machine, switching between offense and defense rapidly. Moreover, every attack of his managed to evade Minato's strikes.

Yes, evade. From the beginning until now, he hadn't landed a single blow, only receiving hits.

Kin's fist landed on Minato Namikaze's face.

"Bang."

Minato instantly turned into smoke and transformed into wood, then his figure darted out from behind Kin and delivered a kick.

In the blink of an eye.

Kin pressed both hands on the wooden figure, lifting it up entirely, then spun and kicked Minato Namikaze in the chest, sending him flying backward.

"Bang."

Minato slid on the ground for a while before quickly adjusting his posture, half-kneeling on the ground.

A sharp Kunai was pointed at his forehead.

Minato looked up to see Kin's bright smile and heard his lips part lightly.

"You lost."

Minato scratched his head, not feeling disheartened but smiling brightly.

"I lost."

Then, he glanced awkwardly at the stunned Kushina and said, "It seems I can't beat Kin Senpai."

"He used his strength advantageously, nothing impressive," Kushina commented without blaming Minato but rather expressing disdain for Kin, who took advantage of his strength.

The two had a two-year age difference.

However, Minato turned serious and said to Kushina "Losing is losing."

Seeing Minato's serious expression, Kushina turned her head away.

"Don't be so absolute; I have a secret to my strength."

"Do you guys want to learn?"

At this moment, Kin revealed his true intentions.

"I can teach you guys!"