Chapter 54 - Comrades

Everyone's expressions were stunned, even Akasaka and Takenouchi Rin, who were Minato and Kushina's classmates, were no exception. 

Although they knew Minato was strong, they didn't expect him to be able to defeat two genin-level ninjas working together.

Moreover, although Kushina had the nickname "Red Hot Habanero", it was just a name among their group of students. 

However, this battle refreshed their understanding, and they finally realized why hardly anyone in their grade was a match for Kushina.

Because even against real chunin ninjas, she could still win. Her strength was simply on a different level compared to theirs.

After dispersing Musashi's chakra imprint, one of Minato's shadow clones supported him, allowing him to regain control of his body.

Minato's main body then dashed towards Kushina. "Kushina, are you okay?"

Including Kushina's original body, there were four "Kushinas" in front of Minato, and he asked one of them.

"I'm fine," the Kushina on the far left replied, canceling her jutsu now that the battle was over.

However, Kushina's expression towards Minato became a bit strange, making him slightly uncomfortable.

"What's wrong?" Minato subconsciously touched his own cheek, wondering if he had gotten something odd on his face.

Kushina stared at him, then said, "Even though you're so strong, you still had to keep hiding from Usagi sensei with me. That's really not very manly!"

She pouted, looking very displeased. The usually perceptive Minato didn't realize Kushina was just pretending.

Minato quickly explained, "Didn't I tell you before? The battles we're experiencing now are meaningless. We need to stay combat-ready while searching for Mikoto."

"Pfft." Kushina couldn't help but laugh. 

Minato was usually smarter than anyone else, but sometimes he could be a bit dense.

Seeing Kushina's reaction, Minato finally realized she had tricked him. But he didn't get angry, instead joining in her laughter.

The defeated Nishikawa and Musashi gathered and approached Minato's group. 

Kushina and the others became alert, but Minato shook his head.

Only then did everyone relax. After the recent battle, not just Kushina, but seemingly everyone had developed a special trust in Minato, automatically deferring to his decisions.

The two chunin nodded at Minato, then helped up the defeated Sakai who had taken many of Kushina's attacks, unlike Nishikawa and Musashi.

"My apologies, senior students," Minato said to the three, as they were all Konoha comrades at the end of the day despite being enemies earlier. 

Nishikawa, the first one Minato defeated, smiled faintly. "No need to apologize. We simply weren't skilled enough. Besides, you were still going easy on us, right?"

He could tell that Minato's goal in fighting them was just to eliminate them. With his speed, there were quicker ways he could have defeated them.

But those methods might have caused injury to Nishikawa and Musashi. 

So Minato chose to paralyze Nishikawa's body with a lightning jutsu and remove Musashi's control over his body with a wind jutsu instead.

Minato smiled, it seemed this senior Nishikawa had better observation and analytical skills than the other two.

"We went too far earlier. My apologies," Nishikawa said while everyone watched, apologizing for previously looking down on the academy students. 

They had been through that phase too, but nearly a year after graduating from the academy, their attitudes had changed so much.

Minato and Kushina made them realize that even academy students should not be underestimated.

"Minato, Kushina, thank you!" Akasaka came before them and bowed deeply.

Kushina was taken aback, but then turned away and walked over to her classmate Takenouchi Rin. "Takenouchi, are you okay?"

They were in the same class, so they knew each other, though they weren't particularly close normally.

"Yeah," Takenouchi Rin replied.

Because of Kushina's personality, Takenouchi Rin had distanced herself from her to some degree. However, being rescued by Kushina and Minato made her view of Kushina improve.

"From now on, you can stick with me and Minato," Kushina smiled at her.

This was the first time Takenouchi Rin had really looked at Kushina's face. Her smile was lovely and infectious, making it hard to refuse.

Takenouchi Rin didn't immediately agree, since her skills would just be a burden to Minato and Kushina.

"Don't worry," Kushina said, understanding her concern as she glanced at Minato.

He smiled faintly, then patted Akasaka's shoulder. "Akasaka, you can come with us too."

Akasaka was briefly surprised, then looked gratefully at Minato, though he felt a bit embarrassed. 

After all, his skills were too lacking.

"Remember what I said when I came in? We academy students are at an inherent disadvantage in skill, but our only advantage is in numbers. So we all need to unite and stick together, or the senior students will keep looking down on us!"

Minato smiled, his words sweeping away Akasaka and Takenouchi Rin's worries.

"Mind if I join you guys too?" The boy who had been with Akasaka and Takenouchi Rin earlier spoke up.

Minato glanced at him. "Of course not."

The boy smiled faintly, but then frowned. "But what about those guys?" He nodded towards the five new students whose chakra imprints had been erased.

Minato was about to call them over too, but Nishikawa said, "Let them come with us. Due to our earlier mission, we know some wilderness survival skills. I'll teach them over the next few days as a bit of compensation for our previous behavior."

After some thought, Minato agreed with this idea. He didn't know those five new students' skill levels, but they couldn't be very strong. Akasaka and Takenouchi Rin's skills were barely passable, and that other boy must be decent to have lasted until Minato and Kushina arrived.

For now, Minato didn't want to reveal his objective and become a target beset by constant troubles. Even just hiding was tremendously difficult. 

The five new students still looked frightened, clearly shaken by Sakai's earlier actions, but not knowing how to survive in the Forest of Death, they had no choice but to acquiesce.

So Minato and Kushina's group grew to five people. After parting with Nishikawa's trio, they re-entered the dense forest. 

Watching their departing figures, Nishikawa muttered, "Namikaze Minato, you have to pass, otherwise it'll be embarrassing for us who got eliminated by you."

Meanwhile, a figure who had secretly observed the entire battle followed after Minato's group, his movements undetectable even to Minato.

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(End of chapter)