In Haseo's opinion, there wasn't much problem with students fighting each other at the Ninja Academy. Although this institution bore the name "school," its students were actually being trained to become "assassins." So could conflicts among trainees at an assassin training camp really be considered a major issue?
One must keep in mind that even six-year-old children in Konoha carried more than just pens when attending school—they also brought knives.
"Bullying" was always a common and often unsolvable phenomenon. Looking fatter, shorter, or uglier than others could easily make someone become isolated by the majority. Kushina Uzumaki had already experienced this treatment because of her red hair.
Children who had just entered school lacked fully developed minds, rational senses of right and wrong, and judgment abilities. This was simply the natural result of their age and inexperience; it couldn't entirely be blamed on them. However, no matter how one looked at it, the malice they displayed was pure and unfiltered.
In an ordinary school setting, such problems would indeed constitute significant issues. The Ninja Academy, however, was different. Truthfully, Haseo kind of respected Kushina's method—laugh at me? I'll punch you. Laugh again? Another punch coming your way. Seems fair enough, right?
Therefore, he eventually led the child out of Mito Uzumaki's courtyard.
Even within ninja education, one still needed to follow educational principles. Beating classmates until their faces were puffed up obviously didn't line up with traditional educational ideals, so Haseo decided to send Kushina back to school the next day. He also planned to have a face-to-face talk with the teachers at the Ninja Academy.
Needless to say, during the Third Hokage's reign, the Ninja Academy had visibly changed from the era of the Second Hokage. Not only had its scale expanded, but also the standard training duration for regular ninja had extended to six years. More importantly, the concept of "heirs to the Will of Fire" had been strongly emphasized and implemented.
Of course, this didn't mean the Ninja Academy had become completely "noble and upright." In reality, it merely signified a division of functions within ninja education—the public-facing schools became places where these lofty-sounding values were taught, while shadowy institutions quietly handled the cultivation of ninja assigned to covert operations.
In the evening, Kushina followed behind Haseo as the latter quickly strode through Konoha's increasingly empty streets. Kushina, though, was small-statured and her short legs constituted a real disadvantage. Before she knew it, she'd fallen way behind him. Gritting her teeth, she scrambled forward a few quick steps, catching up behind Haseo once more.
Then the pattern repeated—fall behind, rush to catch up.
Haseo had been lost in thought and hadn't noticed what was happening behind him. Only after Kushina started panting did he realize he had completely failed to adjust his pace appropriately. That's when he finally started slowing his pace.
However, his attention came too late; by now, they had already arrived at the entrance of Kagenami Underground Base.
After entering the entrance, the two moved deeper underground through a steep, pitch-black passage. The tight, pitch-black passage seemed to frighten the girl a little, so Haseo started chatting with her to ease her nerves:
"Among the kids you fought with, was there anyone with yellow hair?"
"..."
Haseo's voice eased Kushina's fear slightly. She seemed to think for a moment before answering, "Not really, but there was a yellow-haired boy who kept smiling while watching from the sidelines... He felt like a really annoying guy."
See? The story is starting to connect. With Kushina Uzumaki here, naturally Minato Namikaze will appear.
It's said that Minato Namikaze had always been gentle and kind-hearted since childhood. But just standing there smiling while a girl got beaten up without lifting a finger? That wasn't exactly admirable. No wonder Kushina didn't like him. But it wasn't necessarily Minato's fault. Perhaps he was just trying to decide whom he should actually help; after all, Kushina was fighting ten opponents alone and not even losing.
Moreover, Minato's combat skills were supposed to be exceptionally outstanding from a young age. Though appearing gentle, truthfully speaking, he might've been someone who flew under the radar despite being incredibly skilled. That phrase doesn't really sound like a compliment—maybe it's better to say he wasn't one to show off.
If he hadn't possessed excellent qualities, as someone coming from a civilian background, there's no way he could've ever gotten access to advanced ninja techniques like the [Flying Thunder God]. So if a class conflict occurred and he helped Kushina, then the entire class would've been taken down, effortlessly. On the flip side, if he opposed Kushina, even though she looked fierce and aggressive, theoretically speaking, she'd still end up defeated.
"I heard you took down many people by yourself. How exactly did you do it?"
Though Kushina's talent was praised by Mito Uzumaki, talent alone wasn't enough. Her ability to put that talent to use was probably still limited back then… After all, she'd only just begun attending the academy and hadn't yet systematically learned formal ninja combat techniques, so the fact she managed to win actual fights was indeed quite impressive.
"I'd knock one down, make him cry, then rush to the next."
This time, Kushina answered rather straightforwardly. Her approach was very direct and simple, yet effective due to her strong execution power—she was fully committed to beating her opponents into tears.
"That's way too untechnical," Haseo commented, shaking his head. Right now, she could tackle others directly, but if she still fought like this years later, wouldn't she be putting herself at a disadvantage?
Before long, they entered a vast underground chamber, where Haseo just happened to spot Sakumo Hatake on his way out after finishing work.
"Come on, let me teach you how real fights go."
"Hey, Hatake, come over here and help out for a second." And he called Sakumo over.
And so, Haseo's short but deadly efficient combat lesson began.
Sakumo himself was far less cute-looking than he'd been as a child; his features had grown sharper and more defined over time. At first glance, one might assume he was a cold and stern individual. Yet only those familiar with him knew the truth—he always carried a pack of nuts in his arms… Whether it was peanuts or walnuts, either way, something edible was invariably tucked away somewhere.
Hearing Haseo's voice, Sakumo Hatake curiously walked over. The first thing he noticed was the child following behind Haseo... Hmm, she didn't look like either Haseo or Tsunade.
The red hair suggested she must be from the Uzumaki clan, so fortunately, she didn't resemble Violet Kure either.
"What is it, Haseo?"
"Come on over, I'm about to give a basic demonstration of hand-to-hand combat techniques. Your role is important here... get ready to be the dummy target."
Sakumo: "..."
Though completely at a loss for words, he still went along with it. They were friends off-duty, but after all, Haseo was his direct superior—and he needed to save face, especially in front of the child.
"When your opponent gets excited, they'll definitely charge toward you. At that moment, your eyes need to be sharp and your force decisive. As they step forward, when their body weight shifts forward from behind, immediately take one step ahead and kick their ankle.
The key point here is to break their ankle with the kick, though this requires considerable strength. Since the training partner is innocent, we won't actually demonstrate this part directly."
Well, there was also the fact that Hatake's bones were particularly tough; he belonged precisely to the category of people whose legs weren't easy to kick.
"Then, once you've accurately and powerfully kicked them, their body will lose balance inevitably leaning forward.
What you need to do next becomes simple: just raise the right hand which had been hanging at your side, as it sweeps past your right thigh flick your index finger to draw a kunai from your ninja tool pouch.
With the kunai's blade and spike angled upward, you now have two choices—first, you could stab through your opponent's throat, though I don't really recommend it because even though it's fatal, if the enemy has strong willpower they might still act before dying.
Second, you could pierce their heart instead, which is better since massive blood loss will immediately disable them. And though I haven't been stabbed myself, I believe hitting the heart hurts more than cutting the throat; most people can't endure it.
For beginners, I suggest holding your right wrist with your left hand while attacking, or using both hands on the kunai, making your grip steadier and preventing misalignment during the strike. If you end up stabbing someone multiple times without killing them, then frankly, the enemy would suffer even more.
We ninjas are all about results, not the drama behind the kill. Therefore, when attacking enemies, it's best to remain humane and strive for clean, efficient, one-hit kills. This way the enemy dies quickly, and we ourselves will also feel somewhat better."
The specially-made kunai in Haseo's hand was even thinner, appearing especially sharp. The blade waved around near Sakumo Hatake's chest and throat area, watching this made little Kushina Uzumaki couldn't help but twitch nervously—she genuinely feared Haseo might accidentally jab too hard.
But such a mistake was absolutely impossible.
In fact, in order to assist Haseo's demonstration, Sakumo had deliberately tilted his whole body off-balance. He was balancing himself with just one hand on Haseo's shoulder, so if he slipped, even without Haseo moving, he'd impale himself on the kunai's sharp point.
If that's the case, Haseo would even suspect whether Sakumo had fallen under a curse of "dying in the most awkwardly inevitable way."
"How about it? Think you got it? Want to give it a try yourself?"
After finishing his demonstration, Haseo flipped the kunai in his hand and passed it over to Kushina Uzumaki.
Kushina accepted the kunai somewhat dazedly. She looked at Haseo expectantly, hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke:
"Adult, even though those students from the Ninja Academy are pretty annoying... is it really necessary to stab each and every one of them to death?"
Despite how much she disliked her so-called "classmates" at the Ninja Academy of Konoha, Kushina still had some sense of right and wrong—she didn't think it was necessary to go that far.
This kid's got some brains—she hit the nail on the head right away. Doesn't the Ninja Academy in Konoha have a no-killing policy?
"I see. Let's adjust then. When your opponent loses balance and falls toward you, there's no need to pull out a blade. Instead, press both hands on their head and sharply raise your knee... isn't knocking them down in tears your goal? That kind of move should definitely get the job done," Haseo revised his offensive method.
But come on...
With a shattered nose and tears bursting out from the impact against someone's knee, wouldn't they end up sobbing uncontrollably?
Haseo seemed to have toned things down—but even this wasn't quite suitable for kids fighting at a ninja school.
Or rather, just what did Haseo think these students at the Ninja Academy were?
Sakumo Hatake shook his head silently beside them. Haseo truly wasn't cut out to be a teacher. With such brutally intense techniques—even boys aside—if taught to a girl her age, it would only scare her...
Wait a second. Sakumo's thoughts abruptly stopped. He had somehow noticed the little girl's eyes gleaming slightly.
Was that just an illusion?
Perhaps every child in the Ninja Academy was once an angel who had suffered a broken nose in their past life.
And something called "fate" ensured that in this life, they'd suffer the same fate all over again.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>