Killing her playmates with a single stab—such ruthless decisiveness seemed beyond Kushina Uzumaki's psychological limits, so she refused. However, breaking a playmate's nose? That was something she found totally acceptable… To be precise, making those who laughed at her cry brought her great satisfaction.
At first, both Kagenami and Haseo were strangers to Kushina Uzumaki, but that sense of unfamiliarity faded quickly.
As for Haseo, there was nothing particularly special about him—he gradually became likable just by watching. It was inevitable. Like when you got into a brawl at school—even broke someone's leg—your parents would yell at you, but an uncle would cheer you on and call it a good fight. Naturally, goodwill was essential.
Haseo was that "uncle."
He didn't just take her side—he taught her the quickest, smartest, and most effective ways to make those bullies cry… Truly, Haseo was the finest soul that Konoha had ever known.
As for Kagenami, the reason was even simpler. Not long after arriving here, Kushina discovered that this place was actually packed full of members of the Uzumaki clan—the population density was even higher than in the Uzumaki district itself.
Due to the Uzumaki clan's relocation plan, for a child Kushina's age, the Land of Whirlpools was essentially a place without much impression—it existed only in adult conversations. The Uzumaki district within Konoha was her true home, yet Kagenami felt somehow even more like home than home itself.
Everywhere here were redheads—and black-haired ones pretending not to be redheads.
However, after bringing her to Kagenami and teaching her how to better get along with others, Haseo's childcare duties came temporarily to an end, and he handed Kushina over to other Uzumaki shinobi for care.
"Done already?"
When he returned to his office, he immediately noticed a red rectangular crystal on his desk, about the size of a little finger; it looked like a pendant.
This was something he had previously commissioned Uzumaki Shikou to make.
He approached, picked up the crystal, and carefully examined it under the lamplight on the wall.
The inside of the crystal held no impurities, while its exterior appeared completely unprocessed—like a rough, unpolished product.
Yet Haseo nodded, seemingly quite satisfied with it. Then, he bolted the door shut and started channeling chakra into the crystal.
...
The previous night, Kushina Uzumaki had already stayed the night at Kagenami's underground base, which provided lodging.
Early the next morning, Haseo prepared to send her to the Ninja Academy, planning afterward to talk with her teachers about her habit of hitting people—in this moment, Haseo clearly played the role of an ojōsan.
Currently, the Ninja Academy had six total grades, with four classes per grade, each containing thirty students—meaning normally slightly over one hundred students would graduate every year.
If every one of them became a qualified genin, they could more than cover Konoha's yearly losses in battle strength—at least during peacetime.
However, the problem is that numbers can't be calculated so simply. For one thing, it's rare for graduates to immediately become qualified Genin in the same year they graduate. Furthermore, the losses Konoha suffers are experienced fighters, while the replacements are inexperienced rookies who've barely seen bloodshed. The gap between them is enormous.
That's still the case during peacetime, let alone during wartime when combat strength suffers major losses. Therefore, there must be other ninja training organizations in Konoha besides the Ninja Academy—for example, Root, led by Danzo Shimura.
Root also begins training ninjas from a very young age. As time goes on, the quality of the ninjas trained by Root at "graduation" far surpasses those graduating from Konoha's Ninja Academy. Some are even said to be able to take on an entire squad by themselves.
But if that's the case, why does the Hokage still place so much value on the Ninja Academy?
The educational philosophies differ. Root trains absolute obedience into their students, creating nothing more than "killing machines." Although students in the Ninja Academy must also abide by the ninja code, ultimately, they're meant to inherit and carry forward the spirit of the Hokage.
More importantly, the ninjas trained by Root are bound by all sorts of rigid rules. No matter how strong they are, they're merely standardized products churned out by an assembly line. On the other hand, the graduates of Konoha's Ninja Academy receive a less strict education, thus granting them more room for growth and creativity.
The rapid period of growth for Root's ninjas occurs before graduation, whereas for the Ninja Academy's students, their strongest growth phase truly begins after graduation.
Some ninjas graduate at five or six and become Jonin by twelve—wouldn't you call that a miracle? And after twelve? Anbu… and then what? To be honest, they kind of fizzle out.
Haseo arrived at the Ninja Academy and sent Kushina into the classroom. Right as Kushina stepped through the doorway, a wave of hissing sounds came from inside—a noise Haseo standing at the door could hear clearly.
As he stood at the doorway, the sight of his unfamiliar face immediately hushed the entire classroom… After all, children are always bold only among themselves; just being a "stranger" is enough to make them behave obediently.
Haseo signaled Kushina with a subtle lift of his knee, and she gave him a knowing nod before calmly taking her seat. The elder and the child shared an unspoken understanding.
Next, Haseo's gaze began scanning the classroom until finally settling on a specific person. He pointed directly at him, signaling for this boy to come outside.
"Me?"
Naturally, he was puzzled—who was this man? Still, he could see the forehead protector on Haseo's head, indicating that Haseo was a ninja. Since he himself was part of the ninja program, the possibility that this man could be a teacher at the Ninja Academy existed. Though confused, the boy finally rose from his seat.
He stepped out of the classroom and approached Haseo.
"Excuse me, sir, but…"
"Ignore the greeting. Just spin around. Go ahead, spin once."
Haseo didn't acknowledge the boy's polite salutation and instead directly said this.
"Spin? Spin around? Like this?"
Still puzzled, the boy tentatively gave a slow turn on the spot.
"Ah, definitely more handsome than Minato Namikaze. So... that's why you can't be the main character?"
"Huh?"
There's no way Minato Namikaze could understand that, and Haseo didn't really expect him to.
"Go back."
Then Haseo gave him a light kick in the butt and gestured for him to go back to class... Minato Namikaze couldn't fly just yet, so he could only obediently accept the kick.
Just kicking the "nice guy" once instantly made Haseo the entire class's "villain." Right now though, they were furious but dared not say anything.
Only Kushina Uzumaki's eyes sparkled. She actually thought Haseo was helping her get revenge, since the two of them had specifically mentioned something about "blond hair" yesterday.
"Hey, who are you?"
At the end of the corridor, a Chunin instructor quickly rushed toward Haseo. He'd just so happened to see a stranger kicking his student—how could he not be furious?
Looks like he was quite a responsible teacher. After all, it's one thing if he himself physically punishes students; how could others casually lay hands on these beloved kids?
This person must be in big trouble now for angering their homeroom teacher... In the students' minds, homeroom teachers were invincible beings, so when that teacher appeared, they all immediately thought the same thing.
What happened next, though, left everyone stunned. No one could see clearly what Haseo did, but suddenly his figure strangely appeared directly behind that teacher, and he kicked him too.
It was all in good fun, so the kick wasn't too hard—though definitely harder than the one he'd given Minato Namikaze before.
Well, Haseo was just making a point... If I can kick your student, why not you too?
But out of politeness, he still answered the man's question verbally, "I'm Shouyi Uzumaki. I received notice from the school yesterday, so I came here today."
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