Stealing Uzumaki Kushina wouldn't be easy.
Mediocrities don't deserve the Nine-Tails jinchūriki's favor—so even if he managed to win Kushina's goodwill, he would still need to show talent, prove his value, and make the big shots see why he mattered.
Otherwise, "accidents" would start happening to Gojo Yoru with suspicious timing. If he was lucky, it would only separate him from Kushina. If he wasn't… he might simply disappear for good.
After all, the Nine-Tails was the strongest tailed beast—the shinobi world's most powerful strategic weapon at the moment. Konoha needed to bind Kushina to the village with the chains of "bonds," and those chains had to be strong enough to hold.
In canon, Namikaze Minato fit that standard.
But Minato only earned Kushina's affection after graduation, during the Cloud-nin incident.
If Gojo Yoru wanted to cut in during academy years, then he had to display his brilliance during academy years.
So before Kushina arrived as a "transfer student," Yoru needed real strength—and something dazzling enough to impress certain people.
The question was: in what year did Kushina enter Konoha?
Yoru didn't know.
But based on hints from the anime and what he'd observed last term, he could roughly infer it.
First, it was safe to say Kushina wouldn't transfer in during first or second year.
Six- or seven-year-olds were still too short, cheeks still full of baby fat—nothing like the Kushina he remembered from childhood.
Second, if Yoru remembered correctly, in canon there was a guy Kushina beat up who went to find his older brother—already a ninja—to help him get revenge… only for Kushina to beat the brother down too.
If that happened within the same year, then the odds of Kushina transferring in during third year were also low.
Most likely, she appeared after third year. Whether that meant fourth, fifth, or sixth… he didn't know.
That meant Yoru still had at least three years to grow before Kushina showed up.
His pen-spinning paused slightly. A flash of inspiration seemed to cross Yoru's mind, and he closed his eyes as if thinking through something.
Only when the bell rang and the teacher walked in did he open his eyes again and focus on learning.
In his previous life, the average adult male had about 36 trillion cells.
In this world, children with chakra had 130 trillion cells.
So kids here matured absurdly early—five or six and they already understood romance; seven or eight and they might be sent to the battlefield; even in peaceful times, they'd see blood by twelve.
Likewise, what they learned at this age was downright ridiculous.
Language and history. Medicine and chemistry. Cipher-breaking, and more…
Last term, that curriculum had shattered Yoru's arrogance—and it was also one of the reasons his pressure was so crushing.
If he weren't a transmigrator with a decent background, starting ninja fundamentals at six in this world wouldn't give him much of an edge at all.
So until he possessed power sufficient to protect himself, Yoru didn't dare relax for a moment.
Whether it was academics or combat class, he refused to lose to anyone. He would keep winning—keep taking first place, always.
…
Konoha Year 31, March 20 — afternoon.
Bang—
A dull, heavy thud—like a sandbag getting smashed—exploded across the training field in the First Year, Class 1 area.
The crowd ringed around the match suddenly scattered.
A figure flew out of the circle, slammed into the ground, and couldn't get back up.
Seeing that, the chūnin teacher Yūya—standing beside a man in a white coat—immediately announced, "Match over. The winner is Gojo Yoru."
The medic-nin beside him—serving as proctor and responsible for the students' safety—rushed over to check the student's condition, then began healing him with medical ninjutsu.
A lot of the students nearby still looked completely stunned.
"W-what just happened?"
"Didn't Yūya-sensei just say start? How did that Yūsuke guy suddenly get launched?"
"It was Body Flicker! Gojo's Body Flicker is way too fast!"
"Yoru-kun got stronger again. In first year, maybe only Minato-kun can fight him now."
"How is this guy's body even built? Last year he was only half a head taller than us—now he's a full head taller. If you didn't know better, you'd think he was a fifth- or sixth-year. How are we supposed to beat him? This is so unfair!"
"Tall, fast, and strong… no wonder the upperclassmen don't dare mess with him!"
"I couldn't even see it. If I get matched with Gojo later, I'm just surrendering."
"…"
The whispers were quiet. Boys and girls alike stole fearful glances at Gojo Yoru with his hands in his pockets.
Taller than them by a head, expression blank, Yoru looked like an unbeatable demon king—radiating a dark aura.
After the medic brought Yūsuke back around enough for him to shakily form the Seal of Reconciliation—his whole body still trembling from fear—Yoru didn't even say a word. He turned and left the school without looking back.
Yūya didn't stop him.
If Yoru had kicked Yūsuke away and immediately left, Yūya would've been deeply worried—he might even have considered asking the Hokage to assign Yoru a counselor.
But after sending Yūsuke flying, Yoru didn't leave right away. He stayed and waited for the result, then completed the Seal of Reconciliation before departing.
To kids his age, Yoru was a cold, ruthless demon king.
To adults like Yūya, he was just an awkward kid who didn't know how to express himself.
Maybe even now, Yoru felt guilty for not controlling his strength a moment ago.
Today was the third-term final exam for grades one through five. In a few days, sixth years would take their graduation exam.
The graduation exam changed every year—pass it, and you graduate.
Meanwhile, the third-term finals for grades one through five were also called the annual major exam.
After the exam ended, scores would be posted on the bulletin board at the start of the new school year.
At the same time, based on combined results across all three terms, five "overall top students" would be selected from all classes across all five grades—role models for the entire student body.
That role model was called the Chief Student.
Even though the final taijutsu portion wasn't finished yet, the students of Class 1 already knew who their Chief Student would be.
This year's incoming class had no members of the Uchiha or Hyuga clans.
Those two great noble clans controlled key departments and had the privilege of training their own successors.
The members they sent to the academy were either ordinary kids whose talent wasn't even valued within the clan, or the descendants of upper leadership—"hostages" sent to reassure the Hokage and Konoha's high command.
Only when those high-ranking descendants received "Will of Fire" education would the village's leadership truly feel at ease.
Of course, those two clans occasionally sent a few geniuses into the academy just to remind everyone they existed—showing off talent and strength, then graduating early, making peers feel the gulf between themselves and the great clans.
Unfortunately, this class had no such clan prodigies.
But in Yūya's eyes, whether it was Gojo Yoru or Namikaze Minato, aside from lacking powerful bloodline limits, their talent was no worse than the heirs of those elite clans and major ninja families.