Swoosh…

Kushina sees a blurry shadow on her right. She turns towards the shadow and crosses her arm.

Bang…

A punch lands on her crossed arms.

Ugh…

The heavy impact of the punch pushes Kushina back.

"Where is he?" She quickly looks around to spot a trail of the genin kid.

"You can't beat me. You are just an academy brat who learned a few things from his parents. Did you really think you can fight against a shinobi like me who does actual missions?"

Swoosh…

The Genin kid reappears behind her.

'Behind me!'

Kushina swiftly turns around and delivers a roundhouse kick.

Whoosh…

The genin kid ducks down and avoids her kick.

'That was close!'

Bang…

He launches a kick toward Kushina's head. Kushina blocks it with her arm.

'So, heavy! He is so much stronger than me.'

The force of the kick pushes Kushina sideways.

'I can't continue like this. I have to ask for help. Why are those guys not here yet?' She grits her teeth and wipes the dust from her clothes.

"I won't give up like this. I will become the Hokage in the future." Kushina stands back with a new resolve.

----------------------

"Kushina must be fuming in anger by now!" Nawaki scratches his head as he walks toward the park with the rest of the group.

"Well… we didn't expect to make a second trip to the shopping district." Minato scratches his head.

"Miina can also be clumsy sometimes." He adds.

"Please don't tell that to Miina." He hurriedly turns to Yuji, who nods his head.

"The principal scolded me for the misuse of my jutsu and somehow my mother got a wind of it. She lectured me for another hour." Inoichi has a long face.

"What about you two?" Nawaki turns to Choza and Shikaku.

"Uh… when we went to fetch Inoichi, we also ended up listening to the lecture with him since our parents are friends. It was a pain!" Shikaku clears his ear with his little finger.

"Right! I also had to listen to my sister's nagging for an hour." Nawaki sighs and shakes his head.

Soon, the group reaches the entrance of the park.

Hmm…

Yuji's ears pick up some noises.

"Looks like someone is fighting over there." He remarks.

"Huh!" The other also focus their listening and pick up the sounds of the clashing.

"You are right! Someone is indeed fighting in the park. Let's check it out." Nawaki hurriedly dashes towards in.

"Wait!" Yuji grabs his arm and stops him.

"Let's check the situation before we intervene!" He suggests.

"Hmm… Yuji is right! Let's take a look first. If some older kids are fighting, then it's none of our business. We will needlessly get caught in their scuffle." Shikaku agrees with Yuji.

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"Alright, we will listen to you guys."

The group of boys hides behind bushes and observe the situation in the park.

"Hey, aren't those two… Michio and Akai, the two bullies from our class?" Nawaki spots the two bully kids.

"Tch… It's because of them that I had to listen to a lecture from my mom." Inoichi grit his teeth.

"Hey isn't that…" Minato recognizes the older academy kid.

"Yes, he is the one who hospitalized me back then…" Yuji narrows his eyes.

"You know him?" The rest are slightly surprised.

"Now isn't the time to talk about something like that. Look…"

He points towards Kushina, who is fighting a teenager.

"Why is Kushina there and who is that old kid fighting with her?" Several questions pop up in their mind.

"I think I know the reason behind it." Minato, Yuji, and Shikaku remark at the same time.

"You also think so!" They turn to each other.

"Of course, what else could it be but that?" Minato nods at the obvious fact.

"Hey, what are you three talking about?" A clueless Nawaki, Inoichi, and Choza stare at them in confusion.

"Take a look at their faces." Yuji points toward the two bullies.

"Hmm… now that you mention it, they look slightly beaten up. Did Kushina beat them up?" Inoichi notices various bruises on their body.

"These kids thought Kushina was an easy target to bully, but they got beaten up instead. So, later they called their big brother to fight her." Nawaki and the rest giggle among themselves.

"After Yuji, Kushina is the scariest. We never won in a fight against her."

"No, things aren't looking good for her. Take a look at his forehead." Yuji points toward the forehead of the old kid.

"That thing… is that a headband? So, you mean Kushina is fighting against a shinobi?" Worry appears on their faces.

"Will she be alright? We have to help her, right?" Inoichi, Nawaki, and Choza step forward to help her.

"Wait!" Yuji stops them.

"Why? If we wait any longer, then Kushina will get beaten up by him. We will fight that genin with her." Nawaki shrugs off Yuji's stretched arm.

"How will you help her? Are you stronger than that kid, or Kushina, for that matter? All you will do is get beaten up together with her." Yuji rebukes him.

"Ah… this… but…" Nawaki is unable to retort to Yuji's remark.

"Remember, we are in the middle of the village. There might be some shinobi keeping watch over here." Yuji adds.

"Hmm… you are right? But still…"

"Also, we might help her now. But what about in the future, when she is on a mission? We won't always be there to help her, right? This is her fight. If things go out of hand, I will intervene." Yuji coldly stares at the battle between the genin and Kushina.

'How long do you plan to watch this old man?' He mutters to himself.

Ever since the start of the fight, he sensed an eye in the sky constantly monitoring their movements.

"I trust Yuji." Minato agrees with Yuji.

"I also trust him." Shikaku also nods his head. He stares at Yuji's back.

'You must have a reason, Yuji. So, I will just follow along. After all, fighting is a pain.'

"Not you too, Shikaku!" Inoichi, Choza, and Nawaki stare at him in bewilderment.

------------------------

In the Hokage Office,

Phew…

"I finally got some free time after all that paperwork." Hiruzen massages his forehead.

"Hmm… today seems to be the first Taijutsu training session of those new batches of kids. I wonder how those kids are doing?" Hiruzen takes out the crystal ball from his drawer.

He infuses some chakra into the orb and a blurry image in the crystal ball.

"Let's see, where are those kids?"

Fwoosh…

The scenery on the crystal ball changes and an image of Yuji and Minato with groceries appear in the ball.

"Hmm… these two kids seem to be shopping. But why do they need these accessories for the woman?"

Fwoosh…

The image changes to Nawaki.

In the Senju clan,

While scolding Nawaki, Tsunade raises her head and stares at the sky.

"Sensei is at it again?" She murmurs and makes some hand signs.

Bzzt… Crackle…

The image on the crystal ball turns static and disappears.

"Tch… that Tsuna, she saw through me. Well, I will take a look at other kids."

The image changes to Choza, who is hopping through the streets of the Akimichi clan purchasing various ingredients.

"Oh! He is buying many ingredients. Are they planning to eat something good again?" Hiruzen recalls the taste of the fish from a few months ago.

"I might join these kids later if they cook something like that again." Hiruzen salivates.

He keeps shifting through the images of Shikaku, Inoichi, and finally the scenery changes to Kushina beating up those two bullies.

"Hmm… this Uzumaki girl… is a bit hot-tempered. Looks like she picked up her habit from Tsuna." He chuckles warily and continues to observe Kushina.

A few minutes later, the kids return with their elder brother.

"Hmm… that kid." Hiruzen frowns as he recalls the face of that kid.

"I seem to have seen him somewhere before." Hiruzen focuses his attention on the situation while recalling the information about that kid.

A few minutes later,

Bang…

Kushina sends the older academy kid flying with a punch.

"This girl Kushina… she… she is a talent indeed." His eyebrows twitch at the plight of those kids.

"Now… now… what will happen next? Who will they call this time?" The image changes to the three beaten-up kids.

The three kids run out of the park while yelling Kushina's nickname in fear.

"Demon… that girl is a demon!"

"What should we do now? We aren't a match for her." The kids stare at each other's faces.

"Nii-san, that girl is so strong. At this rate, she will keep bullying us in the future." Michio and Akai plead to Hoshi.

"Ugh… even I can't fight against her. Most of her techniques are advanced taijutsu techniques. If I fight her again, I will get beaten up." Hoshi's face turns red in embarrassment.

"Tch… Nii-san is so useless." Akai snorts and shakes his head.

"Yeah… so useless," Michio adds.

"Now that girl will keep messing with us in the future. We won't have a good time in the academy and… and perhaps we won't even graduate from the academy. Even our nii-san is so useless. He can't even protect his younger brothers." Tears flow from Akai's and Michio's eyes.

"Argh… damnit! Fine, I will ask for help from Kenta nii-san. He is a genin and is very strong." Hoshi nods at his plan.

Back in the Hokage office,

"Hoh! Things are taking an interesting turn." Hiruzen stares at the crystal ball.