Naruto: The Scourge

Note: Yezi/Ye Zi is replaced with Yuji

Yuji was strong; he didn't hold back when grabbing the boy's hand, causing the boy to cry out in pain.

"What... what are you doing?!"

The boy whose hand was seized by Yuji winced in pain, unable to speak, and his friend nearby scolded sharply when he saw this.

"You're disturbing me." Yuji glanced coldly at the one who spoke, and after dismissing the boy trying to pull on Kushina's hair, he didn't want the situation to escalate further and walked back to his seat.

"That jerk." The boy with the crew cut rubbed his wrist, muttering angrily under his breath but not daring to retaliate. When Yuji grabbed his wrist, he felt like it was about to snap, and the pain was almost unimaginable.

"Are you okay?" Others looked at the redness and swelling on the boy's wrist with slight fear, the impulse to act vanishing as they saw him.

Strength, as always, can act as a shield—whether for offense or protection.

"I'm fine."

The boy with the crew cut covered his wrist, taking shallow breaths. He glared angrily at Yuji's profile but lost interest in picking on Kushina and turned to walk back to his seat. The others exchanged glances and returned to their seats in disappointment.

Seeing her classmates walk away, Kushina let out a small sigh of relief. If Yuji hadn't grabbed that hand, her hair would have been in trouble, and she would not have been able to resist hitting that idiot.

"That person..."

She silently watched Yuji, who was propping his chin on his hand, gazing out the window. Even from the side, his face exuded an unmistakable coldness. After a moment, she slowly walked back to her seat, sensing a gaze fixed on her. Turning her head, she saw the little yellow-haired kid.

"What are you looking at?" Kushina said bluntly.

Minato paused, a bit embarrassed, and looked away to chat with his friends. Although he was talking, his eyes would occasionally flick toward Kushina, sulking in her seat, and then at Yuji, staring at the scenery outside.

Time passed quickly, and half a year flew by.

Puff puff puff!

Almost like a series of connected thuds, three kunai hit the target in a straight line, with only a few centimeters between them.

Yuji retracted his right hand, stepping down with his left foot, using the momentum to spin his torso and transfer the force to his left hand, throwing the three kunai held between his fingers with power.

Three black projectiles shot from his hand, followed by three more thuds.

Puff puff puff!

Jinamu first glanced at the six kunai embedded in the bull's-eye before turning to Yuji, surprise flickering in his eyes. He said in a deep voice, "Yuji, full marks."

The test required three kunai to be thrown, but Yuji threw six, three with each hand, hitting the target's center. Before the test began, he hadn't noticed that Yuji had hidden three kunai up his left sleeve.

Jinamu didn't praise or scold for this overachievement, but he appreciated it in his heart. Most people had a dominant hand for using tools and weapons, but Yuji, at such a young age, maintained balance between both hands, which was unexpected.

Over the past six months, Yuji had dedicated all his time to training with ninja tools, never wasting any moment. His precision and power were the results of hard work, so there was no reason to be overly pleased.

He quickly walked to the target, pulled out the kunai, and put them back into the ninja tool pouch at his waist before returning to his place in the lineup.

Whether they had taken the test or not, everyone looked at him with astonishment.

Minato raised his left hand unconsciously. He was confident that his use of ninja tools was not inferior to Yuji's, but he hadn't trained his left hand to match his right. Realizing its importance, he smiled slightly and knew what he needed to work on.

"Next, Namikaze Minato."

Hearing the teacher call his name, Minato stepped out of the line and took his position. After a brief pause, he threw three kunai, hitting the bull's-eye with precision.

"Namikaze Minato, full marks. Next, Uzumaki Kushina." Jinamu glanced at the target and then looked away, calling the next name in a deep voice.

Only three people performed exceptionally in this round: Yuji, Namikaze Minato, and Uzumaki Kushina. Unsurprisingly, Kushina also earned full marks, while the others were not far behind, lacking only consistency.

The test concluded, signaling the end of class.

Jinamu noted the results in his notebook, carefully writing comments for each person. In the end, these assessments from half a year would be compiled into a report and submitted to the Hokage's desk.

Spring was in full bloom, with cherry blossoms fluttering like countless butterflies, an exquisite sight.

There was a place in Konoha Village filled with cherry trees, an ideal spot for annual flower viewing.

Every time she returned home, Kushina made a point to take the longer route just to walk down the cherry blossom avenue. Today, she did the same.

She wasn't the only one who deliberately took the longer path for the cherry blossoms; Yuji was also among them. Of course, not everyone came for the blossoms.

Kushina, with a light smile, ran down the cherry blossom avenue, her crimson hair fluttering in the wind, radiating a unique charm.

She suddenly stopped when she saw someone ahead.

"Hmph."

Matsuda looked at Kushina with ill intent, snorting coldly.

Seeing that the person was a classmate she had beaten up multiple times, Kushina frowned, sensing hostility. However, if it was just one person, she thought she could handle it with one more fight. But her expression shifted slightly when another person who resembled Matsuda stepped forward.

"You're the one who often makes my little brother cry, aren't you?"

The boy with the forehead protector crossed his arms, walking toward Kushina with a slightly arrogant look.

Kushina stood unafraid, pointing at Matsuda with one hand and putting the other on her hip. She retorted without hesitation, "He's the one always picking fights with me, even though he's so weak."

"Uh…" Matsuda tilted his head back as if struck, the memory of losing to a girl being a painful spot for him. But not only did he lose, it was usually with several of them getting defeated by Kushina.

As a brother, Matsuda didn't care whose fault it was. His only goal was to back up his brother and teach a lesson to those who bullied him.

Matsuda's brother, Matsushita, cracked his knuckles with an ominous look and said, "Those who bully my brother need to be properly taught a lesson."

Kushina took a step back. The other boy wore a forehead protector, indicating he was a genin, and she hadn't graduated from the ninja academy yet. Making a quick decision, she turned and ran.

Watching Kushina flee, Matsushita sneered and followed, with Matsuda trailing behind them at a slower pace.

This scene was witnessed by two people, Minato and Yuji.

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