Yuta walked through the streets of Konohagakure, heading towards the Ninja Academy.
He had no other choice. The place where he lived was too remote, and if he wanted to actually reach the Ninja Academy, he had to pass through the streets of Konoha.
He was not some kind of masochist, obviously being insulted like this naturally made him feel uncomfortable.
After arriving at his classroom in the Ninja Academy, Yuta habitually walked to the most secluded corner of the room and sat down.
The seats both in front of and beside Yuta were obviously empty because no one was willing to even sit with him.
Yuta had been enrolled for three years now, and during classes, he always studied diligently.
After all, if Yuta wanted to change his situation, there was no other way but to become stronger.
When he first enrolled and began learning to refine chakra, Yuta immediately tried it.
Yuta felt that his talent seemed quite decent. Ordinary people needed one or two days to successfully refine chakra for the first time, but Yuta succeeded in just half a day.
However, there was someone with even greater talent than Yuta, and that was Namikaze Minato, a civilian-born ninja.
Over these three years, Namikaze Minato had outshone the geniuses from the Uchiha Clan, the Hyūga Clan, the Nara Clan, and others, becoming the top student in the entire academy.
Moreover, with his sunny personality and handsome appearance, Namikaze Minato was very popular at school.
Unlike Yuta, who, despite his good looks, was someone universally disliked.
Yuta lay on his desk, waiting for class to begin.
Currently, aside from attending school and waiting for Uzumaki Kushina to appear, there was nothing else Yuta could do.
Yuta was deep in thought.
After seeing the true face of this village, Yuta carefully reviewed his memories and realized that Uzumaki Kushina's experiences were somewhat suspicious.
When Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina were still Genin, Kushina had been kidnapped by three ninja from Kumogakure, each of them at least Tokubetsu Jōnin level.
When she was nearing the border and about to lose hope, Namikaze Minato suddenly discovered her marker, tracked it, and singlehandedly defeated the three Kumogakure ninja as a mere Genin, successfully performing a heroic rescue.
This was extremely suspicious.
Setting aside whether Namikaze Minato could actually defeat three Tokubetsu Jōnin at the time, it was already strange that so many people in Konoha could not find three Kumogakure ninja.
Were the sensory ninja of the village just sitting around doing nothing?
Starting from the worst-case scenario, Yuta brainstormed furiously. Suddenly, a flash of insight struck him, and he abruptly lifted his head to look at Namikaze Minato, who was chatting with someone.
The Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails!
At this time, Uzumaki Kushina was not actually yet the Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails.
Because Mito Uzumaki, the first Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails, was nearing the end of her life, Konoha, for strategic reasons and to maintain the balance of power among the Tailed Beasts, had selected Uzumaki Kushina as the new Nine-Tails Jinchūriki and secretly brought her to Konoha.
Thus, Uzumaki Kushina had been brought to Konoha for the express purpose of becoming the second container of the Nine-Tails.
Uzumaki Kushina obviously had no choice in the matter.
According to Uzumaki Kushina's own words from Yuta's memories, the crushing loneliness and suffocating pressure had almost broken her.
Even though she did not want it, she had no choice but to accept the brutal reality.
The reason she described it that way was firstly because she could not change the outcome.
Secondly, it was very likely tied to her bond with Namikaze Minato. Uzumaki Kushina loved Namikaze Minato, and because of that bond, she was willing to remain in Konoha and accept her cruel fate.
It was very likely that from the moment Namikaze Minato rescued Uzumaki Kushina from the three Kumogakure ninja, the whole event had been orchestrated by Konoha's higher-ups.
Perhaps even earlier, Konoha had already started planning it.
They intended for Uzumaki Kushina, the orphaned survivor of the Uzumaki Clan, to form a bond with Namikaze Minato, and then use that bond as shackles to make her willingly become Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
And the outcome was clear: Konoha succeeded.
If Yuta's speculation was correct, then from the beginning, Uzumaki Kushina had been nothing more than a tool.
Namikaze Minato seemed to sense Yuta's gaze and turned to look at him.
Yuta immediately shifted his eyes away, pretending to look elsewhere.
Seeing that Yuta's gaze was not directed at him, Namikaze Minato thought he had imagined it and turned back to continue chatting with the others.
Yuta's heart pounded violently in his chest.
If his speculation was correct, then Konoha was even darker than he had imagined, and even Namikaze Minato, the future Fourth Hokage, might just be a tool.
Yuta took a deep breath. He had to stay calm.
Whether or not these things were true did not matter to him. He would eventually leave Konoha. What mattered now was improving his strength.
The upcoming Shinobi World War would be a crucial period for earning Witness Points. Without sufficient strength, he would not only fail to gain points, but he would not even be able to survive.
Suddenly, the classroom door swung open.
Their homeroom teacher, Hayata Jin, entered the room.
Following behind Hayato Jin was a small figure that instantly caught Yuta's attention.
After waiting at the Ninja Academy for three years, the moment had finally arrived!
Uzumaki Kushina!
The red-haired girl stood a little shyly beside Hayato Jin.
The latter introduced her to the class, saying, "This is the new student who will be transferring into our school starting today..."
Uzumaki Kushina took a deep breath, closed her eyes, mustered her courage, and loudly introduced herself, "I am Uzumaki Kushina, dattebane!"
Uzumaki Kushina immediately covered her mouth, looking shy and uneasy.
She had instinctively blurted out her verbal tic, "dattebane."
Yuta looked at Uzumaki Kushina's appearance and compared to what other kids in the series had said; thought that she was actually quite cute.
However, the other students instantly began laughing at Uzumaki Kushina.
"Look at the color of her hair, unbelievable."
"How could anyone have such red hair?"
"So weird."
...
Uzumaki Kushina self-consciously tugged at her bright red hair.
Hayato Jin scolded, "Alright, enough, be quiet, all of you!"
Listening to the ridicule, Uzumaki Kushina's body trembled slightly, her tiny fists clenching tightly.
As if making a solemn declaration, Uzumaki Kushina loudly announced, "I... I will become the first female Hokage of this village!"
Upon hearing Uzumaki Kushina's words, the entire classroom fell silent, everyone staring at her in astonishment.
At that moment, Namikaze Minato stood up, flashing a bright smile and saying, "I also want to become an outstanding Hokage, one who's recognized by all the villagers."
Uzumaki Kushina pouted at Namikaze Minato, inwardly thinking that he seemed girly and unreliable.
How could someone like him possibly become Hokage?
Hayato Jin then began arranging a seat for Uzumaki Kushina.
However, most of the seats in the classroom were already occupied. Only around Yuta were there empty spots.
When Hayato Jin saw Yuta, he frowned slightly, his eyes filled with disgust.
"No other choice. Go find a seat over there for now."
Following Hayata Jin's pointing finger, Uzumaki Kushina looked over and saw that although the classroom was large, no one was seated around Yuta. It was obvious he was being isolated.
At the same time, Uzumaki Kushina noticed that many students were looking at her with schadenfreude in their eyes.
Instantly annoyed, Uzumaki Kushina stomped angrily toward Yuta's area and picked an empty seat nearby.