The cold morning air was invigorating, and the streets of Konoha were slowly coming to life — shops were opening, merchants were laying out their goods, and passersby hurried about their business. Kuro was walking toward the Academy with his hands clasped behind his head, and despite his lazy gait, a focused look reflected in his eyes. The second half of his final, fourth year at the Academy had just begun.
He took a deep breath, catching the familiar scent of fresh pastries from a nearby bakery, and in that moment his thoughts drifted back into the past. A year and a half. It seemed like so little time, yet so much had changed. First and foremost — he himself.
After the fight with Minato, he began training even more seriously. The blond's progress had truly been impressive, especially considering that Namikaze hadn't even found his legendary mentor yet. How could Kuro allow himself to lag behind the future Hokage? During this time, his body had grown stronger and taller, and his chakra reserves had become downright frightening. Though for the most part, that was due to the increase in Sukuna's power percentage — not long ago it had surpassed twenty percent, and unfortunately for Nara, his fourth shadow turned out to be Rabbit Escape.
Of course, that shadow could be put to good use, but Kuro had been hoping for Nue. A winged shikigami would have made him incredibly mobile and provided a way to escape from uneven fights. Still, its time would come soon enough. For now, Nara had to make do with the rabbit. Taming it wasn't particularly difficult — just irritating. Searching for the single one with the black symbol among hundreds of identical creatures was exhausting. Thankfully, the Divine Dogs and the Shadow Clone Technique had come to his aid.
After reaching twenty percent, Kuro's sensory abilities awakened as well. He didn't know whether this was part of Sukuna's power or a gift from the Nara body itself, but the ability was extremely useful — especially considering the approaching war. Perhaps it was paranoia, but lately every shinobi he encountered seemed troubled and grim. Enzo, however, answered all his questions by saying that he didn't know anything yet.
Tsunade and Shintaro were increasingly being sent on missions, which made regular training with them impossible. But when those sessions did happen… well, the Senju princess was incredibly demanding and merciless. Every sparring match ended in injuries, sometimes even broken bones. Of course, she healed him afterward, but even so, getting used to it was simply impossible.
After their fight, Minato became even more obsessed with training. They sparred repeatedly, but the result never changed. Still, it was worth noting that Namikaze had become noticeably faster, and his mastery of the Shunshin Technique already surpassed that of many adult shinobi. Kuro himself managed to learn it as well, but using Body Flicker as effectively as Minato seemed simply impossible.
The only rest Nara got during this time was by spending time with his clanmates. Instead of physical exertion, they focused on tactical schemes, discussed possible strategies, or simply played shogi. Shikaku often told Kuro to think more broadly — not to fixate on a single position, but to see the board as a whole, spotting the opponent's mistakes.
Much had changed in the Academy as well. Throughout the entire third year, Kuro remained among the top students in the class, increasingly solidifying his superiority in sparring. He began to notice that his classmates were looking at him differently — there was respect in their eyes, admiration, and sometimes even envy.
Coming out of his memories, Kuro found himself already at the Academy gates. Today was supposed to be a significant day, since Sarutobi-sensei had said they would be getting a transfer student from another village. Finally, he would see the famous Uzumaki — and the future Nine-Tails jinchuriki, Kushina.
Kuro entered the classroom, lazily glanced around, and nodded to a couple of classmates. Nawaki was animatedly discussing something with Minato, Mikoto was rereading her notes, and Shikaku yawned sleepily, pretending not to notice Nara, who had already taken a seat next to him. After exchanging a few words with the others, Kuro settled into his place, crossing one leg over the other.
Soon, the classroom door creaked open, and Sarutobi-sensei entered, his calm gaze sweeping over the students. He clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention.
"As I said before, today we have a new addition," he announced. "A new student is transferring into our class from another village."
Everyone craned their necks curiously, and some even began whispering among themselves.
A girl stepped through the doorway — fair-skinned, slender, with a slightly round face and long, thick red hair that flowed softly down her back. She wore a sleeveless yellow blouse, secured with a green sash over a mesh shirt, dark-blue shorts, and brown sandals.
Unlike the usually fiery and brash Uzumaki that Nara had seen on screen in the past, she now looked a bit confused and even tense, clearly embarrassed by the new environment.
However, despite that, she straightened up, gathered her courage, and declared loudly with forced confidence:
"I'm Uzumaki Kushina, dattebane!"
As soon as the word left her lips, she immediately covered her mouth with her hand, flushing red.
For a moment, silence reigned — then someone snickered, and laughter spread through the classroom. Most of the kids weren't just laughing at her strange manner of speaking, but also at her bright red hair, which looked quite unusual in Konoha.
"What a little tomato," someone snorted.
"Are you sure that hair isn't dyed?"
"Haha, seriously! Maybe she fell into a bucket of paint!"
Sarutobi frowned.
"Enough. Silence," he said sternly. But just as the kids began to calm down, Kushina suddenly clenched her fists and blurted out:
"I… I'll become the first female Hokage in the village's history!"
That declaration was followed by dead silence.
The class froze, staring at her with wide eyes. Then, after a few seconds, Minato stood up, looking at her with a gentle smile.
"I also want to become the greatest Hokage, one who will protect the entire village," he said, as if trying to support the newcomer.
But Kushina only frowned even more, clearly taking his words as a challenge.
"Ha!" Nawaki snorted loudly, jumping to his feet. "I'll be the greatest Hokage! I'll surpass even Grandpa Hashirama!"
Kuro, who had been lazily observing the entire scene, couldn't resist a mocking comment:
"Wow, maybe you guys should at least become the best in the class first."
Laughter erupted through the classroom once again.
Nawaki plopped back into his seat with a defeated sigh, while Minato just scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Uzumaki puffed out her cheeks angrily, crossing her arms over her chest, but said nothing. The day promised to be interesting.
After classes ended, the classroom gradually emptied as students left one by one, hurrying home or off to training. But Kuro and Minato didn't rush. Both lingered, as if sensing that something interesting was about to happen.
And indeed, in the far corner of the room, a small crowd had already gathered. Five boys surrounded Kushina, smirking and exchanging glances.
"Tomato!" one of them declared loudly, prompting laughter from his friends. "From today on, you're Tomato!"
"Yeah! Your face is round and puffy, and your hair's red! Definitely a tomato!"
"No one likes tomatoes! What kind of Hokage would you be?"
Kushina clenched her fists, her shoulders trembling with tension. Kuro watched silently, tilting his head to the side in thought. "Is it really just about her hair color? Or is it because she's an outsider, not from Konoha?"
The next moment, one of the boys yanked her hair. That was the last straw.
"Why you—!" Uzumaki exploded.
She grabbed the offender's wrist sharply and then — with strength no one expected — hurled him aside. The others, unable to react in time, were either knocked off their feet or stumbled back.
Kushina jumped on top of one of them and, not letting him get up, began pounding his head with her fists.
"Who are you calling a tomato, huh?!" she shouted furiously. "Listen here! I hate tomatoes, got it?! Call me that again and I'll kick your ass! Understood?!"
Kuro, leaning lazily against a desk, snorted.
"Hey, at this rate you'll kill him."
Uzumaki froze, then sharply turned toward him, indignation blazing in her eyes.
"What, you want some too?!"
Kuro calmly met her gaze, raising an eyebrow slightly.
"Hm, not really. Honestly, I don't understand you at all."
"What?!"
"If you know yourself that your hair is beautiful, then why does it matter what some idiots think?"
Kushina opened her mouth but couldn't immediately find the words. She stared at Kuro with wide eyes, clearly stunned by what he said. It seemed he was the first person who hadn't laughed at her.
"Don't worry about it too much," Nara continued lazily. "You're new, and you stand out. No wonder mediocrities like him took a dislike to you. But I'm sure you'll find friends soon enough."
With that, Kuro headed toward the exit without looking back.
"Wait!" Kushina suddenly called out.
He stopped and slightly turned his head.
"Maybe… will you be my friend?" she asked, hesitating at first, then speaking confidently.
Kuro thought for a second, then smirked.
"Why not."