Yūki Minazuki was jealous of Itachi's talent, so he deliberately blocked Itachi's promotion to Chunin, all while pretending to have Itachi's best interests at heart.
To participate in the Chunin Exams, the Jonin squad leader must recommend the team to participate in their own name, and then the team members need to sign the application form.
If the squad leader wanted to hold a Genin back, there was nothing that Genin could do.
Itachi was eventually able to bypass this because Danzō, wanting to turn Itachi into his pawn, had people investigate Itachi's squad leader, finding him to be a narrow-minded fellow.
Danzō then proposed to Hiruzen Sarutobi that Itachi be promoted exceptionally, skipping the standard process.
"You must be Kiyoshi Uchiha. I hope you don't act like the other Uchiha, refusing to follow instructions."
Yūki Minazuki glanced at Kiyoshi, clearly holding a poor opinion of the Uchiha.
Kiyoshi gave a slight nod, saying nothing.
Seeing this, Yūki Minazuki had the three of them briefly introduce themselves, then took Kiyoshi and the others to accept a mission.
Genin can only accept D-rank and C-rank missions, and they usually start with D-rank.
D-rank missions do not require combat and are typically chores.
The mission Yūki Minazuki accepted was to help manage a shop.
Kiyoshi's team was responsible for cleaning and running errands, while Yūki Minazuki went to repair a leaky roof.
"This is a mission, huh."
Asuma Sarutobi went from his initial excitement to complete boredom.
"Of course, the first missions won't be ones that require fighting other ninjas."
Kurenai looked at the books on the shelves, occasionally pulling out one she found interesting to flip through a few pages.
This was a bookstore, selling mainly popular youth fiction.
"A customer is here." Kiyoshi said.
This mission, in his opinion, was much better than searching for lost pets or babysitting.
When there was nothing to do, he could sit and read Ninjutsu scrolls.
"Oh, it's you."
The person who walked in was a red-haired girl with a hair clip adorning her red hair.
"Kushina."
Kiyoshi put down the Fire Release scroll and greeted Kushina Uzumaki.
This shop was located in a relatively central part of the village, falling within the sealing barrier that restricted Kushina.
"You're working here?"
The familiar figure walked toward him. Her red hair slightly shone in the sunlight, and a hair clip was fastened in her hair. A hint of weariness was hidden in her eyes.
"No, I'm performing a mission."
Kiyoshi pointed to the ninja headband on his forehead and said:
"I'm a ninja now, and I'm here performing a mission."
"Kiyoshi, I didn't realize you were a genius, too."
Kushina clenched her small fists and waved them in the air, seemingly trying to express how impressive that was.
"Are you here to buy a book, Kushina?"
Kiyoshi chuckled softly and walked toward the door.
"Yeah, I've been a bit bored lately, so I came to see if there's anything good."
Kushina stopped waving her small fists, and disappointment was visibly etched on her beautiful face.
Being restricted to the area within the sealing barrier every day made her feel suffocated.
Especially recently, Minato was constantly busy, and the time he spent with her was decreasing. She felt increasingly forgotten in a corner.
"Come in and take a look."
Kiyoshi led Kushina to the new releases section, allowing Kushina to browse.
Kushina wrinkled her little brows, resting her chin on her hand, looking conflicted.
"This one looks good."
Kiyoshi pulled out a book with text and pictures from the shelf. The cover featured colorful illustrations, making it look very appealing.
The canonical Kushina didn't seem to have much interest in reading.
Naruto's personality was fully inherited from Kushina, and Naruto disliked reading.
Kiyoshi didn't believe that Kushina, whose gaze was wandering and who was likely looking for something to do on a whim, would enjoy reading.
"So many pictures."
Kushina opened the book and found it resembled a picture book. There were very few words, and the story was primarily conveyed through illustrations.
"I'll take this one then."
She looked up, shaking the book in her hand.
"Alright."
Kiyoshi nodded, packed the book, and placed it in a bag.
As he handed the bag to Kushina, the Trait panel popped up with a notification.
[You have acquired a new Trait: [Legendary Nine-Tails (White)]]
[Trait: [Legendary Nine-Tails (White)]]
[Requirement: Establish preliminary physical contact with the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.]
[Progress: 10%.]
[Effect: Increases the vitality of physical cells and boosts chakra-based injury recovery ability by 5%.]
[Note: Can be further advanced later.]
"Does touching a finger count?"
Kiyoshi pondered as he looked at Kushina holding the bag.
His finger had inadvertently touched Kushina's hand, and the Trait panel had reacted.
"Kushina, this is the first sale I've made. Thank you."
Kiyoshi suddenly clasped Kushina's hands with both of his, appearing overjoyed.
"Oh... is that so?"
Kushina didn't think too much of it.
It was just that Kiyoshi held the handshake for a very long time.
Just as Kushina was about to ask if they should let go, Kiyoshi finally released her hands.
"Who was that person?"
Asuma Sarutobi turned his head, watching Kiyoshi shaking hands and chatting with a red-haired woman.
He felt that her red hair looked familiar, as if his father had mentioned it.
"I don't recognize her." Kurenai Yūhi shook her head.
The Uchiha clan all had black hair, which meant this woman wasn't Uchiha.
"Thank you, you've been a great help."
The shop owner, who had been out for almost the entire day, finally returned to the shop, and Yūki Minazuki had also finished repairing the leaky roof.
"In that case, the mission is complete. Let's go back."
Yūki Minazuki wiped the water off his clothes, spotting Kiyoshi and Kushina.
"Kiyoshi Uchiha..."
Yūki Minazuki frowned slightly.
He remembered that woman's name was Kushina Uzumaki, a remnant refugee of the Uzumaki clan. She rarely interacted with outsiders, and he had only ever seen Minato Namikaze seeking her out.
However, the woman was certainly attractive to him.
"Are the Uchiha really that popular?"
A wave of jealousy rose in Yūki Minazuki's heart.
"Kiyoshi Uchiha, we need to return to submit the mission report. Don't waste time."
Yūki Minazuki tidied his hair, which was messy from being wet, and put on a smile he thought was handsome as he walked over.
"Hello, I am Yūki Minazuki."
"Oh, hello."
Kushina nodded, feeling strange. This man had a nice name, but his appearance was truly unremarkable.
"Kiyoshi, aren't you going to submit your mission report? I'll head off then."
Kushina didn't want to interact too much with outsiders, the Hidden Leaf Village leadership didn't allow it.
She only approached Kiyoshi because he shared a similar fate to her, otherwise, she wouldn't bother.
After saying that, Kushina quickly paid and left, carrying the bag of books.
She had performed missions before.
But that was before she became the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
After becoming the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, she couldn't leave freely and had to constantly worry about the Nine-Tails' temptation from within her body.
Yūki Minazuki's expression was dark and unpredictable.
He glanced at Kiyoshi, his lips opening and closing, but he said nothing.
He truly did not dare to openly antagonize an Uchiha.
***
Read 20 Chapters early on P-atreon.com/Redestro666