"But..."
After agreeing to Kushina's request, Minato suddenly changed his tone, causing her heart—which had just settled—to rise again with anxiety.
"After school, you have to follow my arrangements."
Minato smiled gently. Kushina hesitated slightly before nodding.
"I thought you wouldn't want to help me train anymore..."
Whenever Kushina felt nervous, she spoke with a peculiar trailing tone. Her pale face glistened slightly with sweat as she worried he might go back on his word.
"Of course not. We're good friends, right?"
Minato chuckled again. His reason for making this request was simply to get her cooperation in shaking off the hidden Anbu.
As for how to do it, he'd already figured that out just now.
Hearing this, Kushina blushed slightly and said, "Let's... go back to the classroom. Mikoto should still be waiting for us to have lunch together."
Normally, the three always moved around as a group. The two suddenly running off earlier had slightly surprised Mikoto.
"Mm," Minato responded, then returned to the classroom with Kushina.
The afternoon classes focused on basic practical exercises with no set format. Everyone already knew their weak points after the morning sparring session.
But most students used this time to play around instead of study—only a few actually worked hard, and Mikoto was among them.
Although she hadn't voiced anything outright after being defeated by the Uchiha, both Kushina and Minato knew well that deep down, she was extremely competitive.
Only Minato was able to fully grasp, however, that her gap with Yan Uchiha wasn't only about speed; today's limited space had prevented the latter from fighting at full capacity.
Otherwise, Mikoto's [Phoenix Fire] wouldn't have been able to block Yan Uchiha at all.
Still, understanding how to utilize terrain advantage was part of Mikoto's strength.
...
Near the end of school, Kushina and Minato secretly slipped away to an isolated area.
"Minato, what are you planning to do?" Kushina didn't understand Minato's intentions at all and asked curiously.
Minato smiled, bit his fingertip open, smeared blood onto his palm, and began forming hand seals.
[Summoning Jutsu!]
In an instant, a half-human-sized large toad appeared before them. Even though Kushina was quite brave, she still stepped backward in fright.
"Minato, why did you summon me here?" the big toad asked.
Minato gave Kushina a reassuring glance before replying, "Big Brother Kai, I need to ask a favor of you."
This large toad named Kai belonged to the ordinary toad species of Mount Myoboku.
"Mm, go ahead," Kai replied. He didn't get summoned into the human world often since he wasn't much for fighting. Normally, no one bothered summoning him.
"I want you to transform into her appearance, and walk out from the Ninja Academy together with my Shadow Clone."
As he spoke, Minato formed hand seals once more. Another version of himself materialized at his side.
The Shadow Clone Jutsu was also recorded in the scroll given by the Third. Minato had already sparred with Jiraiya-sensei's Shadow Clones for a full year, so he understood this technique's characteristics very well.
Therefore, learning to use it wasn't particularly difficult.
Seeing this, Kai exclaimed in surprise, "How old are you exactly? To have actually learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu already—don't know what kind of idiot teacher managed to land such a smart student."
Though not strong in battle, Kai was likely in his fifties or sixties.
Minato smiled gently and said nothing.
"All right then," Kai grinned, then fixed his gaze on Kushina. "This little girl is quite pretty too."
Immediately, he formed seals and transformed into an exact replica of Kushina.
Although Kai wasn't skilled in combat, basic Transformation Jutsu were still within his capabilities.
Throughout the whole process, Kushina hadn't uttered a single word, hiding quietly behind Minato, as if somewhat frightened of Kai.
"Just leave it to you then," Minato said. "Later at the school entrance, someone will pick you up and separate from my clone. You only need to avoid detection for ten minutes, and that'll be enough."
Kai, now in Kushina's form, nodded—just as the school bell rang.
"Okay, let's go," said Minato's clone, leading Kai away from the scene.
Minato and the real Kushina remained where they were for now. At Minato's request, Kushina stayed unusually quiet.
Since the spot was out of the way, even during the rush of after-school hours, no one noticed them.
Meanwhile, Minato's clone, along with Kai and Mikoto, walked out of the school gate normally. As usual, someone came to pick up "Kushina" again.
After Kushina left, Mikoto and Minato also went their separate ways, though Mikoto looked suspicious, as if she had sensed something off.
Minato's clone returned soon after, circled around the ninja academy once, and chose a deserted spot to dispel himself.
Inside the ninja academy, hidden in concealment, Minato suddenly felt a wave of information flood into his mind.
According to the scroll records provided by the Third, everything experienced by a Shadow Clone would return to the original body, which was why the jutsu was often used for intelligence gathering.
Minato used this to his advantage by observing the Anbu guarding Kushina.
They probably never imagined that a student barely nine years old could wield so many ninjutsu techniques and track their movements...
After a full year of training under Jiraiya, Minato himself wasn't even sure just how far he'd come.
"Alright, let's go," Minato said softly, taking Kushina with him as they moved around the back of the ninja academy and jumped over the wall.
Once outside, he grabbed Kushina's hand and sprinted forward—they had little time. Kai wouldn't be able to hold out for long. While Transformation Jutsu could change appearances, it couldn't mask the unique chakra signature.
Twenty minutes after school ended, an Anbu wearing a cat-shaped mask hurriedly rushed into the Third Hokage's office and knelt down quickly.
Although he was wearing a mask and his expression was hidden, his urgent tone alone was enough to reveal his anxiety.
"Hokage-sama… It's bad! Something's happened!"
The Third Hokage raised his head with resolve. Unaffected by the Anbu's emotions, he asked calmly,
"A ninja must always stay calm, no matter what occurs. Losing your composure impairs judgment and leads to failure."
After saying this, he asked, "What's going on?"
The Anbu took a breath to steady himself, but his voice remained just as urgent.
"Kushina Uzumaki… has been replaced!"
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