Everyone wore a look of shock, even Yu Akasaka and Rina Takeuchi, who were classmates with the others.
Although they knew Minato was strong, none had expected him to defeat two Genin working together.
Also, while Kushina carried the nickname "The Red-Hot Habanero," that title only circulated within her circle of classmates.
This fight, however, completely reshaped their view of her strength. Now they finally understood why so few in their entire grade could stand against Kushina.
Because even facing actual Genin, she had already proven her superiority.
After shattering Takezou's Chakra Mark, one of Minato's Shadow Clones intercepted him midair and helped him regain control of his body.
Minato's original body dashed over toward Kushina.
"Kushina, are you alright?"
There remained four 'Kushinas' before Minato, including her true self. He asked one of them.
"I'm fine." The leftmost Kushina responded. Since the fight had ended, she released the jutsu.
But Kushina looked at Minato strangely, making him slightly uncomfortable.
"What's wrong?" Minato instinctively touched his cheek, thinking maybe something odd had stuck to it.
She stared at him and said, "Even with all your strength, you still had me hiding behind you like some helpless damsel? Seriously, that's so unheroic of you!"
She pouted slightly, clearly annoyed. Surprisingly, despite how sharp he'd been during the fight, Minato didn't see through Kushina's act.
Minato quickly explained, "Didn't I tell you before? The battles we're experiencing now are all meaningless. We must always stay battle-ready while searching for the whereabouts of Mikoto..."
"Huh!" Kushina couldn't help but burst into laughter.
This guy was usually sharper than everyone else, but sometimes he could be utterly dense in the most adorable way.
Seeing Kushina's reaction, Minato finally realized he'd been tricked—but instead of getting angry, he joined in laughing too.
Meanwhile, Nishikawa and Takezou—whom Minato had defeated—gathered together and approached where Minato stood.
Upon seeing them, Kushina and the others became suddenly alert, but beside them, Minato shook his head.
Only then did everyone relax. After the previous battle—no need to mention Kushina—it seemed these people had developed a special trust toward Minato, naturally following his decisions without question.
Those two nodded toward Minato, then helped up Sakai, who had been defeated by Kushina.
He had taken far more hits from her than either Nishikawa or Takezou had.
"Three senpais, sorry about that," Minato said to the trio. Although they'd once been enemies, in the end, they were all part of the same village—Konoha.
Nishikawa, the one first defeated by Minato, gave a faint smile and said, "There's nothing to feel bad about. We simply lacked the skill. Besides, didn't you also hold back against us?"
How could he not see it? The purpose of Minato's fight with them had only been to eliminate them. Given his speed, he could've taken faster and simpler approaches.
But that approach probably wouldn't have ensured the safety of both Minato and Takezou.
That was why he chose to use Lightning Release techniques to temporarily paralyze himself, and Wind Release techniques to strip Takezou of control over his body.
Minato smiled. It seemed Senior Nishikawa's observation and analysis were sharper than the others'.
"What we did earlier was definitely over the line." Surprisingly, under everyone's gaze, Nishikawa offered an apology for their previous disdain toward the Ninja Academy students.
They themselves had also once been at that stage. But after graduating from the Academy nearly a year ago, their mindset had changed drastically.
Yet Minato and Kushina reminded them that even Academy students shouldn't be underestimated.
"Minato, Kushina, thank you both!" Yu Akasaka approached the two and bowed deeply as he spoke.
Kushina was momentarily taken aback, but quickly turned her face away and walked toward Rina Takeuchi behind her, asking, "Takeuchi, are you okay?"
They were classmates and naturally knew each other, though they hadn't been particularly close before.
"Hmm."
Rina responded briefly. Because of Kushina's personality, she used to keep her distance before.
However, being saved by Kushina and Minato changed her impression of Kushina somewhat.
"Now, you'll follow along with me and Minato."
Kushina smiled brightly at her—it was the first time Rina Takeuchi had truly looked Kushina in the face. Her smiling expression was extremely cute, filled with infectious warmth that made it hard to say no.
Rina didn't reply immediately because, given her current abilities, she might only be a burden to Kushina and Minato.
"Don't worry about it," Kushina said, already understanding her thoughts, then slightly turning her head toward Minato.
Minato smiled lightly and patted Yu Akasaka's shoulder beside him, saying, "Akasaka, you come with us too."
Yu was momentarily stunned, looking gratefully at Minato, although he felt a bit embarrassed.
After all, his abilities were rather poor.
"Do you remember what I said before entering here?" Minato smiled gently. "As Ninja Academy students, we're already at a disadvantage in terms of strength. Our only advantage is in numbers. That's why we must stick together and support each other, or else we'll get underestimated by the upperclassmen!"
With just this sentence, Minato swept away all worries from Yu and Rina.
"If that's the case, is it alright for me to join you too?" The boy who had been with Yu and Rina earlier stepped forward upon hearing this.
Minato turned his gaze and replied, "Of course it's fine."
Upon hearing this, the boy smiled slightly, but furrowed his brow again and asked, "But then what about those guys?"
"Following his gaze, Minato saw the five new graduates whose chakra marks had been erased. He was about to call them over when Nishikawa, who hadn't left yet, said, 'Let them come with us. Because of our previous missions, we understand some survival techniques in the wild. I'll teach them for the next few days as partial compensation for our earlier behavior.'"
"Minato pondered briefly before accepting this suggestion."
"He had no idea how strong those five rookies were, but they probably weren't much to speak of. Yu Akasaka and Rina Takeuchi were only barely acceptable in terms of strength, but that boy had held out with them until Minato and Kushina arrived, so his strength probably wasn't too bad either."
"He didn't want to expose his target too early and become the focus of everyone's attention. Being too noticeable would bring endless troubles."
"Even trying to hide came with its own set of challenges."
"The five recruits still looked terrified—clearly shaken by Sakai's earlier display. However, lacking knowledge of how to survive in this Forest of Death, they ultimately compromised."
"So Minato and Kushina's team expanded to five members. After saying goodbye to the three from Nishikawa's group, they entered the lush forest again."
"Staring at the direction the five disappeared, Nishikawa murmured, 'Minato Namikaze, you have to pass, or else we who were eliminated by you will really lose face.'"
"Beside him, Takezou, resting his hands behind his head, said, 'This feeling is really strange. We were eliminated by that guy, but somehow I can't feel any dislike toward him...'
...
"As Minato's group of five departed, a shadow that had watched the entire battle quietly followed soon after."
"Not even Minato could sense this person's presence at that moment..."
...
...
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