"Tsunade, if you really want Kushina to quickly integrate into Konoha, you need to be a bit more protective of her," Shin said seriously, no longer teasing Tsunade.
"What do you mean?" she looked slightly confused.
"When someone is feeling anxious and uneasy inside, they'll subconsciously seek comfort. If they can't find it, they'll fall into despair," Shin explained. "If someone can ease that anxiety at such a time, she'll quickly develop a fondness for them. So it's not enough to just treat her well in daily life. You have to pay attention to what happens at school too. Protect her where you can. Only then can she truly integrate into Konoha quickly."
Tsunade seemed thoughtful, then nodded and said, "Got it."
"But..." She still looked a little worried. "Are you sure there won't be any fights?"
"If they fight, then so be it. We'll deal with it when the time comes," Shin said nonchalantly.
"But aren't we setting a bad example for the kids?"
"Teaching them to fight back when bullied, how is that a bad example in this world?" Shin sneered. "They're going to be ninjas one day, so some things just can't be tolerated. Those parents who indulge their kids in bullying others, they're the ones truly ruining children and raising scum. Besides, didn't you say yourself that you have no expectations for her right now, and just want her to grow up happily?"
"If she gets bullied at school every day, how happy do you think she'll be? And what are you even worried about? If we're talking about schoolyard fights, who could ever top you? What could possibly go wrong?"
"Yeah, that's true." Tsunade immediately stopped worrying after hearing that last sentence.
Back when she was in school, she fought her way through it. Who at school hadn't been beaten by her at least once? So an occasional fight really wasn't a big deal.
"But if something really does happen, will Minato be able to handle it?" she asked.
"Even if the whole school gangs up on him, he'll be fine. I don't raise him with soft methods," Shin replied confidently.
Well, that was pointless to say!
Tsunade was speechless. Why was he always so eager to unleash his brother? She wasn't worried about Minato's strength, she'd seen it firsthand. What she was worried about was whether this innocent and pure-looking kid could really control the situation.
Shin, however, didn't notice her concern and was actually looking forward to it.
Seriously though.
When Minato was just two years old, Shin had already secretly withheld many of the precious medicinal herbs provided by Koharu to prepare the right nutritions for him. As he grew older, the types of nutritions changed too, continually boosting his potential in all aspects. Of course, Shin benefited from it too. Although the results weren't as good as starting from infancy, the improvements were still considerable.
Not to mention, Minato had already mastered Shin's improved chakra training technique and Chakra Body-Enhancement Technique by the age of three.
Every so often, Shin would also use acupuncture to help him clear and strengthen his chakra pathways. And on top of that, he had years of the most scientific and effective training under his belt.
He was absolutely convinced that no one at the Ninja Academy could match Minato. If it really came down to a fight, even an average chunin teacher would go down, and Minato was still only seven.
---
As Tsunade and Shin walked toward the hospital, Kushina, under her teacher's guidance, entered the classroom. All the students quieted down as soon as they saw her, their eyes turning toward her.
Suddenly being stared at by so many unfamiliar faces made her incredibly nervous. But when she spotted Minato, she gradually calmed down.
"Hello, my name is Uzumaki Kushina."
"Wow, look at her hair color, it's so weird!" An annoying voice rang out as a boy loudly said to the boy behind him, not caring at all about how she might feel.
The all-too-familiar and melodramatic scene had arrived after all.
"Yeah, I've never seen red hair before," the boy behind him chimed in loudly.
"Hahaha! Her hair looks like a tomato, so ugly," the first rude boy mocked again. "And she looks so weak, can someone like that really become a ninja?"
The boy's name was Tanaka. At school, he was a known bully, always throwing his weight around. Whenever he got into trouble, he'd have his older brother deal with it for him.
Though he'd been disciplined by Minato several times, his nasty nature hadn't changed, and now he couldn't hold himself back again.
Embarrassed by the public ridicule, Kushina's face flushed red with frustration. She instantly wanted to say something to shock everyone and defend herself.
She got it!
A sudden flash of inspiration struck her. She was just about to shout, "I'm going to be this village's first female Hokage!" to scare them all into silence. But just then, Minato slammed his hand on his desk and stood up, shouting, "Sensei, Tanaka is publicly harassing a new classmate. Aren't you going to do something about it?"
Suddenly morally cornered, the teacher was clearly stunned. The Ninja Academy wasn't a place to raise pampered children, it was meant to train ninjas. As long as things didn't go too far, competition was actually encouraged here.
"They're just teasing among classmates," the teacher said casually, smiling. "I'm sure the new student won't take it to heart. What really matters is that everyone takes care of each other going forward."
"Who wants to take care of her?" Tanaka's annoying voice continued. "And Minato, mind your own business! We've still got a score to settle!"
Just thinking of all the times Minato had stepped in and punished him for bullying others made his teeth itch with anger. But the moment he finished speaking, everything suddenly went dark.
The sole of a shoe stamped directly on his face, sending him flying out of his seat and crashing onto the platform, landing face-down at the teacher's feet.
Kushina immediately covered her mouth in shock, hardly able to believe what she had just witnessed. Wasn't this way more satisfying than her dramatic plan to shout about becoming the first female Hokage?
Besides, what kind of cringy middle-school anime line was that anyway? If she had actually shouted it, she'd probably have been teased for ages.
Thankfully, Minato stopped her.
But… was it okay that this guy just punched someone right in front of the teacher? No, it wasn't a punch… it was a kick!
"Kushina is my friend, if you mess with her, you mess with me." Minato declared.
Having been raised by Shin, his personality had completely diverged from what it might have originally been. Though he was still kind at heart, when it came to bullies, his approach was simple: If you don't like it, come fight.
He'd heard his brother say many times that the Third Hokage's weakness and indecisiveness were dragging the village into ruin.
Shin had also said people like that weren't fit to be Hokage, because when the villagers got bullied, the Hokage could only watch helplessly.
If you wanted to be Hokage, you had to be bold and stand up at times like this.
The teacher looked absolutely exasperated, why did they have to start fighting now, and right in front of him?
Sigh, I don't want to write a report... Why are kids... kids?