As time passed, more and more students filled the once-empty classroom.
Children of this age gathered to study, turning the classroom into a lively gathering place. They chatted about interesting things and laughed immaturely, making the whole classroom noisy.
In this chaos, Minato kept reading the ninja manual in his hand. The edges of the manual were worn, evidence that he had read it many times.
He believed that everything was like ninjutsu; only by practicing diligently could he improve his skills. Though he didn't know much about ninjutsu yet, he understood that a strong foundation was essential for every powerful ninja.
What he could do now was to consolidate his foundation as much as possible. He didn't lack the time to chase the achievements of his predecessors.
In this atmosphere, Shirota-sensei walked in and commanded, "Okay, everyone, calm down."
His words had a deterrent effect, and the noisy classroom quickly quieted. After all, these students were not ordinary children; they would all become ninjas and carry out missions in the future.
Absolute obedience to orders was one of the essential principles of ninjas. Even students in ninja schools had to cultivate this habit from an early age.
Minato put away his manual, looked ahead, and waited for the class to begin.
"Before class today, I want to introduce a new classmate to everyone. From now on, she will study with all of you," Shirota-sensei announced and quickly walked out of the classroom. As soon as he left, whispers filled the room, with students looking forward to the new classmate's arrival.
Minato and Mikoto glanced at each other across their seats, already aware of the new classmate.
After a while, Shirota-sensei returned, leading a child. It was a girl with long red hair, so long that her profile wasn't immediately visible to the students.
However, her exquisite facial features were vaguely visible.
Upon seeing her, Minato's heart suddenly beat faster. It seemed as though he also saw long hair blowing in the wind, hair that was also red. The face of the person with long red hair was blurry, and Minato tried his best to see clearly but couldn't get close.
Subconsciously, he let out a low, hoarse sound that seemed painful, attracting the attention of those around him.
A student next to him gave him a push and asked, "Minato, are you alright?"
Minato woke up suddenly, his body trembling slightly. He looked at the person beside him and said, "It's all right."
The child next to him didn't think much of it, but Minato frowned slightly, muttering to himself, "What's wrong with me?"
"Okay, introduce yourself to everyone," Shirota-sensei said gently, letting go of the little girl's hand.
This caught Minato's gaze. Under the scrutiny of the entire class, the little girl slowly turned around, though she kept her head down, looking a bit timid.
"Her hair color is so strange."
"How could someone have such red hair?"
The students whispered, while on the podium, the little girl lowered her head further, a strand of bangs hanging in front of her eyes. She twisted her hair with her immature hands, looking embarrassed.
The students who were talking about her naturally ignored these small actions, but Minato stared at her intently, unwilling to look away.
Facing the discussions, the little girl clenched her fists tightly, her veins visible from the strain. She took a deep breath and said loudly,
"My name is Kushina Uzumaki, and my dream is to become the first female Hokage in this village!"
Her words, spoken in a strange tone, were so shocking that the entire class fell silent, even Shirota-sensei was taken aback.
Hearing her words, Minato felt a strange pain in his heart but was happy to have met someone who shared his dream.
He immediately stood up, put his hands on his chest, and said with a kind smile, "My dream is also to become Hokage, to protect all the families in the village."
Facing Minato's acknowledgment, Kushina didn't immediately respond but looked at the blond boy warily.
"Hehe, I didn't expect to have two students with such lofty aspirations in my class. It's really gratifying."
As a chunin, Shirota-sensei's insight was naturally better. He noticed Kushina's vigilance and, to resolve the awkwardness, smiled kindly.
"Minato, sit down."
Shirota-sensei said, then pointed to a seat next to Uchiha Mikoto's by the window.
"Kushina, you can sit there."
Hearing some murmurs, Kushina strode over and sat next to Mikoto.
Seeing this, Shirota-sensei gave a wry smile. Kushina's character was totally different from Minato's and Mikoto's.
Kushina sat down and looked sideways. Mikoto smiled gently at her, covering her mouth and saying softly, "Hello, my name is Uchiha Mikoto. From now on, we will be classmates and friends."
She seemed kind, but her mind was extremely sensitive and delicate. She noticed that in this class, only the blond boy and the girl in front of her showed no prejudice against her hair color.
"En," she replied, then looked in Minato's direction and asked timidly, "What's that guy's name?"
Mikoto understood her hesitation, given how the class had treated her.
"His name is Namikaze Minato, and he's a very kind person."
Talking about Minato brought a smile to Mikoto's face. It seemed Kushina was the first person with some prejudice against him.
"Namikaze Minato...?" Kushina muttered to herself.
She pondered for a moment, then focused on the podium. She had to go all out for her dream.
Ninja School was the beginning of her dream!
Seeing Kushina's energetic appearance, Shirota-sensei felt relieved. Although this child had a slightly strange personality, with Mikoto's influence, he believed she would change.
What surprised him was that Minato, who was usually very serious in class, glanced vaguely at Kushina.
But he didn't think too much of it. What Kushina did might have left a deep impression on Minato.
What children of this age think, even as a teacher, he couldn't fully understand.
He withdrew his gaze, looked at the young faces in front of him, smiled slightly, and said, "Students, let's start class!"