"Ah, my apologies—you just look like someone I know," said Uchiha Hayato, offering a polite smile.
Minato couldn't help but roll his eyes at the remark. Buddy, do you hear yourself? That's the oldest pickup line in the book. Glancing at Kushina, whose fiery gaze was locked onto Hayato, Minato wisely stepped back, silently mourning for his friend.
At least Pikachu's safe company, he thought, pinching the Pokémon's round cheeks and feeling a small static shock tingle his fingers.
Kushina, meanwhile, glared at Hayato's retreating back, her thoughts tangled in frustration. She blamed herself for not confessing sooner—now, this potential rival was appearing out of nowhere. Could love at first sight even be a thing Hayato would accept? she wondered.
"Who are you, and why are you interrupting our training?" Kushina asked, her voice direct, though her gaze locked onto the girl with the white eyes.
The girl with the white eyes, feeling targeted, bristled with irritation. "I didn't do anything!"
"My name is Yakushi Nono, and this is my friend Hyūga Ruri," the bespectacled blonde stepped forward to introduce herself.
"Hello, Nono-san. I'm Uchiha Hayato, and this is Uzumaki Kushina. The one with the matching hair color is Namikaze Minato. So, what brings you here?" Hayato asked, curious. I haven't even interacted much with these storyline characters, yet they're showing up on their own.
"It's Ruri who was interested, so we followed along," Nono explained, glancing briefly at her companion. "Though, I'm also curious to see what kind of person you are."
"W-who's interested in him?" Hyūga Ruri's face turned red, almost steaming. She glanced at the Monferno perched on a nearby training post. "I was just curious about that unfamiliar summoning beast, that's all!"
"Chi?" Blaze blinked in confusion, tilting his head.
"We're planning our training regimen. If you don't mind, you're welcome to join us," Hayato said casually, seemingly oblivious to the tension in the air.
Turning to Dekai, Hayato continued, "Whether Kushina forgives you is her business. Don't ask me. Just make sure your change isn't just a game."
"Your call, Kushina," he added, looking at her. Seeing her exchange a brief but intense glare with Ruri, Hayato chuckled to himself.
"Alright, I forgive you," Kushina finally said with a nod, though she felt like the entire situation had been blown out of proportion. Still, since Hayato had stood up for her, she decided to let it go. "But if you or your friends ever call me 'Tomato' again, I won't be so kind next time."
To emphasize her point, Kushina's chakra flared as she punched a training post, shattering half of it. She shook her reddened fist, grinning mischievously.
Dekai felt cold sweat trickling down his forehead. Even without Hayato, this girl would've been more than we could handle…
"That summoning beast… is it yours, Hayato-san?" Dekai's gaze fell on Pikachu, his curiosity evident.
"Of course it is! Summoned by Hayato, just like Blaze," Kushina declared proudly, almost as if she had been the one to summon them herself.
"And what does that have to do with you?" Ruri countered, her tone sharp.
"Alright, enough," Hayato interrupted, raising a hand to stop the brewing argument.
"Since Kushina has forgiven you, I'll move on to explaining our training plans," Hayato said, his tone turning serious.
Kushina, noticing Hayato's focus, decided against responding to Ruri and gave him her full attention.
Hayato crouched down, sketching diagrams in the dirt. "Under the Third Hokage's leadership, Konoha has grown prosperous. But the world of shinobi is far from peaceful. Minato, you've heard about the tensions at the borders, right?"
Minato nodded. "The Hidden Sand has clashed with us several times, and there are also incidents along the border with the Land of Rain." His expression turned grim.
"If these conflicts aren't resolved soon, they'll escalate into war—the Second Shinobi World War," Hayato stated. "We're still just academy students, but if war breaks out, we might graduate early and be sent to the battlefield. That's why we need to grow stronger as quickly as possible."
Hayato began outlining key aspects of a shinobi's strength: chakra reserves, jutsu proficiency, strategy, tools, and summoning beasts.
"Chakra reserves take time to build, so we'll focus on controlling chakra to avoid waste. As for jutsu, we'll draw inspiration from Pokémon."
The mention of Pokémon caught Ruri's attention. Hayato explained, "For those without access to family jutsu, it's hard to learn advanced techniques. But Pokémon have their own moves, which we can learn through training with them and adapt into our own jutsu."
Minato clenched his fists, excitement brimming in his eyes.
"Kushina, let's spar," Hayato said, standing up.
"Me?" Kushina pointed to herself, unsure.
"Yes. I want to test a technique I learned from Blaze. Don't worry, I won't hurt you," Hayato reassured her.
"Alright, bring it on!" Kushina grinned, eager to contribute despite her curiosity about the jutsu.
"Feint Attack!"
With his hand glowing faintly with blue chakra, Hayato gently struck Kushina's stomach.
"Why… why can't I move?!" Kushina gasped, panic rising as her body refused to respond.
"This is a move I learned from Blaze. It's a chakra-based technique that disrupts the target's energy flow, temporarily paralyzing them," Hayato explained.
"Of course, it has two weaknesses. First, it requires physical contact."
"Hayato, stop explaining and undo it already!" Kushina demanded, her chakra surging as she regained control.
"And that's the second weakness—strong chakra can break the paralysis," Hayato added, catching Kushina as she stumbled.
"Gentle Fist…?" Ruri's voice rose in shock.
[First Use of a New Skill: Hidden Mission Completed]
[Reward: 10 Draw Attempts]