I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 28 The Theory of Cat Territory

Fortunately, Minato Namikaze was still the little sun of the ninja world. Kushina's attitude did not diminish his kindness. At noon, when he saw several male classmates surrounding Kushina, Minato instinctively became nervous.

Minato tugged at Tatsuma's sleeve and said, "Tatsuma, should we help?"

Tatsuma glanced at Kushina, who was surrounded by several male classmates, and asked, "Whose side are you on?"

"A new student."

Faced with Tatsuma's sudden question, Minato paused for a second before reacting. Tatsuma shook his head and said, "That girl looks stronger than any of us."

If you really want to help, please keep those idiots away from Kushina, otherwise I'm afraid they'll be traumatized.

The boys surrounding Kushina were all descendants of ninjas, but not from ninja clans. They probably didn't understand the significance of Kushina's status.

Didn't you see that the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, Inuzuka, Aburame, and even the usually arrogant Uchiha Tenka and Hyuga Sento were all sitting obediently in their seats?

Minato was still somewhat worried, but remembering Tatsuma's words and Jiraiya's instructions from a while ago, he chose to sit and observe.

"Tomato~ Tomato~ Red hair, chubby face, hey, from now on you'll be called Tomato, hahaha~"

"Haha~ What a fitting nickname! You really are that annoying tomato!"

"Me too. Whenever there are tomatoes in my salad, I always pick them out."

Hearing the boys' words, Kushina lowered her head, clenched her fists tightly, and her face turned red. Minato frowned and was about to stand up to help her out.

But just as he stood up, a boy reached out and grabbed Kushina's hair, pointing at her flushed face and saying, "Wow~ look, the tomatoes are ripe, time to pick them!"

At that moment, Kushina grabbed the boy's wrist, frowned, and glared at him, saying, "Who are you calling 'tomato'?! Let me make it clear, I hate tomatoes the most!"

The moment she finished speaking, Kushina suddenly increased the strength in her hand. The boy cried out in pain and tried to pull his hand back, but Kushina didn't give him the chance. She grabbed his hand and swung it, smashing it onto several boys surrounding her.

Kushina then ignored everyone else, sat directly on the back of the boy who had grabbed her hair, and started throwing a flurry of punches until the boy begged for mercy.

Seeing that Kushina hadn't suffered any losses, Minato relaxed and a smile appeared on his face. But just then, Kushina seemed to notice Minato, glared at him, and said, "What are you laughing at?!"

Upon hearing this, Minato's smile vanished, and he hurriedly straightened his head, but his eyes were still fixed on Kushina.

The boy who had been brutally beaten left crying loudly, shouting something like "Red Pepper" as he went.

The person didn't come to class in the afternoon either. After a brief inquiry, Teacher Hepu didn't say anything. Besides, there weren't many classes on the first day, so whether or not they attended didn't make much of a difference.

School was over quickly. Minato watched Kushina leave without even taking her books, and then, thinking about the boy who had left at noon, he said to Tatsuma:

"Tatsuma, I won't be going to training tonight. I'm worried that Kushina might run into an accident."

Upon hearing this, Tatsuma nodded. As expected, Minato was quite perceptive. No wonder he was able to win Kushina's heart at the age of fourteen.

"Then you can go ahead, I'll take the book back for you."

"Thank you so much."

Minato gave Tatsuma a grateful smile, then quickly left the classroom.

Later that evening, in the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi used a crystal ball to cast a telescope technique, watching Kushina clash with the genin brother of the student from lunchtime. He looked worriedly at Mito Uzumaki beside him and asked:

"Lord Mito, is this really alright? If Kushina really thinks that Konoha is rejecting her, then I'm afraid she'll have a hard time identifying with the village."

Mito Uzumaki, standing to the side, shook her head and said, "Monkey, don't you understand? If you want Kushina to truly become a member of Konoha, you must first treat her as one of the villagers."

If Kushina hadn't encountered something like this today, would you still be paying attention?

"But."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was still somewhat worried, after all, Kushina was too important to the future of the village, but Mito interrupted him, saying, "Love and hate are like peace and war."

To gain peace, one must experience the pain of war; to gain love, one must first learn to hate. Compared to what Kushina is facing now, she will have to bear even more in the future.

Look, that blond kid is even more composed than you. Isn't his name Minato Namikaze?

Mito Uzumaki looked at Minato, who was observing the situation from behind a large tree inside the crystal ball, and a hint of appreciation appeared in her eyes. Before Kushina came, she had asked Hiruzen Sarutobi to choose people who could become Kushina's partners.

Of all the suggestions given by Hiruzen Sarutobi, Mito Uzumaki admired Minato Namikaze and Tatsuma Sakamoto the most. However, the white-haired boy didn't seem to care much about Kushina.

Watching Kushina tear off her own hair inside the crystal ball, determined to beat up that genin, and seeing the genin unable to fight back, Mito Uzumaki felt a sense of satisfaction.

However, she did not continue reading, but said, "I'm going back now. Please try your best to meet my arrangements."

"Yes, Lady Mito. Please take care. Just let me know if you have any arrangements to make."

Hiruzen Sarutobi respectfully saw Mito Uzumaki off. When Mito returned home, Kushina also came back, but she didn't appear in Mito's sight. Instead, she hid in her room and kept crying.

Mito Uzumaki waited for a while, until after dinner time, before she went to Kushina's room. When she opened the door, she saw Kushina quickly hiding her tear-streaked face under the covers.

Mito Uzumaki didn't rush to ask further questions. Instead, she walked to the bedside and sat down. After a while, once Kushina's emotions had gradually calmed down, she said, "I know everything that happened today."

Hearing this, Kushina, still under the covers, quieted down for a moment before poking her head out and saying in a pitiful voice, "Grandma Mito, why do they all bully me? Is it because I'm an outsider?"

Mito Uzumaki ruffled Kushina's much finer red hair and shook her head, saying, "No, Kushina, they're just afraid of you."

It's like having a cat at home. When you get another cat, the original cats will gang up on the kitten, not because they enjoy bullying it, but because they're afraid the kitten will take away their position.

Just like you said, you want to become Hokage, and there's only one Hokage position. If you succeed, it means everyone else can only fail, so they're afraid.

"Really?"

Kushina wiped her eyes and then asked, "What should I do?"

"What should we do?"

Mito Uzumaki gently stroked Kushina's hair at the back of her head, narrowed her eyes, and said, "Find the fattest cat in the group, beat it up, and the other cats will listen to you."

You mean...

"That blond sissy you hate, and that other white-haired brat, they're the top students. Defeat them, and you'll be the strongest."

(End of this chapter)