Konoha: Uchiha's Two-Way Travel in One Piece

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"Yo! You're Kaito, right? Mikoto told me all about you!"

"Hi there! I'm Kushina...Uzumaki Kushina!"

"If anyone bullies you in class, just say my name! I promised Mikoto I'd look after you. Hmph!"

Kushina stood up boldly and waved enthusiastically at Kaito as she spoke. Her words, full of the bold manner of a gang leader, made Kaito chuckle internally.

"Then I'll be in your care!" Kaito smiled and nodded, not wanting to hurt her pride.

"Kushina!!! Sit down right now!"

Their teacher, Kuroda Ikko, yelled angrily at her, veins bulging on his forehead. This girl was getting bolder by the day, showing no respect for him anymore!

But there wasn't much he could do to her. If he punished Kushina, Tsunade would undoubtedly make his life miserable. Not to mention, Lady Mito herself had Kushina's back. She was untouchable—a walking powerhouse of connections.

"Alright, alright!"

Kushina sat back down, satisfied she had made her point.

Meanwhile, Minato Namikaze, sitting two rows diagonally in front of Kushina, overheard her bold declaration and couldn't help but glance at her with amusement. "Who knew Kushina had it in her to play the gang leader? Interesting."

"What are you looking at?"

However, his obvious glance and amused expression were like a red flag to Kushina. She slammed her desk and glared at him. "Hey, blondie! Are you laughing at me? You wanna die?!"

"Uh? No, I wasn't..." Minato stammered, trying to explain.

But before he could finish, Kuroda Ikko roared again, "Uzumaki Kushina !!! Sit down right now!"

Then he turned to Minato. "And Namikaze Minato! Stop fooling around! Don't pick up bad habits!"

"Yes, sir!"

Both of them sat down obediently. Minato had no chance to defend himself again, while Kushina silently fumed.

"This is all that blondie's fault! If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have been scolded again!" she thought bitterly.

"And what's with the teacher? 'Don't pick up bad habits'?! Is he saying I'm a bad influence?! Unbelievable. Pure discrimination!"

After the commotion, Kuroda gestured for Kaito to introduce himself to the class.

With various reactions from his classmates, Kaito stepped off the podium and, at Kushina's wave, sat in the empty seat beside her.

He had noticed that Kushina already had a favorable impression of him—62 points on his system. It was a surprisingly high starting value.

"Probably because of Sister Mikoto. Or maybe Tsunade-sensei and Lady Mito mentioned me to her!" he guessed.

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In the following days, Kaito attended school as usual. With his learning abilities, he quickly mastered everything the school had to offer.

He also grew closer to Kushina and even made friends with Minato, who approached him to chat.

Over time, both Kushina and Minato's favorability toward him steadily increased. However, he was still far from the minimum 80 points needed for a contract.

"No need to rush," Kaito thought. "These things take time."

One day after school, Kaito spoke to Kushina and Minato. "Kushina, Minato, I've already learned everything the school has to offer. It's not useful to me anymore."

"So, I've decided to send a shadow clone to attend classes while I focus on my own training. Just wanted to let you know."

Since they were already friends, Kaito thought it was better to be upfront about his plan. If they found out later, it might strain their friendship.

"A shadow clone to attend school? You can do that? Why didn't I think of it?!" Kushina exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.

She had been attending school a few months longer than Kaito. With her quick mind, she'd already learned what she needed and had no interest in the rest. To her, school was sheer boredom.

She had even considered asking her grandmother for permission to drop out and focus on learning sealing techniques instead.

But now, hearing Kaito's idea, she saw a perfect solution. Why quit school when a shadow clone could handle it? Her grandmother would surely approve of this plan.

"Alright! I'll use a shadow clone to attend school too!" she declared, then turned to Kaito. "By the way, Tsunade said you've been learning sealing techniques recently?"

"Yeah," Kaito nodded. "My mom traded with Lady Mito and got some sealing techniques, so I've been studying them."

"Perfect! I'm planning to learn sealing techniques from Grandma soon. Wanna study together? We can exchange tips and learn faster. What do you think?" Kushina offered eagerly.

Having a companion to study with sounded much more fun to her.

"At the very least, he's nice to look at," she thought, finding Kaito's confident and masculine demeanor appealing. Unlike a certain "blondie," who she thought was too soft.

"Are you sure that's okay? Wouldn't Lady Mito need to approve?" Kaito asked, a bit surprised.

"Of course! Grandma likes you, and she even told me to look out for you at school. Don't worry; I'll talk to her!" Kushina said confidently.

"Alright, if she's fine with it, I'd be happy to join," Kaito agreed.

On the side, Minato felt a bit left out.

"I'd love to join too, but it's not possible. Kaito already has Lady Mito's approval, but I don't. And I can't even use shadow clones yet."

Noticing Minato's downcast expression, Kaito patted his shoulder. "Cheer up! It's not like we'll spend all day on sealing techniques. How about we set some time aside each day to practice ninjutsu and taijutsu together?"

Minato's eyes lit up at the suggestion.

To Kaito, Minato was a valuable future ally. By investing in their friendship now, he could gain Minato's loyalty and prevent him from falling under the influence of the Third Hokage.

"Better to recruit him early than let him become an enemy in the future," Kaito thought.

Of course, this also meant subtly guiding Minato to see the flaws in the Third Hokage's leadership and the truth behind the so-called "Will of Fire."

The ninja world wasn't as noble as it seemed.

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