Naruto: Starting With Three Tomoe Sharingan, Girlfriend Kushina

"I just slapped a classmate. He was the one who provoked me first..."

"Just one slap? If he provoked you, didn't Koda know about it? And you still got punished with cleaning the classroom?"

Asuka's cheeks puffed up, though it was unclear whether it was from anger or because her mouth was stuffed with too much food...

"But your courage has really grown. That's something even Mom has to admire!"

At this moment, Asuka actually seemed a little proud...

"..."

Ryuun couldn't understand. With a mother like this, why was the original owner always so timid?

In the end, it probably came down to his father, Uchiha Mori. In his memories, his father had a very good temperament—kind to others and never one to pick fights.

After dinner, Ryuun began training his body in the small courtyard of their home.

Push-ups, squats, striking the wooden post—his diligent efforts to sweat it out left Asuka utterly amazed.

"Son, why have you suddenly become so hardworking?"

Her son rarely took the initiative to train his body, let alone at night like this...

Ryuun usually preferred hiding in his room at night, reading small comic books until he got tired and fell asleep. He almost never came out to exercise.

So why did he suddenly seem like a completely different person today?

Hearing this, Ryuun stopped his movements.

He didn't want to work hard either, but he had no choice...

After all, this was the world of shinobi. The Second Great Shinobi War hadn't even truly begun yet, and there would still be the Third and Fourth Great Shinobi Wars after that...

As a shinobi, if he lacked strength, how many disasters could he survive?

He wasn't the protagonist, nor was he an important supporting character. The Nine-Tails' attack, Uchiha Itachi's massacre, Pain's invasion, all kinds of shinobi missions... There would always be something that could kill him.

He didn't want to die young after transmigrating here, nor did he want to follow in his father Mori's footsteps, leaving behind a grieving wife and child with regrets.

"I'll become a shinobi in just a year. I need to prepare in advance..." Ryuun said vaguely.

"But this... is way too early, isn't it?" Asuka wiped her sweat.

Ryuun shook his head. He even felt that time was too tight.

During the Third War, it was said that even freshly graduated children were sent to the battlefield. While there was no such talk during the Second War, Ryuun couldn't be sure!

If the Second War turned out like the Third, then he would be in great danger—especially as a minor character like him...

"Every bit of strength means an extra bit of security for my life. Strengthening myself is necessary."

"Well said! Mom supports you!"

Asuka clapped and laughed. Her son's ambition was a good thing, and exercising was nothing but beneficial. As a mother, of course she would support him.

She just hoped her precious son wouldn't give up halfway...

"Tomorrow, Mom will get you some money to buy fitness equipment. Train hard, and don't slack off, okay?" Asuka clenched her fists in encouragement.

"Uh..."

Ryuun felt a bit amused.

After doing a hundred push-ups, a hundred squats, punching the post a hundred times, and kicking it a hundred times, Ryuun was left panting heavily.

Compared to his peers in the shinobi world, his stamina was indeed lacking.

Right now, without activating his Sharingan, his pure taijutsu was probably worse than Kushina's, let alone a top-tier genius like Minato Namikaze.

Though his body was exhausted, his mental state was surprisingly good—a result of his fused souls and greatly enhanced spiritual energy.

After resting on the ground for a while, his considerate mother brought him drinks and ice water. Once he had recovered a bit, Ryuun began practicing his chakra control against the wall.

Namely, the training methods known as "tree-walking" and "water-walking."

"Son, what are you doing?"

Watching Ryuun repeatedly step onto the wall only to fall back down, Asuka finally couldn't hold back her question.

She wasn't a shinobi and had no exposure to this kind of training.

"Training chakra control," Ryuun explained briefly, not caring whether Asuka understood or not.

"Then let me get you a mat. Don't hurt yourself from falling..." Asuka turned to go inside, but Ryuun stopped her.

"No need, Mom. Falling is fine. With chakra protecting me, I won't get hurt." Ryuun was telling the truth.

Falling a few times could count as tempering his body—so he wouldn't get beaten to death so easily in the future...

"Alright then! Train slowly, and remember to rest early. Don't stay up too late!"

After her initial curiosity faded, Asuka prepared to return to her room.

"Mm."

Late at night.

Within the Senju clan's territory.

A pink bedroom was brightly lit as a girl sat cross-legged on the floor, carefully studying the sealing scroll in her hands.

These scrolls recorded the secret techniques of the Uzumaki clan.

Two knocks sounded at the door before an elderly woman pushed it open.

"Grandma Mito... Why are you here?" Kushina quickly stood up.

"It's so late. Why isn't Kushina asleep yet?"

Mito Uzumaki glanced at the sealing scrolls scattered across the floor, visibly stunned for a moment before showing surprise and pride.

These were the most precious treasures of their Uzumaki clan. With Uzushiogakure destroyed and the Uzumaki clan nearly wiped out, it was heartening to see the few remaining clansmen willing to inherit these techniques.

In the past, Kushina had always been too busy playing around, making it difficult to get her to study sealing techniques. Why had she suddenly changed today?

"I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd study some more sealing techniques..." Kushina lowered her head and answered softly.

Her mind couldn't help but recall a certain boy—and a certain promise.

She wanted to learn more about sealing techniques so she wouldn't run out of things to teach later...

"Good, good. Since you're willing to learn, feel free to ask me if you have any questions!"

Mito smiled warmly, unaware of the girl's thoughts. She simply assumed the girl had come to her senses...

"But it's too late today. You should turn off the lights and sleep now!"

Kushina checked the clock and realized she had been so engrossed in studying that she hadn't noticed how late it had gotten.

"Mm, I'll sleep now. Grandma Mito, you should rest early too!" Kushina replied obediently.

"Good child..."

Mito praised her before gently closing the door.

Lying on her futon, Kushina tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

Every time she closed her eyes, she thought of that boy—and those mesmerizing, beautiful three-tomoe Sharingan eyes.

Remembering how he had touched her face and how she had carefully caressed his handsome features made the corners of her lips curl up uncontrollably.

"How come I never noticed how good-looking he was before?"

Kushina's heart felt as if it had been coated in honey, so sweet that she couldn't sleep.

"Even while hiding his strength, he still gets good grades. Shouldn't he be the top of the class?"

"What a low-key guy..."

Kushina hugged her pillow, rolling around restlessly while muttering to herself, her face wearing a silly, lovestruck grin.

"Achoo..."

Ryun sneezed repeatedly as he lay on his futon, thinking he might have caught a cold...