The next day.
At the break of dawn.
Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina stealthily entered the Uchiha clan's territory.
Given the Uchiha's notorious reputation these days, the two couldn't help feeling nervous. They had chosen the early morning to avoid crowds—but why were there still so many people around?!
Luckily, most they encountered were ordinary Uchiha clansmen, who merely cast curious glances at them. Visitors from Konoha were rare in the Uchiha district these days. After a few looks, no one stopped them.
Sighing in relief, they finally reached Kin's doorstep.
Minato stepped forward and knocked.
"Bang! Bang!"
After a while with no response, he turned to Kushina.
"He seems to be out."
Kushina glared at him with exasperation.
"Knocking like that, he'd never hear you. Watch me."
She pulled Minato aside, approached the door, and raised her fist with a gentle, smiling demeanor—
—until her smile vanished, her expression sharpened, and her fist abruptly accelerated.
"A proper knock should convey our enthusiasm!! GYAA!!"
"GYAA!?" Minato's face paled. This transformed Kushina was unrecognizable! Was this some secret Uzumaki ability?!
Before he could process it, her fist slammed into the door with a roar.
"Feel our passion, you damn Uchiha!!"
—Superhuman Strength!!
"BOOM!!"
The door shattered into splinters, scattering through the air.
"Damn Uchiha!?"
Minato froze. He was pretty sure they hadn't come here to pick a fight. This was outright provocation!
Amid the wreckage stood Kin, gripping the doorknob he'd been about to turn. His face was dark with fury.
No need for doors now.
Before Minato could explain, Kin's fist connected with Kushina's face—her cheeks distorting under the impact as her upper body snapped backward, legs flipping upward.
She shot past Minato like a comet.
"Gulp."
Minato swallowed hard as Kin's glare locked onto him.
"You're next."
"DIE, YOU BASTARDS!!"
—Uppercut!!
Kin's fist met Minato's chin, launching him skyward.
This was Kin's version of "enthusiasm"!! GYAA!!
Dare to break his door? None of them would leave alive!!
"We're sorry!!" ×2
"Truly apologize!!" ×2
"We just came to visit after so long!!" ×2
Seated at the table, Kin watched as Minato and Kushina kneeled in unison, their faces bruised. Their synchronized apologies made him grimace.
Why did he suddenly feel so full, as if force-fed something vile?
His mood, already sour from the broken door, worsened.
"Enough, it's fine."
Kin changed the subject. Their synchronization was unnerving. The door could be fixed later.
Kushina perked up, slamming a foot on the table and jutting a hand at her hip.
"Team Seven is reunited at last! HAHAHA!"
Her energy drew a laugh from Kin—
—until he smacked her head with a rolled-up newspaper.
"Bastard!! I just cleaned this table!!"
As Kushina scrambled away, she spun around, roaring:
"Fight me, Uchiha Kin!!"
"You want a fight? Fine!"
They squared off, tension thickening.
Contestant Uzumaki Kushina, honed by a year of war, had grown formidable.
Contestant Uchiha Kin, tempered under the White Fang's tutelage, was no pushover.
Their features sharpened, their physiques inexplicably bulked up—
"Your art styles just changed!! HEY!!"
Straight Man Minato's outcry acted as a starting pistol.
The two moved simultaneously, their afterimages flooding the room.
"Whack! Whack! Whack!"
The furious sound of impacts echoed until Kushina finally retreated.
"STOP!!"
"Why do you get a weapon?! That's cheating!!"
She pointed at Kin's newspaper, her hands red from the beating.
"You never said it was against the rules."
Kin smirked.
"SCREW YOU!!"
Kushina lunged with a kunai, but Minato intercepted her.
"Let it go. We can't win."
His resigned tone finally calmed her. Charging in would just mean more pain.
The trio regrouped around the table.
"Kin, is the White Fang as cool, handsome, and strong as they say?"
Kushina's eyes sparkled with curiosity. She'd never met the legend herself.
"Nah." Kin waved a hand. "That guy's an ugly, slobby, perverted chatterbox—a societal stain who needs purging."
"Hiss!!"
Minato and Kushina gasped in unison.
"Shocking, right? I wouldn't believe it either if I hadn't seen it myself," Kin ranted, his grievances overflowing. Thanks to the White Fang, he'd been dragged into danger instead of waiting out the war safely on the Iwagakure front.
"Um..." Minato hesitated. "Isn't the White Fang... silver-haired, with a ponytail?"
"Huh?" Kin blinked. Since when had Minato met that guy?
Minato wordlessly pointed behind him.
Kin went rigid.
"'An ugly, slobby, perverted societal stain,' am I?"
A voice, cold as the underworld, crept into his ears.
"Do I really deserve that, Kin?"
Goosebumps erupted across Kin's skin.
Caught badmouthing someone—by the person himself.
What now?
Urgent!!
Someone help!!!
...
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(End of Chapter)