Fortunately, Minato Namikaze remained the "Little Sun" of the shinobi world. Kushina's prickly attitude did nothing to extinguish his innate kindness. When lunch break arrived and he saw several boys surrounding Kushina, Minato instinctively grew tense.
He tugged at the sleeve of Tatsuma's elbow. "Tatsuma, should we help?"
Tatsuma glanced at the group circling the new girl. "Help who?"
"The new student, obviously."
Faced with Tatsuma's blunt counter-question, Minato blinked in confusion for a second before the realization hit him. Tatsuma shook his head. "That girl looks significantly sturdier than any of those boys. If you really want to help, go tell those idiots to stay away from her. I'm worried they're about to be traumatized for life."
The boys currently surrounding Kushina were the sons of shinobi, but they weren't from the prestigious clans. They clearly didn't understand the "weight" behind a girl like Kushina.
Didn't they notice that the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the Inuzukas, and the Aburames were all staying far away? Even the usually arrogant Tenfu Uchiha and Chinto Hyuga were sitting quietly in their seats, minding their own business.
Minato was still worried, but thinking of Tatsuma's words and Jiraiya's earlier warning to stay back, he chose to remain in his seat and observe.
"Tomato! Tomato! Look at that red hair and that round face. Hey, from now on, your name is Tomato! Hahaha!"
"Hahaha! What a perfect nickname. You're just a big, annoying tomato!"
"Me too! Whenever I find tomatoes in my salad, I always pick them out and throw them away."
Hearing the boys' taunts, Kushina kept her head low. Her fists were clenched white, and her face flushed a deep, angry red. Minato frowned and started to stand up to intervene.
But the moment he rose, one of the boys reached out and grabbed a handful of Kushina's hair. He pointed at her flushed face and laughed. "Whoa! Look, the tomato is ripe! It's time to harvest it!"
In that instant, Kushina's hand shot up, clamping onto the boy's wrist. She looked up, her brow furrowed and her eyes burning with a fury that took the boy completely by surprise.
"Who are you calling a tomato?!" she spat. "Just for the record... I hate tomatoes more than anything!"
Her strength suddenly surged. The boy cried out in pain and tried to yank his hand back, but Kushina didn't give him the chance. She swung him by the arm, using his body as a blunt instrument to bowl over the other boys surrounding her.
Ignoring the others, Kushina lunged onto the back of the boy who had grabbed her hair. She unleashed a frantic "windmill" of punches, pummeling him until he began to wail for mercy.
Seeing that Kushina was more than capable of handling herself, Minato relaxed. A small, relieved smile touched his lips. But at that exact moment, Kushina noticed him. She glared in his direction.
"What are you smiling at?!" she snapped.
Minato's smile vanished instantly. He jerked his head back to look at the front of the room, though his eyes remained fixed on her in his peripheral vision.
The boy who had been beaten eventually scrambled to his feet and ran out of the room, sobbing and shouting something about a "Red-Hot Habanero."
The boy didn't return for the afternoon session. Goppu-sensei did a quick inquiry into what happened but ultimately said nothing. Since it was only the first day and there were no real lessons, missing a few hours wasn't a major issue.
School let out shortly after. Minato watched Kushina leave without even picking up her textbooks. Thinking of the boy who had run away crying earlier, Minato turned to Tatsuma.
"Tatsuma, I'm skipping training tonight. I'm worried Kushina might run into more trouble."
Tatsuma nodded. Minato truly was sensitive to these things; no wonder he managed to win Kushina's heart by the time they were fourteen.
"Go ahead. I'll take your books back for you."
"Thank you so much, Tatsuma." Minato gave him a grateful smile and hurried out of the classroom.
Later that evening, in the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi was using his crystal ball to perform the Telescope Jutsu. He watched as Kushina got into a fresh altercation with the older brother of the boy from lunch—a Genin.
Hiruzen looked toward Mito Uzumaki, who was standing nearby, and asked with concern, "Lady Mito, is this really alright? If Kushina grows up thinking the Leaf is ostracizing her, she'll never develop a sense of belonging to the village."
Mito Uzumaki shook her head. "Monkey... don't you understand? If you want Kushina to truly become a member of the Leaf, she must be treated like one. If any other child had run into this kind of friction today, would you have bothered to watch?"
"But..."
Hiruzen was still worried. Kushina was simply too important to the village's future. Mito cut him off.
"Love and hate are like peace and war. To achieve peace, one must first experience the agony of war. To find love, one must first understand what it is to be hated. Compared to what she will face in the future, these minor scuffles are nothing. Besides... look. That blonde child is more composed than you are. He's called... Minato Namikaze, isn't he?"
Mito looked at the crystal ball, watching Minato as he observed the situation from behind a large tree. A trace of admiration appeared in her eyes. Before Kushina had arrived, she had asked Hiruzen to identify potential companions for her. Among Hiruzen's suggestions, Mito liked Minato Namikaze and Tatsuma Sakamoto the most.
Though... that white-haired boy, Tatsuma, didn't seem to care about Kushina's plight at all.
Watching Kushina through the glass, Mito saw her literally tear a handful of her own hair out of the Genin's grasp just to get close enough to pummel him. Seeing the older ninja beaten until he couldn't fight back, Mito felt a flicker of satisfaction.
She didn't stay to watch the rest. "I'm heading back. Make sure you accommodate the arrangements I've made for her."
"Yes, Lady Mito. Take care. I will notify you the moment there are any updates."
Hiruzen respectfully saw Mito out. By the time Mito returned home, Kushina was already back. She didn't let Mito see her, though; she had retreated to her room and was crying into her pillow.
Mito waited until the dinner hour had passed before she knocked and entered Kushina's room. She saw the girl quickly bury her tear-stained face under the covers.
Mito didn't press her immediately. She sat on the edge of the bed in silence. Once Kushina's sobbing finally subsided, Mito spoke softly. "I know what happened today."
The figure under the blankets went still. After a moment, Kushina poked her head out, her eyes red and puffy. "Grandmother Mito... why does everyone pick on me? Is it just because I'm an outsider?"
Mito ruffled Kushina's red hair, which was significantly thicker and denser than the average person's. She shook her head. "No, Kushina. They're just afraid of you."
"Afraid?"
"Think of it like this," Mito explained. "When a family already has cats and brings home a new one, the old cats will band together to bully the newcomer. It's not because they enjoy being mean; it's because they're afraid the new cat will steal their status and their territory. You told the class you want to be Hokage. There is only one seat for the Hokage. If you succeed, it means everyone else fails. They are simply afraid."
"Really?" Kushina wiped her eyes. "Then... what should I do?"
"What should you do?" Mito gently smoothed Kushina's hair, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Find the fattest cat in the group... and beat it up. Once you do that, the other cats will listen to you."
"You mean..."
"That blonde 'girly-boy' you dislike, and that other white-haired boy. They are the Top Students of your class. Defeat them, and you'll be the strongest cat in the yard."