By Tatsuma's own estimates, his current strength—bolstered by his "Minato-Limited" projectile proficiency—would allow him to hold his own against an average Chunin, provided he had enough "firepower" in his inventory.
His current skill with ninja tools was essentially off the charts. He suspected that even a standard Jonin might not possess the raw technical mastery he had acquired. Of course, that was purely in terms of technique; in terms of raw power and lethality, he was still very much a novice.
Still, the second year had only just begun. He was only six years old. At his current rate of growth, he expected to hit the Chunin plateau before he turned eight. While not exactly "unprecedented legend" territory, it was still a remarkably solid trajectory.
Under his influence, Minato was also growing much faster than he had in the original timeline. Tatsuma's only worry was that a more powerful Minato might be tempted to graduate early.
That was the last thing Tatsuma wanted. Consequently, he was pinning his hopes on Kushina Uzumaki. He hoped her arrival would provide a sufficient distraction for a boy whose romantic heart was destined to awaken early.
Did Tatsuma have designs on Kushina himself? If it were the adult Kushina, perhaps. But right now? Tatsuma wasn't a predator, and he refused to let himself become some creepy "uncle" playing a long-term "grooming" game.
Puppy love existed, and in the precocious world of Naruto, it was more common than not. But those two were destined to be childhood sweethearts. Tatsuma remembered having crushes in elementary school back in his previous life, but back then, he hadn't even known how the "dating process" worked, let alone anything about the physical side of things.
Once you know how the world works, you can never go back to that state of innocent, childhood simplicity. Having arrived in this world with a fully formed adult understanding of romance, Tatsuma found it impossible to approach little girls with romantic intent.
To put it bluntly: Tatsuma liked eighteen-year-old women.
There was another reason, of course: the current Tatsuma wasn't exactly a girl-magnet. His behavior was... unusual, to say the least.
Girls this age generally fell for the "cool, brooding, stoic" types—the Uchihas or Hyugas of the world—or the immediately striking "pretty boy" types.
And Tatsuma? He was enthusiastic, sincere, socially adept, and highly ambitious. These were qualities that grandmothers appreciated, not six-year-old girls.
Plus... natural perms were a hard sell at this age. Take Valentine's Day earlier this year: Minato's desk was buried under a mountain of chocolate. Tenfu Uchiha and Chinto Hyuga had so much they had to use their tool pouches to carry the overflow. Even Shikaku and Inoichi had received a few pieces.
And Tatsuma? Minato was the only one who had asked if he wanted any chocolate, mostly because Minato realized he couldn't possibly eat it all himself.
Tatsuma had looked him in the eye and lied through his teeth, claiming... he didn't like chocolate.
To maintain that "I hate chocolate" persona, Tatsuma had spent the last six months performing a ridiculous ritual: whenever they bought ice cream together, he would meticulously pick out every chocolate chip or flake and throw it away in front of everyone before he started eating.
Such was the price of being a man who refused to admit defeat.
Tatsuma ran a hand through his hair, hoping he'd find a way to eliminate the perm before he hit adulthood. Otherwise, he'd have to rely on the "Tony" masters—the legendary barbers of the shinobi world.
After checking his status panel and musing for a while, the feeling of being overstuffed from dinner finally receded. He washed up, used the cool-air setting on his blowdryer to meticulously dry his hair, and did a quick review of his first-year textbooks before bed.
The next morning, the two "Joint Top Students" made their way to the Academy. Minato, with his high ponytail, looked like a blonde version of the legendary J-rock icon Hyde. Tatsuma, also rocking a ponytail, looked like a white-haired version of the champion Yasuo.
There were many parents escorting their children to school today, mirroring the scene of their own enrollment a year ago.
Passing by the courtyard, the boys stopped to check the final rankings of the previous term. Since they hadn't faced each other in the final round of the practical exam, they both finished with perfect scores. Just like the first semester, they were once again Co-Valedictorians.
Tatsuma had a hunch the school was "cultivating" this rivalry. If they kept this up for another year, by this time next year, they would be the legendary "neighbor's children" that every parent used to lecture their own kids.
The clan parents would use two commoners outperforming their heirs to light a fire under their children's feet; the civilian parents would use their story to prove that success was possible through hard work.
Tatsuma didn't hate the feeling. Perhaps Jiraiya was right—showing off felt good. At the very least, it was a solid boost to his ego.
They took their seats in the classroom. The bell rang shortly after, but Goppu-sensei was uncharacteristically late. Shikaku even joked that the teacher might have forgotten it was the first day of the new term.
After a long while, the room shifted from noisy chatter to an eerie silence just as Goppu finally entered. Following behind him was a little red-haired girl, her head bowed in a manner that screamed "social anxiety."
Goppu nodded, pleased with the silence. "Class, we have a new student joining us starting today. Everyone, please make sure to..."
"I AM UZUMAKI KUSHINA!"
Goppu hadn't even finished his sentence before Kushina blurted out her introduction. Only after the shout echoed through the room did she seem to realize the atmosphere was a bit off.
The whispers started immediately. People discussed her hair color; they whispered about her strange behavior. Just as Goppu was about to intervene and settle the class, Kushina's "inner Habanero" took over. She shouted again:
"AND I'M GOING TO BE THE FIRST FEMALE HOKAGE OF THIS VILLAGE!"
The classroom went dead silent. Everyone stared at her. After a long moment, Minato glanced at Tatsuma several times. Seeing that his friend was making no move to help, Minato decided he couldn't let the new girl suffer through the awkward silence alone. He stood up.
"Hello," Minato said with his trademark warm smile. "I'm also working to become a Hokage who earns the recognition of everyone in the village."
Goppu let out a sigh of relief, thankful for Minato's intervention. He was about to move the lesson along, but Kushina was currently staring at Minato—specifically, at his long, tied-back hair. She pouted in dissatisfaction.
"You want to compete with me? You... you girly-boy?!"
"???"
Even the unflappable Minato was stunned. Goppu-sensei waved his hands frantically, signaling for Minato to sit down. "Alright, let's settle down. Kushina, there's an empty seat next to Minato. You can sit there."
Kushina looked at the boy whose ponytail made him look "prettier" than she was, and she huffed. She was clearly unhappy with the arrangement, but she stomped over and took the seat anyway.
Minato, unsure of how to react, offered her another radiant, sun-kissed smile. Kushina merely let out a "Hmph!" and whipped her head the other way, refusing to even look at him.
Tatsuma, watching the whole scene from the sidelines, felt his lip twitch. He knew from the original story that Kushina didn't like Minato at first because she thought he was a "girly-boy" and "unreliable."
But the level of hostility today seemed much higher than he'd expected. He looked at Minato's ponytail and felt a pang of guilt. Did I ruin their first meeting by convincing Minato to grow out his hair?
This is bad. If Minato gets spooked by her and decides to graduate early just to get away, I'm in trouble.