Ninja Academy – The Day Jonin-Sensei Chose Their Students
The morning sun shone warmly over the Ninja Academy building. The freshly graduated genin candidates sat awkwardly at their desks, waiting to hear which Jonin would be their sensei. Excited chatter echoed through the corridors. One by one, the sensei arrived and called out their teams. Every door creak brought either tension—or hope.
But the classroom assigned to Team Kushina remained… silent.
The clock had already passed the scheduled time.
"Why hasn't our sensei shown up yet?" Kotetsu complained while spinning a kunai around his finger.
"Maybe… we didn't get picked by anyone…" muttered Izumo, sitting cross-legged on his chair.
Beside them, Natsu Hyuga sat upright and silent, eyes fixed on the window. Though her face was calm, her gaze occasionally flicked toward the door.
But elsewhere...
In the Academy Lobby...
Kushina Uzumaki strolled through the corridor—her steps light, her long red hair swaying with each motion.
She'd decided to mimic Kakashi's style from the anime: arrive last, with the most casual flair. After all, first impressions mattered, and Kushina wanted to look cool.
But as she entered the academy, several Chunin instructors immediately recognized her.
"Kushina-sama!"
"Welcome, Kushina-sama!"
Kushina returned every greeting with a bright smile and a gentle nod.
"Thanks. I'm just an ordinary woman trying to be an extraordinary teacher~," she joked.
Yet amid the warm welcome, a faint whisper rose from a group of instructors in a corner.
"Isn't that… the famous Kitsune Hime?"
"For real? That's her? The one who supposedly—"
The sentence was cut off because at that very moment, Kushina flushed bright red.
'K-Kitsune Hime!? In public?! Who had the guts to say that name out loud!?'
In a blink, her body vanished like mist, leaving behind only a flutter of red hair and a single twirling leaf.
"She disappeared! Just like… teleportation!"
"Exactly like the technique of the late Namikaze Minato… Truly worthy of the title Kitsune Hime…"
Now leaping across the rooftops of the Academy, Kushina hid behind a pillar, taking a deep breath.
'Geez… I was about to make a cool entrance and now they go calling me that embarrassing name…'
She exhaled slowly, calming herself.
'I swear, whoever first spread that nickname will be forced to write "Don't Give Nicknames to Kunoichi Without Permission" 100 times—using their left hand in calligraphy!'
Seconds later…
She patted her cheeks, smiled, and returned to her usual cheerful expression.
'Okay... time to greet my students. Focus, Kushina. It's their first day!'
Classroom – Team Kushina
The classroom door creaaaaked open slowly.
Kotetsu and Izumo looked up.
"Huh? Is that her?"
"Took her long enough…"
Natsu stood up politely.
And then…
Kushina Uzumaki entered.
Standing tall with a warm smile and hands on her hips.
"Yo! Sorry I'm late. Your sensei decided to make a stylish entrance."
Her bright voice filled the room, radiating a warm, energetic presence.
The three students stared silently, eyes wide.
"EHHHH!?" Kotetsu and Izumo shouted in unison. "Our sensei is… Kushina-sama!?"
Izumo muttered, "I thought our sensei would be a cool, scary guy… but instead…"
Kushina grinned. "Yup! I'm Kushina Uzumaki. Starting today, I'm your Jonin-sensei. You can call me Sensei, Kushina-nee, or The Coolest—up to you!"
Natsu looked at her blankly, slightly confused. "…Is this going to go well?"
Kushina chuckled. "Of course! But before we get too comfy… we're doing a little test tomorrow to see if you're worthy of being on my team."
Kotetsu gulped. "A test…?"
Izumo looked uneasy. "But… didn't we already graduate?"
"Graduated from the Academy," Kushina said, narrowing her eyes with a mischievous smile, "doesn't mean you've graduated from the ninja world."
She tapped the roster in her hand.
"Tomorrow morning, 6 AM. Training field number 7. Don't be late. If you are…"
Kushina leaned in slightly, smiling with a sinister glint in her eyes, "I'll personally attach exploding tag scrolls to your uniforms."
Gulp.
The three of them snapped to attention. "Y-yes, Sensei!!"
Kushina stood proudly, satisfied.
'Hehe… this is fun. I think I might actually enjoy being a teacher…'
And Team Kushina was officially born.
That Night, After Returning from the Academy…
The chandelier in the living room swayed gently with the cool breeze blowing through a slightly open window. The night air carried the faint scent of pine from the backyard.
In the center of the room, Kushina sat stretched out on a soft blue couch, wearing a casual yukata, her long hair let loose. In her hands was a worn book titled Icha Icha Paradise, flipped open to a slightly creased page.
"Jiraiya-sensei really lost it when he wrote this part…" she muttered, cheeks a bit flushed even as her eyes stayed glued to the text. One hand held the book, the other snacking on mochi from a small dish.
Soft breathing came from the nearby room. Naruto was sound asleep, curled up on his futon. Kushina glanced toward his room with a tender smile before returning to her book.
Suddenly, her brows furrowed.
"Eh…?" she murmured, as if recalling something crucial. Her eyes widened.
"Ah! I forgot! I didn't even do a proper introduction like Kakashi did in the anime!" she panicked.
She smacked her forehead with her palm. "Ugh, all because of that bastard who called me Kitsune Hime in public! Totally threw off my groove!"
Her expression turned stiff. Her eyes stared blankly at the ceiling.
"I don't even know anything about my students beyond their names and faces! Ugh, what kind of teacher am I…"
She let out a heavy sigh, shoulders slumping.
"Well… there's still tomorrow. After the test, I'll schedule proper introductions. Hopefully it's not too late…"
She tried to focus on her book again—ironically, at a particularly "intense" scene—Jiraiya never held back. But her thoughts had drifted elsewhere.
'Hmm… why aren't there more fun novels in this world?' she pouted. She closed the book and gazed at the ceiling. 'Icha Icha is cute, but… a bit too adult. Not everyone can enjoy it.'
Then her face lit up.
"Maybe I should… rewrite the stories from my previous world?" she whispered to herself.
She sat upright, hand on her chin, eyes glowing with inspiration.
"If I can remember the details… there are so many stories I could recreate!" she whispered, counting on her fingers. "Like… the tale of Lufy! A shinobi with a rubber kekkei genkai! Or… a world where the Akimichi clan are actually descendants of a remote island Daimyo, who can transform into giants like Titans! So epic!"
Her mouth hung open in excitement. She nodded to herself.
"Or maybe… since this world has no manga, I could become the first manga artist in Konoha history!" she said, leaping off the couch, bursting with enthusiasm.
But as she reached for another mochi to fuel her wild ideas, her fingers touched only an empty plate.
"Eh?"
She stared at the white dish on the table, lifting it slowly as if to confirm it was truly empty.
"…Tch," she grumbled. "Why'd they run out so fast?"
Her stomach rumbled. The reading mood was gone.
"Whatever… I'm sulking. Time to sleep, I gotta wake up early anyway…"
She placed the plate in the small kitchen, turned off the living room light, and in the darkness, lit only by moonlight from the window, Kushina quietly walked to her bedroom.
Before closing the door, she glanced once at Naruto's room.
Her face softened into a peaceful smile.