Feeling rejected, Kushina slumped over her desk. The lunch she had painstakingly prepared no longer looked appetizing. She had only wanted to thank Takuya for speaking up for her in the office—nothing more. But Takuya had turned her down.

"Aren't you and Kushina...?" Minato asked, surprised, as he looked at Takuya, who was now sitting beside him.

Takuya shrugged as he opened his lunchbox. "I don't like rice balls or sashimi. You know that, so I declined."

It was true—Takuya didn't care for those foods. But more importantly, he didn't want to draw the attention of the ANBU. Being under their watch would be uncomfortable, to say the least. After all, he had a lot of secrets that needed to stay hidden.

"Haha, you're a real bro," Minato laughed, misunderstanding the situation. He thought Takuya had turned Kushina down just to hang out with him.

"..."

Some bro. Takuya thought to himself. You could at least keep your chopsticks out of my lunchbox when you say that.

After a long day of classes, Takuya finally headed home. He slipped into the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. His once-blue eyes were now red, with two tomoe spinning in each of them.

So my single tomoe Sharingan evolved into two tomoe without any warning. Is this because of the game character's influence?

Takuya deactivated the Sharingan and flopped onto his bed, exhausted. His full name was Takuya Yagami, and he had Uchiha blood in him. His mother was from the Uchiha clan, and after his father died in battle, she had tried to bring him back to the Uchiha. But his silver hair and his own resistance to the idea put an end to that.

Not to mention, there were plenty of Uchihas who were against his return to the clan.

When Takuya first arrived in this world, he discovered that he already had a single tomoe Sharingan and the white Nine-Tails from the game inside him. Unfortunately, this special Nine-Tails was still small. It had taken over a year for it to grow to its current size.

The good news was that the Nine-Tails was unique to him, and unless he wanted to reveal it, no one would ever know it was there.

Takuya hadn't experienced any intense emotional trauma when his Sharingan first manifested. Even now, its evolution seems to happen without any real trigger.

If all my in-game abilities show up in this world, then...

Full control of a complete Nine-Tails with Sage Mode, and the Rinnegan at its peak...

If I can pull that off, Danzo wouldn't stand a chance! One day, I'll crush him like a bug.

For now, I'll just keep my head down.

It's fine to be a genius, but I can't be a freak. Geniuses get nurtured; freaks get targeted.

Meanwhile, Kushina returned to the Senju compound. Because she was still young, there was an agreement between Mito Uzumaki and the Third Hokage that Kushina would stay at the Senju compound until she graduated from the academy. This way, Tsunade could provide her with some help when needed.

"Wow, lunch is ready!" Nawaki exclaimed as he returned home, spotting the bento on the table and digging in. He even asked Tsunade if she wanted some.

"Kushina worked hard to make this lunch last night," Tsunade remarked, taking a rice ball and biting into it. "She told me she wanted to thank a classmate for helping her, so she made this. Looks like she got turned down."

"Turned down?" Nawaki's eyes widened. Who had the guts to turn down Kushina's kindness?

"Yeah, I got turned down."

Kushina emerged from her room, looking dejected, and flopped down next to Tsunade. She irritably ruffled her hair. "Takuya said he doesn't like rice balls or sashimi. Ugh, I spent so much time preparing it."

I never thought I'd see the day when this little girl would be so troubled by something.

Tsunade nearly burst out laughing. She kicked Nawaki under the table, making him wince in pain.

"Do you know anything about this Takuya Yagami kid? What's he like?"

"Takuya Yagami?"

Nawaki rubbed the spot where he'd been kicked and thought for a moment before replying, "I think he's a lower-grade student. I've heard some girls in our grade say he's really good-looking. They're all crazy about him."

"Oh no,"

Tsunade grinned mischievously and nudged Kushina with her shoulder. "Kushina, you're under a lot of pressure. Handsome boys are always popular, unlike some people."

"No way!"

Kushina's face turned bright red. She admitted Takuya was good-looking, but that wasn't why she wanted to thank him!

"Why are you dragging me into this, Sis?"

Nawaki felt a pang of injustice. I'm not as bad as you're making me out to be. And I'm your brother—your real brother! What kind of sister calls her own brother ugly?

Ignoring Nawaki's grumbling, Tsunade offered Kushina a suggestion.

"Here's an idea. How about you invite him over for dinner sometime? That way, you can thank him properly, and I can see what he's like!"

"What? No way!!"

Kushina leaped up, blushing furiously, and shouted, "It's not like that at all! I just wanted to thank him, Tsunade! You're being so mean!" With that, she covered her face and ran back to her room.

Tch, little girls get embarrassed so easily.

Tsunade laughed wickedly.

You're acting like you're so mature, Nawaki grumbled internally.

"Forget about dinner at home. You're better off eating out. It's not going to happen here," he said aloud.

"Why not?" Tsunade asked, confused. Then, narrowing her eyes, she clenched her fist. "Are you saying that brat won't give me the respect I deserve? Does he not know who I am? I'm Tsunade Senju!"

"That's not it!!" Nawaki quickly explained, seeing Tsunade ready to explode. "It's because Takuya Yagami goes by another name."

"What do you mean? How many names does one person need?"

"Takuya Uchiha."

Nawaki spread his hands in resignation. "Some girls say Takuya Yagami is his birth name, but before his mother passed away, she wanted him to return to the Uchiha clan because he has Uchiha blood. But it never happened."

"An Uchiha kid, huh?"

No wonder Nawaki reacted the way he did. This could be a problem, especially since Kushina was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

Never mind, let's just forget this whole thing. It's probably for the best that he refused!

Even if he wasn't officially part of the Uchiha clan, his bloodline made it unwise for him to get too close to a Jinchuriki.

Tsunade didn't have any prejudice against the Uchiha, even if most of them were a bit... off. But the Third Hokage, Danzo, and the elders wouldn't allow something like that to happen.

If Takuya and Kushina stayed just classmates, maybe even friends, it might be okay. But if they got any closer, the higher-ups would do everything in their power to keep him away from her.

"Today, we'll be covering shuriken throwing techniques. Please turn to page..."

Takuya was back to his usual self, staring out the window as if something outside had caught his interest.

Kushina glanced at him, then looked again a few moments later. Finally, she couldn't resist and passed him a note.

A note?

Takuya almost forgot the last time he'd seen one of these. Probably sometime in middle school back in his previous life, before everyone stopped passing notes. Who would've thought that after crossing worlds, someone would send him one?

"Why aren't you paying attention in class? You're always looking out the window," the note read.

Takuya glanced at it, then pushed it back.

"Because there's nothing else to do. If you already understand the lesson, you can do the same."

"Oh!"

Kushina hadn't expected Takuya to answer her aloud instead of passing another note.

"Takuya Yagami! Kushina Uzumaki!"

Mr. Uemura had finally had enough. He slammed his hand on the desk and yelled, "Even if you already know the lesson, don't disrupt the class! If you're going to pass notes, don't do it in front of me!!!"

...

Uh-oh. We've been caught.

Kushina blushed furiously and quickly buried her face in her arms on the desk.

But Takuya acted like nothing had happened, completely unfazed by Mr. Uemura's scolding and ignoring the strange looks from their classmates.

Everything that happened in the classroom was observed by the ANBU. They even saw what Kushina had written on the note.

"You're saying Kushina passed a note to that Takuya Yagami kid?" The Third Hokage asked, reviewing Takuya's file. "I didn't realize this kid had such a connection to the Uchiha."

"Has he shown any interest in joining the Uchiha?"

"No, Lord Hokage. Ever since his mother passed away, Takuya Yagami hasn't visited the Uchiha compound."

"And it seems the Uchiha aren't too keen on having him back, either."

A Nine-Tails Jinchuriki showing interest in someone with Uchiha blood? That's not good. Fortunately, Takuya hasn't joined the Uchiha.

After thinking it over, the Third Hokage instructed the ANBU, "Keep monitoring them. If Takuya Yagami shows any interest in Kushina, intervene immediately. We can't allow a Jinchuriki to get too close to someone with Uchiha blood."

Even if Takuya wasn't fully part of the Uchiha clan, the risk was too great.

"Understood, Lord Hokage."

The ANBU left the Hokage's office and resumed shadowing Kushina and Takuya, keeping a close watch on their every move.

"Master, there's someone outside who doesn't seem to like you very much."

A soft, feminine voice echoed in Takuya's mind.

It was the Nine-Tails. Takuya's white Nine-Tails was female, the opposite of the one sealed inside Kushina.

Even though gender didn't really apply to the tailed beasts, Takuya figured their voices were a good way to tell them apart.