Inside the Ninja Academy Classroom
The morning sunlight poured in through the classroom window, casting soft shadows on the floor. Children began to arrive with light steps, laughter and small chatter filling the room. But that morning, something felt different.
Minato Namikaze, a blond-haired boy with a warm smile, opened the classroom door with his usual enthusiasm—only to halt for a moment.
His eyes immediately landed on a girl with bright red hair, sitting alone in the corner of the room, hunched over with her knees hugged to her chest. No bursts of sound, no loud laughter, no trademark shout of "I'm gonna be Hokage!" like usual.
Uzumaki Kushina was crying.
Minato stared at her with a mix of confusion, worry, and a bit of fear. He was about to step forward when he noticed Mizuki sitting not far from her, eyes fixed on Kushina with a serious expression.
Minato paused, then sat beside Mizuki. "Do you know what happened to her?" he whispered, barely audible.
Mizuki nodded slowly. "Yeah... but I can't explain it."
Minato looked at his friend, trying to find answers in her expression. But Mizuki's face was as always—calm, composed, nearly emotionless. Still, Minato could sense one thing: a weight.
She knew something big... but couldn't share it.
Mizuki herself hadn't expected Kushina to be like this. From her observation, Kushina had physically recovered. But emotionally... that was a different story.
'Maybe I underestimated the effects of being a Jinchūriki…' Mizuki thought. 'The Uzumaki are a strong clan, but they're still human. Even fire can run out of fuel.'
Slowly, Mizuki stood and walked over to Kushina. She knew all eyes in the classroom were on her now, but she didn't care.
She crouched in front of the girl, then leaned in and gently hugged her—one hand on her back, the other patting softly.
"Kushina," she whispered, "it's okay. We're all here with you. You're not alone."
Kushina's body trembled slightly. Her sobs softened. Then she looked up—her eyes puffy, but a faint light had returned.
Mizuki gave a small smile, wiping away her tears with a thumb. "If you can't be strong, let us be strong with you."
For a moment, the classroom was silent. Then, small footsteps approached.
Tsume Inuzuka, with her usual cheerful energy, appeared holding something in her hand.
"Look! This is a photo of my newborn puppy! Isn't it just the cutest?!"
Kushina glanced... then let out a giggle between sniffles.
Yoshino Nara sighed from the back of the room. "Finally, some peace..."
A few kids laughed along. The tension melted away.
Kushina lifted her head, glaring at Minato with that fiery Uzumaki spark back in her eyes.
"Hey! Are you staring at me because I look ugly when I cry?!"
Minato flinched, panicked. "N-no! That's not it! I just... uh...!"
Minato's face turned bright red, while Mizuki sighed deeply and covered her face with her hand. "She's back..." she muttered.
Afternoon – Academy Training Grounds
After shuriken and taijutsu practice ended, Mizuki, Minato, and Kushina sat under a large tree sipping bottled tea from the cafeteria.
"I thought today would be normal," Minato said, leaning against the trunk. "Boy, was I wrong."
But the mood shifted when Kushina turned sharply to Mizuki.
"Hey, you! I heard you're engaged?!"
Her outburst startled the birds in the tree.
Mizuki coughed. "Not... I mean—it's... I was almost engaged. But it was called off."
"Why am I only hearing about this now?!"
Mizuki shrugged. "Minato knew. Most of Konoha knew. You just didn't hear it... because you were resting at the time."
Kushina glared at Minato. "You didn't tell me?!"
"Uh… I thought you knew…"
'They're like an old married couple…' Mizuki thought, regretting ever bringing up the engagement.
At last, Mizuki began telling the story from a few days ago...
FLASHBACK – A Few Days Earlier, at Danzo's Residence
The Konoha sky was painted gold-orange as Mizuki brewed tea for herself and Danzo. As always, the traditional Shimura home was silent, orderly, and cold. The bitter aroma of black tea filled the small room, blending with the calming scent of aged wood.
In front of her, Danzo Shimura sat upright in silence, reviewing ROOT reports, his eyes narrowing as he read every detail meticulously.
Mizuki sat across from him, her face relaxed but calculating. She poured her cup carefully, then spoke in a light tone as if discussing the weather:
"By the way, Danzo-sensei... I heard the Hyuga elders are considering arranging a marriage between me and Hiashi."
Mizuki's voice was calm and flat. No hope, no refusal. Just a report, as if she were stating the day's temperature.
But the moment that sentence ended, silence thickened.
The sound of paper stopped. The report Danzo had been reading hovered midair, his hand frozen, fingers stiff on the last page.
Mizuki, who had been gazing out the window, sensed something was off. Slowly she turned and... her face turned rigid.
Danzo said nothing. But his entire aura changed.
The one visible eye—his left, usually cold and sharp—now looked like a dark abyss filled with fury and threat. No words, no overt movements. Yet his body radiated a raw power beyond comprehension.
For a moment, Mizuki felt like a rabbit staring at an old wolf—not because she was scared, but because she knew, this was a beast that never stopped watching the battlefield.
"...Hiashi?" Danzo finally spoke, his voice low and calm, but like a boulder dropped into a still lake.
Mizuki swallowed hard.
She nodded. "Yes. Wouldn't that strengthen our influence—"
BANG!
Danzo stood abruptly, his knee hitting the table, rattling the teacups. The scrolls dropped to the floor, forgotten.
Without a word or glance at Mizuki, he strode out, sliding open the wooden door sharply and vanishing into the hallway.
All Mizuki saw was the flutter of his cloak—and the void left behind, like air pressure before a storm.
"...Eh?" Mizuki blinked, unsure whether to chase him or stay put.
Within minutes, the mood in Konoha shifted.
At the central ANBU HQ, shinobi were thrown into confusion.
"Emergency summon from Danzo-sama?!"
"But... this isn't a mission!"
"He's taking almost 20% of the active ANBU forces..."
Meanwhile, at the Hokage's office, Hiruzen had just sat down to enjoy a light evening report when he noticed the absence of nearly all key ANBU members.
"Eh? Where'd they all go?" Hiruzen mumbled, puzzled.
Moments later, when news arrived that Danzo had marched straight to the Hyuga compound with a concerning number of ANBU, Hiruzen's expression froze.
"...Is he... staging a coup?" he whispered in horror.
Not taking any chances, Hiruzen shot out of his chair—almost as fast as Tobirama's Flying Thunder God technique. He had one goal: stop Danzo before Konoha turned to rubble.
Later – Danzo's Residence
Back at the quiet house, Mizuki still sat alone in the tea room, turning her now-cold cup.
The door slid open swiftly.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, breathless from his breakneck pace, stood in the doorway, Hokage cloak fluttering, hair slightly disheveled.
Mizuki turned, still confused.
"...Ah, Hokage-sama?"
"Where's Danzo?" Hiruzen asked quickly.
"He said... he wanted to speak to the Hyuga elders."
After hearing the full story from Mizuki, Hiruzen was silent for three seconds, then...
He laughed.
Not a chuckle, not a smirk. A full, echoing laugh that rang through Danzo's wooden halls.
"Ahahahahahaha! Good grief, so... this is the reason?! Just... this?!"
Mizuki blinked. "...Did I miss something?"
Hours Later – Hyuga District
The emergency meeting between Danzo and the Hyuga elders was intense. No physical clash, but the tension nearly split the air.
Danzo stood his ground. His gaze said: Touch my student without consent, and you'll regret it deeply.
The engagement was called off on the spot.
In exchange, Danzo offered a chilling yet calculated political compensation: 30% of Hyuga clan members would be granted posts in the Konoha Police Department.
For the Hyuga, it was both honor and influence. They accepted, though grudgingly.
But for the Uchiha—who monopolized the police force—it was an insult.
At first, they resisted fiercely, until...
Danzo placed a scroll on the meeting table and said coldly:
"This... is Tobirama Senju's in-depth analysis of Uchiha abilities. I offer it as compensation."
Silence. The Uchiha eyes widened. They knew—Tobirama's scroll was a double-edged sword. But it was also the key to patching their own weaknesses.
They agreed. Reluctantly.
Mizuki, who eventually learned all the details from Danzo's aides, could only stare at the night sky from the porch. The sky was clear, stars scattered.
"...He mobilized nearly all of ANBU... just for that?"
Mizuki sighed. But in her chest, an undeniable warmth bloomed.
'Turns out... someone like Danzo Shimura... can be afraid of losing something.'
From that day on, every time Hiruzen saw Danzo, he would always slip in one line:
"Don't forget my invitation if Mizuki ever does get married."
Danzo would scoff... and walk away quickly, pretending not to hear.
Back to the Afternoon
"...And that's how my engagement was cancelled."
Minato had been laughing since the middle of the story. Kushina slapped the ground, wiping away tears from laughing too hard.
"Hahahahaha! I can totally picture Danzo-sama face! Seriously!"
Mizuki just looked up at the sky. "I don't know whether to laugh or cry..."
Minato chuckled. "But you know, Mizuki..."
"Hm?"
"You're really important to a lot of people. Even Danzo-sama lost his temper when someone tried to take you away from him."
Mizuki fell silent.
No one spoke for a few seconds.
Then she smiled softly. "Yeah... maybe you're right."