10 To Protect You

The next day.

Physical combat training.

Uchiha Sasuke, out.

Uzumaki Kotono was like an endlessly energetic beast. How could anyone get more excited and stronger the more they fought?

After a hard-fought battle where both were injured, she would press against him and somehow find the strength to land a knockout punch… this happened several times!

The young Master Uchiha was once beaten so badly he turned red and hot.

Every day during physical training, the girl would reliably challenge Sasuke.

Sasuke, of course, would never refuse a fight, only to be repeatedly defeated.

And yet, each time after finishing, Kotono would invite him to fight again with a smile, saying, “Not bad, let’s continue tomorrow.”

It was unclear whether she genuinely wanted to fight him again or was being sarcastic, but Sasuke’s pride could no longer take it.

Too embarrassed to ask his father, he sought special training from his older brother.

“Lately, missions have been busy. Forgive me, Sasuke. Maybe next time,” Itachi declined apologetically.

Sasuke puffed out his cheeks, muttering as he slung his bag over his shoulder, “It’s fine. Even without my brother, I’ll definitely defeat that idiot!”

“Is that girl named Kotono?” Itachi’s eyes curved slightly. “Sasuke has a good friendship with her.”

He was well aware of his younger brother’s abilities.

That Uzumaki Kotono could make Sasuke feel threatened meant her talent was not to be underestimated.

“Who says we’re friends?” Sasuke immediately retorted, fuming. “She’s my opponent, my enemy!”

What kind of friend beats you to the ground every time they spar, showing no mercy?

The last time he had made an unknown girl cry, although he never apologized, he never used such tactics again.

But that idiot Kotono?

Itachi chuckled silently. The growing heaviness brought by family and village matters was lightened considerably by his brother’s innocent frustrations.

He gently tapped his brother’s forehead.

“Keep it up, Sasuke.”

Sasuke nodded firmly. “Today, I’ll defeat her!”

…

“Training session over! Uzumaki Kotono wins!”

Iruka Sensei raised Kotono’s hand and announced loudly.

[Defeated a destined rival, Chakra limit +5 points.]

[Skill acquired: Taijutsu level upgraded (C).]

Sasuke lay on the ground motionless for a long time.

The supporters were silent.

Only Naruto’s mocking voice stood out: “Tch, so this is Sasuke’s strength? So weak~”

Those words immediately drew threatening glares from the girls.

Iruka cleared his throat.

He whispered, “Kotono, it’s not really appropriate to throw your classmates down like that; it’s easy to get hurt.”

More importantly, it bruised their pride.

Sasuke was a proud genius, yet he had been defeated six times in a row by Kotono, each time firmly pinned to the ground—a bit too much…

“I know. Next time, I’ll let him win,” Kotono readily agreed.

Iruka awkwardly said, “Ah, that’s not quite what I meant.”

But Kotono was serious.

Defeating Sasuke now barely earned her any chakra. Five points of chakra gain was less than the cost of activating her Kagura Sharingan, making it a thankless effort.

Probably because her continuous wins lowered Sasuke’s hidden score too much, the system wouldn’t let her farm points from him.

She had raised his Taijutsu rank from D to C, likely reaching the limit of what she could gain.

So Kotono planned to act a little, letting Sasuke win several rounds in a row to increase his hidden score, fatten him up before finishing him off.

She’d hug him close while beating him, cutting both ways—a perfectly cunning plan.

“I don’t need you to go easy on me,” the boy said, voice restrained.

Her Kagura Sharingan was still active, so she keenly sensed the chakra around Sasuke shift as he expressed intense shame and frustration—it became dark and cold.

In short, he had grown stronger.

[Name: Uchiha Sasuke]

[Total Chakra: 1607 points]

An increase of two hundred points.

?!

A sudden increase of two hundred chakra points after six days of sparring? That’s practically cheating!

As for herself…

[Name: Uzumaki Kotono]

[Total Chakra: 2673/2891 points]

She had only gained about 450 points.

No cheating, just hard work and sweat.

“Both parties, form the reconciliation seal,” Iruka quickly said.

“Sasuke?” Kotono tilted her head and formed the seal in a friendly manner.

Sasuke gritted his teeth.

Her casual attitude, showing no regard for his anger, irritated him.

He maintained his composure, forming the seal with Kotono to signify peace, then sat under a tree with a cold expression, exuding an aura of complete indifference.

No girl who wanted to comfort him dared approach.

Naruto praised, “Kotono, you’re amazing! You’re the real genius!”

Among everyone, only he was truly happy that Kotono defeated Sasuke.

Because now that Sasuke was so weak, Kotono surely wouldn’t be interested in him.

*

Genius?

The girls in the supporters’ group exchanged confused looks.

They had always thought Kotono was here to steal Sasuke’s heart, but since she beat him so badly every day, it didn’t seem like she liked him.

Besides, once called a genius, she felt somewhat different from them, even if they were classmates...

“Let’s just ask her what she really wants,” Ino Yamanaka, always the most positive and proactive among the girls, suggested.

With her leading, the other girls, eager and curious like little chicks, followed Ino toward the tree where Kotono was chatting.

“What are they here for?” Naruto was a little wary. “Are they here to get revenge on you?”

Kotono didn’t care.

Now, forget about classmates from the Ninja Academy; even freshly graduated Genin (without using explosive tags or ninja tools), she wasn’t afraid of.

“Kotono, you’re so amazing! Everyone wants to get to know you.”

“You didn’t really introduce yourself much when we enrolled, right?”

The simple, innocent thoughts of six-year-old girls were clear and honest—adorable even when awkwardly making small talk.

Kotono didn’t dislike her classmates, especially Ino and Sakura, who were the cutest. Seeing pretty little girls always lifted her mood.

She smiled brightly. “What do you want to know about me?”

“Do you like Sasuke?” Sakura’s inner voice almost blurted out but she thought it was rude and instead stammered, “What’s your life goal?”

“Yeah.” Ino’s eyes lit up and she quickly added, “Sakura, what’s your life goal?”

“My… my goal is…” Sakura glanced toward Sasuke not far away, her cheeks flushing—everyone could tell what she was thinking.

“My goal is for Sasuke to become my boyfriend,” Ino said candidly.

Naruto loudly declared, “My life goal is for everyone to recognize me and for me to become the strongest Hokage ever!”

“Who asked you!” the girls shouted in unison.

Hinata Hyuga, blushing behind a tree, was also watching someone—not Sasuke.

“Ah, here they go again,” Kiba Inuzuka frowned at the supporters. “Are they worried no one knows they like Sasuke?”

“If Ino buys me ramen, I’ll support her life goal,” Choji said pragmatically.

Shikamaru lay under the tree with his eyes closed, ignoring them.

The exhausting taijutsu training had drained all his energy for the day.

The warm autumn sunlight and drowsiness crept in, and half-asleep, he thought to himself: if it were Uzumaki Kotono, her goal would have to be something extraordinary.

Like becoming the strongest or something.

After all, she was a genius…

“Kotono, what about you?”

Everyone turned their gaze to Uzumaki Kotono.

Naruto mumbled, “If Kotono wants to be Hokage too, I wouldn’t mind sharing.”

Even the black-haired boy sitting coldly under the tree was unconsciously paying attention to her answer.

“My life goal?” Kotono smiled confidently and cheerfully.

—“Is to start the Fourth Great Ninja World War.”

Oh, just that...

Ah??!!

All the kids were stunned, their eyes wide.

Even Shikamaru’s drowsiness vanished instantly at this heavy and terrifying declaration.

No, what was she talking about?

Kotono spoke seriously: “I want to collect all the Tailed Beasts and use their chakra to fulfill my wish.”

She had read a book last week and learned that there were nine Tailed Beasts in this world, each possessing immense chakra and serving as the ultimate weapons for the major ninja villages.

Abundant chakra equals abundant magical power.

Understood—the Tailed Beasts were crystallizations of the earth’s magical energy, the Holy Grails capable of granting any wish.

This alternate world had nine Tailed Beasts, meaning nine Holy Grails—enough to initiate nine Holy Grail Wars!

Not to mention the Nine-Tails was a fox, which made Naruto the reincarnation of Sakura, and the orange-red demon fox inside him—

The Nine-Tails inside him was probably an incomplete version implanted by Orochimaru.

Using a Holy Grail would overload the vessel, gradually causing loss of human functions, so Kotono certainly couldn’t use Naruto.

Fortunately, the other eight Tailed Beasts were enough; she had no emotional attachment to any of them.

Collecting them one by one was troublesome, so—

“I must start a ninja world war that sweeps across the four great nations and claim ultimate victory.”

The little kids gazed at the red-haired girl shining under the sunlight, almost dazzled.

Especially Naruto.

“Kotono is really—so cool!”

He only wanted to be Hokage, yet Kotono wanted to conquer the four great nations!

His blood boiled, and he was the first to jump up and cheer.

“I’ll become the strongest Hokage ever and help Kotono win the war!”

Shikamaru twitched the corner of his mouth.

He knew she was strong, but wasn’t this life goal a bit too much?

And this genius seemed genuinely serious!