Minato smiled at his wife, and the young girl hiding behind her. Chika looked as if she could be Kushina's daughter. He had never noticed that about the Kururugi's, because they were usually not out and about in public. They probably really were a cousin clan to the Uzumaki's. But the little girl, looked like Kushina, and it made him soften as he sat down on the ground, putting himself at the child's level. "Please, Chika-chan, tell me... what is bothering you. I am the Hokage, and I listen to everything about my people's needs."<br/><br/><br/>Chika buried her face against Kushina, shaking like a leaf in the presence of such a man. She slowly pushed herself away from the woman who had been so kind, and closed her eyes. It seemed like another shift of personality overcame her as she drew in a deep breath. Slowly she turned to face the man and her eyes opened. She stared at him, like an equal would. She was truly a young girl of strength and perseverance. "I have been trying to become a Genin since I entered the Academy. My parents put me in, as soon as I could walk and form seals." She said in a shaking voice. "I have been denied three times, but it is not because of my age."<br/><br/>Minato watched her for a moment, a serious look overcoming his face. He knew she had taken the test three times, and been denied three times. The notations was that her clan had specifically requested that it wait - because of her age. But he knew something was suspicious about that, because the Kururugi's had prodigy's before, and they had never restricted them from graduation. "Why do you think they are restricting you?" He asked lightly.<br/><br/>"I am the cursed Kururugi, they think I'll follow the same path as Hotaru." She said in a shaking voice.<br/><br/>Hotaru, that name was familiar to Minato. "Was that the woman who was in love with Madara?" He asked the young girl calmly. There was stories, about the bloody aftermath of Madara's death. He watched the young girl who only looked to the side and nodded. The girl was hiding against his wife. He looked up at his wife, a sad look in his eyes. "So you think they are keeping you from advancing, why?"<br/><br/>"They hate me. They call me a freak... and a monster." She said firmly.