The Precocious Disciple

"The Anbu! This... this has really given me a huge problem!"

Katsuki sighed softly and invited him to take charge of the Anbu. Regardless of Orochimaru's motives, the price he offered was at least very sincere.

From its humble beginnings as a small, single-function department, the Anbu has grown into a behemoth, undoubtedly the most powerful military organization in Konoha. Every Anbu Chief holds a high position of power and influence, ranking second only to the Hokage in the village.

Back in his office, Katsuki sat down and suddenly realized that he had a lot of worries for some reason.

Organizing the election for the next Hokage, taking on a new apprentice, and dealing with Orochimaru's offer of a position—after such a long period of leisure, everything suddenly piled up at once.

"Teacher, please have some tea."

The little girl, Kuyue, respectfully held a cup of tea and stood by Katsuki's table, attracting the attention of all the teachers in the office.

"Alright, you're now my first apprentice. There's no need to be so reserved. I'm not one to stand on ceremony. As long as you don't do anything heinous, I, as your teacher, will cover for you if anything goes wrong."

"I can say that directly," said Katsuki.

"Okay, teacher."

The little girl responded with a strong voice, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons as she smiled.

"Let me see!" Katsuki looked down at the alarm clock on the table, a little gift from Otome. "Four-fifteen... It's about time to get off work. Girl, come with me. Let's go out for a meal today, as a celebration for taking on a disciple."

The other teachers in the office secretly gave each other the middle finger. It was ridiculous that they could leave work at 4:15. Only Katsuki would dare to do that. Anyone else would have been fired long ago.

The official dismissal time for school and get off work is 5 o'clock.

However, while they looked down on Katsuki for skipping work, they were also surprised that Konoha's Calamity had actually taken on a disciple. Many teachers who loved gossip had already prepared their plans, thinking about how to make good use of this news to earn a few drinks at the pub after work.

Q Barbecue.

Konoha's long-established brand.

Are there any private rooms available?

Katsuki tapped her fingers lightly on the counter.

"There's a private room available on the second floor, room number three," the landlady replied swiftly.

"Someone else is coming soon, so get us some juice and drinks first. No alcohol today. The menu is the same as always, but the portions are about 30% larger than usual. I brought an apprentice with me today, so we can add more if needed," Katsuki said skillfully.

"Alright, Dr. Katsuki, you can go up now. It'll be ready in a minute."

The proprietress smiled and nodded.

The owner of Q Barbecue had injured his leg a few years ago, and coincidentally, Katsuki was practicing medicine at Konoha Hospital at the time, and he quickly cured the owner's injury.

Since then, the boss and his wife have addressed him as "Dr. Katsuki" whenever they meet, and they don't intend to change it even though Katsuki no longer practices at Konoha Hospital.

"Let's go, girl, let's go up first."

Katsuki led her little apprentice upstairs and into a room.

The room wasn't large; there was an oven in the middle, and red leather sofas and chairs lined three sides.

In the past two years, Q Barbecue has made many changes, transforming from a purely Japanese restaurant into a diversified establishment, and its business is booming.

Kuyue sipped her freshly squeezed orange juice with gusto, while constantly glancing towards the door.

"Girl, what are you looking at? Your neck is almost twisted to a ninety-degree angle!" Katsuki asked, puzzled.

"I wonder what my future teacher's wife will be like."

The little girl spoke with such seriousness that Katsuki almost choked on her words.

"What do you mean by 'future teacher's wife'? What are you saying, girl? Can't the person I'm waiting for be a man?" Katsuki stubbornly refused to admit it.

"If you, teacher, have to go home and take a shower before meeting male friends... I am deeply worried about what kind of person you will become in the future."

"... Uh! Are all young girls these days so cunning?"

Katsuki slumped weakly onto the table, her feelings a mix of emotions regarding her disciple's intelligence and precociousness.

"So what? The girls in the class talk about pets and romance every day. Teacher, you know they even made a chart for all the boys in the class, something like a ranking of the best boyfriends!"

Katsuki was truly speechless this time; the kids who grew up in peacetime were completely different from them back then.

"Who's ranked number one?" Katsuki asked, almost as if possessed.

"Kakashi, that cool, expressionless guy has a lot of infatuated fans, although I think he's a bit of a closet pervert." Kuyue's words shocked Katsuki once again.

Thinking back to Kakashi's later enjoyment of watching "Icha Icha Paradise," this seemingly repressed but actually quite shrewish comment is truly... spot on.

"... Girl, do you know ONE PIECE?"

"Vampis? What's that? That's a strange name."

"Hmm... Have you ever heard of Kim Jong-un?"

"Three Fatty? Are they three very fat people? Or is it someone's nickname?"

The little girl looked at Katsuki with a puzzled expression; the two questions seemed completely unrelated and incomprehensible.

Katsuki breathed a sigh of relief, half regret and half relief. He had really been a little frightened by this precocious girl, thinking he had met someone from his hometown. Luckily, it wasn't her, otherwise he really wouldn't know what to do.

"Katsuki Yue... who is this little girl?"

At that moment, Otome appeared at the doorway.

"Taking on apprentices? That's too casual! You think you can just accept someone as a disciple as long as they finish the assignments you give them?" The Otome glared at him, her beautiful eyes narrowing. "If they all finish the assignments, are you going to take on thirty apprentices?"

"It's not that exaggerated. The homework I assigned wasn't something that could be easily completed. Not everyone is as talented as this girl. Besides, those kids were so dismissive and told me to change it to a different reward... You have no idea how frustrated I was."

Katsuki reached out and ruffled Kuyue's hair.

"Luckily, this girl was capable, otherwise we would have been utterly humiliated."

"Katsuki, it's true that you have the same quick temper as Kushina. Didn't you consider the students' reactions beforehand?"

"How could I have known my popularity would plummet so much?" Katsuki sighed, still feeling heartbroken and distressed just thinking about it.

"Dr. Katsuki, Otome, your food is here."

The proprietress appeared at just the right moment, interrupting this frustrating topic, and plates of various meats were continuously brought to the table.

"Let's eat first, then we'll talk."

······

The beef tongue sizzled on the grill, golden fat dripping down, and the aroma of roasted meat filled the small, private room.

"Kuyue, is that a beautiful name? My name is Uchiha Otome..."

"Hello, Otome -neechan."

The two girls, one older and one younger, kept whispering to each other. Katsuki couldn't join in their conversation, so she focused on grilling the meat and serving the two beauties.