Apprentice

The orphanage director's office.

"Yusuke, it's been a long time since you last came by. Everyone's missed you. During the war, we were all worried something might happen to you," said a woman who looked to be around twenty-five, smiling at Yusuke.

Her name was Yakushi Nonō. She wore a black nun's habit, and her long blond hair framed a gentle smile beneath a pair of black square glasses. She was just like a kind older sister next door.

If Yusuke hadn't known her true identity, he never would have believed she'd once been a spy ninja skilled in assassination and intelligence gathering.

Yakushi Nonō was kind by nature and had grown tired of working as a spy ninja. She resigned from the Root Organization at Danzo's request, then built an orphanage on the outskirts of Konoha to take in children who had lost their families in the war.

But Yusuke knew Danzo had no intention of letting his former subordinate go.

"Yusuke, you have no idea. The director is just too kindhearted—she takes in every orphan she sees. The village's funding is nowhere near enough to cover the orphanage's expenses anymore, so the director has to raise money herself," a plump nun complained. She was also an employee at the orphanage.

"Director, please accept this small gift from me." Yusuke took out a bundle and handed it to her. It contained some money—not a huge amount, but not an insignificant one, either.

As an elite jōnin, Yusuke earned a very good income. He didn't mind donating some money to charity when he could afford it, and he was happy to help this kindhearted woman. More importantly, this was an excellent way to get close to his target. It was a win-win.

"Thank you, Yusuke. If you hadn't continued supporting us, the children might have had an even harder life." Yakushi Nonō didn't refuse. She had already given everything she had to the orphanage, and Yusuke's support truly meant a lot to her.

She could manage without it herself, but the orphanage's children still needed money to live.

"Didn't you say before that you wanted to teach the children Medical Ninjutsu, so they could help treat the village's wounded and earn some money for living expenses? How is that going?" Yusuke asked, as if the question had just occurred to him.

A relieved smile appeared on Yakushi Nonō's face. "The children are working hard, and they're all learning well. They should be able to start working for the village soon. Kabuto, especially, is very talented. He's already quite skilled at using Medical Ninjutsu. Even an ordinary medical ninja might not be as good as he is."

"Is that so? Now I'm curious. Would you mind having Kabuto show me what he can do?" Yusuke asked with a smile.

Nonō nodded and led Yusuke to the area where the children trained.

All the children were training hard. Most of them were practicing Chakra Medical Technique.

Chakra Medical Technique was one of the simplest forms of Medical Ninjutsu. It could be considered a simplified version of the Mystical Palm Technique.

The user concentrated healing Chakra in both hands and applied it to a patient's wound to speed up its recovery. The technique was simple, but highly effective for treating external injuries.

From a distance, Yusuke soon spotted his target among the children: Kabuto.

At this point, Kabuto was still an innocent-looking child, nothing like the worldly figure he would become after his identity as a villain was revealed in the original story.

Kabuto's white hair was tied in a ponytail, and he wore round black glasses. They were his most treasured possession. Not long after Nonō had adopted him, she had given them to him.

Kabuto wasn't practicing Chakra Medical Technique. He seemed to be working on a more advanced Medical Ninjutsu instead. On the table in front of him lay a barely breathing fish, placed on a white cloth with a simple Sealing Jutsu drawn on it.

His right hand was covered in blue Chakra. He touched several points on the fish's body with his fingers, stimulating it as if with acupuncture needles.

After a rapid series of movements, the fish, which had seemed lifeless, suddenly began thrashing its tail. It looked as lively as if it had just been pulled from a river.

"Can Kabuto already use Chakra to stimulate pressure points as a form of treatment?" Yusuke asked Nonō beside him.

Nonō nodded. "Yes. He really is gifted. This method requires extremely precise Chakra control and a flexible mind, so the user can choose the right stimulation for each different injury."

"Director, I have a favor to ask," Yusuke said slowly.

Nonō smiled. "Yusuke, you've helped us so much, and we've never been able to repay you. If there's anything I can do for you, I'd be glad to help. Go ahead. If it's within my power, I won't refuse."

Yusuke looked at Kabuto, who was still training in the distance. "I admire Kabuto's talent too. I've been wanting to take on a disciple and train him to help me develop ninjutsu. From what I've seen, Kabuto would be an excellent fit. He has a talent in this field that most people can only dream of!"

Nonō was taken aback for a moment, then smiled. "If it were anyone else, I might not feel comfortable. But if it's you, Yusuke, I can entrust Kabuto to you without worry."

Nonō gazed at Kabuto, her eyes as tender as a mother's as she watched her son. "As long as Kabuto is willing, I'll respect his choice."

Kabuto seemed to sense something and turned to look at the two people watching him from afar.

Nonō smiled and waved him over. When Kabuto saw the director calling for him, he happily scampered toward them.

"Director, what did you need me for?" Kabuto asked Nonō when he reached them, an innocent child's smile on his face.

Nonō patted Kabuto on the head and smiled. "Yusuke wants to take you as his disciple and teach you ninjutsu. Would you like that?"

"If I become Lord Yusuke's disciple, will I still live with you, Director?" Kabuto asked.

"Once you become my disciple, you'll live at my house. Of course, you can come back to visit the director and your friends here whenever you like," Yusuke said.

When Kabuto heard that he wouldn't be able to live with the director anymore, he shook his head. "Then I don't want to. I want to stay with the director forever." In Kabuto's heart, the director was the only person he could trust, the only person in his life who had ever shown him warmth. No matter what, he didn't want to be separated from her.

Yusuke crouched down and patted Kabuto's head too. "But have you ever thought about how, if you came with me and trained hard in ninjutsu, you could become a powerful ninja and truly help the director with her burdens, instead of being a burden like you are now?"

Kabuto turned to Nonō and asked dejectedly, "Am I really a burden?"

Nonō pulled Kabuto into her arms and smiled gently. "Of course not. Kabuto helps me a lot. Lord Yusuke just doesn't know how much he does for the orphanage." As she spoke, she shot Yusuke a reproachful glance.

Yusuke gave Nonō an awkward smile and an apologetic look, then said no more.

Yusuke hadn't wanted to call Kabuto a "burden," either, but he had to provoke him a little. That way, he could be sure Kabuto would agree to become his disciple.

He knew Kabuto was a very sensitive and perceptive child. A gentle nudge was all it would take for him to understand what he should choose.

Kabuto gently wriggled out of Nonō's embrace. He loved the warmth of the director's affectionate hug, but he knew he had to make a real man's choice!

"Director, I want to be able to truly help you. I want to become Lord Yusuke's disciple," Kabuto said, looking firmly at Nonō.

Nonō smiled and nodded. "All right. I'll support whatever you choose. Now that you're Lord Yusuke's disciple, you must work hard and not disappoint him."

Kabuto nodded firmly, turned to Yusuke, and bowed down before him. "I, Yakushi Kabuto, wish to become your disciple. Please teach me."

Yusuke stood up and said solemnly, "Kabuto, from this moment on, you are officially my disciple, Uchiha Yusuke's. I'll teach you with all my heart, and you must train hard. If you fail to meet my expectations, I won't go easy on you!"

Kabuto bowed deeply, then stood and declared, "Teacher Yusuke, don't worry. I'll make sure you're satisfied!"

A smile returned to Yusuke's face. "I believe you can."

Seeing that his teacher believed in him too, Kabuto vowed silently that he would never disappoint him. Besides the director, his teacher was the second person to believe in him.

As everyone at the orphanage watched them leave reluctantly, Yusuke took Kabuto with him.

Yusuke had to reach the Hokage Office by noon, so he tucked Kabuto under his arm and hurried there as fast as he could.

By the time they arrived at his house, Kabuto's eyes were spinning as if he had motion sickness. He nearly threw up everything he'd eaten the night before.

"Yusuke, is this the child you've been talking about taking as your disciple? What a cute girl," Uchiha Hazuki asked with a smile as she looked at Kabuto.

"Miss, my name is Yakushi Kabuto. I'm a boy!" Kabuto cried, his face turning red.

Children could be hard to tell apart sometimes, especially pretty ones like Kabuto.

Uchiha Hazuki couldn't help laughing. She patted Kabuto on the head and smiled. "What a sweet child. You can call me Auntie. Yusuke is my son."

"Where's Izumi?" Yusuke asked, not seeing her.

"She went out to play with her friends after she got up," Uchiha Hazuki replied.

"I'll have to leave Kabuto in your care. I need to get to the Hokage Office now," Yusuke said to Uchiha Hazuki.

Uchiha Hazuki nodded. "Go ahead. Don't worry."

Yusuke took a scroll from his clothes and handed it to Kabuto. "There are some basic ninjutsu techniques in here. You can start studying them on your own while I'm away."

Kabuto accepted the scroll with both hands. "Don't worry, Teacher. I'll work hard."

As he watched Yusuke leave, Kabuto turned back to see Uchiha Hazuki smiling at him. He felt again what he had felt when the director first adopted him: the feeling of being noticed and accepted by someone else.

"This doesn't seem so bad after all." Kabuto couldn't help feeling hopeful about the future. He resolved to study and train hard, become an excellent ninja as soon as he could, and repay the director and his teacher.