Disciple

Orphanage director's office.

"Yusuke-kun, you haven't visited in a long time; everyone has missed you dearly. During the recent war, everyone was worried that something might have happened to you." A woman who looked to be about twenty-five years old said to Uchiha Yusuke with a smile.

The woman speaking was Yakushi Nonō, dressed in a black nun's habit. She had long yellow hair and wore black-rimmed glasses on the bridge of her nose, her face carrying a gentle smile that made her seem like a kind older sister from next door.

If not for the fact that Uchiha Yusuke knew her true identity, he would never have believed that she was once a spy ninja skilled in assassination and intelligence gathering.

Because Yakushi Nonō was inherently very kind and had grown weary of her life as a spy ninja, she had resigned from her position in Root to Danzo and built an orphanage on the outskirts of Konoha to take in orphans who had lost their families in the war.

However, Uchiha Yusuke knew that Danzo had no intention of letting this former subordinate go.

"Lord Yusuke, you don't know, but the director has such a kind heart; she takes in every orphan she sees. The funds provided by the village are now far from enough to cover the orphanage's expenses, and the director has been raising the money herself," a plump nun complained. This nun was also one of the orphanage's staff members.

"Director, this is a small token of my appreciation, please accept it." Uchiha Yusuke took out a parcel and handed it to her; it contained some money, not a huge amount, but certainly not a small one either.

As a Jonin, Uchiha Yusuke's income was quite substantial. He didn't mind using a portion of his money for charity within his means; besides, he was willing to provide some aid to this kind woman. More importantly, this was an excellent way for him to approach his target, killing two birds with one stone.

"Thank you, Yusuke-kun. If not for your continued support, perhaps the children would be living even harder lives." Yakushi Nonō did not refuse; she had already poured everything she had into this orphanage, and Uchiha Yusuke's support was indeed very important to her.

She didn't care about herself, but the children in the orphanage still needed money to survive.

"Didn't you mention before that you wanted to teach the children medical ninjutsu so they could serve the village's wounded and earn some living expenses? How is that progressing now?" Uchiha Yusuke asked, appearing nonchalant.

A look of gratification appeared on Yakushi Nonō's face: "The children are all working very hard, and everyone is learning well. They should be able to start working for the village soon. Especially a child named Kabuto; he is extremely talented. His medical ninjutsu is already very proficient, and even average medical ninjas are likely not as good as him."

"Is that so? I'm actually quite interested. Would it be convenient to let Kabuto show me a thing or two?" Uchiha Yusuke said with a smile.

Yakushi Nonō nodded and led Uchiha Yusuke to the area where the children were training.

At this moment, all the children were training hard, most of them practicing the Chakra Medical Technique.

The Chakra Medical Technique was the simplest form of medical ninjutsu, which could be considered a simplified version of the Mystical Palm Technique.

The practitioner uses both hands to condense chakra with healing properties and covers the patient's wound to accelerate the healing process. Although this ninjutsu is simple, it is very effective for treating external injuries.

Standing in the distance, Uchiha Yusuke quickly spotted his target for this trip—Kabuto.

At this time, Kabuto still had an innocent face, far from the worldly persona he displayed after his identity as a villain was revealed in the original story.

Kabuto had his long white hair tied into a ponytail and wore black round-rimmed glasses. These glasses were Kabuto's most precious treasure, a gift from Yakushi Nonō shortly after she adopted him.

Kabuto was not practicing the Chakra Medical Technique; he seemed to be practicing a more advanced medical ninjutsu. On the table in front of him, a dying fish lay on a white cloth inscribed with a simple sealing jutsu.

Kabuto's right hand was covered in blue chakra, and his fingers tapped several points on the fish's body, stimulating it as if with needles.

After a quick series of operations, the fish, which had previously lost its vitality, suddenly began to thrash its tail wildly, as if it had just been caught from the river.

"Has Kabuto already reached the point where he can use chakra to stimulate acupuncture points for treatment?" Uchiha Yusuke asked Yakushi Nonō beside him.

Yakushi Nonō nodded: "Yes, he is truly very talented. This type of treatment requires extremely powerful chakra control and a flexible mind to accurately apply different stimulation methods for different injuries."

"Director, I have a request, and I hope you can agree to it," Uchiha Yusuke said slowly.

Yakushi Nonō smiled: "Yusuke-kun, you have helped us so much, and we have never been able to repay you. If there is anything I can do to help you, it would be my honor. Please speak; as long as it is within my power, I will not refuse."

Uchiha Yusuke looked at Kabuto, who was still practicing in the distance, and said: "I also admire the talent of this child, Kabuto. I have always wanted to take on a disciple to train and assist me in the development of ninjutsu. After my observation, Kabuto is very suitable; he possesses a talent in this area that is hard for ordinary people to reach!"

Hearing Uchiha Yusuke's words, Yakushi Nonō was slightly stunned, then smiled and said: "If it were anyone else, I might not be at ease, but if it is you, Yusuke-kun, I think I can rest assured entrusting Kabuto to you."

Yakushi Nonō's gaze also rested on Kabuto, her eyes as gentle as a mother looking at her own son: "As long as Kabuto is willing, I respect his choice."

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

Yakushi Nonō smiled and waved at Kabuto, signaling him to come over. Seeing the director calling him, Kabuto ran over to them happily.

"Director, is there something you need?" Arriving in front of them, Kabuto looked at Yakushi Nonō with an innocent, childlike smile on his face.

Yakushi Nonō stroked Kabuto's head and said with a smile: "Lord Yusuke wants to take you as his disciple and teach you ninjutsu. Are you willing?"

"After becoming Lord Yusuke's disciple, will I still live with the director?" Kabuto asked.

"After becoming my disciple, you will live at my home. Of course, you can often come back to visit the director and your friends here," Uchiha Yusuke said.

Hearing that he could no longer live with the director, Kabuto shook his head and said: "Then I don't want to. I want to be with the director forever." In Kabuto's heart, the director was the only person he could trust and the only person who had given him warmth in his life. No matter what, he didn't want to be separated from her.

Hearing this, Uchiha Yusuke squatted down, also reached out to stroke Kabuto's head, and smiled: "But have you thought about this: if you follow me and study ninjutsu diligently to become a powerful ninja, you can truly help the director share her burdens, instead of being a burden like you are now."

Kabuto turned to look at Yakushi Nonō and asked dejectedly: "Am I really a burden?"

Yakushi Nonō pulled Kabuto into her arms and said with a gentle smile: "How could that be? Kabuto has helped me a lot. It's just that Lord Yusuke doesn't know what Kabuto has done for the orphanage." At the same time, she gave Uchiha Yusuke a slightly reproachful glare.

Uchiha Yusuke gave a sheepish smile, offered Yakushi Nonō an apologetic look, and said no more.

Uchiha Yusuke didn't actually want to use the word 'burden' to describe Kabuto, but he had to use words to provoke him so that he would have the confidence that Kabuto would agree to become his disciple.

He knew that Kabuto was a very sensitive and meticulous child; with this slight nudge, he would know how to make his choice.

Kabuto gently broke free from Yakushi Nonō's embrace. Although he enjoyed the director's loving hug, he knew he had to make a choice befitting a real man!

"Director, I want to be able to truly help you. I want to become Lord Yusuke's disciple," Kabuto said to Yakushi Nonō with a firm gaze.

Yakushi Nonō nodded with a smile: "Mm, no matter what choice you make, I support you. Since you are now Lord Yusuke's disciple, you must work hard and not let Lord Yusuke down."

Kabuto nodded vigorously, turned to Uchiha Yusuke, performed a respectful kneeling bow, and said loudly: "Yakushi Kabuto wishes to become your disciple. Please teach me."

Uchiha Yusuke stood up and said solemnly: "Kabuto, you are now officially my, Uchiha Yusuke's, disciple. From now on, I will teach you with all my heart, and you must also practice diligently. If you cannot meet my requirements, I will not show mercy!"

Kabuto performed a heavy kowtow, then stood up and said loudly: "Teacher Yusuke, please rest assured, I will definitely make you satisfied!"

Yusuke's face broke into a smile once more: "I also believe that you can definitely do it."

Seeing that his teacher recognized him as well, Kabuto secretly swore to himself that he must not let his teacher down. His teacher was the second person, besides the headmistress, to ever acknowledge him.

Amidst the reluctant farewells of everyone at the orphanage, Yusuke took Kabuto and departed.

Because Yusuke still needed to reach the Hokage Office by noon, he tucked Kabuto under his arm and traveled at top speed.

By the time they returned to his home, Kabuto's eyes were spinning as if he were carsick, and he nearly vomited up his dinner from the night before.

"Yusuke, is this the child you've been saying you wanted to take on as a disciple? What a cute little girl," Uchiha Hazuki asked with a smile as she looked at the Kabuto that Yusuke had brought home.

"Big sister, my name is Yakushi Kabuto, and I am a boy!" Kabuto said loudly, his face turning slightly red.

At this age, children could sometimes be difficult to distinguish by gender, especially children with delicate features like Kabuto.

Uchiha Hazuki couldn't help but chuckle. She patted Kabuto on the head and said with a smile, "What a lovable child. You should call me Auntie; Yusuke is my son, after all."

"Where is Izumi?" Yusuke asked, not seeing Izumi around.

"That girl went out to play with her friends right after she woke up," Uchiha Hazuki said.

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

Uchiha Hazuki nodded and said, "Go ahead, don't worry about a thing."

Yusuke pulled a scroll from his robes and handed it to Kabuto: "This contains some basic ninjutsu. While I'm away, you can start studying them on your own."

Kabuto took the scroll with both hands and said, "Don't worry, Teacher, I will work hard."

Watching Yusuke head out the door and then turning back to see Uchiha Hazuki watching him with a smile, Kabuto felt that same sensation he had experienced when he was first taken in by the headmistress—a feeling of being noticed and acknowledged by others.

"This doesn't seem so bad after all." Kabuto couldn't help but feel filled with hope for the future, and he secretly resolved to study and train diligently so that he could become an outstanding ninja as soon as possible to repay the headmistress and his teacher.