Little Blackie Mizuki

Although Asuma and Yuhi Kurenai are elite jonin, the fact that they were not only unable to defeat Mizuki—a mere chunin—and a group of unarmed prisoners in the prison, but were actually knocked unconscious, leaves one truly speechless.

As for Mitarashi Anko, she showed no impressive performance whatsoever and eventually grew as round as a ball.

Without realizing it, Qiushui had already arrived at the third-floor teachers' office.

This was a comprehensive office covering sixty square meters, equipped with six desks, three of which were currently occupied.

Umino Iruka sat at the workstation near the door, his head buried in a thick stack of documents. His complexion was haggard, with dark circles faintly visible under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept well in a long time. The stack of files on his desk was piled high, and he flipped through, sorted, and stapled them one by one, his movements mechanical and focused.

Mizuki sat in the middle position. Today, he wore his signature dark blue high-collared shirt, his hair combed meticulously. He looked like the very embodiment of the words "excellent teacher," leaning back in his chair with a relaxed expression while sipping tea. A delicate teacup and a small teapot sat on his desk, and he would lift them to take a sip from time to time, his posture leisurely.

Matsumoto Mie, one of the few female teachers in the school, sat opposite Mizuki, engrossed in a magazine.

Qiushui walked over and patted Iruka on the shoulder.

Although Iruka was several years his senior, they had performed missions together, and their relationship was quite good.

Iruka looked up, stunned for a moment before he realized who it was, and squeezed out a smile: "Ah, Qiushui."

Mizuki, who had been drinking his tea in a leisurely manner, felt immediately uncomfortable when he saw Qiushui enter and fail to greet him first—a senior who had been voted an excellent teacher for two consecutive years.

He set down his teacup and spoke languidly: "Qiushui, you're a new teacher. If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask me."

Qiushui replied politely: "Thank you, Teacher Mizuki. If I encounter anything I don't understand, I will be sure to seek your guidance."

This was a lie; there was no way he would ever ask Mizuki for advice on anything.

Mizuki was several classes ahead of Iruka, and although he had acted like a reliable big brother since their school days, often encouraging students who had poor grades or faced difficulties, Qiushui knew his true colors.

Mizuki appeared kind and approachable on the surface, but in reality, he was a deeply twisted individual; all of this was just a facade.

Qiushui took the opportunity to run a quality check on all the teachers in the office.

[Name: Mizuki]

[Chakra: 5600]

[Quality: B]

[Evaluation: A chunin cannon fodder who survived by betraying his teammates]

The strength of the other teachers was about the same, but the evaluation of Mizuki made Qiushui lament how accurate the system was at judging people.

Hokage Office.

Smoke swirled in the air, and sunlight filtered through the blinds, cutting into strips of light and shadow that fell upon the document-laden desk.

Sarutobi Hiruzen held a pipe in his mouth, taking a puff from time to time, yet his gaze remained fixed on the crystal ball on his desk, which displayed the image of Qiushui teaching his class.

A month before the start of the school year, Iruka had suddenly proposed resigning as the homeroom teacher for Class 1, Year 4. No matter how Sarutobi Hiruzen tried to persuade him, Iruka remained as stubborn as iron, refusing to budge.

The Third Hokage was just fretting over whether to swallow his pride and beg Iruka once more—when Qiushui stepped forward, stating he was willing to take over as the homeroom teacher for Class 1, Year 4.

This young man had solved his urgent problem. According to school rules, a new teacher should serve as a teaching assistant for a period before leading a class independently, but Naruto could not afford to wait.

In his four years at the academy, aside from the children of the Nara, Akimichi, and Inuzuka clans who had shown him kindness, the rest of the students remained hostile toward him. Even many teachers, unable to tolerate his pranks, would run over every few days to complain, saying they didn't want to teach him anymore. If he hadn't gone to counsel Iruka, Naruto would have struggled to even attend normal classes.

Therefore, Sarutobi Hiruzen made an immediate decision to make an exception and let him take the position.

At that time, Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't held high expectations for his teaching ability; he just wanted someone to take over so that Naruto could at least attend school like his peers.

Yet, Qiushui's performance was even better than he had anticipated.

When he observed the classroom through the crystal ball, he discovered that Qiushui's way of treating Naruto was just right—no alienation, no ignoring, no coldness. When Naruto made a mistake, he would punish him; when Naruto was mocked, he would defend him.

Seeing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt deeply comforted.

He knew all too well what Naruto needed.

What Naruto needed most right now was not recognition, but to be treated like an ordinary person.

What surprised Sarutobi Hiruzen even more was that Qiushui's lectures were excellent.

The lessons he gave on the Will of Fire were sincere and passionate, every word hitting home. Even Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had served as Hokage for decades, couldn't help but nod in secret as he listened.

He had been Hokage for decades and had spoken of the Will of Fire countless times, yet if he were to lecture on it himself, he might not necessarily do a better job than Qiushui.

This young man truly loved the teaching profession and truly loved the children of Konoha; his Will of Fire was incredibly pure.

This raised his impression of Qiushui to an even higher level.

Sarutobi Hiruzen took a puff of his pipe and exhaled slowly.

The school faculty truly needed such talent!

He decided that if Qiushui maintained this performance, even if there was a slight dip, he would make him a permanent teacher once the month was over.

Wednesday morning.

Uzumaki Naruto arrived at school ten minutes earlier than usual. Just as he walked into the classroom, Sakura Haruno's piercing voice rang out.

With her hands on her hips, she issued a warning to Naruto, who had just walked in, with an aggressive air: "Naruto, you guy, we don't care if you use pranks to mess with other teachers, but you are not allowed to use pranks on Teacher Qiushui ever again! If he stops coming to teach our class like the other teachers because of you, we will absolutely never forgive you!"

"That's right, that's right!" Ino Yamanaka, in a rare move, did not contradict her but immediately followed up, nodding vigorously.

The girls nearby chimed in as well: "That's right, Naruto, did you hear that!"

Birds of a feather flock together; these girls were all typical lookists.

Although Teacher Qiushui was quite a bit older than them, that handsome face of his truly made it impossible for these precocious young girls to look away.

What's more, their previous teachers had either been burly, rough-looking men or old fogies whose lectures were enough to put anyone to sleep.

Now that a teacher who was both good-looking and engaging had finally arrived, they naturally had to seize the opportunity.

Standing at his desk and facing the siege of girls, Naruto didn't retort as he usually did, but instead replied earnestly: "I won't play pranks on Teacher Qiushui anymore."

"Eh?"