Although Asuma and Yuhi Kurenai were Elite Jonin, they had gone to the prison to subdue Mizuki, an ordinary Chunin, and a group of unarmed prisoners. Not only had they failed to win, they'd even been knocked unconscious. It was hard to know what to say.
As for Mitaraishi Anko, she hadn't put in a single impressive performance. By the end, she'd even gotten fat as a ball.
Before he knew it, Qiushui had reached the teachers' office on the third floor.
It was a spacious staff room, about sixty square meters, with six desks. Three of them were already occupied.
Umino Iruka sat at the desk by the door, head bent over a thick stack of documents. He looked a little haggard, with faint dark circles under his eyes, as though he hadn't slept well in a long time. The pile of paperwork on his desk was towering. He leafed through it one document at a time, sorting and binding them with mechanical focus.
At the desk near the door sat Umino Iruka, head down as he sorted through a thick stack of papers. He looked somewhat haggard, with faint dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept well in a long time. The stack of documents on his desk was piled high. He went through them one by one, sorting and binding them with mechanical focus.
Mizuki sat in the middle. He wore his signature dark blue high-collared shirt, and his hair was immaculately combed. He looked like the very embodiment of an Outstanding Teacher. Leaning back comfortably in his chair, he sipped his tea. An elegant teacup and a small teapot sat on his desk, and every so often he lifted the cup for another leisurely sip.
Across from Mizuki sat Matsumoto Mie, one of the school's few female teachers. She was engrossed in a magazine.
Qiushui walked over and patted Iruka on the shoulder.
Iruka was several years older than him, but they'd gone on missions together, so they got along fairly well.
Iruka looked up, froze for a moment, then managed a smile. "Ah, Qiushui."
Mizuki had been enjoying his tea at his leisure. When Qiushui came in and didn't immediately greet him, a veteran who had been named Outstanding Teacher two years running, he felt a little put out.
He set down his teacup and said unhurriedly, "Qiushui, you're a new teacher. If there's anything you don't understand, you can always ask me."
Qiushui replied politely, "Thank you, Teacher Mizuki. If I run into anything I don't understand, I'll ask you for advice."
That was a lie. He'd never ask Mizuki a single question.
Mizuki was several years ahead of Iruka. Ever since their school days, he'd acted like a dependable big brother, often encouraging classmates who struggled with their grades or ran into difficulties.
But Qiushui knew what he was really like.
Mizuki seemed kind and approachable on the surface, but in reality, he was a deeply twisted hater. It was all an act.
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 selling out his teammates]
The teachers' abilities were all about the same, but Mizuki's evaluation made Qiushui marvel at how accurately the system judged people.
Hokage Office.
Smoke filled the room. Sunlight passed through the blinds in stripes, falling across the desk piled high with documents.
Sarutobi Hiruzen held a pipe in his mouth, taking a puff now and then, but his gaze never left the crystal ball on his desk. It showed Qiushui teaching.
A month before school started this year, Iruka had suddenly asked to resign as homeroom teacher of Class 1 of the 4th Grade. No matter how Sarutobi Hiruzen tried to persuade him, Iruka wouldn't budge.
The Third was fretting over whether to swallow his pride and plead with Iruka one more time when Qiushui stepped forward and volunteered to take over as homeroom teacher of Class 1 of the 4th Grade.
The young man had solved his urgent problem. School policy required new teachers to work as assistants for a while before taking charge of a class, but Naruto couldn't wait.
In his four years at the Academy, only the children from the Nara, Akimichi, and Inuzuka families had shown him any kindness. The rest of the students still kept their distance. Plenty of teachers couldn't stand his pranks and came to complain every few days, saying they didn't want to teach him anymore. If Iruka hadn't been encouraged by Qiushui, Naruto would have struggled even to attend class normally.
So Sarutobi Hiruzen made the decision on the spot and made an exception for him.
At the time, Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't expected much from Qiushui's teaching. He'd just wanted someone willing to take the class so Naruto could at least attend school like any other child.
But Qiushui had done even better than he'd anticipated.
Watching the classroom through the crystal ball, he saw that Qiushui treated Naruto just right. He didn't distance himself from Naruto, ignore him, or treat him coldly. When Naruto made a mistake, he disciplined him; when Naruto was mocked, he stood up for him.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had felt deeply gratified when he saw that.
He knew exactly what Naruto needed.
What Naruto needed most right now wasn't recognition. He needed to be treated like an ordinary person.
Even more surprising to Sarutobi Hiruzen was how well Qiushui taught.
In his lessons on the Will of Fire, Qiushui had spoken with such sincerity and passion that every word struck home. Even Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had been Hokage for decades, couldn't help but nod along.
He'd been Hokage for decades and had spoken about the Will of Fire countless times, but even he might not have explained it as well as Qiushui.
The young man truly loved teaching, and he genuinely loved Konoha's children. His belief in the Will of Fire was utterly pure.
That raised Sarutobi Hiruzen's opinion of Qiushui another notch.
Sarutobi Hiruzen took a puff of his pipe and slowly exhaled.
The school needed talented people like him!
He decided that if Qiushui kept up this performance, then even if it slipped a little, he'd make him a full-time teacher as soon as the month ended.
Wednesday morning.
Uzumaki Naruto arrived at school ten minutes earlier than usual. As soon as he walked into the classroom, Sakura Haruno's piercing voice rang out.
With her hands on her hips, she glared at Naruto as he came in and warned him, "Naruto, you can prank the other teachers all you want, but don't you dare prank Teacher Qiushui anymore. If he stops coming to teach our class because of you, like the other teachers did, we'll never forgive you!"
"Exactly!" Ino Yamanaka unusually didn't argue with her. Instead, she immediately chimed in, nodding emphatically.
The other girls nearby joined in. "That's right! Naruto, did you hear us?"
Birds of a feather flock together. These girls were all typical fangirls.
Though Teacher Qiushui was quite a bit older than them, he was so handsome that the precocious girls couldn't take their eyes off him.
Besides, their previous teachers had either been burly brutes or stuffy old fogies whose lessons put them to sleep.
Now they finally had a handsome teacher who was good at teaching, so of course they had to hold on to him.
Naruto stood by his desk, surrounded by a group of girls. Instead of arguing as he usually did, he replied seriously, "I won't prank Teacher Qiushui anymore."
"Huh?"
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