Master and Student!

Last night, Ueno Kei had only managed to fall into a restless sleep in the early hours of the morning. Before that, excitement and confusion had kept him awake.

He was excited because the Third Hokage wanted to take him as his student. That meant he had found a shortcut of sorts on the road to becoming strong.

What confused him was why the Third Hokage wanted him as a student. Even in the middle of his excitement, this was the biggest question on Ueno Kei's mind. Was he a prodigy? No, Ueno Kei didn't think so. Whether it was ninjutsu, Taijutsu, genjutsu, or even the Wind Wing Sword Technique he had learned, he felt he had no talent for any kind of "technique."

His background? That was even more absurd. Ueno Kei was just an ordinary orphan. There was no way he had some earth-shattering identity.

Was it really enough that the Third Hokage himself had brought him back to the village for the Third Hokage to look upon him differently? No matter how he thought about it, that reason seemed ridiculous and completely implausible. So what had made the Third Hokage decide to take him as a student?

Ueno Kei had spent the whole night tossing and turning.

Could it really be fate? Had the Third Hokage simply taken a liking to him? Ueno Kei wondered. But then he remembered that the Third Hokage hadn't brought it up during those three years. He had only made the offer after the Kurama Clan incident.

Ueno Kei suspected that it had something to do with the way he had acted during the incident involving the Kurama Clan.

He hadn't guessed everything, but he had come very close. Some of the reasons the Third Hokage wanted to take Ueno Kei as his student were exactly the ones he had suspected.

Of course, rather than fate, destiny might have been the more fitting word. Most people in this world believed in destiny, and the Third Hokage was no exception.

But destiny here didn't mean that a person's life was set in stone from birth, that they could only ever become one thing.

It meant that the ties between people were destined—that some people would inevitably share an unbreakable bond, and that their lives would eventually become intertwined.

This was one of the biggest reasons the Third Hokage had deliberately wanted to take Ueno Kei as his student.

There were other reasons, too, including the Kurama Clan incident. The deeper reasons, of course, were beyond Ueno Kei's ability to guess—and he would never have been able to figure them out. The Third Hokage wouldn't tell him, either.

But whether he felt excitement, confusion, or a trace of unease, Ueno Kei had never once considered turning down the offer. Wasn't that obvious? Only a complete idiot would refuse.

An opportunity like this would never come twice.

If the Third Hokage hadn't told Ueno Kei to think it over for the night and come back the next day to give him his final decision, Ueno Kei would have accepted on the spot.

You never knew what might happen if you waited too long, right?

Even Ueno Kei, with the mindset of a thirty-year-old, couldn't help but feel anxious about gaining something and then losing it.

Now, hearing the Third Hokage ask him again, Ueno Kei's heart still gave a slight tremble. He did his best to keep his voice steady and answered solemnly, "Lord Hokage, I'm willing! It's my honor!"

The Third Hokage smiled faintly. "Kei, stand up. And from now on, you can call me Teacher Sarutobi!"

"Yes, Teacher Sarutobi!" Ueno Kei slowly straightened up and looked at the Third Hokage with bright eyes. His voice was as respectful as ever—no, even more so.

The education he'd received in his previous life had sunk deep into his bones. Respecting one's teachers and elders was something that had been ingrained in Ueno Kei's mind.

Until now, the Third Hokage had been the leader of the village, and Ueno Kei had shown him the respect he deserved. But now, as far as Ueno Kei was concerned, the Third Hokage had also become his teacher—not like an instructor at the Ninja Academy, but a true mentor, someone as important as a father.

That only made Ueno Kei more respectful toward the Third Hokage. Of course, even though they were now teacher and student, Ueno Kei couldn't suddenly feel close to him. Everything was only just beginning, after all.

What kind of person was the Third Hokage? How would he teach? How would their relationship as teacher and student develop? All of that would take time.

"Kei, starting tomorrow, you'll graduate," the Third Hokage said calmly.

"Eh? Teacher Sarutobi... This..." Ueno Kei was taken aback. He had been thinking that they might decide when the Third Hokage would begin training him, and then they could call it a day.

After all, Ueno Kei didn't think Teacher Sarutobi, as Hokage, would be free of official business. It must have piled up like a mountain. Ueno Kei would have been more than satisfied if he could occasionally spare time to teach him. But just as Ueno Kei was wondering how the Third Hokage would arrange his training, the Third Hokage suddenly came out with this.

It was true that Ueno Kei had enough chakra to qualify as an ordinary Genin, and he had mastered the Three Body Technique. With the Wind Wing Sword Technique, his overall strength was comparable to that of an average Chunin. But graduate now? To be honest, Ueno Kei wasn't ready.

It wasn't wartime, after all. There was no need for Ninja Academy students to graduate early.

Besides, outside the exceptional circumstances of wartime, there simply weren't any students who graduated early. At least, Ueno Kei had never heard of one. Even a prodigy had no reason to graduate early.

He had no idea why the Third Hokage had suddenly said that.

The Third Hokage saw Ueno Kei's confusion and spoke gently. "Kei, the Ninja Academy can only teach you so much. You won't learn anything more there during the remaining two years. Graduate early and join the Anbu. Your skills still need work, but the Anbu is an excellent place to temper yourself."

After considering it for an entire night, the Third Hokage had ultimately decided to let Ueno Kei graduate early and join the Anbu. The Anbu was the best place to toughen someone up, of course, the missions it carried out were extremely dangerous, and its methods and practices could sometimes be more extreme.

To be honest, the Third Hokage had been very hesitant at first about letting Ueno Kei join the Anbu.

After all, apart from believing it was destiny and taking a liking to Ueno Kei, the Third Hokage also wanted to set Ueno Kei's outlook on life and worldview straight.

He wanted Ueno Kei to see the world more clearly and inherit the Will of Fire!

But the Anbu wasn't a good place for that. On top of that, Ueno Kei was only ten years old. One careless mistake could plunge him into darkness and make his attitude toward the world even more negative and twisted. That wouldn't be good.

But after talking with Ueno Kei and thinking it over all night, the Third Hokage had still made up his mind to let him join the Anbu. There were drawbacks, but the benefits definitely outweighed them.

And with his own guidance, the Third Hokage was confident he could raise an outstanding student—one who would be no worse than the Sannin! He only needed to give Ueno Kei enough time to grow.

The future would be well worth looking forward to!