The Teacher's Not-So-Cute Junior

"That guy has never even done a D-rank mission!"

A four or five-year-old child walked into the training ground, bluntly shattering Yahiko's idealized image of Qi Luna.

He looked no older than four or five, with striking silver-white hair and a small mask covering the lower half of his face, revealing only a pair of dark, listless, dead-fish eyes.

His entire demeanor carried a detachment—or perhaps, indifference—that was completely at odds with his age.

He wore a slightly casual ninja training outfit and a matcha-colored scarf with dark green patterns around his neck. Though he wasn't a ninja yet and hadn't even enrolled in the Ninja Academy, his composed air made him stand out among the noisy crowd of children.

Ignoring the surrounding clamor, he walked straight toward an empty balance beam.

Yamada, the Chunin instructor responsible for observing and recording the students' performance, immediately hurried over.

"Kakashi? Why are you here again? Didn't I tell you? You aren't even at the age to enroll yet, are you?"

Kakashi looked up and spoke calmly. His voice was very youthful, yet devoid of any inflection.

"I'm just doing some standard taijutsu training, and familiarizing myself with the environment in advance."

Yamada didn't press the matter; after all, this was a semi-open facility, so it wasn't unreasonable for someone outside the academy to train here.

Just as Kakashi prepared to cross the balance beam using spins, jumps, and fancy flips, an "evil" little hand grabbed his collar and hoisted him into the air.

"What did you mean by that just now? You seem to know a lot about Brother Qi Luna!"

Kakashi didn't resist, simply letting Yahiko dangle him there.

"Hey, jerk, aren't you going to discipline your idiot subordinate?"

"Well, you're as unlikable as ever."

"Even though Sakumo is always busy, there's no need for someone to guide you through this level of training, is there? I don't think there's a lack of equipment for these exercises at his house..."

"Tell me, why are you running around here for no reason?"

"None of your business."

Kakashi retorted.

Qi Luna looked at this less-than-lovable junior from his teacher's house. He couldn't bring himself to like this future "Sixth Hokage" and "Copy Ninja" at all.

"What did you mean when you said Brother Qi Luna never did a D-rank mission?"

Yahiko shifted his focus back to Qi Luna's mission history. Since he couldn't get an answer from the man himself, he would ask someone who might know.

Qi Luna's first instinct was to prevent the leak of information, but realizing he had already retired from the Anbu and there was little need to hide past records, he remained silent.

Kakashi recalled for a moment, then recited precise data:

"After this jerk became a ninja, he only completed one C-rank mission before following the Konoha reinforcements to the Amegakure front during the Second Ninja World War. His wartime mission record: thirty-seven B-rank missions, eleven A-rank missions..."

As he spoke, he turned his gaze toward Qi Luna, a rare, earnest intensity in his dead-fish eyes.

"And, one mission rated as an ultra-S-rank classified mission!"

"Furthermore, this jerk's mission completion rate is... one hundred percent!"

The moment these words were spoken, the air seemed to freeze.

Yahiko's mouth hung open, his orange hair seemingly stiffened, and his jaw nearly hit the ground.

"Ultra... ultra-S-rank?! And a staggering one hundred percent completion rate?! Isn't that too exaggerated?!"

Konan stopped her origami, her amber eyes filled with shock.

Even the usually silent Nagato widened his Rinnegan slightly, looking at Qi Luna with disbelief.

They all knew their teacher was strong, but to have completed nearly fifty high-level missions as a Genin, with a perfect completion rate...

Especially upon hearing about the ultra-S-rank mission, Nagato and Konan couldn't help but recall the scene when they first met Qi Luna—the legendary battle that made the "Konoha Sannin" famous, the battle that gave birth to the name "Konoha Red Peak"!

Qi Luna rubbed his forehead helplessly, looking at the dead-fish-eyed Kakashi.

"Kakashi, that information from before I joined the Anbu..."

However, before Qi Luna could finish, Yahiko exploded. He hoisted Kakashi higher until they were eye-to-eye and demanded:

"Hey! Silver-haired brat, how do you know all this so clearly?! You even remember the exact number of missions?! Who the hell are you?! And why do you call Brother Qi Luna 'that guy' or 'jerk' instead of something respectful?!"

Suspended in mid-air, Kakashi maintained his hollow, dead-fish gaze without a hint of panic. Instead, he shot Yahiko a look of pure contempt, his voice as flat as still water.

"Didn't that jerk just say it? I'm the child of his teacher's house, and all his mission records are backed up in the Anbu archives. Father occasionally mentions this jerk's... 'glorious achievements'! Especially whenever he visits my house and tries to string me up with his Adamantine Chains, making Father supervise me so I don't refine chakra early!"

His tone turned somewhat resentful at the end. After a pause, he added a devastating blow:

"Also, Senior Yahiko, please put me down. And your skills in intelligence gathering, analysis, and counter-surveillance... they still need improvement."

"Shouting it out so loudly—are you worried the enemy won't know this jerk's past mission history? Even if it's outdated, there's still plenty of useful information there! Idiot!"

"Id... idiot?!"

Being called an idiot to his face by a four or five-year-old brat made Yahiko's face flush bright red. He was both embarrassed and furious, but looking into those listless dead-fish eyes, his retort caught in his throat, unable to utter a single word.

He could only sullenly set Kakashi back on the ground.

Konan couldn't help but cover her mouth to stifle a laugh, and a flicker of helpless amusement crossed Nagato's eyes.

Qi Luna stepped forward, resting his large hand on Kakashi's soft silver hair and ruffling it with a gentle smile.

"Alright, Kakashi. Yahiko is just... a bit simple-minded."

"Also, stop calling me a bastard all the time. I'm not letting you refine chakra right now because doing so too early will overdraw your body's potential, stunt your future growth, and lower the ceiling of your total chakra capacity."

"Besides, you aren't on the battlefield right now, so there's no need to be in such a rush to get stronger. It's better to take things slow and steady."

Following this, Qi Luna ignored Kakashi's eye-roll and turned her gaze toward Yahiko and the others, who had finished processing the information and realized they had seemingly been hoodwinked by her:

"Don't get too hung up on the rank of a mission. Missions themselves have no hierarchy of high or low, only urgency and priority. Their true significance lies in your attitude while performing them and the value you derive from them!"

"If there weren't a large number of D-rank missions for the village's genin to practice with—allowing them to familiarize themselves with mission procedures, ease financial burdens, and learn lessons through experience—the difficulty for genin to grow would increase several times over!"

"Take the mission to capture the kitten, for example. Whether it's gathering intelligence, setting traps, lying in ambush, or coordinating a pursuit, all these skills can be well-honed during low-risk missions."

"And after a mission is completed, the smile on the client's face is also part of what gives a mission its meaning."

Supplementary note:

Madam Shijimi should still be a beauty during this period; otherwise, the Daimyo likely wouldn't have married her. Of course, one cannot rule out the possibility that she wasn't slender and that their union was merely a political marriage.