The water dragon unleashed by Yoruha plunged straight into the lake. For several long seconds, the massive creature—its body stretching over a hundred meters—roared and coiled.
A terrifying dragon's cry echoed across the land, resonating for hundreds of meters in every direction, as though a true dragon had appeared in the world.
The once calm surface of the lake erupted into chaos, waves surging several meters high, spreading outward for hundreds of meters. The water overflowed, flooding the lakeshore and shaking the ground nearby.
The destructive power of this ninjutsu was beyond question.
After completing the technique, Yoruha felt about a tenth of his chakra drain away. Lowering his hands, he sighed softly.
"As expected of a B-rank ninjutsu—the chakra consumption is enormous."
Neither Kakashi nor Zabuza heard hid words.
If they had, they might have spat blood in shock.
The Water Dragon Bullet Technique Yoruha had just used wasn't drawn from the lake around his at all—it was conjured entirely from his own chakra. The sheer amount of water created from nothing was enough to completely exhaust the chakra of an ordinary jōnin.
When the Second Hokage fought the Third, he formed a Water Formation Wall on a rooftop, a feat that astonished the Anbu observers. Yet Yoruha's Water Dragon Bullet Technique surpassed even the Second Hokage's in scale, power, and difficulty—again, using chakra alone to create water.
The Second Hokage had only needed to conjure water because his surroundings were dry. Yoruha, however, stood right beside a lake. He relied purely on chakra because it was his first time attempting the technique and he lacked experience.
Even so, his Water Dragon Bullet was overwhelmingly stronger than Zabuza's.
If not for the fact that Yoruha's chakra was drawn from natural energy—requiring far less volume than ordinary chakra—the cost would have been far more than one-tenth of his reserves.
And yet, Yoruha still felt the technique consumed too much.
Truly, comparisons between people could be infuriating.
As Yoruha murmured to himself, Sakura stood nearby, utterly stunned.
"Yoruha, your ninjutsu is way stronger than Zabuza's!"
During the technique, Sakura and Tazuna had been surrounded by a wall of water—the very body of Yoruha's dragon. She had witnessed everything clearly.
Zabuza's elite-level Water Dragon Bullet couldn't even compare to Yoruha's.
Sakura didn't know what to say.
Earlier, she had thought Yoruha was only far superior in taijutsu.
Now, it was clear—Yoruha's taijutsu, ninjutsu, and chakra reserves all exceeded theirs by an impossible margin.
Even without knowing the details of the Water Dragon Bullet Technique, Sakura could feel the crushing aura it produced. Such an immense water dragon—over a hundred meters long—could only be formed by consuming a tremendous amount of chakra.
What's more, Yoruha's water dragon moved as if alive, entirely different from Zabuza's lifeless imitation.
The girl grew increasingly curious.
How could someone this powerful have gone unnoticed at the Ninja Academy?
Unnoticed was one thing—but before graduation, she hadn't even realized there was a classmate named Keibun Yoruha.
Yoruha shook his head.
"It's just because it was my first time using this technique. I haven't mastered it yet."
Sakura froze.
"Wait—you mean this was your first time using that ninjutsu?"
Yoruha nodded calmly.
"Impossible! Your hand seals were so fast—so precise! How could that be your first time?"
Yoruha didn't reply. There was no point explaining; Sakura wouldn't understand yet.
Seeing his silence only made Sakura's astonishment deepen.
She knew Yoruha wasn't the type to lie.
Back in the Academy, he had been quiet and modest—there was no reason for him to suddenly boast now.
That made it even more unbelievable.
His first attempt had been that powerful?
And he said he hadn't even mastered it. If this was what it looked like without full control, then once he mastered it... could he use it without hand seals at all?
The thought sent shivers down her spine.
They were the same age, yet she couldn't even see his shadow anymore.
The gap between them had become a chasm.
Kakashi stepped up beside Yoruha and remarked,
"Your control has improved a lot. At least it's not as wildly destructive or unstable as before. Looks like you've made real progress."
Yoruha nodded slightly.
"Maybe it's because this technique is easier. It doesn't require such fine control."
He knew what Kakashi meant.
Although the Water Dragon Bullet he had just used was astonishingly powerful—enough to leave Kakashi deeply impressed—it still wasn't as shocking as the night Yoruha had released Chidori.
That night, had he used Chidori here, everything within hundreds of meters would have been annihilated—no one but Yoruha would have survived.
It was a force that devoured everything in its path.
If Kakashi hadn't retreated the instant he sensed danger, he would have been killed or at least gravely injured.
This Water Dragon Bullet, though powerful, was completely controlled and had real combat potential.
Yet Yoruha had just said the technique was "not difficult."
That was absurd.
It was a B-rank ninjutsu—normally only jōnin could perform it.
A regular chūnin would be completely drained after one use, and even a jōnin would need to rely on nearby water to use it multiple times. Maintaining enough chakra for battle was vital, and this technique consumed far too much.
But Yoruha's version wasn't just stronger—it was made entirely from chakra.
Even Kakashi himself could probably only cast it two or three times at most.
Kakashi's chakra reserves were large, but his Sharingan constantly drained him. Without that burden, his chakra level would easily be kage-tier.
The Fourth Great Ninja War had proven as much—without the Sharingan's drain, Kakashi could use wide-range ninjutsu freely.
The Water Dragon Bullet Technique was by no means simple.
Even for a chūnin, a B-rank technique was a significant challenge.
Yet Yoruha had learned it on the spot, and his first execution had been flawless.
Then again, Kakashi recalled Yoruha's first time using Chidori, an A-rank jutsu—he had nearly mastered it instantly, too. If his chakra hadn't gone berserk that night, he would have succeeded completely.
Kakashi smiled faintly.
"That must've used a lot of chakra, right?"
Yoruha nodded earnestly.
"Yeah, it's pretty chakra-intensive—it drained about one-tenth of my total."
Kakashi blinked.
"Only a tenth?"
Yoruha frowned slightly.
"Isn't that a lot?"
Kakashi's mouth twitched as he sighed.
"I thought it would take at least a third of your chakra. If it's only a tenth… that's terrifying."
Yoruha couldn't quite understand.
To him, losing one-tenth of his chakra for a B-rank jutsu already felt like a heavy price.
But Kakashi's reaction suggested otherwise.
If a B-rank technique only cost him that much, what would happen when he learned an A-rank or even S-rank jutsu?
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