Kakashi looked at Yoruha's puzzled expression and couldn't help feeling a little speechless.
But after recalling that Yoruha's chakra was senjutsu chakra, it all made sense.
Senjutsu chakra was indeed of a much higher quality than ordinary chakra. For the same ninjutsu, the amount of sage chakra consumed would naturally be much less.
"You learned the Water Dragon Bullet Technique just now, didn't you?"
Kakashi asked.
Yoruha nodded.
"When I saw him form the hand seals, I could sense the flow of his chakra. The technique didn't seem too difficult, so I tried it—and it worked."
Hearing that, Kakashi was at a loss for words.
"This ninjutsu isn't exactly easy. A B-rank technique—usually only jōnin can master it."
Even so, Yoruha didn't seem to care.
He didn't think copying the Water Dragon Bullet on the spot was that impressive.
To him, it hadn't been difficult at all.
He could clearly sense the chakra flow inside Zabuza's body. In a sense, he wasn't much different from someone with a Sharingan or Byakugan.
From afar, Zabuza's eyes were unusually grim as he watched Yoruha.
"That brat's not easy to deal with. If he teams up with Kakashi, this mission won't go well."
To kill Tazuna, he would first have to eliminate Yoruha.
But even if he managed to defeat Yoruha, Kakashi wouldn't just stand by and do nothing.
Realizing this, Zabuza decisively gave up on the assassination.
"Brat, next time we meet, I'll kill you for sure."
He spat the words coldly before vanishing over the lake's surface.
Watching the rippling water where Zabuza disappeared, Yoruha murmured,
"Next time we meet… it might not be you killing me."
Yoruha hated being threatened more than anything.
And through this battle, he had gauged Zabuza's general strength—definitely at the level of an elite jōnin.
If they fought one-on-one, Yoruha might very well lose.
But with Kakashi beside him, two against one, he was certain that Zabuza would be the one to die.
After Zabuza left, Kakashi finally let out a breath of relief.
After all, among his three students, aside from Sakura, every one of them was someone Konoha absolutely couldn't afford to lose.
Naruto, of course—the son of the Fourth Hokage and the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.
Sasuke—the last surviving member of the Uchiha clan. The Third Hokage placed high hopes on him, wanting him to grow strong, master the Sharingan, and one day control the Nine-Tails sealed within Naruto.
And Yoruha—Kakashi's most valued student, the one he saw as his personal disciple.
Even if Zabuza hadn't retreated, it was unlikely he could have succeeded in killing Tazuna.
While Yoruha might not yet match Zabuza's full strength, together with Kakashi, Zabuza didn't stand a chance.
Naruto and Sasuke walked over.
The way they looked at Yoruha had completely changed.
The power he had displayed in this battle was far beyond theirs—
They weren't even on the same level anymore.
"Kakashi-sensei, you must've taught Yoruha a ton of ninjutsu already. He's way stronger than us now!"
Naruto pouted.
He was convinced Yoruha's strength came from extra lessons Kakashi had given him in secret.
But Sasuke didn't think so.
He could tell Yoruha's fighting style was completely different from Kakashi's. And that Water Dragon Bullet Technique—he doubted Kakashi could even perform it to that extent.
As someone from the Uchiha clan, Sasuke knew just how powerful that jutsu had been. Yoruha's version had far exceeded the normal Water Dragon Bullet in sheer force.
Like him and Naruto, Yoruha clearly had something special about him.
Kakashi noticed Naruto's sulking expression and explained,
"I didn't teach him that technique."
Naruto immediately shook his head in disbelief.
"That's impossible! The hand seals alone looked super complicated. Don't tell me Yoruha developed it himself!"
Kakashi patted Naruto on the shoulder, speaking seriously.
"Ever considered that maybe he just copied it from Zabuza?"
Naruto frowned.
"Kakashi-sensei, do you think I'm stupid? How could that be possible? If watching once was enough to learn a jutsu, I'd know hundreds by now!"
Naruto really hadn't learned much at the Academy.
If not for the Third Hokage's personal intervention, his grades would've gotten him expelled long ago.
He'd often scored zeros in multiple subjects. Even by graduation, he still couldn't perform a simple Clone Technique—the most basic ninjutsu that every Academy student was expected to master.
Admission to the Academy itself was extremely competitive; only a few dozen were chosen each year from Konoha's thousands of candidates.
And from what was known during the Fourth Great Ninja War, Konoha had well over ten thousand shinobi—
obviously, not all of them were Academy graduates.
In fact, most ninja weren't trained at the Academy at all. They were promoted through direct selection—just like in the Chūnin Exams.
Not all chūnin had to take the exam; most were promoted when their village deemed their skills sufficient. The exams were more of a public showcase—each village sending its elite young ninja to demonstrate their strength.
The same went for the Academy—it wasn't something just anyone could attend.
And yet Naruto not only got in, but despite terrible grades, he was allowed to stay. The Third Hokage must have pulled many strings to make that happen.
Of course, Naruto had no idea about any of this.
He had learned next to nothing at the Academy—not just ninjutsu, but even the most basic theory.
By contrast, Sakura was the true genius among them.
Her theoretical knowledge of ninjutsu even surpassed Sasuke's.
During the Chūnin Exams, there had been written tests that both Sasuke and Naruto had struggled with—but Sakura had answered every question flawlessly.
That particular exam had been designed to test information-gathering ability, and Sakura had passed purely through her strong theoretical foundation.
So for Naruto, the idea that someone could learn a jutsu just by watching was absurd—pure fantasy.
But Sasuke knew otherwise. He had seen it before.
His brother—that man he longed to kill, Uchiha Itachi.
Itachi had once watched their father perform a jutsu only once and then perfectly replicated it himself.
Sasuke, on the other hand, had to train endlessly just to manage a fraction of that skill.
Looking at Yoruha now, Sasuke couldn't help but see his brother's shadow.
"Does Yoruha's talent match that man's?"
"No… perhaps it even surpasses his."
"He learned a B-rank ninjutsu mid-battle—and the version he performed was even stronger than the one he copied."
Sasuke clenched his fists tightly.
At first, he had felt only jealousy toward Yoruha.
But now, he had found a new goal—
to surpass Yoruha himself.
---
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