Sasuke was indeed swayed by Yoruha's words.
At this moment, as he looked at Kakashi, his eyes were filled with a burning desire for strength.
He felt that Kakashi truly could make him become incomparably powerful.
Sakura, on the other hand, was full of curiosity toward Yoruha.
How did Yoruha know so much about Kakashi?
Just how close was Kakashi to him, exactly?
"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura asked sourly, "did you tell all of this to Yoruha yourself?"
Kakashi's lips twitched slightly.
Seeing Yoruha's half-smiling expression, he could only sigh helplessly.
"Not all of it," he explained. "A lot of that information is probably what he looked up on his own."
Sakura huffed. "Hmph, I bet you told him everything yourself. See? In Kakashi-sensei's heart, Yoruha is obviously more important than us!"
Naruto immediately caught on, glaring at Kakashi with exaggerated indignation.
"Yeah, yeah! Sakura's right! Kakashi-sensei, you're totally playing favorites! You only tell Yoruha stuff and keep us in the dark!"
Sasuke didn't say anything, but deep down he felt a twinge of irritation too.
After all, Kakashi was their teacher. Logically, they should be the ones who mattered more.
He hadn't expected Kakashi to tell Yoruha so much but not share it with his own students.
Kakashi felt a headache coming on. He knew Yoruha was doing this on purpose.
From the side, Tazuna fanned the flames mischievously. "Kakashi, looks like being a teacher isn't easy, huh?"
Kakashi could only try to explain.
"That's because we haven't had much time to get to know each other properly.
Most of that information, Yoruha really did dig up on his own—it wasn't me who told him."
But Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura clearly didn't believe him.
Naruto yelled, "No way! Kakashi-sensei, you can't play favorites! You have to teach us ninjutsu too! I want to learn that technique Yoruha used to instantly beat those two ninja earlier!"
Sakura nodded firmly. "Yeah! Naruto's right!"
Sasuke, however, was speechless.
He knew that what Yoruha had used earlier wasn't ninjutsu at all.
Kakashi gave a bitter smile.
"Yoruha didn't use any ninjutsu just now. That was pure taijutsu.
And besides, I never taught him that."
But Naruto and Sakura refused to believe it.
"No way! If you didn't teach him, how could he be that strong?"
Kakashi looked at Yoruha helplessly.
Yoruha stayed silent.
With no other choice, Kakashi finally said,
"Fine, when we have time, I'll train all of you together."
Hearing that promise, Naruto and Sakura were overjoyed.
Even Sasuke looked forward to it.
After all, Kakashi's talent was said to rival—even surpass—that of Uchiha Itachi back in the day.
After walking for a long time, they finally entered the Land of Waves.
It was a small country at the edge of the Land of Fire, with a small population and no ninja of its own—proof of just how poor the nation was.
But despite its poverty, its environment was beautiful: lakes, forests, and abundant natural resources. It had great potential for developing tourism.
And because it bordered the sea, it also had excellent conditions for a thriving fishing industry.
Given its small size, those two industries alone could sustain the entire nation's economy.
"Mr. Tazuna, your country actually has good potential," Yoruha remarked.
Tazuna was stunned for a moment, thinking Yoruha was mocking him.
"The Land of Waves is indeed weak," he said bitterly. "There's nothing we can do—our country's just too poor."
Yoruha shook his head.
"I'm being serious. Your nation is small and sparsely populated, but it's rich in tourism resources. Combine that with fishing, and it's more than enough to make your country prosperous."
At present, the ninja world was in a time of peace.
And in peaceful times, the tourism industry had great potential for growth.
Tazuna was taken aback. "How could anyone want to come to a poor, remote place like this for tourism?"
He clearly didn't believe it.
Yoruha shook his head again.
"There are plenty of such people. You just need to let the rest of the world know this place exists—and promote it properly.
There are still many wealthy people out there."
Tazuna thought for a moment. He didn't quite believe Yoruha's words, but he had to admit—it did sound somewhat feasible.
"Still," he said, "we have to finish building the bridge first. Without it, even the best tourist resources won't bring anyone here."
Yoruha nodded. "That's true."
Meanwhile, Kakashi watched Yoruha with satisfaction.
Ninja belonged to a country's military structure—a specialized, detached organization.
They usually didn't need to think about economic matters.
Their income came from mission commissions and the nation's allocated military budget.
Money was rarely their concern—unless they happened to offend a feudal lord, like what happened to the Sand Village.
Normally, a feudal lord and a ninja village shared a mutually beneficial relationship.
Lords wanted their villages strong, to safeguard national interests.
But the Sand Village had a notoriously poor relationship with its feudal lord, resulting in minimal funding each year—and consequently, a much weaker military force compared to the other Great Ninja Villages.
Ordinary ninja didn't need to think about economics, but high-ranking ones—like the Hokage—certainly did.
After all, raising and training ninja required massive financial and material investment.
Without a stable economy, a village would only grow weaker.
Many small ninja villages had declined for exactly that reason—their nations simply lacked the resources to support them.
So seeing Yoruha think about economics, and even analyze it so insightfully, filled Kakashi with pride.
However, aside from Yoruha and Kakashi, none of the others—Sasuke, Naruto, or Sakura—found such topics interesting.
Their minds were still focused entirely on ninja techniques and battles.
Throughout the journey, Naruto was visibly on edge.
Not out of fear, but out of embarrassment—his earlier performance had been so poor that he was determined to redeem himself.
He was itching to find an enemy, defeat them himself, and wash away his shame.
Then, as they passed by a lakeside, Naruto noticed a rustling sound coming from a nearby bush.
Eyes lighting up as if he'd discovered treasure, he excitedly hurled several kunai toward it.
With sharp whooshing sounds, the blades hit their mark.
Naruto, thrilled, ignored Kakashi's warning and rushed straight into the bushes.
"Hahaha! I hit it—!"
He was about to brag to the others, but froze the moment he saw what lay before him.
A few kunai were lodged in a small white rabbit, its body bleeding heavily.
Sakura, running over, saw the scene and exploded in anger.
"Idiot Naruto! What the hell are you doing?!" she shouted, punching him squarely on the head.
For a girl like Sakura, the sight of a rabbit pierced and covered in blood was horrifying.
Naruto scratched his head awkwardly. "S-sorry, I didn't know… I thought it was an enemy."
Sasuke, Yoruha, and Kakashi didn't move from their spots.
The three stood by Tazuna's side, watching the commotion.
Kakashi rubbed his forehead helplessly. "This kid really hasn't changed at all…"
Sasuke sneered. "Idiot."
Yoruha simply chuckled. Naruto's behavior didn't surprise him in the slightest.
After all—if Naruto didn't do something like this, he wouldn't be Naruto.
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Currently at chapter 345 for advance chapters
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