Kakashi stared at Arata's puzzled expression and couldn't help sighing.
Honestly, this kid made his head hurt sometimes.
But then again, Arata wasn't using ordinary chakra — his was Sage Chakra, rich, balanced, and dense beyond comparison.
Once Kakashi reminded himself of that fact, everything made sense again.
Of course a jutsu that would drain a normal jōnin completely would barely dent him.
"Arata," Kakashi finally asked, voice calm but curious, "that Water Dragon Jutsu… you learned it just now, didn't you?"
Arata nodded lightly. "Yeah. I could feel his chakra flow when he was performing the hand signs. The pattern was pretty simple, so I just tried it. Didn't expect it to work so well."
Kakashi's visible eye twitched.
"...'Pretty simple,' he says."
He didn't even know whether to laugh or scold him.
"Arata, that's a B-rank technique. Even most jōnin need practice to perform it correctly."
Arata tilted his head slightly. "Oh. Well… I guess it just clicked."
Kakashi rubbed his temple with a long sigh.
This kid really is terrifying…
To Arata, what he had just done seemed perfectly normal — but to Kakashi, it was something that shouldn't even be possible.
Most shinobi couldn't sense the flow of chakra through another's body, not without a dōjutsu like the Sharingan or Byakugan.
Yet Arata had done it through instinct alone.
Across the lake, Zabuza's expression had turned grim.
His grip on the massive Decapitating Blade tightened.
"That brat's not normal… not even close."
He'd planned this assassination carefully.
But after witnessing Arata fight beside Kakashi, he finally admitted to himself — this mission was already doomed.
Killing Tazuna with one elite jōnin in the way was difficult enough.
Add this strange boy with monstrous chakra control, and it became impossible.
Zabuza's instincts screamed at him to retreat.
He snarled lowly. "Tch. This isn't over, brat. Next time we meet… I'll kill you myself."
With that, his form blurred and vanished into the mist, leaping across the lake until not even his chakra signature remained.
Arata watched the rippling water where Zabuza disappeared and muttered softly,
"Next time we meet, maybe it won't be me who dies."
He didn't take threats kindly — and this one he'd remember.
Still, now he understood Zabuza's true level.
The man was indeed an elite jōnin — fast, ruthless, and deadly.
In a one-on-one fight, Arata wasn't certain he could win just yet.
But with Kakashi by his side?
Then Zabuza's fate was already sealed.
As the fog cleared, Kakashi finally allowed himself to relax.
Thank the Sage, it was over.
Bringing the team out of the village was already risky — every single genin here was too important to lose.
Naruto — the Fourth Hokage's son, and the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.
Sasuke — the last surviving member of the Uchiha clan, the key to controlling the Nine-Tails' power someday.
And Arata — the one Kakashi personally saw as his true successor, a student with potential far beyond what the village could imagine.
There was no room for casualties.
Naruto and Sasuke walked over, both staring at Arata with completely different eyes than before.
The boy who'd once blended quietly into the background now stood on a level far above them — so high they could barely even see it.
Naruto's lips twisted.
"Hey, Kakashi-sensei! You've been secretly teaching Arata, haven't you?!"
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"
"He's way stronger than us! You must've given him private lessons or something!"
Kakashi was about to reply, but Sasuke spoke first.
"No. That's not it."
His voice was low but certain.
"Arata's fighting style… it's nothing like Kakashi's. He didn't learn that from him."
Naruto frowned, confused. "Then how the heck did he pull off that huge water dragon?! You're telling me he just— what, made it up on the spot?"
Kakashi chuckled softly. "Actually, that's exactly what he did."
Naruto's jaw dropped.
"You're kidding me, right? Nobody just copies a jutsu like that! If that's possible, I'd be the strongest ninja in Konoha by now!"
Kakashi patted his shoulder.
"Well, some people learn differently. Maybe Arata's just got a talent for… observation."
Naruto pouted. "Observation my butt! That's cheating!"
Kakashi didn't argue.
It wasn't like explaining would make it any less impossible.
Naruto didn't know it, but he'd accidentally spoken a kind of truth.
Arata's chakra perception was different — closer to a sensory-type dōjutsu user than a normal ninja.
He didn't just see chakra — he could feel its rhythm, its structure, its intent.
That was how he'd reconstructed Zabuza's jutsu in seconds.
Sasuke stayed quiet, lost in thought.
His gaze lingered on Arata's calm expression.
So this is what real genius looks like.
The way Arata had mimicked a B-rank technique mid-battle reminded him of someone — a memory he couldn't forget.
That man.
Uchiha Itachi.
His brother.
The one who'd destroyed everything.
He remembered how easily Itachi had learned from watching others — mastering complex jutsu after seeing them just once.
And now, before him, was someone doing the same.
Sasuke's hands clenched into fists.
"No… Arata might be even more talented than him."
"If I can surpass Arata, then I'll surpass him too."
The jealousy that once burned in him had shifted — now it was something sharper.
A challenge.
A vow.
For the first time since the massacre, Sasuke had found a new measure for his own strength.
And that measure… was Arata.
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