Kakashi looked at Orion's confused expression and felt a bit speechless.
But after thinking about Orion's chakra—
Sage-type chakra—
It made sense.
Compared to normal chakra, its quality was far higher.
So naturally—
It would consume less for the same jutsu.
"The Water Dragon Jutsu… you learned it on the spot, didn't you?" Kakashi asked.
Orion nodded.
"I watched his hand seals."
"I could sense the flow of his chakra."
"And since the technique wasn't that difficult…"
"I gave it a try."
"I didn't expect it to actually work."
Kakashi fell silent.
For a moment—
He didn't even know how to respond.
"'Not that difficult'?"
"That's a B-rank jutsu."
"Only jōnin can normally master it."
But Orion didn't care.
To him—
This wasn't difficult at all.
He could clearly sense the flow of chakra inside Zabuza's body.
In a way—
His ability wasn't much different from someone with the Sharingan or Byakugan.
Not far away—
Zabuza stared at Orion with a grim expression.
"This brat…"
"He's a problem."
"If he teams up with Kakashi…"
"This mission will be hard to complete."
If he wanted to kill Tazuna—
He had to deal with Orion first.
But even if he managed to defeat Orion—
Kakashi would never just stand by.
Realizing this—
Zabuza made a decisive choice.
He gave up the assassination.
"Kid…"
"Next time we meet—"
"I'll kill you."
With that cold threat—
He vanished across the surface of the lake.
Orion watched the empty water and murmured:
"Next time…"
"It might not be you killing me."
He hated being threatened.
And after this fight—
He had already grasped Zabuza's approximate strength.
Elite jōnin level.
In a one-on-one fight—
The one who might die…
Could very well be Orion.
But—
With Kakashi present—
In a two-versus-one—
Orion was confident.
Zabuza would be the one to die.
After Zabuza left—
Kakashi finally relaxed.
After all—
The people he was protecting were extremely important to Konoha.
Naruto — Son of the Fourth Hokage, Nine-Tails Jinchūriki
Sasuke — Last survivor of the Uchiha Clan
Orion — His most valued student
If anything happened to any of them—
The consequences would be severe.
But even if Zabuza had stayed—
He likely wouldn't have succeeded.
Because with Orion and Kakashi together—
Zabuza had no chance.
Naruto and Sasuke walked over.
The way they looked at Orion—
Had completely changed.
After this battle—
They understood one thing clearly:
They weren't even on the same level.
"Hey, Kakashi-sensei…"
"You must've secretly taught Orion a bunch of jutsu, right?"
"He's way stronger than us!"
Naruto complained.
He believed Orion's strength came from Kakashi secretly training him.
But Sasuke didn't think so.
He could feel it.
Orion's fighting style—
Was completely different from Kakashi's.
And that Water Dragon Jutsu—
Even Kakashi might not be able to perform it like that.
As someone from the Uchiha Clan—
Sasuke understood clearly.
That wasn't just a Water Dragon Jutsu anymore.
It had exceeded its original limits.
Orion—
Was like him.
Special.
Kakashi looked at Naruto and said calmly:
"I didn't teach him that technique."
Naruto refused to believe it.
"Impossible!"
"That jutsu had super complicated hand seals!"
"Don't tell me Orion invented it himself?!"
Kakashi placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder.
Then said seriously:
"Have you considered…"
"That he might've copied it from Zabuza?"
Naruto immediately snapped back:
"Kakashi-sensei, do you think I'm an idiot?!"
"How is that even possible?!"
"If you could learn jutsu just by watching—"
"I'd know tons of jutsu by now!"
Naruto had struggled badly in the academy.
Without the Third Hokage's support—
He might have been expelled long ago.
He often scored zero.
Even at graduation—
He couldn't perform a basic Clone Jutsu.
In contrast—
Sakura was actually a true academic genius.
Even Sasuke couldn't match her in theoretical knowledge.
So to Naruto—
Learning a jutsu just by watching once?
That was pure fantasy.
But Sasuke knew—
It was possible.
Because he had seen someone like that before.
His brother—
Itachi Uchiha.
Back then—
Itachi could replicate techniques after seeing them once.
While Sasuke—
Needed long training.
Now—
Looking at Orion—
Sasuke felt a chilling sense of familiarity.
"Is Orion's talent… the same as that man's?"
"…No."
"Maybe…"
"Even greater."
Because Orion didn't just copy a B-rank jutsu—
He improved it.
And in the middle of battle.
Sasuke clenched his fists.
The jealousy he once felt—
Was gone.
Now—
Orion had become something else.
A goal.
"If I can surpass Orion…"
"Then I can surpass that man."
His eyes filled with determination.
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