Seeing that Naruto still refused to believe him, Kakashi stopped explaining.
After all—
Orion was a special case.
Turning to Tazuna, Kakashi asked:
"Tazuna-san, how many jōnin has Gatō hired?"
"Besides Zabuza."
Tazuna thought for a moment.
"I'm not sure."
"I only heard that he hired a jōnin… but I don't even know who it was."
Kakashi fell silent.
He was weighing whether to continue the mission.
Zabuza alone—
Was already troublesome.
If another jōnin appeared—
Things would become extremely difficult.
Kakashi turned to Orion.
He wanted his opinion.
Orion nodded calmly.
"We've come this far."
"There's no turning back now."
"I'll use this time to improve."
"At the very least, I can hold off one jōnin."
"With Kakashi-sensei's strength…"
"If I stall one opponent, you should be able to defeat Zabuza."
"And if Zabuza is the only jōnin—"
"Then together…"
"He doesn't stand a chance."
Kakashi thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Alright."
"In that case, we'll continue the mission."
"During this time…"
"I'll teach you some offensive ninjutsu."
"You already have jōnin-level strength."
"And your combat instincts are excellent."
"With a few more powerful techniques…"
"You'll truly be a complete jōnin."
There was no exaggeration in his words.
"I will."
Orion agreed without hesitation.
Naruto suddenly jumped in.
"Hey, Kakashi-sensei!"
"Don't forget about us—we're your students too!"
Kakashi looked at him and replied calmly:
"Of course I know."
"But you're not ready to learn ninjutsu yet."
"You need to build a foundation first."
Naruto frowned.
"What foundation?"
"Are you just making excuses because you don't want to teach us?"
Kakashi sighed helplessly.
"You need proper chakra control first."
"You haven't mastered even that."
"How can you learn ninjutsu?"
"Orion already has excellent chakra control."
"That's why he doesn't need to train the basics anymore."
Naruto pouted, still unconvinced.
He was certain Kakashi was being biased.
Sasuke, however, was thoughtful.
Unlike Naruto—
He agreed with Kakashi.
Sakura looked at Orion with admiration.
Despite his strength—
He remained calm and composed.
Seeing Naruto sulking—
Kakashi felt helpless.
He really wasn't being biased.
Even though he valued Orion highly—
Naruto was still the Fourth Hokage's son.
And personally entrusted to him by the Third Hokage.
But Naruto's foundation was practically nonexistent.
What could he even teach him right now?
Even if he tried—
Naruto likely wouldn't be able to learn it.
After all—
He had struggled even with the most basic Clone Jutsu.
If not for the Shadow Clone Technique matching his unique chakra—
He might not have learned any technique at all.
Back then—
The Third Hokage had gone to great lengths just to help Naruto learn it.
Even the Scroll of Seals—
A forbidden and highly protected item—
Somehow ended up in Naruto's hands.
And despite sending out many ninja to search—
No one "found" him.
It was obvious—
The Third Hokage had quietly arranged everything.
But Naruto knew none of this.
Seeing that Naruto wouldn't listen—
Kakashi stopped explaining.
At Tazuna's House
After continuing their journey—
They finally arrived at Tazuna's home.
There were three people there:
His daughter TsunamiHis grandson Inari
Inari looked at Kakashi and Orion with suspicion.
During dinner—
Tazuna explained everything that had happened on the road.
Gradually—
Inari's gaze changed.
He looked at Kakashi and Orion with hope.
"You… can you really defeat Gatō's ninja?"
he asked hesitantly.
Kakashi scratched his head.
"…Probably."
Hearing that uncertain answer—
The hope in Inari's eyes shattered.
"As expected…"
"It's impossible."
"Those ninja are too strong…"
Naruto immediately got angry.
"Don't be so negative!"
"I'm going to become Hokage!"
"Even if Zabuza is strong, I'll defeat him!"
But Inari showed no interest.
Instead, he mocked him:
"Even your teacher doesn't sound confident."
"How could you possibly do it?"
Naruto clenched his fists.
"Zabuza isn't unbeatable!"
"I can defeat him too!"
Sasuke and Sakura exchanged helpless looks.
Naruto's current confidence—
Didn't match his earlier performance.
Inari suddenly shouted:
"Gatō is far stronger than you think!"
"Anyone who opposes him dies!"
His voice trembled with pain.
Naruto froze.
He didn't understand—
Why someone they came to help—
Would react like this.
Inari ran out.
Tazuna sighed.
Kakashi asked quietly:
"That child… must have gone through something painful."
"And it's related to Gatō, right?"
Tazuna nodded.
"His father…"
"Was killed by Gatō for resisting him."
"Ever since witnessing that…"
"Inari stopped believing anyone could defeat Gatō."
"He thinks heroes are foolish."
"But…"
"He once admired his father deeply."
"That incident…"
"Broke him."
Naruto fell silent.
Tsunami added softly:
"It's not just Inari."
"Everyone in the Land of Waves hopes for someone to defeat Gatō."
"But no one ever has."
Naruto looked at Tazuna with determination.
"I will defeat Gatō."
"I'll change Inari's mind."
But after he said that—
Tazuna didn't look at him.
Instead—
He looked at Kakashi and Orion.
"Kakashi… Orion…"
"Do you really have confidence in defeating Zabuza?"
Naruto was instantly furious.
But even he knew—
In the previous battle—
Kakashi and Orion had shown overwhelming strength.
He hadn't.
Orion remained silent.
He felt it wasn't his place to answer.
Kakashi thought for a moment and replied:
"If it's just Zabuza…"
"I'm confident I can defeat him alone."
"Not to mention—"
"With Orion here…"
"He stands no chance against the two of us."
"But…"
"If Gatō hires another jōnin…"
"Then the outcome becomes uncertain."
Tazuna's expression darkened.
He knew—
Being able to hire Kakashi and Orion—
With only a C-rank mission reward—
Was already incredibly fortunate.
He couldn't ask for more.
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