Kakashi's scolding made both
Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki lower their heads in embarrassment.
They had originally wanted to show off their progress.
Instead—
They ended up making fools of themselves.
And worst of all—
Orion had seen it.
But soon, Naruto jumped up and pointed at Orion.
"Kakashi-sensei!"
"Did you just teach Orion some powerful jutsu?"
"I've never seen the technique he used to save me just now!"
Sasuke also stood up.
He casually brushed off the dust on his clothes—
But his eyes were fixed on Orion.
He wanted to know:
What exactly happenedWhether Kakashi had a powerful techniqueAnd whether he could learn it too
Naruto, on the other hand—
Had a completely different thought.
He just felt—
Kakashi was being unfair.
Looking at Naruto's angry expression,
Kakashi Hatake said calmly:
"You haven't even mastered chakra control yet."
"How am I supposed to teach you ninjutsu?"
"Once your foundation is solid, I'll teach you."
Hearing this—
Sasuke silently nodded.
"So… Orion's technique really was taught by Kakashi."
Naruto didn't think that far.
He puffed up proudly:
"I've already mastered chakra control!"
"Kakashi-sensei, start teaching me tomorrow!"
Kakashi shook his head.
"You still have a long way to go."
"This is just the beginning."
Naruto frowned.
"Then why can Orion learn?"
"We're your students!"
Kakashi's expression turned serious.
"I told you—your foundation is still weak."
"And—"
"Orion is also my student."
In fact—
Kakashi almost said:
👉 Orion is his most important student.
If not for Naruto and Sasuke's special status in Konoha—
He might not even be teaching them.
Sensing Kakashi's tone—
Even Naruto quieted down.
But—
He looked at Orion with clear jealousy.
Naruto wouldn't hate Orion—
But he definitely envied him.
After all:
Orion wasn't even part of their teamYet Kakashi brought him alongAnd even taught him privately
In Naruto's eyes—
This was obvious favoritism.
And Naruto—
Was especially sensitive to this.
Deep down, he even thought:
👉 Kakashi treated him differently because he was the Nine-Tails' host.
He forgot something important:
Sasuke and Sakura were treated the same way.
But unlike Naruto—
They understood.
Both Sasuke and Sakura knew:
Orion was simply on a completely different level.
Sasuke thought:
👉 Orion must be working harder than him
(He refused to admit Orion had greater talent)
Sakura thought:
👉 Orion had both talent and effort
Naruto?
👉 "Kakashi is biased."
Because—
Naruto cared more about emotional recognition than strength.
He wanted acknowledgment.
Especially from Kakashi.
Orion's Silence
When Orion heard Kakashi's serious words—
He felt a headache coming.
He understood Kakashi's intention:
👉 To protect him
But—
That would only make Naruto feel worse.
It might even cause resentment toward Orion.
So Orion chose—
Silence.
At moments like this:
👉 The less he said, the better.
Anything he said—
Would only make things worse.
Kakashi Leaves
Seeing no one speak, Kakashi said:
"That's enough."
"You all trained hard today."
"Let's head back."
Then—
He disappeared.
Orion stared at the empty space.
"…Seriously?"
"Cause trouble and then run?"
"Now I have to deal with this alone?"
He sighed internally.
He understood Kakashi's intention:
👉 Let Orion bond with the team
But right now—
This was the worst possible situation.
"Not very responsible…"
Orion muttered internally.
Then he turned to the others.
"Let's go."
He could've used Body Flicker and left instantly—
But if he did—
Naruto and Sasuke would feel even worse.
Sakura quickly tried to ease the tension.
"Yeah… let's go."
"I'm really tired."
Silent Walk
The four walked through the forest.
No one spoke.
Only the sounds of:
WindLeavesDistant animals
After a while—
Sakura finally broke the silence.
"Both Sasuke and Naruto worked really hard today."
"They mastered chakra control in just one afternoon."
Then she looked at Orion.
"What about you?"
"What did Kakashi-sensei teach you?"
"It must've been something amazing, right?"
Sasuke and Naruto—
Pretended not to care.
But both were clearly listening.
Orion answered casually:
"Just a few Water Style techniques."
"Really powerful ones?" Sakura asked curiously.
Orion glanced at the two "not-listening" listeners.
Then said lightly:
"How strong can Water Style really be?"
Sakura's mouth twitched.
"Water Style isn't strong?"
"The jutsu you used against Zabuza was incredible!"
"If he hadn't dodged, he'd be dead!"
Orion shook his head.
"But he did dodge."
"Zabuza is an elite jōnin—same level as Kakashi-sensei."
"You think someone like that is easy to defeat?"
"You only saw that he almost got hit."
"But defeating him?"
"We were nowhere near that."
"If elite jōnin were that easy to beat—"
"Every village would have hundreds of them."
"In reality?"
"Most villages don't even have a dozen."
Orion was speaking the truth.
Elite jōnin were:
👉 Strategic assets of a village
👉 Candidates for becoming Kage
But clearly—
Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke didn't fully grasp it.
Sakura insisted:
"But you really almost won that day!"
"Zabuza ran because he was afraid of you!"
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