Chapter 45: Zabuza Ran Away!
Kakashi looked at Yoruha's puzzled expression and was a little speechless.
But then, thinking about how Yoruha's Chakra was Senjutsu Chakra, it started to make sense.
Senjutsu Chakra was indeed of a much higher quality than ordinary Chakra, so it was understandable that the same jutsu would consume less of it.
"You just learned the Water Dragon Bullet Technique on the spot, didn't you?"
Kakashi asked.
Yoruha nodded. "I saw him forming hand seals, and I could sense the flow of his Chakra. On top of that, this jutsu wasn't all that difficult, so I gave it a try. I didn't expect it to actually work."
Hearing that, Kakashi didn't even know what to say for a moment.
"This jutsu isn't low-level at all. A B-rank jutsu is something only Jonin can master."
Even though Kakashi said that, Yoruha didn't care much.
He really didn't think copying the Water Dragon Bullet Technique on the spot was that hard.
Or rather, to him, the Water Dragon Bullet Technique simply wasn't difficult.
He could very clearly sense the flow of Chakra inside Zabuza's body.
In a sense, Yoruha wasn't much different from someone with Sharingan or Byakugan.
In the distance, Zabuza looked at Yoruha with extreme gravity.
"This brat really is troublesome. If he teams up with Kakashi, this mission won't be easy to complete."
If he wanted to kill Tazuna, he had to get rid of Yoruha first.
But even if he could defeat Yoruha, Kakashi at his side would never just stand by.
Thinking that, Zabuza decisively gave up on this assassination attempt.
"Brat, next time we meet, I'll definitely kill you."
Before leaving, Zabuza threw out a threat at Yoruha.
Then he vanished from the lake's surface.
Yoruha stared at the spot where Zabuza had disappeared and muttered, "Next time we meet, maybe it won't be you killing me."
Yoruha hated being threatened more than anything.
And after this fight, he already had a rough grasp of Zabuza's strength.
He really did have Elite Jonin-level strength.
If Yoruha fought him one-on-one, the one who died in the end might really be Yoruha.
But with Kakashi there, in a two-on-one, Yoruha was confident that Zabuza would be the one to die.
After Zabuza left, Kakashi let out a sigh of relief.
After all, among the students he was leading, aside from Sakura, every one of them was someone Konohagakure absolutely could not afford to lose.
There was no need to mention Naruto—son of the Fourth Hokage, Nine-Tails jinchūriki.
As for Sasuke, he was the last surviving member of the Uchiha Clan. The Third Hokage also thought highly of him and wanted him to grow stronger, develop his Sharingan properly, and in the future be able to control the Kurama inside Naruto.
And Yoruha was the one Kakashi valued most, the one he regarded as his personal disciple.
Still, if Zabuza hadn't chosen to leave, he probably wouldn't have been able to kill Tazuna anyway.
Although Yoruha might not be as strong as Zabuza, with him there, Zabuza definitely wouldn't be able to beat Yoruha and Kakashi working together.
Sasuke and Naruto walked over.
The way they looked at Yoruha was now completely different from before.
The strength Yoruha had displayed in that battle was far beyond theirs.
They weren't even on the same level anymore.
"Kakashi-sensei, did you secretly teach Yoruha a bunch of jutsu? He's way stronger than us now."
Naruto pouted.
Naruto thought Yoruha's strength came from Kakashi secretly giving him extra lessons.
Sasuke didn't think so.
He could tell that Yoruha's fighting style was completely different from Kakashi's.
And as for that Water Dragon Bullet Technique from earlier, he doubted even Kakashi could release one like that.
Born from the Uchiha Clan, he understood very clearly that the jutsu Yoruha had used had already surpassed the original Water Dragon Bullet Technique in power.
Yoruha, just like him and Naruto, definitely had something special about him.
Kakashi looked at Naruto's indignant face and explained, "I never taught him that jutsu."
Naruto naturally didn't believe him. "No way. That jutsu alone had really complicated hand seals. Are you saying Yoruha developed it himself?"
Kakashi patted Naruto on the shoulder and looked at him seriously. "Have you considered that maybe he copied it by imitating Zabuza?"
"Kakashi-sensei, do you think I'm an idiot?"
"How is that possible? If just watching once was enough to learn something, wouldn't I know a ton of jutsu by now?"
Naruto really hadn't learned much at the Ninja Academy.
If not for the Third Hokage looking after him, then based on his grades there, he would have been expelled long ago.
He often scored zeros in various subjects, and even by the time he graduated, he still hadn't learned something as basic as the Clone Technique.
That was the most fundamental jutsu—something every Ninja Academy student could learn.
The students selected to enter the Ninja Academy were all extremely outstanding.
Konohagakure only had one Ninja Academy, and every year only a few dozen students were admitted.
Judging by the Fourth Great Ninja War, Konohagakure had at least over ten thousand ninja.
Obviously, it was impossible for all of them to have come out of the Ninja Academy.
Most ninja in the shinobi world actually did not come from the Ninja Academy, but were selected through other means.
It was like the Chunin Exams. Not every Chunin had to participate in the Chunin Exams to be promoted. Most Chunin were acknowledged by their villages—as long as the village felt your ability had reached the Chunin level, you would be promoted.
Those who could participate in the Chunin Exams were basically the elites of each village.
The Chunin Exams weren't an ordinary test, but a competition for each village to show off its outstanding younger generation.
The Ninja Academy was the same. Ordinary people simply weren't qualified to enter it.
But Naruto not only got into the Ninja Academy, his grades were terrible, and he was still allowed to remain there. It was obvious how much special treatment the Third Hokage had given him.
Naruto, however, clearly knew nothing about any of this.
He really hadn't learned much in the Ninja Academy.
Forget jutsu—even the most basic theoretical knowledge was beyond him.
By contrast, at the Ninja Academy, Sakura was the real genius.
When it came to ninja theory, even Sasuke wasn't as good as her.
During the Chunin Exams, there were many questions Sasuke and Naruto couldn't answer at all.
But Sakura could answer every single one.
Of course, that exam was meant to test a ninja's ability to gather intelligence.
Sakura had passed through sheer excellence in theory alone.
So Naruto believed that learning a jutsu just by watching once was impossible.
It was way too absurd.
But Sasuke knew very well that it was possible.
He had even seen it before.
That person was his brother—the one he had always wanted to kill—Itachi.
Back then, after seeing their father demonstrate a jutsu once, Itachi had been able to release the exact same one.
As for Sasuke, he had needed a long time of training before he could use it.
Sasuke looked at Yoruha as if seeing the Itachi of those days.
"Is Yoruha's talent the same as that man's?"
"No... maybe Yoruha's talent is even greater."
"After all, in the middle of battle, Yoruha learned a B-rank jutsu, and the power he released was already greater than the person he learned it from."
"If I can defeat Yoruha, then I'll definitely be able to defeat that man."
Sasuke clenched his fists.
He had originally felt a little jealous of Yoruha.
Now, he had already made Yoruha the goal he intended to surpass.