Chapter 64: If I Master the Greatest Power, Will I Change?
Tazuna sighed. "That child's father was killed for trying to stop Gato."
"He used to admire his father more than anyone—always admired him. Who would have thought…"
After Tazuna finished telling the story of Inari and his father, Kakashi and the others finally understood.
"Mr. Kakashi, the bridge connecting us to the mainland is truly important. If it can't be completed, then the Land of Waves will always remain under Gato's rule, and the people of the Land of Waves will never escape his cruel oppression."
As he spoke, Tazuna couldn't help but tear up.
"Father, with Mr. Kakashi and the others here, the bridge will definitely be completed." Standing at the side, Tsunami comforted him.
Looking at Tazuna's appearance, Yoruha's expression turned complicated. "The sorrow of ordinary people. With power, you can shake the ninja world, but without it, people are no different from ants. And this is still peacetime."
"How desperate must ordinary people be in wartime?"
For the first time, Yoruha deeply felt that profound sense of helplessness.
To Yoruha, Gato was nothing more than a bug he could casually crush to death, but to the people of the Land of Waves, he was a mountain that could easily crush them.
The Land of Waves was too poor. It didn't even have its own hidden village. Probably not even Jonin were needed—just a few Chunin, or even Genin, could occupy this country.
Yoruha also understood why, in the end, Tazuna had named the bridge connecting them to the mainland the Naruto Bridge.
To others, Naruto might have been just a Genin.
But to the people of the Land of Waves, Naruto was the hero who had saved their entire country.
Kakashi glanced at Yoruha.
Seeing the thoughtful look on his face, he nodded inwardly.
This was also what Kakashi wanted Yoruha to feel. In this world, many people lived humbly. The power Yoruha possessed now already placed him above many others.
And whether that power would be used to bully the weak or to help them and protect order depended on a single thought.
Sasuke and Sakura, on the other hand, didn't feel anything too special and couldn't truly empathize with Tazuna.
Although Sasuke had gone through the destruction of his clan, because of Itachi's existence, the Third Hokage had taken especially good care of Sasuke. From childhood until now, Sasuke had never experienced the kind of powerlessness that came from being oppressed.
At least, not within the village.
Sakura even less so. Konohagakure was, after all, still an orderly place. And as someone who could attend the Ninja Academy, there was no one who dared bully her.
After Kakashi and Tazuna chatted for a while longer, everyone went to rest.
At night, Yoruha sat on the second-floor balcony. Moonlight, pale as sand, spilled across the balcony.
From the distant forest came the chirping of insects and the cries of birds. It should have sounded noisy, and yet it made the night feel strangely quiet.
Yoruha stared blankly into the distance. It was dark there, yet he did not look away, even though he could clearly see nothing.
After a long while, he sensed someone sit down beside him.
Without turning his head, Yoruha said calmly, "Kakashi-sensei, when I become the strongest person in the world, what kind of person do you think I'll become?"
Kakashi, seated beside him, froze for a moment. Then he lowered his head, thought for a bit, and said, "I believe in you."
He didn't mock Yoruha for imagining that he might one day become the strongest person in the world, nor did he directly answer Yoruha's question.
But Kakashi's words still made Yoruha smile faintly. "Kakashi-sensei, do you really trust me that much?"
"To be honest, the power I've gained these past few days has already made me feel a little unreal. I really don't know what I'll become once I grow stronger—maybe even stronger than everyone else."
"Human desire is endless. So why is it that in the past, there didn't seem to be anyone in the ninja world who could suppress an entire era on his own?"
"If there was someone like that, what kind of mindset would he have had?"
Yoruha sounded a little lost.
He knew he had the system. He knew that maybe in the future he would become the strongest ninja in this world—very likely, in fact.
But once he truly reached that point, could he really hold fast to his original heart? Or rather, did he truly have no desire for power?
When you can control an entire world, can you really still keep the mentality you had in your youth?
Ultimate force brings ultimate authority.
The ability to decide others' life and death with ease, to hold power over everyone in the world—to kill or spare at will—just imagining it was intoxicating.
Yoruha wanted to know whether, after reaching that level, he could still remain as he was now, taking things as they came.
At every stage of life, when a person holds different resources, their mentality changes.
Maybe once he held absolute power, he would think his current easygoing attitude was foolish.
After all, right now he was still too weak. He couldn't yet experience the beauty of controlling everything.
So naturally, he also believed he would continue on like this in the future.
But was that really true?
Could he really maintain this mindset forever?
Yoruha was no longer confident.
Kakashi looked at Yoruha, sighed softly, and like him, gazed toward the distant mountains and forest.
"Though I don't know what you'll become in the future, I do know this—you definitely won't become someone consumed by greed and ambition."
"I trust my judgment."
Yoruha turned his head to glance at Kakashi and smiled. "How can you be so sure?"
"Because I believe in you," Kakashi said seriously.
Yoruha said nothing more.
No one knew what he was thinking at that moment.
Kakashi continued, "That night, the Third Hokage told me about the era of the First Hokage. Do you want to hear it?"
"Mm."
Yoruha nodded.
Even though he still remembered some things, twelve years had passed, and he had long forgotten the details.
"In the era of the First Hokage, the First Hokage's power was immense—so immense that people revered him as the God of Shinobi…"
Slowly, Kakashi told Yoruha the story of the First Hokage's age.
Yoruha listened very carefully.
After a long while, Kakashi finished and turned to Yoruha. "Yoruha, I believe that in the future, you'll be like the First Hokage. Before, I worried that the power inside you might endanger the village."
"But I'd rather believe that you'll make good use of the power within you. You'll become a hero who protects the village, not a devil who destroys it."
"So I'll teach you everything I know in my lifetime. I'm staking everything on you."
Yoruha smiled. "If I turn into the latter, Kakashi-sensei, then your bet will really blow up in your face."
"There'd be nothing I could do about that. I know that one day, you'll become unimaginably strong. When that day comes, even if I'm no longer a match for you, I'll still stop you with my own hands, even at the cost of my life."
"But I'm even more certain that in the future, you'll be someone your teacher can be proud of—not someone who turns your teacher into a sinner for all ages."
After saying that, Kakashi patted Yoruha on the shoulder.
Watching Kakashi return to his room, Yoruha smiled.
"Whatever. I'll worry about the future when it gets here. At least I know I won't change right now."
Yoruha didn't know what he would become in the future. Maybe as the power he controlled grew stronger and stronger, his desires would also grow, and his easygoing nature would change along with them.
But living well in the present was what mattered most.
There was no meaning in constantly fantasizing about things that hadn't happened. It only added unnecessary worry.
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