Kakashi smiled slightly and nodded. "Not bad, you have a clear sense of self-awareness."
As he spoke, Kakashi's expression turned serious as he looked at Yoruha.
"I used to work alongside your teacher. Did you know that?"
Yoruha stayed silent, though he had already guessed as much.
Kakashi didn't press further but instead shared the decision he and Mokumoto Tōichi had made regarding Yoruha.
"So, what do you think about it?"
Although the two of them could decide Yoruha's future on their own, Kakashi still wanted to hear Yoruha's thoughts.
After thinking for a moment, Yoruha replied, "I don't think I really have a choice in the matter, do I?"
"No, I want to know what you think. Your opinion is important," Kakashi said.
"I don't have any strong feelings about it. Having another teacher isn't a bad thing," Yoruha said nonchalantly.
Kakashi looked a bit puzzled. "Aren't you happy about this? After all, knowing your teacher's background, you should understand how rare it is to have an Anbu Jōnin as your mentor."
"I do understand. It's just that having another teacher doesn't particularly excite me," Yoruha said calmly.
His words left Kakashi even more perplexed.
Kakashi began to wonder if Yoruha didn't like him.
"I believe my skills could teach you a lot," Kakashi said.
Yoruha nodded. "I'm sure of that. After all, you're Kakashi-sensei. From all the rumors I've heard, it's clear how capable you are."
For once, Yoruha wasn't relying on his memories from his previous life. Kakashi's reputation in Konoha was well-known—except to someone as oblivious as Naruto.
Any normal ninja had heard of Kakashi's legendary status.
Kakashi grew even more confused. If Yoruha knew how formidable he was, why was he acting so indifferent?
"Kakashi-sensei, for me, living a stable life as a ninja is what matters most. I don't have any burning desire to become a great powerhouse," Yoruha said.
This was both a truth and a lie.
The truth was that Yoruha genuinely didn't have much ambition. His primary effort was focused on surviving and living peacefully in this world.
The lie was that he had a system. He knew that even without a mentor, he could still become powerful—it would just take more time and effort.
Kakashi felt speechless. Yoruha's attitude was almost too unambitious.
But then Kakashi thought of himself. Did he even have the right to criticize Yoruha for it?
"Don't you have a dream?" Kakashi couldn't help but ask.
Yoruha chuckled. "My dream is to live through my ninja career safely. You of all people should know how short the average lifespan of a ninja is."
Yoruha's words left Kakashi even more at a loss for words.
What he said was true, but Yoruha was different—or at least Kakashi thought so.
In Kakashi's eyes, Yoruha was a prodigy, someone destined to become a key force in protecting Konoha.
Such a mindset felt utterly lacking in ambition.
"Don't you have anything you want to protect?" Kakashi pressed on, unwilling to give up. He wanted Yoruha to at least have some kind of goal to strive toward.
From his experience, a ninja without aspirations would never achieve greatness.
Yoruha thought for a moment and said, "Of course, I do. If I have enough strength, I naturally want to protect the things I hold dear."
At last, Kakashi smiled.
"Then I'll teach you how to gain that strength."
"Why did you say such defeatist things earlier?"
Yoruha shook his head. "Kakashi-sensei, I don't think what I said was defeatist. I simply said I want to live through my ninja career peacefully. That doesn't mean I'm unwilling to work hard."
"To live a stable life, you need to become strong. But as long as I can protect the things most precious to me, that's enough. There's no need to endlessly pursue greater strength."
"Whether I succeed or not doesn't concern me. Just doing my best is enough."
Kakashi chuckled wryly. "You're so young, yet you speak like an old man."
"Alright, I won't bother introducing myself formally. I imagine you already know a bit about me."
"After all, you're not like Naruto."
Sasuke and Naruto truly didn't know much about Kakashi.
Naruto was understandable, but Sasuke, despite being from the Uchiha clan and Kakashi having worked closely with Itachi, also knew little about him.
Kakashi often wondered if Itachi had deliberately never mentioned him to Sasuke.
And Kakashi was right—Itachi hadn't told Sasuke much about his Anbu life, let alone Kakashi.
Kakashi stepped closer to Yoruha. In the moonlight, his 180cm frame was only a head taller than the 12-year-old Yoruha, who was already around 160cm.
Compared to the other kids, most of whom were under 150cm, Yoruha was quite tall.
Despite Kakashi's usual aloof demeanor, he didn't seem so distant standing in front of Yoruha.
He patted Yoruha on the shoulder, his tone serious. "From today onward, I'm also your teacher. And I expect you to reach the level of a Jōnin within a year—or even half a year."
"When you do, I'll take you on solo missions with me."
Yoruha, usually expressionless, blinked in surprise.
"Take me on missions?"
"Reach Jōnin level in six months?!"
Yoruha's lips twitched. "Sensei, you have a lot of confidence in me, don't you? Who could possibly achieve Jōnin level in six months?"
"Also, you must know what kind of missions you handle. They're far beyond the reach of ordinary ninja, aren't they?"
Although Yoruha felt that his system would help him grow quickly, he wasn't arrogant enough to believe he could reach Jōnin level in just six months.
He understood that the gap between a Chūnin and a Jōnin wasn't merely a single rank.
Especially when it came to someone like Kakashi, who wasn't just any Jōnin.
While Chūnin and Jōnin were only one rank apart, the combat power disparity was like heaven and earth.
Under normal circumstances, a single Jōnin could easily crush a group of Chūnin.
Without external advantages, a Chūnin facing a Jōnin was essentially doomed.
Moreover, having the raw strength of a Jōnin wasn't enough. One also needed extensive combat experience to truly match the rank.
This was something Yoruha valued greatly. While ninjutsu could be practiced, combat experience had to be earned through actual battles.
Yoruha was well aware of how Kaguya Ōtsutsuki was ultimately sealed by Naruto and Sasuke.
The essence of her defeat was her lack of combat experience.
Despite her overwhelming power, she'd been sealed for millennia, rendering her naive and rusty. In the end, she was resealed, tarnishing the reputation of a final boss.
In truth, this flaw was common among the Ōtsutsuki clan.
They relied purely on overwhelming strength to crush their enemies.
Against vastly weaker opponents, this worked splendidly.
But facing an opponent only one rank lower or equally matched, especially one with rich combat experience, they were highly likely to lose.
Yoruha understood that his current combat experience was virtually zero.
Achieving Jōnin-level strength would take much longer.
In truth, Yoruha's standards for himself were exceedingly high.
During Kakashi's earlier surprise attack, Yoruha had already displayed skills far beyond those of an average Chūnin.
The reason he felt a vast gap between himself and Kakashi wasn't due to combat experience—it was the sheer difference in raw strength.
But Yoruha mistakenly attributed this gap to a lack of experience.
Thanks to the "exceptional talent for learning ninjutsu" granted by his system, Yoruha's combat ability was already far above average.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to surpass most Chūnin using just a few newly-learned basic jutsu.
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