Kakashi looked at Yoruha's puzzled expression and felt a bit speechless.
But when he remembered that Yoruha's chakra was Sage Chakra, he understood.
Sage Chakra was indeed of a higher quality than regular chakra, so it made sense that the same jutsu would consume less of it.
"The Water Dragon Jutsu—did you just learn it on the spot?"
Yoruha nodded. "I saw him forming hand seals and could sense the flow of his chakra. Considering the jutsu wasn't particularly difficult, I gave it a try—and I didn't expect it to actually work."
Hearing Yoruha's explanation, Kakashi was momentarily at a loss for words.
"This jutsu isn't exactly easy. A B-rank jutsu is something only jonin can typically master."
Although Kakashi said this, Yoruha didn't pay much attention to it.
He didn't think replicating the Water Dragon Jutsu on the spot was particularly challenging.
Or rather, the Water Dragon Jutsu simply didn't pose much difficulty for him.
He could clearly sense the flow of chakra within Zabuza's body.
In a sense, Yoruha wasn't too different from someone with a Sharingan or Byakugan.
From a distance, Zabuza's gaze toward Yoruha was unusually serious.
"This kid is really troublesome. If he teams up with Kakashi, completing this mission will be tough."
If Zabuza wanted to kill Tazuna, he first had to deal with Yoruha.
Even if he could defeat Yoruha, Kakashi wouldn't just stand by and do nothing.
Realizing this, Zabuza decisively gave up on the assassination attempt.
"Kid, next time we meet, I will kill you."
Before leaving, Zabuza threw out a harsh threat at Yoruha.
With that, he disappeared across the surface of the lake.
Yoruha stared at the lake's rippling surface and murmured, "The next time we meet, perhaps it won't be you killing me."
Yoruha disliked being threatened the most.
And from this battle, he had already gauged Zabuza's general strength.
Zabuza indeed had the power of an elite jonin.
If Yoruha fought him one-on-one, he might be the one to lose his life.
But with Kakashi there, in a two-on-one scenario, 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, the rest were people Konoha absolutely could not afford to lose.
Naruto's status went without saying—he was the son of the Fourth Hokage and the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails.
Sasuke was the last surviving member of the Uchiha clan. The Third Hokage had high hopes for him, wanting him to grow, fully develop the Sharingan, and eventually be able to help control the Nine-Tails within Naruto.
And Yoruha was the one Kakashi valued the most, treating him as his personal disciple.
However, if Zabuza hadn't retreated, he probably wouldn't have succeeded in killing Tazuna anyway.
Even if Yoruha's strength wasn't yet on par with Zabuza's, with him and Kakashi teaming up, Zabuza wouldn't have stood a chance.
At that moment, Sasuke and Naruto approached.
The way they looked at Yoruha was completely different from before.
In this battle, Yoruha had demonstrated strength far beyond theirs.
They weren't even on the same level.
"Kakashi-sensei, have you secretly taught Yoruha a lot of jutsu? He's way stronger than us now."
Naruto felt that Yoruha's strength must have come from Kakashi secretly tutoring him.
Sasuke, however, didn't think the same.
He could tell that Yoruha's fighting style was entirely different from Kakashi's.
Moreover, the Water Dragon Jutsu Yoruha had just used—he doubted even Kakashi could execute it.
As someone from the Uchiha clan, Sasuke was well aware that the jutsu Yoruha had unleashed far surpassed the standard power of the Water Dragon Jutsu.
Yoruha, like him and Naruto, clearly had something unique about him.
Kakashi, seeing Naruto's dissatisfied expression, explained, "I didn't teach him that jutsu."
Naruto didn't believe it. "That's impossible! That jutsu just now had such a complicated set of hand seals. Are you saying Yoruha developed it himself?"
Kakashi patted Naruto's shoulder and looked at him seriously. "What if he copied it from Zabuza?"
"Kakashi-sensei, do you think I'm an idiot?"
"How could that be possible? If watching once was enough to learn a jutsu, I'd know tons by now!"
Naruto truly hadn't learned much at the Ninja Academy.
If not for the Third Hokage looking out for him, given his performance at the academy, he would've been expelled long ago.
His grades were often zeroes across the board, and even by graduation, he hadn't mastered the Clone Jutsu.
That was the most basic of ninja techniques—something every academy student was expected to learn.
Students admitted to the academy were usually very talented.
After all, Konoha had only one ninja academy, and each year it admitted only a few dozen students.
From the Fourth Great Ninja War, it was clear Konoha had over ten thousand ninjas.
Obviously, not all of them could have come from the academy.
Most ninjas in the ninja world didn't graduate from a formal academy but were selected through other means.
It was similar to the Chunin Exams. Not all chunin needed to take the exams to be promoted. In most cases, promotion to chunin was based on the village's judgment of their abilities.
Those participating in the Chunin Exams were usually the elites of their respective villages.
The Chunin Exams weren't just an ordinary test—it was a stage for villages to showcase their most outstanding young talent.
Likewise, the ninja academy wasn't for just anyone. Ordinary people couldn't even qualify to enroll.
But Naruto not only got into the academy with poor performance, but he also stayed there—showing just how much the Third Hokage had supported him.
Of course, Naruto wasn't aware of any of this.
At the academy, he really hadn't learned much.
Forget jutsu; he didn't even grasp the most basic theoretical knowledge.
On the other hand, Sakura was the true genius at the academy.
In terms of theoretical knowledge, even Sasuke couldn't compare to her.
During the Chunin Exams, many of the questions were beyond both Sasuke and Naruto—they had no idea how to answer them.
But Sakura managed to answer them all.
That exam was designed to test a ninja's ability to gather intelligence.
Relying on her solid foundation in theory, Sakura had passed with ease.
So for Naruto, the idea that someone could master a jutsu just by watching it once was utterly ridiculous.
It sounded like pure fantasy.
But Sasuke knew better. He had even witnessed it before.
That person was his brother—the man he had always wanted to kill: Uchiha Itachi.
Back then, Itachi had been able to replicate a jutsu after seeing their father perform it only once.
Meanwhile, Sasuke would need to train for a long time just to pull it off.
Looking at Yoruha now, Sasuke was reminded of Itachi.
"Does Yoruha have the same level of talent as that man?"
"No… perhaps Yoruha's talent is even greater."
"After all, Yoruha learned a B-rank jutsu in the midst of battle and unleashed it with more power than the original user."
"If I can defeat Yoruha, then I can definitely defeat that man."
Sasuke clenched his fist.
He had initially felt a tinge of jealousy toward Yoruha.
But now, he saw Yoruha as the goal he must surpass.
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