Yoruha looked at Kakashi, momentarily at a loss for words.
Although he thought Kakashi's optimism was naïve—there was no way Jiraiya would train him in Sage Mode—he could sense the sincerity behind Kakashi's words. Kakashi genuinely hoped Yoruha could control the power within him and was truly concerned for his safety.
At this moment, Kakashi was treating Yoruha as if he were his personal disciple.
Kakashi, thinking Yoruha might not have understood, repeated himself.
Yoruha waved his hand. "Kakashi-sensei, I understand what you're saying. I just don't think Lord Jiraiya would be willing to teach me Sage Mode."
"You said Sage Mode is a rare and powerful technique that few people can master. Do you think Lord Jiraiya would take the time to train someone like me, who has no personal connection to him?"
Seeing Yoruha's doubtful expression, Kakashi smiled. "Lord Jiraiya is quite a warm-hearted person. If he sees your immense potential and considers the future of the village, he wouldn't refuse."
Yoruha turned to Kakashi, an amused but skeptical smile on his face. "What if he sees my power as a threat to the village and decides he doesn't want me mastering Sage Mode?"
"I mean, if the Third Hokage learns about my current strength, I doubt he'd remain as calm as before."
He had been so focused on Yoruha's chakra that he hadn't considered the Third Hokage's perspective.
Given what he knew of Jiraiya, it wasn't entirely impossible that Jiraiya might share the same concerns Yoruha had voiced.
He might view Yoruha's rapid growth as a potential threat to the village.
After a long silence, Kakashi said, "But the Chūnin Exams will be happening soon. The Third Hokage is bound to find out about your abilities."
Yoruha shrugged nonchalantly. "Then I'll leave it up to fate."
He couldn't think of a better solution.
Konoha had plenty of ways to detect abnormalities in his chakra.
The Hyūga Clan, the Yamanaka Clan, and sensory-type ninja could all identify the peculiarities in Yoruha's chakra reserves.
There was no way to avoid detection.
So Yoruha had already decided not to bother trying to hide.
He was surprisingly calm about it. Defecting wasn't something he'd consider unless he was pushed into a corner.
After all, he had no desire to roam the ninja world as an outcast.
Seeing Yoruha's indifferent attitude, Kakashi grew even more concerned. "We can't let the Third Hokage find out you've mastered those powerful jutsu you just used."
"Even though I trust the Third Hokage, I don't think he would be completely at ease with you."
"Your chakra reserves are immense, but as long as he doesn't know you've mastered those devastating jutsu, he probably won't act against you."
"Don't worry. As long as you're in Konoha, you've got me and Tenzo on your side. If the Third Hokage tries to do anything against you, we won't stand for it."
Yoruha only smiled at Kakashi's words.
He knew Kakashi's loyalty to the village would always come first.
Yoruha didn't believe Kakashi would betray Konoha for his sake.
Still, Yoruha wasn't overly concerned. If he truly couldn't stay in Konoha, then—even though he didn't want to become a rogue ninja—he'd have no other choice.
While he didn't have lofty ambitions, he certainly didn't want his life to end prematurely.
Just moments ago, Kakashi had been envisioning a bright future for Yoruha. Now, that vision felt much less certaHe had newfound determination.
Right now, Kakashi's only thought was how to protect Yoruha.
He didn't want Yoruha to end up like Yamato, spending the rest of his life in the shadows of the Anbu.
Nor did he want Yoruha to live under constant surveillance, like the Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails.
If one were to talk about the most miserable Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, it wasn't Naruto who had it the worst.
It was his mother, Uzumaki Kushina.
As someone from another village, Kushina had been under Anbu surveillance until she married Minato Namikaze.
For most of that time, her home was surrounded by a barrier, restricting her from freely leaving its confines.
One could only imagine how suffocating her life was.
Naruto, at the very least, had complete freedom in Konoha—too much freedom, in fact. He could even graffiti the Hokage Rock without consequence.
For any ordinary person, such an act would have resulted in immediate punishment, if not imprisonment.
But due to the Third Hokage's deliberate leniency, Naruto was allowed to be as free-spirited as he wished.
When it came to loneliness, all Jinchūriki experienced it.
But in terms of freedom, few had it as much as Naruto.
What was even more astonishing was that despite the Nine-Tails' rampage killing so many villagers' loved ones, no one in Konoha ever attempted to assassinate Naruto.
By comparison, Killer Bee had frequently been targeted by assassins from his own village, all because the previous Eight-Tails Jinchūriki had caused casualties during a rampage.
The fact that Konoha villagers only ostracized Naruto and never attacked him showed an incredible level of restraint.
Being under Anbu surveillance, however, was far from a pleasant experience.
Having spent a long time in the Anbu himself, Kakashi knew this all too well. After all, he had been assigned by the Fourth Hokage to protect Uzumaki Kushina.
While the mission was officially to protect her, it also served as a form of surveillance.
Of course, Minato had no ill intentions toward Kushina—he was only concerned about the possibility of her losing control due to her pregnancy.
But regardless of the reason, being under Anbu surveillance was deeply uncomfortable.
Kakashi didn't want Yoruha to live that kind of life.
That said, he couldn't think of a concrete way to help Yoruha.
The best he could do was to conceal the truth from the Third Hokage and ensure that he didn't learn about Yoruha's mastery of three immensely powerful S-rank jutsu.
Yoruha, however, wasn't overly concerned.
After all, he was still a Konoha ninja.
As long as he didn't openly show hostility toward the village, the Third Hokage wouldn't act against him.
If Konoha were the kind of village that eliminated every prodigy out of fear, it would've collapsed long ago.
Looking at Kakashi, Yoruha smiled. "There's no need to worry so much. I don't think the Third Hokage would go that far."
Kakashi's expression grew complicated. He didn't share Yoruha's confidence in the Third Hokage.
Having spent so much time in the Anbu, Kakashi was well aware of the Third Hokage's darker side.
But Yoruha wasn't wrong. At the end of the day, Yoruha was a Konoha ninja.
Aside from the Uchiha Clan, the Third Hokage had never treated other Konoha ninjas excessively harshly.
Certainly not as extreme as Danzō.
Even Danzō, for all his extremism toward the Uchiha Clan, didn't meddle with other Konoha ninjas unless they interfered with his ambition to become Hokage.
In fact, he refused to recruit individuals into Root who didn't align with his ideology, no matter how talented they were.
Take Might Guy, for example.
Guy had even requested to join Root, but Danzō rejected him outright.
The Third Hokage and Danzō's hostility toward the Uchiha stemmed from their inheritance of the Second Hokage's beliefs.
They viewed the Uchiha Clan as inherently extreme, as ticking time bombs of instability.
The Nine-Tails incident only exacerbated this perception.
After all, when the Nine-Tails attacked, its Sharingan eyes with three tomoe were clearly visible to nearly every villager that night.
Not suspecting the Uchiha would've been impossible.
But Yoruha was different.
He was a civilian-born ninja with no clan influence.
At worst, he would grow to become a figure akin to the Fourth Hokage.
This was why Yoruha wasn't overly worried.
The Third Hokage, while occasionally shrewd, wasn't irrational to the point of eliminating talented ninjas just because of their gifts.
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