Sasuke, standing to the side, frowned as he watched Naruto's smug expression.
"If Naruto masters the power of the Nine-Tails, he'll definitely be way stronger than me, won't he?"
Naruto had always been the dead last at the ninja academy. The thought of him surpassing Sasuke in the future was hard for Sasuke to accept.
His pride wouldn't allow it. He couldn't bear the idea of Naruto outdoing him.
Sasuke turned to Yoruha. "The technique you just used—was it something Kakashi taught you?"
Yoruha was momentarily taken aback.
He quickly realized that Sasuke probably couldn't handle the idea of Naruto surpassing him and wanted to know if Kakashi could help him grow stronger as well.
Naruto caught on too, looking at Yoruha with curiosity.
Sakura was no different.
Ever since earlier, they'd been curious about what kind of jutsu Kakashi might have taught Yoruha.
After some thought, Yoruha said, "It's the Body Flicker Technique. Once you learn precise chakra control, you'll figure it out on your own—no need for anyone to teach you."
The three frowned, not quite understanding what Yoruha meant.
"The principle behind the Body Flicker Technique is actually quite simple. It's similar to the tree-climbing exercise—you focus chakra at the soles of your feet to achieve high-speed movement."
Sasuke considered this for a moment.
"The principle isn't hard to grasp, but it's probably difficult to reach the speed you showed just now, isn't it?"
Sasuke wasn't wrong. Yoruha had used the Lightning Body Flicker, which required infusing lightning chakra into the technique.
Currently, Yoruha's Lightning Body Flicker was close to the speed of actual lightning and was even faster than Kakashi's version.
Of course, Yoruha wasn't going to admit that. "With enough practice, you can definitely reach that speed."
Sasuke didn't seem convinced and scrutinized Yoruha.
"Your speed just now was even faster than Kakashi's."
"Not to mention, the lightning produced by your technique is a different color than his."
Sakura, standing nearby, nodded in agreement. "That's true. Yoruha's speed was faster than Kakashi-sensei's, and the lightning around him had two colors."
"Kakashi-sensei's lightning is blue, but Yoruha's was golden."
Naruto laughed. "Are you trying to trick us or something?"
"I have no reason to trick you. The difference in color is just because our chakra is different, that's all."
"You'll understand in time."
Sasuke asked, "How does Kakashi-sensei have a Sharingan? Is he part of the Uchiha Clan too?"
"If Kakashi-sensei is from the Uchiha Clan, then wouldn't that make him related to you, Sasuke?"
Naruto also turned to Yoruha.
Yoruha felt a headache coming on. He had only brought up these topics to steer them away from asking about the techniques Kakashi had supposedly taught him.
But now Sasuke had raised an even more sensitive subject.
The information about the Uzumaki Clan was something anyone could read in the library. Yoruha had come across it before, so there was nothing odd about him knowing it.
But matters related to the Uchiha Clan were village secrets, and Yoruha wasn't eager to discuss them.
Sasuke looked at Yoruha with anticipation.
Deep down, Sasuke hoped Kakashi was from the Uchiha Clan. That way, he wouldn't feel so alone, as if he were the only Uchiha left in Konoha.
Naruto noticed Yoruha's hesitant expression and asked, "Is it something you can't talk about?"
"It's not exactly that, but—about the Uchiha Clan..."
"I don't know much about the Uchiha clan's matters either," Yoruha said casually.
"But I can tell you this—Kakashi-sensei is not from the Uchiha clan."
Sasuke's hopeful expression instantly darkened with disappointment.
Sakura, on the other hand, looked puzzled. "If Kakashi-sensei isn't from the Uchiha clan, then how does he have the Sharingan?"
"Does that mean there are other clans in the Hidden Leaf Village with the Sharingan?"
"That, I'm not sure about," Yoruha replied, deliberately avoiding giving a direct answer.
Before he could say more, Sasuke interjected, "The Uchiha clan is the only one in the Hidden Leaf with the Sharingan. Even among the Uchiha, only a small number of people can awaken it."
"Then why does Kakashi-sensei have one?" Naruto asked curiously.
Sasuke's expression darkened slightly as he mulled it over. The answer was obvious to him—it had to be transplanted.
Still, the thought left him uneasy. After all, the Sharingan belonged to his clan, and now someone outside the Uchiha clan was using it. Worse yet, he had no idea how Kakashi had come to possess it.
Noticing Sasuke's discomfort, Yoruha glanced at him. He could tell Sasuke was misunderstanding Kakashi's situation.
Although Yoruha wasn't particularly interested in discussing Uchiha matters, he also didn't want Sasuke to hold a grudge against Kakashi over a misconception.
After a moment of hesitation, Yoruha decided to explain.
"That Sharingan was transplanted into Kakashi-sensei by one of his teammates during the Third Great Ninja War," Yoruha began.
"Kakashi-sensei's squad was ambushed during a mission, and one of his eyes was severely injured."
"His teammate, an Uchiha shinobi, was crushed by an enemy's Earth Release jutsu, which left half his body completely immobilized."
"Before he passed away, that teammate requested the squad's medic-nin to transplant his intact Sharingan into Kakashi-sensei."
"And that's how Kakashi-sensei came to possess the Sharingan."
Yoruha paused briefly before continuing, "That Uchiha teammate was also Kakashi-sensei's close friend."
"I'm sure Kakashi-sensei has taken you to pay respects at his grave before. That's the teammate who gave him the Sharingan."
Hearing Yoruha's explanation, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura all fell silent.
What truly moved them wasn't the fact that Kakashi had a Sharingan, but the depth of the bond between Kakashi and his teammate—a bond strong enough to inspire such a selfless act.
Sasuke began to feel guilty for his earlier assumptions.
"Kakashi-sensei managed to build such a fearsome reputation in the ninja world using a transplanted Sharingan... Yoruha, you're right. Kakashi-sensei really is an incredible ninja," Naruto remarked, clearly impressed.
Yoruha smiled. "Of course. Kakashi-sensei was a prodigy even when he was young. At our age, he had already become a jonin."
"And he earned that rank in the middle of a war. You can imagine just how strong he is."
Sasuke didn't say anything, but his respect for Kakashi grew.
He couldn't help but wonder what powerful jutsu Kakashi might teach him in the future.
More importantly, since Kakashi had experience using the Sharingan, there was a chance he could help Sasuke unlock its full potential.
Sasuke turned his gaze toward Yoruha. "Yoruha, do you know a lot about the Uchiha clan?"
"You must, considering how much you know about Kakashi-sensei and the Uzumaki clan's secrets. You probably know all about the Uchiha too, don't you?"
Sasuke's question wasn't just idle curiosity. He genuinely lacked a clear understanding of many aspects of his own clan, including how to develop the Sharingan.
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