Yoruha gazed at the moon above and smiled. "What if I can't learn it?"
Kakashi waved his hand dismissively. "It's no big deal if you can't. Sealing techniques are inherently difficult. Back then, I wasn't the only one who studied sealing techniques under the Fourth Hokage, and none of us succeeded."
"It wouldn't be surprising if you couldn't learn it, but if you do, we won't have to worry about Naruto's situation anymore."
"If I had mastered the Fourth Hokage's sealing techniques back then, he wouldn't have had to resort to using such dangerous ones himself."
Yoruha turned to look at Kakashi.
After a moment of hesitation, he decided against asking further.
Kakashi noticed his hesitation and chuckled. "What's with the hesitation? If there's something on your mind, just ask."
Yoruha glanced at Naruto lying in the room and asked, "Kakashi-sensei, why did the Fourth Hokage seal the tailed beast inside Naruto back then?"
"Also, Naruto is from the Uzumaki Clan, isn't he? There aren't many Uzumaki left in the village."
Kakashi didn't hide anything from Yoruha.
He spoke slowly, "I think you've probably already guessed the truth."
Yoruha frowned. "It can't really be what I think it is, can it?"
Kakashi nodded. "That's right. Naruto is the Fourth Hokage's child."
"Back then, it was during the Fourth Hokage's wife's labor that the Nine-Tails broke free of its seal."
"At the time, the Fourth Hokage had assigned me to protect his wife, but I failed to do so."
It wasn't that he was shocked to learn Naruto was the Fourth Hokage's son—he had known that for a long time.
What surprised him was that Kakashi would tell him such a thing.
This was a closely guarded secret of Konoha.
In the entire village, only the higher-ups and Kakashi knew the truth.
It showed just how much Kakashi trusted him.
Even Yoruha himself hadn't expected this level of trust.
Seeing the stunned expression on Yoruha's face, Kakashi assumed he was surprised by the revelation about Naruto's parentage.
He added, "It's not that strange. After all, Naruto carries the Uzumaki Clan's bloodline. Plus, the Fourth Hokage hoped he could harness the power of the Nine-Tails."
Yoruha looked back at Naruto in the room. "Didn't the Fourth Hokage realize what kind of life Naruto would have, sealing the Nine-Tails inside him?"
Kakashi sighed. "At the time, there was no other choice. The Fourth Hokage's wife was already extremely weak, and after the Nine-Tails was extracted, she didn't have much time left. The Fourth Hokage also used the Reaper Death Seal, a jutsu that guarantees death for its user."
"So Naruto was the only option. Plus, with his Uzumaki bloodline, he was the best candidate for a jinchūriki."
"Maybe the Fourth Hokage hoped Naruto could master the Nine-Tails' power and become the pillar of the village."
The Fourth Hokage did indeed have such intentions.
The proof lay in the fact that he used the Eight Trigrams Seal instead of the Four Symbols Seal.
The Four Symbols Seal is solely meant for containment, designed to completely suppress the Nine-Tails.
On the other hand, the Eight Trigrams Seal, while essentially a combination of two Four Symbols Seals, allows part of the Nine-Tails' chakra to be converted into Naruto's own.
It essentially provided Naruto with an additional chakra source.
As a result, the chakra within Naruto's body wasn't just his own—it also included the chakra converted from the Nine-Tails.
Without this, it would've been impossible for someone as young as Naruto to possess chakra levels exceeding even Kakashi's.
Even at his age, Naruto...
The ninja of the Uzumaki Clan never had such terrifying chakra reserves to begin with.
Not to mention, Naruto only has half of the Uzumaki Clan's bloodline.
"The Fourth Hokage had very high expectations for Naruto," Yoruha remarked.
Kakashi nodded. "He hopes Naruto can one day fulfill those expectations and master the power of the Nine-Tails."
"When his mother was the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, she never lost control."
Yoruha chuckled. "Isn't that normal? His mother was a pure-blooded Uzumaki, and her sealing techniques were incredible. It's no surprise she never lost control."
"If Naruto were to learn sealing techniques, he'd probably be able to stabilize the Nine-Tails as well."
Kakashi shook his head. "I'm not so optimistic about that."
"Sealing techniques require more than just the power of bloodlines. Most importantly, they demand a deep understanding of their principles, which is incredibly difficult to achieve."
"Naruto has the bloodline, but I doubt he has the mental capacity for it."
Yoruha was speechless. "Kakashi-sensei, how can you be so sure if you haven't even tried?"
Kakashi didn't respond further.
He knew well that mastering sealing techniques wasn't easy.
In fact, skilled practitioners of sealing techniques were extremely rare in the ninja world.
This scarcity was why every major village had a dedicated sealing squad.
The existence of such squads ensured that the few who mastered sealing techniques could be centralized for greater effectiveness.
Merely knowing a few techniques like the Evil Sealing Method didn't count as mastering sealing arts.
Though sealing techniques might seem to have no use beyond sealing itself, their learning difficulty far surpassed that of combat-oriented ninjutsu.
Kakashi knew Naruto too well, which was why he was certain Naruto wasn't suited for it.
He had initially planned to teach Naruto some sealing techniques but abandoned the idea after testing his aptitude.
Naruto's talent for sealing techniques was even worse than Kakashi's.
The primary issue was the vast and complex theoretical foundation required for sealing techniques. Even Kakashi had struggled to grasp it, let alone Naruto, who often scored zero in the Ninja Academy.
Kakashi didn't want to dwell on the subject and said, "But I have high hopes for you. I believe you'll be able to master those sealing techniques."
"If you do, I won't have to be so anxious every time I take Naruto on a mission."
Yoruha's mouth twitched. "Kakashi-sensei, are you planning to have me tag along every time you leave the village?"
"I'm not even part of your team."
Occasionally accompanying them felt like a vacation to Yoruha, but being dragged along on every mission was something he wasn't willing to do.
Kakashi patted Yoruha's shoulder. "You know your squad technically shouldn't exist in the first place, right?"
"It's only because of you that your squad still stands."
"You should be aware that you and your teammates were never meant to be on the same level. From the day your squad passed the evaluation thanks to you, you were already different from them."
"And now, to the village's upper echelons, you're no longer seen as an ordinary ninja."
"The more you stay with your teammates, the more you put them at risk."
"Because whether it's to make you stronger or due to some unforeseen circumstance where you..."
Kakashi's voice trailed off, his expression growing heavier.
"They will all be implicated because of you."
"This is also why your teacher agreed to hand you over to me."
"If you don't maintain some distance from your two teammates, they will eventually suffer because of your involvement."
He didn't completely agree with Kakashi's words.
But when he thought about the commotion he had caused that day, he had to admit Kakashi was probably right.
If the Third Hokage hadn't discovered his existence, things might have been fine.
But now that the Third Hokage was aware of him, whether Yoruha liked it or not, his position in the Third's eyes was no longer the same.
He was no longer just an ordinary ninja.
Whatever happened to Yoruha in the future, Tanako and Yamada Jumoku would undoubtedly be dragged into it.
They might even die because of him.
Even though it was a time of peace, the struggles among ninjas remained ruthless and bloody.
Kakashi wasn't wrong. In Yoruha's memories, during this year's round of team evaluations, only Kakashi's team, Kurenai's team, and Asuma's team were originally supposed to pass.
That was all predetermined by the Third Hokage.
Who would have thought that Yoruha's team would pass as well?
It was Yoruha's presence that had changed the course of events.
From Yoruha's perspective, both Yamada Jumoku and Tanako's talent was rather average.
If their teammate hadn't been him, and considering Kihon Toichi's personality, they likely wouldn't have passed the evaluation.
Now that they were involved in Yoruha's affairs, it wasn't a good thing for them.
Especially with Danzo, the schemer. If Danzo wanted to target Yoruha, he would undoubtedly start by attacking those close to him.
The closer Yoruha's relationship with Tanako and Yamada Jumoku, the more interactions they had, the more certain it was that Danzo would come for them.
This was something Yoruha absolutely did not want to see.
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