Kakashi Hatake smiled slightly and nodded.
"Good. You also have a clear understanding of yourself."
Then his expression turned serious.
"I used to work with your teacher. You know that, right?"
Orion didn't reply.
He had already guessed as much.
Kakashi didn't press him further.
Instead, he directly explained the agreement between himself and Kimoto Dōichi.
Then he asked:
"So—what do you think?"
Even though the two of them could decide Orion's path—
Kakashi still wanted to hear his opinion.
Orion thought for a moment.
"I don't think I really have the option to refuse."
Kakashi shook his head.
"No. I want your answer. Your thoughts matter."
Orion replied calmly:
"I don't have any strong feelings about it. Having another teacher isn't a bad thing."
Kakashi frowned slightly.
"Shouldn't you be happy?"
"You know your teacher's background. You should understand how rare it is to be taught by an ANBU jōnin."
Orion nodded.
"I do."
"But that doesn't make me particularly excited."
That answer confused Kakashi.
"I can teach you many things," Kakashi said.
Orion nodded again.
"I believe that."
"You're Kakashi-sensei. Your reputation in the village speaks for itself."
That wasn't from past-life knowledge—
Even within the village, Kakashi was well known.
Any normal ninja had heard of him.
Which made this even stranger.
If Orion knew how strong he was—
Why was he so… indifferent?
After a pause, Orion spoke:
"Kakashi-sensei, for me…"
"Living a stable life as a ninja is the most important thing."
"I don't have an obsession with becoming strong."
That was both true—
And not entirely true.
He did want stability.
But—
With his system, he knew:
Even without guidance—
He would become strong eventually.
Kakashi was speechless.
This was the first time he had seen such a talented person—
With so little ambition.
"Do you not have a dream?" Kakashi asked.
Orion smiled faintly.
"My dream is to live through my ninja career safely."
"You should know how short a ninja's lifespan can be."
That answer hit harder than expected.
Because—
It was true.
But Kakashi didn't accept it.
Not for Orion.
"You're different," he said.
"You shouldn't think like that."
"Is there nothing you want to protect?" he asked again.
Orion paused.
Then answered seriously:
"There is."
"If I have the strength…"
"I want to protect what's important to me."
Finally—
Kakashi smiled.
"Then why say something so… unambitious earlier?"
Orion shook his head.
"I don't think it's unambitious."
"I said I want a stable life—not that I don't want to grow stronger."
"To live peacefully—one must become strong."
"But there's no need to chase endless power."
"As long as I can protect what matters…"
"That's enough."
"Whether I succeed or not doesn't matter."
"What matters is that I try."
Kakashi laughed helplessly.
"You're way too mature for your age."
Then he waved it off.
"Fine. I won't bother introducing myself."
"You already know enough about me."
"After all—you're not like Naruto and the others."
Indeed—
Naruto Uzumaki barely knew anything.
Even Sasuke Uchiha didn't fully understand Kakashi's past.
Kakashi stepped closer.
Under the moonlight—
His tall figure cast a long shadow.
At 1.8 meters—
He still stood a head taller than Orion.
But for a 12-year-old—
Orion was already unusually tall.
Kakashi placed a hand on his shoulder.
His tone turned firm.
"From today onward…"
"I'm your teacher too."
"And I expect you—"
"To reach jōnin level within a year."
"…or even half a year."
Orion froze.
"…What?"
"Half a year? Jōnin level?"
His mouth twitched.
"Kakashi-sensei… are you overestimating me?"
"Who can reach jōnin level in half a year?"
"And you of all people—"
"You don't take normal missions."
"The kind of missions you handle…"
"Aren't even accessible to ordinary ninja."
Orion was being completely rational.
The gap between ranks wasn't simple.
Even though it was just:
Chūnin → Jōnin
The actual difference?
Was like heaven and earth.
A single jōnin—
Could easily crush multiple chūnin.
Without cheats—
A chūnin facing a jōnin was basically doomed.
And more importantly—
Jōnin level wasn't just about ninjutsu.
It required:
Combat experienceJudgmentSurvival instincts
And Orion?
Had almost zero real combat experience.
That was the biggest issue.
He knew very clearly—
Power alone wasn't enough.
Even beings like:
Kaguya Otsutsuki
—who possessed overwhelming power—
Still lost due to lack of battle experience.
That was the lesson.
And Orion didn't want to repeat that mistake.
But—
What he didn't realize was:
His self-evaluation…
Was actually too harsh.
Because—
From Kakashi's perspective—
Orion had already shown:
Reflexes beyond chūninCalm decision-making under pressureAdvanced application of basic techniques
In fact—
With just a few basic jutsu—
He had already reached a level beyond ordinary chūnin.
And that—
Was the true reason Kakashi made that demand.
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