Sasuke had indeed been influenced by Orion's words.
At this moment—
Sasuke Uchiha looked at Kakashi Hatake—
His eyes filled with a deep desire for power.
He believed—
Kakashi could truly make him stronger.
Meanwhile—
Sakura Haruno looked at Orion with curiosity.
How did Orion know so much about Kakashi?
Just how well did Kakashi treat him?
"Sensei, did you tell Orion all of this?"
Her tone carried a hint of jealousy.
Kakashi's mouth twitched.
Seeing Orion's faint smile—
He felt helpless.
"Not entirely… most of it he probably found out himself."
Sakura huffed.
"Hmph, you definitely told him!"
"Clearly, Orion is more important to you than we are!"
Naruto quickly jumped in:
"Yeah! Sakura's right!"
"Kakashi-sensei is biased!"
"You only tell Orion things, not us!"
Sasuke didn't speak—
But he also felt uncomfortable.
After all—
Kakashi was their teacher.
Yet—
He seemed to value Orion more.
Kakashi sighed.
He knew Orion had done this on purpose.
"All of you are misunderstanding…"
"We just haven't had enough time to understand each other yet."
"And most of that information—Orion looked it up himself."
But none of them believed him.
Naruto shouted:
"Then teach us too!"
"I want to learn the technique Orion used to instantly defeat those two ninjas!"
Sakura nodded.
"Exactly!"
Sasuke, however, stayed silent.
He knew—
Orion hadn't used any ninjutsu.
Kakashi smiled bitterly.
"Orion didn't use any technique."
"That was pure taijutsu."
"And I didn't teach him that either."
Naruto and Sakura stared in disbelief.
"That's impossible!"
"If Kakashi-sensei didn't teach him, how could he be that strong?!"
Kakashi looked at Orion helplessly.
Orion said nothing.
Finally, Kakashi gave in.
"When we have time…"
"I'll train all of you together."
Naruto and Sakura lit up with excitement.
Even Sasuke—
Was looking forward to it.
After all—
Kakashi's talent was comparable to—
Or even greater than—
Itachi Uchiha.
After a long journey—
They finally entered the Land of Waves.
Land of Waves was a small country on the edge of the Land of Fire.
It had a small population—
And no ninja forces.
It was extremely poor.
But—
Its natural environment was surprisingly good.
Lakes.
Forests.
Coastal access.
Perfect for tourism and fishing industries.
"Mr. Tazuna, your country actually has good conditions."
Orion said.
Tazuna froze.
He thought Orion was being sarcastic.
"Our country is weak… we're just poor."
Orion shook his head.
"I'm serious."
"Small population, rich natural resources…"
"With proper development—tourism and fishing alone could make this place prosperous."
Tazuna frowned.
"Who would travel to a place like this?"
Orion replied calmly:
"There are plenty of people like that."
"As long as other countries know about it—"
"With proper promotion—"
"Wealthy travelers will come."
Tazuna fell into thought.
Even though he wasn't fully convinced—
It sounded possible.
"But first…"
"We need to finish the bridge."
"Otherwise, no one can even get here."
Orion nodded.
"That's true."
Kakashi, watching from the side—
Felt satisfied.
Ninjas rarely thought about economics.
But Orion did.
And his insight—
Was surprisingly sharp.
Meanwhile—
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura—
Had zero interest in such topics.
They only cared about—
strength and ninjutsu.
Naruto, in particular—
Was unusually tense.
Not from fear—
But from shame.
He wanted another enemy to appear—
So he could redeem himself.
Soon—
They passed a lakeside.
Suddenly—
Rustling sounds came from nearby bushes.
Naruto's eyes lit up.
Like he had found treasure—
He immediately threw several kunai.
WHOOSH!
The target seemed to be hit.
Naruto rushed forward excitedly—
Ignoring Kakashi's attempt to stop him.
"HAHA! I got him—"
But when he reached the bushes—
He froze.
A rabbit—
Was pinned to the ground.
Covered in blood.
Sakura rushed over—
And immediately exploded.
"You idiot, Naruto!"
"What did you just do?!"
Naruto scratched his head awkwardly.
"Sorry… I thought it was an enemy…"
Sasuke, Orion, and Kakashi—
Didn't even bother moving.
They stayed near Tazuna.
Kakashi sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"This kid really hasn't changed…"
Sasuke muttered:
"Idiot."
Orion simply smiled.
He wasn't surprised at all.
After all—
If Naruto didn't act like this—
He wouldn't be Naruto.
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