Kakashi looked up at Sasuke, seemingly guessing what was on his mind. "Sasuke, power only sits easy with you when you've earned it with your own hands."
"Anything someone else gives you is bound to be steeped in poison, especially when it comes from someone as dangerous as Orochimaru."
"Enough, Kakashi!"
Sasuke cut off Kakashi's long-winded lecture and asked, "Kakashi, you worked with Itachi in the Anbu. How do I compare now to the Itachi you knew?"
Sasuke wanted to gauge the gap between himself and Itachi.
Kakashi shook his head. "Sasuke, I don't mean to discourage you, but your talent falls short of Itachi's."
"Itachi matured early by nature. He was a genius who could grasp everything at a glance."
"Ninjutsu that others had to practice over and over, feeling their way through trial and error-he only needed to see it once to grasp the essentials."
"Illusion techniques, shuriken, Fire Style-he understood them all with the slightest guidance."
Kakashi gave an example. "Take Chidori. If Itachi's chakra natures included Lightning Release, he would only need to see my Raikiri once with his Sharingan to copy it perfectly."
"That's his talent."
Sasuke's pupils contracted.
Kakashi compared Sasuke to Itachi. "As you are now, you probably don't even measure up to Itachi when he had just graduated from the Ninja Academy."
"I'm not saying your strength falls short of his. I mean your battle sense. Itachi's talent for combat is like that of my teacher, the Fourth Hokage."
"Ninja like them can turn a tiny effort into an enormous advantage the moment they enter battle, achieving huge results at minimal cost."
"You can't outthink him."
The more Kakashi spoke, the more Sasuke refused to accept it.
His hand clawed hard at the ground, veins bulging.
*What have I been doing all