The footage on the Sky Screen continued to play slowly.
All the preliminary matches had ended.
A group of outstanding Genin had made it through, earning their places in the finals.
Because Sunagakure's Fourth Kazekage Rasa and several nobles would attend in person, the finals had been deliberately postponed until a month later.
As everyone left the arena, their tightly wound nerves finally relaxed.
Looking carefree, Naruto casually tugged Sakura along and turned to shout at Sasuke, who stood nearby.
"Sasuke! The finals got pushed back! Let's go celebrate with some barbecue!"
"We finally get a chance to relax. Stop being so tense all the time!"
Sakura nodded too, gently encouraging Sasuke to join them and unwind.
But Sasuke merely shook his head coldly, his voice utterly flat.
"You two go. I'm going to train."
Sasuke's expression was especially grim, and his heart felt heavy.
The fight between Rock Lee and Gaara had shaken him deeply.
Someone with no talent for ninjutsu, who could only train himself relentlessly, had unleashed such terrifying combat power.
And he carried the Uchiha bloodline, possessed the Sharingan, and bore his clan's honor.
Yet after losing an arm, he lagged far behind those people.
The enormous gap, the intense sense of danger, and his overwhelming hunger for power pressed down on him until he could barely breathe.
He had no desire whatsoever to relax or have fun.
Sasuke walked alone toward the training grounds, his face dark and his steps silent.
Just then, a familiar voice came from a shadowy corner beside the road, softly calling him to a stop.
"Sasuke."
Sasuke stopped and turned to look.
Standing in the shadows was Kakashi Hatake.
Kakashi slowly stepped out, regarded him calmly, and spoke in an even tone.
"For the next month, let me teach you how to get stronger."
The instant he heard those words-
Sasuke's eyes, clouded with gloom just moments before, suddenly lit up!
It was the light of a longing for strength that he had suppressed for so long.
He forced down his excitement, maintained his aloof demeanor, and gave a slight nod.
Looking at him, Kakashi slowly continued.
"Ordinary ninjutsu won't be much use to you, so I won't teach you those."
"There are three things I'm good at."
"Using the Sharingan, Lightning Release Ninjutsu, and swordsmanship."
"Which of those three do you want to learn?"
Sasuke immediately fell silent.
He lowered his eyes, a jumble of emotions churning inside him.
Using the Sharingan?
That was the exclusive kekkei genkai the Uchiha Clan was born with!
It was a power etched into the Uchiha bloodline!
But now, the Uchiha had been wiped out, their clansmen all dead.
As the sole remaining Uchiha, he actually had to ask an outsider how to use the Sharingan.
How ironic.
How pitiful.
An almost inaudible sigh escaped Sasuke's throat.
Kakashi heard it but said nothing, simply waiting in silence.
He understood Sasuke's pride, the Uchiha's proud spirit, and, more than anything, the humiliation of depending on someone else and seeking instruction from an outsider.
A long while passed.
Sasuke raised his head, all awkwardness gone from his eyes, leaving only an unwavering obsession with power.
He looked at Kakashi earnestly and asked, enunciating every word.
"All of them... can I learn them all?"
Kakashi paused briefly, then gave a faint smile and nodded gently.
"Yes."
"Whatever you want to learn, I'll teach you."
Sasuke Uchiha gave a slight nod, a barely perceptible trace of anticipation hidden on his aloof face, and silently followed Kakashi toward the training grounds.
The footage raced onward.
Outside the Sky Screen, the entire shinobi world erupted into an uproar. Everyone stared in astonishment, and wave after wave of discussion rose without stopping.
"My god! Kakashi treats Sasuke so well!"
"He'll teach him whatever he wants-the Sharingan, Lightning Release, swordsmanship, holding nothing back. He's practically treating him like his own son!"
"I'm so jealous I could cry! Those are some incredible resources! Even I could soar with that kind of help!"
"Who wouldn't want an elite teacher who can do everything? If my teacher put in even half the effort Kakashi does, I'd have stopped being a Genin ages ago!"
Countless voices expressed envy, but soon, plenty of doubts began to surface as well.
"But seriously, isn't Kakashi being way too unfair?"
"Team 7 has three members, doesn't it? He leaves Naruto and Sakura to fend for themselves while pouring everything into Sasuke?"
"They're all his students. That's way too big a difference!"
"Exactly! I haven't seen Kakashi pay any attention to Naruto or Sakura."
Everyone understood one thing perfectly well.
In the shinobi world, a good teacher was a life-changing stroke of fortune.
A teacher could directly raise a ninja's potential ceiling, lift their life several rungs higher, and spare them years-even decades-of wasted effort.
Personalized, hands-on training from a Jonin of Kakashi's caliber was an absurdly extravagant privilege.
Many people were heatedly discussing Kakashi's favoritism, but the real Kakashi Hatake remained calm, without the slightest surprise.
Watching his future self on the Sky Screen, he understood perfectly and saw nothing wrong with it.
Because he knew that Sasuke was the one best suited to his teaching.
This was a student who could inherit everything he had to pass on!
Beside him, Might Guy could no longer hold back. He raised his hand and slapped Kakashi hard on the shoulder, looking utterly righteous.
"Kakashi! What you're doing is wrong!"
"As a Jonin instructor, you must treat your students equally! You absolutely cannot play favorites!"
Kakashi slowly lifted his eyes and glanced at the fired-up Guy, his voice calm but devastating.
"Guy."
"Tenten and Neji are your students too, aren't they?"
"But on the Sky Screen, it looks like Rock Lee is the only one you've put any real effort into training, from beginning to end."
That single remark struck straight at his weak point.
Might Guy, who had been so righteous and full of lofty principles just a moment earlier, instantly froze on the spot.
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