Arata looked at Kakashi, unsure how to respond.
Kakashi's proposal — asking Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, to teach him Sage Mode — sounded naïve, almost unrealistic.
But Arata could feel it. The sincerity in Kakashi's voice wasn't hollow optimism.
He truly cared.
He wasn't saying those words as a superior officer…
but as a teacher — maybe even as family.
For a long moment, Arata stayed silent.
Thinking he hadn't understood, Kakashi spoke again, repeating his reasoning — but Arata lifted a hand to stop him.
"I understand what you mean, Kakashi-sensei," Arata said quietly.
"But I don't think Jiraiya-sama would ever agree to teach me Sage Mode."
He smiled faintly, though there was no joy in it.
"You said it yourself — Sage Arts are rare and powerful. Not everyone gets to learn them. Why would he take in a complete stranger?"
Kakashi chuckled, trying to reassure him.
"Jiraiya-sama has a good heart. If he sees your potential — if he believes you could help the village's future — he won't turn you away."
Arata's smile thinned, becoming something more cynical.
"And what if he doesn't see me that way?"
"What if he decides my power's too dangerous — that I'm a threat to the village?"
His tone was calm, but the words were sharp.
"You think the Third Hokage would still look at me the same way if he knew what I'm capable of now?"
Kakashi froze.
He hadn't thought of that — not really.
He had been so focused on Arata's chakra that he'd forgotten the politics of power in Konoha.
And knowing Jiraiya, knowing the Third... Arata's worry wasn't unfounded.
If they believed his strength could one day endanger the village, they might not encourage him — they might contain him.
Kakashi sighed.
"The Chūnin Exams are coming soon. Once you participate, the Third will find out eventually."
Arata shrugged.
"Then let fate decide."
He wasn't panicking. He knew hiding would be pointless.
Konoha had too many ways to sense chakra — the Byakugan of the Hyūga, the Yamanaka's mind techniques, skilled sensory ninja.
There was no escaping the truth.
So Arata didn't bother trying.
He wasn't the type to run — not unless he had to.
"If the worst happens," he thought silently, "and I can't stay in Konoha anymore… then I'll leave. But I won't turn my back on the village unless it forces me to."
He wasn't ambitious, but he wasn't suicidal either.
Kakashi, however, looked increasingly troubled.
"We can't let the Third find out about those jutsu," he muttered. "Even if I trust him… I can't guarantee he'll trust you."
His visible eye narrowed.
"As long as he doesn't know you've mastered those three S-rank techniques, he won't see you as a danger."
Kakashi straightened, his tone firm.
"Don't worry. You're not alone in this. In Konoha, you still have me — and Tōichi. If the Third tries anything against you, we won't allow it."
Arata smiled softly.
He could tell Kakashi meant every word, but he wasn't naïve.
He respected Kakashi — but he also understood him.
Kakashi would never betray the village. Not for anyone.
Still, Arata wasn't bitter. He didn't need blind loyalty — just understanding.
If I can't stay here one day… then I'll walk my own path.
He didn't want to be a rogue ninja.
But he refused to die for blind obedience either.
Kakashi's earlier optimism was fading.
The more he thought about it, the more he worried about Arata's future.
He'd seen too much of the village's darker side — the side most shinobi never questioned.
He didn't want Arata to end up like Yamato, forced to live out his life in the shadows of ANBU, monitored and controlled.
Or like the jinchūriki — constantly watched, never free.
And among them, none suffered more than Kushina Uzumaki.
Kakashi remembered her well.
Before she married the Fourth Hokage, she'd lived under constant surveillance by the ANBU — "for her safety."
Even her home was surrounded by sealing barriers, restricting her movements.
Freedom was a dream she was never allowed.
Compared to that, Naruto was lucky — painfully lucky.
For all his loneliness, at least he had freedom.
He could run around the village, prank people, even graffiti the Hokage Rock — things no other jinchūriki could imagine doing.
If it were any other village, he'd have been executed or imprisoned long ago.
But the Third had let him be. Out of guilt… or hope.
Lonely, yes, Kakashi thought, but still freer than most human weapons have ever been.
He remembered the stories of Killer Bee — the Eight-Tails' host.
Bee had been attacked multiple times by his own villagers, punished for something he never did.
And yet Konoha had stayed relatively calm.
No one tried to kill Naruto. They just avoided him.
"It's strange," Kakashi murmured. "The villagers hate the beast… but not the boy."
He sighed softly.
Still, he knew too well the pain of being watched.
Years in ANBU had taught him that "protection" and "surveillance" were often the same thing.
Back then, the Fourth Hokage had assigned him to guard Kushina — though everyone knew it was as much to monitor her as to keep her safe.
Even so, Kakashi had always pitied her.
No one deserves to live like that, he thought.
And now, the idea that Arata might end up in the same position — living under the village's constant eye — made his stomach twist.
But what could he do?
The only solution he could think of was to hide the truth — to shield Arata from the Hokage's attention as long as possible.
Arata, meanwhile, didn't seem worried at all.
"Don't overthink it, Kakashi-sensei," he said lightly. "I don't believe the Third Hokage would go that far."
Kakashi's expression was complicated.
He didn't share Arata's faith in Hiruzen Sarutobi.
After years in the ANBU, he'd seen another side of the man — colder, more calculating.
But Arata wasn't wrong either.
He wasn't an Uchiha, and Konoha's leadership had never treated non-clan shinobi that harshly.
Hiruzen could be manipulative, but he wasn't insane.
He didn't kill talents just because they were powerful.
The Uchiha tragedy was… a different story.
That night of the Nine-Tails' attack, when the beast's red eyes glowed with Sharingan tomoe — no one could not suspect the clan.
It was inevitable.
But Arata was different.
He had no clan, no bloodline, no political ties.
He was just a gifted shinobi — one who could become another Fourth Hokage someday.
And that, more than anything, was why Arata wasn't afraid.
He didn't crave power.
He just wanted peace.
And if that peace meant staying loyal to Konoha — he would.
Unless… the village turned its back on him first.
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