Kakashi patted Arata on the shoulder, smiling beneath his mask.
"That's settled, then. Learn the sealing arts properly. Once you've mastered them, I won't have to worry about Naruto losing control again."
"You said the seal inside him was weakening, right? You don't want to see him go berserk and destroy Konoha — or worse, break the seal and get himself killed, do you?"
Arata sighed helplessly.
"You really know how to guilt-trip people, sensei."
He gave a small laugh.
"Still, I don't exactly have a reason to refuse. Let's just see if I can even learn it first. You couldn't master it — and you're you. My odds aren't great."
He glanced toward the window, thoughtful.
"Naruto was already terrifying with just two tails. If he grows more…"
He shook his head.
"I can't even imagine how strong he'd become."
If the Nine-Tails had heard that, it would've exploded with rage.
After all, Arata had subdued two-tailed Naruto using a single technique.
And he called Naruto strong? Please.
If Kurama could talk to him right now, it would probably roar,
"You call that strong? You brat flattened me with a thunder-dragon!"
Because the truth was, Arata's Water–Lightning fusion technique wasn't "barely enough" — it was massive overkill.
That three-hundred-meter lightning-infused dragon wasn't some B-rank ninjutsu — it was closer in power to the Wood Dragon Technique used by the First Hokage himself.
The only difference was that Arata's was pure chakra and lightning instead of living wood.
And to make things worse, he was downplaying it.
If Kurama ever learned that Arata thought he couldn't suppress a three-tailed Naruto, it might just die of frustration on the spot.
Kakashi, however, took him seriously.
The power he had sensed from the two-tailed transformation still haunted him.
That foul, suffocating chakra — darker than anything he had ever felt.
Not even Orochimaru's killing intent compared.
He remembered the Chūnin Exam Forest of Death, the moment when Orochimaru's gaze alone had frozen him in place.
That same cold dread now returned whenever he thought of the Nine-Tails' chakra.
Even a creature like Haku — elegant, disciplined — had been completely paralyzed under that aura.
She could have escaped easily, but that killing intent had locked her body in terror.
And that was just one tail at the time.
So yes — Kakashi believed Arata was right to worry.
The Nine-Tails was no ordinary beast.
The last time it had gone on a rampage, Konoha had barely survived.
Even the Fourth Hokage — the Yellow Flash himself — had been forced to trade his life to seal it.
If not for Kushina Uzumaki's incredible sealing strength, the village might not even exist today.
The Uzumaki's sealing arts were terrifying — brutally absolute.
Techniques like Adamantine Sealing Chains could bind even the Nine-Tails like a puppet, rendering it immobile.
Once cast, not even a bijuu could break free.
Kakashi had seen that kind of power once. He would never forget it.
The two talked late into the night, their voices quiet under the glow of the moon.
By the time they stopped, it was past midnight.
When Arata finally returned to his room, he found Sakura tending to Naruto and Sasuke.
Both were still unconscious, their faces pale.
Sakura sat at their bedside, wringing a damp cloth as she gently wiped their faces clean.
The air smelled faintly of antiseptic and candle wax.
Arata stepped closer, his eyes lingering on Sasuke.
The boy's breathing was shallow but steady.
"You know," Arata said softly, "for someone who acts like he hates Naruto, Sasuke sure doesn't hesitate to risk his life for him."
Kakashi, who had followed him in, nodded.
"I saw that too."
He smiled faintly, as though remembering something.
"During their very first test — the bell exercise — Sasuke gave his food to Naruto, even knowing it could get him disqualified."
Arata looked down, a touch of melancholy in his expression.
"If his clan hadn't… gone through what it did, I think he'd have turned out to be an incredible ninja."
Kakashi nodded silently.
He had always known that about Sasuke.
"That's why I keep trying," Kakashi said after a pause.
"To change him. To steer him away from the darkness."
Arata looked at him quietly.
"You really think that's possible?"
"No," Kakashi admitted with a sigh.
"But I have to try anyway."
There was no bitterness in his tone, only quiet resolve.
"I know I probably can't stop him from chasing revenge. But I can at least slow the fall — keep him from losing himself completely."
He leaned back against the wall, his eyes distant.
"If it ever comes to that… maybe someone else can reach him."
Arata said nothing.
He understood.
He had read about the Uchiha clan, about their pride and tragedy.
And he'd seen the darkness in Sasuke's eyes — that mix of genius and grief.
It wasn't just hatred. It was loss, guilt, and loneliness wrapped into one.
"You're trying to save someone who's already halfway gone," Arata murmured.
"That's not easy."
"No," Kakashi said quietly.
"It's not."
But he still smiled — the same weary, unbreakable smile of a man who had already buried too many regrets.
"Still, someone has to try."
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