Kakashi said awkwardly,
"Don't get so worked up. Since I came back safely, do you really think something happened to Orion?"
Kihon Dōichi replied coldly,
"Stop wasting time and tell me how Orion is."
"You took him out of the village without even informing me. Did you forget what you promised me before?"
"You said you'd only take him out on missions after he had the strength of a jōnin."
Dōichi was furious.
Kakashi's unilateral decision had caused him to worry for over a month.
At one point, he had even considered leaving the village to search for them himself.
However, because the Third Hokage had stated that the mission was only C-rank, Dōichi chose to wait a little longer.
Who would have thought that "a little longer" would turn into more than a month?
Kakashi stopped hiding things and explained,
"Taking him out this time really was unavoidable."
"I was worried that leaving him in the village might actually be more dangerous."
"If the higher-ups had any intentions toward him, do you think you alone could've stopped them?"
"So I could only keep him by my side."
"Besides, during this mission, his performance was exceptional."
"His strength grew at an unbelievable pace."
"If you knew how strong he is now, you'd definitely thank me."
Even after hearing that, Dōichi's expression did not improve.
His face remained just as dark as before.
Until he saw Orion personally, he simply could not relax.
Seeing Dōichi's expression, Kakashi felt somewhat helpless and could only continue speaking.
"This mission had an accident."
"It was originally supposed to be a C-rank mission, but the client lied to us."
"It was actually a B-rank mission involving enemy shinobi."
Dōichi immediately frowned deeply.
He was worried.
After all, although Orion was incredibly talented, he lacked real combat experience.
"Was he injured?"
Dōichi asked nervously.
Kakashi laughed.
"Injured? How could I possibly let him get hurt?"
"Besides, with your disciple's current strength, ordinary shinobi really can't injure him anymore."
In Kakashi's eyes, Orion already possessed Kage-level strength.
Kage-level shinobi were extremely rare even among the Five Great Nations, much less outside them.
Kakashi, of course, knew nothing about the Akatsuki organization and had no idea that most of its members were Kage-level fighters.
But even then, there were still only a handful of such people in the entire world.
Hearing Kakashi's words, Dōichi finally relaxed slightly.
"As long as he wasn't hurt… that's good."
"That's good…"
Dōichi did not care how strong Orion had become.
What he cared about most was whether Orion had been injured.
Because in his eyes, Orion's talent was already extraordinary.
Becoming powerful was only natural.
But if he were injured and it affected his future development, that would be terrible.
Kakashi understood Dōichi's feelings completely.
Because he himself felt exactly the same way toward Orion.
After all, he had long since begun treating Orion as his true personal disciple.
And after spending over a month together, Kakashi genuinely viewed Orion like family.
After thinking for a moment, Kakashi continued,
"However…"
The moment Dōichi heard that word, his heart tightened again.
He stared nervously at Kakashi.
He feared hearing something bad about Orion.
Kakashi sighed somewhat guiltily.
"However, he probably won't be able to stay in your squad anymore."
"What?!"
Dōichi instantly stood up emotionally.
"Kakashi, I agreed to let you teach him, but I never said I was giving him to you completely!"
"I'm still his teacher!"
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
Dōichi thought Kakashi was trying to take Orion away permanently.
It wasn't that he wanted Orion to remain under him forever.
He simply did not want Orion to completely follow Kakashi.
After all, he knew perfectly well what kind of missions Kakashi usually carried out.
Taking Orion out of the village without informing him this time was already bad enough.
He absolutely did not want a second occurrence.
Kakashi looked at Dōichi helplessly.
"You're getting worked up again."
"You used to be an ANBU jōnin. How are you this irrational?"
Dōichi replied coldly,
"How am I supposed to stay calm?"
"If I stay calm any longer, my disciple will disappear."
Seeing Dōichi this emotional, Kakashi quickly clarified things.
"What I mean is…"
"Because Orion performed extremely well during this mission, and because the Third Hokage thinks very highly of him…"
"The Third Hokage directly promoted him to chūnin."
"And he hopes Orion can continue training under me."
That last sentence had been added by Kakashi himself.
The Third Hokage had never actually said it directly.
Still, even if the Third Hokage heard it later, he likely wouldn't deny it.
After all, Team 11 had originally existed by accident in the first place.
The Third Hokage had never expected anything significant from that squad.
Who could've anticipated Orion's sudden appearance?
Without Orion, Team 11 probably would not even exist anymore.
The entire team would've failed their evaluations and been sent back to the academy long ago.
Originally, Kakashi expected Dōichi to become angry after hearing this.
Instead, Dōichi's face lit up with joy.
"Really?"
Kakashi blinked in confusion.
"You're… not angry?"
"Why would I be angry?"
"My student became a chūnin. That's a good thing."
Dōichi said happily.
"But from now on, he won't stay in your squad anymore."
"And he'll continue training under me."
Kakashi emphasized.
Dōichi waved his hand dismissively.
"As long as he's safe, that's enough."
"It's good if he trains under you."
"To be honest, I already don't have much left that I can teach him."
"Following you will allow him to grow even stronger."
"And at the very least, this proves the Third Hokage recognizes him."
"That means I no longer need to worry about his safety."
To Dōichi, this was clearly a good thing.
As for whether Orion would continue carrying out missions under him, he truly didn't care.
From the very beginning, Dōichi's only wish had been for Orion to grow up safely.
To someday become one of Konoha's pillars.
A hero who protected the village.
And now Orion was steadily moving toward that goal.
How could Dōichi possibly be angry?
Kakashi had not expected such a reaction from Dōichi.
But after thinking about Dōichi's hopes for Orion, he quickly understood.
If it were him, he would probably feel the same way.
After understanding that, Kakashi continued,
"During this mission, we encountered two rogue shinobi from Kirigakure."
"Zabuza Momochi… and Raiga Kurosuki."
"Orion's talent exceeded all my expectations."
"Before this mission, I already believed I understood how talented he was."
"But during the mission, his growth was practically like something out of mythology."
"His strength has already surpassed mine."
"During the mission, he personally killed Raiga Kurosuki."
"He also eliminated four chūnin."
"And he even suppressed Naruto after he lost control."
"If Zabuza hadn't escaped quickly enough, he probably would've become part of Orion's achievements too."
Dōichi froze completely.
He stared blankly at Kakashi.
If those words had not come directly from Kakashi himself, he would've thought someone was telling him a fantasy story.
As a former ANBU jōnin, Dōichi naturally understood exactly what kind of shinobi Zabuza and Raiga were.
Both were elite jōnin from Kirigakure with fearsome reputations throughout the ninja world.
They were also members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
That title alone was enough to terrify countless shinobi.
Yet Orion had killed one of them…
And forced the other to flee.
Most absurd of all—
Orion had actually suppressed Naruto after he lost control.
Dōichi had personally witnessed Naruto's rampages before.
At the time, the Third Hokage had mobilized Konoha's entire sealing squad just to suppress Naruto.
That overwhelming malice…
That terrifying chakra…
Even now, Dōichi could not forget it.
Yet Orion not only remained unharmed—
He had actually suppressed Naruto's rampage himself.
To Dōichi, it all sounded far too unbelievable.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus (NR)Chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus (NR)Chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 60 (NR)Chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested: patreon.com/SwipeSage