In Uchiha Sasuke's eyes, Kaede Kitahara—someone of the same bloodline—was without a doubt the best possible person to learn from.
Still, he couldn't help feeling uneasy. He had no idea whether Kaede would even be willing to teach him.
In the world of shinobi, relationships that involved teaching ninjutsu came in many forms. There were bonds like that of a ninja academy instructor and student, like a squad leader and their subordinates, and then there were true master-and-disciple relationships.
The bond between Umino Iruka and Uzumaki Naruto was a classic example of a teacher and student from the academy. Meanwhile, the relationship between Hatake Kakashi and Team 7 was closer to that of a squad leader and his team. Even though Sakura called Kakashi "teacher," and Kakashi did teach them some jutsu, it was clearly not on the same level as the relationship between Naruto and Jiraiya.
That kind of bond was true inheritance—not just passing on techniques, but also life lessons, influence, and connections.
Just like Jiraiya supporting Namikaze Minato when he had first stepped into the role of Fourth Hokage.
Compared to those relationships, Sasuke's connection with Kaede was even more distant. Kaede was only temporarily leading Team 7—just a provisional captain.
So Sasuke had no way of knowing whether Kaede would agree to guide him.
"A rare guest," Kaede said with a faint smile as he poured a cup of tea for Sasuke. "Though I don't have anything particularly good to offer."
At the same time, he felt a trace of curiosity. Sasuke coming to see him alone… what could it be about?
"Right now, it doesn't matter what I drink," Sasuke replied.
He didn't even glance at the steaming tea. Instead, he got straight to the point.
"I know this is abrupt, and probably rude, but I want to ask you to guide my training."
Kaede blinked, caught off guard by how direct Sasuke was.
"Why say that?" he asked. "Is the training plan I made for you not suitable?"
He had a great deal of confidence in the training plan he'd put together. It had been tailored specifically to each of them. Before, that kind of precision had been beyond him. His own aptitude had only been average, and while his fundamentals had been solid enough for a chunin, they had fallen short when compared to jonin.
But after integrating the standard Uchiha bloodline, his talent had improved dramatically. On top of that, having his strength forcibly pushed to Kage-level had given him a completely different perspective. Looking back, he could easily spot flaws in training methods that he would never have noticed before.
It was like an adult looking at a simple "one plus one equals what" problem—effortless to solve, and just as easy to create similar questions.
With the level of strength his current team possessed, it was trivial for him to identify their weaknesses and design targeted training plans.
"Your plan is very suitable," Sasuke admitted.
He couldn't deny it. The plan Kaede had laid out yesterday had been extremely precise. Naruto's fundamentals, Sakura's taijutsu, and even the gaps in Sasuke's own genjutsu and ninjutsu—all of it had been addressed in ways he hadn't even realized himself.
"But it's not enough," Sasuke continued. "You've heard about what happened to the Uchiha Clan, Captain Kitahara. Uchiha Itachi killed them all. I want revenge, and my current strength is nowhere near enough."
Kaede studied him for a moment, a hint of surprise in his eyes. Given Sasuke's usual mindset at this stage, he should have been completely impatient, unable to hold himself back.
And yet, he seemed far more composed than expected.
Moreover, Sasuke shouldn't have had a clear grasp of Itachi's true strength yet. In the original timeline, he had rushed off to confront Itachi after learning Chidori, completely overestimating himself.
Kaede nodded slowly.
"I've heard about Itachi killing the Uchiha Clan," he said. "If he's your target, then you won't see results in the short term. He's far stronger than you think."
That wasn't an exaggeration.
Before Kaede had gained the diary, Itachi could have killed him with a single glance. Even now, he didn't dare underestimate him.
As far as Kaede knew, aside from the fight where he deliberately held back against his younger brother, Itachi had never been defeated.
Let alone Sasuke.
Even after following Orochimaru and pushing himself for three years, gaining techniques like Kirin, Sasuke still hadn't been a match for a severely weakened Itachi.
And yet, despite not being able to defeat him, Sasuke had still ended up killing him.
It sounded like a contradiction, but that was the reality between those two brothers.
"I know he's strong," Sasuke said steadily. "Kakashi-sensei is in seclusion right now, and I don't know who else to turn to. That's why I came to you."
Then, without hesitation, he opened his eyes.
Two tomoe spun within his Sharingan.
"The Sharingan can see chakra," he said. "I've seen you use it before, Captain Kitahara. It's not the same as Kakashi-sensei's."
Of course, Sasuke couldn't say he had learned this from the diary. In fact, just coming here today had already been a risk. He had long realized that trying to expose the diary might bring consequences he couldn't even begin to imagine.
So he avoided that topic entirely.
There were other ways to approach this.
Like Kaede's Sharingan.
Strictly speaking, Sasuke wasn't lying. Back in the Land of Waves, he had noticed something unusual about the chakra in Kaede's eyes. Without the diary, he might not have been able to connect it so directly, but the suspicion had been there.
So he chose the most straightforward approach—bringing up one of Kaede's hidden secrets directly.
Kaede paused for a moment when he heard that.
This was the second person to uncover his Sharingan. The first had been Namikaze Minato.
Still, he wasn't particularly surprised. The more he used it, the greater the chance of being exposed. And Sasuke himself possessed the Sharingan, even if his ocular power was far inferior.
By Kaede's own estimation, with the combined enhancement of the Uzumaki Clan's Sage Body and the standard Uchiha bloodline, his three-tomoe Sharingan had already grown to rival ordinary Mangekyō-level ocular power.
It had far surpassed a typical three-tomoe Sharingan.
He had observed Kakashi's Sharingan before. Kakashi's three-tomoe was stronger than most, given that it had originally awakened as a Mangekyō before regressing.
Even so, it was still significantly weaker than Kaede's.
Which only made Kaede wonder—just what kind of "standard" bloodline had the system given him?
From the moment he had fused with it, it hadn't just improved his aptitude. Even awakening the Sharingan had become absurdly easy for him, almost effortless compared to others.
Could it be that this so-called standard went all the way back to Indra?
The thought didn't seem impossible.
After all, Uchiha Sarada—who had briefly reached Six Paths-level—had awakened her Sharingan as easily as breathing.
Compared to her, Kaede's own awakening process didn't seem any more difficult.
In the past, he had been extremely cautious about keeping his Sharingan hidden. Back then, he had no means to protect himself.
But now, things were different.
He had already stepped into Kage-level strength, and his power was growing with each passing moment.
As long as it was before the timeline where the Six Paths of Pain appeared, he could confidently say he had more than enough strength to protect himself.
His mindset had completely changed.
"Fine," Kaede said, lifting his teacup and taking a slow sip. The rising steam obscured his expression, leaving it unreadable. "I do have a Sharingan. What are you trying to say?"
"Captain Kitahara, I don't mean any harm," Sasuke said quickly. "The Uchiha Clan has already been wiped out. Aside from that man—Uchiha Itachi—it's just the two of us left."
He hesitated for a moment before continuing.
"If you're willing to return, I'm prepared to recognize you as part of the main lineage of the Uchiha Clan."
Although the Uchiha Clan didn't have the rigid division between main and branch families like the Hyuga Clan, distinctions still existed. Those of the main lineage enjoyed better status, while branch members were often descendants of those who had never awakened the Sharingan.
Kaede cut him off before he could say more.
"I'm not an Uchiha," he said calmly. "Maybe somewhere in my ancestry there was one, but my name is Kitahara, and that won't change. I have no intention of taking the Uchiha name."
From a young age, Sasuke had carried the goal of restoring the Uchiha Clan's glory. To him, that glory was everything, something he would sacrifice anything for.
But Kaede didn't share that obsession.
Whether in his past life or this one, he had never been part of a great clan. That kind of pride, that sense of identity, was something he simply couldn't relate to.
Besides, if he dared to change his surname now, his mother, Fangko Kitahara, would probably chase him down with a knife.
It would also be a betrayal of the father he had lost early in this life.
And more importantly…
Kaede knew the truth better than anyone.
There was no such thing as an Uchiha ancestor in his lineage.
His Sharingan existed for one reason only.
The system had given it to him.