Perhaps with his transmigration, the Indra Chakra within his body had vanished, and the Sage of the Six Paths might not intervene again to bestow him with further enhancements in the future.
But Sasuke harbored no regrets. In his previous life, he had risen from a humble rural background to become a successful elite in the big city, relying solely on his own efforts, never on anyone's charity.
Moreover, the Sage of the Six Paths' power-ups might have come with hidden drawbacks.
Perhaps fearing the emergence of another Uchiha Madara who could revive Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, the Sage, while empowering Naruto and Sasuke, had simultaneously suppressed their corresponding Yin-Yang attributes.
By the time of their final battle at the Valley of the End, one of them lacked Yin, while the other lacked Yang.
Now, after studying medical ninjutsu for some time, Sasuke had awakened his Yang Release.
This suggested there might be some truth to Sasuke's speculation.
__
Later that afternoon, at Ichiraku Ramen.
The three ordered their bowls of ramen and sat down. Sasuke immediately said, "Alright, tell me what intelligence you two gathered today."
Sasuke glanced at Naruto, who looked utterly bewildered, then turned to Sakura. "You go first, Sakura."
"Okay, Sasuke," Sakura nodded, pulling out a notebook and flipping it open. Her expression turned serious as she began:
"First, let's talk about Teacher Kakashi. He's no ordinary ninja. Rumor has it he was the most renowned prodigy in the village's history, graduating from the Ninja Academy at age five, becoming a Chūnin at six, and passing the Jonin exam to become a full-fledged Jonin at twelve. Even now, he's considered one of the elite Jonin in the village. Teacher Kakashi is incredibly strong, so we need to be careful during tomorrow's test."
"What about you, Naruto?"
As Sakura spoke, she glanced at Naruto, expecting him to add something. Sasuke followed her gaze.
Seeing both his teammates looking at him, Naruto broke out in a cold sweat. After a moment of strained silence, he muttered, "I think Sakura's right!"
'That guy...'
Sakura frowned but continued, "Based on my research, Teacher Kakashi is a cold-blooded ninja who prioritizes mission completion above all else, even his teammates' safety. But I've discovered something different..."
Sakura's tone shifted, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she raised a finger, feigning authority. "I interrogated the upperclassmen who were eliminated by Teacher Kakashi in the exams two years ago. Based on their accounts, I've deduced that the core principle of Teacher Kakashi's evaluation criteria is... teamwork!"
"From a cold-blooded ninja single-mindedly focused on completing missions to a teacher who values his comrades and emphasizes teamwork... Heh heh..."
Her face brimming with gossip, Sakura leaned in conspiratorially. "It seems our Teacher Kakashi is a man with a story."
Her inner gossip soul ignited, and after speaking, both she and Sasuke turned to Naruto.
Naruto nodded blankly. "What Sakura said makes sense."
'Idiot!'
'I should have known better than to rely on this guy.'
Sakura mentally groaned before continuing, "I asked my parents and Grandpa Kosuke too. They say Teacher Kakashi is hailed as Konoha's number one technician, the Copy Ninja, and—"
When she reached "Copy Ninja," Sakura's voice dropped significantly, and she trailed off without finishing her sentence. She glanced cautiously at Sasuke.
Sasuke nodded slightly and said softly, "It's okay, Sakura. You can continue."
"Mm," Sakura said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Teacher Kakashi is known as the Copy Ninja because he's used his Sharingan to copy over a thousand ninjutsu techniques. His name, Sharingan Kakashi, echoes across the nations."
"So, according to the intelligence reports, Teacher Kakashi has no weaknesses, has mastered over a thousand ninjutsu techniques, and is a Jonin expert in Genjutsu!"
"Sakura's right!"
Naruto nodded as if he understood, though he had no idea what the Sharingan was.
Still, mastering a thousand ninjutsu techniques and being an expert in Genjutsu sounded incredibly impressive!
"Are you guys talking about Hatake Kakashi?"
At that moment, Miss Ayame brought over three bowls of ramen and interjected, overhearing Sakura's words.
"Hatake Kakashi is a super handsome and powerful ninja!"
Sakura asked, surprised, "Big Sister Ayame, you know Kakashi-sensei too?"
"Of course! How could I not know such a handsome guy?"
"Is Kakashi your supervising Jonin?"
"Mm-hmm."
"I see."
Ayame stroked her chin, her eyes clouding with nostalgia.
"I remember when I was very young, not long after I started helping out at the shop, the Fourth Hokage would often bring his students here. One of them was Kakashi."
"Eh?!" Sakura and Naruto exclaimed in unison, "Teacher Kakashi was the Fourth Hokage's student too?!"
"Mm-hmm," Ayame nodded. "The other two... the Fourth Hokage used to call one of them Rin, and the other was a member of Sasuke-kun's clan, uh..."
Ayame paused, thinking hard. "I think his name was Obento or Obako?"
"Anyway," Ayame chuckled, "Kakashi's expression was always so cold back then, but he'd occasionally let a little smile slip through. It seemed he really cared about his teacher and teammates."
"Then, right after the Third Shinobi World War ended, I never saw Kakashi's teammates again. They probably died during the war. Kakashi was acting really strange around that time too, getting into fights all the time. The next time I saw him was just these past couple of years. He seems much more cheerful now, hehe."
"I see..."
Sakura nodded thoughtfully. "Thank you, Sister Ayame."
"You're welcome, Sakura," Ayame winked, encouraging the three youngsters. "Good luck! I'm sure you'll all pass the exam and become excellent ninjas."
After Miss Ayame left, Sakura lowered her voice conspiratorially. "So, it seems Teacher Kakashi's transformation might be connected to the Fourth Hokage, Rin, and that... um... Uchiha Obento. Sasuke, do you think my analysis is correct?"
Before Sasuke could answer, Naruto blurted out, "I think Sakura's right!"
'...'
Sasuke felt an old complaint welling up inside him, unsure how to even begin. He finally nodded. "It's probably pretty close to the truth."
"Great!" Sakura pumped her fist, as if Sasuke's words had given her immense encouragement.
"Then let's plan our strategy for tomorrow's exam."
After discussing their approach for a while, the three dispersed.
Just as they were parting, Sakura suddenly remembered something and called out, "Oh, right! I heard from students who took the exam in previous years that Teacher Kakashi is always late. He says 8 AM, but he usually doesn't show up until 11 AM. So, we should eat breakfast first, make sure we're fully rested, and head to the Third Training Ground around 10:30 AM."