At that moment, Dōichi Kimoto, who had been resting at home, suddenly opened his eyes and looked toward the balcony.
In a cold voice, he said, “Captain, it seems you already know about that child.” The moment he finished speaking, a figure appeared on the balcony.
“Dōichi, I didn’t expect you to willingly leave the ANBU and become a team instructor.” The newcomer spoke calmly.
Under the moonlight, his figure gradually became clear.
If Naruto and the others were here, they would definitely shout, “Kakashi-sensei!” The person standing on the balcony was none other than Team 7’s instructor— Kakashi Hatake.
Hearing Kakashi’s words, Dōichi Kimoto walked over and leaned against the balcony railing, quietly gazing at the moonlit night outside.
“You came out too, didn’t you?” he said softly.
“After staying in the darkness for so long, stepping into the sunlight once in a while isn’t so bad.” Kakashi looked at him.
“Seems like you’re quite satisfied with that kid.” “Yeah,” Dōichi replied with a faint smile.
“He’s an exceptional little brat.” Thinking back to Kai’s performance earlier that day, a rare smile appeared on his face.
Kakashi, however, looked serious.
“You should know he may not be as simple as he appears.” Dōichi turned to glance at Kakashi before replying after a long pause, “To me, he’s just a kid who dislikes attention.
Nothing more.” “If he truly had ulterior motives, I wouldn’t have been able to probe him so easily.” “I think you understand that better than anyone, Kakashi.” Kakashi froze for a moment.
It was true.
If Kai really harbored dangerous intentions, he would not have exposed himself so easily during Dōichi’s test.
“Even so, you should still keep your guard up around him.” Dōichi chuckled.
“Don’t tell me you doubt my abilities?
I used to work in the ANBU interrogation division.” “I could tell from the first glance—that child simply hates standing out.” “He’s different from you.
Even at his age, you probably enjoyed receiving praise from others.” Kakashi looked slightly embarrassed.
Despite how quiet he was now, before Rin Nohara’s death, he had not been this withdrawn at all.
After a long silence, Kakashi finally said, “No matter what, I’ll continue watching that child.
If anything unusual happens, I’ll intervene.” Originally, Kakashi had not intended to say that aloud.
After all, Kai was Dōichi’s student.
Saying this outright was practically announcing that he intended to interfere.
Most people would have been offended.
But Dōichi showed no anger whatsoever.
“Do as you like,” he said calmly.
“If that child ever becomes a threat to the village, I’ll personally destroy him.” “But until then, he’s my student.” “And I intend to raise him into a shinobi strong enough to protect Konoha.” Although Dōichi had acted strict toward Kai’s group during the day, he was genuinely impressed by Kai.
Originally, he had no intention of seriously training a team.
But Kai’s appearance changed his mind.
He wanted to nurture him into a true powerhouse.
In Dōichi’s eyes, Kai was a genius.
And more importantly, a genius with an exceptionally stable personality.
After hearing Dōichi’s thoughts, Kakashi said nothing further.
He knew Dōichi’s capabilities very well.
Though Dōichi was not considered especially powerful within the ANBU—mainly because he belonged to the interrogation division—he was meticulous and cautious.
Compared to ordinary shinobi, Dōichi Kimoto was one of the least likely people to allow Kai to become a danger to the village.
Still, Kakashi found himself curious about Kai.
After leaving Dōichi’s residence, Kakashi headed directly to Kai’s home.
For someone of Kakashi’s status, investigating Kai’s background was effortless.
Soon enough, he appeared on Kai’s balcony as well.
At this moment, Kai was already asleep.
And there was no way he could detect Kakashi’s presence.
Although Kai’s chakra reserves were already approaching Kakashi’s level, that was only in terms of raw chakra quantity.
In actual combat experience and ninjutsu proficiency, he stood no chance against Kakashi.
At best, Kai’s current strength was approaching the chūnin level.
He was stronger than ordinary genin and could probably contend with an average chūnin for a while.
That was all.
Naturally, there was no possibility of him sensing Kakashi nearby.
Standing on the balcony, Kakashi quietly observed the sleeping Kai.
After watching for a moment, he slowly lifted his forehead protector.
Revealing his Sharingan.
The three tomoe spun within the blood-red eye.
In an instant, Kakashi saw the flow of chakra throughout Kai’s body.
And the moment he did— He was completely stunned.
“T-This is impossible…!” “How can this child possess such terrifying chakra?!” Kakashi nearly lost his footing and fell from the balcony railing.
The sheer amount of chakra radiating from Kai was horrifying even to him.
“Is this really the chakra reserve of a twelve-year-old?” Granted, Naruto’s chakra reserves were vastly larger than Kai’s—easily more than a hundred times greater.
But Naruto was a special case.
He possessed the bloodline of the Uzumaki Clan and the chakra of the Nine-Tails.
Even though only a portion of the Nine-Tails’ chakra leaked through the Eight Trigrams Seal, it still gave Naruto chakra reserves more than a hundred times Kakashi’s own.
Naruto’s situation was unique.
But Kai?
His parents were not from any ninja clan at all.
By all logic, a normal shinobi should not possess this much chakra.
Kakashi’s expression grew increasingly grave.
“His chakra reserves are already around sixty percent of mine…” “That’s roughly twenty times Sasuke’s.” The reason Kakashi compared him to Sasuke was simple.
Sasuke’s chakra reserves were already abnormally high for his age.
After all, Sasuke was a member of the Uchiha Clan and the reincarnation of Indra.
The Uchiha naturally possessed immense chakra reserves, second only to clans like the Uzumaki and Senju.
Because of that, Sasuke already had far more chakra than ordinary children his age.
He could even use Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique already— A jutsu that consumed too much chakra for normal genin to perform.
And yet… Kai possessed around twenty times more chakra than Sasuke.
At this point, “far more” was not even enough to describe it.
Before meeting Kai, Kakashi had merely thought he might be a deeply reserved genius.
Now?
He realized the boy was a complete monster.
The sheer amount of chakra he possessed made absolutely no sense.
Kakashi simply could not understand where such chakra reserves had come from.
But after observing more carefully, Kakashi was shocked once again.
“No… it’s not just the amount.” “The quality of his chakra is different too.” “This chakra feels abnormal… completely unlike ordinary chakra.” What Kakashi did not know was that the chakra within Kai’s body had been formed from natural energy itself.
It was not ordinary chakra at all.
If Jiraiya were here, he would have recognized it instantly.
Senjutsu chakra.
Because Kai’s chakra was naturally formed through the condensation of natural energy, senjutsu chakra had developed within him instinctively.
And unlike normal Sage Transformation side effects, it caused no abnormalities in his body whatsoever.
Instead— It continuously nourished and strengthened him.
Slowly pushing his body closer and closer… To a Sage Body.