Kakashi reminisced, "Back in the day, the Fourth Hokage taught many people the Flying Thunder God Technique, but no one could master it." The Third Hokage thought of Minato Namikaze and smiled, "These two are quite similar, but Yoruha is more carefree than Minato." "However, his talent is even higher."
This was a conclusion the Third Hokage had reached after observing Yoruha for some time. Yoruha and Minato Namikaze were similar in terms of their background and exceptional talent in ninjutsu. However, Yoruha was evidently more gifted because his physical capabilities were far superior to Minato's.
Yoruha's chakra reserves were also much greater than Minato's. It's important to note that Yoruha was only 12 years old and already possessed Kage-level chakra. Even the Third Hokage didn't have as much chakra as Yoruha.
In terms of ninjutsu talent, Yoruha was similar to Minato Namikaze, but in terms of physical attributes, Yoruha resembled the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. Kakashi didn't respond to the Third Hokage's comment. After all, Minato was his teacher, and it wasn't his place to comment, although he agreed with the Third Hokage in his heart.
After learning more about Yoruha from Kakashi, the Third Hokage felt reassured enough to let Yoruha undertake this mission alone. Otherwise, he had planned to send Yamato to secretly protect him. Having an ANBU captain secretly protect someone on a mission was an exceptionally high level of treatment.
Yoruha always treated Naruto like a prince, but it was the Third Hokage who truly treated him as such. In the Third Hokage's plans, Yoruha was considered a successor, essentially a prince. Yoruha came from a civilian background, so the Third Hokage sought the support of the Ino-Shika-Cho clan for Yoruha, even allowing Kakashi to introduce Yamato to him.
It's important to know that Yamato was currently an ANBU captain, in charge of the ANBU. The ANBU was the Hokage's direct unit, akin to a personal guard. Allowing Kakashi to introduce Yamato to Yoruha was essentially giving Yoruha a supporter, and a high-ranking one at that.
It could be said that the Third Hokage was indeed a bit anxious. Over the years, Konoha's strength had waned, and no strong figures like the Fourth Hokage had emerged. Relying on himself, a 69-year-old man, wouldn't last much longer.
Finally, with the emergence of Yoruha, he immediately placed all his resources on him. Yoruha was unaware that a massive force was already standing behind him. Even Kakashi wasn't fully aware; he thought Yoruha only had him and a couple of others like Mokuton supporting him.
He hadn't even considered Yamato. When he previously introduced Yamato to Yoruha, it was merely to familiarize Yoruha with Yamato. In case anything happened to Yoruha in the future, Yamato could lend a hand.
Who could have guessed that the Third Hokage had already decided to make Yoruha his successor? This was something the Third Hokage had only explicitly mentioned to the old Ino-Shika-Cho trio and Danzo. Other clans or factions in the village merely speculated that the Third Hokage might be grooming Yoruha to become Hokage, but they had no concrete information.
After leaving the Hokage's office, Kakashi went to the ninja tool shop and spent a considerable amount of money to craft a specially made kunai. He then headed to Yoruha's house. Yoruha was at home, training.
Just about to set off for the Land of Snow. Yoruha only needs to arrive before the departure. With Yoruha's speed, it should take about ten days to reach the destination.
Yoruha, who was in the middle of training, opened his eyes and looked at Kakashi, who had appeared in his home. Yoruha asked, "Kakashi-sensei, no missions today? Why are you here?"
Kakashi, holding a wooden box, sat cross-legged in front of Yoruha. "I heard you're going on a mission, and you're going alone." Yoruha smiled, "For me, it's a good thing. It helps hone my combat experience."
"And I get to keep the mission's commission all to myself." Hearing Yoruha's words, Kakashi's mouth twitched slightly. "Why are you so money-minded?"
Kakashi was speechless, but he thought Yoruha was joking. However, Yoruha was serious. Kakashi assumed Yoruha didn't care about money, but in reality, while Yoruha wasn't obsessed with it, he did like it.
After teasing Yoruha a bit, Kakashi placed the wooden box in front of him and said, "Consider this a gift for your first solo mission." Yoruha chuckled, "Kakashi-sensei, you're acting strange today. Is there something you want me to do?" Yoruha knew Kakashi was quite stingy.
How could he possibly be giving gifts? Kakashi looked at Yoruha's skeptical face and really wanted to just leave. What kind of image did Yoruha have of him?
Kakashi sighed. "It's really just a gift. Open it and see if you like it." Kakashi didn't want to say more.
Yoruha looked at the wooden box in front of him, his expression serious. He had a feeling it might contain some prank item, although Kakashi probably wouldn't do that. But who knows?
Maybe Kakashi had a hidden penchant for such things? Cautiously, Yoruha slowly opened the lid of the wooden box. Inside was a beautifully crafted kunai.
Yoruha was stunned because this kunai was exceptionally beautiful, larger than a regular kunai, and longer too. Yoruha picked it up, noticing it was several times heavier than a standard kunai. "Hmm, it can store chakra?!"
Yoruha was surprised. "Kakashi-sensei, did you make this kunai with chakra metal?" Kakashi nodded, "That's right, it's made with chakra metal. Try it out, see if it suits you."
Yoruha channeled chakra into the kunai, and it immediately glowed with his golden chakra, making the blade even sharper. This kunai was reminiscent of the Fourth Hokage's special Flying Thunder God kunai. As expected, Kakashi said, "I modeled this kunai after the Fourth Hokage's Flying Thunder God kunai. He often used such kunai to perform the Flying Thunder God technique. I thought it might suit you as well."
Yoruha looked at the kunai in his hand. Once infused with chakra, it became incredibly sharp, and he could feel its strength had significantly increased. After playing with it for a while, Yoruha finally put the kunai away. He remarked, "Kakashi-sensei, you must have spent a lot. This heavy kunai requires a significant amount of chakra metal."
Chakra metal is extremely expensive. It's estimated that a kunai like this, including material and labor costs, would be at least 100,000 ryo, roughly the price of a B-rank mission.
And that's assuming the village doesn't take a cut, allowing Yoruha to keep the entire amount. It's easy to imagine how expensive it was when Minato Namikaze scattered kunai on the battlefield.
He wasn't just throwing kunai; he was scattering money like golden light. Kakashi certainly felt the pinch, but he believed this gift was perfect for Yoruha, so he gritted his teeth and paid for it. Kakashi asked, "So, how is it? Does it work well?"
Yoruha laughed, "Something this expensive can't be bad, right? It's just that I rarely use weapons in battle. Such a fine weapon is wasted in my hands." Yoruha typically didn't use ninja tools in combat, so he felt this kunai was somewhat wasted on him.