After leaving the school grounds, Gojo Yoru didn't go home. Instead, he used Body Flicker to reach the Naka River.
At this time, the Uchiha clan still hadn't been forced to relocate near the Naka River, so this area was practically deserted.
Above the river were cliffs and forest.
In the forest zone, a black afterimage was leaping across the treetops—gone in the blink of an eye.
And unlike other shinobi's Body Flicker, which sometimes produced a slightly harsh sound, or—if their chakra control was poor—kicked up leaves and even left lasting footprints on the branches…
This afterimage made no sound at all, and left no trace.
The speed wasn't especially fast, but this level of chakra control was something even an all-round jōnin—someone who had mastered at least two nature transformations—couldn't hope to match.
There was no doubt about it: this was a true Body Flicker specialist.
Bang—!
After sprinting through the forest for a long time, the black afterimage suddenly slammed into a massive tree that would take several people to hug, producing a heavy, muffled thud. The whole body stuck to the trunk like a poster—then slowly slid down.
"Hiss… that hurts, that hurts like hell!"
Gojo Yoru landed and clutched his now-red face with both hands, sucking in air and yelping in pain.
If his classmates saw him like this, his whole image would collapse instantly.
He touched his nose—thankfully not bent out of shape—then stared at the tree and thought, "Phasing through something in the middle of movement… still too hard."
That's right. Just now, Yoru had tried to use his space–time ability to pass through the tree.
He failed.
And it was his first attempt.
Because his insane growth lately had made him—inevitably—get a bit cocky.
Yoru had thought that "evolution" only meant some of his cells could extract space–time energy.
Now it seemed it had been a full-spectrum ascension.
It had been seven months since he awakened space–time abilities.
In those seven months, Yoru's body had changed dramatically.
First was his height: he was only seven years old, yet he'd already grown to 143 centimeters.
In the Land of Lightning and Kumogakure—where there were lots of black and white people—that height wasn't anything special.
But in Konoha and the other villages, he towered over kids his age.
After all, when Uzumaki Naruto graduated at twelve, he was only 147 centimeters tall.
Just like his classmates said—if you didn't know better, you'd think Gojo Yoru was a fifth- or sixth-year.
That early physical maturation also caused his chakra reserves to explode. They'd already been larger than an average genin's; now they were probably beyond the level of an average chūnin.
Sure, he still couldn't compare to Hatake Kakashi—who could use Multiple Shadow Clone as a first-year—but Yoru absolutely qualified to train the Shadow Clone Technique and the Rasengan.
However, as his total chakra surged, the proportion of his space–time chakra dropped—from one-third to only one-fifth.
Second, whether it was talent for space–time, or whether this evolution had affected his brain and nervous system…
Over the past half-year, Yoru clearly felt his aptitude had risen sharply. His progress was almost frightening.
The academy's students and teachers all thought Gojo Yoru was a genius.
But only Yoru knew: he didn't really count as one.
More precisely, compared to the once-in-a-decade—no, once-in-several-decades—true prodigies, he wasn't even in the same universe.
Yes, he slept early and woke early every day. Yes, he ate well, and that let his chakra reserves surpass his peers by a mile.
But in front of five-year-old Hatake Kakashi, he wasn't even worthy of carrying the man's sandals.
After refining chakra, Yoru practiced tree-walking and water-walking to improve control. He'd long since mastered the Three Basic Techniques, crushed kids his age, and even sixth-years couldn't beat him.
Yet Namikaze Minato, in just one term, nearly reversed the fight against him with that terrifying reaction speed.
And Orochimaru? Don't even mention him—Tsunade, the Hokage's granddaughter with Senju blood, couldn't outshine him.
If he couldn't match those "no-bloodline monsters," then comparing himself to bloodline geniuses was even more hopeless.
If he hadn't awakened a space–time bloodline, then once his "plot knowledge" advantage stopped mattering, getting completely left behind by Minato would've been inevitable.
That was the gap in talent—something effort couldn't bridge. Only cheating could compete with it… and surpass it.
But now, Gojo Yoru truly had the right to carry the title "genius."
Because he'd discovered his thinking had become faster—his reactions sharper too.
When he watched Minato fight, or got matched with him again, Yoru no longer felt overwhelmed. He finally tasted the advantage of lightning-fast reflexes.
That sensation—like the opponent was moving in slow motion while you were on fast-forward—was intoxicating.
No wonder the Uchiha Sharingan made Orochimaru and Shimura Danzō so obsessed.
With this change, even training ninjutsu and chakra control became twice as effective with half the effort.
That was why Yoru got cocky.
In just half a year, his Body Flicker had improved to a terrifying extent.
Like a half-finished Rasenshuriken becoming instantly throwable the moment you add senjutsu chakra…
Yoru still couldn't fuse normal chakra and space–time chakra to use the five elemental releases, but he could fuse them for Body Flicker.
A Body Flicker infused with space–time chakra didn't just spike in speed—it became like a silent ghost.
Once Yoru could cover his whole body with space–time chakra even during mobile combat—once he could "blend" into space itself—his Body Flicker would have no resistance at all. He'd be able to pass through any obstacle, becoming even more eerie and elusive.
And if he pushed it further…
Maybe it wouldn't be Body Flicker anymore.
Maybe it would become true teleportation.
That was the direction Yoru was working toward.
After easing the pain, Yoru continued flickering through the forest treetops.
Only when the sun set—when the last light could no longer filter through the leaves—did Yoru flicker home.
After dinner, he went down into the basement carved with spell markings—possibly meant to block sensing and x-ray techniques—but not to revise and expand his "game guide."
Instead, he formed hand seals and mobilized the space–time chakra inside him.
In the next second, Yoru's body slowly sank into the earth, quietly leaving Konoha.
Yoru didn't know whether Sarutobi Hiruzen had already mastered the Crystal Ball Telescope Technique—or whether he might happen to glance this way.
He also didn't know whether, as a civilian genius and an orphan whose parents had died, he had already attracted Shimura Danzō's attention.
Just in case, Yoru never trained advanced techniques at home or inside the village—anything beyond Body Flicker and C-rank elemental ninjutsu.
It wasn't that he was afraid of being watched.
He was worried they'd "cherish talent"… and force him to graduate early.
After all, Uchiha Itachi used Shadow Clones in first year, and the teachers decided there was nothing left to teach him, so they helped him apply for early graduation.
Maybe that was one of the reasons the Uchiha clan later got wiped out.
A six-year-old who hadn't learned any cultural knowledge, pushed to graduate early just because he was too strong—what was that if not an illiterate kid with overwhelming power?
No wonder he had no brains.
~~~
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