The things Orochimaru told Gojo Yoru to buy were camping supplies:
A backpack, tent, sleeping bag, canteen, cooking tools, and so on…
Only two items weren't related to camping: a storage scroll and soldier pills.
Yoru still had plenty of those at home, so there was no need to buy more.
After buying everything, Yoru also took Kushina to buy cameras—two of them, one each.
Even though digital products were extremely expensive in this era, to Yoru it was nothing.
Not to mention the money he'd earned from missions lately—since his pay was split with the village and Orochimaru, and he didn't have two extra teammates taking their shares, he earned far more than other genin.
And the Gojo family inheritance alone was enough for him to spend freely for years.
After buying the cameras, it was already dinner time.
"Yoru, tomorrow when you go out of the village for the mission, be careful—and take lots of photos to bring back."
"What, you're not keeping a selfie together?"
"Not in this outfit. No way I'm taking a photo with you like this."
After eating at Yoru's house, Kushina couldn't wait to go back and play with her new toy.
After seeing her off, Yoru carried the camping gear down to the basement and used storage scrolls to pack and compress everything—stuffing a huge amount of supplies into a single backpack.
As he organized, Yoru couldn't help grumbling to himself: "I awakened a 'space–time bloodline,' but I don't even have a personal pocket space. That's embarrassing."
"Can the principle behind storage scrolls be applied to chakra points in the human body—turning them into a storage subspace? Other people can't do it because they don't have space–time power inside them and can't draw it in… but I'm not lacking space–time power at all, and I even have the Uzumaki Book of Seals to help."
The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
Because it was basically an alternate version of the Strength of a Hundred Seal.
For now, though, it was still just a wild idea.
After packing the storage scrolls into the bag, Yoru rummaged through a chest and quickly pulled out two white wristbands.
These wristbands were also a type of storage scroll—usually used to store shuriken and kunai.
Yoru used them to store his chakra blade and his camera.
After finishing all that, he left the basement with his bag, took a shower, and went to sleep.
…
The next day, 8:50 a.m.
Yoru arrived at the village gate ten minutes early with his backpack, waiting for Orochimaru.
Orochimaru didn't keep him waiting long—he appeared in a Body Flicker soon after.
"Orochimaru-sensei."
"Orochimaru-sama!"
Yoru immediately saluted, and two chūnin on gate duty did the same.
The more terrifying Orochimaru would become in the future, the more people admired him now—as the Third Hokage's proudest disciple.
When they heard how Yoru addressed Orochimaru, the two chūnin instantly looked at him differently.
"Kept you waiting," Orochimaru said, nodding at Yoru. Then he produced two stamped travel permits and handed them to the chūnin. "Thanks for the trouble."
"No trouble at all—please wait a moment, Orochimaru-sama." The chūnin were flattered and quickly verified the documents and let them through.
After ten years in this world, it was Yoru's first time leaving the village openly.
Not seeing Orochimaru carrying him with Body Flicker—and noticing Orochimaru had appeared alone just now—Yoru finally asked, "Orochimaru-sensei… what mission are we doing?"
"An S-rank mission."
"Huh?"
Yoru stared blankly at Orochimaru, feeling like his ears had malfunctioned.
Orochimaru seemed very pleased by Yoru's expression. He repeated with a playful smile, "S-rank. Afraid?"
Yoru recovered, curled his lips slightly, and bragged on purpose. "Not afraid. A genius should do what ordinary people can't."
Yoru didn't believe Orochimaru would take him out to die.
If real danger appeared, worst case he could reveal his space–time bloodline.
After spending this time together, Yoru had come to accept this era's Orochimaru—and had prepared himself for the possibility of Orochimaru learning his secret.
Orochimaru—before turning dark or developing the Curse Mark—would only be happy if he learned Yoru had a space–time bloodline.
An Orochimaru who respected others' privacy, and who understood that Yoru liked to keep his edge hidden, still hadn't even asked how Yoru hid his chakra presence when using Phantom Body Flicker.
Orochimaru, of course, didn't know where Yoru's confidence truly came from.
Seeing Yoru completely unafraid, Orochimaru smiled and explained, "Courage is admirable, but this S-rank mission is special—it's intelligence work."
"Intelligence? We're gathering information?"
"Mm. Be ready to camp outdoors for a long time. This will be a painful wait."
"Yes."
Yoru soon learned why Orochimaru called it a painful wait.
Over the next half month, Orochimaru led him to remote places—forests, snow mountains, deserts.
With his excellent academics, even without a map Yoru knew what countries they were in:
The forest was on the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers.
The snowy mountains were the Land of Iron.
The desert was the Land of Wind.
The key point was that Orochimaru brought him to these places and did nothing but… wait.
Sometimes they waited a day. Sometimes two or three days. Then they would go to a certain spot and retrieve a scroll.
What was inside those scrolls? Yoru didn't know—and Orochimaru didn't show him.
During this time, Yoru's only "job" was cooking for Orochimaru.
If Yoru had Naruto's personality, he'd have snapped long ago.
But Yoru was extremely good at enduring solitude. He used training to kill time every day and never complained.
Obedient children get rewards.
That night, while Yoru boiled water for Orochimaru's bath, Orochimaru suddenly asked, "Did Sa and Mio leave you a summoning scroll?"
Yoru, with his back to Orochimaru, felt his breathing catch for an instant.
He calmed himself at top speed, turned, and shook his head. "A summoning-beast scroll? No, I don't have one."
Orochimaru smiled. "Then do you hate snakes?"
"Of course not. I think snakes are cool," Yoru said quickly, shaking his head.
"In that case, sign a contract with Ryūchi Cave—just like me."
Orochimaru bit his finger, formed seals, and summoned a giant snake.
The snake spat out an enormous scroll, which landed in front of Orochimaru.
Orochimaru unrolled it and said to Yoru, "Use your blood and write your name on the scroll. From then on, you can use Summoning Jutsu to call Ryūchi Cave's snakes to assist you in battle."
"Yes, Orochimaru-sensei."
Yoru couldn't hide his delight anymore. He looked genuinely excited.
Finally—the Ryūchi Cave contract scroll!
Once he signed with Ryūchi Cave, when his chakra reserves were sufficient, he could go train their Sage Arts—turning his chakra into space–time senjutsu chakra.
Space–time chakra formed from three energies was already terrifyingly strong… he didn't even dare imagine what kind of amplification he'd get after adding natural energy.
~~~
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