"Yin Seal—Release!"
A sharp shout rang out inside a freezing, wind-scoured cave high in the snowy mountains.
In the next instant, a powerful surge of chakra detonated through the cavern.
To anyone with ordinary sensing, it would register as Ace-class chakra—the level of a trump-card fighter.
But if someone with higher-dimensional perception were here, they would go pale.
In that kind of perception, there was only one lifeform in the cave—yet inside that single body existed two distinct energies, like a jinchūriki.
Back inside the cave, Gojō Yoru maintained his hand seals.
If you looked closely, you'd notice a black tattoo had appeared on his forehead.
It came from a blue-violet diamond mark—the Yin Seal he had finally completed half a year ago.
The moment he released the chakra stored over months, Yoru's all-round jōnin-level reserves surged straight up to the baseline of an Ace-class fighter.
And if you lifted his shirt, you'd see another black tattoo on his chest—slightly above the hollow of his sternum:
A second diamond mark, the Time-Space Yin Seal, which he had mastered even earlier.
When he released the time-space chakra stored inside, the "black chakra" that normally sat at veteran chūnin levels shattered its cap and jumped to special jōnin standard in an instant.
"So strong—right now, I'm stronger than even the Three Sannin!"
Yoru basked in it. The feeling was intoxicating.
Before this, even after a year of war, his normal chakra had only climbed from "veteran chūnin" to "special jōnin standard."
His time-space chakra, though, had been stuck behind an invisible ceiling for six years—genin-level the whole time.
Even unsealing it only barely reached "chūnin," because the baseline amount was simply too small; he had to open the seal repeatedly and could never store much at once.
But now, in his normal state, his ordinary chakra had reached the proper level for his position: all-round jōnin standard.
And once he opened the Yin Seal, he hit Ace-class—not far below Orochimaru, the Sannin with the least chakra.
And that was only the "welcome gift" from the end of the second evolution.
Judging by how evolution boosted everything last time, his ordinary chakra would still climb a little more afterward.
As for time-space chakra, it was no longer the pathetic "a few minutes of intangibility" and "eleven Flying Thunder God jumps and I'm dry" genin-level limit.
Now its baseline capacity had reached the same tier as his ordinary chakra back when he infiltrated Amegakure.
Which meant: if he could form a time-space Rasengan, this current reserve would let him fire two of them.
And if he could inject yet another nature change into that time-space Rasengan, he could still have enough left to use Phantom Flash Step afterward.
He wouldn't even need to open the Time-Space Yin Seal to use "Purple."
With this amount, if he went all-out with "Purple," the energy sphere would be bigger and stronger than last year's.
And if he opened the Time-Space Yin Seal, his black chakra would rise to special jōnin standard—and if he stored it for years, it could go even higher.
After six years, Yoru had finally—barely—shaken off his firepower-insufficiency anxiety.
He could use intangibility and Dimensional Slash freely, cast Flying Thunder God dozens of times, use "Purple" as a standard option, and still have the Time-Space Yin Seal as insurance.
Most importantly: time-space chakra at this level meant he could finally attempt to develop new time-space techniques.
But right now, Yoru cared even more about another improvement.
He closed the Yin Seal's "gate," casually formed a Rasengan, and stared at the blue-white sphere in his palm.
"I wonder how much this evolution boosted my talent…"
To Yoru, evolution gave two benefits:
1. breaking the time-space chakra capacity limit
2. raising his talent
And that "talent" wasn't just ninjutsu aptitude—it was everything:
physical ability, neural reflexes, mental speed, chakra control, comprehension, invention… all of it.
His first evolution had already made him a genius even without time-space chakra.
At nine his chakra control qualified for Rasengan training. By ten he'd invented Fire Release: Rasengan. He'd learned basic sealing, sensing, medical ninjutsu, genjutsu, earth-style extensions…
If evolution came again as promised, then this time would too.
This was full-spectrum evolution.
So Yoru was dying to know: how far had his already-genius aptitude climbed?
If chakra had a "welcome gift," surely talent did too—right?
With that thought, he tried injecting a new nature change into the Rasengan.
And the result was magical.
The blue shell and white core of the Rasengan… the inner white vortexes rapidly turned black.
Not time-space black—Earth Release black.
It became Earth Release: Rasengan.
Yoru's eyes widened slightly.
"So easy…"
Even before slamming it into anything, he could feel what it would do.
One mode: the nature change becomes mud, forming a tornado-like earth cyclone similar to Fire Release: Rasengan's fire vortex.
Another mode: it increases the Rasengan's mass, amplifying its raw power—usable as a killing blow or as a small, dense shield that can meet bigger techniques head-on. Offense and defense in one.
Boom—!
He palm-thrust the Earth Rasengan into the cave wall.
The explosion collapsed the entire cavern at once. The shock even triggered an avalanche outside.
Yoru blinked—then vanished with a teleport.
He appeared atop a cliff on another snow mountain and formed another Rasengan.
This one looked completely different.
A normal Rasengan is blue outside, white inside, about the size of a cue ball.
This one was the reverse: white outside, blue inside—same size.
He locked onto a rock half-buried in snow, made a throwing motion…
…and actually threw it.
The Rasengan vanished mid-flight, visibly disappearing.
But the rock went whoomp—! as stone and snow exploded outward.
The remaining stone was carved with spiral grooves.
This was Lightning Release: Rasengan—also known as the Vanishing Rasengan, Boruto's technique.
After he first mastered lightning nature change, Yoru had tried to develop it countless times… and failed.
He couldn't even make Earth Rasengan before, because he only excelled at earth-style extension skills, not earth ninjutsu itself. He didn't truly "specialize" in earth or lightning.
Even Fire Rasengan had become something he rarely used after inventing it.
Like Orochimaru, Rasengan had terrible cost efficiency for someone with "chakra anemia."
Why drain yourself to make a huge fire tornado when you could spend that chakra on lightning-stimulated body activation and earth extensions?
But now, the Rasengan he'd basically abandoned could accept both earth and lightning nature change effortlessly.
It wasn't that his nature change itself improved.
It was that his chakra control had ascended to an entirely new realm.
"Too easy… this is ridiculous…"
If he could control nature change so smoothly that it could be injected into the Rasengan's chaotic high-speed rotation…
then for ordinary ninjutsu, wouldn't anything below S-rank be learnable with ease?
With chakra control like this, everything else becomes easier: learning elements from scratch, raising nature and shape transformation skill, developing extension techniques, sensing, genjutsu, sealing, medical ninjutsu—all of it becomes twice as effective.
And chakra control was only one slice of talent.
This evolution didn't just remove his time-space chakra cap.
It took him from genius to—
a super genius.
"…Maybe I can finally try developing that technique."
Yoru raised his right index finger.
Blue-white vortex strands gathered at his fingertip, condensing into a marble-sized sphere.
Like the Vanishing Rasengan, it was white outside, blue inside—the high-frequency lightning in both layers causing a space-skip effect and the "disappearing" visual.
But in the next breath, the blue core was swallowed by black.
The black spread rapidly, filling the sphere.
As the black compressed and fused with the white shell, the outer layer turned red.
What had been white-blue became black-red.
"The gap in talent really is a bottomless, invisible chasm…"
Yoru sighed—but he couldn't stop grinning.
Not long ago, even injecting a trace of time-space chakra into a Rasengan would destabilize it.
Ten days ago, he still needed to open the Yin Seal and use its special property to compress nearly all his time-space chakra just to form a single time-space sphere.
But now?
He could easily fuse ordinary chakra and lightning nature change into a lightning sphere, then inject time-space chakra and compress all three into one.
"Now that the prototype is done, all that's left is refining shape transformation. Then I can develop multiple applications."
He posed like he was firing a gun, aiming at a nearby cliff wall.
A burst of pressure blew out from his palm and forearm, snapping his black coat in the wind.
That wasn't Wind Release.
It was something Yoru hadn't been able to learn before—
Chakra Burst.
With that thrust, the black-red sphere shot forward.
BOOM—!
A thunderclap detonated like lightning from a clear sky.
Black-red light blossomed at the cliff face.
When it faded, a wide circular hole remained—smooth-edged, its interior filled with spiral grooves.
Unlike the Vanishing Rasengan—which shattered rock into fragments—
this blast was annihilation, like a weakened "purple," erasing that section of mountain and snow into nothingness.
This prototype technique was a weakened "purple", with extremely low cost.
Small. Slow.
But just as lethal.
And unlike "purple," which kills via spatial distortion, this sphere—compressed from ordinary chakra + lightning nature change + time-space chakra—had the property of exploding.
A time-space bomb.
Like Dimensional Slash—
touch it and die.
If it didn't have the flaw of slow speed, its killing power might even exceed "Purple." The cost-performance was absurd.
Staring across the white mountain range, Yoru spread his arms and laughed in pure joy:
"The world of geniuses is incredible!"
After experiencing the full boost of the second evolution, Yoru didn't return to the battlefield immediately.
He went back to Konan's place.
Konan was still catching up on sleep.
Knowing she hadn't slept for a full day, Yoru felt a small, warm satisfaction: she hadn't wasted his trust.
A cute girl was already likable.
A cute girl who was early-maturing and considerate was even more lovable.
If he didn't already have plans for her, he would've wanted to bring her to Konoha and train her there.
With her talent and temperament, she'd definitely get along with Kushina.
The two girls would become his wings—no, wait—
his left and right arms.
Refining chakra and testing the talent boost had taken hours. It was already nearing dusk.
So Yoru checked the fridge, saw there were still enough ingredients, and decided not to restock. He took out food and began cooking a rich dinner for Konan.
…
Maybe she'd slept enough, or maybe she'd heard the noise. Konan came out quickly, face serious.
"Yoru-sama, you just recovered. Please rest. I'll handle dinner."
"Relax. I'm fully recovered."
Yoru pinched her cheek and smiled.
"You worked all day. Let me cook to reward you. Go wash up. That's an order."
"…Yes."
Konan examined his expression, confirmed he really looked fine, and obediently nodded.
By the time she returned, Yoru was already finishing the last dish—no chance for her to help.
During dinner, Yoru said, "Konan, in a little while… I may have a task for you."
"What task?" Konan immediately set down her chopsticks, waiting.
Yoru just smiled. "Eat first. I'll tell you after."
"Yes."
After dinner, once Konan finished washing up and returned, Yoru formed a hand seal and released invisible Yin-style chakra, pulling her into a genjutsu space to talk.
Ten days ago, he couldn't have done something like that.
His genjutsu talent had always been mediocre. Even after owning the Bringer-of-Darkness technique for over a year, he still couldn't master it.
He hadn't even fully learned the higher-level genjutsu from the Gojō family archive.
But now, he could easily pull Konan into a mental world and speak spirit-to-spirit.
Inside the illusion, the setting was the same as their living room.
Yoru patted Konan's head and asked softly, "Konan… are you afraid of danger?"
"I'm afraid. But if I can help you, Yoru-sama… then I won't be afraid."
She answered honestly—her eyes were as firm as Haku's or Kimimaro's.
After more than a year of Yoru's careful care, Konan's heart had been molded into his shape.
Even if her parents were alive, her old home couldn't compare to this.
They'd never even had money to send her to the Ninja Academy.
If not for that paper flower back then—if it hadn't caught Yoru's eye and tied their fates together—Konan probably would've starved to death after escaping Ame.
Or at best, she'd be a wandering orphan.
Instead, she had a warm bed, three nourishing meals a day, shelves of books, endless paper for folding…
and she'd gone from an ordinary child to "Yoru-sama's shinobi."
The more she learned about the shinobi world, the heavier Yoru's kindness felt.
Especially now that she'd started studying secret techniques and made real progress—Yoru no longer held back.
He'd given her the Gojō family's elemental scrolls, genjutsu, medical ninjutsu, even sealing techniques copied from Kushina.
A war orphan's heart is sensitive and starving for love.
Under Yoru's steady "offense," Konan had become completely devoted.
If the heavens offered her a choice—die to save Yoru—she would choose death without hesitation.
Of course she feared danger. That's human.
But she feared something more: losing Yoru's "love"… and losing her usefulness.
She was Yoru's subordinate. Helping him was her reason to exist—at least, that's what she believed.
She didn't dare imagine the despair of being abandoned.
As long as she could help him, she would walk through blades and fire.
Yoru had no idea Konan had self-brainwashed this far. If he did, he'd probably sigh like some gambler: "Guess I didn't disgrace my teacher."
"Great eyes."
Yoru praised her first, then his expression turned serious.
"Don't worry. If you act well, you won't be in danger. But this is a long mission—you may need to stay in the Land of Rain for a long time, and it'll be hard to see me. Are you sure?"
"I want your real feelings. If you're scared or don't want to do it, I can change the plan—give you a few more years to grow first."
He stared into her eyes as he said it.
Konan felt a sharp pang at the idea of being separated for a long time.
But she immediately thought: if Yoru needed someone as young as her for a long mission, it must be extremely important to him.
So she nodded hard.
"Yoru-sama, I've decided. Please command me."
"Good."
Yoru didn't waste words. He began explaining the plan.
With a wave of his hand, the living room transformed into a rocky mountain region in the Land of Rain.
A boy appeared—short red hair, bangs covering his eyes.
As if sensing Konan's gaze, he lifted his head, revealing his eyes beneath the fringe.
Konan jolted—not because his stare was scary, but because she remembered a story Yoru had told her over the past year.
She pointed at the child and looked up at Yoru.
"Yoru-sama… his eyes—"
Yoru nodded.
"Correct. Those eyes are the Sage of Six Paths' eyes from myth—the strongest of the Three Great Dōjutsu: the Rinnegan."
Konan stared, disbelieving.
"B-But… that's just a legend…"
"No. The Sage of Six Paths existed. The Three Great Dōjutsu are real." Yoru smiled. "And the current owner of the Rinnegan… is in the Land of Rain."
Konan immediately understood: her mission was connected to the Rinnegan boy.
She steadied herself and asked, "What do you want me to do, Yoru-sama?"
"His Rinnegan hasn't awakened yet. He isn't a shinobi. He's just an ordinary child." Yoru locked eyes with her and spoke slowly. "I want you to go back to the Land of Rain, find him… and raise him into your subordinate."
Konan was even more confused.
"If he's just a normal child… why don't you take him away and train him yourself?"
"Good question. That's the danger I mentioned."
Yoru waved again, and the scene shifted.
A black-and-white creature like a humanoid pitcher plant appeared.
Stranger still, it only had an upper body—its lower half was sunk into the ground like earth-style.
Yoru explained:
"That child is constantly being watched by things like this. I can't tell you who the mastermind is yet. This creature has a technique that merges it with the earth and plants—no one can sense its chakra. It can move underground at high speed, ignoring barriers. It can also absorb someone's chakra and impersonate them perfectly—even close friends and top sensors can't tell the difference."
"If I go near that child, the mastermind will definitely move against me. That's why every time I come to see you, I disguise myself and hide my chakra."
"Only a child his own age approaching him will make the mastermind—and those watchdog creatures—let their guard down. They won't interfere with his social life and growth."
"I see…" Konan finally understood.
Yoru looked down at her, serious.
"Konan, I'll ask one last time. Are you afraid? If you don't want to go, I can change the plan—give you a few years, then find another way to approach the Rinnegan bearer."
Konan, surprisingly sharp for her age, completed the thought:
"But then… I can't turn him into a subordinate. I'd only be able to go undercover at his side, right?"
"Correct."
Konan smiled sweetly, her eyes still unshakably firm.
"Then please teach me what to do, Yoru-sama. I won't disappoint you."
"You're sure?"
"Yes!"
Yoru began teaching her—how to approach, guide, and cultivate Nagato, and how to fabricate a believable "miracle path" of going from war orphan to shinobi, even to someone beginning to develop a secret technique.
Because Konan was the same age as Nagato, and still weak, she could only teach him fundamentals and a few mainstream low-rank elemental techniques.
And as a war orphan from the Land of Rain, her existence wouldn't trigger immediate suspicion.
Uchiha Madara—who had likely planted something in Nagato—wouldn't scrutinize a same-age friend suddenly appearing. He might even welcome it, since it nudged Nagato toward becoming a shinobi.
Without Six Paths techniques and Yin-Yang Release, even if Nagato awakened Rinnegan power, it would likely manifest as uncontrolled bursts of Six Paths force—unless his talent was absurd enough to master a path instinctively.
And as long as Madara hadn't disconnected the conduit to the Demonic Statue, even a berserk Nagato couldn't summon it.
To Madara and Black Zetsu, Konan raising Nagato was just kids playing house.
If they formed a bond, that was even better—Konan could be used later to guide Nagato into darkness and force him to perform Rinne Rebirth to revive Madara.
That was Yoru's conclusion, built from knowing the original story and reading people's personalities.
As long as Konan didn't slip up, it would work.
Now—why did Yoru want Konan to approach Nagato and recruit him?
The answer was simple: human greed.
The essence of greed is desire that never ends.
Before he awakened time-space power, Yoru's ultimate plan was simply to become an upgraded version of Six Paths Obito.
For that, he was willing to stop being human—to become a stitched monster combining bloodlines and secret arts.
After awakening time-space power, fake "Six Paths" was no longer enough.
His goal became breaking time-space chakra limits, yearning for a second evolution every year. After repeated disappointments, he even invented a theory: the Cell Replacement Cycle.
Now that the theory was confirmed—evolution every six years, replacing part of his cells with time-space cells and boosting him in every way—he had a stairway to godhood.
Follow the steps, and he could become the strongest in the shinobi world… maybe even one of the strongest in the universe.
And yet—he still wasn't satisfied.
Because he didn't know whether evolution increased lifespan.
Could he even live long enough to reach godhood?
And besides… if you obtain godlike power, who would be content with just a few decades or even a century?
A new desire was born:
Immortality.
Yoru was rational. If he'd reincarnated into an ancient era or a low-power world, he wouldn't chase something so intangible.
But he'd landed in a 2D world—Naruto's world—where beings that might transcend the "dimension" exist.
Pure-blood Ōtsutsuki have millennia of lifespan, whether high-rank or servant-rank.
Even Black Zetsu, Kaguya's will, lived for a thousand years.
And Kaguya herself was merely an underling to Isshiki.
Chakra fruits—and pills refined from them—can extend lifespan and power.
In this world, anyone with chakra is basically just a bug drinking the sap of a fallen Divine Tree.
Whether native or reincarnator, sooner or later you must deal with the God Tree and the Ōtsutsuki.
And to deal with them, you need the "entry ticket" of ultimate dōjutsu:
Rinnegan and Tenseigan.
That's why Yoru's old "strategy" is wanted to become a stitched monster—to gain the body necessary to house the Rinnegan.
Now that he had time-space power, he wouldn't transplant the Rinnegan—but he couldn't ignore it either.
He'd already changed Konan's fate. If Nagato's "fate bond" with Yahiko still existed, he'd likely still be influenced by Yahiko.
If that bond was severed, Nagato would become a runaway horse. Once he gained Six Paths and Yin-Yang Release, he'd become a healthy, upgraded Nagato.
That would be an uncontrolled super-Kage-tier threat.
Yoru would never allow that.
He evolves once every six years. Nagato could master six nature changes in a single year.
The moment the Six Paths were built, he could instantly kill an aged Hanzō.
Preta Path would hard-counter Kushina.
If Yoru couldn't instantly kill Nagato, Nagato would target Kushina.
The more tailed beasts he captured, the stronger he'd become—and a healthy Nagato isn't some "super-Kage gatekeeper."
And rather than killing him, Yoru preferred to use him.
Because Yoru knew Nagato's personality from canon and believed he could turn the future super-Kage into his blade—gaining everything he wanted without tarnishing his own reputation or daily life.
That plan required Konan.
And the reason Yoru didn't go himself was also because of Katsuyu's warning.
If Katsuyu could sense Yoru's time-space chakra, Yoru couldn't help suspecting Black Zetsu could too.
No matter how he disguised himself, unless he stayed intangible and fused with space at all times…
the moment he revealed himself, that black time-space chakra would be his "signature."
Until he solved that problem, he wouldn't go near Nagato.
Konan would be his proxy.
Madara couldn't guide Nagato into darkness forever—his time was running out.
As canon showed, he'd eventually find a new Uchiha proxy and lead them into darkness—that was a Third War problem.
By the time Yoru turned eighteen, he would evolve again.
By then, he'd have the capital to stop being a chess piece—and become a chess player.
~~~
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