"Yoru… you really gave this old man a hell of a scare."
Konoha—Hokage's Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi studied the Gojo Yoru standing before him—someone who had returned even earlier than Jiraiya—and wore an expression of open astonishment. His eyes were full of disbelief.
As Konoha's second Flying Thunder God user, the creator of a Rasengan that paired absurdly well with that technique, Orochimaru's student, his own grand-student, and the "shackle" that kept the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki stable, Yoru was someone Hiruzen valued immensely. Otherwise, he wouldn't have given him this many "green lights": two consecutive special promotions, plus privileges that let him ignore certain idiots outright.
In Hiruzen's eyes, Orochimaru was the most suitable heir to his legacy—and the best candidate for Fourth Hokage.
And Gojo Yoru… would be the best candidate for Fifth.
At the start, Hiruzen's greatest hope for Yoru was simply this: stay by Orochimaru's side, learn commander and jōnin experience from his three students, improve his overall competence, and prepare to become a core jōnin one day.
He never imagined Yoru would be this exceptional.
On his very first day at the border base, Yoru helped Tsunade raid Hanzō's pharmaceutical facility—giving Konoha a shortcut to developing an antidote formula for the salamander's poison.
Then he fought alongside the three students to repel Hanzō—and became the first person in decades to injure the salamander.
Hiruzen was stunned… and proud of his own eye for talent.
And using that opportunity, he promoted "pure-blood" Hokage-lineage Yoru to Special Jōnin.
But the gulf between Special Jōnin and Jōnin was like a chasm.
A Special Jōnin only needed a standout specialty—some exceptional skill in ninjutsu/taijutsu/genjutsu—and could be promoted after passing evaluation.
A true Jōnin, as the backbone of every village, had to be a genuine all-rounder: proficient in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu; master at least two chakra natures; capable of mission command; and vetted through a comprehensive leadership/analysis/loyalty assessment before appointment.
The clearest example was Kurenai Yūhi—older than Kakashi. With the Yūhi family's genjutsu aptitude and inheritance, she could easily become a Special Jōnin, yet she didn't become a full Jōnin until near the start of the canon storyline.
Meanwhile, Kakashi (younger), Asuma, and Might Guy were already key "trump card" forces.
That's why full Jōnin were sometimes called "all-round Jōnin"—true all-purpose elites.
After promoting Yoru to Special Jōnin, Hiruzen's expectation became: let him be tempered on the battlefield—grow his chakra reserves, battle experience, adaptability, and judgment through life-and-death situations.
Then, once the war ended, appoint him as a full all-round Jōnin—formally bringing him into Konoha's top leadership circle.
By eighteen, with Yoru at his peak, his three star students entering their peaks, the new generation rising, and the Jinchūriki becoming usable… Hiruzen didn't even dare imagine how strong Konoha would become.
One thing was certain: Konoha's overall strength would surpass the Konoha of the First Shinobi War.
Hiruzen believed he was already estimating Yoru highly.
He hadn't expected he was still vastly underestimating this super-genius—another rarity like Tobirama-sama.
Before even graduating the Academy, Yoru had created the A-rank, no-handseal Rasengan. He'd fused the Clone Technique and Body Flicker into Phantom Body Flicker—capable of turning "intangible to tangible, tangible to intangible," while perfectly hiding chakra presence.
After graduation, he rapidly learned Flying Thunder God, built Lightning-nature from scratch, and then developed a "Black Lightning" secret art.
That level of talent made even Hiruzen—the so-called "Professor of Ninjutsu"—feel ashamed.
And in terms of brains, Yoru exploited information advantage to instantly kill fifty-five Sand shinobi—including Suna's intelligence king.
Hiruzen promoted him again to full all-round Jōnin, setting the fastest promotion record in history—making him the youngest battlefield commander.
After only a year of tempering, Yoru displayed terrifying dominance, became a universally recognized trump-card fighter, and now even the Shinobi Demigod had lost to him.
Even if information advantage played a role… a win was a win. Even Hanzō admitted defeat.
Without realizing it, Yoru had achieved something even the Five Kage couldn't.
In less than two years, he'd gone from "promising prodigy" to the sharpest blade in Hiruzen's hand.
No wonder the Hokage felt dazed.
Yoru smiled modestly. "You're praising me too much, Hokage-sama. I defeated the Demigod because I had an advantage in age and intel. I'm still growing; his power was already at its ceiling. After a year of clashes, I—along with Orochimaru-sensei and the others—had basically mapped out all his habits."
"I only managed to cripple him because I found his real body and forced a moment where he was airborne, and my new move happened to be a Lightning-style technique."
"And it was lucky he already wanted to bow out. Now that I've revealed that move, it won't be easy to beat or even injure him again."
Hiruzen knew that too, yet still praised him warmly. "Even so, you're the only one in decades to hurt both the salamander and Hanzō himself. You're one step away from the summit of the shinobi world. Once your chakra reserves rise, even I may not be your match."
"No," Yoru shook his head. "I still have a lot of weaknesses. My speed and Flying Thunder God just hide them. Which is why I came back—Hokage-sama, I want to exchange for the training method of a technique."
"What technique?" Hiruzen asked, intrigued.
Last year, Hiruzen had let Yoru pick any forbidden technique—and Yoru hadn't chosen an S-rank or super S-rank secret art. He'd taken the A-rank Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags.
Hiruzen had assumed Yoru intended to walk Tobirama's path—innovating and inventing techniques.
After all, Rasengan, Phantom Body Flicker, Black Lightning, and the new laser move were all brutally high-difficulty techniques.
So why exchange again now? To gain more "building blocks" for invention?
Yoru's next words confirmed Hiruzen's suspicion.
"Hokage-sama, I want to exchange for the Spirit Transformation Technique."
"Spirit Transformation?" Hiruzen blinked.
Yoru explained, "My speed is basically at the limit of what people can even comprehend. I don't lack ninjutsu/taijutsu/genjutsu, nor sealing or medical techniques."
"My biggest weakness is sensing."
"Spirit Transformation is a super S-rank Yin Release ultimate art. I've heard Katō-senpai can split mind energy from body energy, become a spiritual form for extreme-range attacks, possess others to control their bodies, read memories, and even perceive the battlefield… so I want to study its essence and see if it can improve my sensory ability."
That was half true.
It was true he really was interested.
Last year he hadn't chosen it because his talent wasn't enough to master such a super S-rank art—and because using it meant soul-leaving-body, leaving his physical body at its most vulnerable.
Yoru's greatest weakness with space-time was assassination.
Even now, to enter full-body intangibility he still needed time for space-time chakra to flood his body; it wasn't instant.
If he released his space-time Yin Seal and used the seal's special properties, he could nearly instant-trigger intangibility—but that was a trump card he didn't want to expose casually.
Someone who feared assassination wouldn't willingly use a soul-out technique that left his body defenseless.
To Yoru, Spirit Transformation was the most "chicken-rib" super S-rank—great in theory, useless in practice.
But after his second evolution turned him from "math idiot" into "math genius," Yoru's interest surged.
Spirit Transformation was an ultimate Yin Release—an insane level of mental-energy control. In canon, Katō Dan's rescue was something even Madara's Rinnegan couldn't sense.
It had top-tier stealth properties.
If Yoru could grasp its core, his Yin Release mastery would soar, and more importantly, his control over mental energy would reach a new realm.
And that was the key.
Perfect control of mental energy meant improved sensing.
Yoru's second evolution had also confirmed his old hypothesis: to develop markless space-time teleportation, he needed two pillars—
1. Top-tier perception,
2. space-time chakra fully leaving the body, merging with the environment—
and then combining them so he could sense space itself.
Two words summed that up: control.
Control of mental energy… and control of the body's space-time energy.
Only then did Yoru truly understand why "Bloodline-Collection" (Kekkei Mōra) was so terrifying—why only Ōtsutsuki could wield it.
Fusing seven nature transformations into a new power required not just mastery, but control on another plane.
Yoru's chakra control had already stepped into a new dimension—among modern shinobi, only Nagato might rival him. Above him were beings from a different world: Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, Madara with perfect Yin Release control, and Kaguya's third child—Black Zetsu—an existence born of Yin-Yang itself.
He finally understood too why even high-tier space-time bloodline powers tended to be rigid: fixed moves, narrow applications.
Bloodline-collection level control only brushed the threshold.
To truly step into the world of space and freely interfere with reality and pocket dimensions, your control had to surpass even that.
Yoru didn't know if the rumored "Ōtsutsuki God" had reached that realm.
But he was certain: if he kept evolving—each evolution bringing all-round growth—he would.
His second evolution had already brought his body-energy control up to standard.
If he raised his mental-energy control too, then with Flying Thunder God as a blueprint, developing markless space-time teleportation at this stage was very possible.
And Spirit Transformation, if he could solve the "body vulnerability" issue, would be a killer technique on par with Flying Thunder God—one that could even let him communicate with Konan under Black/White Zetsu's nose.
Hiruzen didn't know any of that. He only saw Yoru's stated goal—improving sensory weakness—and nodded in approval.
"Good thinking. If you can master Spirit Transformation, your sensory ability will soar—and you'll become a Yin-Release assassination specialist."
Then Hiruzen's expression sharpened.
"But before I approve this exchange, I need to warn you: your sensing weakness means your mental energy and Yin Release are weak too. Normally, with your conditions, you'd have a hard time mastering Spirit Transformation."
"Still… genius doesn't follow reason—especially a once-in-decades super genius like you."
"If you do learn it, then before your mental energy and Yin Release grow stronger, never casually enter a powerful Yin user's spiritual domain. Any technique has weaknesses—Flying Thunder God and Spirit Transformation included."
"If your spirit body enters someone else's mental world, that becomes a contest of Yin and mental energy. If you're crushed inside, it means your spirit—your soul—has been damaged. Those wounds are hard to heal, and can become permanent, stopping your growth forever."
Yoru nodded firmly. "Understood, Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen felt confident in Yoru's maturity.
And in truth, to be a top assassin you needed not only speed—but cautious, survival-first temperament.
They were the best at staying alive.
So Hiruzen began processing the exchange.
…
"Incredibly fast… If not for the charge-up window, it'd be near-unbreakable. If you pre-charge it and combine it with Flying Thunder God, it might be a true 'first-sight kill.'"
Deep underground, Madara Uchiha used Yin-Yang Release to replay what White Zetsu had witnessed, as if he'd seen Yoru's laser technique himself.
He gave the move extremely high praise, then narrowed his eyes in thought.
"Black… red beam. Lightning-fast travel. A thunder-like roar… Black Lightning, or Storm Release's laser?"
"But whether it's Black Lightning or Storm Release, both are tied to Lightning Release—so why isn't there a trace of lightning?"
"That annihilation… is that really Black Lightning's property?"
Madara didn't trust rumors.
More importantly, Black Lightning and Storm Release weren't unique; Yoru wasn't the first.
Was it worth hiding something like that?
And Madara had never seen either produce this kind of erasure.
Even a Tailed Beast Bomb—absurd as it is—still throws up smoke and debris.
So why could "mere Lightning Release" do what a Beast Bomb couldn't?
Madara's contempt for Hanzō deepened.
"That poison-playing brat can't even squeeze out a kid's secret, and he dares accept the title 'Demigod'? Shameless."
White Zetsu didn't even give him face. "Or maybe you're overthinking it and it really is that simple?"
"Get lost," Madara snapped, eyes closing.
…
"…Even the old 'breathing-tube bastard' lost…"
On the Sand front's temporary command post, Chiyo stared at the intel, her expression twisting between disbelief and fury.
Just like how "White Fang" or "Kakashi" could trigger her in canon, anything about Yoru now set her off.
In this four-nation battlefield, the person who hated Yoru most wasn't the Rain assassins, and not even Hanzō.
It was Chiyo.
And with that hatred, her loathing for Hatake Sakumo—another white-haired lightning assassin—only deepened.
But now, it felt like ice water had been poured over her heart.
If even Hanzō had been defeated… how far had that kid advanced?
With Flying Thunder God, who could even kill him?
Did she still have any hope of revenge?
"Mother," a red-haired man stepped in, voice respectful. "The Kazekage wants to speak with you."
"I know…" Chiyo walked out, hollow-eyed.
…
"Dad… if even the Shinobi Demigod lost, do we really keep fighting Konoha?"
In Iwagakure's Tsuchikage office, Kurotsuchi's father—young Ōnoki's son, Kitsuchi—looked at Ōnoki with something he'd never felt before:
Helplessness.
And fear.
Over the last two years, he'd heard Yoru's name endlessly and watched his rise firsthand.
And Kitsuchi was only a few years older.
That was why it hit so hard—like being crushed by a peer.
Injuring the salamander. Flying Thunder God user. Instant-killing fifty-five Sand shinobi. Top assassin who made Rain tremble.
Each event gave Yoru another title—each one loaded with meaning.
Any jōnin who achieved one of those feats would become famous across the shinobi world.
Yoru achieved them all—and then defeated the universally acknowledged "summit" of shinobi.
For young shinobi with weaker nerves, just thinking the name "Gojo Yoru" could make their hands shake.
Kitsuchi wasn't immune.
Ōnoki scolded him harshly.
"Idiot. You don't even have to go to the front—what are you afraid of? With that mindset, forget becoming a true jōnin. I'd demote you back to genin. If you can't even face an enemy in your head, what right do you have to command anyone?"
"Dad… I'm sorry." Kitsuchi lowered his head, ashamed.
Ōnoki snorted.
"One-on-one beating Hanzō isn't that impressive. Without summoning that salamander, he's just a strong water user with good Body Flicker. Against me, he couldn't even touch my sleeve. He'd only run."
"That kid won because of intel advantage. Hanzō didn't even have time to break the mask before he got smashed."
Then Ōnoki's eyes sharpened, and he grasped Hanzō's deeper meaning.
"And don't forget—whether that kid won or Hanzō won, neither would dare kill the other."
"Hanzō—no, Rain Country—can't sustain this level of war anymore. He wanted to bow out."
"He went looking for that kid as a stepping stone… and ended up making him famous and helping us."
"Helping us?" Kitsuchi blinked.
"Yes." Ōnoki's gaze turned wary.
"That technique is too fast and too lethal. Combined with Flying Thunder God, even I might eat a first-sight kill if I'm careless."
"But now the technique's intel is out. We can plan for the worst."
"It probably isn't 'Black Lightning.' It's likely Storm Release: Laser."
"That kid has become a nightmare like the Third Raikage."
"Difference is: the Raikage can be worn down with numbers."
"This kid has an attack that rivals the strongest spear, and Flying Thunder God lets him escape at will."
"No human-wave tactic works. You need traps—unexpected kills."
Ōnoki folded his arms and closed his eyes, thinking.
Kitsuchi barely dared breathe.
After a long silence, Ōnoki opened his eyes, deep and cold.
"Flying Thunder God. Lightning-body combat. 'Black Lightning'—or Storm laser. Perfect chakra suppression."
"This kid's ninjutsu and taijutsu are already near the top. The only thing he hasn't shown is genjutsu."
"He may not be good at Yin Release or sensing. You can see it from how he and Sarutobi's students spent a year getting toyed with by Hanzō, unable to find the real body."
Then Ōnoki's wariness sharpened.
"But his growth rate is insane. If we let him keep growing, he'll patch that weakness too."
"We can't retreat. We have to press harder—force that kid onto the line and create a window to kill him."
"Otherwise, once he's an adult… he may become a second Hanzō—untouchable."
And with that, Ōnoki made his decision.
~~~
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