Gojo Yoru had long been mentally prepared for Orochimaru's questions.
The moment Orochimaru saw the Rasengan, Yoru knew there was no avoiding a round of probing.
After organizing his words in his head, Yoru looked straight at Orochimaru and said, "A ninja's battle is a battle of information. I don't want other people to know my trump cards. And I don't want to graduate early for now—I still want to learn more at the academy."
Orochimaru froze for a moment as he stared at the serious-looking boy.
Clearly, he hadn't expected that answer.
When he came back to himself, the way he looked at Yoru was filled with admiration.
It seemed this child wasn't just physically developed early—his mind was unusually mature as well.
While other children were still playing at being ninjas, and even prodigies couldn't resist the temptation of graduating early and becoming a real shinobi, this boy was doing the opposite: hiding his strength and accumulating knowledge.
So what had driven him to think like this?
There was no doubt—it had to be the news of the Gojo couple's deaths.
In that instant, Orochimaru seemed to see his own reflection in Gojo Yoru.
He too had changed drastically after losing his parents.
So Orochimaru could understand Yoru's desire to hide.
Only by concealing a powerful trump card could you create a miracle in a dead end—turn certain death into a way out.
He wasn't afraid of becoming a ninja early and seeing blood. He wanted to become stronger, to master more knowledge—so he could face the accidents that could arrive at any moment, and make sure he and his comrades would never follow his parents' path.
Thinking that, Orochimaru's fondness for Yoru shot up sharply.
Outwardly, he offered generous praise: "A very good idea. As expected of Sa and Mio's son. If they can see you now in the Pure Land, they'll be deeply comforted.
I believe that in the future, you'll surpass them and become one of Konoha's ace combat assets."
This time, before Yoru could respond modestly, Orochimaru continued, "That jutsu just now—was it a gift Sa left you?"
"No. The Rasengan is a jutsu I developed myself," Yoru shook his head.
"Rasengan… that's a very good name."
The corners of Orochimaru's mouth lifted slightly, as if everything matched what he'd expected.
Given how powerful that technique was, if Gojo Sa had created it—or if it were some hereditary Gojo technique—it would've been famous throughout Konoha and the shinobi world long ago.
At the same time, Orochimaru couldn't help clicking his tongue inwardly.
Developing a jutsu with at least B-rank training difficulty at this age… what a dazzling talent.
But on the surface, Orochimaru remained calm and casual. "That technique's destructive power is extremely high. Your shape transformation and chakra control are both top-tier. And if I'm not mistaken, it's also a hand-signless, attribute-less jutsu, right? Just now, were you trying to inject nature transformation into it—and failed?"
"As expected of Orochimaru-sama!"
Yoru widened his eyes and stared at him with an expression of "shock."
Then he deliberately put on a hopeful look, his gaze burning with excitement as he stared at Orochimaru.
Orochimaru's mouth curved faintly. He raised his right hand.
On his wrist, at some point unknown, a small white snake was already coiled.
The snake opened its mouth and spat out a red scroll far too large for its size.
Orochimaru tossed the scroll to Yoru and said, "This is my understanding of nature transformation over the years. I don't need it anymore, so I'll give it to you."
The moment Yoru caught the scroll, his hand trembled slightly.
Then his eyes darted, and he broke into an expression of wild joy. He bowed at a perfectly straight ninety degrees.
"Thank you, Orochimaru-sensei!"
Orochimaru took in every shift of expression and didn't correct the way Yoru addressed him. He only left behind a sentence filled with expectation:
"I hope that the next time we meet, your growth will shock me."
With that, Orochimaru turned into an afterimage and vanished.
Only after Orochimaru had been gone for more than ten seconds did Yoru straighten up, staring at the scroll in his hands, eyes full of delight.
What an unexpected windfall!
And the real surprise wasn't even the nature-transformation scroll.
It was the fact that Orochimaru hadn't rejected Yoru's audacious "Sensei" address.
Yoru had assumed the first of the Sannin he'd meet would be Tsunade—through Kushina, according to his plan—or Jiraiya, through Minato.
He never expected the first Sannin he encountered would be Orochimaru.
And this legendary shinobi—whose talent and brilliance were second only to Senju Tobirama, who survived from the early arcs all the way into Boruto without being phased out, and who even kept himself relevant by flexing technology—seemed to be genuinely fond of Yoru, and openly appreciative.
If that was the case, then maybe Yoru didn't even need to use Kushina to cling to Tsunade's thigh.
If he could latch onto Orochimaru instead, he could gain resources and connections—and even sign a contract with Ryūchi Cave, obtaining its Sage Mode.
Once he mastered Sage Mode, Yoru's space–time chakra would become space–time senjutsu chakra.
At that point, he didn't even dare imagine how strong he would be.
With that thought, Yoru began analyzing Orochimaru's gift—and his silent permission.
Orochimaru didn't reject the "Sensei" address because of Yoru's talent.
Before awakening space–time abilities, Yoru's original plan had been to use the Rasengan to shock Konoha—so the higher-ups would tacitly allow him to befriend Kushina, and invest in him.
Developing a hand-signless A-rank jutsu at age nine was terrifying.
No one could ignore talent like that.
Especially not someone like Orochimaru.
Top-tier chakra control and shape transformation—once nature transformation was added, Yoru's Rasengan could be perfected into an ultimate, S-rank technique.
S-rank techniques were the highest tier in the shinobi world—things that, no matter how hard you worked, you still might never learn. Even the Sharingan couldn't copy them.
Techniques like that— even in the Five Great Villages—were classified as forbidden secrets: sealed away in the Book of Seals or stored in restricted jutsu vaults as trump cards.
And a shinobi who mastered a technique of that level had the ability to threaten a Kage.
Once their overall combat quality rose to match, they became a village's ace fighting force—commonly known as an elite jōnin.
Jōnin of that class were also called Hokage candidates: in emergencies, they could issue A-rank missions to any ninja in the village.
When a Kage died or stepped down, they had the right to run for the position—and to vote.
Orochimaru was exactly that kind of existence.
And Yoru had displayed the potential to become the same.
Orochimaru—still dreaming of becoming the Fourth Hokage—needed to build his own faction, his own foundation, his own trustworthy and powerful subordinates.
Yoru's potential, identity, and age fit perfectly.
This scroll, and Orochimaru not rejecting Yoru's "Sensei," was Orochimaru investing in him—and signaling his expectations.
As long as Yoru kept showing his potential, even if Orochimaru didn't formally take him as a disciple, he would keep increasing his investment—and use the privileges of being the Hokage's student to cultivate him.
The backing Yoru had dreamed of ever since transmigrating…
He had finally found it.
~~~
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