After so many years, having a girl throw him a birthday celebration again washed clean something inside Gojo Yoru.
After pulling out his inner demon and starting a brand-new life, Uzumaki Kushina had been Yoru's first friend—his first bond as he began truly blending into this world.
And now, with that heart-piercing "attack," the girl finally gave Yoru a sense of belonging in this world… and someone he genuinely wanted to protect.
That night, Yoru and Kushina went completely wild.
They ate the cake together, but the failed batches in the kitchen became their weapons—and the two of them started a full-on cake war.
After cleaning up the house and taking showers, they put on yukata and went out hand-in-hand to wander the night market, leaving their childish silhouettes all over Central Street.
Only when it was deep into the quiet of the night did Yoru escort Kushina back to the Senju mansion.
The clock ticked over to midnight.
This year, the "gift of space–time" still didn't come.
The next day, with her surprise successfully delivered and finally able to breathe easy, Kushina—without any suspense—didn't show up.
So Yoru could only go to the training ground alone.
When Orochimaru saw Yoru, he immediately sensed that something about the boy had changed.
Recalling the information his shadow clone had reported yesterday afternoon, Orochimaru smiled. "You seem to be in a pretty good mood. Looks like you had a lot of fun last night."
"Orochimaru-sensei… so you already knew," Yoru said, instantly putting it together. No wonder Orochimaru's smile yesterday had looked so meaningful.
Orochimaru only smiled, saying nothing.
Kreeee—!
Before they could begin a new day's training, a piercing eagle cry suddenly rang out across the sky.
It was so loud the entire central district of Konoha could hear it.
Looking up at the hawk circling above Central Street, Orochimaru's expression shifted slightly. He instructed Yoru, "Take the day off. Rest properly. We meet again tomorrow at the same time."
With that, Orochimaru Body Flickered away.
Yoru also stared at the hawk overhead, eyes narrowing slightly.
As a top student in written classes, Yoru obviously knew what that hawk cry meant.
It was an emergency summons signal.
Upon hearing it, every jōnin in the village had to rush to the Hokage Tower immediately.
"If I remember right, this year's Chūnin Exams already ended… so is war coming?" Yoru couldn't help thinking.
It wasn't strange he would think that—because the Second Great Ninja War was unfamiliar territory for him.
The only things he still remembered clearly were a few scenes he'd seen in the TV anime.
One: Nawaki, full of swagger, ignoring the warnings of Konoha ninja in flak vests, sprinting at the front in a ninja run—then jumping down a small slope and getting blown apart in a single explosion. Zero kills, instant death.
That kind of death… unless Nawaki was banned from the battlefield, even a god descending couldn't save him.
Two: the Konoha Sannin facing off against Hanzo.
Three: Yahiko and the other two becoming students—and Orochimaru's change.
And a few scattered fragments: Jiraiya training the trio; Dan Kato supporting Tsunade, then dying; Tsunade developing hemophobia.
Yoru didn't even remember the scene where Konoha's White Fang killed Sasori's parents.
The Second Great Ninja War still wasn't his stage.
But he took it incredibly seriously.
Because it would come too early—right in his weakest period.
If he could just finish the Strength of a Hundred Seal, or survive until his second evolution, he could handle it with ease.
Right now, Yoru only hoped the war would come a little later—just give him a bit more time to grow.
…
"Yoru, you didn't go do missions today?"
At noon, Kushina came to Yoru's house.
Seeing him reading in the living room, she sat beside him. While peeling fruit from the coffee table, she asked casually.
"Orochimaru-sensei had something come up. He gave me the day off," Yoru said, setting down his book with a smile. "Good thing you didn't come this morning, or you'd have wasted the trip."
"Heh-heh. My luck has always been good," Kushina wrinkled her nose smugly.
Yoru nodded in agreement. "True. If you weren't lucky, you wouldn't have met me."
Kushina: "(⊙o⊙)"
If she hadn't been holding a knife, she would've lunged over and pinched Yoru's cheeks just to test how thick his skin really was.
She rolled her eyes. "Narcissist. You've got it backwards."
"It's just facts," Yoru said coolly, legs crossed, book in hand, striking a full "CEO" pose.
"If I weren't broke right now, I'd go buy a camera and take a picture of you being this smug," Kushina complained. "Then when you're older, I'd laugh at you properly."
She didn't mean anything by it, but Yoru's eyes suddenly flickered.
Knock knock knock—
Before Yoru could reply, knocking suddenly sounded at the door.
Both Yoru and Kushina froze.
Kushina stared at Yoru in disbelief. "Besides me… someone actually knocks on your door?"
Yoru's mouth twitched.
Painful, but… true.
They both went downstairs and opened the door.
When she saw who it was, Kushina blurted out in surprise, "Orochimaru-sensei?"
Yoru was surprised as well, but he stepped aside politely and lifted a hand. "Orochimaru-sensei, welcome to the Gojo home. Please come in!"
"No need. I won't go in."
Orochimaru shook his head and handed Yoru a slip of paper, his expression serious. "Go buy everything on this list. Tomorrow at nine in the morning, wait for me at the village gate. I'm taking you out of the village for a mission."
"…Yes!"
The moment Yoru took the note, his expression tightened.
His first out-of-village mission… was finally here?
But looking at Orochimaru, it didn't feel like an ordinary C-rank mission at all.
Orochimaru didn't chat. After handing over the note, he vanished into a puff of white smoke—it had only been a shadow clone.
Looks like Orochimaru's real body was still busy.
"Yoru… you're leaving the village?" Kushina's mood dipped. "Then does that mean you won't be back for a long time?"
After getting used to being glued to Yoru every day, the thought of him being gone for a long stretch filled her with a sudden, nameless panic—
Like she'd gone back to the days when she first arrived in Konoha last year.
Noticing her mood shift, Yoru patted her head and smiled. "It can't be avoided. If you get bored at home, go to the Ninja Academy and beat up some bullies to pass the time."
"Pfft—"
Kushina burst out laughing, then gave him an attractive white-eyed glare and huffed, "The biggest bully in the academy is you. Who am I supposed to beat up?"
"Never mind that," Yoru said, smoothly changing the topic. "Didn't you say you want to buy a camera? Let's go now."
He took Kushina's hand and led her toward the storage room.
~~~
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