Shinobi across the ninja world firmly believe one saying:
A ninja's battle is a battle of information!
Gojo Yoru believed that too—on the condition that no one involved was beyond-Kage level.
Below that "beyond-Kage" tier, even someone standing at the very peak of the Five Kage—like the Third Raikage, with the strongest shield and spear, who could fight the Eight-Tails one-on-one without losing—could still be worn down and killed by sheer numbers.
Only those who surpassed the Five Kage couldn't be defeated through information alone. Only beyond-Kage power could deal with beyond-Kage power.
Tokiya clearly didn't have that kind of broken strength.
But Gojo Yoru did have a broken ability.
Before Tokiya could learn the truth—that Yoru's power was space–time, the ability to merge into space—Yoru needed only a small trick to chop Tokiya into pieces.
This was also the first time Yoru used the "black blade" to cut a person.
If gemstones and even the earth were as fragile as paper before it, the human body was no exception.
Yoru's blade met no resistance at all. With Phantom Body Flicker enhancing him, his swings were so fast they were like strokes of a brush, leaving black lines in the air.
Anything inside the area covered by those black lines was mercilessly severed.
Sadly, the black blade's power still couldn't tear space itself—otherwise that slash would have been a true dimensional cut.
Even so, Yoru still named the move Dimensional Slash, and he had high expectations for its potential.
"You… what did you just do?"
After successfully killing a dangerous enemy, Yoru didn't stop to admire Dimensional Slash's power—he was thinking about how to erase the body.
Just then, a familiar voice suddenly reached his ears.
Yoru jumped, nearly thinking there was another ambush.
He turned toward the voice and his eyes widened. "Orochimaru-sensei…"
Not far away, Orochimaru stood on top of a huge rock, staring at Yoru with an expression of pure disbelief.
It was obvious Orochimaru had seen everything—every moment of Yoru shredding Tokiya into pieces.
He might have been here from the very beginning.
Yoru instantly understood. He looked at Orochimaru with a wounded, resentful stare. "Orochimaru-sensei… that's too much."
"I only wanted to see how much you've grown," Orochimaru replied calmly. "After all, survival drills are still just drills."
He leapt down from the rock and walked up to Yoru, eyes fixed on the chakra blade in Yoru's hand. He resumed the question, his voice even trembling slightly. "That blade… what exactly was that just now?"
He hadn't pressed about Rasengan. He hadn't asked about how Phantom Body Flicker hid chakra.
But now he kept pressing about this "Dimensional Slash."
That alone showed how massive a shock it was for Orochimaru to watch Tokiya get minced.
Because Orochimaru knew that Yoru's blade wasn't some divine weapon—it was just a chakra blade forged with a certain material that made it easier to draw chakra out and apply nature transformation.
Even with a trash chakra blade like this—no, even with the Second Hokage's Thunder God Sword, or the famous legendary weapons of the shinobi world coated in the sharpest Wind Release nature transformation—you still couldn't cut an adult into a pile of meat in mere seconds.
So clearly, the problem wasn't the sword.
The problem was Yoru.
Seeing Orochimaru's expression, Yoru knew he couldn't hide it anymore.
And since it would eventually be exposed anyway, there was no point damaging their teacher–student relationship over something like this.
So Yoru grinned, wearing a proud smile. "It's not the blade, Orochimaru-sensei. It's my ability—my strongest trump card."
The moment Yoru admitted it, Orochimaru's breathing quickened, his voice shaking even more. "Is it… a space–time ability?"
Once he started thinking that way, countless old puzzles snapped into place.
And at the same time, it became terrifying the more he thought about it.
Yoru's Phantom Body Flicker—why it couldn't be sensed for chakra, why it was so abnormal—was because both the original body and the phantoms were merged into space.
Only then could the phantoms take hits without dispersing; only then could the original hide his chakra presence yet still "appear" when attacking.
But… it was unbelievable.
Did someone in this world really exist who could use space–time power to this extent?
One Flying Thunder God Technique alone had stumped countless geniuses.
So Orochimaru stared hard into Yoru's eyes, demanding an answer.
Yoru smiled and nodded. "Yes. It's space–time power. And it isn't a secret technique… it's my bloodline limit."
Orochimaru's pupils constricted violently. "A bloodline limit?!"
The more Orochimaru knew, the bigger the shock wave inside him became.
He had assumed Yoru's space–time use was either a Gojo-family secret art that no one had ever grasped, or some Tobirama-like miracle—an unpredictable blessing of talent.
But instead…
It was inborn. Something he might even pass down to descendants.
Wouldn't that mean Yoru could use space–time power as easily as elemental jutsu—and develop other types of space–time techniques too?
Did such a bloodline limit really exist?
If so… then what the hell was Wood Release worth?
Only the mythical "sage eyes" that created the moon might be comparable, wouldn't they?!
Watching Orochimaru look just as stunned as he'd expected, Yoru smiled—then turned serious and made a request.
"When I was six, I suddenly realized I'd awakened this space–time power. It's hard to control. Even now I've only developed Phantom Body Flicker and that Dimensional Slash just now, and the chakra consumption is enormous. Until my chakra reserves increase, please keep it secret for me."
Orochimaru snapped back to himself.
Looking at this disciple—mature in both body and mind—Orochimaru's eyes held nothing but deep admiration and satisfaction.
"You did the right thing. With a power like that, until you have real strength, you must hide it—even from your closest family," Orochimaru said solemnly. "Since you're willing to trust me with this secret, I can't let you down as your teacher either. From now on, unless you choose to reveal it yourself, even my own teacher—the Third Hokage—won't hear a single word of it from me."
Yoru's expression brightened with joy. He bowed deeply. "Thank you, Orochimaru-sensei."
Seeing Yoru possess such overwhelming power and still be so respectful, Orochimaru's affection for him surged.
In this moment, in Orochimaru's eyes, Yoru was no longer merely a future ace combat asset.
No longer merely a future Kage.
He was a future new God of Shinobi.
Someone who could treat space–time power like elemental jutsu already had the potential to break the rules.
And that existence… was Orochimaru's student.
The sense of achievement swelling in Orochimaru made the Hokage seat itself feel… almost trivial.
Then, as if remembering something, Orochimaru suddenly smiled. "You completed this 'mission' very well. I'll give you the reward early."
"I originally intended it as a birthday present, but considering your chakra wasn't enough back then and you shouldn't split your focus learning other things, I decided against it."
"Now it seems I was too well-intentioned—and delayed your growth."
As he spoke, a small white snake slid out from Orochimaru's sleeve and opened its mouth, spitting out a scroll far too large for its body—just like the nature-transformation scroll he'd given Yoru back then.
~~~
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