The place where Gojo Yoru had left his Flying Thunder God formula was a private room Orochimaru had specifically cleared out.
So when Yoru arrived, he didn't alert anyone at all—not the sensing squad maintaining the barrier, and not the barrier squad either.
The moment he stepped out of the room, Yoru ran straight into a ninja wearing a flak vest.
Before Yoru could greet him, the ninja—at least chūnin—bowed deeply with a feverish, worshipful expression.
"Yoru-sama!"
"Uh—"
Yoru froze, genuinely startled.
In the past three days, he'd already gotten used to being called "Yoru-sama"… but only in front of Konan.
This was the first time anyone else had called him "sir," and the guy was wearing a vest—a senior in rank.
It only took a few seconds for Yoru to understand.
This was the benefit of fame.
Jiraiya and Tsunade saw "injuring the salamander" as a feat even the Five Great Villages had never achieved—an enormous honor.
And even the shinobi demigod himself had openly acknowledged Yoru's achievement, calling him "Black Flash" and "the future of the shinobi world."
To clever people like Orochimaru, Hanzō was sacrificing his own reputation to set Yoru up for a "praise-kill."
But to the "idiots" easily swept up by propaganda, Yoru was the one who had accomplished what even the Five Great Villages couldn't—the only person in many years to injure the salamander and gain recognition from the demigod.
Just as Jiraiya said, in only three days, the name Black Flash · Gojo Yoru spread across the entire shinobi world—even the Land of Water, far from the main continent, had heard of him.
In wartime, geniuses and heroes always appear.
This war—destined to be called the Second Great Ninja War—had barely begun, and the Land of Fire had already produced a super genius acknowledged by the pinnacle of the shinobi world… an enemy leader.
And then a second piece of information—pushed by some unknown faction—spread rapidly across the entire shinobi world:
The Gojo Yoru in the portrait looked at least sixteen… but he was actually only eleven this year.
Eleven years old, having mastered a rare super S-rank technique, and becoming the first person to injure the salamander since the demigod reached the top.
Right now, Yoru was basically a massively upgraded version of canon Hatake Kakashi.
Later, once Kakashi rose—becoming an all-round jōnin at twelve and developing an A-rank Lightning Release jutsu—people wouldn't be shocked the same way.
Because before him, there was someone even more absurd: Gojo Yoru.
Yoru didn't know any of that yet.
Once he realized he had become a "big name" and a "big deal," he accepted the identity shift quickly.
He raised a hand in return and asked politely, "Hello, senpai. Is Orochimaru-sensei still at the base?"
"Orochimaru-sama, Tsunade-sama, and Jiraiya-sama have all left the base."
Yoru raised an eyebrow. "To the front line? Did Amegakure's forces push in?"
"No," the ninja answered honestly. "It's Tsunade-sama's younger brother… something happened."
"Because of the three-front war, we need supplies. Not long ago, the support corps delivered a batch of materials, and several squads rotated shifts."
"The support corps mainly handles logistics, medical, sensing, and intelligence support."
"Tsunade-sama's brother… he may have tried to help the front by scouting. On the road, he stepped on an enemy explosive-flame formation."
Yoru: "…"
What can I even say?
If it weren't for infiltrating Amegakure with Tsunade for the antidote formula, and the cave incident that slightly changed their senior–junior dynamic, Yoru would've wanted to add one word:
Man.
Even with him—the variable dragging history further and further off track—Konoha's "crown prince" still couldn't survive to twelve. He still died to explosive tags.
All Yoru could think was: this is fate.
Before going to Amegakure, Tsunade had already mentioned how Rain ninja loved setting explosive-flame arrays.
After witnessing Water Body Flicker's escape ability, Yoru knew even more clearly that those arrays wouldn't affect Rain ninja much at all—meaning they would lay them everywhere.
This should have been common knowledge for all three great nations. Tsunade, who cared so much about her brother, surely warned Nawaki.
Even if Tsunade didn't, the Senju clansmen assigned to protect Nawaki would have warned their young lord.
Nawaki had countless chances to change his fate.
If he didn't join the war—given he was the First Hokage's grandson and the future of the forest Senju—Hiruzen would not have sent him, even for Tsunade's sake. Then he wouldn't have died.
If he simply stayed at the border base as a support member, with Senju protection at his side at all times, he still wouldn't have died.
Even more—
If he had been a bit cautious and sent a shadow clone ahead while traveling… he still wouldn't have died.
But he missed every one of those gifts.
When someone dodges chance after chance and still insists on being reckless, they must pay the price.
Nawaki was the perfect example.
The grandson of the God of Shinobi, awakened Senju blood, entered the Academy at five, mastered Rasengan at twelve—he should have had a bright future.
Yet he died to something cheap: an explosive tag.
A single tag whose cost was only a bit more than a shuriken—maybe even less than a kunai.
And worst of all—
He didn't kill a single enemy.
The absurdity was so extreme that even across two lifetimes, Yoru would never forget it. It remained burned into his memory.
It was even why, when choosing a "time anchor," Yoru picked Nawaki rather than Nagato with the Rinnegan.
Shaking his head helplessly, Yoru decided to go take a look anyway.
"Thank you for telling me, senpai. Excuse me."
He raised a hand again—and vanished without warning.
Watching Flying Thunder God teleportation with his own eyes, the ninja stared with worship.
"So that's the legendary Flying Thunder God… No movement trail at all. Amazing!"
…
In the pouring rain, within a rainforest near the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain, a wooden cabin stood.
Gojo Yoru appeared at the cabin door without warning.
Beside the doorframe stood Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru-sensei," Yoru greeted softly. Orochimaru nodded.
Looking inside, both Tsunade and Jiraiya were there. Tsunade knelt before a body covered with cloth, her eyes hollow. Her hair and clothing were soaked by rain.
When grief reaches its extreme, sometimes you can't even cry.
Tsunade was clearly like that.
It seemed Jiraiya had never seen Tsunade in this state before. He didn't dare go close to comfort her—he could only stand helplessly behind.
One glance was enough for Yoru to know Nawaki was gone for good.
Only those who die horribly are covered with cloth—leaving them the last shred of dignity.
Confirming Nawaki still couldn't escape fate, Yoru looked to Orochimaru.
In canon, Nawaki's death was one of the key events that pushed Orochimaru toward darkness.
Two major personality shifts in his early life both came from losing those close to him.
His parents' death made him grow up overnight. He became the "cold genius" in Hiruzen's eyes—icy and self-focused on the surface, but actually terrified of comrades being hurt.
Under Hiruzen's guidance, he became the perfect "leg" in Yoru's eyes.
In canon, Nawaki's death not only reminded Orochimaru of his parents—it was because Orochimaru personally witnessed Nawaki being blown apart by explosive tags.
That brilliant student he believed would carry the Senju honor…
Didn't die to assassination, didn't die in battle, didn't die of wounds—
He died to a cheap explosive tag.
Life… could be that fragile? That cheap?
From that moment, Orochimaru developed the desire for immortality, slowly created the Great Snake Style, was tempted by Danzō into joining Root, began researching Hashirama cells and forbidden jutsu, eventually raided the forbidden vault and seized techniques like the Eight Branches and Edo Tensei—walking the road of a missing-nin.
In this timeline, Orochimaru wasn't Nawaki's teacher anymore. Yoru was curious whether he would still develop that obsession with immortality.
Orochimaru didn't step inside to hide from the rain. He stood in the doorway letting the rain soak him, as if trying to extinguish something with cold water. His gaze was deep, unfocused, not truly on Nawaki or Tsunade—he seemed lost in thought.
His only reaction was nodding at Yoru's arrival.
The atmosphere was oppressive. Yoru suddenly regretted coming.
Even when the loss had nothing to do with you, a scene of death still drags at the heart.
So Yoru mirrored Orochimaru, leaning against the other side of the doorway, letting the rain fall, listening to it, refusing to look inside.
Time passed—how long, no one could tell. The rain shifted from heavy to light, from drizzle to downpour again. The sky stayed blanketed in thick clouds, dark and heavy, making it impossible to judge the hours.
Until Yoru heard a pop.
He looked back inside.
White smoke—then Tsunade emerged from it, looking exhausted and disheveled despite no fighting. A storage scroll was in her hand.
She didn't look at Jiraiya, didn't look at Orochimaru, and didn't even look at the doorway.
Her voice was hoarse as she spoke to Yoru.
"Take me… and… Nawaki… home."
She didn't even use a name—her emotions were crushed that far down.
Yoru exchanged a look with Orochimaru, nodded, and placed a hand on Tsunade's shoulder. The two vanished.
After several teleports, they appeared at the abandoned training ground.
This was still Konoha's central area. Hokage Rock was visible in the distance.
Tsunade didn't Body Flicker away. She walked heavily toward home, her back looking utterly lost.
Yoru didn't go home either. He followed behind her, arriving at the First Hokage's mansion for the first time.
It was afternoon. Kushina—now a sixth-year student—should still be at the Academy.
And because Nawaki had gone to the border, there were no servants in the mansion.
The moment Tsunade entered, she headed straight for the shrine.
This time, Yoru didn't follow. He sat on the veranda outside.
Before long, he faintly heard crying and apologies.
"Grandfather, Grandmother… I'm sorry… I couldn't protect Nawaki… Now I'm the only one left!"
That last line was filled with raw sorrow and fragility.
In only two years, two close loved ones had died. In canon, she'd only just found love when her lover died too, leaving her "hollowed out" inside—no wonder she would later develop hemophobia.
Such repeated blows—if you don't break, you're already strong.
Just like with Konan, Yoru didn't try to comfort Tsunade.
This isn't something "my condolences" can solve. The person has to walk out of it themselves.
All he could do was wait for Tsunade to recover.
"Yoru—when did you get back?!"
After who knew how long, a voice full of surprise reached him.
Yoru looked over and saw Kushina jogging toward him, face bright with joy.
Yoru greeted her with a smile. "Kushina, school's out?"
"Mhm—! Yoru, why are you here?"
She nodded, then realized how strange it was—she'd never brought Yoru here before.
Yoru pointed toward the shrine. "I brought Tsunade-sama back."
Hearing the sobbing from inside, Kushina's heart lurched. Her voice trembled slightly.
"Wh-what happened…?"
Yoru didn't know how close Kushina was to Nawaki. He just patted her shoulder.
"Nawaki-senpai… died."
"That can't be—"
Kushina's pupils shrank. She covered her mouth, staring at Yoru in disbelief.
When Yoru nodded, mist immediately rose in her eyes and her emotions surged.
Of course she was sad—but perhaps more than that, she was shaken by hearing of another death close by.
Few had it worse than Kushina.
She lost her nation and clan, barely began to blend into her new foster "family," then the clan elder who was also her last kin ended her life for Kushina's sake—then the next year, the "older brother" in the house was gone too.
That once lively mansion would become even colder.
If Mito's residual chakra seal hadn't still been present, Kushina's emotional state right now would have been a perfect opening for the Nine-Tails to strike.
"Go check on Tsunade-sama," Yoru said. "She probably needs you most right now."
Again, he didn't try to comfort—he urged action.
Kushina, dazed, walked toward the shrine.
With Kushina—who shared the same pain—there to watch over Tsunade, Yoru finally didn't stay.
He went to the Hokage Tower to report to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
~~~
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