REVIEWS AND POWERSTONES PLSSS!!!!!REVIEWS AND POWERSTONES PLSSS!!!!!REVIEWS AND POWERSTONES PLSSS!!!!!
Chapter 107: Space Perception, The Watershed of the Third Evolution
Time flows endlessly in training, and another year passed in the blink of an eye.
Before anyone realized it, Konoha Year 37 was drawing to a close.
The shinobi world had long since returned to normal operations, with the three major nations and the Land of Rain slowly recovering their national strength.
The two-year shinobi world war seemed as if it had happened long ago.
In the new academic year beginning in April, history textbooks now included sections on the Second Shinobi World War. Gojo Yoru set another shinobi world record—at such a young age, he'd already become the cover figure in history books across all nations, known to students everywhere, either worshipped or hated.
This was a level of treatment that even the war's second-place winner, the White Fang of Konoha, didn't receive.
Just like the First Hokage Hashirama Senju, Gojo Yoru—called the incarnation of a miracle—was so strong that people could slander his personality and character but couldn't slander his power. The shinobi villages of each nation had to write about him in their history books, warning future generations to understand Yoru's strength and intelligence so that if they encountered him in the shinobi world, they would decisively abandon their missions and flee rather than foolishly throw away their lives out of stubbornness.
This past year, Yoru hadn't left Konoha even once in public, which led some idiots blinded by the hundred-million-ryo bounty to recklessly infiltrate Konoha to assassinate or poison him.
Little did they know that to protect Gojo Yoru, Hiruzen Sarutobi had become utterly ruthless.
The sensory barrier covering Konoha's central district operated around the clock, with the Sensory and Barrier divisions staffed entirely by shinobi directly loyal to the Hokage.
Any unfamiliar chakra signature not entering Konoha through the village gate would immediately face capture by ANBU.
Even people who registered and entered through the gate—once their chakra was sensed, Hiruzen would ruthlessly dispatch members of the Kurama and Yamanaka clans to quietly possess their bodies and read their minds. Afterward, the victims wouldn't even know they'd been hit with the Kurama and Yamanaka clans' Yin Release combination technique.
Once someone was discovered to have ill intentions, they would immediately be thrown into Konoha Prison for various interrogations.
Without a noble guarantor and passing layers of questioning and trials, outsiders couldn't even open shops or do business in Konoha.
Until Gojo Yoru addressed his two major weaknesses, Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't lower this alert level. He also wouldn't allow Yoru to leave on missions, even though he was already the most unstoppable existence in the shinobi world.
This level of protection far exceeded even that given to the Nine-Tails jinchuriki.
If you didn't know better, you'd think Gojo Yoru was actually Hiruzen's son and Asuma Sarutobi was adopted.
This treatment would make Naruto Uzumaki from the original story cry himself unconscious in the bathroom. (no shit, hahaha)
When Gojo Yoru heard this news, he felt somewhat regretful.
Unfortunately, those with such foolish ideas were all weak desperados. The other major nations hadn't sent spies to infiltrate Konoha for assassination. Otherwise, he could have used them to train himself and Kushina Uzumaki.
As everyone knows, the growth rate of geniuses and super-geniuses is utterly unreasonable.
Konan, who could develop the nearly omnipotent Paper Release secret techniques based on her interests and would become one of the elite Kage-level combatants in the future, absolutely deserved to be called a genius.
Yahiko, who in the original story trained under Jiraiya for three years and convinced numerous opponents through both strength and eloquence to form the Akatsuki before age fifteen, was also a genius.
Now, due to the butterfly effect caused by Gojo Yoru, both these geniuses had already changed their predetermined fates.
Konan was no longer an appendage to Yahiko and Nagato, nor would she view their dreams as her own dreams, lacking motivation to grow stronger before Yahiko's death.
Her dream now was to become an excellent shinobi who could help Gojo Yoru.
The drive from this dream kept Konan constantly working to grow stronger. Knowing that invisible beings nearby were definitely monitoring Nagato, her acting skills became increasingly refined. She was the "Konan-sama" that Nagato worshipped and followed.
Yahiko, who'd bet his life on successfully transplanting the poison sac, became Hanzo of the Salamander's disciple.
Whether due to exceptional talent, the poison sac's influence, or the massive boost to both physical and spiritual energy from confronting death, Yahiko's chakra reserves already far exceeded his peers despite just starting his shinobi path.
Perhaps all these fools were the chakra-ton type.
Under Hanzo's guidance, Yahiko—already a Water Release genius in the original story—quickly had his potential unleashed and was viewed by Hanzo as the perfect successor.
If he didn't die prematurely, inheriting Hanzo's Fire and Water Release techniques and signing a blood contract with the salamander, Yahiko becoming a Five Kage-level powerhouse was already a foregone conclusion.
Not yet ten years old, both Konan and Yahiko possessed chakra and strength sufficient to graduate early even from the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
With this growth rate, by the time they entered the mid-to-late adolescent stage, their strength would absolutely leave their original story counterparts streets behind.
Unfortunately, even as geniuses, they still fell far short compared to the super-geniuses Minato Namikaze, Nagato, and Kushina Uzumaki.
Minato Namikaze needed no explanation. At this age in the original story, he already possessed the strength to easily defeat high-ranking shinobi. Now, influenced by the butterfly effect, he'd long since mastered the Rasengan and begun training in the super S-rank secret technique Flying Thunder God.
With his strength and comprehensive qualities, he already qualified to become a tokubetsu jonin.
As super-geniuses, Minato's talent had limits—at most, he had the qualifications to reach the pinnacle of the Five Kage.
But Nagato and Kushina Uzumaki possessed qualifications surpassing Kage-level.
Although affected by the butterfly effect and unable to become Jiraiya's disciple like in the original story—unable to master all six nature transformations in one year and grasp the shinobi world's mainstream five elemental releases—Gojo Yoru knew perfectly well that Madara Uchiha wouldn't just stand by and watch.
So the shinobi path he fabricated for Konan was the classic "treasure in the cave" from novels. While wandering from the Land of Rain to the Land of Rivers, she accidentally entered a secret base abandoned for many years and found scrolls for developing secret techniques and several storage scrolls containing jutsu diaries from a dead shinobi's body.
This trope was already overused in Yoru's previous life.
But in this world, it worked extremely well.
Because she'd embarked on the shinobi path through looting corpses, naive Konan believed that buried shinobi would have scrolls as burial goods. She took Nagato grave-robbing and corpse-looting everywhere.
Neither Black and White Zetsu nor Madara Uchiha would suspect that a little girl of a few years would lie to another little boy of a few years, especially since they really did risk doing such immoral things.
To make Nagato grow quickly, Madara Uchiha would definitely exploit the two children's innocence, having White Zetsu and Tobi secretly cooperate by planting jutsu scrolls in some graves to guide their growth.
Otherwise, letting them continue wandering and grave-robbing, who knows how long it would take Nagato to mature? During that time, they might encounter danger that would expose Tobi and White Zetsu.
As for jutsu—possessing the Uchiha clan's thousand-year inheritance, having seen Konoha's Scroll of Seals, and even knowing certain forbidden techniques invented by Tobirama Senju—Madara Uchiha completely lacked nothing.
Two children grave-robbing actually suited his purposes perfectly.
Through the special code Konan deliberately left while developing Paper Release techniques, Gojo Yoru confirmed his scheme was highly successful. Madara Uchiha was indeed secretly investing in the two.
Nagato now looked more like Hanzo's disciple than Yahiko did, because he'd obtained Madara Uchiha's Fire Release inheritance and Tobirama Senju's Water Release inheritance.
Although lacking S-rank secret techniques, those Fire and Water Release jutsu, combined with Nagato's chakra-ton from simultaneously awakening Uzumaki and Senju clan bloodlines, plus the Rinnegan's enhancement of nature transformation, made him a first-rate Fire and Water Release user in the shinobi world.
Once he grew a few years older, his Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation might be as absurd as Madara Uchiha's, requiring an entire squad of Water Release users to block it.
As for Kushina Uzumaki—
In the original story, due to the village's ostracism, Tsunade's prolonged absence, and ultimately becoming Minato Namikaze's appendage, Kushina Uzumaki severely wasted her talent.
Now, affected by the butterfly effect and under Gojo Yoru's years of training, her growth not only left geniuses like Konan and Yahiko far behind—unable to even see her back—but exceeded super-geniuses like Nagato and Minato Namikaze by a large margin.
Aside from not yet awakening Adamantine Sealing Chains and temporarily unable to borrow the Nine-Tails' chakra, Kushina Uzumaki had already awakened body healing and Mind's Eye of Kagura, becoming the shinobi world's top-tier medical and sensory ninja. She'd long since mastered Tsunade's monstrous strength. Once able to maintain rationality while using the Tailed Beast Cloak, she would become the shinobi world's most terrifying taijutsu user.
In terms of ninjutsu, she'd also mastered Wind and Water nature transformations. With chakra-ton and shadow clone enhancement, she could easily create super-large-scale storms and lakes, and had upgraded the Great Ball Rasengan to the Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan.
Except for comprehensive qualities still far from sufficient, Kushina Uzumaki's current strength exceeded many full jonin.
Once she mastered an S-rank secret technique, she would be ace-level combat power capable of threatening Kage.
After awakening Adamantine Sealing Chains, her sealing techniques would see massive improvement. She could compete with Kurama, seizing Tailed Beast chakra to become a Five Kage-level powerhouse.
Once she completely suppressed the Nine-Tails and could activate Nine-Tails Chakra Mode while fusing it with Sage Mode, Kushina Uzumaki would be a stat monster second only to Hashirama Senju.
Not counting Gojo Yoru, the only one who could face her one-on-one would be a healthy Nagato who mastered Six Paths techniques.
If the Third Shinobi World War—where all five major nations entered the field—still erupted in the future and swept up all these tide-turners who'd changed their fates and matured early, it would definitely be a massive battle with rivers of blood.
Clang clang clang—
At the summit of a snow-covered mountain in the Land of Iron, cold wind howled, mixed with a continuous series of metallic clashing sounds.
Two figures, one tall and one short, were engaged in the simplest close-quarters blade combat on the snowy ground.
The shorter one was Kushina Uzumaki, who'd entered the mid-to-late adolescent stage and suddenly shot up to 162 centimeters tall.
Transitioning from early adolescence to mid-to-late adolescence, Kushina Uzumaki wasn't simply one year older. Her face had completely shed its round baby-fat stage and was now a delicate, attractive oval face.
Her dress had also undergone considerable changes, no longer the old-fashioned mesh undershirt and yellow short coat.
Her upper body wore a light gold short kimono with flame patterns. Her lower body had black short pants just barely covered by the kimono, creating a tantalizing glimpse. Her legs were covered in over-the-knee black stockings. Her waist-length red hair was styled straight. She wore a Konoha forehead protector on her forehead. Her violet eyes constantly tracked movement, dynamic vision rapidly capturing Yoru's openings. The kunai in her hand either slashed or thrust, attacking Gojo Yoru without mercy.
Some of her attacks were blocked by Yoru. Others, being a beat too slow, cut through his clothes and skin, leaving wounds of varying depth.
Such cuts covered Gojo Yoru's clothing, though there weren't as many fresh wounds.
Looking carefully, one could see Yoru's eyes were bound with a black cloth strip, and his defensive posture was somewhat strange.
Sometimes one hand held the kunai in reverse grip while the other hand maintained a seal position. Whenever he defended this way, no matter how fast Kushina Uzumaki's attacks came, Gojo Yoru could completely block them, as if he had a third eye that could see her attack trajectories.
When he lowered his hand and stopped maintaining the one-handed seal, his reactions instantly became incredibly sluggish. He could only block two or three out of ten of Kushina Uzumaki's attacks.
His tattered clothes were stained with coagulated blood.
The close-quarters combat only ended when the wounds became numerous enough to make Kushina Uzumaki feel distressed.
After absorbing Kushina Uzumaki's chakra to heal his injuries, the two continued this blade combat.
This went on countless times until Yoru's no-seal state could block five out of ten attacks. Only then did he finally make his next move.
"Yin Seal—Release!"
Gojo Yoru spoke softly. The diamond-shaped mark on his forehead glowed faintly, then several black lines extended outward, forming a tattoo with black tear-track marks on his face.
The same pattern appeared on his chest, visible through the various cuts in his clothing.
Releasing the double Yin Seal, Gojo Yoru not only saw both types of chakra capacity surge but also completely reversed his earlier passivity, instantly turning the offensive around.
Without one-handed seals, eyes bound with a black cloth, he could not only capture Kushina Uzumaki's attack trajectories but even predict her next moves. With overwhelming neural response speed, his kunai blocked, deflected, borrowed force, and counterattacked—a fusion of speed and technique, everything flowing like water.
His kunai left cuts and wounds on Kushina Uzumaki's clothes and body as well.
Seeing close combat being dominated, Kushina Uzumaki immediately threw away her kunai and began using monstrous strength punches to attack Gojo Yoru.
However, her attacks all missed without exception.
Gojo Yoru didn't use his soundless Body Flicker. He simply used his neural response speed to easily evade Kushina Uzumaki's attacks, deliberately targeting her elbows and knees to prevent her monstrous strength from hitting the ground and causing large-scale destruction.
Moreover, Yoru's movements were fast, precise, and ruthless, as if he could actually see Kushina Uzumaki.
And indeed, this was the case.
The sensation Gojo Yoru experienced now could probably only be understood by Hyuga clan members who'd activated their Byakugan.
If they put themselves in Yoru's position, they would even feel envious and jealous.
Because Gojo Yoru's current vision was a 360-degree god's-eye view with no blind spots.
Moreover, what he saw was in color, not the Byakugan's black-and-white view.
This 360-degree god's-eye view wasn't just horizontal but also vertical.
With just a thought, Gojo Yoru could switch his perspective underground, and the image would still be in color.
With Yoru as the center, everything within a certain radius was within his field of observation.
Even more terrifying, Yoru's god's-eye view could not only see color images but also combined the energy sensing of sensory techniques. He could see animals' life fluctuations and humans' chakra, possessing the same chakra-viewing transparency ability as the Three Great Dojutsu.
As soon as an enemy mobilized chakra, the knowledgeable Gojo Yoru could determine what type of jutsu they intended to use.
"I'm done, I'm done—"
Seeing that even taijutsu couldn't deal with Gojo Yoru, Kushina Uzumaki—fighting in utter frustration—didn't continue changing attack methods but chose to surrender.
While using body healing to treat herself, Kushina gazed at Yoru as he formed seals to close the Yin Seal, sincerely marveling: "Yoru, your Space Perception has gotten even stronger. I feel like you see through my every move in advance. In this state, you're basically the combination of Byakugan and Sharingan."
Removing the cloth strip, Gojo Yoru didn't show a proud smile but shook his head. "Still not good enough. There are too many flaws. This technique is at most a prototype."
Kushina Uzumaki's eyes immediately widened. "This is still just a prototype?"
"Yes. I overestimated my current talent and underestimated the Space-Time bloodline's high-dimensional power.
"Without the Yin Seal's fine-tuning assistance, my level of chakra control requires hand seals. Otherwise, I can't release Space Perception without seals at all."
"Once I release the Yin Seal, I can't store chakra."
Saying this, Gojo Yoru's lips curled up. "However, this bottleneck is actually a good thing. At least it lets me know—in the next stage, I might be absurdly strong."
After a year of hard training, Gojo Yoru—whose talent had improved for the second time—made rapid progress in medical ninjutsu and Yin Release. He'd already mastered the Chakra Scalpel and could fuse it with Space-Time chakra, allowing his bare hands to replace the chakra blade in performing Dimensional Slash.
In Yin Release, he'd finally mastered the super S-rank Spiritualization Technique just days ago, able to perfectly separate spiritual and physical energy.
With this new level of chakra control, after fusing ordinary chakra with Space-Time chakra, Gojo Yoru finally managed to fuse invisible Yin Release chakra with Space-Time chakra and successfully perform the most basic sensory technique.
At that moment, Yoru's sensing was no longer a dark perspective where he could only determine targets' locations by capturing points of energy light.
His sensing became Space Perception's god's-eye view.
This was the sensory extension technique from Gojo Yoru's inspiration.
Without learning the Spiritualization Technique, Yoru's chakra control simply couldn't completely separate spiritual and physical energy. Fusing Space-Time chakra with ordinary chakra was equivalent to fusing it with Yang Release chakra, Yin Release chakra, or even Lightning Release chakra.
The proportion of Yin Release chakra was too small. Even with his second talent improvement, Gojo Yoru couldn't develop the sensory extension technique.
So he had a flash of inspiration and obtained the Spiritualization Technique, using this super S-rank secret technique's principles to help himself increase the proportion of Yin Release chakra.
Facts proved Gojo Yoru was right.
He successfully developed the sensory extension technique: Space Perception.
Unfortunately, although his chakra control had reached the shinobi world's peak, it still hadn't broken through to another dimension.
He still needed hand seals to fully release sensory techniques. Otherwise, he could only vaguely capture hazy images, and his sensing range would be greatly reduced.
This wasn't a chakra capacity issue but a chakra control issue.
Gojo Yoru kept trying to address this flaw, attempting various methods without success, until he released the double Yin Seal and used the Yin Seal's full-power fine-tuning to finally compensate for this deficiency.
If the normal Yin Seal state could also address this flaw, then this extension technique's only remaining weakness would be insufficient range. But it would be enough to find nearby White Zetsu clones and assassins.
Unfortunately, Gojo Yoru needed to release the double Yin Seal to perform Space Perception without seals.
This was a "bottleneck" that couldn't be broken through no matter how hard he tried.
This bottleneck also made Yoru realize how much the third evolution would change him.
At least one thing was certain.
His chakra control would officially enter the Otsutsuki clan's dimensional world, able to perform jutsu without hand seals.
Space Perception would become his normal state. He might even be able to externalize Space-Time chakra, completely achieving space-time teleportation without technique formulas.
The third evolution would be a massive watershed.
***
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