Chapter 110: Konoha Year 41, The Era of Gojo Yoru
The sun and moon continued their endless rotation, and during the peaceful era, while people busied themselves with their lives, the years slipped away one after another without anyone noticing.
Konoha Year 41. Before anyone realized it, the one village per nation system established by the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, which had ended the Warring States Period and was created together with the daimyo, had already been implemented for forty-one years.
This system had both advantages and disadvantages.
The advantage was that it unified all the ninja clans in the region. Civilians and nobles would no longer be affected by battles between ninja clans, and they could hire ninja to solve various troublesome matters for them.
Children from civilian families now had a path to becoming shinobi. Ninjutsu was no longer a supernatural power monopolized by ninja clans.
The disadvantage, however, was that war still existed. It had escalated from battles between clans to wars between nations, with casualties far exceeding those of the clan wars.
In just over thirty years, the shinobi world had erupted into two major conflicts involving multiple nations, claiming countless ninja lives.
No one knew how many civilians had been affected by the wars, losing their families and homes, resulting in vast numbers of war orphans throughout the shinobi world.
The First Shinobi World War had lasted many years. Not only did all five Kage of that generation participate, but four of them died. Even Sunagakure's Second Kazekage died an unnatural death—none of them met a peaceful end.
The Second Shinobi World War, though instigated by a small nation, quickly drew the Land of Fire and Land of Earth into the conflict. By all logic, it should have lasted many years before ending.
If the observing Land of Lightning and Land of Water had also entered the fray, the scale of the war would have surpassed even the First Shinobi World War.
After all, during the First Shinobi World War, the First Hokage had only recently distributed the Tailed Beasts to each nation, and the villages hadn't yet produced perfect jinchuriki.
But by the Second Shinobi World War, each nation already had perfect jinchuriki.
If all the Kage and jinchuriki had entered the battlefield, the shinobi continent would have been absolutely devastated with catastrophic casualties.
Remarkably, the Second Shinobi World War didn't evolve into an upgraded version of the First Shinobi World War. It ended hastily after only two years.
Because—the shinobi world had witnessed the birth of an entirely new bloodline limit that could only be described as miraculous.
It was a bloodline limit that both shinobi and ordinary people, upon learning even fragmentary information about it, would consider absolutely broken.
The textbooks in every nation's shinobi villages referred to this bloodline limit as the Space-Time bloodline.
Shinobi who possessed this Space-Time bloodline were called Space-Time shinobi, and the jutsu they performed were known as Space-Time Release.
As the first being in the shinobi world to possess the Space-Time bloodline, Gojo Yoru was not only called the Embodiment of a Miracle, but over these five years, as his generation of new blood gradually matured, he had been elevated to the pinnacle of the new era.
News agencies across all nations had dubbed this new era "The Era of Gojo Yoru."
In the previous era, every nation had exceptionally talented young people. Just within Konoha, the strongest village, there were the White Fang of Konoha, the Legendary Sannin of Konoha, Dan Kato, and the heirs of the major clans—all of comparable strength.
The elite jonin from other villages were equally formidable, and none would acknowledge the others as superior.
Even when the White Fang of Konoha killed Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law, becoming famous throughout the shinobi world, the couple he slew weren't elite jonin—they were simply a combination that ranked as ace-level combatants.
Similarly, in Hiruzen Sarutobi's generation, every nation had produced many outstanding young people. Among the Five Kage, there were the Third Raikage and Hanzo of the Salamander at the peak, and a few years older than Hiruzen was Onoki.
In the Warring States Period, Tobirama Senju's generation need not even be mentioned. Even with an existence like the God of Shinobi, there was still the Asura of the Shinobi World who could stand against him.
Only in this generation had someone as epoch-defining and special as Gojo Yoru emerged.
The birth of the Space-Time bloodline didn't just represent the shinobi world producing a broken existence with incredible combat power who could ignore the mechanism of elemental advantage—it also meant that space-time power was no longer beyond reach.
Since this special attribute could manifest in this world through nature transformation, it meant that beyond storage scrolls, Summoning Technique, Flying Thunder God Technique, Heavenly Transfer Technique, and other applications, other types could be developed—like Gojo Yoru's offensive Space-Time jutsu.
Over these five years, every nation's shinobi village had established a new department called the Space-Time Research Division.
They assembled shinobi with talent for creating storage scrolls, as well as those skilled in Summoning Technique and sealing jutsu, to research how to manipulate space-time power through technique formulas—applying the principles of summoning to one's own body like the Second Hokage had done.
Kumogakure even imitated Konoha's academy reforms over these five years, creating an elective course to screen candidates suitable for training in the Heavenly Transfer Technique.
Even Konoha, which possessed Gojo Yoru, the Embodiment of a Miracle, was researching space-time.
Yoru's teacher, Orochimaru, was one of the high-ranking members of this department.
No one could resist the allure of space-time. Especially shinobi who each carried storage scrolls and used Summoning Technique—they all hoped space-time would achieve new breakthroughs, making shinobi life more convenient and greatly improving survival capabilities.
Konoha Year 41, July 11th.
Konoha, Hokage's Office.
"Lord Hokage, this is the mission summary report and the client's evaluation."
"You've worked hard."
Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had just turned fifty this year and was still in his prime with hair not yet gone gray, was still holding that pipe that had accompanied him for countless years. He examined the tall young man standing before him, whose dress and appearance differed completely from other jonin. His eyes were full of appreciation as he praised without reservation: "Yoru, your mission experience now matches what Orochimaru had when he took you as his student. Even among the ace combatants of the previous generation, only Sakumo and a few others surpass you in mission experience, yet they can't achieve your hundred percent completion rate."
"Your comprehensive abilities have reached the pinnacle of the jonin level. Continuing to go on missions will no longer provide any improvement for you."
Hearing this, Yoru couldn't help raising an eyebrow. "Lord Hokage, you mean—"
Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe and finally stated his purpose: "Next year, a batch of exceptionally talented new graduates will be graduating early. Are you interested in becoming a jonin instructor for a few years? A qualified leader can't only have experience commanding small ninja squads and squad captains—you also need to learn how to cultivate the village's future."
Yoru looked at Hiruzen with a knowing smile. "Lord Hokage, wouldn't this batch of early graduates happen to include Asuma?"
"Ahem—"
Hiruzen coughed repeatedly, his old face reddening as he admitted honestly: "I do indeed have a bit of selfish intent. Asuma's personality is just like Nawaki's. If no one can keep him in check, his youthful temperament might lead him to do something extremely reckless. So I want him to grow by your side and properly temper his character."
Yoru's expression turned thoughtful as he slowly said: "I'm not opposed to becoming a jonin instructor, but I need to discuss it with Kushina and get her opinion."
Hiruzen immediately adopted an expression of disappointment, assuming the posture of an elder as he began lecturing: "Yoru, you're currently the only Space-Time shinobi in the shinobi world, the Embodiment of a Miracle. You must have your own opinions and masculine authority—you can't let a woman dominate you."
"Lord Hokage, you should have the guts to say that in front of Lady Biwako and Kushina." Yoru looked at Hiruzen with utter contempt.
"Ahem—"
Imagining Biwako Sarutobi's eyes blazing with fire and Kushina Uzumaki's hair rising against gravity while her body was wreathed in Nine-Tails chakra, Hiruzen coughed lightly again and changed the subject: "Team Orochimaru only has you and Kushina, and Kushina must have you accompany her on missions, so you do need to discuss it with her. There's no rush on the jonin instructor matter—you still have over half a year. You can go now."
"Yes."
Yoru curled his lip disdainfully, then walked out of the Hokage's office with his hands in his pockets.
"Lord Yoru!"
"Lord Yoru, you're back!"
"Lord Gojo, long time no see—"
Coming down from the Hokage's office, Yoru encountered all sorts of people along the way enthusiastically greeting him.
There were high-ranking shinobi wearing vests, ordinary-dressed genin and Hokage building staff, as well as civilians who had come to the Hokage building to request missions.
Regardless of age, they all looked at Yoru with eyes full of respect.
Young women and men looked at him with even more fervent gazes—the former coveting his appearance, the latter worshipping his strength.
Five years had passed since the Second Shinobi World War, yet Yoru's popularity and prestige hadn't declined at all. Instead, more and more people knew of him.
After all, the one village per nation system was only in its forty-first year. The shinobi world still had many people who had lived from the Warring States Period to the present, and they continued spreading tales of the God of Shinobi's mighty power.
When these old-timers passed away, the stories and bloodline limit of the God of Shinobi would gradually become legend, turning into history in textbooks.
Gojo Yoru was completely different. He represented the present—the Embodiment of a Miracle who had been written into history while still alive.
Every year the Ninja Academy had a batch of students graduate and enroll. The more people who studied, the more who knew of Gojo Yoru.
To prevent these hotheaded rookies from dying upon encountering Yoru during missions, every nation's shinobi villages not only wrote detailed descriptions of Yoru's Space-Time abilities in their textbooks, but also added their own speculation about possible applications of space-time, writing those in the textbooks as well.
This led to Yoru becoming increasingly mythologized, turning into an idol for successive generations of new blood.
Especially Yoru's own generation of new blood, who would soon reach adulthood.
Yoru, whose abilities were already broken, would enter his prime in just a few years.
In this shinobi world where the human body possessed one hundred thirty trillion cells, a strong person's prime lasted an extremely long time—sixty years old was the watershed.
In the original story, Orochimaru's defection occurred after Itachi Uchiha graduated early, which was already after Konoha Year 50.
At that time, Hiruzen Sarutobi was around sixty years old and could still easily defeat Orochimaru.
The same was true for Hanzo of the Salamander and Chiyo. Even at ages where they could be grandfathers and grandmothers, they could still suppress the Legendary Sannin and Sakumo Hatake to the point of breathlessness.
In many people's perception, unless something unexpected happened, Yoru's prime would last for decades.
During these decades, unless another epoch-defining monster like him appeared, the shinobi world would always remain "The Era of Gojo Yoru."
Just as before the God of Shinobi's death, the shinobi world had been "The Era of Hashirama."
"Hello there, everyone!"
Facing these people's greetings, Yoru didn't coldly ignore them. Instead, with one hand in his pocket, he raised the other and smiled in response.
However, when some young women thought Yoru had a gentle personality and was easy to approach, trying to get close enough to take advantage of him, they accidentally fell flat on their faces.
Their bodies didn't actually touch Yoru—they passed right through his body, as if the Yoru before them was merely a phantom.
"Beautiful ladies, please watch your step."
Yoru didn't gentlemanly help them up. Instead, without looking back, he waved and departed.
Watching Yoru's retreating figure, neither the girls who had fallen nor the observing boys held any resentment or jealousy in their gazes—only burning fervor.
They all knew that wasn't a shadow clone, but Yoru's actual body.
It was just that Lord Yoru wasn't currently in the real world—he was walking in the void.
Over these five years of missions, Yoru's intangibility was no longer any secret. Beyond Black Flash, Number One God-Speed of the Shinobi World, Embodiment of a Miracle, and Space-Time Shinobi, he had gained another title: "Void Walker."
"Yoru, you're too slow—I've already bought the groceries!"
Just as Yoru emerged from the Hokage building, he saw a red-haired young woman walking toward him—none other than Kushina Uzumaki, carrying several bags packed full of ingredients.
Having just returned from a mission, her long straight red hair was still in a high ponytail, with a Konoha forehead protector on her brow. She wore a green vest and black shinobi pants, looking as heroic and spirited as Tsunade during the Second War.
Five years had passed, and the once short and round-faced Tomato had already become a super beautiful girl in the full bloom of youth.
Having shed her childishness and baby fat, her small face was now a standard oval shape, with snow-white skin full of collagen showing not a single pore or blemish—an absolutely beautiful countenance that could only exist in a two-dimensional world.
With the help of Yoru, the master chef and training expert, having never lacked nutrition from childhood, her potential fully activated, and living each day in extreme happiness, Kushina Uzumaki had broken through her original story's height limit and was now a long-legged beauty standing at one hundred seventy centimeters.
If she removed her green vest, one would discover that her figure was also quite impressive. Though not comparable to Hinata Hyuga or Samui at the same age, she was a size larger than Tsunade or Ino Yamanaka at the same age.
With such dramatic changes in appearance and physique, her rank and strength went without saying.
Over these five years, their teacher Orochimaru had only taken Yoru and Kushina on a few missions, essentially walking Yoru through the complete mission process step by step.
From then on, whether C-rank or S-rank missions, they were all executed by Yoru and Kushina together.
Learning that Yoru had already compensated for his weaknesses in sensing and medical abilities, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't prevent him from taking the Nine-Tails jinchuriki on missions.
In July of Konoha Year 38, Kushina had participated alone in that year's Chunin Exams, becoming that session's overlord and crushing all opposition to advance to chunin.
In May of Konoha Year 39, Kushina participated in Konoha's internal talent evaluation and was promoted to tokubetsu jonin.
That same year in October, with recommendations from Yoru, Orochimaru, and Tsunade, Kushina revealed her Mind's Eye of Kagura and Adamantine Sealing Chains, and demonstrated extraordinarily powerful sealing jutsu, sensory techniques, medical ninjutsu, taijutsu, and Wind and Water nature transformations—
She officially passed the evaluation of the Hokage and Konoha's Elder Council, becoming one of Konoha's core forces—a true jonin.
Now all two members of Team Orochimaru were all-around jonin.
Aside from Kushina not yet having become famous throughout the shinobi world and made her name known, both Orochimaru and Yoru were already Konoha's ace combatants.
However, in the eyes of the higher-ups, Kushina was more ace than many ace combatants.
Because she was the Nine-Tails jinchuriki and could maintain rationality while activating the Tailed Beast Cloak.
If not for the fact that the enemies Kushina encountered were all accidentally beaten to death by her, she probably would have made her name known long ago.
After all these years, the chakra seal left by Mito Uzumaki had long since disappeared.
It was also the year the seal disappeared that Kushina awakened her Adamantine Sealing Chains.
Just as in the original story when Minato Namikaze left behind a strand of chakra to meet Naruto Uzumaki in the jinchuriki space, before Mito Uzumaki's chakra completely disappeared, she emerged to meet Kushina one last time and, utilizing the properties of the mental space, helped Kushina activate the power of the Adamantine Sealing Chains.
At the same time, she taught Kushina everything about how to seize Tailed Beast chakra, maintain rationality while activating the Tailed Beast Cloak, and combine the Mind's Eye of Kagura with Tailed Beast chakra to develop Negative Emotion Sensing.
The current Kushina Uzumaki was one of Konoha's most low-key strongest individuals.
"Sorry, the Hokage kept me to chat."
To Kushina's complaint, Yoru apologized without any sincerity.
Kushina wrinkled her brow and spoke ill of people right in the street: "Don't get too close to that old geezer Third Hokage. Lady Tsunade says he and Lord Jiraiya are both peeping perverts and lechers. Be careful they don't corrupt you."
Hearing this, Yoru couldn't help lowering his head near her ear and teasing quietly: "Only ugly guys need to peep. With you by my side, why would I need to peep?"
"—Go die!"
As if imagining some embarrassing scene, Kushina's small face immediately flushed red. Then with a spinning kick that stirred up a gust of wind, she attacked—only for it to pass right through Yoru's body.
Seeing Yoru ignore her kick while maintaining that infuriating expression, Kushina glared at him viciously and warned in embarrassment: "Don't say these things outside, or I'll beat you to death."
After speaking, Kushina clutched her ingredient bags and hurried away.
Yoru followed behind with his hands in his pockets.
Five years had passed, and Yoru had also undergone considerable changes.
His appearance had merely shed all childishness, becoming even more handsome and attractive.
As for height, it had fixed last year at one hundred eighty-eight centimeters, not quite reaching one hundred ninety.
His clothing style was no longer limited to black coats and black pants. Apart from still not wearing the thick jonin vest that would affect his speed, his style changed almost daily.
There were modern-style shirts and casual pants, as well as ancient-style various robes.
As for combat power, due to his Space-Time bloodline, he remained the shinobi world's most ambiguous existence.
If careless, he could be assassinated by a genin.
If cautious and vigilant, even a Six Paths-level powerhouse might not be able to kill him.
Regarding chakra capacity, due to capacity limitations, his Space-Time chakra without releasing the Yin Seal remained at the level of a veteran chunin.
His ordinary chakra capacity had surpassed Orochimaru from a few years ago and was already at the absolute ace combatant level.
According to the number of times Kakashi Hatake could perform Lightning Cutter in the original story, Yoru felt his ordinary chakra amount had already exceeded "one Kakashi's worth."
However, compared to Hiruzen Sarutobi, who could perform Five Release compound jutsu as one of the Five Kage, there was still a considerable gap.
As for comparing with chakra-ton shinobi like Jiraiya and Tsunade, there was even less basis for comparison.
Once Jiraiya entered Sage Mode, he could use Sage Art: Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan and still had extremely strong endurance afterward to perform various powerful jutsu.
As for Yoru, in his normal state he could now barely manage to perform one Big Ball Rasengan.
***
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