September 13th, Afternoon.
After nearly a month, Gojo Yoru finally returned to Konoha.
Along the way, he and Orochimaru encountered no ambushes.
This meant that when Gojo Yoru killed Tokiya, there were no White Zetsu clones spying nearby, which was good news for Gojo Yoru.
Entering the village, Orochimaru said to Gojo Yoru, "You've worked hard during this time. Go back and rest well. Meet at the usual place in a week, and I'll give you the mission reward then."
"Okay, I'll head back first, Orochimaru-sensei."
Gojo Yoru nodded, then separated from Orochimaru on the spot.
"...Come in."
Orochimaru went to the Hokage's office alone and knocked on the door.
Hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice, he immediately pushed the door open and entered.
Seeing his most proud disciple return, Sarutobi Hiruzen narrowed his eyes and asked, "How did it go?"
"I suggest strengthening the border defenses." Orochimaru said in a deep voice, "Barring any accidents, friction between small and large countries is about to increase again. Our Land of Fire will definitely be dragged into it like before."
"What did you investigate?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen was just about to light his pipe, but Orochimaru's next words changed his expression drastically.
"Hanzo has made a move on the Land of Iron!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a solemn expression, "Has Amegakure gone to war with the Land of Iron?"
"If so, the news would have spread throughout the Ninja World long ago." Orochimaru said, "According to intelligence from our spies, Hanzo went to the Land of Iron alone. I verified this by entering Amegakure; that big shot is indeed no longer in the village."
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't speak but silently lit his pipe and took a puff.
His gaze under the smoke seemed somewhat deep, and it was unknown what he was thinking.
After a long time, he slowly said, "Orochimaru, are you worried that Amegakure and the Land of Iron will unite?"
"I cannot rule out this possibility. After all, with his strength, he can single-handedly contend with a nation, and he doesn't hide his ambition at all." Orochimaru's face was a bit grim. "If the Land of Rain and the Land of Iron unite, I worry that other small countries will follow suit to resist us major powers.
After all, over the years, the exploitation by those major powers has been a bit excessive.
Once these small countries form an alliance, a war on a scale larger than the First Great Ninja War will surely break out."
Seeing Orochimaru hit the nail on the head regarding the severity, a hint of appreciation flashed in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes. He slowly said, "Your worry is justified, but it hasn't reached that level of severity yet. Those small countries are too far apart; uniting is almost impossible."
"Currently, the only ones worth fearing are the Land of Rain and the Land of Iron. If these two countries unite, that place will no longer be the junction of three major powers but will give birth to a fourth major power."
"I will report all the intelligence you collected and your proposal to the Daimyo, asking him to increase military spending and strengthen border defenses, while also warning the other two major powers. At least we cannot take the initiative to attack."
After speaking, Sarutobi Hiruzen dropped the topic and asked Orochimaru with a smile, "You completed this S-rank mission very well. How was Yoru's performance?"
Hearing this, the corners of Orochimaru's mouth couldn't help but rise, and he smiled: "His performance can only be described as perfect."
"Such a high evaluation?" Sarutobi Hiruzen was somewhat surprised, then smiled, "It seems you experienced quite a lot during this time."
Orochimaru smiled without speaking.
He wasn't someone who liked to show off. If it were Jiraiya, even if he promised to keep Gojo Yoru's secret, his micro-expressions would definitely reveal a lot.
But Orochimaru was someone who could keep a secret. He believed that even if Sarutobi-sensei found out later, he wouldn't blame him.
After all, the Space-Time Kekkei Genkai was simply too shocking.
Once grown, its strategic deterrence would be greater than that of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Naturally, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't know that his most obedient disciple was hiding a huge secret from him.
Seeing Orochimaru so satisfied with Gojo Yoru's performance, he couldn't help but ask, "Did you give him the Flying Thunder God Technique scroll?"
"Mhm, I've already given it to him." Orochimaru nodded.
Sarutobi Hiruzen instantly looked expectant: "How is it? Does he have the talent?"
"I don't know yet; he hasn't looked at it." Orochimaru shook his head, but a faint smile hung on his face.
If even Gojo Yoru didn't have this talent, then there really wouldn't be a second person in the entire Ninja World who could learn the Flying Thunder God Technique.
...
It was nearly dusk when he returned.
By the time Gojo Yoru finished eating, showering, and washing away his fatigue, night had fallen outside.
Sitting cross-legged on his long-missed soft bed, Gojo Yoru finally took out the independent scroll for the Flying Thunder God Technique again and slowly opened it.
Although the scroll was small, the content inside was substantial.
The opening was the Flying Thunder God formula, which stumped countless geniuses.
The Flying Thunder God formula had the flavor of Sealing Jutsu but lacked lethality.
Just as the principle of storage scrolls was to mobilize invisible space-time power through sealing formulas to create a special interdimensional space...
The Flying Thunder God formula similarly used sealing formulas to turn space-time power into a mark attached to people and objects.
Because it was a product of the unreasonable fusion of Sealing Jutsu and space-time power, the mark of the Flying Thunder God formula couldn't be erased by conventional means.
Even if the caster died, all the formulas left during their lifetime would not disappear.
Successfully condensing the Flying Thunder God formula meant one could sense invisible space-time power and possessed the qualification to cultivate the Flying Thunder God Technique.
It was this beginning that shut countless geniuses out.
Besides the Flying Thunder God formula, there were also Flying Thunder God Slash and Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder, all with annotations by Senju Tobirama.
Just through the textual description, one could feel the power of this Super S-rank Ninjutsu and the peerless talent of Senju Tobirama.
"Hehe, completely not on the same level." Gojo Yoru couldn't help but laugh.
Over the years, Gojo Yoru had been researching and developing teleportation and super-long-range teleportation.
But let alone super-long-range teleportation, he didn't even have a clue about short-distance teleportation.
Yet Senju Tobirama, without a Space-Time Kekkei Genkai, mastered this kind of super-long-range teleportation relying solely on his talent. Their talents were worlds apart.
"With my current talent, I can't learn this technique at all."
Although he said this, the smile on Gojo Yoru's face didn't diminish in the slightest.
With the talent boosted by the first evolution, he indeed couldn't learn this Super S-rank Ninjutsu.
Using ordinary Chakra to perform Sealing Jutsu, then sensing invisible space-time, and perfectly merging the two to form a mark... what kind of nonsense was this? His eyes and brain understood, but his hands wouldn't cooperate.
However, Gojo Yoru didn't lack talent for Sealing Jutsu and space-time power.
His Space-Time Chakra could directly skip all the steps.
No talent? Then cheat!
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