As the days passed, another month went by in the blink of an eye.
It was now June of Konoha Year 42.
Without anyone really noticing, more than two months had already passed since this class's graduation season.
Over those two months, whether they were regular sixth-years who had graduated smoothly or the prodigies from the elite class, they had all adapted to life as genin and completed the transition from students into tools of the shinobi system.
A few teams had even already grinded enough experience through D-rank missions to qualify for C-rank ones and leave Konoha.
Team Two, led by Gojo Yoru, was one of them.
Their first C-rank mission went off without any accidents at all. It was completed so smoothly it felt more like going on a trip than doing a mission.
That was perfectly normal.
Over the years, aside from S-rank assignments involving matters important to the village or the nation, even the A-rank escort missions Gojo Yoru and Kushina Uzumaki took on for nobles and wealthy merchants were barely any different from sightseeing.
At first, some people had tried to make a move on Gojo Yoru for the enormous bounty on his head.
Gradually, though, no one dared target him anymore.
Because their predecessors had already warned them with their lives.
Assassination, poisoning, traps, direct confrontation, long-range ambushes—it didn't matter what method they used. None of it worked.
Gojo Yoru had already become the most impossible existence in the entire ninja world.
In the past few years, his hands had barely been stained with blood at all, because no one dared fight him.
If they ran into some idiot who didn't even recognize him, Kushina Uzumaki was the one who dealt with it.
The only encounter that had posed any real threat was Madara Uchiha's inescapable assassination attempt.
But after that failed, and after confirming that Gojo Yoru possessed spatial perception, Madara Uchiha seemed to realize that trick wouldn't work on him. Worried that Gojo Yoru might find a way to counter the Impure World Reincarnation and unwilling to lose pieces on the level of the Five Kage summit, he had not made another move against him since.
After hearing from Konan about Yahiko's changes, Gojo Yoru knew that this war demon of the ninja world had not given up on dealing with him. He was simply working on a new conspiracy.
Gojo Yoru had no plans to prepare a countermeasure, nor did he need one.
Right now, he was just like Gojo Satoru in Jujutsu Kaisen—other people were the ones desperately trying to figure out how to deal with him.
All he needed to do was know that others were plotting against him, stay cautious in daily life, and then crush those schemes in the end with overwhelming strength.
If he really had to name a countermeasure, then his third evolution would be the best one.
All Gojo Yoru had to do was wait for time to pass. Once his space-time chakra reserves broke through their limits again and his talent underwent another all-around leap, his enemies would instantly lose the intelligence advantage they currently had.
Time itself would hand the initiative back to Gojo Yoru.
During these two months, Gojo Yoru occasionally used the space-time version of the Spirit Transformation Technique to visit Konan and keep a slight watch on Yahiko's movements and Nagato's growth. The rest of the time, he focused on being a competent jonin instructor.
Even though he had a nasty personality, loved jerking Asuma Sarutobi around like he was training a monkey, and had relapsed into his cheek-pinching habit—often squeezing and rubbing the baby-fat faces of Kurenai Yuhi and Rin Nohara—when it came to teaching students, Gojo Yoru was nothing like Kakashi Hatake. He wasn't lazy, irresponsible, or biased toward any one person.
Because he simply didn't care enough about those techniques to hoard them.
Even with his chakra control already at the very peak of the ninja world, he still couldn't make space-time chakra leave his body independently. The only way was to fuse it with ordinary chakra and let it leave his body by layering it onto ninjutsu like an enchantment. Because of that, Gojo Yoru had never really been interested in nature transformations other than Lightning Release and Earth Release.
Only after his strength had hit a bottleneck beyond bottlenecks—and because his arsenal needed more raw firepower, while his top-tier chakra control made nature transformation training unusually efficient—did he casually spare the time to train the other nature transformations, eventually mastering all seven: yin, yang, and the five elements.
So if anyone on Team Two had the talent for it, whether it was the Rasengan, the Chidori line of techniques, or even secret arts like the Spirit Transformation Technique and the Yin Seal that normally required merit to obtain—or even the Senju clan's chakra burst and the Uzumaki clan's sealing arts—Gojo Yoru would teach them without the slightest hesitation.
So during this period, while leading Team Two on missions, he also taught them higher-level fundamentals, paving the road for them to learn advanced ninjutsu later.
For Asuma Sarutobi, Gojo Yoru taught him higher-level Wind Release nature transformation, and even shocked him with the Sword of the Thunder God to help him develop Lightning Release nature transformation from nothing.
Wind Release can also enhance speed, but it works more on the outside.
Lightning Release body activation, meanwhile, strengthens from within. If someone could use both, then even without exceptional talent in the Body Flicker Technique, they could still barely catch up to the geniuses through sheer effort—and a bit of cheating.
After mastering Wind Release nature transformation, Gojo Yoru had tried fusing Wind Release chakra and Lightning Release chakra into the Body Flicker Technique, and had successfully developed a new derivative movement art.
But because of Wind Release's flaws, the technique felt a little awkward and was actually less useful than his Lightning Release Body Flicker combined with space-time chakra, so he never specialized in it.
Asuma Sarutobi, however, was different. He had no such choice.
If he managed to master that derivative technique, it would definitely give a huge boost to the Wind Release-based nin-taijutsu he would develop in the future.
As for Kurenai Yuhi and Rin Nohara, what Gojo Yoru taught them was a more advanced level of chakra control.
For both Yin Release and Yang Release, chakra control was the most important thing.
Only after their chakra control improved could they better manipulate the chakra in an enemy's cranial nerves, and better control their own bodily chakra and transformations.
There was no need to teach them flashy techniques right away. Once their chakra control reached the required standard, Gojo Yoru could teach them high-level genjutsu, monster-strength punches, Chakra Scalpels, the Yin Seal, and more—
Compared to Asuma Sarutobi, whose path centered around the five elemental releases, Kurenai Yuhi and Rin Nohara only needed time to build themselves up. Like Konan, they were the classic type who started weaker and became stronger later.
"Five-Finger Missiles!"
"Universal Pull!"
"Almighty Push!"
In the Hidden Rain Village, within the bamboo forest surrounding the tower, a young boy's voice rang out again and again.
Then came a string of booming explosions that thundered through the area.
Nagato, dressed in a raincoat, was unleashing all kinds of techniques.
Though he had originally been human, he now looked like a machine. His wrist split open, exposing a mechanical structure, and from it he fired a volley of missiles that were not especially large in size.
They flew incredibly fast, like the afterimages of a Body Flicker, tearing through the air with shrill whistles.
Before the missiles could hit their targets and explode, an invisible force of attraction froze them in midair. Their speed went from maximum to zero in an instant, and then they were yanked back toward Nagato at terrifying speed.
Then, with a single glare from Nagato, the missiles exploded in midair, bursting into blazing firelight and waves of scorching heat.
Normally, that heat would have evaporated all the rain around them and left the ground charred black.
Instead, both the heatwave and the rain pouring in from every direction vanished in an instant, as though erased by some higher law of reality.
And that was more or less exactly what had happened.
"What terrifying power…"
Nagato looked at his own palm, his gaze trembling slightly as he murmured, "Turning chakra into attraction and repulsion this easily, and this is only the Deva Path's most basic ability… So this is the eye of the Sage of Six Paths?"
"It looks like you've already gained a basic grasp of the powers of the Deva Path and the Asura Path."
Yahiko's voice entered his ears.
Nagato, who had been in seclusion for the past two months, looked at Yahiko walking toward him and Konan descending from the sky. A faint smile appeared on his face, and then he said something that made Yahiko's pupils shrink.
"No. I've already mastered the Six Paths arts and Yin-Yang Release."
Nagato raised his right hand, and from the center of his palm extended a black rod tipped with a sharp point.
Holding that black rod—one that, once stabbed into an enemy's body, could interfere with their chakra flow and worked far better than even the Hyuga clan's tenketsu strikes—Nagato let out a quiet sigh of amazement.
"As hidden attributes, Yin Release and Yang Release have only really been explored in this world through medical ninjutsu, genjutsu, and sensory techniques, aside from a few secret-technique clans.
"Who would have thought that a technique like Yin-Yang Release could use spiritual energy as a base to create form out of nothing, then use physical energy as its source to turn that form into substance—creating matter from nothing?"
Nagato's tone was full of certainty.
"The myths about the Sage of Six Paths may be exaggerated in many places, but a good number of them are probably true. The ninja world clearly has a broken inheritance."
After quickly sorting through his thoughts, Yahiko suddenly spoke.
"Maybe the Sage of Six Paths didn't leave behind only one ruin. Maybe in other places, he left more gifts behind for you."
Nagato narrowed his eyes slightly.
And to his surprise, he found Yahiko's words made a lot of sense.
If the Rinnegan really was a miraculous power on the same level as the space-time bloodline, then it shouldn't be limited to simple uses of law-like power such as attraction and repulsion.
After all, aside from the myth of the Sage of Six Paths creating the moon, the stories also called the Rinnegan the Eye That Governs Life and Death—a divine power with both creation and destruction in it.
And among the Six Paths techniques, there really were powers that could strip away souls, turn bodies into puppets, and even restore those puppets.
That was power over life and death.
But power over life and death at that level still didn't deserve to be called creation and destruction.
When it came to destructive force, the missiles and lasers of the Asura Path—and even its monstrous defense—still couldn't compare to the space-time bloodline's instant-kill touch.
Other than the Deva Path, which could attack using the rule-like powers of attraction and repulsion, Nagato had no idea whether the Preta Path, which could absorb all ninjutsu, could absorb the power of the space-time bloodline as well.
And even if it could, he wouldn't dare test it. If it failed, he would die.
In terms of both combat power and sheer unfairness, he still couldn't compare to the one who had, over the past few years, been spoken of in almost mythical terms as the Embodiment of Miracles.
Did a power like this really deserve to be called miraculous?
But once Yahiko said all that, Nagato suddenly felt as though a veil had been lifted from his mind.
Having already easily mastered the Six Paths arts and Yin-Yang Release, and with the Rinnegan's power now fully awakened, Nagato had completely come to believe that his eyes truly were the foremost of the three great dojutsu.
It was just that his eyes, much like the space-time bloodline, seemed to have a unique, selective nature.
He was the bearer of the Rinnegan—or, more precisely, the lucky one chosen by the Sage of Six Paths—and that was why he had obtained this power.
And Konoha's Gojo Yoru was the lucky one chosen by space-time itself, which was why he had awakened an unprecedented, never-before-seen space-time bloodline.
The difference was that Nagato's power needed keys to unlock it, while Konoha's space-time bloodline could be developed like an elemental release.
Perhaps that price was the reason the other man's chakra reserves were so ordinary, while Nagato's chakra had already been vast as the sea since he was a child.
The space-time bloodline could produce all kinds of techniques through wild imagination as long as its chakra capacity increased.
The Rinnegan, meanwhile, might require him to keep searching for more of the Sage of Six Paths' ruins, slowly unlocking the power that could one day create a moon.
The moment that thought came to him, a flash of inspiration ran through Nagato's mind.
He looked straight at Yahiko and asked, "I've already seen your sincerity. What do you need me to do for you? Don't tell me you simply want to act as my guardian."
"Of course not. I need your power."
Yahiko didn't lie to Nagato. Instead, he intended to trade sincerity for sincerity.
"I won't treat you as subordinates. I'll treat you as allies of equal standing. The Six Paths arts and Yin-Yang Release are just my gift to you upon meeting.
"In the future, I'll help you continue searching for the Sage of Six Paths' ruins. Trust me—when it comes to archaeology, no ability is more useful than Wood Release. My subordinates will be at your disposal too."
"As a condition, I need your help taking revenge and changing the state of the ninja world."
Nagato immediately understood what Yahiko meant.
"You want to accomplish what Hanzo of the Salamander failed to do and ignite the Third Great Ninja War?"
"Only war can change this world. Only by making those great nations experience pain themselves can they understand the pain of small countries like ours," Yahiko replied coldly.
Nagato and Konan, who had never been influenced by Jiraiya, could not sympathize with Yahiko's way of thinking. At most, it only made them think of the parents they had lost in the Second Great Ninja War.
This time, Nagato said nothing. Instead, he looked at Konan, seeking her opinion.
With both hands in her pockets, Konan tilted her head slightly and asked Yahiko, "Who killed Hanzo of the Salamander?"
"I don't know."
Yahiko shook his head, his gaze dark. "But there's a high probability it was a Konoha ninja, because the killer was the reanimated Second Hokage."
Konan's expression didn't change as she continued, "So you want to declare war on Konoha. You want us to help you deal with Konoha's Black Flash?"
"Don't worry. I'm not going to send you to your deaths."
Yahiko misunderstood what Konan really meant. With a cold laugh, he said, "I'll deal with that Embodiment of Miracles myself. And besides—not just you, and not just us."
Konan and Nagato's expressions changed at once.
Konan barely managed to keep her face expressionless, but inwardly, her wariness toward Yahiko deepened immensely.
She suddenly turned to glance at Nagato and gave him a look.
Nagato immediately used the Human Path's power. The Rinnegan released an invisible wave of eye power and pulled Konan into a higher-level illusionary world.
An instant later, Nagato said to Yahiko in a deep voice, "We can help you, but you'll need to cooperate with me while I verify a few things."
"Fine."
Having already seen the Six Paths arts, Yahiko seemed to know what Nagato was about to do and nodded without hesitation.
Nagato clapped his hands together.
"Summoning Jutsu: King of Hell."
A gigantic statue of the King of Hell bearing the Rinnegan rose from the ground and stood behind Nagato.
Nagato began using the King of Hell's judgment on Yahiko. Anyone who lied would be devoured by the King of Hell.
"Are the Six Paths arts and Yin-Yang Release really relics left behind by the Sage of Six Paths?"
"Yes."
"Did you lie to us about anything you told us before?"
"No."
"Are the Six Paths arts and Yin-Yang Release everything you obtained? Are there no other hidden secrets?"
"No."