Night had already settled over Konoha by the time Gojo Yoru returned home and opened the scroll Orochimaru had given him.
Dense lines of text filled the page. After only a few glances, Yoru clicked his tongue in amazement. "As expected of Lord Orochimaru. He's every bit as generous as he was in the original story."
It wasn't as though Gojo Yoru lacked training methods related to nature transformation.
His father had been an all-round jonin, and the minimum requirement for a shinobi of that level was mastery of at least two nature transformations. On top of that, a family with a surname meant its ancestors had once stood in glory. Hidden in the basement of the Gojo home were scrolls containing four different methods of elemental training.
The problem was that those methods were ordinary.
The scroll now in Yoru's hand was different. It contained Orochimaru's own understanding of nature transformation, and that single distinction changed its value completely.
As one of the rare all-attribute geniuses in the ninja world, Orochimaru had not only recorded the transformations of the five basic elements, but also his understanding of the two hidden attributes: Yin and Yang.
Those hidden attributes were the real treasure.
Unlike the five visible natures, Yin and Yang could not be tested with chakra paper. They were invisible, difficult to detect, and even harder to develop. In the ninja world, that kind of knowledge was never allowed to circulate freely. It was the sort of thing hoarded by village elders, secret lineages, and old monsters who had survived long enough to understand what truly mattered.
Yet now it had been placed in his hands just like that.
No wonder Gojo Yoru felt the urge to laugh.
He already knew he possessed both Yin and Yang.
His development had always been abnormal. His vitality was too strong. His chakra reserves were too large. Those things were tied, in one way or another, to Yang. As for Yin, the evidence was even clearer. With a powerful adult soul carried over from another life, he had managed to grasp sensory techniques and even a C-rank genjutsu at the end of last year.
Together with the Fire and Earth attributes his chakra paper had already confirmed, Gojo Yoru judged that his true affinities should be four in total: Yin, Yang, Fire, and Earth.
The problem was that he had no clue how to train the hidden two.
But now he did.
That thought alone made his blood heat.
This knowledge might be of enormous help in mastering space-time chakra.
After all, Yang Release represented the body, while Yin Release represented the spirit. Space-time chakra, meanwhile, was a fusion produced from his physical energy, spiritual energy, and that mysterious power secreted by some part of his being. If he wanted to go any further with it, then understanding Yin and Yang might be the key he had been missing all along.
With the Rasengan as a training method, Gojo Yoru's chakra control had already improved to an impressive level. But if he wanted to push it another step higher, then brute repetition alone would not be enough. He would need help from the knowledge of Yang Release... or perhaps medical ninjutsu.
Only by controlling the flow, release, and transformation of chakra through every meridian and acupoint with near-perfect precision could he truly advance.
That was how the Senju's monstrous strength functioned. That was how the Hyuga's Gentle Fist worked. That was how the Akimichi clan could manipulate their bodies so outrageously.
And if he could do the same, then maybe—just maybe—he would finally be able to control space-time chakra well enough to fuse it with ordinary chakra in precise ratios and perform techniques with it.
If he succeeded, the benefits would be absurd.
He could apply a space-time enhancement to ordinary ninjutsu while reducing the consumption of his precious black chakra. That would mean he would no longer need to reveal his real trump card every time he wanted to fight seriously.
When he used ordinary chakra, he would appear to be nothing more than a talented child.
Only when he brought out space-time chakra would he become the terrifying existence capable of crossing ranks and threatening stronger opponents.
At that point, perhaps even the Rasengan could be truly infused with space-time chakra, evolving into a variant that had never existed in the original work.
The thought made Gojo Yoru's eyes brighten.
Without hesitation, he raised his hands and formed a seal. With a puff of smoke, two shadow clones appeared at his side.
Neither clone needed instructions. The moment they opened their eyes, both understood exactly what had to be done.
One clone sat down to study the section on Yin Release. The other began reading the passages related to Yang Release and meridian-based control. The original Yoru took the middle portion and began devouring the scroll together with them.
Three minds, one purpose.
For the rest of the night, the tiny room was filled with nothing but the soft rustle of parchment turning and the occasional scratch of a pen as notes were copied down with ruthless efficiency.
***
While Gojo Yoru was frantically absorbing new knowledge, the mood elsewhere in Konoha was far livelier.
In an izakaya on one of the village's central streets, the clink of cups and the muffled murmur of conversation drifted from behind a hanging noren curtain.
"These days, it's really hard to catch sight of you, Orochimaru."
"If you miss me that much, go ask Sarutobi-sensei to transfer you to the border," Orochimaru replied calmly. "I'm sure he'd be delighted."
"Haha... let's not go that far." Jiraiya laughed dryly, scratching the back of his head. "My dream isn't to become Hokage. I don't need that many military achievements. A life of eating, drinking, and waiting to die sounds much more comfortable."
"I think you just don't want to leave someone behind."
"Cough—!"
Jiraiya nearly choked on his sake.
Across from him, Tsunade rested her cheek in one hand while lazily swirling the sake bottle with the other. Beautiful, bold, and sharp as ever, she watched the two men bicker with a smile that carried more amusement than sympathy.
She knew perfectly well how Jiraiya felt about her. She had rejected him more than once, and not subtly. Still, it had never driven a wedge between the three of them.
Some bonds were simply stronger than that.
Tsunade raised her cup and clinked it lightly against Orochimaru's before changing the subject. "How long are you staying back this time?"
At once, the faint curve on Orochimaru's lips faded.
He shook his head. "I don't know."
The shift in his tone was enough to make both Tsunade and Jiraiya pay attention.
"The border has been too quiet lately," Orochimaru said. "The major powers all stopped moving at the same time. I can't tell whether they've secretly reached some kind of agreement or whether they're preparing something bigger."
Tsunade frowned faintly. "That seems unlikely. Unless they're willing to put aside old hatred, there's no way the four countries could unite the way they did in the last war."
"Or maybe they've all decided expansion isn't worth the cost anymore," Jiraiya said. "Their economies can't keep feeding that kind of consumption forever."
"I hope that's all it is." Orochimaru took a slow drink, then set his cup down. "But the atmosphere gives me a bad feeling."
Jiraiya snorted. "You've been stationed at the border for too long. It's making you paranoid. Tsunade, prescribe him something."
Tsunade rolled her eyes, but the heaviness in the air still lingered.
Not liking the turn the conversation had taken, Jiraiya abruptly brightened and leaned forward. "Speaking of which, I found a really promising kid at the Academy recently. He'll only be entering his fourth year in April, but he already has the ability to graduate early. And the talent he's shown..." Jiraiya grinned. "Honestly, I think it's no less than ours was."
Tsunade immediately scoffed. "What, you lazy idiot? You're thinking of becoming a jonin instructor now?"
But even as she mocked him, a thought flashed through her mind. She turned toward Orochimaru, only to pause.
Because Orochimaru had already looked up.
"What's his name?" he asked.
"Namikaze Minato. Why?"
Jiraiya blinked, suddenly feeling a bit uneasy under that steady gaze. "Don't tell me you've already set your sights on him too?"
If that were the case, things would become a little awkward.
But after hearing the name, Orochimaru's expression relaxed slightly.
"So it isn't him." A quiet chuckle escaped him. "I have, in fact, taken a liking to a promising seedling myself. He's only nine this year. If they entered school at the same age, then he and your Minato may very well be in the same grade. They might even be classmates."
"Oh?"
Now both Jiraiya and Tsunade were interested for real.
Jiraiya also quietly let out a breath of relief. "For you to say that, his talent must be extraordinary. Is he from one of the major clans?"
"No," Orochimaru said, shaking his head. "But you both know his parents. He's the son of Gojo Hayate and Gojo Mio."
Tsunade's expression changed at once.
As if recalling an old memory, she asked softly, "One of the children orphaned by that mission?"
Jiraiya's face darkened too. "The First Hokage distributed the tailed beasts as a balance between villages, and those idiots still sent jinchuriki out on missions. They had it coming."
"Life is fragile," Orochimaru said quietly. "Once you become a ninja, you have to be prepared for unexpected death at any time."
For a moment, silence descended over the table.
Seeing the conversation drifting somewhere too heavy, Tsunade immediately lifted her cup. "Enough. Drink."
The sharp little command broke the mood before it could sink any deeper.
Jiraiya followed with a laugh and raised his own cup. Orochimaru did the same.
The sound of pottery touching pottery rang clear and crisp.
Yet even as she drank, Tsunade's thoughts had already moved elsewhere.
She had originally been considering whether to ask Orochimaru to take Nawaki as a disciple. But now that she knew he had already found a child he liked—and one who happened to be Nawaki's junior as well—it no longer seemed right to burden him.
Perhaps she should return and discuss it with her grandmother instead.
Maybe there was someone from the Senju bloodline, someone who had already abandoned the surname and fully integrated into Konoha, who could serve as Nawaki's jonin instructor in the future.
As for the boy Orochimaru had taken an interest in...
Tsunade took another sip, thoughtful eyes lowered to the sake in her cup.
If Orochimaru himself was willing to invest in that child, then perhaps Konoha had gained something truly remarkable without anyone realizing it yet.