Gojo Yoru had already mentally prepared himself for Orochimaru's question.
The moment Orochimaru saw the Rasengan, Gojo Yoru knew a test was unavoidable.
Organizing his words in his mind, Gojo Yoru looked directly at Orochimaru: "A ninja's battle is a battle of intelligence! I don't want others to know my trump cards, and I don't want to graduate early for the time being. I still want to learn more knowledge at the academy."
Looking at Gojo Yoru's serious expression, Orochimaru was stunned for a moment.
Clearly, he hadn't expected such a reply from Gojo Yoru.
Recovering his senses, the look in Orochimaru's eyes as he gazed at Gojo Yoru was filled with appreciation.
It seemed this child was not only physically developed ahead of his time but also mentally precocious.
While other children were still playing ninja games, and even geniuses couldn't resist the temptation of graduating early to become ninjas, he was hiding his strength and accumulating knowledge.
So, what caused such changes and thoughts in him?
Undoubtedly, it must be the news of the Gojo couple's death.
At this moment, Orochimaru seemed to see his own reflection in Gojo Yoru.
He, too, had undergone tremendous changes after the death of both his parents.
Therefore, Orochimaru could understand Gojo Yoru's desire to hide.
Only by concealing powerful trump cards could one create miracles in desperate situations and turn a deadlock into a chance for survival.
He wasn't afraid of becoming a ninja early and seeing blood; rather, he wanted to become stronger and master more knowledge to deal with accidents that could happen at any time, ensuring that he and his companions wouldn't follow in his parents' footsteps.
Thinking of this, Orochimaru's favorability towards Gojo Yoru skyrocketed.
Outwardly, he gave great praise: "A wonderful way of thinking. As expected of Hayate and Mio's son. If they could see you now from the Pure Land, they would certainly feel very relieved.
I believe that in the future, you will definitely surpass them and become one of Konoha's ace combat forces."
This time, without waiting for Gojo Yoru's humble response, Orochimaru continued to ask, "Was that Ninjutsu just now a gift left to you by Hayate?"
"No, the Rasengan is a Ninjutsu I developed myself." Gojo Yoru shook his head.
"Rasengan? A very nice name."
The corners of Orochimaru's mouth curled up slightly, as if to say, just as I expected.
With the power of that Ninjutsu, if it had been developed by Gojo Hayate or inherited by the Gojo family, it would have long been famous in Konoha and the Ninja World.
At the same time, he couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement inwardly.
Developing a Ninjutsu with at least B-rank training difficulty at this age—what dazzling talent!
But on the surface, Orochimaru said calmly, "That Ninjutsu is very powerful. Both the shape transformation and Chakra control have reached the top level. And if I'm not mistaken, it's a non-elemental, hand-seal-less Ninjutsu, right? You were trying to inject nature transformation into it just now, but failed?"
"As expected of Orochimaru-sama!"
Gojo Yoru widened his eyes, looking at Orochimaru with a face full of "shock."
Immediately, he looked at Orochimaru with feigned anticipation, his gaze filled with fervor.
Orochimaru's lips curled slightly, and he raised his right hand.
A small white snake had coiled around his wrist at some point.
The small snake opened its mouth and spat out a red scroll completely disproportionate to its size.
Orochimaru tossed the scroll to Gojo Yoru and said, "This contains my understanding of nature transformation over the years. I don't need it anymore, so I'm giving it to you."
Hearing this, Gojo Yoru's palm, which had just caught the scroll, trembled slightly.
Then his eyes darted around, and with an ecstatic expression, he gave Orochimaru a straight ninety-degree bow: "Thank you, Orochimaru-sensei!"
Taking in the changes in his expression, Orochimaru didn't correct Gojo Yoru's form of address. He simply left a sentence filled with expectation.
"I hope that when we meet next time, your growth will surprise me greatly."
After speaking, Orochimaru turned into a blur and vanished.
It wasn't until a dozen seconds after Orochimaru left that Gojo Yoru straightened up, looking at the scroll in his hand with joy in his eyes.
This was truly a pleasant surprise!
The surprise wasn't the scroll on nature transformation gifted by Orochimaru, but the fact that the other party didn't reject his presumptuous form of address.
Gojo Yoru originally thought that the first Sannin he would come into contact with would be Tsunade through Uzumaki Kushina as part of his strategy, or Jiraiya through Namikaze Minato.
Unexpectedly, the first Sannin he encountered and made contact with turned out to be Orochimaru!
Moreover, this legendary ninja—whose talent and brilliance were second only to Senju Tobirama, who survived from the boyhood arc all the way to Boruto in the original work without being eliminated, and even constantly made his presence felt through technology—seemed to have a very good impression of him and appreciated him greatly.
If that was the case, Gojo Yoru might not need to rely on Uzumaki Kushina to cling to Tsunade.
As long as he could cling to Orochimaru, not only could he obtain the other party's resources and connections, but he could also sign a contract with Ryuchi Cave and thereby obtain Ryuchi Cave's Sage Mode.
Once he mastered Sage Mode, Gojo Yoru's Space-Time Chakra would become Space-Time Sage Chakra.
When that time came, Gojo Yoru dared not imagine how strong he would be!
Thinking of this, Gojo Yoru began to analyze Orochimaru's gift and tacit approval.
Orochimaru didn't reject his presumptuous address, surely because of his talent.
Before awakening the space-time ability, Gojo Yoru's original strategy was to use the Rasengan to shock Konoha, making the higher-ups tacitly allow him to be friends with Uzumaki Kushina and invest in him.
Developing an A-rank hand-seal-less Ninjutsu at the age of nine was simply too terrifying.
Such talent could not be ignored by anyone.
Especially a powerhouse like Orochimaru!
With top-level Chakra control and shape transformation, once nature transformation was also improved, Gojo Yoru's Rasengan could be perfected into an S-rank Secret Technique.
S-rank Ninjutsu were the highest level of Ninjutsu in the Ninja World. They were Secret Techniques that one might not learn no matter how much effort was put in, and even the Sharingan could not copy them.
Such Ninjutsu, even in the Five Great Ninja Villages, would be listed in the Scroll of Seals or stored in the Forbidden Jutsu library as forbidden techniques and trump cards.
A ninja who mastered this level of Ninjutsu possessed the strength to threaten a Kage.
Once their overall qualities were improved, they would be the ace combat forces of the Five Great Ninja Villages, commonly known as Elite Jonin.
Such Jonin were also known as Hokage candidates. In emergencies, they could issue A-rank missions to any ninja in the village.
When the Five Kage sacrificed themselves or stepped down, they were qualified to run for the position of Kage and vote.
Orochimaru was currently such an existence!
Gojo Yoru also demonstrated the potential to become such an existence in the future.
Orochimaru, whose dream was still to become the Fourth Hokage, needed to build his own team and needed powerful subordinates he could trust.
Gojo Yoru's potential, identity, and current age fit this perfectly.
The scroll and the lack of rejection of Gojo Yoru's address were Orochimaru's investment and expectations for him.
As long as Gojo Yoru continued to show his potential, even if Orochimaru didn't take him as a disciple, he would increase his investment and use his privileges as the Hokage's disciple to nurture him.
Since transmigrating, the backing Gojo Yoru had been dreaming of was finally found!