Chapter 9: The Calm Before the Storm, Orochimaru
Time slipped away like sand in an hourglass, and two years passed unnoticed.
During these two years, the Shinobi continent had fallen into an eerie calm.
High-level missions stemming from conflicts between minor nations had sharply decreased.
Yet, despite the economic imbalances, the four major Shinobi Villages—which primarily sustained themselves by preying on smaller nations while seeking opportunities to either subjugate them or expand their territories—were unusually quiet. It was as if they were still licking the wounds left by the First Great Shinobi War, recuperating and rebuilding their strength.
As victors of the First Great Shinobi War, the Leaf Village and the Land of Fire had already sensed something amiss. They secretly mobilized spies embedded in various nations, instructing them to remain vigilant for any major movements from the large Shinobi Villages.
Unbeknownst to them, the conspiratorial hands of the four major Shinobi Villages had quietly shifted their focus from the Shinobi continent to overseas territories.
By the time they realized it, they would have lost a powerful ally.
...
March 27, 33rd Year of the Leaf Village.
A waterfall area some distance from the Leaf Village.
By the edge of the water pool stood a white-haired child, about 1.6 meters tall, with a strikingly youthful face. His left hand gripped his right wrist, and his icy blue eyes were fixed intently on his right palm.
Resting on his right palm was a blue energy sphere the size of a billiard ball.
The sphere was white at its core and blue on the outside, with the inner white part consisting of rapidly rotating Chakra vortices—the core of the energy sphere.
The entire energy sphere was remarkably stable, clearly a fully developed Ninjutsu.
Yet, the white-haired child seemed unsatisfied, his expression serious as if he intended to add something more to it.
Though his body remained still, he exuded an intense focus.
Under his efforts, one of the countless Chakra vortices forming the white core within the energy sphere suddenly turned black.
This hint of black was barely noticeable in the overall structure, easily overlooked if not examined closely.
However, the appearance of this black hue disrupted the balance of the energy sphere. It became as turbulent as boiling water inside a balloon, growing intensely hot and on the verge of bursting.
Without a moment's hesitation, the white-haired child immediately thrust the energy sphere in his hand against a nearby cliff wall.
With a deafening roar, rocks shattered and dust flew everywhere.
When the wind cleared the dust, the cliff wall revealed a massive concave crater filled with spiral patterns.
Just from the patterns in the crater, one could imagine that if this energy sphere had struck a person, the target would have been sent flying backward at high speed, spinning rapidly.
If the Chakra could penetrate the body like the Gentle Fist of the Hyūga clan, it might even shred the internal organs.
Without a doubt, this was a highly lethal advanced Ninjutsu, and a rare hand-seal-less technique in the Shinobi world.
Yet, the master of this advanced Ninjutsu—the nine-year-old Yoru—showed no trace of joy on his face. Instead, he murmured with a hint of frustration, "Failed again. Is it really this difficult?"
"Your Chakra control and Shape Transformation are already sufficient. Perhaps you should focus on Nature Transformation."
"Who's there?!"
The sudden voice caused Yoru's expression to shift once more.
This area, a waterfall surrounded by forests, was a place he had meticulously chosen for his training.
He had set up numerous steel wires and bells throughout the surrounding forest. Touching just one would trigger a chain reaction, detonating deeply hidden exploding tags to create loud noises as an alert for Yoru.
Even if an animal accidentally triggered the alarm, Yoru would end his training for the day.
Anyone who could appear here silently under such precautions was certainly no ordinary individual.
While preparing to mobilize the space-time chakra within his body, Yoru turned to look in the direction of the sound.
When he clearly saw the person who made the sound, his pupils slightly contracted.
Immediately, Yoru adopted a respectful demeanor, slightly bowing toward the direction of the sound as he said, "Lord Orochimaru."
Standing on the shore of the pond was a young man wearing a green vest who had appeared at some unknown time.
His signature features included long black hair, pale skin, golden vertical pupils, and purple eyeshadow.
This young man was one of the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's three direct disciples, the future "Legendary Sannin" Orochimaru.
The current Orochimaru hadn't yet developed the sinister and cunning demeanor he would have in the future. Instead, he gave off a handsome and aloof impression, much like Itachi and Sasuke.
Yoru felt no fear toward Orochimaru during this period.
Before aligning with Danzō and before his descent into darkness, Orochimaru was considered by Sarutobi as the best candidate for the Fourth Hokage—a Leaf Village ninja who embodied the Will of Fire, and a reliable partner whom Tsunade would trust with her younger brother.
"What's your name, and how old are you?" Orochimaru examined Yoru across from him, growing increasingly astonished the more he looked.
From a distance, he had initially thought some genin had come here to practice ninjutsu.
He never expected it to be a physically precocious child.
The boy's face appeared even more youthful than Nawaki's—could he possibly be under ten years old?
Unaware of Orochimaru's thoughts, Yoru truthfully replied, "I'm Yoru Gojo, nine years old."
"Gojo?"
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's your relationship with Gojo Hayate and Gojo Mio?"
"They're my father and mother."
Orochimaru thought to himself, just as I suspected, while outwardly offering gentle praise: "Your parents were both heroes. You're quite a prodigy yourself—that ninjutsu earlier was both beautiful and impressive."
"You flatter me, Lord Orochimaru." Yoru maintained a humble expression while inwardly sighing with relief.
Having jōnin parents truly provided invisible connections.
"Why aren't you training in the village, instead specifically coming here?"
Learning that Yoru was the child of acquaintances made Orochimaru even more curious about him.
He had discovered this place upon returning when he accidentally noticed numerous steel wires and some exploding tags. Unable to resist his curiosity, he used an earth-style teleportation jutsu to investigate, unexpectedly witnessing Yoru practicing the Rasengan.
A physically precocious body suggested extraordinary physical and mental energy.
The chakra control and shape transformation contained in that ninjutsu indicated a difficulty level of at least B-rank, with high probability of being A-rank, as Orochimaru suspected Yoru had been attempting to incorporate nature transformation into it.
The combination of supreme shape transformation and nature transformation would constitute an S-rank secret technique.
Mastering a ninjutsu of such difficulty at the age of nine, Yoru was fully qualified for early graduation. Even many Chūnin, and even Special Jōnin, did not possess such a trump card.
With such talent yet choosing not to reveal it, and deliberately coming here to train—could it be that he intended to conceal his abilities?