Opening a Personal Space? S-Rank Mission

Lord Orochimaru had Gojo Yoru purchase camping gear.

Backpack, tent, sleeping bag, canteen, cooking utensils, and so on...

Only two items had nothing to do with camping: the Storage Scroll and the Ration Pills.

Gojo Yoru still had plenty of those at home, so no extra purchase was needed.

After buying all the equipment, Gojo Yoru took Uzumaki Kushina to buy cameras—two of them, one for each person.

Although digital products were extremely expensive in this era, it meant nothing to Gojo Yoru.

Not to mention the rewards he earned from missions during this time, which were only split with the village and Lord Orochimaru, without two other teammates taking additional shares, leaving him with far more money than other genin.

Just the inheritance from the Gojo Family alone was enough for Gojo Yoru to squander for many years.

After buying the cameras, it was already dinner time.

"Yoru, when you leave the village for the mission tomorrow, remember to stay safe and take plenty of photos."

"What, don't want a group photo?"

"With me dressed like this? No way I'm taking a picture with you."

After finishing dinner at Gojo Yoru's place, Uzumaki Kushina couldn't wait to rush home and tinker with her new toy.

Seeing Uzumaki Kushina off, Gojo Yoru took the camping gear down to the basement, packed it all into a Storage Scroll, and compressed a mountain of items into a single backpack.

While organizing, Gojo Yoru couldn't help but complain inwardly: "I've awakened the 'Space-Time Bloodline,' yet I don't have a portable space—how embarrassing is that?"

"I wonder if the principle behind Storage Scrolls could be applied to the chakra points in the human body, transforming them into alternate spaces for storage? Others can't do it because they lack Space-Time Power and can't draw it into their bodies, but I not only have an abundance of Space-Time Power, I also have the Uzumaki Clan's Scroll of Sealing to help."

The more Gojo Yoru thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

Because this was essentially an alternative version of the Yin Seal.

But for now, Gojo Yoru could only dare to think about it.

After stuffing all the Storage Scrolls into the backpack, Gojo Yoru rummaged through a box and soon pulled out two white wristbands.

These wristbands were also a type of Storage Scroll, usually used to store shuriken and kunai.

Gojo Yoru used them to store Chakra Blades and cameras.

Done with all that, Gojo Yoru carried the backpack out of the basement, then bathed and went to sleep.

The next day, at 8:50 AM.

Gojo Yoru, with his backpack slung over his shoulders, arrived at the village gate ten minutes early, waiting for Lord Orochimaru to show up.

And Lord Orochimaru didn't keep him waiting long, appearing in an instant with the Body Flicker Technique.

"Teacher Orochimaru."

"Lord Orochimaru!"

Gojo Yoru immediately bowed, as did the two chunin on duty at the gate.

As the Third Hokage's most prized disciple, however terrifying Lord Orochimaru would become in the future, he was just as admired now.

When the two chunin heard Gojo Yoru address Lord Orochimaru, the look in their eyes toward him instantly changed.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Lord Orochimaru nodded at Gojo Yoru, then took out two stamped exit permits and handed them to the chunin. "Sorry for the trouble."

"No trouble at all, please wait a moment, Lord Orochimaru." The two chunin were flattered and quickly verified and cleared them.

Having been in this world for ten years, this was the first time Gojo Yoru walked out of the village openly and legitimately.

Seeing that Lord Orochimaru hadn't used the Body Flicker Technique to travel and had appeared alone earlier, Gojo Yoru finally couldn't help asking, "Teacher Orochimaru, what mission are we going on?"

"An S-Rank mission."

"Huh?"

Gojo Yoru stared blankly at Lord Orochimaru, feeling like his ears were playing tricks on him.

Lord Orochimaru was very pleased with Gojo Yoru's expression and repeated with a playful smile, "An S-Rank mission. Scared?"

Snapping out of it, Gojo Yoru curled his lips slightly and deliberately boasted, "Not scared. A genius does what ordinary people can't."

Gojo Yoru didn't believe Lord Orochimaru would take him on a suicide mission.

If real danger came, he could always reveal his Space-Time Bloodline.

After spending this time together, Gojo Yoru had come to accept Lord Orochimaru as he was now and was mentally prepared for the man to learn his secret.

Lord Orochimaru, who hadn't yet turned dark or developed the Cursed Seal of Heaven, would only be pleased to know Gojo Yoru had the Space-Time Bloodline.

A man who deeply respected others' privacy and knew Gojo Yoru liked to keep his edge hidden, Lord Orochimaru hadn't even asked how Gojo Yoru concealed his chakra signature when using the Phantom Body Flicker Technique.

Lord Orochimaru naturally had no idea where Gojo Yoru's confidence came from.

Seeing Gojo Yoru completely unafraid, he couldn't help but explain with a smile, "Admirable courage, but this S-Rank mission is a special one—it's intelligence work."

"Intelligence work? We're gathering intel?"

"Mm. Be prepared for a long stretch of camping out in the wild. This is going to be a grueling wait."

"Yes."

Gojo Yoru quickly realized why Orochimaru had called it an agonizing wait.

Over the next half month, Orochimaru took Gojo Yoru to uninhabited places like forests, snowy mountains, and deserts.

With his excellent grades in cultural studies, Gojo Yoru knew which countries Orochimaru had taken him to even without looking at a map.

The forest was the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers, the snowy mountain was the Land of Iron, and the desert was the Land of Wind.

The key point was that Orochimaru brought Gojo Yoru to these places and did nothing but... wait.

Sometimes they waited a day, sometimes two or three, then went somewhere and retrieved a scroll.

As for what was inside the scroll, Gojo Yoru didn't know, and Orochimaru didn't show him.

During this time, Gojo Yoru's only role was to cook for Orochimaru.

If it were someone with a personality like Uzumaki Naruto, they would have long lost their patience.

But Gojo Yoru could endure loneliness very well, spending every day training to pass the time, never complaining.

Obedient children get rewards.

That night, watching Gojo Yoru heat water for his bath, Orochimaru suddenly asked, "Did Sa and Mio leave you a Summoning Scroll?"

Gojo Yoru, his back to Orochimaru, instantly stopped breathing.

Calming his emotions as quickly as possible, Gojo Yoru turned to look at Orochimaru and shook his head. "Is it a scroll for Summoned Beasts? No, they didn't."

Orochimaru smiled and asked, "Then do you hate snakes?"

"Of course not. I think snakes are really cool creatures." Gojo Yoru shook his head repeatedly.

"In that case, follow my lead and form a contract with Ryūchi Cave."

Orochimaru bit his finger, formed hand seals, and summoned a Giant Snake.

The Giant Snake spat out an oversized scroll, which landed in front of Orochimaru.

Orochimaru unrolled the scroll and said to Gojo Yoru, "Use your blood to write your name on this scroll. From now on, you can use the Summoning Technique to call upon the snakes of Ryūchi Cave to assist you in battle."

"Yes, Teacher Orochimaru."

Gojo Yoru no longer hid the joy in his heart, his face lighting up with excitement.

He had finally waited for the Ryūchi Cave scroll!

As long as he formed a contract with Ryūchi Cave, once his chakra reserves were sufficient, Gojo Yoru could go train in Ryūchi Cave's Sage Arts, transforming his chakra into Space-Time Sage Chakra.

The Space-Time Chakra formed from the fusion of three energies was already powerful enough; he couldn't imagine what kind of boost he would get after fusing with Nature Energy!