No Talent? Then Cheat

September 13, afternoon.

After nearly a month, Gojo Yoru finally returned to Konoha.

Along the way, neither he nor Orochimaru encountered any ambushes.

This meant that when Gojo Yoru killed Tokiya, no White Zetsu clones had been spying nearby—a good sign for Gojo Yoru.

Entering the village, Orochimaru said to Gojo Yoru, "You've worked hard this time. Go back and rest well. Meet at the usual place in a week, and I'll give you your mission reward then."

"Alright, I'll head back first, Teacher Orochimaru."

Gojo Yoru nodded, then parted ways with Orochimaru on the spot.

"...Come in."

Arriving alone at the Hokage's office, Orochimaru knocked on the door.

Hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice, he immediately pushed the door open and entered.

Seeing his most prized disciple return, Sarutobi Hiruzen narrowed his eyes and asked, "How did it go?"

"I recommend strengthening border defenses," Orochimaru said in a grave tone. "Barring any surprises, friction between the small nations and the great nations is about to increase again. Our Land of Fire will inevitably be dragged into it, just like before."

"What did you uncover?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen was about to light his pipe, but Orochimaru's next words made his expression shift in shock.

"Hanzō has made a move on the Land of Iron!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's face grew solemn. "Amegakure has declared war on the Land of Iron?"

"If that were the case, the news would have spread across the ninja world by now," Orochimaru said. "According to intelligence from our informants, Hanzō went to the Land of Iron alone. I verified this when I entered Amegakure—that great figure is indeed no longer in the village."

Sarutobi Hiruzen said nothing, silently lighting his pipe and taking a drag.

His gaze beneath the smoke was deep, as if lost in thought.

After a long pause, he finally spoke slowly, "Orochimaru, are you worried that Amegakure and the Land of Iron might form an alliance?"

"That possibility can't be ruled out. After all, that man's strength is enough to take on an entire nation single-handedly, and his ambition is completely undisguised." Orochimaru's expression darkened. "If the Land of Rain and the Land of Iron join forces, I fear other small nations will follow suit, using this to resist us great nations.

After all, in recent years, the great nations have been squeezing them far too harshly.

If these small nations form an alliance, it will inevitably spark a war even larger in scale than the First Ninja World War."

Seeing Orochimaru cut straight to the severity of the issue, a flicker of approval passed through Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes. He said slowly, "Your concerns are valid, but it hasn't reached that level yet. The positions of those small nations are too far apart; forming an alliance is nearly impossible."

"For now, the only ones worth fearing are the Land of Rain and the Land of Iron. If those two nations unite, that region will no longer be the border of three great nations—it will give birth to a fourth great power."

"I'll report all the intelligence and proposals you've gathered to the Daimyō, asking him to increase military funding and strengthen border defenses, while also alerting the other two great nations. At the very least, we cannot be the ones to strike first."

Having said that, Sarutobi Hiruzen dropped the topic and instead asked Orochimaru with a smile, "You completed this S-Rank mission excellently. How did that kid Yoru perform?"

Hearing this, Orochimaru couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile. "His performance can only be described as perfect."

"Such high praise?" Sarutobi Hiruzen was somewhat surprised, then chuckled. "It seems you two went through quite a lot during this time."

Orochimaru smiled but said nothing.

He wasn't one to boast. If it had been Jiraiya, even if he promised to keep Gojo Yoru's secret, his micro-expressions would have given away plenty.

But Orochimaru was someone who could keep secrets. He believed that when Teacher Sarutobi found out later, he wouldn't hold it against him.

After all, a Space-Time Bloodline was far too earth-shattering.

Once it matured, its strategic deterrence would be even greater than that of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, of course, had no idea that his most obedient disciple was hiding a monumental secret from him.

Seeing that Orochimaru was thoroughly satisfied with Gojo Yoru's performance, he couldn't help but ask, "Did you give him the Flying Thunder God Technique scroll?"

"Yes, I already handed it over." Orochimaru nodded.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes lit up with anticipation. "So? Does he have the talent for it?"

"I don't know yet—he hasn't looked at it," Orochimaru said, shaking his head, though a faint smile lingered on his face.

If even Gojo Yoru lacked the talent for it, then there truly was no second person in the entire ninja world who could ever learn the Flying Thunder God Technique.

By the time he returned, dusk had already fallen.

After Gojo Yoru ate dinner, took a shower, and washed away the fatigue from his body, night had descended outside.

Sitting cross-legged on his long-missed soft bed, Gojo Yoru once again took out the independent scroll of the Flying Thunder God Technique and slowly unrolled it.

Though the scroll was small, its contents were anything but sparse.

The opening was the Flying Thunder God Seal, which had stumped countless geniuses.

The Flying Thunder God Seal carried a hint of Fuinjutsu, but it had no lethal power.

Just as the principle of a Storage Scroll used Fuinjutsu seals to mobilize intangible Space-Time Power, creating a special pocket dimension, the Flying Thunder God Seal similarly used Fuinjutsu seals to convert Space-Time Power into a mark, attaching it to people or objects.

Because it was the unreasonable fusion product of Fuinjutsu and Space-Time Power, the mark of the Flying Thunder God Seal could not be erased by conventional means.

Even if the caster dies, all the seals left behind during their lifetime do not disappear.

Once the Flying Thunder God Seal is successfully condensed, it means one can perceive the intangible Space-Time Power and possesses the qualifications to cultivate the Flying Thunder God Technique.

It is precisely this starting point that has shut out countless geniuses.

Aside from the Flying Thunder God Seal, there are also the Flying Thunder God Slash and the Flying Thunder God Lightning, all annotated by Senju Tobirama.

Just from the written descriptions alone, one can feel the immense power of this S-Rank jutsu, as well as Tobirama's unparalleled genius.

"Heh, completely on a different level." Gojo Yoru couldn't help but laugh.

Over the years, Yoru had been researching and developing short-range teleportation and ultra-long-range teleportation.

As a result, not to mention ultra-long-range teleportation, he didn't even have a clue about short-range teleportation.

Yet Senju Tobirama, who lacked a Space-Time Bloodline, had mastered this ultra-long-range teleportation through sheer talent—the difference between their abilities was like heaven and earth.

"With my current talent, I can't learn this technique at all."

Even as he said this, the smile on Gojo Yoru's face didn't diminish in the slightest.

The talent he had after the first Evolution upgrade was indeed insufficient to learn this S-Rank jutsu.

Using ordinary chakra to perform Fuinjutsu, then sensing the intangible space-time, and perfectly fusing the two into a single seal—what kind of convoluted nonsense was that? His eyes and brain understood it all, but his hands couldn't follow.

However, Yoru was hardly lacking in talent for Fuinjutsu or Space-Time Power.

His Space-Time Chakra could skip all those steps entirely.

No talent? Then just cheat!