The sun and moon kept turning without pause. In the peaceful years, time slipped away—year after year—while people stayed busy just trying to live.
By Konoha Year 41, without anyone really noticing, it had already been forty-one years since the Warring States Period was ended by the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama, and the one country, one village system—built together with the daimyō—was put into practice.
That system had both pros and cons.
The upside was that it unified all the ninja clans in the region, so ordinary civilians and nobles wouldn't get caught up in clan warfare anymore. They could also hire ninja through commissions to handle all sorts of problems, big and small.
Children from common families now had a path to become ninja too. Ninjutsu was no longer an exclusive superpower monopolized by the clans.
But the downside was that war still existed. In fact, it escalated—from clan-versus-clan conflicts into nation-versus-nation wars, and the casualties became even larger than the old clan wars.
In just a few decades, the shinobi world had already been dragged into two large-scale wars with multiple countries involved, killing who even knew how many ninja.
And who knew how many civilians were caught in the crossfire, their families shattered—creating countless war orphans across the continent.
The First Shinobi World War lasted many years. The Five Kage of that era all entered the battlefield, and four of them died. In the end, even Sunagakure's Second Kazekage met a violent end—none of them got a "good death."
The Second Shinobi World War, though it started with a small country, quickly pulled in the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth. By all logic, it should've dragged on for years too.
If the observing powers—the Land of Lightning and the Land of Water—had joined, the scale might have surpassed even the First War.
After all, during the First War, Hashirama had only recently distributed the tailed beasts, and none of the villages had produced true perfect jinchūriki yet.
But by the Second War, every major country already had them.
If the Five Kage and jinchūriki had all gone all-in, the shinobi continent would have been reduced to ruins, with catastrophic death tolls.
And yet—strangely—the Second War didn't evolve into an upgraded First War. It ended after just two short years.
Because—
The shinobi world gave birth to a brand-new bloodline limit, something so miraculous that even hearing only fragments about it made both ninja and civilians feel there was no answer to it.
In every village's textbooks, that bloodline limit was labeled: Space-Time Bloodline.
A ninja who possessed it was called a space-time shinobi, and the techniques they used were categorized as Space-Time Release.
As the first known person to possess a space-time bloodline, Gojo Yoru was not only hailed as the Embodiment of a Miracle, but over the past five years—while the next generation steadily matured—he had also been elevated as the pinnacle of a new era.
Newspapers across nations even named this new age:
"The Era of Gojo Yoru."
In the previous era, each nation produced exceptional young elites. In Konoha alone—the strongest village—there were the White Fang, the Three Sannin, Katō Dan, and heirs of major clans. Their strengths were all in the same general tier.
Other villages also had elite jōnin among the younger generation who were no weaker. You could say nobody accepted being "beneath" anyone else.
Even when the White Fang killed Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law and became famous across the world, those two weren't elite jōnin themselves—rather, their pairing was considered a trump-card-level combat unit.
Likewise, in Hiruzen Sarutobi's generation, many countries produced outstanding talent. At the top were monsters like the Third Raikage and Hanzō of the Salamander, and slightly older than Hiruzen was Ōnoki.
And back in the Warring States generation—Tobirama's era—even someone like Hashirama had an equal counterweight: the Shinobi Asura, Uchiha Madara.
But this generation was different, because it produced Gojo Yoru—a truly era-defining anomaly.
The birth of space-time bloodline didn't just mean the shinobi world now had an unstoppable existence—someone who could ignore elemental "counters" entirely.
It also meant space-time power was no longer untouchable, no longer something "above" the world.
If this special attribute could be born as a form of chakra nature transformation, then beyond storage scrolls, summoning, Flying Thunder God, and the Heavenly Transfer technique, it could be developed into new forms—including offensive space-time ninjutsu, like Gojo Yoru's.
Over the past five years, every village created a brand-new department:
Space-Time Research Division.
They gathered ninja with talent for making storage scrolls, as well as specialists in summoning and sealing arts, trying to learn how to use formulas and seals to manipulate space-time power—just like the Second Hokage once applied the logic of summoning to the user's own body.
Kumogakure went even further, copying Konoha's reforms to the ninja academy and adding an elective course specifically to filter candidates suited to learning the Heavenly Transfer technique.
Even Konoha—with Gojo Yoru, the miracle himself—was researching space-time. And Yoru's teacher, Orochimaru, was one of that division's top officials.
Nobody could resist the lure of space-time—especially ninja who already lived with storage scrolls and summoning contracts. Everyone wanted a breakthrough that would make life more convenient… and survival much easier.
Konoha Year 41, July 11.
Konoha — Hokage's Office.
"Hokage-sama, here is the mission summary report, and the client's evaluation."
"Good work."
Now exactly fifty—still in his prime, hair not yet gone white—Hiruzen Sarutobi still had that same old pipe clenched between his teeth.
He studied the tall, striking young man in front of him, dressed in a style completely different from other jōnin, his eyes filled with appreciation as he praised him without holding back:
"Yoru, your mission experience is already on par with Orochimaru's when he first took you as a disciple. Even the previous generation of trump-card fighters—only a handful like Sakumo could edge you out in experience, and even they couldn't match your 100% completion record."
"Your overall competence has already reached the peak of what 'jōnin' means. Going out to do more missions won't improve you anymore."
Yoru raised an eyebrow. "Hokage-sama, are you saying—"
Hiruzen exhaled a puff of smoke and finally revealed where all this was going:
"Next year, a batch of exceptionally talented new-gen will graduate early. Are you interested in serving as a jōnin instructor for a few years? A proper leader can't only know how to command squads and captains—he also needs to learn how to cultivate the village's future."
Yoru looked at him with a knowing half-smile. "Hokage-sama… that early-graduation batch wouldn't happen to include Asuma, would it?"
"Cough, cough—!"
Hiruzen coughed repeatedly, his old face turning red as he admitted frankly:
"…I do have a bit of selfish intent. Asuma's personality is like Nawaki's. If no one can keep him in check, he might do something reckless in his teenage phase. So I want him to grow at your side, to have his edges ground down properly."
Yoru fell into thought, then said slowly:
"I'm not against being a jōnin instructor. But I'll need to discuss it with Kushina first—get her opinion."
Hiruzen immediately put on the "disappointed elder" act and started lecturing:
"Yoru, you're the only space-time shinobi in the world right now—the embodiment of a miracle. You need your own judgment, and a man's presence. You can't let a woman sit on your head."
Yoru stared at him with pure disdain. "Hokage-sama, say that in front of Biwako-sama and Kushina if you've got the guts."
"Cough, cough—!"
Hiruzen instantly imagined Biwako's furious glare and Kushina's hair rising with red chakra swirling around her, and hurriedly cleared his throat again to escape the topic:
"Ahem. Orochimaru's squad is only you and Kushina, and Kushina can't take missions without you anyway, so yes—you should discuss it with her. The instructor position isn't urgent. We still have more than half a year. You can go."
"Yes, sir."
Yoru clicked his tongue and walked out with both hands in his pockets.
"Yoru-sama!"
"Yoru-sama, you're back!"
"Gojo-sama—long time no see!"
On his way down from the Hokage's office, people greeted him everywhere—elite ninja in flak jackets, ordinary genin and staff inside the Hokage Tower, even civilians who came to submit commissions.
No matter their age, their eyes carried the same thing: respect.
Young women and young men looked even more intense—women shamelessly drawn by his looks, men obsessed with his strength.
Five years after the Second Shinobi World War, Yoru's fame hadn't faded at all. If anything, more and more people knew him.
After all, the one-country, one-village system was only in its forty-first year. Plenty of elders still lived who'd survived the Warring States, and they still passed down legends of the God of Shinobi's might.
Only once that older generation died out would Hashirama's stories and bloodlines slowly become "history" instead of living memory.
Gojo Yoru was different. He represented the present—someone already written into history books while still alive.
Every year the academy graduated a new class and enrolled another. The more students there were, the more people learned the name Gojo Yoru.
And to keep hot-headed rookies from dying in the field, every village didn't just describe his space-time abilities in detail—they also added their own speculations about how space-time might be used, writing those guesses into textbooks too.
Which only made Yoru more mythologized—an idol to wave after wave of new-gen.
Especially because Yoru's own generation was about to reach adulthood.
A man whose abilities were already "unanswerable," and who would enter his prime in a few more years.
In this world of 130 trillion cells, a strong shinobi's prime lasted a long time—sixty was the real watershed.
In canon, Orochimaru's defection happened after Itachi's early graduation—around Konoha Year 50.
At that time, Hiruzen was around sixty and still capable of easily suppressing Orochimaru.
Hanzō and Chiyo were the same—grandfather and grandmother ages, yet still able to crush even the Sannin and Sakumo.
So in many people's minds, unless something "unexpected" happened, Gojo Yoru's prime might last decades.
For decades, unless another era-defining monster appeared, the shinobi world would remain—
"The Era of Gojo Yoru."
Just like it had once been "Hashirama's Era" before the God of Shinobi died.
"Hello—hey, everyone!"
Yoru wasn't cold or distant. He answered greetings with a smile—one hand still in his pocket, the other raised casually in acknowledgement.
But when some girls got bold and tried to cling to him, they suddenly fell flat on their faces—hard.
They hadn't even touched him.
Their hands passed through his body, as if Gojo Yoru standing there was just an illusion.
"Careful walking, ladies." Yoru waved without looking back and kept going.
No one watching felt anger or jealousy. Only heat—admiration and awe.
Because everyone knew that wasn't a clone.
It was his real body.
He simply wasn't "in the real world" at that moment.
He was walking the void.
Across five years of missions, his intangibility wasn't a secret anymore. Alongside Black Flash, Shinobi World's Fastest, Embodiment of a Miracle, and Space-Time Shinobi, he'd gained yet another title:
Voidwalker.
"Yoru, you're too slow! I already bought all the groceries!"
The moment Yoru left the Hokage Tower, a red-haired girl strode up to him—
Uzumaki Kushina, arms loaded with bags stuffed full of ingredients.
Fresh off a mission, her long red hair was tied in a high ponytail. A Konoha forehead protector sat on her brow, and she wore a green flak jacket and black shinobi pants—every bit as sharp and heroic as Tsunade during the Second War.
Five years had changed her completely.
The small, round-faced "Tomato-na" had blossomed into a stunning young woman.
Her baby fat was gone; her face had refined into a classic V-line. Her skin was impossibly smooth and luminous—poreless in that very "anime" way.
Under Yoru's "chef" and "trainer" care—perfect nutrition, constant growth, daily happiness—Kushina had even surpassed her canon height, becoming a long-legged beauty at 170 cm.
And if she took off the flak jacket, her figure was… not subtle. Not Hinata or Samui levels, but still clearly bigger than Tsunade and Ino were at the same age.
And if her looks had changed this much, her rank and strength were beyond comparison.
Over these five years, Orochimaru barely "taught" the two of them anymore. Early on, he only walked them through a handful of missions step-by-step.
After that, whether it was a C-rank or an S-rank mission, it was almost always Yoru and Kushina together.
Once Hiruzen confirmed Yoru had shored up his two weaknesses—sensing and medical ninjutsu—he stopped restricting Yoru from taking the Nine-Tails jinchūriki outside the village.
Konoha 38, July: Kushina entered that year's chūnin exam alone and steamrolled it, becoming chūnin as the "final boss."
Konoha 39, May: She passed Konoha's internal talent evaluation and was promoted to special jōnin.
Same year, October: With recommendations from Yoru, Orochimaru, and Tsunade, she openly demonstrated Mind's Eye of the Kagura and Adamantine Sealing Chains—plus her monstrous sealing, sensing, medical, taijutsu, Wind and Water chakra natures… and officially passed review by the Hokage and elders, becoming a true full jōnin.
Now Orochimaru's team had three full jōnin.
Kushina hadn't become famous across the world yet—she hadn't built a personal title—but in the eyes of leadership, she was more "trump-card" than many trump-cards.
Because she was the Nine-Tails jinchūriki… and she could maintain sanity while using the tailed-beast cloak.
Honestly, most enemies she faced died by accident—so she never had anyone left to spread her legend.
"Sorry," Yoru said, completely unconvincing. "The Hokage kept me to chat."
Kushina frowned and immediately talked trash in public:
"Don't get too close to that old geezer Third. Tsunade-sama said he and Jiraiya-sama are both perverts and peeping creeps. Don't let them corrupt you."
Yoru leaned down to her ear and whispered with a grin:
"Only ugly guys need to peek. With you at my side, what would I even peek for?"
"—Go die!"
Kushina's face flushed as she imagined something embarrassing. She snapped a roundhouse kick that carried a gust of force—straight through Yoru's body.
Yoru ignored it, still wearing that infuriating expression.
Kushina glared, half angry, half mortified.
"Don't say stuff like that outside, or I'll beat you to death."
Then she marched off with her grocery bags.
Yoru followed behind with both hands in his pockets.
Five years had changed him too.
His face had fully shed any remaining childishness, only becoming more sharply handsome.
Height-wise, he'd settled at 188 cm last year—never quite reaching 190.
He'd stopped limiting himself to the same black jacket and black pants. He still refused to wear the heavy jōnin flak jacket that hindered speed, but his style shifted constantly—sometimes modern shirts and casual trousers, sometimes ancient robes.
As for combat power… his space-time bloodline meant he remained the most "uncertain" existence in the shinobi world.
If he got careless, even a genin could assassinate him.
If he stayed cautious, even Six Paths-tier monsters might fail to kill him.
Chakra capacity-wise:
His space-time chakra, still limited by its "cap," remained at the level of a seasoned chūnin unless he released the seal.
His normal chakra, however, had surpassed what Orochimaru had years ago and now sat firmly in trump-card territory.
By comparing it to how many Chidori a certain Kakashi could use in canon, Yoru guessed he'd surpassed "one-card" worth of chakra.
Still, compared to a true Kage like Hiruzen—someone who could use five-nature composite techniques—there was still a noticeable gap.
And compared to chakra monsters like Jiraiya and Tsunade, it wasn't even a contest.
Once Jiraiya entered Sage Mode, he could launch Sage Art: Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan and keep going for ages.
Meanwhile, Yoru in his normal state could now barely form one Big Ball Rasengan.