Since this was a game of strategy, Gojo Yoru had no intention of sitting back on defense and letting Uchiha Madara keep plotting against him and trying to assassinate him.
Even if he didn't know where Madara was hiding, he could still make life difficult for him.
He wouldn't make a move against Obito Uchiha. Kill one Obito, and there would just be a second, then a third.
Unless the entire Uchiha clan was wiped out, Madara would still choose another Uchiha to act as his spokesman.
In Yoru's eyes, killing the Obito whose personality he already understood would bring nothing but disadvantages.
If Madara picked a new pawn he knew nothing about, that would mean giving up his advantage and letting the board slip out of his control.
So Yoru had no intention of becoming Obito's jonin instructor. Instead, he used his authority to transfer Rin Nohara under his command.
He planned to change that girl's fate and see how Madara intended to make a move on Rin right under his nose—and how he intended to direct Obito's fall into darkness.
In the original story, Obito Uchiha fell because he personally witnessed his closest friend kill the girl he loved. That made him doubt everything about the ninja world and want to escape that false world, which in turn gave birth to Kamui, the strongest Mangekyo ability.
As long as Rin Nohara didn't die, Obito would still be that kind-hearted Uchiha whose dream was to become Hokage.
Even if he still fell in the future and awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, as long as his heart wasn't centered on escaping a false world, the ability born from it wouldn't be Kamui.
And an Obito without Kamui was nothing more than roadside trash in Gojo Yoru's eyes.
Even if he wore the Tobi armor, greatly boosted his Wood Release, gained a Mangekyo ability he could spam endlessly without going blind, or even collected both eyes and awakened Susanoo, his strength would at most reach Super Kage level.
And there were still people stronger than that—healthy Nagato, and the all-around monster Kushina Uzumaki.
A single casual move from Yoru could trigger a whole chain of butterfly effects.
He was genuinely curious: if Madara found himself unable to do anything about Rin Nohara, what kind of script would he come up with to push Obito into darkness?
Surely it couldn't turn into, "I'm going to create a world with Kakashi in it," right?
If history somehow forced itself back onto the original track in that absurd way and still led Obito to awaken Kamui, Yoru would just have to accept it with a grimace.
Otherwise, Madara was going to be in real trouble.
The mighty Asura of the ninja world would end up as a toy for Gojo Yoru and Black Zetsu.
"Even though everyone already knows each other, let's still do proper introductions so we can get familiar."
On the rooftop of the academy building, Gojo Yoru sat on the railing in his round sunglasses, his long legs dangling in the air and lightly swinging as he looked at Team Two in front of him and grinned.
"I'll go first and show you how it's done."
"My name is Gojo Yoru. My family name is Gojo. From now on, you can call me Teacher Gojo or Teacher Yoru. Of course, if we're not gathered for missions or class, I don't mind if you even call Gojo-senpai and Yoru-senpai. I'm only a few years older than you, after all."
"My specialty is space-time ninjutsu. I also possess all seven nature transformations—yin, yang, and the five elements—and I'm proficient in all mainstream five-element ninjutsu."
"My hobbies are photography and traveling. There are lots of foods I like."
"As for my dream, I'm not telling you that—because I don't have dreams. What I have are goals that will definitely come true in the future."
That last sentence was dripping with confidence.
To Kurenai Yuhi and Rin Nohara, though, it sounded unbelievably cool.
If anyone else had said it, they would have thought it was empty bragging.
But those two had heard Gojo Yoru's name even before entering the academy. In their first year, they had read his official biography. In their second and third years, they had already learned how many records he had broken and how many achievements he had piled up.
To them, Yoru was simply stating a fact.
Just like in the world of pirates, where civilians brainwashed by public opinion would casually say things like, "If we're talking about the strongest in a one-on-one, it's got to be Kaido."
After years of being fed stories by newspapers and books, both civilians and ninja across the shinobi world had started speaking the same way about famous shinobi. The conversation no longer revolved around the Five Kage. Instead, it had become things like: "The most impossible ninja alive right now? Obviously Gojo Yoru."
"The strongest ninja of the future? Definitely Gojo Yoru."
"If the next God of Shinobi isn't Gojo Yoru, then who is it supposed to be—me?"
Kurenai, Rin, and even Asuma Sarutobi all knew it for certain.
Once the news got out that Gojo Yoru had become their jonin instructor, Team Two would become the object of envy, jealousy, and resentment for every genin in Konoha.
"Your turn."
Yoru raised one finger and pointed it back and forth between the members of Team Two, finally stopping on Asuma.
"Let's start with Konoha's crown prince—the one who could probably get away with murder."
"Pff—"
Kurenai and Rin couldn't help laughing, then quickly covered their mouths and started snickering.
Asuma, meanwhile, had black lines all over his forehead and looked at Yoru with wounded resentment.
"Teacher Yoru, I've never bullied anyone with my status. And if the academy rumors were true, then back when you were still a student, you were the school's most infamous bully. The day you enrolled, you beat down sixth-year students, and if someone just looked at you the wrong way, you'd grab them by the hair and rub their face against the wall."
"Oh, come on. I'm actually pretty gentle. I've never laid a hand on girls."
Yoru waved a hand modestly.
That finally broke Asuma.
"I'm not praising you!"
"I see."
Yoru lightly pounded one fist into his palm as if suddenly enlightened, leaving Asuma so exasperated he couldn't even get mad properly anymore.
Since Yoru was still wearing those round sunglasses, no one could see the look in his eyes.
But Kurenai and Rin both felt like they were getting to know this famous upperclassman all over again.
Back when he occasionally came in as a guest instructor to teach their classes, they had only known that Gojo Yoru had a warm personality and wasn't nearly as cold as those icy blue eyes made him look.
Now that they had seen this side of him—sharp-tongued and mischievous—their fan filters shattered on the spot. Suddenly, this living legend didn't feel distant or unreachable anymore. He felt much closer.
"Alright, let's get started."
Having had his fun teasing the little monkeys, Yoru lifted a hand.
Asuma took a deep breath and began his introduction.
"My name is Asuma Sarutobi. My family name is Sarutobi. I specialize in Wind Release and Fire Release. My hobbies are shogi and smoking—cough, cough—"
Realizing he'd let that slip, Asuma quickly coughed and instinctively glanced at Kurenai beside him.
But he soon realized Kurenai wasn't even looking at him, nor did she have that usual disgusted expression on her face.
That somehow made his heart sink even further.
Still, he continued.
"My favorite foods are sausage and chilled yam noodles. I hate reeds. And my dream is… to become as great a ninja as my old man."
He clearly hesitated on that last part, even sneaking a glance at Kurenai, obviously too embarrassed to say what he really wanted.
When he finished, Asuma realized Gojo Yoru was looking at him with an amused smile, and the prematurely mature-looking boy's face flushed slightly.
Yoru didn't keep teasing him, though. Instead, he pointed at Kurenai and said, "Your turn, little chubby red-eyes."
"…"
"Teacher Yoru, this is baby fat, not actual fat!"
Kurenai pointed at her naturally wavy hair in protest. "And it's only because of my hair that my head looks round and my face looks fuller."
Asuma nodded furiously in agreement.
"Got it, chubby cheeks."
Yoru waved her off without the slightest concern. "Now start."
Kurenai finally understood exactly how Asuma had felt a moment ago.
Gojo Yoru's nasty personality was really something. He had such a filthy mouth, and he was so punchable.
But on the surface, she still puffed out her cheeks and began her introduction.
"My name is Kurenai Yuhi. My family name is Yuhi. I specialize in genjutsu. I have a lot of interests. My favorite food is wasabi octopus. My least favorite food is cake. My dream is to become an outstanding kunoichi like Lady Tsunade."
"And you, camouflage girl."
Yoru turned to Rin Nohara.
Rin didn't seem bothered or offended by the nickname at all. She just smiled gently and said, "My name is Rin Nohara. My family name is Nohara. Everyone can call me Rin or Rin-chan. My specialty is medical ninjutsu. My hobby is collecting seashells. My favorite food is strawberries. I dislike heavily stewed seafood. My dream is to save injured ninja and reduce casualties as much as possible."
When Yoru heard Rin's dream, the look behind his sunglasses turned slightly complicated.
It made him feel even more certain that his impulsive choice had been the right one.
In the original story, the Sannin, Team Minato, Team Seven, and even Yahiko's trio all followed the same basic mold. They were the same type of group.
And in Yoru's eyes, the one most suited to become Tsunade's disciple—aside from Kushina Uzumaki—wasn't Sakura Haruno from canon, but Rin Nohara, who shared Tsunade's ideal so completely.
If Sakura's character setup had been replaced with Rin's, then even if Hinata had been "bigger," she still would have been obliterated as the heroine. Her fate probably would have ended up like Karin's—quite possibly alone for the rest of her life.
Or maybe married off to someone she didn't love just to continue the clan bloodline.
That kind of pure, untainted goodness made it no surprise that Rin had become Obito Uchiha's one irreplaceable moonlight. For her sake, he had turned the entire ninja world upside down trying to create a world where she existed.
That only made Yoru more determined to rewrite her fate.
And the three students in Team Two hadn't been chosen at random, either.
They represented the three major categories: ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu.
Asuma Sarutobi excelled at ninjutsu. He had been studying the Sarutobi clan's powerful fire techniques since childhood, and in the future he would also develop wind-based chakra blade taijutsu.
As someone who had already mastered all seven transformations and could use the five elemental releases as casually as breathing, Yoru had more than enough ways to train Asuma.
Kurenai specialized in genjutsu. As a master of Yin Release, Yoru likewise had plenty of ways to teach her.
If Kurenai could learn something like Demonic Illusion: Bringer-of-Darkness Technique—or even the Spirit Transformation Technique—then she could break free of her original fate and stop becoming the kind of "Kurenai-sensei" who got instantly wrecked by literally everyone.
And there was no need to say much about Rin.
In canon, she could already perform an eye transplant surgery at the age of twelve under those conditions, and with absurd speed at that.
She also had the Yang Release-compatible constitution needed to qualify as a Three-Tails jinchuriki.
If she hadn't died in canon, she would have grown far stronger than Suzume, whose ceiling had only been to become a female ninja instructor, or Kurenai, who only became a full all-round jonin shortly before the story began.
She was one of those rare prodigies whose talent never got the chance to bloom before she died halfway through.
As Sakura's "senpai," her potential was meant to be on par with Kakashi Hatake and Obito Uchiha.
If Team Minato had all become disciples of the future Konoha Sannin, then their ceiling would have been the "New Sannin."
And Yoru, who had already become a master of medical ninjutsu and had even won all the Senju clan's secret technique scrolls, only needed to raise Rin the way Tsunade later raised Sakura.
She represented the "body."
And Team Minato right now also represented ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu.
Kakashi Hatake specialized in ninjutsu, Obito Uchiha in Yin Release genjutsu, and Might Guy in taijutsu.
If trained properly, Team Two might not necessarily lose to Team Minato in the early stages.
As for later on, though, there was nothing Yoru could do.
Because by then, the weakest one in Team Minato would ironically be Kakashi Hatake—the one currently strongest among them.
Once Guy entered his prime, he could open the Gate of Death at any time. Even Nagato would go down in a one-for-one exchange.
Even with only the Seventh Gate open, Guy would still be among the strongest of the Kage tier, strong enough to beat Kisame Hoshigaki—the man with absurd chakra reserves—so badly he wouldn't even be able to complain.
And as for Obito, there was even less to say.
Setting aside the Sharingan and the Uchiha clan's fire techniques, in canon, once he put on the Tobi armor, he could casually block Suigetsu Hozuki's full-force Executioner's Blade with one hand.
And if he ran into an enemy, he could instantly kill them with Wood Release: Cutting Technique.
If that version of Obito had fought Kakashi, even if all he wanted was to remove the curse seal on his heart, he still could have crushed Kakashi with ease.
If Rin could master monstrous strength, Sage Mode, the Yin Seal, and Strength of a Hundred, then she might be able to compete with them.
As for Asuma and Kurenai, they had no hope at all—unless they learned some forbidden technique and rewrote their destiny.
That was the gap in talent. The limitation of bloodlines.
Yoru had already mapped out exactly how he wanted to train Team Two.
So once the self-introduction session ended, he clapped his hands and said to the team, "Good. Now I know your strengths and interests, but I still don't know much about the actual abilities and combat level of you so-called geniuses."
"So let's do something you're all familiar with—a survival exercise."
Yoru raised a hand and pointed toward the five o'clock direction. "Tomorrow morning at nine sharp, gather at Training Ground Two in the southeast. I'm giving you one full day to prepare. Dismissed."
The instant those words left his mouth, Yoru vanished without any warning at all, leaving Team Two staring at one another in confusion.
And just like that, another generation had graduated from the Ninja Academy.
Somewhere in a forest in the shinobi world, a light drizzle was falling.
The rain-soaked ground suddenly shifted, and a massive stone slab flipped open, revealing the entrance to an underground passage.
A boy with orange hair slowly emerged.
He wore a loose black robe. The exposed parts of his skin were wrapped in white material, and half his face was covered in burn scars.
It was Yahiko—half a year later, finally seeing daylight again, and reborn as someone completely changed.