The news Orochimaru brought was beyond Gojo Yoru's expectations.
He'd never imagined Sarutobi Hiruzen valued him this highly.
Kushina had only become the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki two months ago. Logically, Hiruzen should have given them more time together—letting Yoru soothe Kushina's heart.
Yet only two months later, he already wanted Yoru to graduate early. Why?
Yoru couldn't help but speculate.
Was it because Hiruzen, seeing how quickly Yoru and Kushina were growing, couldn't wait to pull Yoru into the Hokage's own line?
Given that Hiruzen possessed the Crystal Ball Telescope Technique, he probably spied on Yoru and Kushina's sparring often. Maybe he'd even seen their duel earlier today and noticed Yoru was starting to struggle against Kushina—so he deliberately sent Orochimaru over to help at the perfect moment?
The more Yoru thought about it, the more likely it seemed. The timing was simply too perfect.
And it suited Yoru perfectly.
Nawaki would turn eleven next month. If there were no butterfly effect, the Second Great Ninja War would break out next year.
Even if Yoru's cohort graduated, Orochimaru and Jiraiya wouldn't have much time to train them.
Yoru also needed time to deepen the teacher–student relationship with Orochimaru—so that he could sign a summoning contract with Ryūchi Cave. That would take a long while too.
If he could become Orochimaru's student early, it would undoubtedly be a good thing for Yoru.
So Yoru made his decision immediately.
He nodded to Orochimaru. "Orochimaru-sensei, I'm willing to graduate early."
Orochimaru didn't seem surprised at all. Smiling, he nodded back. "Good. Then I'll wait for you at the Ninja Academy tomorrow."
With that, Orochimaru stood up, turned into an afterimage, and vanished.
"Yoru… will it be hard for me to see you from now on? We won't be able to train together every day anymore, will we?"
Even though she knew it was for their own good, Kushina's mood still dipped.
Yoru reached out and patted her head gently. "This is for our future."
That near-confession made Kushina's cheeks flush. She lowered her head shyly.
…
The next day, Yoru arrived at the Ninja Academy early.
Yūya-sensei, already informed, led him to a testing room.
Early graduation didn't mean "defeat a veteran genin."
If you could already beat veteran genin, why graduate early just to be a genin? You might as well take the chūnin exams directly.
To graduate early, there were three steps.
First: a teacher's approval, and the teacher submitting the application.
Second: approval from the principal—Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Third: parental consent and a signature at the school.
That was how canon Uchiha Itachi graduated early.
Yoru's parents were gone, so only his own signature was needed.
After completing those steps, Yoru still had to demonstrate his ability—proving he had the strength to become a formal genin.
In the testing room, he first completed shuriken and kunai throwing, then Body Flicker and the Hiding Technique, and finally the Three Basic Techniques exam.
The three examiners all gave him full marks.
Because Yoru didn't use the basic Clone Technique—he used the B-rank Shadow Clone Technique, stunning everyone.
After all, many veteran genin only knew a single C-rank elemental jutsu.
A fifth-year who already mastered Shadow Clone—and was rumored to have used C-rank Earth Release in practical exams—had better strength than many veteran genin, and could even go straight to the chūnin exams.
Once the school stamped the paperwork, news of Gojo Yoru's early graduation quickly spread throughout the academy.
When the boys learned the demon king was graduating early, the entire school erupted in cheers.
That bullying monster finally wasn't coming to school anymore—thank goodness!
The girls, meanwhile, felt a bit regretful; the school had lost another handsome eye-candy guy.
Yoru's classmates in Fifth Year, Class 1 cheered too, but they were also very curious how Kushina would react.
Strangely enough, Kushina looked completely indifferent and kept studying seriously.
Aside from Minato sensing something was off, no one realized that the Kushina sitting in class was actually only a shadow clone.
"Congratulations. From this point on, you are officially a genin—registration number 007185."
After Yoru finished his archive photo, Orochimaru finally appeared and handed him a genin forehead protector.
Yoru took it and tied it around his forehead, then looked at Orochimaru. "Orochimaru-sensei… are you planning to take me on alone?"
"Yes. From today onward, you are my student," Orochimaru nodded.
Yoru's face lit up with delight. "Really? That's great!"
Although genin called their jōnin instructor "teacher," in most cases their relationship wasn't truly teacher and student—it was superior and subordinate.
If the superior didn't like the team, once someone was promoted to chūnin, the instructor might simply stop caring—and had no obligation to teach them jutsu.
Only when a jōnin instructor truly took a liking to someone did it become a genuine teacher–student relationship, where they'd be taught techniques—sometimes even secret signature moves.
That showed just how valuable Orochimaru's words were.
As for a jōnin instructor taking a student alone—Konoha didn't have many examples, but it wasn't unheard of.
And the examples that existed were… Orochimaru.
In canon, Nawaki. In canon, Mitarashi Anko. Both followed Orochimaru alone.
"Don't be happy too soon. My guidance is very strict," Orochimaru said with a smile.
"That's exactly what I want," Yoru grinned back at him. "Orochimaru-sensei, don't hold back."
"Heh. Let's leave here first."
Orochimaru led Yoru out of the academy.
The moment they stepped out the front gate, a red-haired figure came jogging over.
"Orochimaru-sensei—Yoru."
Kushina greeted Orochimaru first. Then she noticed the forehead protector on Yoru's head and her eyes brightened. "Yoru, did you graduate?"
"Yeah. Want to try it on early?" Yoru took off the protector and handed it to her. Kushina didn't hesitate—she accepted it and put it on.
Orochimaru watched them with a smile, then said to Yoru, "Before you start taking missions, I need to understand your strength. You have half an hour to prepare. I'll wait for you at the place you usually train."
With that, Orochimaru vanished.
Kushina, eyes wide, asked, "Yoru… you're going to fight Orochimaru-sensei?"
"Yeah. Come watch too. Let's see the gap between us and a jōnin."
"Sure!"
Kushina's interest ignited instantly, and she walked home beside Yoru.
~~~
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