Hiruzen Sarutobi looked puzzled.
“…Aura?”
Yoruha thought briefly before answering calmly:
“Back when I was still at the Ninja Academy, I noticed something interesting.”
“The instructors naturally carried a certain pressure.”
“Even without attacking, they could intimidate students instinctively.”
“So I became curious.”
“And over the past several years…”
“…I researched how to reproduce that sensation.”
Naturally—
That explanation was fabricated on the spot.
Still, Hiruzen’s lips twitched slightly.
“You researched it yourself?”
“…And ended up creating something like this?”
The Third Hokage genuinely felt speechless.
Of course, he understood what Yoruha meant by “aura.”
Experienced shinobi naturally emitted killing intent and psychological pressure.
Veteran ninja intimidated civilians and academy students unconsciously all the time.
But what Yoruha displayed earlier clearly surpassed ordinary killing intent entirely.
Kakashi almost lost consciousness instantly.
That level of spiritual oppression already bordered on a unique combat technique.
And an extremely dangerous one at that.
After all—
If Yoruha unleashed that pressure during actual combat, most shinobi below Jonin level would likely become defenseless immediately.
The Third Hokage sighed deeply.
“This practically qualifies as an S-rank mental technique already.”
Nearby, Kakashi Hatake finally recovered gradually.
His expression remained filled with lingering shock.
“Yoruha…”
“How can your aura possibly become that terrifying?”
“I nearly blacked out.”
Kakashi still felt cold sweat lingering down his back.
The pressure Yoruha released earlier differed fundamentally from ordinary murderous intent.
It directly crushed the spirit itself.
Even Orochimaru’s killing intent during his defection years ago felt less overwhelming.
And that realization genuinely unsettled Kakashi.
Because Orochimaru was a legendary Sannin shaped through countless wars and experiments.
Yoruha was only twelve.
Meanwhile, Yoruha merely answered casually:
“I simply researched it during my spare time.”
Kakashi’s mouth twitched immediately.
“…’Spare time’?”
A casually researched ability nearly incapacitated an elite Jonin instantly.
That statement sounded absurdly unfair.
At this point, Kakashi genuinely believed Yoruha already surpassed standard Jonin level completely.
Meanwhile, Hiruzen silently adjusted his evaluation upward again.
Previously, he already believed Yoruha possessed combat ability beyond ordinary Kage-level shinobi in certain areas.
Now—
After witnessing this terrifying intimidation ability—
That assessment rose even higher.
Still, Hiruzen quickly remembered the real purpose of tonight’s visit.
“Yoruha.”
“The Root operative approaching you earlier was not my order.”
Yoruha nodded calmly.
“I know.”
“Otherwise, you and Kakashi-sensei would not personally come here afterward.”
Seeing that Yoruha showed no dissatisfaction, the Third Hokage relaxed slightly internally.
He genuinely worried Yoruha might misunderstand the situation as some form of political testing.
“I’ll speak with Danzo Shimura afterward.”
Yoruha chuckled faintly.
“It’s unnecessary.”
“I didn’t lose anything.”
Then Yoruha changed topics naturally.
“By the way…”
“Hokage-sama asked whether I made progress studying those forbidden techniques.”
The Third Hokage nodded.
“Those three techniques are extraordinarily difficult.”
“Even partial understanding after a few weeks would already be impressive.”
“Failure is perfectly normal.”
Yoruha replied calmly:
“I only studied Fivefold Rashōmon for now.”
“I haven’t touched the other two techniques yet.”
Then he added casually:
“I learned it already.”
“…Though honestly, I don’t think it suits me very well.”
Silence.
The Third Hokage froze instantly.
“…You what?”
“I learned it.”
Yoruha repeated calmly.
Hiruzen stared at him blankly for several seconds.
That was Fivefold Rashōmon.
An S-rank forbidden defensive technique originally used by Hashirama Senju himself.
Even within Konoha, extremely few people mastered it.
Currently—
Only Orochimaru could reliably use Rashōmon among living shinobi.
And even Orochimaru generally summoned only Triple Rashōmon because of chakra limitations.
Meanwhile—
Yoruha apparently learned Hashirama’s superior Fivefold version overnight.
Hiruzen did not think Yoruha was lying.
That was the terrifying part.
Nearby, Kakashi looked confused.
He had never even heard of Fivefold Rashōmon before.
The technique appeared too rarely throughout shinobi history.
“Hokage-sama…”
“…is it another forbidden technique?”
Hiruzen nodded slowly.
“An S-rank forbidden defensive summoning technique.”
Kakashi’s visible eye widened immediately.
“S-rank?!”
“Why would you hand something that dangerous directly to a twelve-year-old?”
Even knowing Yoruha’s monstrous strength, Kakashi still found this arrangement somewhat outrageous.
Most forbidden techniques carried severe risks.
Improper usage could cripple or kill the user instantly.
Yet Yoruha himself looked utterly unconcerned.
The Third Hokage calmly explained:
“Fivefold Rashōmon itself isn’t particularly dangerous structurally.”
“The difficulty comes from its chakra requirement.”
“If the user lacks sufficient chakra…”
“…the number of Rashōmon gates simply decreases.”
Then Hiruzen turned back toward Yoruha curiously.
“How many gates do you estimate you can summon currently?”
Yoruha thought briefly.
“I’m not certain.”
“But probably more than three.”
The Third Hokage nodded thoughtfully.
“That sounds reasonable.”
“Your chakra reserves should currently be around Orochimaru’s level.”
That estimate already sounded absurd.
After all, Orochimaru was a genuine Kage-level shinobi and one of the Legendary Sannin.
Still—
Hiruzen believed his estimate reasonable because Yoruha was still only twelve years old.
Normally, chakra reserves increased gradually alongside age, physical growth, and training experience.
Even Naruto Uzumaki at this age had not yet fully developed his monstrous reserves despite being a Jinchūriki.
What Hiruzen did not know—
Was that Yoruha’s actual chakra quantity already exceeded Kakashi’s by roughly thirty times.
At this point, Yoruha practically resembled a humanoid Tailed Beast already.
And his reserves would likely continue increasing further as he matured physically.
Then Hiruzen recalled another detail from earlier.
“You mentioned Fivefold Rashōmon doesn’t suit you.”
“Why?”
Even Kakashi looked curious.
Most shinobi would treasure an S-rank forbidden technique desperately.
Yet Yoruha sounded mildly dissatisfied instead.
Yoruha answered honestly:
“It’s primarily defensive.”
“My combat style relies heavily on close-range pressure and physical speed.”
“If I truly needed enough time to deploy Fivefold Rashōmon…”
“…I could usually just dodge instead.”
Silence followed briefly.
Then Hiruzen slowly nodded.
“…That’s actually true.”
He remembered Yoruha’s terrifying speed during their battle the previous night.
With movement capability approaching teleportation already—
Large-scale defensive techniques naturally became less valuable.
Still, Hiruzen sighed slightly.
“But you already learned it.”
“You aren’t planning to abandon the technique entirely, correct?”
From Hiruzen’s perspective, Fivefold Rashōmon still possessed enormous strategic value.
Especially against large-scale battlefield attacks.
Even Tailed Beast Bombs could have their trajectories altered or weakened through Rashōmon barriers.
Meanwhile—
Kakashi listened to the conversation with growing disbelief.
These two people were discussing an S-rank forbidden technique as casually as if they were evaluating some ordinary C-rank academy ninjutsu.
It felt completely unreasonable.