Yoruha returned calmly to the Hokage’s office after leaving Training Ground Three.
The moment he entered—
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up from the mountain of paperwork before him and smiled faintly.
“So?”
“How was Kakashi’s assessment method?”
Yoruha sat back down beside the Hokage’s desk before answering casually:
“Didn’t Hokage-sama already watch everything?”
Using the Telescope Technique to observe important individuals was completely normal for Hiruzen.
The old Hokage showed no surprise whatsoever.
Instead, he asked directly:
“That flame transformation…”
“Was it another ninjutsu you developed personally?”
Yoruha glanced briefly at the documents in his hands before nodding casually.
“More or less.”
Hiruzen sighed inwardly.
“A truly terrifying Fire Release technique…”
“No wonder you showed no interest in ordinary elemental ninjutsu.”
From Hiruzen’s perspective, Yoruha’s flame abilities already far surpassed conventional Fire Release entirely.
Transformation into flame itself.
Instant repositioning through elementalization.
And complete immunity to ordinary fire attacks.
Even among Konoha’s countless recorded ninjutsu—
Nothing comparable really existed.
Still—
The Third Hokage was not overly shocked.
After witnessing Yoruha repeatedly create abnormal abilities already, Hiruzen instinctively assumed Yoruha simply possessed extraordinary talent for inventing Fire Release techniques personally.
After officially becoming the Hokage’s assistant, Yoruha’s daily routine stabilized gradually.
Unlike Naruto, Sasuke, and the other new Genin—
He no longer performed low-rank village missions.
No catching lost cats.
No weeding fields.
No escorting civilians.
Instead, Yoruha remained inside the Hokage’s office most days helping process reports and administrative tasks.
Ironically—
This caused many of his former classmates to see him more frequently than before.
Every time rookie Genin teams visited the Hokage Building to receive assignments, they would inevitably notice Yoruha sitting calmly beside the Third Hokage himself.
And each time—
The psychological pressure intensified slightly.
Especially for Sasuke.
Back at the Ninja Academy, Yoruha barely interacted with anyone.
He rarely spoke.
Rarely trained publicly.
And usually remained forgettable.
Yet now—
That same “ordinary” classmate already worked directly beside the Hokage while they still fought over D-rank missions.
Eventually, after a long period of silence, Hiruzen suddenly asked:
“So…”
“How much progress have you made with those forbidden techniques?”
More than a month had passed already.
Throughout that time, the Third Hokage deliberately avoided pressuring Yoruha regarding training progress.
From Hiruzen’s perspective, mastering even one of those techniques would already qualify as unbelievable genius.
Meanwhile—
Yoruha paused briefly while organizing documents.
He genuinely thought Hiruzen no longer cared about the matter.
Then he answered calmly:
“I mastered them already.”
Silence.
The Third Hokage blinked slowly.
“…All of them?”
Yoruha nodded.
“Yes.”
Now Hiruzen genuinely froze.
“You mean…”
“You learned both Myōjinmon and the Flying Thunder God Technique too?”
Yoruha nodded once more.
Then—
Without warning—
He vanished instantly.
WHOOSH.
The next moment, Yoruha appeared directly behind Hiruzen’s chair.
The Third Hokage’s pupils contracted sharply.
“…Flying Thunder God?!”
Unlike Kakashi earlier, Hiruzen understood immediately what he had just witnessed.
Then Hiruzen’s expression changed again.
“Wait.”
“You didn’t place a formula nearby.”
Yoruha calmly teleported back to his original seat.
“I modified the technique slightly.”
“At close range, I can use sensory perception directly to determine coordinates instead of relying entirely on permanent formulas.”
Naturally—
What Yoruha truly relied upon was Observation Haki.
His Observation Haki already possessed extraordinary range and precision.
As long as his perception covered an area, he could accurately lock onto coordinates for Flying Thunder God movement.
Theoretically—
Inside his Observation Haki range, Yoruha could teleport almost freely.
The Third Hokage remained silent for a very long time afterward.
Eventually, he exhaled deeply.
“Your talent truly borders on monstrous.”
Even Minato Namikaze required years to fully master Flying Thunder God.
Yet Yoruha not only mastered it within roughly a month—
He even modified the technique itself.
And Flying Thunder God was not ordinary ninjutsu.
It was one of the most difficult S-rank forbidden techniques in Konoha history.
Yoruha, meanwhile, merely resumed organizing paperwork calmly.
From his perspective, mastering those techniques honestly did not feel especially difficult.
After all—
Akainu’s inheritance improved far more than combat ability alone.
It enhanced analytical capability, battle comprehension, tactical thinking, and learning efficiency dramatically.
Combined with Yoruha’s own intelligence—
The result naturally became terrifying.
The Third Hokage continued staring at him complicatedly.
“Since the Second Hokage created Flying Thunder God…”
“…only the Fourth Hokage ever fully mastered it afterward.”
“You are now the third.”
Then Hiruzen frowned slightly.
“But Myōjinmon should normally involve Wood Release principles.”
“How exactly did you learn it?”
Yoruha looked up calmly before explaining:
“Not exactly.”
“The core structure of Myōjinmon relies primarily on Yin–Yang Release.”
“The First Hokage merely integrated Wood Release into his own version afterward.”
“The original technique itself should function independently from Wood Release.”
Hiruzen’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“…You deduced that from the technique structure alone?”
Yoruha nodded.
“The formulas make it fairly obvious.”
The Third Hokage immediately fell silent again.
Because after thinking carefully—
He realized Yoruha’s analysis was likely correct.
And that realization carried frightening implications.
If Yoruha successfully learned Myōjinmon without Wood Release—
Then his Yin–Yang Release aptitude must already be absurdly high.
Hiruzen himself once attempted studying Myōjinmon years ago.
He failed repeatedly.
At the time, he concluded his Yin–Yang proficiency simply lacked sufficient depth.
Meanwhile—
Yoruha apparently solved the problem naturally through analysis alone.
At this point, even Hiruzen gradually became numb emotionally.
Yoruha repeatedly shattered expectations so casually that mastering three S-rank forbidden techniques somehow no longer felt shocking enough.
Meanwhile—
Yoruha himself honestly found those techniques merely “acceptable.”
Useful.
But not revolutionary.
Then he added casually:
“Kakashi-sensei also taught me Lightning Blade and Rasengan.”
“He said both techniques pair well with Flying Thunder God.”
The Third Hokage smiled instantly.
“So Kakashi really became invested in teaching you.”
Then Hiruzen asked curiously:
“You mastered them too?”
Yoruha nodded naturally.
“Yes.”
“The Rasengan structure was fairly interesting.”
“And Lightning Blade complements close-range movement well.”
The Third Hokage chuckled softly.
“The Rasengan was originally created by the Fourth Hokage specifically to combine with Flying Thunder God.”
“As for Lightning Blade…”
“…that’s Kakashi’s personal signature technique.”
“He definitely has ulterior motives teaching you that.”
Hiruzen clearly meant this jokingly.
Yoruha shook his head calmly.
“I benefited regardless.”
“Lightning Blade itself already qualifies as S-rank ninjutsu.”
Strictly speaking—
Chidori and Lightning Blade were fundamentally the same technique.
However, after Kakashi refined and evolved the original Chidori into a more stable assassination technique capable of physically cutting lightning itself, the completed form became classified separately as Lightning Blade.
During the past month, Yoruha rarely visited Kakashi personally.
Instead—
Kakashi repeatedly sought him out himself.
Especially after learning Yoruha mastered Flying Thunder God.
From Kakashi’s perspective, someone possessing both monstrous physical speed and Flying Thunder God naturally suited techniques like Rasengan and Lightning Blade perfectly.
Of course—
Kakashi completely underestimated Yoruha’s learning speed.
Not only did Yoruha master Rasengan rapidly—
He even independently developed Wind Release: Rasenshuriken afterward.
And because his chakra reserves were absurdly massive, Yoruha could theoretically throw Rasenshuriken repeatedly without suffering the same limitations Naruto initially faced.
At present—
Besides the Academy Three Techniques, Yoruha now possessed:
Five S-rank techniques.
One A-rank technique.
And one B-rank technique.
The B-rank technique was Shadow Clone Technique.
Meanwhile, Multiple Shadow Clone Technique naturally qualified as forbidden A-rank ninjutsu because of its extreme chakra demands and dangers to ordinary users.
Ironically—
Most of these techniques ultimately came through Kakashi’s guidance or recommendation.
At this point, Kakashi practically resembled Yoruha’s unofficial mentor already.
And the fact Kakashi willingly taught him both Lightning Blade and Rasengan demonstrated enormous trust.
After all—
Both techniques were highly dangerous.
Improper training could easily cripple the user.
Especially Lightning Blade, which required extreme reaction speed and combat perception to use safely.
Ordinary ninja without Sharingan often died attempting similar high-speed thrust techniques.
The Third Hokage nodded thoughtfully.
“Kakashi trusts you greatly.”
“Otherwise, he would never casually teach someone techniques like those.”
“Especially Lightning Blade.”
“If used incorrectly…”
“…it can become fatal.”
Then Hiruzen sighed emotionally.
“If Naruto and Sasuke discovered how much Kakashi already taught you…”
“…they’d probably become very jealous.”
And honestly—
That statement was true.
As Team 7’s instructor, Kakashi still had not formally taught Naruto, Sasuke, or Sakura any signature techniques yet.
Not even advanced chakra control exercises.
Meanwhile—
Yoruha already mastered Flying Thunder God, Rasengan, Lightning Blade, and several forbidden techniques within roughly one month.
From Kakashi’s perspective—
Yoruha was practically the ideal disciple.
Monstrous chakra.
Extraordinary intelligence.
Perfect combat instincts.
Terrifying learning speed.
Still—
At this stage, Yoruha no longer truly required a traditional teacher anymore.
Most of the time, he simply studied and improved independently.
And outside working hours—
Yoruha rarely appeared anywhere publicly.
After leaving the Hokage office each day, he usually returned directly home.
He almost never socialized with others.