As Yukika had mentioned before.
In the world of the Soul Reapers, the spiritual probing ability of Hollows directly detects fluctuations in nearby spiritual pressure. Yukika's first inherited power, the Black-Winged Great Demon Ulquiorra, was a king among the Hollows, possessing control over the second stage of Resurrección.
Even though his probing ability was only in its basic form, this method of sensing surpassed ordinary perception techniques. Combined with his inherited talent for sensing from his grandfather, Yukika had an advantage that made it virtually impossible for anyone to evade his detection.
His greatest advantage, however, was his understanding of the world of the Hokage. With foresight and awareness, he could also determine an enemy's approach by sensing fluctuations in their soul. Take now, for example.
Orochimaru had indeed hidden himself very well. But at the same time, he had an obsessive craving for his grandfather's ninjutsu manual. Souls cannot deceive others—at least not in the ninja world, where people are unable to hide their true feelings.
Thinking carefully, Yukika realized that this was a stage in which the second Great Ninja War had just ended, and the reality of life's fragility had become all too clear. Orochimaru, troubled by his limited lifespan, longed to study all the ninjutsu in the world but was frustrated by the brevity of his existence. He hadn't fully turned to darkness yet, but was already slowly veering away from his original path.
Orochimaru was the kind of person who fit that description.
However... he had appeared in the Senju Clan's training ground.
Narrowing his eyes, Yukika seemed to realize something and slowly closed his grandfather's ninjutsu manual. He was sure that Orochimaru, from a distance, had seen the words on the cover of the book.
"Mr. Orochimaru, how is my elder sister?"
The short words left Yukika's mouth, his gaze immediately locking onto Orochimaru's hiding spot. His tone was calm, as if he were just casually chatting with the air.
Had he been discovered?
Orochimaru, hidden in the shadows, showed a look of surprise.
"His elder sister..."
No need to ask; the elder sister of the eldest son of the Senju Clan could only be Tsunade.
The problem was, how did this young man find him out? Orochimaru was unsure.
He stepped out from the shadows, no longer wanting to remain hidden. Once discovered, there was no need to keep hiding.
Now, he found himself intrigued by this young man before him.
Their eyes met.
The two began to size each other up.
At this point, Orochimaru was still quite young, but Yukika couldn't shake the odd feeling in his gut.
How should he describe it? Orochimaru was one of the few who had seemed to grow younger as time passed in the Naruto world. In Boruto's generation, aside from his youthful appearance, he even had a certain almost delicate beauty.
Yet now, although young with pale skin, Orochimaru lacked a certain femininity.
Uh... why did Yukika feel that Orochimaru's femininity was the most normal thing?
Yukika paused to reflect.
This kid's perspective is a bit strange.
Orochimaru remained silent, observing Yukika, but his initial judgment of the boy slowly began to change.
The people of Konoha Village all thought Yukika was someone who couldn't hide his high-profile nature.
A ninja who can't conceal themselves never ends well.
He was arrogant and loud, not a genius, but with the arrogance of one.
This was the general consensus.
In fact, many people were already waiting for the Senju Clan's heir to fail his graduation exam in half a month.
The Senju clan's prominence made them a target.
Perhaps the common folk still believed in that surname, but there were many who looked forward to seeing the Senju fall flat.
Before coming here, Orochimaru had also thought the same.