Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a week had passed.
During this week, Sora lived a regular and fulfilling life.
He conducted taijutsu training during the day, developed his fruit abilities using shadow clones at night, occasionally sparred with Might Duy and his son, or instructed the children at the orphanage in their training.
Through his deliberate efforts, he also maintained good relationships with people like Genma Shiranui and Raidō Namiashi.
Although they met less frequently than during their ninja academy days due to his Anbu status, every encounter was pleasant and filled with good conversation.
Sora was well aware that these future elites of Konoha would be among his most important bonds in this village.
And having these bonds would greatly increase his "reliability" in the eyes of Sarutobi Hiruzen.
That morning, Sora had just finished his morning training and was preparing to return to the orphanage for breakfast when a figure suddenly appeared before him.
It was the captain of Squad C Five, Fox.
"Green Snake, break time is over. The Hokage summons you. There is a new mission."
Fox's voice came through the mask, still carrying that calm, unfluctuating tone.
Sora felt a jolt internally, but on the surface, he nodded calmly.
"Understood. I will be there immediately."
He quickly returned to his room, changed into his Anbu attire, put on his mask, and then hurried towards the Hokage Building.
'I wonder what this mission is... I hope it's not another trap set by Danzo.'
Sora remained inwardly vigilant while adjusting his breathing to enter a combat-ready state.
No matter the mission's content, he had to maintain one hundred percent focus and caution.
In this cruel ninja world, a single moment of carelessness could lead to irreversible doom.
Soon, Sora arrived at the Hokage's office.
The other two members of Squad C Five, Grey Wolf and Night Owl, were already waiting there.
The three exchanged glances, nodded slightly in acknowledgment, and said nothing more.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat behind his desk, looking at the four Anbu before him, and slowly began to speak.
"There is an urgent mission that requires your attention."
He picked up a mission scroll and handed it to Fox.
"A group of rogue ninjas has appeared near the border of the Land of Rice. They are suspected to be connected to the bandits who previously attacked Konoha's supply lines. Your mission is to investigate their identities and objectives. Eliminate them on site if necessary."
Fox took the scroll, quickly scanned its contents, and then nodded.
"Understood."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze swept over the four, pausing slightly on Sora at the end.
"The Land of Rice is relatively close to the Land of Lightning. You may encounter Kumo-nin. Be extremely careful."
"Go now. I wish you success on your mission."
"Yes!"
The four responded in unison, then transformed into four black shadows and vanished from the Hokage's office.
A new mission had begun.
...
...
Two and a half years passed quietly, bringing the time to Konoha year 42.
Border of the Land of Rain.
Four figures wearing animal masks moved soundlessly through the forest, their movements swift as phantoms.
Fox, leading the way, gave a hand signal. The three instantly stopped and concealed themselves within the dense tree canopy.
Fox lowered his voice and said,
"The target is in the cave ahead. Grey Wolf, Night Owl, you flank from both sides. Green Snake, you come with me for the frontal assault."
"Understood."
The three responded in unison.
Sora took a deep breath, feeling the surging power within his body.
Two and a half years had transformed him from that seven-and-a-half-year-old boy into a ten-year-old Anbu elite.
Furthermore, thanks to the Azure Dragon Fruit, he was considerably taller than his peers. Under his silver-white short hair, his face showed increasingly defined features. His body, clad in Anbu attire, displayed lean, firm muscles full of strength.
His body was wrapped in specially-made bandages from the Akimichi clan, and his ankles bore the heavier training weights specially ordered for him by Might Duy.
During this period, Sora had carried out dozens of missions, large and small, ranging from C-rank to A-rank.
Thanks to him, Squad C Five had never been assigned an S-rank mission. The vast majority were A-rank, with only a few being B-rank or C-rank.
There were two reasons for this:
First, Sarutobi Hiruzen was unwilling for Sora to be lost prematurely on high-risk missions.
Second, it was also to avoid Danzo and prevent him from targeting Sora again. Therefore, all missions for Squad C Five were the result of Sarutobi Hiruzen's careful screening.
Sora's teammates, Grey Wolf and Night Owl, were also fully aware of this. Consequently, on every mission, the two would take extra care of Sora.
It is well known that Anbu mortality rates are traditionally extremely high. Yet, their squad had not lost a single member in two and a half years. The most severe situation was only someone spending a month in Konoha Hospital.
Under Captain Fox's leadership, Squad C Five had become one of the most efficient squads within the Anbu.
Sora's own strength had also advanced by leaps and bounds during these two and a half years.
He had gained control over the first four of the Eight Gates, and had even progressed to opening the "Fifth Gate: Gate of Limit." His normal taijutsu level had reached that of a Special Jonin.
The development of the Azure Dragon Fruit had progressed even more rapidly. Waist dragon transformation had long been completely mastered, and Sora had successfully entered the third stage: the complete Azure Dragon form.
However, whether due to insufficient proficiency or the relatively short time since consuming the fruit, his size in the fully dragonized form was only about thirty meters, far from the world-destroying colossal form of Kaido.
'Maybe because Kaido himself is a giant. Let's see, i am already 30 meters. As my age increase i will grow even bigger'
But Sora was not discouraged by this.
After all, he had only possessed the Azure Dragon Fruit for five years. If he could match decades of Kaido's accumulation in such a short time, that would be the truly illogical thing.
"Move!"
Fox's low command snapped Sora out of his thoughts.
The four figures shot towards the cave like arrows from a bow.
The cave interior was dim and damp. Several Rain-nin defectors were sitting around a campfire, completely unaware of death's approach.
"Who?!"
One defector suddenly looked up, alert, but it was already too late.
Fox and Night Owl appeared behind them like phantoms, kunai precisely slicing across the throats of two.
Grey Wolf swiftly subdued another defector, pinning him to the ground.
Sora's target was the one who appeared to be the leader—a middle-aged ninja with a fierce scar on his face.
"Brat, you think you can catch me?"
The scar-faced man sneered, forming hand seals. "Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
A water dragon roared as it charged towards Sora.
Sora neither dodged nor avoided it. His hands quickly formed seals. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
However, what erupted from his mouth was not ordinary flame, but a disguised Azure Dragon breath.
The searing dragon breath instantly vaporized the water dragon and continued its relentless charge towards the scar-faced man.
"What?!"
The scar-faced man's eyes widened in horror as he hurriedly dodged to the left.
But Sora's figure suddenly appeared behind him, a kunai precisely piercing his heart.
"Im... possible..."
The scar-faced man looked down incredulously at the kunai in his chest before slowly collapsing.
'Done.'
Sora flicked the blood off his kunai and quickly searched the scar-faced man's body.
Over the past two years, he had long grown accustomed to using the Great Fireball Jutsu to disguise his dragon breath.
After all, in the world of Naruto, breathing fire wasn't strange, but transforming into an Azure Dragon was an entirely different matter.
"Clear the site. Look for the intel scroll," Fox ordered calmly.
Night Owl and Grey Wolf swiftly searched the cave, soon finding the needed intelligence scroll in a hidden compartment.
"Found it," Night Owl said, handing the scroll to Fox.
Fox quickly inspected it and nodded. "Mission accomplished. Green Snake, standard procedure."
Sora understood. He took a deep breath and formed seals again. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Scorching flames swept through the cave, reducing the bodies and any traces that might reveal their identities to ashes.
For the past two years, Sora had used this method to clean up after every mission, both for security and to practice fine control over his dragon breath.
"Withdraw," Fox commanded. The four swiftly disappeared into the curtain of rain.
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