Sora returned to Konoha at noon today, and it was now evening.
After placing the prepared congratulatory gift and note on the table, he did not rest immediately. Instead, he walked to the window, his gaze directed at the setting sun outside.
'Root base… Danzo… Yamato…'
These words revolved in Sora's mind.
Regarding Danzo, who had always lurked in Konoha's shadows as its "Root", Sora naturally held no goodwill. In fact, he could be said to be filled with disgust.
Sora had once considered in his heart that after achieving Kage level strength, the first person he would deal with would be Danzo. However, as Fox had said, Danzo was, after all, a high ranking member of Konoha. Opposing Danzo meant opposing Konoha.
With Sora's current strength, it was impossible to eliminate Danzo without using the power of the Azure Dragon Fruit. But using the Azure Dragon Fruit at this point in time would draw the attention of Uchiha Madara and Zetsu.
One must remember that Uchiha Madara did not have many years left to live. He was currently at the most critical stage of his plans. Once Sora appeared, Uchiha Madara would most likely choose to eliminate this unstable factor before his death.
As for Zetsu, an old schemer who had wandered the ninja world for a thousand years, although he died somewhat casually in the original story, he definitely had many backup plans.
It was not worth it for just a Danzo. It was better to let Danzo live a few more years.
After much thought, Sora temporarily chose to develop further for a while longer. At the very least, he needed to solve his problem of insufficient chakra first.
And it was undeniable that Danzo also held many useful resources and secrets, such as Yamato, the Wood Release experimental subject.
'A living experimental subject capable of using Wood Release would be a fatal temptation to a scientist like Orochimaru, who pursued forbidden techniques and the mysteries of life.'
Sora was very clear. To engage in a fair trade with Orochimaru, having bargaining chips alone was not enough. He also had to make the other party wary of his strength. Displaying a portion of his strength and potential was also part of the transaction.
But the prerequisite was that he had to find Yamato first, and secretly obtain some "samples" from him, or at least grasp his whereabouts.
Thinking of this, Sora hesitated no longer.
He changed into an inconspicuous set of dark casual clothes and silently left the orphanage.
...
Following the vague location information provided by Fox, he first stealthily moved towards the western part of the village, near the edge of the Forest of Death.
Soon, Sora arrived at the outskirts of the Forest of Death. The trees here were denser, and the area was rarely visited.
Sora stopped and closed his eyes. He was not using traditional chakra sensing techniques. Instead, he was fully activating his own unique ability.
This was a special form of perception born from the fusion of the Azure Dragon Fruit's sharp elemental perception and the Uzumaki bloodline's innate strong sensitivity to energy.
It did not rely on detecting chakra fluctuations like ordinary perception ninjutsu. It was more like a comprehensive "life radar" and "energy spectrum analysis".
Most importantly, this perception was more restrained and concealed. Its fluctuations blended extremely closely with the natural environment, making it very difficult to be detected by conventional anti perception barriers or ninjas.
This was precisely Sora's greatest confidence in daring to investigate the Root!
He raised his perception ability to its limit.
An imperceptible perception field spread outward with Sora at its center.
Above ground, within a radius of six ri, the auras and energy flows of all living beings were presented in his mind like a three dimensional map. A few weak wild animals, patrolling Chunin… nothing unusual.
Next, Sora focused his perception underground.
Compared to the surface, perceiving underground was much more difficult, and the range was significantly reduced. However, with Sora's full effort, he could still clearly perceive the situation dozens of meters underground.
'Sure enough… there's something underground.'
Sora soon detected that somewhere underground at the edge of the Forest of Death, there was a sizable underground space. Several deliberately suppressed, but qualitatively not low, chakra reactions were hidden within.
These chakra signatures generally carried a cold, dormant quality, completely different from the bright or active chakra feel of ordinary Konoha ninjas.
'That's the Root's style.'
Sora concluded that this was most likely a Root outpost or training base.
He did not alert them. He just silently memorized this location. In an extremely hidden spot deep within a tree canopy nearby, he left a Shadow Clone capable of performing one more substitution technique.
After doing this, Sora's figure vanished once more, swiftly heading towards the next location. The area downstream of the Nakano River, near the Valley of the End.
The same process. Extreme perception.
Downstream of the Nakano River, underground an abandoned training field that had been unused for who knows how many years, Sora discovered another, even larger underground base. There were more chakra reactions here, and they were stronger.
'Two outposts. It seems the information Fox gave was correct.' Sora understood. 'That old schemer Danzo truly has multiple hiding places, like a cunning rabbit.'
Having confirmed the specific locations of the Root bases, Sora similarly left a Shadow Clone behind, then decisively withdrew.
Both Shadow Clones carried a portion of his consciousness and most of his chakra, allowing them to be maintained for a long time.
As long as Yamato appeared near these two bases, the clones would create new clones to continue the investigation, while the other one would dissipate with its memories, allowing Sora to know immediately.
'Next is the patient waiting.'
When Sora's main body returned to his room at the orphanage, it was late at night.
He sat cross legged on the bed. On one hand, he vaguely sensed the movements in the distance through the remaining Shadow Clones. On the other hand, he sorted out his follow up plans in his mind.
'Ninja missions can be as short as a few hours or as long as several months. Yamato is only around nine years old now. Even if he is exceptionally talented, he should still be in a phase of strict control and training by Danzo. The probability of him going out on long term missions is not high. But short term missions or closed training inside the base are both possible.'
'The time the Shadow Clones can maintain is limited. They need regular chakra replenishment or to be recreated. I hope to find something soon.'
Sora was not impatient. Years of Anbu experience had long since tempered him with sufficient patience. He could afford to wait this long.
...
The night passed without incident.
Early the next morning, Sora opened his eyes and checked on the status of his two Shadow Clones.
The two distant Shadow Clones were still lying in wait. They had not sent back any news of Yamato appearing.
This was within his expectations. After all, only one night had passed.
He did not dwell on it too much. Today he had more important matters. The wedding of Grey Wolf and Night Owl.
Changing into a neat set of ordinary clothes, Sora picked up the congratulatory gift and note on the table and left the orphanage.
...
Grey Wolf's home was located in a residential area near the edge of Konoha village. The environment was quiet, not as noisy as the village center.
When Sora found the place according to the address on the invitation, simple decorations had already been hung outside the small courtyard, conveying a sense of celebration.
Entering the courtyard, there were not many guests. As Fox had said, only some familiar friends and teammates were invited, totaling no more than a dozen people, making it quite warm.
The wedding was indeed as simple and plain as Fox had described.
There was no grand ceremony, no noisy celebration.
Grey Wolf had changed out of his usual Anbu attire. He wore a clean dark kimono. His empty left sleeve was carefully pinned up. His face held a hint of awkwardness, but his eyes were full of a happy smile.
Night Owl, or Chihaya Ayane, had also shed the coldness of the Anbu. She wore an elegant white wedding kimono, her face lightly made up. She had lost some of her usual liveliness, gaining more gentleness and shyness. Her gaze towards Grey Wolf was filled with tenderness.
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