In the distance, on the branch of a large tree, Sora gathered his aura completely, silently watching Yamato's figure disappear deep into the forest.
'The cells are obtained, the plan is successful.'
Sora opened his hand, looking at the small piece of bright red tissue sealed inside the container. A hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.
The entire process was clean and efficient. He did not use signature abilities like the 'Eight Gates' or 'Super Strength', and he successfully misled Yamato.
Yamato would only consider this encounter as a mysterious terrorist attack targeting the Root, with unclear objectives. He would not connect it to someone specifically coming for his cells.
'Danzo will probably be furious when he finds out.'
The corner of Sora's mouth lifted slightly, revealing a cold smile.
He held no affection for Danzo. This operation could achieve his own goal while also causing trouble for Danzo, killing two birds with one stone.
After all, losing one jonin and two experienced chunin was a significant combat loss, even for the 'Root'.
Moreover, Danzo would never imagine that Sora's target was Yamato's cells. Wouldn't directly capturing Yamato be better?
Actually, Sora had indeed considered directly capturing Yamato. But firstly, Sora was not skilled in persuasion and could not deprogram Yamato. Secondly, Sora had no place to put Yamato. He couldn't bring him back to the orphanage, could he?
'It seems necessary to establish my own base outside of Konoha!'
Standing on the branch, Sora imagined Danzo's anger while also envisioning his future secret base. Suddenly, a familiar sensation of being watched came from behind him again.
'Hmm? It's here again!'
Sora slightly furrowed his brow. He had vaguely sensed this feeling back at the orphanage. At that time, he was only a genin, and his sensory abilities were extremely poor. Now, his normal state was already at jonin level, plus his intentionally developed sensory skills. That gaze had become much clearer.
But strangely, there was no malice in that gaze at all. Instead, it was wrapped in an indescribable feeling. If one had to use a word to describe it, it would be like bumping into a 'kindred spirit' in a vast sea of people.
However, there were no 'Dragon Clan' in the ninja world. To be precise, there was a Snake Sage, or perhaps one could say a dragon. And it was obviously impossible for two Azure Dragon Fruits to appear simultaneously.
Sora thought for a while, but found no leads. Since there was no malice, he didn't linger. Lightly tapping the tree trunk with his toes, he swiftly headed towards Konoha.
He had just left when the air near the branch he was standing on suddenly twisted. A malformed spatial rift appeared, sweeping through the surrounding area. Its edges were fragmented, clearly disturbed by an external force. Following the trajectory back to its starting point, the endpoint coincided precisely with where Sora had been standing.
In the instant the rift opened and closed, a flash of blue silhouette flickered inside.
...
A blue streak of light flashed across the night sky, silently landing in a dense forest several miles outside Konoha village.
Sora changed back into the ordinary clothes he wore when leaving the village. After confirming there were no oversights, he unhurriedly walked towards Konoha's main gate.
When he reached the village entrance, the sun had just set not long ago. The guards were the same team from yesterday.
Seeing Sora return so quickly, the ninja responsible for registration looked slightly surprised, but didn't ask further. After a routine check, he let Sora pass.
Entering the village, Sora felt the peaceful atmosphere, completely different from outside. He quietly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.
Including the round trip and the time spent waiting at the border, it only took a little over a day, much faster than he anticipated.
This undoubtedly provided a near-perfect alibi.
Who would have thought that in this short day and a bit, he had traveled to the border of the Land of Rain, completed a lightning raid on a Root elite squad, and successfully obtained the most crucial prize?
'Yamato is probably still on the way, fleeing in a sorry state, right? When he returns to the village with the bad news, the shockwaves will likely be significant.'
Sora calmly analyzed the subsequent impact in his mind.
One Root jonin and two chunin killed deep within the Land of Fire. The sole survivor is a child. This matter would certainly attract the high attention of Danzo, even Sarutobi Hiruzen.
The characteristic of the dragonized arm would be reported by Yamato. This might lead to some speculation and investigation, but Sora was not worried.
The ninja world had too many strange kekkei genkai and secret techniques. Although the dragonized characteristic was conspicuous, the possibility of pinpointing him, a 'legitimately raised' Konoha Anbu member, out of thin air was extremely slim.
As long as he himself did not slip up, this matter would most likely end up as an unsolved case.
And he was not the six-year-old child from before. If it really came to a confrontation, he was not afraid, even though that would put him in the open.
...
Returning to the orphanage, the compound was completely silent. Most of the children were already asleep.
Only one room's window still emitted a dim, yellow light.
Sora approached and saw it was Kabuto's room.
He knocked and gently pushed the door open. Kabuto was sitting at a small desk, intently reading a thick book. A few notebooks were also spread open beside him.
Sora glanced at the book's spine. It was 'Fundamental Medical Ninjutsu Theory and Herb Identification'.
"It's so late, and you're still reading?"
Kabuto looked up and saw it was Sora. He quickly stood up.
"Brother Sora, you're back?"
"Yes, I just returned."
Sora walked to the desk, his gaze sweeping over the medical notes and books that were like gibberish to ordinary children.
"Why are you so interested in this? I saw you reading the notes Big Sister left before."
Kabuto adjusted the new black-framed glasses Sora had gotten for him on the bridge of his nose. His voice was somewhat low.
"Because... I've seen too many people get injured and die."
"On the battlefield, in the ruins... If, if someone at that time knew medical ninjutsu, or recognized life-saving herbs, perhaps... they could have survived."
His eyes held a trace of sorrow and numbness unbecoming of his age.
Hearing this, Sora felt a slight stir in his heart.
He remembered the original Kabuto Yakushi. His initial steps onto the path of a medical ninja also seemed to stem from witnessing too much death on the battlefield, thus developing a desire to learn medicine to save people.
It seemed that even though Nonō was not here at the moment, the inertia of fate still made Kabuto develop a strong yearning for medical knowledge.
'Witnessing death, therefore yearning to save...'
Looking at Kabuto, Sora seemed to see another soul searching for meaning in the flames of war.
Wasn't he himself constantly scheming and growing stronger for power, for survival, for control over his own fate?
Previously, his thought was simply not to become a 'cannon fodder' in the Third War. He succeeded in that.
And his current thought was to completely master his own fate, to live as he wished. After all, he didn't want to end up like a mummy, hanging on a tree waiting for the children of destiny, Naruto and Sasuke, to save him.
At this moment, a long-brewing thought surfaced again in Sora's mind.
'Kekkei Mora...'
This goal was grand and distant, involving the nature of chakra, the fusion and sublimation of kekkei genkai. It was absolutely not something Sora could accomplish alone behind closed doors.
The primary collaborator he had previously considered was Orochimaru after his defection.
Orochimaru possessed the core forbidden technique research data of Konoha and had deep research in life sciences and kekkei genkai. He was undoubtedly an ideal partner.
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