Northwest of the Land of Earth, in the barren mountains.
Sora, wearing the Vermilion Bird mask, his figure seemed to merge into the shadows of the mountain rocks, his presence suppressed to the extreme.
He had been searching this area for nearly a day.
The information from the exchange only gave a rough range. Finding a missing ninja deliberately hiding was not easy.
Fortunately, Sora's current sensory ability could cover an area of over six miles around him, and could penetrate nearly a hundred meters underground.
'Found it.'
At the entrance of a narrow, sheltered cave, Sora detected a faint chakra reaction, carrying distinct earth nature traits and a hint of explosive sensation.
'Chakra level is roughly at standard jonin level, presence feels slightly unstable. It seems life after defection hasn't been easy.'
The target's strength was ordinary. After confirming there were no traps in the surroundings and no other ambushes, Sora did not plan to waste time.
He took a deep breath, the power within his body quietly circulating.
In the next moment, his legs underwent partial dragon transformation.
Simultaneously, wind elemental currents swirled around his legs, further reducing weight and increasing speed.
'Quickly end this.'
With that thought, Sora's figure abruptly vanished from his spot!
Inside the cave, the defected Iwagakure Explosion Corps member was resting against the cave wall, several scrolls filled with explosive clay hanging from his waist.
He seemed to sense something, suddenly raising his head, a flash of terror in his eyes.
However, it was already too late.
A hand covered in cyan scales and entwined with air currents rapidly enlarged before his eyes.
"Crack!"
Sora's hand chop accurately struck his Adam's apple. The immense force instantly destroyed his life force.
The terror in the Iwa-nin defector's eyes froze, his body going limp as he slumped down.
From initiation to conclusion, the entire process took no more than two seconds.
Absolute speed brought absolute domination!
His expression unchanged, Sora crouched down, quickly searched the other's belongings, taking the forehead protector that proved his identity and several characteristic Explosion Release scrolls as proof.
He then placed the corpse into a storage scroll, his figure flashing once again as he sped towards the southeast direction, the border between the Land of Earth and the Land of Grass.
...
Near the border between the Land of Earth and the Land of Grass, the atmosphere was noticeably much more tense.
This was one of the frontline areas of conflict between Iwagakure and Konohagakure. Although large-scale battles had temporarily ceased, small-scale skirmishes, reconnaissance, and counter-reconnaissance never stopped.
Reconnaissance jutsu and ninja hawks occasionally flew overhead. On the ground, one could often sense hidden chakra traps.
All of this increased the difficulty of Sora's mission considerably.
It took Sora a full two days to finally locate the bandits' lair that night, an abandoned, small underground post station located in the buffer zone between the two countries' borders.
Sora lay in wait from a distance, sensing the chakra reactions beneath the post station.
'One leader at special jonin level, five underlings at chunin or genin level.'
'Strength isn't particularly high, but the location is sensitive. Making even a slight commotion could attract the Iwa-nin and Konoha-nin currently in confrontation nearby.'
A dark night with high wind, a night for killing.
Sora, like a true ghost, silently infiltrated the abandoned post station.
He did not choose a direct assault. Instead, utilizing extreme speed and sharp dragon claws, he commenced silent assassination.
His figure flickered in the dim underground passageways, each brief pause accompanied by a dull thud.
The leader, skilled in earth release infiltration, had relatively high vigilance. By the time Sora had dealt with most of his subordinates, he finally sensed something was wrong and attempted to use "Earth Release: Underground Submersion Voyage" to escape.
However, before Sora's powerful sensory ability, his moving trajectory underground was as clear as a torch in the night.
Sora partially dragon-transformed his right leg, activated "Super Strength," and then violently stomped on the ground!
Boom!
A concentrated shockwave force transmitted downward through the ground, accurately striking the location where the leader was.
A short, sharp scream came from underground, followed by complete silence.
This kind of earth-based infiltration technique diving dozens of meters seemed utterly laughable before Sora, who possessed powerful sensory abilities and absolute strength suppression.
After quickly clearing the battlefield and collecting mission proof, Sora felt no attachment. Just as he had arrived, he silently vanished into the night, leaving the deathly quiet behind for this border bandit lair.
Having completed two missions in succession without pause, Sora turned his direction and headed south at full speed towards the southern part of the Land of Earth, that dangerous place known as "Death Valley."
...
Death Valley, located in the southern part of the Land of Earth, is an area regarded by locals as a forbidden zone of life.
Even before truly stepping into the valley proper, Sora found the rock surfaces at the valley entrance covered in colorful fungi and moss. The air was also filled with a visible, faint purple miasma.
Sora stopped at the valley entrance, frowning beneath the Vermilion Bird mask.
'Not just highly poisonous creatures. Is the entire environment of this valley filled with toxicity?'
He keenly sensed that the faint purple miasma contained toxins that could erode life force. The brightly colored moss and fungi on the ground also emitted dangerous chakra fluctuations.
This reminded him of his previous encounter with Orochimaru.
At that time, he had the Gate of Limit fully open the entire time, strong air currents swirling around him, forming an invisible barrier. Orochimaru's poison mist and venomous snakes had not been able to get close.
But this did not mean Sora was immune to all poisons.
On the contrary, precisely because he was uncertain, before going to meet Orochimaru, he had specifically prepared several strong antidotes in his tool pouch.
'The Azure Dragon Fruit has granted me considerable resistance to elements like fire, lightning, water, and wind. But my resistance to toxins has never been tested.'
Looking at this poisonous miasma-filled land before him, an idea sprouted in Sora's mind.
He needed to understand his own limits to make the most accurate judgments in future battles.
Sora crouched at the edge of the valley entrance, carefully using a kunai to scrape off a bit of the purple moss growing on the rocks.
He mobilized the life energy within his body, carefully sensing the subtle reactions when his skin contacted this bit of moss powder.
Apart from a faint, weak numbness transmitted through the skin, there was no other discomfort. That bit of numbness also rapidly faded within a few seconds.
'Weak toxins ineffective.' Sora concluded.
He then stood up, actively inhaling an extremely minuscule amount of the faint purple miasma.
A pungent, irritating sensation rushed straight from his nasal cavity to his throat, bringing slight discomfort and dizziness.
But almost simultaneously, the vast life force within his body was stirred. The dizziness lasted less than two seconds before completely disappearing.
'The toxicity of the miasma at the valley's periphery is acceptable, but still within the range my body's natural resistance can handle.'
Sora had a baseline in mind. It seemed the Azure Dragon Fruit had also granted him a certain degree of poison resistance. Or perhaps, his life force was simply too strong, directly offsetting these not-too-potent poisons.
To put it simply, the damage taken didn't exceed his regeneration rate.
But a poison master of Orochimaru's caliber would undoubtedly concoct poisons that were extremely insidious and fierce, far surpassing this naturally formed miasma.
'It seems I still need to carry strong antidotes on me for now.'
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