After saying goodbye to Yuhi Kurenai, Sora composed his thoughts and quickly headed towards the residences of Night Owl and Grey Wolf.
Before long, Sora arrived in front of the two's house.
It was Grey Wolf who opened the door. He was wearing loose home clothes, and upon seeing Sora, a sincere smile appeared on his face.
"Sora? Come in quickly."
Entering the house, Night Owl was sitting by a low table brewing tea. Seeing Sora, she also smiled and greeted him.
"You came at just the right time. Try this new tea I bought."
Sora placed the gifts he bought on the way at the entrance, took off his shoes, walked into the living room, and sat on the other side of the low table.
His gaze swept over Grey Wolf's empty left sleeve. Sora felt a slight emotion in his heart but did not say much about it. He just pushed the fruits and nutritional supplements forward.
"A small token of my appreciation, for your health, senior."
"You, kid, are always so polite." Grey Wolf shook his head helplessly but did not refuse.
After exchanging a few pleasantries about recent events, Sora steered the conversation towards Night Owl and the White Tiger.
"Senior Night Owl, how is the adjustment period going with Baihu? Is it obedient?"
Mentioning the White Tiger, Night Owl's eyes immediately lit up.
"More than just obedient! Sora, this gift you gave me is truly too precious!"
"Baihu is very understanding of human nature. There are almost no obstacles in our coordination, and its growth speed is shockingly fast!"
She put down the teapot and gestured as she spoke.
"It hasn't been long since we formed the contract, and its shoulder height seems to have shot up again. It feels like it's almost two meters thirty, two meters forty tall! Standing there, it's like a small wall."
"Its strength, speed, and especially its control over Wind Release have all improved tremendously! A few days ago on a mission, we encountered a Special Jonin from Iwagakure. Baihu directly pounced and shattered his Earth Flow Wall with one swipe of its paw. That guy was so scared he turned and ran, not daring to face it head-on at all!"
Grey Wolf also added from the side.
"Yes, although I'm not in the combat roster now, I can still sense that White Tiger's extraordinary nature. With it by Ayane's side, I really feel much more at ease."
Sora listened carefully, silently assessing in his heart.
According to Night Owl's description, the White Tiger's current strength had probably firmly stepped into the Jonin threshold. Especially in terms of frontal assault and speed blitz, it was enough to pose a fatal threat to most Jonin.
And it hadn't been that long? The growth speed was indeed terrifying.
It seemed the benefits of his blood to the summoning beast, coupled with the tempering of real combat, were even more effective than anticipated.
'Truly worthy of being a beast fused with my blood, combined with its own potential. At this rate, perhaps it won't be long before it can truly live up to that name.'
Sora felt satisfied inwardly and nodded.
"I'm glad it can help you, senior. It seems it has adapted well to fighting alongside you."
Night Owl said with a firm tone.
"More than just adapted! It is simply my most reliable partner!"
After finishing the talk about the White Tiger, Night Owl seemed to remember something, her expression becoming slightly more serious. She lowered her voice a bit as she spoke to Sora.
"By the way, Sora, there's something I need to remind you about. Some time ago, our team received an urgent reconnaissance mission, in the mountains deep within the Land of Fire."
Sora's hand, holding the teacup, paused slightly. An appropriate trace of curiosity appeared on his face.
"Oh? What mission was so urgent?"
Night Owl did not hide it and spoke directly.
"It was a team from the Foundation. They were ambushed on their way back to the village. Reportedly, three people died, one Jonin and two Chunin. Only one very young child survived."
The reason she would tell Sora this kind of Anbu mission content, which should have been confidential, was simple.
First, they were old teammates for over six years, having gone through life and death situations countless times together. Sora had saved her and Grey Wolf's lives more than once. This trust and camaraderie had long surpassed ordinary colleague relationships.
Second, their team leader, Fox, had a former respected old leader, Hatake Sakumo, who died due to village higher-ups' rumors and pressure.
This matter was not a secret within their Squad C Five. It also made the few of them greatly reduce their trust in the so-called "Will of Fire" and the village higher-ups.
Within their small circle, the trust between each other was far higher than their loyalty to Konoha's bureaucratic system.
From this perspective, Danzo's "Curse Tongue Eradication Seal" also had its reason for existence.
When Night Owl mentioned "deep within the Land of Fire," Sora knew what it referred to. He cooperatively furrowed his brow.
"In the heart of the Land of Fire? People from the Foundation? Do we know who did it?"
Night Owl shook her head.
"Not clear. The scene was handled extremely cleanly, leaving behind no valuable clues. We carefully searched every inch of the ground. Apart from the destruction caused by the battle and the bloodstains of the Foundation members, we only found some very subtle marks, suspected to be claw marks."
She paused for a moment before continuing.
"According to the description of the surviving child, the enemy possessed a transformation ability similar to a dragon's claw. It was incredibly fast and terrifyingly powerful. Their Jonin team leader was instantly killed in one encounter."
"Dragon claw? Blue scales?" Sora showed a thoughtful expression. "It sounds like some unknown Kekkei Genkai or summoning beast contractor."
Night Owl sighed.
"Yes, precisely because there were no leads, the investigation hit a dead end. I heard Elder Danzo flew into a rage because of this, but after investigating for days, nothing was found. In the end, it could only be temporarily classified as an unsolved case, with increased vigilance."
Sora picked up his teacup, gently blew on it, hiding the flicker of amusement in his eyes.
Just as he had anticipated.
After all, his six years in the Anbu were not for nothing!
'That old schemer Danzo must be truly fuming with rage this time.'
Sora sneered inwardly. One Jonin, two Chunin. This loss should make Danzo hurt for a while.
Adding to the "Dandelion" team from many years ago, it could be calculated that the "Foundation" had lost a total of three Jonin on Sora's hands!
And possibly also including that former "Tanuki," most likely also a Jonin.
On the surface, Sora put on a grave expression and said to Night Owl.
"Thank you for the reminder, senior. I will be careful. It seems it's not peaceful within the Land of Fire recently either. You should also be extra cautious about safety when performing missions."
"Don't worry, I have Baihu." Night Owl patted the contract mark on her arm, appearing very confident
(Usually there is no mark, private setting).
Grey Wolf also spoke up from the side.
"You yourself, acting outside, need to be even more vigilant. Especially since you often perform 'Special Operations Group' missions alone now."
"I understand." Sora nodded.
He sat a while longer at Grey Wolf's house, chatting about trivial matters, before getting up to take his leave.
Leaving that peaceful small courtyard and walking on the streets of Konoha, Sora was in a rather good mood.
The White Tiger's growth was going smoothly. The ambush incident was perfectly blamed elsewhere. Everything was steadily progressing according to his plan.
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