Two days later, Hokage Building.
Sarutobi Hiruzen picked up a mission scroll that had been prepared long ago and handed it to Sora.
"This is your new mission, S rank. Secretly infiltrate the Land of Lightning, investigate the troop deployments and logistical supply situation of Kumogakure, and seize opportunities to conduct sabotage, disrupt their arrangements. Mission duration, two months."
Sora received the scroll with a calm expression, but inwardly thought, 'Just as expected.'
The Land of Wind, the Land of Water, the Land of Earth, and now it was finally the Land of Lightning's turn.
This Third Hokage seemed determined to wield him, this "useful blade," to plow through the rear areas of all the major enemy nations.
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Sora put away the scroll, turned, and left the Hokage's office.
After leaving the Hokage Building, Sora did not delay in the slightest and immediately set off, leaving Konoha.
His movement speed was extremely fast, like a true Green Snake slithering through the forest, silent and unnoticed.
Once beyond the border of the Land of Fire, a vast expanse of blue sea appeared before him.
Common sense dictated that to reach the Land of Lightning, one should travel north along the coastline or find a ferry.
But after confirming there was no one around, Sora's figure flickered, and he directly dove into the seawater.
He did not head north. Instead, he adjusted his direction and sped swiftly southeast, towards the location of the ruins known as the "Land of Whirlpools"!
...
The Land of Whirlpools, a nation once famous for its powerful sealing techniques and the vigorous "Uzumaki clan," had long since lost its former prosperity.
Many years ago, Uzushiogakure was breached by a coalition of multiple forces. The Uzumaki clan was almost entirely slaughtered. Only a few clan members, like Karin's mother or Nagato's mother, survived by scattering and living outside.
But the destruction of the nation mainly referred to the collapse of its ninja village power and ruling system.
The ordinary civilians, unless caught in the crossfire of war, mostly continued to live in their homeland.
They might have lost the protection of the ninja village and their past glory, but life had to go on.
...
Several days later, Sora arrived at the main island of the Land of Whirlpools.
What met his eyes was a dilapidated dock. Traces of its former scale were faintly visible, but now it mostly harbored small fishing boats.
The powerful Uzushiogakure had long become dust of history. Yet the ordinary people living here still thrived and multiplied on this land.
Sora suppressed his chakra, disguised as a wandering merchant passing through by chance. He wandered seemingly aimlessly through the town, but in reality, he had his sensing abilities fully activated, meticulously probing the surrounding environment.
He needed to find a place to establish his core laboratory. It had to be hidden enough to conduct various dangerous experiments conveniently, yet relatively accessible to obtain necessary life and experimental supplies.
After spending a day, Sora explored the main island and its surrounding areas.
Finally, his gaze settled on a small island located several nautical miles off the coast of the main island.
That island was not large, densely vegetated, far from the main shipping routes, and uninhabited, appearing very desolate.
But its location was excellent. It wasn't too far from the towns on the main island, allowing for quick resupply when necessary. At the same time, due to its isolation and desolation, it was extremely difficult for outsiders to discover or disturb.
"This is the place."
Sora decided in his heart. Taking advantage of the night, he silently landed on the small island he named "Ascension Island."
After landing on Ascension Island, Sora immediately began the familiar operations.
First, he set up a small-scale sealing barrier to block detection, covering the core area of the island.
Next, he fully utilized Earth Release ninjutsu.
"Earth Release, Opening Earth Rising Excavation!"
"Earth Release, Earth-Style Wall!"
"Earth Release, Rock Pillar Prison!"
"Earth Release... Excavator!"
"..."
Compared to the cautious work under the Konoha orphanage, on Ascension Island, Sora could afford to be a bit more unrestrained.
After a series of consecutive techniques, an underground space larger, sturdier, and with more clearly defined functional zones than the Konoha laboratory was being opened and shaped at an astonishing speed.
Main laboratory, cell cultivation room, material storage area...
The scale of the entire underground base far exceeded the simple version in Konoha, almost comparable to the secret outposts of some small ninja villages.
After constructing the main structure of the base, Sora took out the advanced equipment purchased from the Land of Earth's black market from a storage scroll.
Sterile workbench, centrifuge, liquid nitrogen tank...
These instruments, representing the pinnacle of the ninja world's biological technology, were carefully placed in their corresponding areas.
Looking at this core laboratory, now taking shape and fully equipped, a sense of satisfaction welled up in Sora's heart.
This would be the place where his "Kekkei Mora Plan" truly began!
After settling the equipment and waiting for his chakra to recover, Sora went to the periphery of the laboratory and set up several layers of concealed sealing techniques, including the "Four Symbols Seal."
After hiding the entire laboratory, Sora took out the scroll Orochimaru had given him concerning "artificial tailed beasts."
Unrolling the scroll, he directly flipped to the part about the core material [Sea Dragon Jade], carefully confirming its description and the characteristics of the possible sea areas where it could be found.
"Southeast of the ruins of the Land of Whirlpools, in deep-sea trenches, associated with rock veins where highly vital seaweed grows abundantly..."
Memorizing the key information, a glint flashed in Sora's eyes.
It was time to collect this crucial ore.
...
The deep seabed, where sunlight rarely reaches. Only some bioluminescent creatures dot the eternal darkness and silence.
The pressure is immense, the cold piercing.
Yet, in this forbidden zone of life, an ancient and majestic presence suddenly descended.
The dark seawater churned violently. A massive shadow swiftly unfurled in the deep sea.
Its scales were bluish-green, as if cast from bronze. Its body, over a hundred meters long, wound through the water with an innate air of sanctity and dominance.
A pair of enormous dragon eyes, like burning golden flames, coldly surveyed this deep sea, carrying an authority that seemed to look down upon all living beings.
It had no wings, yet it could swim freely in the water, controlling the winds and clouds.
This was Sora's complete beast transformation form, the Azure Dragon!
Transformed into the Azure Dragon, Sora felt an unprecedented intimate connection with the sea.
Water was no longer resistance, but part of his body, his domain.
The immense water pressure meant nothing to him. The gravity of the deep sea seemed to vanish. He could roam freely here.
Following the records in the scroll, Sora began carefully searching the designated deep-sea area.
His perception acted like the most precise detector, scanning every inch of rock within a six-mile radius, sensing for possible special energy fluctuations.
Sea Dragon Jade was indeed extremely rare and uncommon.
Even with the Azure Dragon form's perception of water elements and life energy, it took Sora a full three days to find five fist-sized, deep blue stones within a large cluster of seaweed emitting green light.
These stones felt warm and smooth to the touch, containing pure life energy and good chakra conductivity. They were exactly the Sea Dragon Jade described in the scroll.
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