After bidding farewell to Asuma and Kurenai, Akashi Sora stuffed the last piece of barbecue into his mouth and left the restaurant fully satisfied.
The "gyoku" to protect?
Typical Hokage-style preaching.
But he had to admit—the premium marbled beef that Asuma-senpai treated him to was truly "gyoku"-worthy.
Walking along the bustling streets, the sunlight was a bit glaring. Sora instinctively squinted, and a very practical problem presented itself.
The Sharingan.
Once these eyes were activated, especially during moments of heightened emotion, the three tomoe would appear involuntarily. As a newbie who couldn't control it proficiently yet, he needed frequent practice.
Wearing a mask in the Anbu was fine, but on the front lines, when tasks required removing the mask, this would be a fatal flaw.
A non-Uchiha possessing the Sharingan—and a perfect three-tomoe one at that.
If word of this got out, would Konoha slice him up for research? Would Danzo capture him to harvest his eyes? Or would the Uchiha clan hunt him across the world?
None of those outcomes were what he wanted.
"I need to disguise it."
He walked into a ninja tool shop. Besides standard kunai and explosive tags, this store also sold some trendy gadgets.
"Boss, do you have the latest sunglasses?"
"Of course! Young man, you've got great taste—this shipment just arrived!"
The owner enthusiastically brought out a box containing over a dozen pairs in various styles.
Sora picked a pair with deep black lenses that were extra large. When he put them on, they covered nearly half his face.
Perfect.
They hid his eyes while fitting the image of a fashion-conscious teenager his age.
"This one!"
He paid without hesitation and walked out wearing his new sunglasses, giving him a mysterious vibe that was both cool and a little goofy.
…
The next morning, in the Anbu lounge.
Sora arrived exactly ten minutes early—he was never late, nor too early; always the perfectly "ordinary" guy.
Two people were already in the room.
Hatake Kakashi looked as half-dead as ever, leaning against the wall in the corner, engrossed in an orange-covered copy of *Intimate Paradise*.
The other was a female ninja.
She had vibrant golden blonde hair tied casually into a high ponytail. She wore the standard Anbu uniform, but it couldn't hide her excellent figure. Her face carried a hint of the pride typical of the Yamanaka clan.
Yamanaka clan.
A sensory ninja.
What a troublesome teammate.
A level-three alarm instantly went off in Sora's mind. Teaming up with a walking human radar would make any future sneaky activities exponentially harder.
"Good morning! Captain Kakashi! Is this beautiful senpai also our teammate?"
Sora flashed his signature sunny smile and greeted them familiarly.
The blonde kunoichi merely glanced at him coolly and said nothing.
Kakashi's gaze slowly shifted from his book to Sora's sunglasses.
"What's with the new look?"
"Hehe, cool, right?" Sora proudly adjusted his sunglasses. "I think heading to the front lines like this will overwhelm the enemy with sheer presence!"
Kakashi: "…"
Just then, the door opened, and the third teammate entered.
This person wore the standard Anbu uniform and a cat-face mask, hiding their features. They were tall, with steady steps, exuding an elite aura that screamed "do not approach."
"Everyone's here," Kakashi said, closing his book. "Before we depart, let's reintroduce ourselves."
He pointed to the masked man.
"This is the new member of our team—Tenzo."
Tenzo?
Those two words struck Sora's brain like lightning.
He remembered that codename.
The only successful subject from Orochimaru's experiments to survive implantation with the First Hokage's cells.
The future developer of the "three-bedroom, one-living-room" technique.
The man who mastered the Wood Release kekkei genkai!
Boom!
A massive wave surged through Sora's inner world.
Wood Release!
The legendary power that fused Earth and Water Releases, brimming with immense life force!
The foundation of Hashirama Senju's pacification of the warring era!
And for his own path to "perfect evolution," aside from the Sage Body and Sharingan, this was the most crucial, most core missing piece!
He already had the Sage Body. He had the Sharingan too.
Now, the "material library" for Wood Release… had delivered itself right to him?
This wasn't heading to the front lines for a high-risk mission.
This was a five-star rated, free-shipping, premium material deluxe gift package!
"Wow! A new teammate! Awesome!"
Before anyone could react, Sora had already dashed forward, enthusiastically grabbing Tenzo's hand.
"Tenzo-senpai, hello! I'm Akashi Sora! Please take care of me from now on! We're definitely going to be the best partners!"
His amber eyes sparkled behind the sunglasses, his face overflowing with heartfelt, utterly sincere joy.
Tenzo's body visibly stiffened.
He clearly hadn't expected anyone to show him such exaggerated enthusiasm. Even through the mask, his shock was palpable.
Kakashi and the blonde kunoichi stared at Sora like he was an idiot.
*Ahem.* Kakashi cleared his throat, trying to rein in his runaway subordinate. "Sora, calm down."
"Oh, right!" Sora finally let go, but his excitement remained undimmed. "Sorry, sorry—I was just too happy to meet a new teammate!"
The blonde finally spoke, her voice cool and tinged with exasperation.
"Yamanaka Kaede. Sensory ninja."
Her introduction was brief.
Tenzo merely grunted two words from his throat.
"Tenzo."
The atmosphere grew awkward again.
Only Sora continued radiating energy like a hyperactive little sun, broadcasting "we're teammates now, let's bond!" vibes.
"Enough. We'll talk on the way," Kakashi waved his hand. "You've all read the mission briefing. Our destination is the Land of Lightning border. It's a long journey—let's move out."
The four-person team quickly left the village, speeding through the forest.
Kakashi led, Yamanaka Kaede behind him, Tenzo in the middle, and Sora voluntarily took the rear position.
Best line of sight from back here.
Convenient for… observing the material.
His gaze barely left Tenzo's back.
[Record]
[Record record record!]
Deep inside, Sora's consciousness frantically urged the system. He tried to directly record the "Wood Release" source energy from Tenzo.
But the system interface showed no response.
[Target has not used relevant ability. Recording impossible.]
Tch, of course it wouldn't be that easy.
He'd have to wait until Tenzo actually used Wood Release.
Sora suppressed his burning desire and refocused on the mission.
The team traveled in silence, the mood heavy.
By evening, Kakashi stopped in a clearing in the forest.
"We'll rest here tonight."
He turned to Tenzo.
"Tenzo, it's your turn."
Here it comes!
Sora's focus sharpened instantly.
Tenzo walked to the center of the clearing and formed hand seals.
"Wood Release: Four-Pillar House Technique!"
With a low chant, an unbelievable scene unfolded.
Rumble—
The ground trembled slightly as four massive trees burst from the soil, growing, intertwining, and coiling at astonishing speed!
Beams, walls, roof…
In just a dozen breaths, an intricately structured two-story wooden building, fragrant with fresh timber, rose complete before the three of them.
Even Yamanaka Kaede showed rare surprise.
Akashi Sora, meanwhile, was utterly stunned.
Mouth agape, he pointed at the house like his worldview had been shattered.
"W-Wow… WOOOOOOW!"
He let out an exaggerated cry of amazement.
"A house! It grew out of the ground! What kind of ninjutsu is this?! So cool!!"
Like a kid seeing Transformers for the first time, he ran circles around the Wood Release house, tapping here, touching there, face full of "unbelievable" and "total admiration."
And beneath his "innocent" performance, deep in his consciousness, the system interface flashed wildly.
[High-concentration source energy fluctuation detected!]
[Meets criteria for "concept code" collection!]
[Recording initiated…]
A brilliant green light brimming with vitality surged from Tenzo's body, condensing in the air into a disc radiating vigorous life.
[Recording complete!]
[Obtained disc: Wood Release: Four-Pillar House Technique]
Success!
Sora's inner world roared with ecstasy.
He fought the urge to devour the disc right then and there, continuing his act as a country bumpkin who'd never seen the world.
Akashi Sora circled the suddenly-appeared wooden house like an excited husky with a new toy.
He reached out, cautiously touching the warm wooden wall, then leaned in to sniff it deeply.
"It's real wood! And it smells great! Tenzo-senpai, you're practically a master architect!"
His voice overflowed with unmasked worship and shock, echoing through the quiet forest.
Yamanaka Kaede stood with arms crossed, her beautiful brows furrowed. Finally, she hissed through gritted teeth:
"Idiot."
Kakashi peeked over the top of his *Intimate Paradise*, his visible dead-fish eye weary as he spoke.
"Sora, we're only sleeping here one night. No need to get so worked up like we're registering property."
"How can I not be excited?!"
Sora spun around—his eyes behind the sunglasses practically sparkling.
He rushed up to Tenzo, too thrilled to remember honorifics.
"Tenzo-nii! Can this jutsu make other stuff? Like a super soft bed! Or tables and chairs! Oh, oh—what about a big bathtub? I haven't had a proper bath in forever!"
The barrage of wild questions caused even Tenzo's masked figure to freeze for a moment.
He instinctively stepped back half a pace, clearly overwhelmed by such excessive enthusiasm.
Raised as a "tool" by Root, he was used to orders and obedience, used to being treated as a weapon.
Being stared at like a living wish-granting machine was a first.
"…This is merely a technique for constructing temporary shelter."
His reply was dry, devoid of emotion.
"But it's incredible!" Sora remained oblivious to the subtle shift in atmosphere, lost in his own world. "It's practically art! Nii-san, can you teach me? Does it take a lot of chakra? Are the seals complicated? I couldn't even see them clearly earlier!"
Amid his noisy performance, deep in his mind, the green disc pulsed with life.
[Wood Release: Four-Pillar House Technique]
A line of small text appeared beneath it.
The thought of devouring it flashed and vanished.
Are you kidding?
If he devoured it now and lost control, tomorrow the Konoha higher-ups would receive a horrifying report: "Someone has spontaneously mastered Wood Release."
Danzo would probably personally lead Root to tie him up and take him back to the lab, cheerfully dissecting him "for the sake of the village."
Too risky.
The optimal plan: keep observing, collect more Wood Release discs, and devour them only when the timing was absolutely safe.
"Shut up already," Yamanaka Kaede finally snapped, her cool voice cutting through Sora's chatter. "One more word and I'll seal your mouth shut."
"Eh?" Sora immediately put on a wronged expression, then turned to Kakashi. "Captain, look at her!"
Kakashi closed his book, rubbing his temple—he felt more exhausted leading these rookies than fighting a battle.
He looked at the silent Tenzo.
"Tenzo, make a table. We can't eat standing."
The command seemed to rescue Tenzo.
He nodded and formed a simple "Boar" seal in front of him.
"Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall."
This time, it wasn't a grand emergence—more refined transformation.
From the wooden house floor, four thick wooden strips grew upward, swiftly connecting and extending to form a smooth rectangular table and four matching benches.
The entire process flowed like water, brimming with the miraculous beauty of creation.
"WOOOOOAAAAHHH!"
Sora cried out again, throwing himself at the table and caressing the smooth surface like a lover.
"Amazing! Tenzo-nii, you're my god!"
[Same-source energy detected. Recording initiated…]
[Recording complete!]
[Obtained disc: Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall]
[Wood Release series discs collected: 2]
Sora suppressed his inner joy, keeping his wide-eyed, clueless expression.
Yamanaka Kaede completely gave up on communicating with the idiot and pulled out military ration pills from her pouch.
Night fell.
The four sat around the brand-new wooden table in a bizarre atmosphere.
Sora alone carried the entire conversation, jumping from "could military ration pills get more flavor variety?" to "are all the girls in Cloud built like the Raikage?"
Yamanaka Kaede remained stone-faced and silent.
Tenzo stayed quiet most of the time, only grunting a few words when pressed.
Only Kakashi half-heartedly responded while still managing to read his smut.
"Alright, night watch assignments."
Kakashi finally finished the tasteless ration pills and clapped his hands.
"First half: Sora and Tenzo. Second half: me and Kaede. Any issues?"
"No problem!" Sora was the first to raise his hand, brimming with energy. "I'll definitely protect Tenzo-nii—no mosquito will disturb his rest!"
Tenzo's shoulders seemed to slump slightly beneath the mask.
Yamanaka Kaede's expression looked like she'd swallowed a fly.
Kakashi's visible eye glanced meaningfully at Tenzo and lowered his voice.
"He's… very energetic. Keep an eye on him."
The statement was ambiguous—part request to look after the hyper junior, part subtle surveillance order.
Tenzo silently nodded.
Kakashi and Yamanaka Kaede each found a room to rest.
In the spacious wooden house living room, only Sora and Tenzo remained.
Sora sat on the bench, legs swinging casually, showing zero tension for night watch.
He removed his sunglasses, carefully wiping them with a cloth. His amber eyes looked especially clear under the dim oil lamp.
"Tenzo-nii," he suddenly spoke, breaking the silence. "Since when… have you been able to use such an amazing ninjutsu?"
Tenzo's body tensed once more.
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P.STenzo is Yamato's code name in anbu