Crack.
A faint, crisp snap of a dry twig breaking exploded in the dead silence of the night.
Yamanaka Kaede's body tensed in an instant, her recently relaxed shoulders filling with power once more.
Every trace of expression vanished from Sora's face at the same moment.
No communication.
No exchanged glances.
The two rose almost simultaneously, back-to-back, kunai sliding into their hands as they assumed the perfect defensive stance.
Inside the cave, Kakashi's lazy figure appeared soundlessly at the entrance, his special kunai already gripped and glinting coldly.
"What's the situation?" His voice was low.
"Enemies," Kaede replied curtly and certainly. "Three. Encircling from three directions. Moving fast!"
Trouble.
Utterly troublesome.
A flash of irritation passed through Sora's mind. Being interrupted like this tasted worse than military ration pills.
"Everyone—engage!" Kakashi ordered.
The ninjas inside sprang into action, shielding the wounded in the center.
Tenzo had already melted into the outer darkness, ready for an ambush.
But the enemies were faster than expected.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three black shadows burst from the trees nearly in unison, carrying a killing intent far more refined and dangerous than the previous two Jonin. They charged straight at the cave entrance!
They ignored Kakashi at the front and Tenzo hidden in the dark.
Their target had been clear from the start.
The boy.
The "backline mage" who had disrupted their entire raid with endless ninjutsu surprises.
"Kill him first!" the lead Kumogakure ninja roared. Lightning crackled around him, but unlike the previous wild bursts, his Lightning Release Chakra Mode was restrained—like a dense layer of blue glass.
Proof he had trained it to a higher level!
Another Kumogakure ninja formed seals. A highly compressed water sphere formed in his mouth.
"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"
This wasn't an ordinary C-rank—it was a hyper-pressurized water jet capable of piercing steel, aimed straight at Sora's throat!
The third cut in from a tricky angle, his tachi tracing a bizarre arc that sealed all of Sora's evasion routes.
A certain-kill setup!
"Sora!" Kaede screamed. Without thinking, she threw herself in front of him.
Her hands flew through seals.
"Yamanaka Secret Technique: Mind Body Transmission Technique!"
An invisible mental wave slammed into the Water Release user.
The ninja stiffened; his water jet veered off target, grazing Sora's cheek and drilling a bottomless hole into the rock wall behind.
But launching the mind technique left Kaede momentarily rigid.
And the other ninja's blade was already there!
Spurt!
Blood sprayed.
Kaede grunted. The tachi carved a bone-deep gash into her forearm.
The searing pain nearly dropped her to her knees, but she gritted her teeth and clamped her uninjured hand around the blade, stopping it from advancing an inch.
"Run!" she roared back at Sora.
In that instant, something shattered in Sora's amber eyes.
Plan deviation.
Unexpected casualties.
The energetic smile, the perfectly timed bashfulness, the carefully crafted sunshine—all stripped away in a moment.
In their place: absolute, unadulterated coldness.
He didn't retreat.
He didn't even glance at Kaede's wound.
His body sank slightly.
[Replicate and play: Body Flicker Technique]
Not to evade.
To attack.
In the split second the Kumogakure ninja who slashed Kaede stood stunned, Sora's figure vanished.
The next instant, he appeared behind the man—close enough to press against his back.
The ninja's hairs stood on end. Battle-hardened instinct made him whirl to defend.
But he had no chance.
Sora simply opened his mouth.
[Replicate and play: Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves]
Several death-lines compressed to near-invisibility.
Shwick.
The ninja's movement froze.
A thin bloodline appeared across his neck.
Then his head slid off.
The entire sequence was so fast that Kakashi's Lightning Blade had only just ignited, and Tenzo's Wood Release vines had barely broken the soil.
One-strike kill.
Clean and chillingly efficient.
The remaining two Kumogakure ninjas were utterly stunned by the sudden turn.
Their comrade—a seasoned Jonin—dead just like that?
At the hands of a seemingly harmless Konoha boy?
"You…" The lead Lightning ninja stared at Sora, all earlier contempt gone, replaced by thick wariness.
Sora ignored him.
He flickered again, appearing beside Kaede and catching her swaying body.
"Can you still move?" His voice was flat—no emotion detectable.
Kaede was completely frozen.
"I…" She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
"Tenzo-senpai, get her back to the cave," Sora said without turning.
Several sturdy vines immediately rose from the ground, wrapping around Kaede and safely pulling her inside.
Only Sora, Kakashi, and the two Kumogakure ninjas remained on the field.
Two against two.
"Captain Kakashi," Sora said slowly, straightening. "Left one's yours. Right one's mine."
Kakashi's visible dead-fish eye contracted sharply.
This kid…
But he didn't question it.
"Got it."
One word.
Battle erupted again!
Kakashi became a white lightning streak, meeting the Water Release user.
Sora stood motionless, facing the strongest—the Lightning captain.
"Konoha hides monsters like you," the Lightning captain said, electricity surging once more. "State your name!"
Sora didn't answer.
He simply drew a standard kunai from his pouch.
Then his figure vanished.
Clang!
A crisp metallic ring.
Sora appeared at the Lightning captain's left, kunai precisely parrying the electrified gauntlet.
Massive force traveled up his arm, but Sora used it to pivot, tracing an impossible arc in midair before vanishing again.
"So fast!" Alarm flashed in the captain's mind.
This speed far exceeded normal Body Flicker!
It was more like…
A legendary name crossed his mind, but he immediately dismissed it.
Impossible!
That technique should have died with the Fourth Hokage!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sora flickered around the Lightning captain—appearing and vanishing unpredictably, attacking from angles no one could anticipate.
His strikes weren't lethal, but each landed precisely on the weakest joints of the lightning armor.
The captain had terrifying power and defense, yet couldn't touch even Sora's clothing.
He felt like a ghost was toying with him.
An elite assassination team—reduced to one dead, one wounded in moments. He, the captain, suppressed by an unknown boy.
Humiliation!
"Bastard!"
The Lightning captain roared, abandoning attempts to catch the phantom.
He spread his arms; lightning wildly converged.
"Lightning Release: Thunder Abuse Level Thousand Generations Dance!"
Countless fine currents formed an absolute-defense lightning sphere around him, rotating rapidly while expanding outward!
A powerful technique combining defense and indiscriminate attack!
Yet.
Facing the raging lightning storm, Sora merely watched.
His amber eyes reflected the spinning electricity; streams of data flashed within.
Just before the sphere engulfed him, Sora vanished again.
This time—not retreating.
But advancing!
He appeared directly above the sphere—in a blind spot no one expected.
He inhaled deeply.
[Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere]
He compressed the mountain-piercing technique to its limit.
Then exhaled sharply.
No violent explosion.
Only a moment of silence.
BOOM!!!!!
The uncontrolled lightning detonated in all directions!
The Lightning captain screamed as his own jutsu blasted him—charred black and hurled backward.
On the other side, Kakashi had already finished the last enemy with Lightning Blade.
Battle over.
Sora landed slowly, looking down at the twitching Lightning captain—face still expressionless.
As he prepared to deliver the final blow—
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Over a dozen figures dropped from all directions, encircling the small battlefield.
All in Konoha uniforms.
Several wore the Hyuga branch family forehead protectors.
Border patrol forces!
The reinforcements Sora's shadow clone had summoned!
The leader—a stern Hyuga branch ninja—activated his Byakugan immediately upon landing.
Veins bulged at his temples; his 360-degree vision took in the entire scene.
He saw the Kumogakure corpses on the ground, the medical ninja urgently treating Kaede's wound, Kakashi still crackling with Lightning Blade afterglow…
Finally, his gaze locked on the flaxen-haired boy slowly lowering his hand, faint Wind Release chakra ripples lingering around him.
The boy stood over the Kumogakure squad captain, looking down from above.
On that face—no relief of survival, no youthful impulsiveness.
Only a profound, bottomless calm.