In the forest on the outskirts of Konoha, thunderous roars echoed continuously.
Across a large area of the forest, trees lay toppled, and flames raged.
Sora, having just completed the final sword form of Lightning Breathing, stood motionless in place.
Having been tormented for a long time, Sora finally heard a heavenly sound.
[Lightning Breathing has been successfully simulated, rewards have been distributed, and the system will release control.]
As Sora regained control of his body, he immediately fell to the ground, curling up and twitching.
Pain...
Everything hurt.
It hurt so much that Sora didn't even have the strength to cry out.
Sora now deeply regretted choosing the forest as the location when he let the system take over his body.
Because now Sora couldn't even move a single finger, and raging flames surrounded him.
If he didn't find a way to save himself, Sora would be burned to death here.
After lying on the ground for a while, Sora felt his body getting hotter and hotter.
The will to survive made Sora move.
Fortunately, the place Sora chose had a small river; as long as he crawled into the river, he would be saved.
But Sora's crawling speed was extremely slow, and he could already feel his backside burning.
Just as Sora was finally about to crawl into the river, several figures landed in front of him.
Sora laboriously lifted his head and, seeing the person leading, his pupils constricted.
It was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Although Sora had guessed that Konoha's Ninja would notice the situation here, he hadn't expected Hiruzen Sarutobi to come personally.
But at least he should be saved now; he could worry about what happened next, later.
As Sora's taut nerves relaxed, he immediately fainted.
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned as he looked at Sora, his eyes filled with confusion.
The situation here clearly indicated an attack left by a Lightning Release Ninja.
And there was only Sora here, and his hands clearly showed burns from using Lightning Release Ninjutsu.
However, the destruction caused around them would be difficult for even a Chunin to achieve.
Could Sora, a student still attending the Ninja Academy, accomplish such a feat?
Hiruzen Sarutobi found it incredibly hard to believe.
Regarding Sora, Hiruzen Sarutobi's feelings weren't bad, actually.
Although Sora's parents had previously defected from Konoha, truthfully, it wasn't a betrayal of Konoha, but rather an elopement.
It was a conflict between Sora's parents and the Uchiha Clan, not a conflict with Konoha.
It was just that the Uchiha Clan didn't acknowledge Sora, and Konoha's villagers vented their resentment towards the Uchiha Clan onto Sora.
Currently, the villagers of Konoha's resentment towards the Uchiha Clan was deepening, showing signs of irreconcilable differences.
However, the current situation in the Ninja World was not as peaceful as it appeared on the surface; war could break out at any time, and Konoha still needed the strength of the Uchiha.
Therefore, Hiruzen Sarutobi temporarily couldn't make a move against the Uchiha Clan.
With the villagers on one side and the Uchiha on the other, Hiruzen Sarutobi chose to directly ignore Sora's existence.
Now, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't be 100% sure if this was caused by Sora, but if it was, then Hiruzen Sarutobi would have to re-evaluate Sora's worth.
Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes as he looked at the unconscious Sora.
Moreover, Lightning Release Ninja in Konoha were extremely rare. If this surrounding damage was caused by Sora, it meant that Sora had mastered a powerful Lightning Release Ninjutsu.
Since his mother brought him back to Konoha, Sora had never left the Village, so the Lightning Release Ninjutsu he mastered must have been obtained outside the Village.
If such Ninjutsu could be learned by Konoha's Lightning Release Ninja, Konoha's strength would increase significantly.
Hiruzen Sarutobi gave orders to the Anbu beside him: "Extinguish the surrounding flames, then take him to the Ninja Hospital for treatment."
After the order was given, the Anbu Ninja used Water Release to put out the surrounding flames.
One of the Anbu then carried Sora and took him to the Ninja Hospital.
...
Mito Uzumaki's Residence.
Uzumaki Kushina, rejected by Sora, returned to Mito Uzumaki's Residence disheartened.
Uzumaki Kushina, who had just arrived in Konoha, was staying with Uzumaki Mito.
Uzumaki Mito saw Uzumaki Kushina return and asked with a smile, "Kushina, how was your first day at the Ninja Academy? Was everything smooth?"
Uzumaki Kushina pouted and called out aggrievedly, "Grandma Mito."
Seeing Uzumaki Kushina's aggrieved expression, Uzumaki Mito went forward, picked her up, and sat on the tatami, asking, "Did something happen?"
Uzumaki Kushina told Uzumaki Mito about being called 'Tomato' by others in class, then beating up those who bullied her, and also about wanting to be friends with Sora but being rejected.
Uzumaki Mito murmured, "Sora, huh?"
Hearing Uzumaki Mito's murmur, Uzumaki Kushina asked curiously, "Grandma Mito, do you know Sora?"
"Hmm, I've heard of him."
Uzumaki Mito's voice was a bit low.
How could she not know him?
Sora's father was from the Senju Clan, the same clan as her husband, Senju Hashirama.
However, ever since the founding of Konoha, Senju Hashirama, as the head of the Senju Clan, had disbanded the Senju Clan, and all clan members intermarried with Konoha's villagers, becoming indistinguishable from the general populace.
At that time, when Sora's parents defected from Konoha, Uzumaki Mito had even pleaded with Hiruzen Sarutobi for them.
But it was not successful, because Sora's mother was from the Uchiha Clan.
As the largest clan in Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi, as the Hokage, had to give them face.
Later, when Sora returned to Konoha, Uzumaki Mito also proposed adopting Sora, but she was also rejected by Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The reason Hiruzen Sarutobi gave was Uzumaki Mito's identity and Sora's identity.
Sora's parents were rogue Ninja and were not recognized by the Uchiha Clan.
And Uzumaki Mito, as the wife of the First Hokage, was not suitable to adopt a child whose parents were rogue Ninja and who was abandoned by the Uchiha Clan.
At that time, Uzumaki Mito lamented that Hiruzen Sarutobi had become somewhat unfamiliar to her after becoming Hokage.
Uzumaki Mito stroked Uzumaki Kushina's hair and asked, "Do you know why Sora refused to be friends with you?"
Uzumaki Kushina said tearfully, "He said, 'I'm isolated by the entire Village. If you become friends with me, you might also be isolated by everyone,' and then he told me to change my seat after returning to school before leaving."
Uzumaki Mito's eyes flickered: "Isolated by the entire Village... sigh, Monkey, Sora didn't do anything wrong."
Uzumaki Mito sighed deeply, feeling heartbroken about Sora's current situation.
But now she could do nothing more to change Sora's situation.
Looking at the unhappy Uzumaki Kushina, Uzumaki Mito became pensive.