The next day.
Within a dense forest in the Land of Fire, Sora was moving rapidly forward.
"As I expected, Sarutobi Hiruzen really doesn't want me to rest. But asking me to investigate the whereabouts of the 'Lucky Three Treasures'? This is really interesting."
While speeding along, Sora couldn't help but think of the new mission Sarutobi Hiruzen had given him that morning: to investigate the specific whereabouts of the remaining three members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
This mission nearly made Sora laugh out loud at the time. All seven members of the Ninja Swordsmen were inside his storage scroll, the whole family neatly together.
Where was he supposed to find the three live ones?
Therefore, after accepting the mission, Sora only headed towards the Land of Water for a while before turning towards the Land of Earth in the northwest.
After all, no matter who Sarutobi Hiruzen sent, it would be impossible to find clues about three dead people. Sora just needed to take a trip around the Land of Water later.
...
After a full day and night of intense travel, Sora set foot in the Land of Earth at noon on the second day.
Just as he stepped onto this land full of rocks, before he could carefully sense his surroundings, a soft "meow" came from beside him.
Sora turned to look and saw the orange cat Chinchilla, crouched on a weathered rock, looking at him with its amber eyes, its paw patting the small storage scroll hanging around its neck.
"Meow. Boss Sora, a letter from Boss Nono has arrived. The fee is one thousand ryo."
Chinchilla extended its paw, looking all business.
Sora didn't waste words, directly counting out one thousand ryo in paper money and handing it over.
Chinchilla expertly put the money into the storage scroll, then took out a rolled-up note and handed it to Sora.
Unrolling the note, it showed the planned travel route of Nono's team and the approximate location of an abandoned mine where they would rest tonight.
"Well done."
Sora nodded, shattering the note with a shake. "Go back. There's no new task for now."
"Okay meow. Boss, call anytime you need something next time."
Chinchilla, satisfied after receiving the money, disappeared with a poof of white smoke.
Having obtained the specific location, Sora no longer hesitated.
His gaze swept the surroundings, confirming it was deserted, before he directly entered his semi beast transformation form.
Hum.
A powerful burst of airflow erupted beneath his feet. His figure instantly shot into the sky, transforming into a streak of blue light as he sped rapidly toward the direction marked on the note.
Under high speed flight, the distance that would originally have taken several days to cover on foot was drastically shortened.
In just half a day, based on the information provided by Nono, Sora found that abandoned mine.
He landed on a taller peak several miles away, retracted all his aura, and expanded his sensory abilities to the limit.
…
Time passed slowly, gradually reaching evening.
Finally, at the edge of Sora's perception, three faint chakra reactions appeared, moving toward the direction of the abandoned mine.
They're here.
Sora's eyes focused, his attention highly concentrated.
In his perception, among the three chakra signatures, one was gentle and familiar. It was Nono.
The other two seemed rather weak. Judging by the amount and quality of chakra, they were at the Chunin level.
Just two Root members at the Chunin level?
Sora thought about it and found it reasonable. Special talents like Nono, who possessed top tier medical ninjutsu and disguise abilities, were few even within Root.
Most Root members were expendable tools for missions like infiltration, espionage, and assassination. Sending two Chunin to assist her would not hold her back, could serve as surveillance, and was cost effective.
That old man Danzo's calculations were indeed shrewd.
Watching as the three entered the abandoned mine one after another, presumably planning to spend the night there.
Sora carefully sensed the surroundings, confirmed there were no other presences, and then silently approached the mine entrance.
From inside the mine, faint conversation could be heard.
"'The Walking Witch', you're on watch duty for the first half of the night. 'Grey Mouse' will take over for the second half." A slightly hoarse voice spoke, carrying the characteristic coldness of Root.
"Yes," Nono replied calmly.
"Hmph, hurry up and clear a clean spot. This damn place is full of dust everywhere," another voice complained, sounding quite young.
Sora pressed against the shadows at the cave entrance. Through a crack, he could see three blurry figures inside.
Nono stood near the entrance. The other two men, wearing grey Root uniforms, were clearing the ground inside. One had his back to the entrance, the other was side on to the outside. Their vigilance was not particularly high.
A sharp glint flashed in Sora's eyes. The chakra within his body began to circulate wildly.
Crackle, crackle.
A piercing sound of thunder suddenly rang out. Blue electric arcs instantly covered his entire body.
Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
"What was that sound?"
The two Root Chunin inside the mine reacted fairly quickly, startling and turning around almost the moment the thunder sounded.
However, the disparity in strength was too vast.
…
Nono looked at the two fallen, dead Root ninja, her eyes filled with shock.
She knew Sora was strong, but she had not expected him to be this strong. Two well trained Root Chunin were like infants before him, utterly helpless.
Calling it one per second would be giving them too much credit.
The lightning around Sora slowly receded, revealing his calm face. He flicked the blood off his hand, his gaze sweeping over the two corpses on the ground without the slightest ripple in his eyes.
"Sister, it's alright now."
Sora walked to Nono's side, his tone returning to its usual gentleness.
Nono took a deep breath, her eyes looking at Sora with a trace of relief as she nodded.
The curse mark binding her was gone. The watchers keeping an eye on her were eliminated.
From now on, she was truly free.
"We need to leave this place quickly."
Sora said, sealing the two corpses with a scroll. Then, with a skilled blast of breath, he cleaned up the scene.
Although it was unlikely anyone would come to this remote wilderness, it was better to leave no clues, just to be cautious.
After doing all this, Sora took Nono's hand.
"Let's go. We'll leave the Land of Earth first."
As he spoke, Lightning Release Chakra covered his body again, though much more gently this time. Holding Nono, he transformed into a streak of light and rapidly disappeared into the vast night.
The blue light cut through the long sky, streaking over the Land of Fire at a speed far beyond the imagination of ordinary ninja.
Carried in Sora's arms in a princess carry as he flew, Nono held tightly to his neck, her heart filled with immense astonishment.
She had just recovered from the shock of Sora instantly killing two Root ninja, only to suddenly discover that he could fly.
Moreover, Sora's current semi beast transformed state felt both unfamiliar and incredibly powerful to her, a far cry from the youth she remembered who needed her protection.
"Sora, you…"
"This is another ability of mine, sister."
Sora looked down at her. "I kept it hidden before. Now, there's no need."
He did not explain the origin of the Azure Dragon Fruit in detail. Nono also tacitly did not ask further, just rested her head lightly against Sora's solid chest, feeling that reassuring strength.
From the border of the Land of Earth to Ascension Island in the Land of Whirlpools, it would take ordinary ninja at least ten days to half a month on foot and by boat.
Under Sora's full speed flight, it took only a day.
"So this is the Land of Whirlpools?"
Nono asked softly, looking at the surroundings so different from the Land of Fire.
"Yes. Ascension Island. Our temporary base for now."
Sora nodded, his perception ability quickly spreading out. Soon, he locked onto the locations of Miyamoto Ichirō and Kabuto.
Underground laboratory.
"Brother Sora, Sister Nono, you've finally arrived." Kabuto looked at Sora and Nono as they entered.
"Yes. The journey was smooth."
Sora patted Kabuto's shoulder and looked at Miyamoto Ichirō.
"How are things on your end? No one followed you, right?"
Miyamoto Ichirō replied, "Don't worry. Following the route and instructions you left, we were very careful. We're sure no one followed."
Kabuto added, "This island is very remote. Almost no ships pass by nearby. We've scouted these past few days. It's very suitable for hiding."
Sora nodded. After dismissing the Shadow Clones that were originally protecting the two, he formed hand seals again and created two new Shadow Clones.
"You two stay here and continue protecting everyone. I need to make an appearance over in the Land of Water to complete the surface mission."
The Shadow Clones nodded, indicating they understood.
Nono looked at Sora, concern in her eyes. "Be careful in everything."
"Don't worry, sister. It's just a trip around. I'll be back soon."
Sora smiled, gave everyone a few more instructions, and then, without further delay, flashed away, disappearing outside the cave.
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