Days passed one after another.
In the blink of an eye, over a month had gone by.
Sora's life in Amegakure was very routine; most of his time was spent training and harmonizing with his clones, occasionally sparring with Kisame to become familiar with each other's fighting styles.
The Akatsuki organization hadn't assigned any new missions, seemingly conserving their strength.
On this day, on a barren piece of land outside Amegakure.
Sora and Kisame were engaged in a training spar.
"Water Style: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
Kisame formed hand seals with both hands and expelled a massive amount of water from his mouth, instantly forming a vast lake.
Within the lake, Kisame stood on the water's surface, grinning widely:
"Mr. White Tiger, be careful!"
Sora hovered in mid-air, his body wrapped in pale green Wind Release chakra.
'As expected of Kisame, this "Dam Breaker Wave" is truly exaggerated; no wonder he's called the "Tailless Tailed Beast"...'
He mused inwardly, his hands not pausing in their movements.
"Wind Style: Pressure Damage!"
A powerful blast of wind pressure was released from Sora's hand, smashing heavily onto the lake's surface.
Seeing this, Kisame immediately performed another jutsu:
"Water Style: Five Feeding Sharks!"
Five sharks formed from water leaped out from the lake, opening their massive jaws to pounce at Sora.
Sora's expression didn't change as he waved a single hand.
"Magnet Style: Iron Sand Rain!"
Black iron sand surged up from the ground, transforming into countless fine needles that accurately pierced through the five water sharks.
"Tch, the combination of Wind Style and Magnet Style is really troublesome."
Kisame scratched his head, but his eyes were full of excitement.
Fighting against a strong opponent always got his blood pumping.
Just then—
The space suddenly distorted, and Obito, wearing his spiral mask, landed between the two of them.
"Stop here."
Obito's voice was low, carrying a hint of finality.
Kisame dispersed the water style, the lake rapidly receding, and Sora also withdrew his chakra, landing on the ground.
"Mr. Madara, is something the matter?"
Obito's gaze swept over the two of them, finally landing on Sora:
"The plan is about to begin."
Sora's heart tightened.
The Nine-Tails Incident was finally coming.
...
A few days later.
Outside Konohagakure.
Sora, Obito, Kisame, and Zetsu appeared one after another.
Sora's brow furrowed; not long ago, Obito had assigned the missions.
He needed to occupy Uchiha Shisui, who was a Hokage guard; Kisae to occupy Might Duy, who should have been dead; and Zetsu to handle Uchiha Takumi, who wasn't supposed to be present.
Sora's heart sank.
Although Shisui was still young now, his strength couldn't be underestimated, not to mention the unavoidable Kotoamatsukami.
If he accidentally got caught by that during the fight, it would be trouble.
And Kisame versus Might Duy?
Considering that even decades later, Kisame couldn't beat Guy, let alone now fighting Guy's father, Might Duy.
Wasn't that basically suicide?
Sora had a pretty good impression of Kisame as a teammate—he didn't talk much, was strong in execution, reliable in battle—a rare, good partner.
If Kisame died, he'd have to get used to a new teammate again, too troublesome.
As for Uchiha Takumi...
Sora's mind raced.
He had a decent relationship with Takumi and knew his personality.
As long as he didn't go after his younger brother Ryota or cross his bottom line, he probably wouldn't fight to the death to stop the Nine-Tails incident.
After all, Takumi didn't have any fondness for the Konoha higher-ups either.
Rather than letting Zetsu go, it would be better for him to go, which would also give him time to scheme for the Nine-Tails.
Thinking this, Sora spoke up:
"Mr. Madara, I have a suggestion."
Obito's brow furrowed slightly beneath his mask: "Speak."
"Adjust the mission assignments."
Sora said calmly: "Let me handle Uchiha Takumi, and Kisame goes to occupy Uchiha Shisui."
Obito was silent for a moment, then asked:
"Reason?"
Sora slowly explained:
"First, I've had interactions with Uchiha Takumi, I understand his fighting style, and I'm more confident in dealing with him."
"Second, Uchiha Shisui's Body Flicker Technique is famous throughout the ninja world; Kisame's large-scale Water Style attacks are more suitable for restricting his movements."
White Zetsu chimed in:
"That kid Shisui's Body Flicker is really troublesome; last time I tried to follow him, I almost got caught."
Obito fell into thought.
Sora's proposal did make sense.
He had already investigated Uchiha Takumi's abilities—space-time movement and rapid recovery, very troublesome. But since Sora said he understood, it might be acceptable to leave it to him.
"Alright."
Obito finally nodded: "We'll adjust it as you suggested."
Kisame grinned from the side:
"Uchiha Shisui, huh? Heard he's a genius. I'd like to see for myself."
Sora glanced at Kisame, afraid he might die to Kotoamatsukami, and reminded him:
"Kisame, remember, our mission is to occupy them, not fight to the death."
Kisame chuckled: "Don't worry, I know my limits."
Obito swept his gaze over the three of them one last time:
"When the operation begins, I'll lure Shisui out first. Kisame, you take over. Then I'll take White Tiger to find Takumi."
"Once you're all in position, the main operation will commence."
"Move out."
...
Outside Konohagakure.
Sora and Kisame lay in ambush in the shadows, waiting for Obito to lure Shisui over.
Night had already fallen; inside Konoha, lights were bright, a scene of peace, completely unaware of the impending disaster.
Suddenly, a figure shot out from the village at incredible speed, heading straight for Sora and Kisame's location.
"Here he comes."
Sora said in a low voice.
It was Uchiha Shisui.
And not far ahead of Shisui, space twisted slightly, Obito's figure flickering in and out of sight, clearly guiding Shisui's pursuit direction.
Shisui quickly charged into the dense forest, stopping in a clearing not far from the two of them.
"Come out."
Shisui said coldly.
Clearly, he had already sensed the ambush.
Obito's figure stepped out from the spatial distortion, landing opposite Shisui.
"Uchiha Shisui, I've heard much about you."
Shisui stared at Obito, his Sharingan slowly rotating:
"Who are you? What's your purpose in luring me out?"
Obito didn't answer, only turned his head to look towards Sora and Kisame's direction:
"He's your responsibility."
With that, his body twisted again, disappearing into the Kamui dimension.
Shisui's gaze sharpened, but he didn't panic, slowly adopting a fighting stance:
"There's more than one, huh..."
Sora gave Kisame a meaningful glance.
Kisame understood, hefting his massive blade as he stepped out from the shadows, grinning:
"Uchiha's genius, let me have a go at you."
Shisui's gaze swept over Kisame, then towards where Sora was hiding:
"That one over there, not coming out together?"
Kisame laughed heartily:
"I'm enough by myself!"
Before he'd even finished speaking, he suddenly charged forward, his massive blade cleaving towards Shisui.
Shisui's figure flickered, instantly vanishing from his spot, reappearing on a tree ten meters away.
"Fast!"
A flicker of excitement shone in Kisame's eyes as he immediately gave chase. The two, one pursuing and one fleeing, soon disappeared deep into the forest.
Obito's figure materialized beside Sora again.
"Let's go, to the Uchiha clan grounds."
Sora nodded.
Obito reached out and placed his hand on Sora's shoulder; space began to distort.
The next moment, the two vanished from the spot.