'A dead genius is no longer a genius. A dead hero will also soon be forgotten.'
Sora saw this very clearly.
However, the death of Hatake Sakumo did bring some 'benefits' that Sora had not anticipated.
The biggest change was the reduction of 'attention' from within the Anbu.
When Hatake Sakumo was alive, although he showed more appreciation and expectation towards Sora, Sora could feel that scrutiny lay behind that attention.
Fox's attitude towards him also carried a hint of 'observing' on behalf of Hatake Sakumo.
But with Hatake Sakumo's death and the new Head Captain taking office, both disappeared.
Fox now treated Sora with an attitude closer to that of an elder towards a junior, carrying some care and trust.
In short, Sora could clearly feel that the invisible shackles of surveillance on him had loosened by more than a little.
This made it much less stressful for him to secretly develop the Azure Dragon Fruit abilities.
'Speaking of which, do I have to thank Danzo and Sarutobi Hiruzen for their godly assist. If they hadn't joined forces to pressure White Fang to his death, I'm afraid I would have had to wait a few more years to escape such focused attention so easily.'
Sora smiled self mockingly, feeling no fluctuation inside.
He held no ill will towards Hatake Sakumo, even somewhat admired him, but that was all.
To go against the entire village's public opinion and the higher ups' tacit approval to save White Fang. That was something only the protagonist of a overpowered fanfiction protagonist would do, not him, Sora.
In this dangerous world, staying alive and protecting the people he cared about were the most important.
Everything else was secondary.
The second thing, Hyuga Hikaru died.
It was said that he died at the hands of rogue ninja during an outside mission.
But at that time, Sora happened to be on a mission nearby. When he received the distress signal and rushed to the scene, the remaining rogue ninja were either already dead or had long since fled without a trace. Only Hikaru's body lay quietly on the ground.
The Hyuga Main Family publicly stated he was killed by rogue ninja, but Sora found an extremely minute needle puncture mark on Hikaru's head.
It was the trace left when the Caged Bird Seal was forcibly triggered, and the seal instantly destroyed the brain.
Hikaru was an even more talented ninja than Neji. Sora even felt that, given the chance to grow normally, he would eventually reach Kage level strength.
Although Hikaru had a ruthless personality, in this law of the jungle ninja world, precisely such a temperament allowed one to live longer.
If he were from the Hyuga Main Family, he might have been able to lead the Hyuga clan to a higher level.
Unfortunately, Hikaru was born into a branch family. His fate was already sealed.
...
"Sora. Sora." Yuhi Kurenai's voice pulled Sora back to reality from his memories. "What are you thinking about. The noodles are almost cold."
Sora snapped back to the present and smiled at Kurenai.
"Ah. Oh, nothing. Just thinking about some mission related things."
"Was the mission troublesome."
"Not troublesome. It's already resolved."
Sora shook his head, put down his bowl, and looked out the window at the gradually darkening sky.
"Just feel that. being able to quietly eat a bowl of ramen like this is really nice."
Kurenai nodded somewhat understandingly, a sweet smile appearing on her face again.
"Yeah. Next time you return from a mission, let's come eat together again."
"Okay." Sora also smiled.
Outside the window, Konoha gradually lit up with street lamps, a feeling of peace and tranquility.
But Sora knew that beneath this calm, undercurrents never stopped flowing.
The deaths of Hatake Sakumo and Hyuga Hikaru were merely a microcosm of this depressing ninja world.
'Power. still need stronger power.' Sora repeated silently in his heart.
Only with sufficient power could he protect himself and this brief warmth around him within such a whirlpool.
As for everything else, what did it have to do with him.
...
The four day holiday passed in the blink of an eye.
Early morning, Sora appeared on time at the Anbu underground headquarters.
He changed into his uniform, put on his Green Snake mask, and headed towards the Squad C Five assembly room.
Pushing the door open, Fox, Grey Wolf, and Night Owl were already waiting there.
Grey Wolf leaned lazily against the wall and asked.
"How was the holiday, Green Snake. Did you go on a date with your little girlfriend."
Sora helplessly shook his head. "Stop talking nonsense. Just ordinary friends."
Night Owl chuckled lightly. Although he didn't speak, his eyes clearly held disbelief.
Fox knocked on the table, interrupting their idle chat.
"Quiet. The mission briefing is coming shortly."
As soon as the words fell, a messenger ninja hawk flew in from the window and landed on Fox's outstretched arm.
Fox took the small scroll from the hawk's claw, quickly scanned it, and his expression turned slightly serious.
"What mission."
Seeing this, Grey Wolf put away his lazy attitude, straightened up and asked.
Fox placed the scroll on the table.
"Land of Wind. The Hokage has ordered us to investigate abnormal movements in the Land of Wind."
Sora's heart stirred. 'As expected, it's here.'
As a transmigrator, he knew all too well that the Third Kazekage, hailed as the strongest Kazekage of all generations, had already been turned into a human puppet by Sasori.
This incident triggered the outbreak of the Third Great Ninja War and could be considered the catalyst for the war.
Sora had long anticipated that Sarutobi Hiruzen would send people to investigate the situation in the Land of Wind. He just didn't expect the mission to fall on their squad.
Grey Wolf frowned.
"Land of Wind. That's Sunagakure's territory. What abnormal movements could they have."
Night Owl also spoke up.
"There have indeed been rumors recently that the Land of Wind's borders are heavily guarded. Entry and exit checks are much stricter than usual."
Fox nodded.
"According to intelligence, Sunagakure has been making frequent moves recently. Large numbers of ninja have been recalled to the village. Border patrol intensity has increased severalfold. But the specific reason is unknown."
"Our mission is to infiltrate the Land of Wind and ascertain the reason for Sunagakure's abnormal movements. Contact local informants if necessary, but be extremely careful not to expose our identities."
"Understood." The three responded in unison.
Under his mask, Sora's face showed no expression, but his mind was already churning.
At this point in time, Sunagakure should not yet have publicly announced the Kazekage's disappearance. They were only searching secretly. In other words, Squad C Five's mission risk factor was quite high.
If they were discovered by Sunagakure investigating the Kazekage's disappearance, it could very likely trigger a diplomatic dispute, even ninja world war.
Sarutobi Hiruzen assigning this mission to them clearly showed great confidence in Squad C Five's abilities.
Fox ordered.
"Departure in one hour. Make your respective preparations. This mission may require long term. Bring sufficient supplies."
"Yes."
The three quickly dispersed to make their own preparations.
Sora returned to his own storage locker and began organizing his equipment.
Kunai, shuriken, smoke bombs, soldier pills, medical kit. He carefully checked all the essentials, then neatly packed them into his backpack.
Finally, he took out a small box from the back of the locker. Inside were several bottles of specially made dye.
After all, his silver white hair was too eye catching, a very distinctive feature. He always had to do some coloring for infiltration missions.
Although strange hair colors weren't uncommon in the ninja world, Sora was accustomed to thoroughly hiding his external features in missions requiring concealment.
Over the past two years, he had grown accustomed to this pre mission preparation routine. Every detail could be a matter of life and death.
More importantly, Sora knew this matter involved Sasori of the Red Sand.
Although Sasori wasn't as terrifying as in his later years, being able to single handedly kill the Third Kazekage, hailed as the strongest of all generations, meant his strength absolutely could not be underestimated.
'I hope I don't run into that puppet playing kid.'
At Sora's current strength, dealing with ordinary Jonin was relatively easy. But against Kage level opponents or someone of Sasori's caliber, his chances of winning weren't great. At his full strength, his strength barely qualified as a Kage level gatekeeper, about on par with Danzo.
After preparing everything, Sora arrived at the rally point.
Fox, Grey Wolf, and Night Owl were also ready.
Fox glanced at the three and nodded. "Move out."
The four turned into four black shadows, silently leaving the Anbu headquarters, racing swiftly towards the outskirts of Konoha.
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