108. Poisoned?

(Well, again is this deal for Double release, 200 Powerstones for this week too, You guys can do it, Dattebayo!)

Chapter 31: Easy Mission

The early morning sun had barely begun to peek over the horizon when Sora stirred from his slumber. At just six years old, the red-headed orphan had already developed a habit that would make most seasoned shinobi especially the one with Bushy Brows proud - rising with the sun. 

Quietly, so as not to disturb his sleeping teammates, Sora slipped out of his tent and into the crisp morning air. He took a deep breath, savouring the peaceful stillness that only the earliest hours could provide. With practised ease, he began a series of basic exercises, his small body moving through familiar stretches and katas.

As he worked through his routine, Sora's mind wandered to the mission at hand. It wasn't often that a chunin as young as himself was entrusted with such responsibility, but then again, Sora wasn't your average six-year-old. The memory of his unexpected promotion still brought a proud smile to his face.

'To think, just a few months ago I was still in the Academy,' he mused, recalling the chaos of the invasion and how his actions had caught the attention of the higher-ups. 'And now here I am, on a real mission with Ino-nee-chan, Shikamaru, and Choji.'

After finishing his exercises, Sora settled down with a scroll Tsunade had given him on medical ninjutsu. While he might not have Sakura-nee-chan's natural talent for the healing arts, he was determined to expand his skills in every area possible. Time seemed to fly by as he pored over the intricate diagrams and explanations.

It wasn't until the sun had climbed significantly higher in the sky that Sora realized how much time had passed. He glanced towards the silent tents of his teammates, a frown creasing his young face. It wasn't like a seasoned ninja to sleep in so late, especially on a mission.

A tendril of worry began to curl in his stomach. 'What if something's wrong? What if our food last night was poisoned?'

Sora's mind raced through possibilities. He knew he had an unusually high resistance to toxins - a quirk of his robust Uzumaki-like vitality which he was unaware that it was the Uzumaki clan's ability. But if the others had been affected...

Deciding to err on the side of caution, Sora approached Shikamaru's tent. He rapped his knuckles against the fabric, calling out, "Shikamaru? Are you awake?"

Silence.

The worry in Sora's gut intensified. Without further hesitation, he barged into the tent, ready to face whatever sinister plot might have befallen his comrade.

What he found instead was Shikamaru, looking very much alive and very much annoyed at the sudden intrusion.

"Oi, what's the big idea?" Shikamaru grumbled, sitting up and fixing Sora with a bleary-eyed glare.

Sora, however, was already in full medic-nin mode. He grabbed Shikamaru's wrist, checking his pulse, then peered closely at his eyes and skin tone, searching for any signs of poisoning.

"Hey, cut it out!" Shikamaru protested, trying to bat away Sora's probing hands. "What are you doing?"

"Checking for poison, obviously," Sora replied, his young face scrunched up in concentration. "You weren't answering, and I thought-"

"I was pretending to be asleep, you troublesome kid," Shikamaru sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I didn't expect you to come barging in like this."

Sora blinked, then had the grace to look slightly sheepish. "Oh. Well, you should have said something when I knocked. I wouldn't have had to resort to such drastic measures."

Shikamaru muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "Uzumakis are troublesome," but Sora chose to ignore it.

"Well, since you're up," Sora chirped, his mood brightening now that the crisis was averted, "we might as well get started on the day!"

Before Shikamaru could protest, Sora was already out of the tent, his voice carrying as he called out to the others. "Ino-nee-chan! Choji! Time to wake up!"

Shikamaru emerged from his tent just in time to see Ino and Choji stumbling out of theirs, both still in their sleepwear and looking thoroughly disgruntled at the early wake-up call.

"Shikamaru?" Ino yawned, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "Why are you up so early? Don't tell me you didn't sleep at all last night."

Sora couldn't help but snicker at the accusation, earning him a half-hearted glare from Shikamaru.

"This troublesome kid woke me up," Shikamaru explained, jerking a thumb towards Sora. "Thought we'd been poisoned or something."

"Poisoned?" Choji echoed, suddenly looking more alert. "Is our food supply compromised?"

"No, no," Sora hastened to reassure him. "False alarm. But since we're all up now, we might as well get ready for the day, right?"

The older ninjas exchanged weary glances, but they knew arguing with the enthusiastic six-year-old would be more trouble than it was worth. With a collective sigh, they trudged off to freshen up and prepare for the day ahead.

Sora, meanwhile, decided to make use of the time by practising some chakra control exercises. By the time the others returned, looking marginally more awake, he had managed to stick several leaves to various parts of his body using only his chakra while doing a complex chakra-control exercise.

"Show-off," Ino muttered good-naturedly as she approached. Then, eyeing the distinct lack of breakfast preparations, she asked, "So, did you wake up early just to practice, or...?"

Sora blinked at her, confused. "Um, yes? I always wake up early. I like the quiet."

"And you didn't think to, oh I don't know, make breakfast?" Ino pressed, her stomach growling as if to emphasize the point.

"Oh." Sora's face scrunched up in thought. "I... don't know how to cook?"

This admission was met with three incredulous stares.

"But... you live alone, don't you?" Choji asked, clearly struggling with the concept of someone not knowing how to prepare food.

Sora shrugged, reaching into one of the storage seals on his bracers. "I mostly live on these," he explained, producing a handful of ration bars. "They're efficient. Oh, and instant ramen, of course."

The mention of ramen seemed to trigger something in Sora's memory. His eyes lit up as he began rummaging through his supplies again. "Oh! That reminds me. Naruto-nii-chan gave me some special limited-edition ramen flavours before he left on his training journey. Want to try some?"

Before anyone could respond, Sora had already pulled out four ornate instant ramen cups, their packaging clearly indicating a premium product.

Choji's eyes widened in recognition. "No way! Those are super rare! They only make a hundred of each pack per year. Even the Akimichi clan can barely get our hands on ten at most. The general way is to win it from a lottery, How did Naruto get these?"

Sora shrugged, already busying himself with preparing the ramen. "No idea. Naruto-nii-chan just gave them to me. I didn't realize they were anything special, as you claim."

As the aroma of the gourmet instant ramen began to fill the air, even Shikamaru found his interest piqued. Soon, all four ninja were seated around a hastily summoned table (courtesy of one of Sora's many seals), staring at their ramen cups with an almost reverent anticipation.

"So..." Ino broke the silence, eyeing her cup nervously. "Who's going to try it first?"

"I don't know why, but I'm kind of nervous," Sora admitted, his usual bravado momentarily subdued by the weight of culinary expectation.

After a moment of hesitation, Choji stepped up to the plate - or in this case, the cup. "I'll go first," he declared, reaching for his chopsticks with determination.

The other three watched with bated breath as Choji took his first bite. The change in his expression was immediate and profound. His eyes widened, then closed in pure bliss as he savoured the flavours.

Taking this as their cue, Sora, Ino, and Shikamaru dug into their own cups. The reaction was unanimous.

"Holy cow," Sora breathed between mouthfuls. "I thought Ichiraku was the pinnacle of ramen, but this... this is something else entirely!"

For several minutes, the only sounds were those of enthusiastic slurping and the occasional murmur of appreciation. All too soon, however, they found themselves staring forlornly at empty cups.

"I can't believe it's gone already," Ino lamented, looking as though she might try to lick the remaining broth from her cup.

Shikamaru, in a move that surprised everyone, suddenly formed a hand seal. "Kai!" he exclaimed.

***

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