142. Undead Duo

(Powerstones PLEASE)

Sora could be seen waking up.

"Hmm, so much light... is it already day?" Sora sat up in his bed.

"I really need to put up some curtains somehow."

Sora was living in the training ground, still without a proper house.

Well, he couldn't be bothered to either buy a new house or create some seals to block the sunlight.

He generally woke up before the sun was out so that usually wasn't a problem.

Sora rubbed his eyes and looked around.

"What is it?" he asked, glancing toward the corner where Anbu had just stopped.

The Anbu had paused, sensing Sora waking up and not wanting to startle him with his presence.

Now he realized Sora had sensed him approaching.

"Lady Tsunade has requested your presence," the Anbu said.

"Fine." Sora placed his hand on the bed, which promptly disappeared into his bracers.

He quickly vanished with a body flicker, the Anbu following close behind, keeping pace.

Sora hadn't used his signature jutsu, so the Anbu could keep up with his speed, which was currently approaching Jounin-level.

Sora wasn't in a hurry, so he wasn't at full speed, even without using his Shape-shifting jutsu.

Anyway, Sora reached the office and entered from the terrace instead of the bottom door.

Only NPCs use the bottom door.

Main characters like Sora, and side characters like the Anbu, get the privilege of entering like that.

"Yo, Baa-chan, why'd you wake me up from my beauty sleep?" Sora asked.

What do you mean he's a boy? He needs to sleep properly, like the young boy he is.

Sleep isn't for the weak; it's for the smart.

Tsunade rolled her eyes and tossed him a scroll. "This is your second mission—you need to deliver this scroll to Suna, specifically to the Kazekage."

"Oh, a new Kazekage was elected? And you're finally giving me a new mission after 3 months, or technically 6 months since you last gave me one," Sora said, excited.

He had been bored of either sparring with Hanabi or training his medical ninjutsu. His chakra control had come a long way, and he had learned Mystic Palm.

Mastering it, though, was another matter.

To do that, you need all the medical knowledge of human anatomy, chakra, and all that stuff.

It's ironic—you need to learn Mystic Palm to be considered a proper medical ninja, and you need to master it to be considered a master in your field.

Well, not a master on the level of Tsunade or Kabuto, but a high position in Konoha Hospital, which is, mind you, one of the best medical facilities in the entire world, especially among the five great nations.

This speaks to the difficulty of mastering the A-rank jutsu, Mystic Palm.

(A/N: Yup, I checked. It's an A-rank jutsu. How funny—all three of Team 7 learned an A-rank jutsu at 12 years old. I wonder if that was intentional.)

"Yeah, you actually know him. Anyway, it'll be a surprise for you, I guess. Now get going," Tsunade said, shooing Sora away.

She had too much work to do, and Sora liked to talk. Since he trained mostly alone in his cave—no, training ground—Tsunade was one of the few people he could talk to.

Tsunade really didn't want to delay the cursed paperwork she had to finish.

Being Hokage wasn't really her thing.

Maybe Orochimaru would have been better suited, but he was more interested in building his own village.

So, it is what it is.

Sora freshened up a bit and went to Hanabi to say goodbye. The mission shouldn't take too long, but he'd probably want to stay in the Sand Village until it was fully completed, so he decided to say his goodbyes to Hanabi first.

His luck is really good—or bad—depending on the perspective, so saying goodbye just in case is always a good idea, right?

What if he got jumped by some scary people along the way and died or something?

"Yo guys, I'm going to meet Hanabi. Can you inform her?" Sora said to the guards. One of them immediately went to tell her.

If you're wondering why Sora didn't just go inside himself, well, the guards didn't allow him to.

But isn't Sora a top-level ninja who is really good at stealth? He even infiltrated the Hyuga Clan when he was just an academy student, so shouldn't he be able to sneak in?

Well, the answer is that because of that infiltration, the Hyuga Clan barred him from entry.

Those prideful fools had been made a mockery of, so they wouldn't let him in again, for fear of reopening old wounds.

It seems the Hyugas have taken up the role of the Uchihas—or so it seems.

...

Nah, if Sora had pulled something like that on the Uchiha, they would've launched a rebellion.

"What do you want so early in the morning?" Hanabi asked.

"It's already 8. See the light?" Sora pointed up at the brightly shining sun.

It was YOU—

"Anyway, I'm going on a mission, so it'll take a few weeks. I'm telling you this time, so yeah," Sora said.

"Good, at least I'll know how you died," Hanabi said darkly.

"Hey now, I'll probably live... I don't think anything unusual will happen on this mission," Sora said nervously.

What was with people saying his mission was bound to go wrong or something?

"Just kidding. You'll live," Hanabi said, hugging Sora.

"Whoa, what's with you? Are you going to block my chakra points or something?" Sora asked, not used to being hugged by anyone.

When Hanabi hugged him, he immediately thought his chakra points were about to get sealed.

"Nah, it's a kind of sign of farewell," Hanabi said, breaking the hug.

"Sign of farewell?"

"Well, in case you die," Hanabi smirked.

"Ugh, I hope I live." Sora's paranoia was at its peak by now, so he could only respond awkwardly.

"Me too," Hanabi said, patting him on the shoulder.

"Well, see you later." With that, Sora body-flickered out of the area.

He didn't want to hear any more morbid jokes.

Sora had already placed an order for multiple bowls of ramen to be packed, so he picked that up and left.

He hadn't paid for them yet, so if he died, at least he wouldn't have to pay. Maybe someone else would cover it.

Sora wondered this as he exited the village.

"First solo mission—let's make it count."

Sora set off at a relaxed body-flicker speed, which didn't put much strain on his chakra reserves.

'I wonder how things have changed with Sasuke and Naruto.'

Sora remained alert, with 80 per cent of his focus on his surroundings.

Maintaining 100 per cent focus wasn't realistic for anyone—well, it's possible, but not for extended periods.

Normally, Sora would only keep about 60 per cent of his focus outward, allowing himself to think about other things.

But today, his paranoia was high. He really didn't want to get ambushed, thanks to all the ominous comments he'd been hearing since the morning.

'Hmm, should I increase my pace or not? At this speed, I won't reach Suna by tonight.'

Sora weighed the pros and cons of arriving by today or not.

'Hmm, I guess I should try to reach it today. I'm too paranoid.'

With that decision, Sora increased his speed.

He didn't need to take breaks since body flicker didn't strain his stamina or chakra reserves too much.

By evening, Sora was very close to Suna.

Suddenly, he weaved hand seals, doubling his speed as he quickly vacated the spot.

A vacuum blade struck where he had just been standing.

"No wonder this kid has such a high bounty," a voice said from behind the smoke.

"I'm gonna educate him on the greatness of Jashin."

As the smoke cleared, Sora's eyes widened in horror.

Two figures stood there.

What shocked Sora most was the cloaks they wore.

They brought back bad memories of his encounter with Sasuke's brother and that shark-faced guy.

It was the Akatsuki.

More specifically, the Undead Duo.

***

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