Time flowed like a quiet stream.
Unknowingly, two months had passed since Sora had started living with Minato and Kushina.
Thanks to their care, the anxiety in his heart gradually subsided, and he no longer felt the same panic as before.
Little by little, he began to reveal his true personality.
During these two months, Sora never slacked off in his training—in fact, he became even more diligent.
So even though he hadn't picked up any new cards, his strength had improved a bit.
[Host: Sora]
[Strength: 6]
[Speed: 5]
[Constitution: 5]
[Spirit: 22]
[Chakra: 5]
[Talent: Space Affinity LV3]
[Skills: Basic Shurikenjutsu LV2, Basic Taijutsu LV1, Chakra Extraction Technique LV1]
Looking at the increases in his strength, speed, and constitution, Sora was very satisfied and couldn't help but show a cute smile.
The Basic Taijutsu was taught to him by Namikaze Minato, though he had only just gotten the basics down.
As for the Chakra Extraction Technique, it was something left to him by his father. It was thanks to learning this technique that he had any chakra at all.
During this time, he also figured something out—the chakra shown in the system referred to his chakra capacity, not the current amount.
Having a chakra value of five was like owning a cup—whether it was full or empty, the size of the cup remained five.
When the system increased the chakra stat, it was essentially enlarging the cup's capacity!
"Little Sora, time to eat!"
Kushina's voice echoed through the house, accompanied by the mouthwatering aroma of freshly cooked food.
"Got it! I'm coming!" Before the words had even finished leaving his mouth, Sora was already running toward the room on his short legs, tap tap tap.
There was no need to look or ask—he could tell just by the smell that this was Minato's cooking.
Kushina's cooking wasn't bad either, but she lacked the natural talent for it, so she remained at the "pretty good" level.
"I'm digging in!"
After quickly washing his hands, Sora began munching down enthusiastically.
Minato and Kushina exchanged a smile and joined in as well.
It was worth mentioning that although Sora had been adopted, he wasn't regarded as their son, but as Minato and Kushina's younger brother.
That was a result Sora had fought hard for.
Clatter!
The sound of dishes hitting the floor suddenly rang out. Sora looked up to see a red mist forming around Kushina's body.
Her eyes were closed, and her fingers moved rapidly through hand seals.
Minato immediately appeared in front of her, placing his right hand on her lower abdomen, where a complex seal began to appear.
"The Nine-Tails' chakra!"
That was the first thought that flashed through Sora's mind.
But seeing how Minato and Kushina responded, he didn't panic.
The Nine-Tails was powerful, but it couldn't break free from Kushina's control—especially with Minato's help.
But as he kept watching, Sora felt something strange.
He sensed a space—an actual space—with no barriers to stop him.
It felt like he could step in at any moment, just by willing it.
And so he did.
The moment he took a step, he felt like he passed through water—his eyes couldn't fully open.
What he didn't see was the glowing purple card beneath his foot that he stepped on without noticing.
When he finally opened his eyes, he was met with three stunned faces—Minato, Kushina, and the Nine-Tails.
"How did you get in here?"
In an instant, Minato moved in front of Sora, shielding him protectively.
Only then did Kushina and the Nine-Tails react.
Kushina also rushed to Sora's side, while the Nine-Tails huffed in a proud, tsundere manner but perked up its ears to eavesdrop.
"I-I don't know either. I just felt a space... and then I entered it," Sora replied, equally confused.
Minato's eyes gleamed. "Sora, you're saying you sensed a space, and you simply entered it?"
"Yes!" Sora nodded without any hesitation.
Minato's eyes grew brighter with excitement. He turned to Kushina. "This matter's settled. Let's head back and talk."
Kushina paused, then nodded, her figure slowly fading.
Minato took Sora by the hand and walked toward the dark tunnel.
Just before they left, Sora glanced back at the Nine-Tails—and that one glance made it impossible to look away.
Because surrounding the Nine-Tails were hundreds of glowing cards in various colors—white, blue, purple!
But the next moment, both he and Minato faded away.
When he snapped out of it, Sora found himself still sitting in the same spot. He hadn't actually moved.
A theory began forming in his mind.
Since the Nine-Tails, a massive entity, could be sealed in a body, that space clearly had to be a unique dimension.
And the reason he could enter it... must be due to his Level 3 Space Talent.
After some discussion, Minato concluded that Sora's space affinity wasn't inferior to his own and was thrilled.
He even made up his mind that once Sora reached jonin level, he would teach him the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Of course, Sora had no idea about any of that.
Along with confirming his talent, he also received an unfortunate piece of news.
While he had the space talent, he couldn't freely access the Nine-Tails' dimension.
Only during a chakra outburst could he enter.
So his plan to loot all those cards lying around the Nine-Tails was off the table—for now.
After dinner, Sora returned to his room.
Lately, he'd been paying close attention to the state of the ninja world. The Third Great Ninja War had officially ended.
Now the major villages were secretly licking their wounds and focusing on rebuilding.
Everything that needed to happen had already happened—Uchiha Obito was "dead," Minato's popularity was soaring, and so on.
This gave Sora an immense sense of pressure. Others might not know the future—but he did.
The big boss Uchiha Obito had already taken his place. Orochimaru would soon defect. The Nine-Tails Night was just a few years away. The Uchiha Clan Massacre wasn't far off either.
Not to mention the chaos once the main plot kicked off—even Kage-levels would be treated like weaklings!
Each of these events was huge, and he didn't have the strength to do anything about them.
Originally, he only needed to survive and grow stronger slowly—but now that he had Minato and Kushina, Sora wanted to protect them!
And for that, he needed overwhelming power.
"Minato is twenty-one now. He becomes Hokage at twenty-two... and dies at twenty-four during the Nine-Tails incident."
"That means I have three years to reach Kage-level strength!"
Just thinking about it made Sora's head ache.
Reaching Kage-level was no easy feat—if it were, why else would Hiruzen Sarutobi remain the Third Hokage for so long?
With his goal set, Sora began planning.
He was only five years old. His physical abilities and chakra were his greatest weaknesses, and only the system could help him make up for that.
In Konoha, the person most likely to drop physique-enhancing cards was Might Guy!
As for chakra, tailed beasts had the most—and among them, the Nine-Tails had the most of all.
So Sora still set his sights on the Nine-Tails, but he'd have to approach things slowly and carefully.
As for ninjutsu, that would be much easier—so many people knew it, and he could easily pick up several techniques!
On top of that, he could also learn them himself. Two-pronged approach!
"Might Guy should be at the training grounds!"
With that thought, Sora stopped wasting time, said goodbye to Kushina, and dashed off toward the training ground.