Boom!
Just as the Earth Dragon Bullet was about to strike Sora, a green-clad foot came flying in, smashing into the dragon's head.
A moment later, Might Guy's voice rang out: "Konoha Taijutsu Secret Technique — Leaf Strong Whirlwind!"
Under that powerful kick, the earthen dragon shattered into pieces, and the violent gust it generated sent Sora flying backward.
"Whew! I survived!"
"Sora, are you okay?!"
After dispersing the Earth Dragon, Guy appeared at Sora's side in a flash, his face full of worry as he helped him up.
"I'm fine. Just need to stop the bleeding and get to the hospital. It's not fatal," Sora said casually, then added, "Quick—help me over to the body!"
???
When I give you a questioning look, it's not because I'm confused. It's because something is clearly wrong with you!
Looking like he was on the verge of bleeding out, and the first thing he wanted was to go to a corpse?
Though he didn't understand, Guy still helped Sora over to the black-clad man's body.
When he saw the white, blue, and purple cards neatly lying beside the corpse, Sora nearly jumped for joy.
"System, collect all the cards!"
[Ding! White Card: Strength +1. Absorb?]
[Ding! White Card: Speed +1. Absorb?]
[Ding! Blue Card: Substitution Jutsu. Absorb?]
[Ding! Purple Card: Earth Dragon Bullet. Absorb?]
[Ding! Blue Card: Earth Wall Jutsu. Absorb?]
…
A series of chimes rang out—eight or nine in total. Sora had never heard anything so beautiful.
"Absorb—all of them!"
Normally, absorbing these would've been pleasant, but with his blood loss, the process overwhelmed him. His vision went black, and he fainted.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...!
Suddenly, over a dozen Konoha ANBU appeared around Sora and Guy, completely surrounding them.
When Guy spotted a certain white-haired ANBU among them, his eyes lit up.
"Kakashi! Sora was attacked and passed out from blood loss. I'm taking him to the hospital first!"
Without waiting for a response, Guy dashed off carrying Sora. Some ANBU tried to stop him, but Kakashi raised a hand.
Though annoyed that Guy called out his name so casually, Kakashi agreed the boy's condition needed urgent care.
"Clean up the battlefield. Bring the body back for intel. I'll report to the Third Hokage."
With swift, efficient orders, Kakashi headed straight to the Hokage Tower.
None of this concerned Sora now. Under Guy's full-speed sprint, he was quickly taken to the hospital.
In truth, his injuries weren't severe—he'd only passed out from blood loss.
With the help of medical ninjutsu, he was soon healed. He just needed some rest to fully recover and replenish his blood.
No lasting damage—he'd only be weak for a while.
Once assured of his recovery, Guy left to inform Minato and Kushina.
Not long after, Sora slowly regained consciousness. The moment his senses returned, his hands instinctively started forming hand signs.
Only when he confirmed the enemy was dead did he relax and exhale deeply. "I made it out alive…"
Testing his body and confirming there were no lingering issues, Sora began reviewing the battle.
First off—his body was too weak. Despite having plenty of chakra, he couldn't hold his own in close combat.
That made several of his taijutsu techniques useless—he'd just end up being kicked around.
Second—he had too few jutsu, both offensive and defensive.
Even with tons of chakra, they were useless without the techniques to back it up. A single Great Fireball couldn't do much against real opponents.
"Honestly, I was lucky. If that guy had used jutsu from the start, I'd be dead. And even killing him in the end was pure chance—I didn't expect it myself."
Clearly, he needed to focus on picking up more jutsu and enhancing his physical abilities. With those, his chakra wouldn't just be for show.
Having set his new training priorities, Sora remembered the cards the masked man dropped upon death and eagerly opened his system panel.
[Host: Sora]
[Strength: 26]
[Speed: 27]
[Constitution: 23]
[Spirit: 26]
[Chakra: 1010]
[Talent: Spatial Talent LV3]
[Taijutsu: Basic Shuriken LV2, Basic Taijutsu LV3, Konoha Whirlwind LV4]
[Ninjutsu: Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu LV5, Earth Style: Earth Wall Jutsu LV4, Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet LV3, Substitution Jutsu LV6]
His attributes had all increased by one or two points, but the real treasures were Earth Wall and Earth Dragon Bullet!
One B-rank and one C-rank jutsu—massively boosting his offensive and defensive capabilities.
"Hehehe!"
Sora giggled like a fool, drawing curious glances from passing patients and family members. Some even wondered whether they should call a doctor for the laughing child.
But who could blame him? That fight had left him with powerful chakra but no way to use it—it was beyond frustrating.
Now, with these new jutsu and Substitution Jutsu, his chakra could finally shine. He had jumped from a mere academy student straight to elite Chunin level.
"If I fought that guy again right now, who knows who'd win?"
Clenching his fist, Sora brimmed with confidence.
Smack! Kushina walked into the hospital room, saw Sora grinning like an idiot, and immediately relaxed—then smacked his head.
"What are you giggling about? You nearly died, you know that?!"
As she spoke, her eyes grew red, and tears began to well up.
Afraid she'd hurt him, she gently rubbed his forehead.
That sudden strike snapped Sora out of his silly smile and brought him back to his senses.
Seeing the tears in Kushina's eyes, Sora softened too.
"Didn't I make it back just fine? Not even a scratch left," he said, stretching out his arm to show her.
Whoosh!
"Sora! Are you alright?!"
Before he even appeared in the room, Minato's voice rang out urgently.
His concern echoed before his figure even took shape.
After a round of explanations and solemn promises to avoid danger in the future, both Kushina and Minato reluctantly let him off the hook.
Minato even placed a Flying Thunder God seal on him for protection before finally relaxing.
Under the watchful eyes of the future Fourth Hokage and the current Nine-Tails jinchūriki, Sora swaggered back home.
He'd planned to find a publisher today, but clearly, that would have to wait.
After sending him home, Minato went to the Hokage Tower.
He'd already asked Sora for all the details and now needed to report to the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Learning that Sora had taken down an elite Chunin on his own, Minato and Kushina had been shocked. But once they heard the full story, they couldn't help but laugh.
To think someone would actually die from the Great Fireball Jutsu—a technique known for never finishing anyone off. That poor masked man was incredibly unlucky.
With Minato handling the aftermath, Sora didn't need to face any ANBU questioning or investigations.
Once at the Hokage's office, Minato explained everything truthfully to Hiruzen.
"Sora, huh…"
Hiruzen took a puff of his pipe and murmured thoughtfully.
Even just hearing the story, he realized how extraordinary the boy was.
A five-year-old killing a Chunin was no small feat. Sure, luck played a role—but casting over ten Great Fireballs in a single fight? That was solid proof of his chakra reserves.
Most Chunin couldn't manage that—Sora hadn't even run out of chakra.
What kind of powerhouse would he become after growing up and learning more jutsu?
Hiruzen didn't know for sure—but maybe, just maybe, he could go toe-to-toe with the First Hokage someday.
While Hiruzen pondered, the news of the fight also reached Danzo of Root, who quickly received a full report on Sora's performance.