After resting for a day, Sora left the inn, casually grabbed a bite to eat, then pulled out the map in his hand.
"One kilometer west of the city? Makes sense—it's not like they'd set up a bounty exchange in the capital itself. What would be the point of hiding then?"
He stashed the map back into his portable space, slung the sword he'd bought the day before over his back, and leisurely walked out of the city.
The sword wasn't anything special—not even close to Kakashi's White Fang—but it felt comfortable in his grip, so he'd gone ahead and bought it.
Having already learned two powerful sword techniques, it would be a shame not to use such a cool weapon.
Soon, Sora arrived at his destination. Staring at a lone, isolated outhouse in the middle of nowhere, he was at a loss for words.
There wasn't a soul in sight. Anyone with half a brain would realize something was off here.
He was just about to make a move, but paused.
Carrying a sword looked cool and all—but it made sneak attacks harder.
He casually removed the sword from his back and stored it away. Dusting off his pristine ceremonial robes, he resumed walking.
He wasn't planning to hide his identity anymore—after all, they'd already seen through him. Besides, he wanted to strike fear into the bounty exchange using his real name!
Near the outhouse, Sora didn't enter immediately. Instead, his hands began weaving signs at lightning speed.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Tremor Technique!"
"One… two… ten… twenty… twenty-eight people? None at the entrance. Seems they haven't noticed me."
Sensing the subtle tremors in the ground, Sora had already mapped out the entire situation inside.
The enemy wasn't strong—just one jōnin among them. The rest were chūnin and genin, no threat to him at all.
Creak!
Only then did he push open the wooden panel behind the outhouse and stride confidently inside.
He was a little curious why the place had such weak defenses, but it didn't matter—they were going down.
"Hello, everyone!"
The moment he stepped in, all twenty-eight people inside turned their eyes to him.
Sora gave a sunny, innocent smile. He looked utterly adorable.
"Hahaha! I've been searching everywhere for this brat, and here he is—worth a hundred million, walking right through our front door!"
"He's mine! Anyone dares fight me for this kill, and you're dead!"
"No warning, no preparation, and you just show up in front of me like this~"
Sora's name had already spread throughout the bounty exchange. Nearly everyone had seen his wanted poster and instantly recognized him.
Yet instead of attacking, they began squabbling among themselves over who got to claim the kill—completely ignoring him.
Sora sighed helplessly and tilted his head, asking, "You're arguing among yourselves, huh? Aren't you worried I'll take advantage of that?"
"Hahahaha! Kid, are you joking? I'm a chūnin, I could kill you with one hand, even if I were half-dead!"
One of them—a man with a pockmarked face wearing a flashy purple kimono—laughed so hard he almost doubled over.
The others joined in, giving him condescending looks.
Sure, the bounty notice claimed Sora had killed chūnin—but his appearance was so deceiving, they instinctively underestimated him.
This was the part Sora found most baffling about the world of shinobi—everyone seemed to have this bizarre, baseless confidence.
A civilian like Gato dared to boss around a jōnin like Zabuza. Zabuza thought he could beat Kakashi.
These examples were endless, and all of them ended up dying miserably.
Maybe it was just a unique cultural tradition in this world…
Shaking his head, Sora said cheerfully, "Well, if you're not gonna make the first move, I guess I will."
With that, he used Body Flicker and shot toward the one in charge of the bounty exchange.
He didn't want to waste any more time—there were over a hundred more exchange posts to deal with.
This place was underground. Though it was decently spacious, it was still too cramped to use high-powered ninjutsu freely.
If he carelessly unleashed a big jutsu, he might end up blowing himself up too.
So the moment he appeared in front of the jōnin, a long sword materialized in his right hand.
"Secret Technique—Draw Blade Slash!"
Whoosh! A streak of pale white light sliced through the air like moonlight, so fast it couldn't be seen with the naked eye.
The jōnin's combat instincts saved his life. Though he didn't see Sora's movement clearly, he instinctively pulled a nearby chūnin in front of himself.
The blade cleaved through the chūnin cleanly—split in half before he could even scream.
The jōnin avoided a fatal blow, but his right arm was sliced clean off by the blade's aftershock.
The searing pain shattered his focus. He opened his mouth to scream, but before he could, a flash of lightning struck—thud!—a small hand punched through his chest.
"Th-this… can't… be…"
He stared blankly at the small hand piercing his chest, then lost all consciousness.
His last regret before dying was: even after all the reports from the organization, why had he still underestimated that child?
Sora flung the corpse aside and calmly wiped the blood from his hand.
"The boss… the boss got one-shot!"
"H-how is that possible?! He was a jōnin! That was just a kid!"
Though it felt surreal, a few of them had enough sense to panic.
Seeing the boss die instantly, the rest began inching toward the exit.
When Sora turned his eyes toward them, they knew they'd been spotted. Panic erupted.
"Run! We're no match for him!"
Clatter!
The rest snapped to attention and bolted for the exit, trampling over one another.
"Outta the way or I'll kill you!"
"Let me through!"
"Die! Get outta my way!"
Watching the once-arrogant crowd turn into a mess of cowardice at a one-person-wide doorway, Sora sneered.
"This is why I love Konoha… Even someone like Hiruzen Sarutobi would give his life to protect others."
With a sigh, Sora sprang into motion. Body Flicker after Body Flicker, his blade flashed with every movement—each swing claiming another life.
A few tried to fight back, but Sora's near-perfect Body Flicker made him move as fast as Flying Thunder God. They couldn't even see him clearly.
In less than thirty seconds, Sora reappeared. This time, he was the only one left standing.
He collected the dozens of white and blue cards on the ground and turned his gaze to a single purple card.
He picked it up but didn't check it yet. Instead, he walked to the entrance. The stench of blood was overwhelming, and he preferred to be outside before reviewing the spoils.
Placing his hand on the entrance's wooden gate, he muttered, "Four Symbols Seal—Open!"
That's right—he had sealed the entrance when he first arrived, ensuring no one could escape.
If anyone had gotten out, it would've been much harder to chase them down.
"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"
Stepping out, he flung a massive fireball back into the exchange.
Watching the flames engulf the underground facility, he tossed a wanted poster into the inferno.
It was his own bounty—enhanced with the Light-Weight Boulder Technique, giving the paper the heft of a rock.
Satisfied, he sheathed his sword and walked away toward his next target without looking back.
Not long after Sora left, the squad that had been dispatched to intercept him arrived.
They stared at the burning remains of the bounty exchange, their faces turning grim.
Especially that untouched wanted poster lying on the ground—it felt like a slap in the face.
"Search the area—he can't have gotten far!"
With that, dozens of people scattered in all directions.
Unfortunately, Sora had already taken flight.
He wasn't fast, but he left no trace behind.
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