Upon returning to Konoha, Sora and the others were met with cheers lining the streets—throngs of villagers crowded on either side.
The civilians looked on with pride—these were their Konoha shinobi. The shinobi themselves gazed at them in awe, as if looking upon gods.
Unknowingly, the loyalty of the shinobi to Konoha deepened. They grew to love this version of the village even more.
If one of their own was wronged, there would always be someone to stand up for them—even if it meant going to war with another village.
Minato hadn't anticipated this at all. It was an unexpected but delightful surprise.
Once everything was settled, Orochimaru immediately disappeared into his lab, while Jiraiya's eyes went bloodshot just looking at the bathhouse.
The two clan heads rushed back to their clans without delay, leaving only Sora with nothing urgent to do. Leisurely, he strolled to Ichiraku Ramen.
"Teuchi-ossan, one miso ramen, extra toppings!"
"You got it! Coming right up!"
After placing his order, Sora glanced around the shop but didn't see Ayame, so he didn't dwell on it.
What he didn't expect was to turn around and see two little troublemakers—Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi.
Sora may not have been that old himself, but thanks to his bodily enhancements, he was as tall as Kakashi.
"What do you want?" he asked, watching the two inch their way toward him like turtles, bowls clutched in their hands. Two thick lines of exasperation practically formed on his forehead.
Who would've thought that the future stoic Itachi would be such a goofball? Though to be fair, the kid was one of Sora's biggest fanboys.
"Ahem," both boys choked on their ramen from the tension. Once they recovered, they said, "Sora-senpai, last time you said in a few days…"
"Oh!" Sora finally got it. These two little rascals were getting impatient. He responded, "I've already discussed this with your father. We'll handle it together. If you want details, go ask him."
Looking at Itachi's adorably clueless expression, the prankster inside Sora could no longer be contained.
He gave Itachi a good ol' head pat and said, "My foolish little brother… just leave it all to us!"
"Man, I've always wanted to try that line!" At that moment, Sora felt his inner chūnibyō had finally been satisfied.
But the next wave was pure second-hand embarrassment—he wanted to crawl into a hole.
He slurped down his ramen in a few bites, tossed some cash on the counter, and made a quick exit.
Once he was far from Ichiraku, he finally let out a breath. "That was too much… but damn, it felt great! I bet every Naruto fan wants to do that at least once."
Still caught up in the moment, bam!—someone suddenly crashed into him.
"Ah!"
Sora, sturdy as a rock, didn't budge an inch. The one who hit him, though, went sprawling to the ground.
Looking down, he saw silky black hair, crimson eyes, rosy lips, and a developing figure—it could only be Kurenai Yūhi.
"Are you okay? I spaced out. I'm really sorry." Sora gently helped her up, genuinely apologetic… but he didn't let go of her hand.
He couldn't. Nearby, her father Yūhi Shinku was glaring at him like a man ready to kill.
Especially after Sora grabbed Kurenai's delicate hand—that glare turned murderous.
"You think I didn't see you do that on purpose? That tiny smirk you tried to hide?"
Just as Shinku was about to snap, Sora quickly let go of Kurenai's hand and casually greeted him like nothing happened.
Their relationship had always been good, and ever since the Nine-Tails incident, it had only gotten closer.
That's the only reason Shinku had let Kurenai bump into Sora without intervening.
After wrapping up their chat, Sora dropped by Minato's place to sit with Kushina for a bit and play with little Naruto. Only then did he finally head home.
By the time he arrived, the sun had already set. Only the last rays of golden light lingered.
The warm glow spread across the land, rippling over the surface of the lake near his home in tranquil waves—it was a scene that could calm even the most restless heart.
Sora felt his own irritation fade.
But just as he opened the door, something unexpected happened.
Boom! A loud splash erupted as a figure shot out of the lake, instantly appearing behind Sora.
"Substitution Jutsu!"
As the attacker reached for him, Sora burst into a puff of smoke, replaced by a log.
After crushing the wooden stand-in, the figure slowly turned around—Sora, standing calmly by the lakeside, finally saw who it was.
He hadn't met this person since transmigrating, but he recognized him from the original story: it was none other than Shinno.
Once he knew who it was, Sora immediately understood the motive. This guy had his eyes on Sora's kekkei genkai.
But what baffled Sora was—was Shinno seriously unaware of his power? Where did he get the courage to target him?
"Impressive strength. That makes you the perfect vessel for me!" Shinno sneered, speaking before Sora could ask.
His twisted demeanor made Sora sick to his stomach.
But Shinno didn't care in the slightest. "I've been hiding in this lake for days, and it was worth every second. Once I have you, it'll all be worth it!"
Shinno's self-created Forbidden Jutsu—Chimera Technique—allowed him to steal other people's bloodline abilities. His eyes burned with greed and madness as he looked at Sora.
But unknowingly, he answered Sora's question: he'd been hiding underwater this whole time and had missed the latest developments. No wonder he thought attacking Sora was a good idea.
"Foolish and fearless, huh? Now that I have my answer—it's time to send you off!"
Even Sora was pissed after being ambushed like this.
"Earth Style – Swamp of the Underworld!"
"Chidori!"
"Body Flicker!"
In a flash, Sora cast three jutsu in a chain, locking Shinno down before tearing past him.
Behind him, Shinno's body had already begun losing its life force.
"H-how could you be this strong…"
Thud!
With a final gasp, Shinno collapsed, dead on the spot.
Even in death, his wide eyes reflected utter shock. He never imagined a kid could be this powerful.
Even the so-called God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, probably wasn't this strong at the same age.
That speed—few below Kage-level could've even reacted.
But those thoughts vanished as the last light faded from his eyes.
After his death, a glowing red card appeared nearby. Sora grabbed it without hesitation.
[Red Card: Secret Technique – Chimera Technique. Fuse it?]
"Trash. Discard it."
Sora crushed the card without a second thought.
Why use your shady jutsu to steal bloodline traits when I've got the system? Who needs your third-rate hack job?
It overlapped with the system's function but was less efficient, more dangerous, and full of side effects. Sora wasn't dumb—he had no use for that kind of garbage.
"But this body… I can't hand it over to the Hokage."
"Fire Style – Fireball Jutsu!"
Muttering to himself, Sora incinerated Shinno's corpse, leaving no trace behind.
If he handed it over, the higher-ups would definitely extract the Chimera Technique. What might be junk to Sora could be a treasure to others.
If someone gave in to temptation, Konoha would face all kinds of trouble.
And even if most people could resist—there was still Danzo.
With his stockpile of Sharingan and Hashirama cells, Danzo would never let a forbidden jutsu like that go.
Sora wasn't in the habit of supplying his enemies. Better to destroy it completely.
After washing the area clean with Water Style, Sora finally went inside to rest.
Because the area was far from the village, and Shinno had kept his approach subtle, no one noticed anything unusual.
Just like that, Shinno vanished from the ninja world—without causing even the slightest ripple.
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