At night, within the mountain forests of the Land of Grass, a petite, dark figure was swiftly moving through the trees.
Sora maintained even breathing, moving at extremely high speed, but each landing produced only the faintest sound, like a real Green Snake slithering through the forest.
'It is already the early morning of the second day. Time is still relatively ample.'
Nearly over twenty hours had passed since leaving Konoha. Sora estimated his own speed and the remaining distance.
At this speed, reaching the designated rendezvous point for the mission would take at most another ten hours, far less than the forty-eight hour time limit specified in the mission.
'However, carrying out a B-rank mission alone, especially a sensitive job like meeting a spy, feels somewhat off...'
As he traveled, Sora repeatedly pondered the details of this mission in his mind.
Even if the Anbu were short-handed, they wouldn't send a seven-year-old rookie to carry out a cross-border mission alone.
Moreover, it involved meeting a spy carrying important intelligence. Such missions normally required at least a two-person team, one to make contact and another to provide cover and backup.
'Is this the Third's test for me? Or... Danzo?'
Sora had considered before that after attaching himself to Sarutobi Hiruzen, he would be safe within the village, but outside the village was a different story. After all, Hiruzen was not the police of the Pacific, his reach was not that wide.
'If this is Danzo's scheme, then this so called "Dandelion" is probably also a Root member...'
But simply abandoning the mission based on Sora's conjecture was obviously impossible. Having no other choice, Sora could only become even more vigilant.
He then deliberately controlled his speed, not only to conserve energy for unexpected situations, but also to leave himself enough time for observation and thought.
...
The taste of soldier pills was really nothing to praise. They were dry, rough, carrying an indescribable bitter herbal medicine flavor, chewing felt like eating sand, and they scratched the throat when swallowed.
But it must be said, these things really staved off hunger. One small pill could provide the energy needed for several hours of high-intensity activity.
'No wonder ninjas treat these things as meals. The efficiency is truly high. It's just the taste... tsk, not even as good as the compressed biscuits and pre-made meals from my past life.'
After simply replenishing energy, Sora set off again.
The closer he got to the mission location, the more careful he became, not only expanding his perception to the maximum, but also frequently widening his eyes to observe his surroundings.
Unfortunately, although the Azure Dragon Fruit greatly enhanced Sora's night vision, during the day it was only slightly better than an ordinary person's.
'The vision enhancement from the Azure Dragon Fruit is still too weak. If only I had insight like the Byakugan or the Sharingan...'
Sora shook his head, dispelling unrealistic fantasies, and focused on traveling.
...
At noon, Sora finally reached the rendezvous area marked on the mission scroll, a remote valley located on the border of the Land of Grass.
'A valley? The rendezvous point is actually chosen in a place like this?'
Sora abruptly stopped, quickly hiding in the dense canopy of a tree, his gaze fixed tightly on the valley ahead, carefully observing the surrounding movements.
Common sense dictated that rendezvous missions were mostly chosen in crowded places within towns, places that were concealed and not easily suspicious.
But this time, it was chosen in such a desolate valley. A feeling of something being off inexplicably arose in Sora's heart.
The valley before him had steep slopes on both sides, dense vegetation, with only a narrow path leading deep inside. The terrain was easy to defend and hard to attack, but also easy to be ambushed.
'This terrain... is too suitable for silencing someone.'
Sora's internal alarm bells rang loudly.
He did not rashly enter, but instead carefully scouted several circles around the valley's periphery, observing the situation inside from different angles.
Within his line of sight, he found no obvious signs of an ambush, nor did he sense any abnormal chakra fluctuations.
'Either it is truly safe, or... the other party's counter-reconnaissance ability is extremely strong, or they are hidden extremely well.'
Sora leaned towards the latter.
After repeatedly confirming no obvious danger, Sora then slipped into the valley silently like a ghost.
According to the mission instructions, he needed to make contact with "Dandelion" under a certain Eagle-Beak Rock deep within the valley.
The valley was very quiet. Sora suppressed his own presence to the extreme, like a real Green Snake, slowly moving forward using the shadows of rocks and bushes.
Before long, Sora saw that protruding Eagle-Beak Rock.
Beneath the rock formed a small shaded area. A vague, blurry human figure could faintly be seen curled up there, almost blending into the surrounding environment.
'Found it.'
Sora did not immediately approach, but once again carefully observed the surroundings, especially those locations suitable for an ambush.
After confirming it was safe, he then slowly walked out from the shadows.
He appeared casual, but in reality was prepared to activate the Eight Gates at any moment.
"The windmill has turned." Sora lowered his voice and spoke the rendezvous code.
The figure in the shadows moved slightly. A hoarse, low voice responded, "...Only towards the Land of Fire."
The code matched.
That person slowly stood up from the shadows and walked out.
When Sora clearly saw the other's appearance, his brow furrowed slightly beneath the mask.
This was a man who looked around thirty years old, tall and thin, wearing a set of worn, gray traveling clothes, over which was draped a cloak covered in dust.
His complexion was a kind of pale from long-term lack of sunlight. His lips were thin and very pale in color, his nose bridge high and straight.
But his eyes made Sora feel very uncomfortable. They held a cold-blooded, indifferent apathy. The color of his pupils was very light, almost gray-white. When he looked at someone, there was almost no emotion, only a sense of scrutiny and appraisal.
What concerned Sora the most was the faint, cold aura emanating from this person. It wasn't the oppressive feeling from chakra, but a deeper, more fundamental chill, as if he held no reverence for life at all.
'This kind of presence...'
Sora's internal vigilance was maxed out, but he still maintained a businesslike tone and asked, "Codename Dandelion?"
"That's me. You are the contact?"
"Anbu, Green Snake." Sora pointed to his own mask. "The intelligence?"
Dandelion did not immediately produce the intelligence, but instead used those gray-white eyes to look Sora up and down, pausing particularly on his short stature and the Green Snake mask on his face, as if confirming it was really him.
"Only you alone?"
"The mission instructions specified only one person." Sora answered calmly. "The intelligence."
Dandelion seemed to hesitate for a moment, but still carefully took out a small metal tube, about the thickness of a finger, from his chest.
"Important intelligence, regarding Iwagakure's troop movements in the Land of Grass."
At the very moment of handing over the metal tube, Sora keenly noticed his fingers tremble slightly. An extremely subtle chakra fluctuation emanated from Dandelion.
There was a trick after all!
Sora's internal alarm bells rang loudly. The instant he took the tube, he violently retreated backward.
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