"Target, seven kilometers northeast, valley area. A four man reconnaissance team from Kumogakure, intending to flank and scout our supply route."
Having received the latest intelligence sent by Fujiwara Kenta, Sora's figure transformed into a blurry shadow, swiftly disappearing into the forest outside the camp.
His speed was extremely fast. He moved through the complex woodland as if walking on flat ground.
In less than ten minutes, he had already approached the target area.
Concealing his presence, he hid within the canopy of a large tree and looked down at the valley below.
Four Kumo ninja were carefully advancing. Two scouted ahead, one provided support in the middle, and one covered the rear. A standard reconnaissance formation.
After a simple glance, Sora silently slid down the tree trunk like a hunting leopard.
"Wind Style, Vacuum Bullet!"
Pfft! Pfft!
Two air bullets infused with Dragon Vein chakra, like invisible bullets, precisely shot through the heart and neck of the Kumo ninja walking at the rear. He collapsed limply without even making a sound.
"Enemy attack!"
The three Kumo ninja ahead reacted extremely quickly, instantly forming a back to back defensive formation and scanning their surroundings warily.
But Sora's speed was faster.
The moment they shouted, a chakra covered hand chop was already slashing towards one Kumo ninja's throat.
That Kumo ninja, horrified, hastily raised his kunai to block.
Crack.
The kunai and his palm were both easily shattered. The hand chop's momentum didn't diminish, directly slicing open his windpipe.
Second person killed instantly.
"Lightning Style, Running Current!"
The lead Kumo special jonin reacted swiftly, slapping his hands on the ground. A flash of lightning rapidly spread across the ground towards Sora.
Sora erupted chakra beneath his feet, leaping into the air to avoid the Lightning Style. At the same time, his hands rapidly formed seals.
"Fire Style, Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive, scorching fireball carrying terrifying high temperature crashed down towards the remaining two Kumo ninja.
Boom.
The explosion echoed in the valley, smoke and dust billowing.
When the dust cleared, only two charred corpses remained on the spot.
From initiating the attack to its end, the entire process did not exceed fifteen seconds. A Kumo reconnaissance team consisting of one special jonin and three chunin was completely erased.
Sora, expressionless, checked the area to confirm no survivors or intelligence were left behind. Then, his figure flashed once more, rapidly leaving the scene as if he had never appeared.
...
Similar missions occurred several times over these past few days.
Sora's efficient and ruthless style soon gained notoriety on the Kumo side as well. Ordinary Kumo squads would feel apprehensive upon hearing the name "Konoha's Azure Dragon". It could be said it was completely second only to the name "Yellow Flash".
On the evening of the sixth day, Sora had just eliminated a Kumo squad attempting to infiltrate the rear to sabotage the water supply and returned to his own tent.
He had just sat down to begin meditating when a slight spatial fluctuation came from the shadows in the tent.
Poof.
Chinchilla's figure appeared in the tent.
"Meow. Sora boss, the information you wanted."
Chinchilla spoke human words, pulling out a small slip of paper from its small scroll pouch and pushing it towards Sora with its paw.
Sora picked up the slip of paper, quickly scanning it. A faint smile slowly appeared on his face.
[Yumi, Ayumi. In three days, will follow Konoha's Third Medical Squadron to the rear medical post codenamed "Oasis" behind the Iwagakure front lines for support.]
"Is the information accurate?" Sora confirmed.
"Chinchilla's products are guaranteed top quality."
Chinchilla proudly raised its chin, then extended its paw. "Sora boss, the payment, one thousand ryo, meow."
Sora was already accustomed to this. Chinchilla was an out and out money grubber.
He expressionlessly counted out one thousand ryo in paper notes from his ninja tool pouch and placed them before Chinchilla.
Chinchilla's eyes lit up. It swiftly used its paw to rake the money into its own small scroll pouch, then licked its paw contentedly. "Pleasure doing business. Looking forward to the next time, meow."
After saying this, its figure swayed, merging into the shadows once more and disappearing.
Sora looked at the slip of paper in his hand, his eyes flickering.
...
Three days passed in an instant.
Early that morning, Sora was meditating with his eyes closed in his tent as usual.
Outside the tent, the voice of the intelligence officer, Fujiwara Kenta, sounded. "Green Snake sama, there is no urgent intelligence today. Command has ordered you to stand by."
"Understood." Sora's low voice came from inside the tent.
Fujiwara Kenta had no suspicions. He respectfully saluted and then left.
Inside the tent, the "Sora" sitting cross legged slowly opened his eyes. His gaze seemed somewhat dull, but his chakra aura was exactly the same as the original's.
This was precisely a shadow clone Sora had left behind, filled with sufficient chakra to cope with short term scrutiny.
Sora's original body had long since taken advantage of the moment when the shadow clone attracted attention to silently slip out of the heavily defended Konoha camp, disappearing into the vast mountains and forests.
The direction he left in was precisely along the route the medical squadron carrying Yumi and Ayumi was about to take.
...
Within the Land of Fire, in a relatively secluded valley, a Konoha medical squadron was taking a brief rest.
The team was not large, mainly composed of medical ninja, a small number of escort ninja, and support personnel responsible for transporting supplies.
Two girls wearing slightly oversized medical ninja uniforms, clearly younger than the rest, Yumi and Ayumi, were leaning against a large rock, nibbling on soldier pills.
A black shadow silently appeared in the shadows behind them.
"Meow."
The soft cat cry startled the two girls. They turned around, saw it was Chinchilla, and relaxed.
Chinchilla flicked its tail, lowering its voice. "Sora asked meow to tell you, he knows. Be at ease."
After saying this, it extended its paw.
Yumi obediently took a few paper notes from her own small ninja tool pouch and placed them on the cat's paw.
"Pleasure doing business, meow."
Chinchilla skillfully put away the money, then its figure swayed and disappeared.
Yumi and Ayumi exchanged a glance. A trace of reassurance and anticipation flashed in their eyes.
Sora oniichan knows. He will definitely make arrangements.
...
Night deepened. Several campfires were lit in the valley. Most people had already fallen asleep, leaving only necessary night watch personnel.
Wearing the Vermilion Bird mask and a large black robe, Sora appeared on a high ground on one side of the valley, looking down at the camp below from his commanding position.
His sensory ability spread out, quickly locking onto Yumi and Ayumi's location. At the same time, he also ascertained the camp's defensive strength.
"Indeed there are Anbu accompanying for protection..." Sora thought to himself.
Medical units were important. Having Anbu escorts was within reason.
But when his senses swept over that Anbu squad, he couldn't help but pause slightly.
That chakra aura... was very familiar.
Sora looked carefully. Although wearing a mask, Sora recognized that figure and that chakra aura at a glance. Night Owl.
His former teammate from his time in the Anbu. He hadn't expected her to have become a squad leader?
Sora's gaze then fell on the shoulder height, over five meters tall, pure white tiger by Night Owl's feet.
'It seems Baihu's presence has increased her strength and status considerably.'
Sora understood the reason instantly. Having this summoning beast with such potential, it was reasonable for Night Owl to serve as a squad leader.
But this sudden complication made him hesitate somewhat.
Night Owl was his friend. Kidnapping these medical ninja right in front of Night Owl's squad would obviously cause some trouble for Night Owl.
But... the opportunity was rare. Yumi and Ayumi must be sent away.
After just a moment of contemplation, Sora's eyes regained their firmness.
"Execute."
He formed hand seals.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique."
Poof. Poof. Poof.
Three shadow clones wearing different dark ninja attire and Iwagakure forehead protectors appeared beside him.
"Create chaos, attract attention, as Iwagakure." Sora's original body ordered.
"Understood."
The three shadow clones nodded, then headed down towards the camp.
Sora's original body, meanwhile, from another direction, using shadows and terrain, quickly moved towards the resting position of Yumi and Ayumi.
At the edge of the camp, Night Owl's squad was responsible for night watch.
An Aburame clan ninja wearing a mask stood quietly under a tree. Countless tiny kikaichu surrounded his body, forming an invisible sensory net.
Suddenly, his body trembled slightly. Through the information transmitted by the insect swarm, he "saw" an extremely subtle, yet dense and powerful chakra rapidly infiltrating from the side rear of the camp, its target directly pointing at the medical ninja rest area.
"Squad leader. There is an enemy infiltrating. One o'clock direction. Very fast. Chakra is very strong."
The Aburame ninja immediately alerted Night Owl.
Almost at the same time as his alert.
"Enemy attack."
A sharp cry and explosions came from the front of the camp.
The three shadow clones disguised as Iwagakure ninja launched a surprise attack from the front.
Various Earth Style ninjutsu mercilessly smashed into the defensive works at the camp's perimeter, instantly causing chaos.