Time flew by.

  More tha months had passed since Sora began Orochimaru's raining pn.

  Now 13 years old, Sora stood on the coastline of the Land of Fire, the salty breeze from the o whipping through his hair. Orochimaru had assigned him a k mission: to eliminate a group of pirates that had nded on the Land of Fire's shores.

  Scattered across the sand around Sora were tless headless corpses—remnants of the pirates who had dared to invade.

  However, what caught Sora's attention was the presence of ninjas among the pirates.

  This was ued. A k mission shouldn't involve enemy shinobi.

  Three individuals were standing a short distance away. Their demeanour and the way they used ninjutsu made it clear—they were not ordinary pirates. These were ninjas from a hidden vilge, likely disguising themselves among the pirates to infiltrate the Land of Fire.

  As Sora observed them, he pieced together the situation. These shinobi had likely been hiding among the pirates, using them as cover to cross the border ued.

  The three enemy ninjas stood tensely, their eyes locked on Sora. Their expressiorayed their unease. In mere moments, the boy in front of them had sughtered every pirate, leaving them the only oanding. If they hadn't stayed oskirts of the group and tried to interfere with Sora from a distahey might have been among the corpses.

  The leader of the three g his rades and muttered, "Retreat."

  Realizing they were no match for the young shinobi, the trio began to back away.

  But Sora smirked, a bloodthirsty gleam in his eyes. "I 't let you run. I'll take you down and collect the credit!"

  Drawing his sword, Sora muttered, "Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderd Fsh!"

  A crag sound of thuore through the air. Sora's body blurred into a streak of lightning, charging toward the closest ninja at incredible speed.

  With a single, precise strike, his bde ected with the enemy. Though he used the back of the bde, the force was devastating. The sound of breaking bone echoed as the ninja screamed in pain and colpsed, their body crumpling to the ground like a broken doll.

  Sora had fractured their spih just the blunt edge of his sword.

  Without pausing, Sora formed a series of hand seals, his movements swift and precise. He took a deep breath, his chest expanding as he prepared to unleash his attack.

  "Fire Release: Dragon Fme Song Teique!"

  Sora exhaled, spitting out four fire dragons that roared toward the sed ninja from all dires—above, below, left, and right.

  The targeted ninja's eyes widened in panic. Quickly f his own seals, he smmed his palms against the ground.

  "Water Release: Water Wall!"

  Chakra surged through his hands and into the earth, and a t wall of water erupted upward in an attempt to shield him from the bzing assault.

  The Water Wall successfully blocked the fire dragons attag from above and below, but it failed to defend against the two ing from the left and right.

  As the fire dragons made tact, they detonated in a violent explosion. The ninja caught i was flung through the air, his body charred from the intense fmes, before crashing lifelessly to the ground.

  Sora turned his gaze to the final ninja, who had already started to flee. The man had gained some distance, but not enough to escape Sora's reach.

  Pointing his tachi at the fleeing enemy, lightning crackled around the bde, r with destructive energy.

  "Thunder Breathing, Fifth Form: Heat Lightning!"

  With a sharp swing, Sora unleashed a high-temperature, lightning-infused ssh that tore through the air like a thunderbolt. The strike moved so quickly that it reached the fleeing ninja in an instant.

  The ninja let out a strangled cry as the attack struck him. His hair stood on end, his body vulsed violently, and white smoke rose from his scorched form. Before the electricity could finish him off, Sora ceased the teique, ensuring the man was incapacitated but alive.

  In mere moments, Sora had ralized all three enemy ninjas, leaving them with no ce to retaliate.

  He gathered the unscious bodies of the three ninjas, ying them together on the ground. Then, f a quick series of hand seals, he pressed his palm to the earth.

  "Summoning Teique!"

  With a burst of smoke, a massive white snake appeared before him. Its cold, slitted eyes fixed on Sora, and it greeted him with a detached tone. "Lord Sora."

  Sestured to the unscious ninjas. "White Snake, swallow them. I hem stored temporarily in your body."

  The white snake's demeanour immediately shifted, being overly enthusiastic. Its long body coiled around Sora, and it spoke with a gushing tone. "Ah, Lord Sora, you're so thoughtful! You know I'm always hungry, and y me food! I love you to death~"

  Sora rolled his eyes at the snake's dramatic ge in attitude. 'Of course, it's all about food for this one,' he thought dryly.

  As the white snake opes mouth to devour the ninjas, Sora interjected sharply, "They're not food. I still hem for something. You eat the other corpses lying around, but not these three."

  The snake froze, its mood instantly s. "What? They're not food? Are you wasting my feelings, Master Sora? These bodies are useless to eat now!"

  Annoyed, Srabbed the snake by its neck. "Stop being so picky. Do it, or I'll summon another snake from Ryūchi Cave. They're full of repts."

  The white snake hissed in irritation but relented. "Fine, fine! 't I even grumble a little? Summoning me and exploiting me like this..."

  Muttering pints us breath, the suro the surrounding corpses of the pirates. One by ohe bodies disappeared into its gaping maw at a speed visible to the naked eye. Sora watched in mild surprise as the snake's stomach showed no signs of swelling, no matter how much it ed.

  When the snake fihe pirates, it returo the three ninjas.

  Sora remi again, "Dohem. Just store them temporarily."

  The snake flicked its tooward him in annoyance. "Master Sora, I have professiohics, you know!"

  Opening its mouth wide, the white snake swallowed the three ninjas one by ohis time, its belly swelled noticeably.

  Curious, Sora asked, "Why didn't your stomach swell earlier when you ate the other corpses?"

  The snake replied nontly, "My gastric juices corrode flesh instantly. Those bodies were digested as soon as they entered my stomach. These three, oher hand, are in a part of my body without gastric juices. Don't worry—they'll remain intact."

  Realizing the logic, Sora nodded. "I see. Alright, I'll summon you ter when I hem."

  With a puff of smoke, the white snake disappeared, returning to Ryūchi Cave.

  After tidying up the battlefield, Sora set off for Konoha.

  Over the past eight months, Orochimaru had sistently assigned Sora k missions, one nearly every month. If not for his Genin rank, Orochimaru might have given him B-rank missions instead.

  These months of releraining and bat had transformed Sora's strength.

  Building on his prior mastery of lightning-based chakra form and Nature Transformation, Sora successfully applied the same principles to fire-based chakra. He had mastered the Uchiha 's Fire Release ninjutsu, fully grasped the Summoning Teique, and even learned several of Orochimaru's secret teiques.

  Moreover, through rigorous training and battles, Sora's Sharingan evolved into the Two Tomoe Sharingan, greatly enhang his visual prowess and bat ability.

  But the most remarkable ge was his chakra reserves. Thanks to his Senju lineage, Sora's chakra had grown signifitly. Now, his chakra capacity rivalled that of Kakashi while using his Sharingan—a level parable to that of a high-level special Jōnin.

  Sora uood this growth was a gift of his heritage. 'The Senju bloodline is incredible. My chakra reserves are growing steadily, and it feels like there's still room for improvement.'

  With his newfound power and fidence, Sora pressed forward, ready for the challehat awaited him in Konoha.

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