Bang.
After skillfully sealing the corpse of an unlucky rogue ninja into a scroll, Sora took out another mission intelligence report.
His gaze swept over the location marked on the intelligence, and his brow furrowed slightly.
'So close to Kirigakure? That's a bit troubleso.'
After all, Kirigakure was one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. Even after the war with the Land of Wind and the loss of the Seven Ninja Swordsn, a starved cal was still bigger than a horse. The defenses of its core area were bound to remain stringent.
But the bounty for this mission was truly tempting. The target was a forr Anbu squad captain who had defected while carrying an important jutsu scroll from Kirigakure, with a bounty as high as thirty million ryo.
Furthermore, the intelligence indicated this person was extrely skilled at concealnt and was hiding in a covert stronghold on the outskirts of Kirigakure, attempting to evade pursuit by leveraging the psychology of hiding in plain sight.
'Risk and reward go hand in hand...'
'Kirigakure's strength is greatly diminished now, and internally things seem unstable as well. Perhaps this is a good opportunity for infiltration and reconnaissance.'
Sora weighed the options.
He recalled the scattered rumors he had heard from the exchange posts before, as well as so vague records from the original work about Kirigakure during this period.
'Alright! It's a good chance to see what state Kirigakure is really in right now.'
...
Several days later, deep within the Land of Water.
Sora gazed into the distance at the village outline shrouded in mist. He could clearly sense the still existing stringent aura.
Even after suffering defeat and the loss of elites, the foundation of a Great Shinobi Village should not be underestimated.
Sora stopped at a place about ten ri (approx. 24.5 miles) away from Kirigakure, suppressing his own presence to the extre, and then fully activated his own special sensory ability.
One ri, two ri, three ri...
When his perception extended to over eight ri, touching the outskirts of Kirigakure, an invisible barrier blocked any further penetration of his perception.
"The barrier is indeed still active, and its strength is not weak."
Sora thought to himself.
The scale and completeness of this barrier clearly could not have been set up in a short ti. It was likely Kirigakure's basic defensive barrier that had been maintained all along, strengthened during warti.
Forcing his way through was definitely not an option. It would trigger an alarm instantly.
Sora pondered for a mont, then carefully moved around the outskirts of Kirigakure while his perception carefully scanned for variations in the barrier.
After spending nearly half a day, he finally stopped at a relatively remote edge of the barrier.
The flow of barrier energy here was slightly sluggish compared to other places.
"This is the spot."
Sora took a deep breath, condensing precise chakra at his fingertips.
"Reverse analysis of the Four Symbols Seal, combined with the basic principles of barrier jutsu... let's try."
He cautiously extended his chakra toward the barrier, attempting to open a temporary passage without alerting the entire system.
On the first attempt, the chakra fluctuation was a bit too intense. The surface of the barrier rippled slightly. Fortunately, it did not trigger an alarm.
"No good. Conventional cracking using sealing jutsu still causes too much disturbance."
Sora frowned.
Kirigakure's barrier jutsu had its own unique aspects. It was not so easy to break through silently.
He pondered for a mont, then ford hand seals again.
This ti, what he mobilized was no longer ordinary chakra, but the Dragon Vein chakra within his body, infused with pure natural energy.
A gentle yet vast energy flowed out slowly, carrying the natural resonance of blending with heaven and earth.
Sora carefully controlled this power, combining it with his knowledge of sealing jutsu, and extended it toward the barrier node once more.
This ti, the effect was completely different.
The natural energy seed to possess a peculiar affinity with the barrier's own energy, silently rging into its energy flow.
Sora focused, guiding the natural energy, slowly "prying open" a small door in the barrier wall.
"Success!"
A surge of joy rose in Sora's heart. Not daring to delay, he quickly passed through the temporary passage.
The mont he passed through, the natural energy behind him quietly dissipated. The barrier returned to its original state as if nothing had happened.
...
Inside Kirigakure.
Sora perford the Transformation Jutsu, changing into an ordinary looking civilian boy dressed in simple gray clothes and pants.
His appearance was now five or six parts similar to his original look, still sowhat handso, but not eye catching in a crowd.
He suppressed all chakra fluctuations, just like a real civilian, and blended into the streets.
There were not many people on the streets, and most were walking hurriedly, their faces carrying numbness and vigilance.
Occasionally, squads of ninja wearing Kirigakure forehead protectors could be seen patrolling past, their eyes sharply scanning the surroundings.
As Sora had thought, the number of ninja was indeed not large, and they were mostly Chunin and Genin. The auras of Jonin level were few.
The policies of the Bloody Mist were already beginning to show their cruel impact. The entire village was perated with an uneasy atmosphere.
...
Sora walked as if casually, but in reality took in everything around him.
"It seems Yagura's push for reforms is eting considerable resistance."
Sora recalled the fragntary news he had heard on the way.
The current Third Mizukage was still in power, but Anbu Captain Yagura was already actively pushing for reforms, trying to change the Bloody Mist policies and ease internal conflicts.
"In the original work, Yagura succeeded after the Third Mizukage died, to make up for the war losses."
"Now that the Third Mizukage isn't dead, he's starting all this. Isn't this clearly challenging the Mizukage's authority?"
"And there's that Elder Gengetsu, with his transcendent status and ambiguous attitude... Right now, Kirigakure's internal struggles must be intense."
Sora analyzed in his mind, but this had nothing to do with him. He just wanted to co in and look around, incidentally testing Kirigakure's barrier.
After walking for a while, Sora casually entered a fairly clean restaurant.
The restaurant was not crowded, with only two or three tables of custors, all eating in silence.
Sora found a corner seat by the window and casually ordered a bowl of ran and a cup of green tea.
He ate slowly while thinking about how to find the hideout of that defected Anbu squad captain.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Footsteps sounded from outside, and a figure walked in.
Sora glanced instinctively, and his heart suddenly tightened.
The person who entered was a girl, looking to be about the sa age as him, around fourteen or fifteen years old.
She wore blue ninja casual wear, with Kirigakure's common green flak jacket over it. Her figure was already quite well developed.
Especially the size of her chest, almost catching up to the Tsunade of his mories. Paired with that delicate face that still carried so youthful innocence but already showed traces of allure, she was especially eye catching.
It was i Terumi.
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