The mission was supposed to be simple.
Sora was to deliver a scroll containing chakra-sealing research to an allied healer clan at the border of the Land of Fire. No combat, no detection, and no deviation.
But fate rarely followed instructions.
And monsters never needed permission to appear.
---
The Whisper of Steel
The mist rolled in unnaturally.
Thick, cold, laced with intent.
Sora paused on the narrow cliff pass just west of the Valley of Mistfire. His senses flared. Chakra—malicious, sharp—pressed from every side.
Not bandits.
Not ANBU.
Something else.
A kunai sliced through the fog like a shadow's tongue. Sora deflected it with a single movement, eyes narrowing. He crouched instinctively, licking the inside of his cheek.
The chakra tastes like… poison and lightning.
Another whisper of wind. Then—
Boom.
A flash of light, and the cliff exploded beneath him.
---
The Rogue Revealed
He landed in the forest below, knees bent, hands splayed. Leaves scattered around him like blades. Above, a figure descended slowly through the mist—tall, cloaked in brown-gray rags, a katana held backward in one hand, and glowing lines of cursed chakra weaving through the other.
His chakra signature pulsed wildly—like a sealed beast trying to escape its own skin.
"Name?" Sora asked flatly, standing.
The man grinned.
"Call me Mukai."
A pause.
"Kiri-nin. Rogue. B-rank on paper. But don't worry, I'm more fun than that."
Sora's brow twitched.
"So you're not here for the weather."
"No." Mukai's grin widened. "I'm here to cut open the Devourer and see what leaks out."
---
Clash – Fire vs Lightning
Mukai struck first.
Lightning burst from his feet, launching him forward in a flash-step dash that cracked the earth. His katana shimmered, curved with a jagged serration—a blade designed to wound, not kill quickly.
Sora met him head-on, exhaling chakra like steam.
Fire Release: Ember Pulse.
A burst of superheated air engulfed Mukai mid-strike, forcing him back, sizzling his skin—but not stopping him. Mukai spun in midair, flung his sword, then reappeared behind it using a forbidden flicker jutsu.
The blade wasn't the threat.
He was.
He clapped his hands together.
Raiton: Venom Lattice Jutsu!
Sora twisted, chakra spinning around his palm as he formed a wall of flame in a perfect circle.
Devouring Flame Shield.
The lattice struck it—and vanished, absorbed.
Mukai's smirk faltered.
"Oh," he said. "So you really can eat jutsu."
Sora stood still.
"I'm just getting hungry."
---
The Hunger Awakens
The hunger hit like a pulse from the earth.
Something in Sora's core twitched, responding to the chakra it had just consumed. The Raiton technique didn't just vanish—it melted into him. His arms crackled. The taste of electricity tingled across his tongue.
Lightning…
Belongs to me now.
With a snap of his fingers, Sora rechanneled the stolen chakra.
Unstable Lightning Release: Devourer's Lash.
From his fingertips, a black bolt of lightning laced with red fire tore through the trees and shattered Mukai's shoulder armor. The rogue ninja howled in shock.
"You used my jutsu against me?!"
"No," Sora said coolly. "I improved it."
---
Mukai's Secret Weapon
Bleeding, furious, Mukai drew a final blade—a short tanto etched with symbols of old Kaguya worship. His grin twisted into something unhinged.
"You're not the only one who eats chakra," he growled.
Then stabbed the blade into his own chest.
His chakra spiked.
Black tendrils erupted from his back. His eyes went white. A secondary heartbeat began to echo in his chest—a forbidden transformation seal activating.
Sora flinched.
That seal wasn't standard.
That seal was Ōtsutsuki-based.
---
The Devourer Unleashed
Sora stopped holding back.
He inhaled deeply—chakra swirling into his gut like a black hole. His body shimmered with marks that hadn't appeared before—red spirals across his ribs and neck, pulsing with void-colored fire.
Ayame's warning echoed in his mind:
> "Once you tap that hunger… don't lose yourself to it."
Too late.
He opened his mouth, and devoured the surrounding space. The trees bent toward him. Mukai's transformation chakra destabilized instantly.
Sora's right hand ignited.
Fire-Lightning Release: Crimson Void Talon!
He appeared in front of Mukai in a blur—faster than lightning.
And tore through the rogue ninja's chest with one burning strike.
The scream was short.
The body hit the ground. Twitched once.
Then stilled.
---
Aftermath – And a Whisper
Sora stood above the corpse, panting, sweat dripping down his face. The seal marks receded slowly, painfully, dragging his hunger back into its cage.
He felt a faint chakra flare behind him.
Ren.
She stood near a tree, watching.
"You lost yourself for a moment," she said softly.
Sora didn't answer.
She stepped closer, eyes unreadable.
"How did it feel?"
He looked at his hand. The ash still lingered on his fingers.
"Like I was eating the world," he said.
Ren tilted her head.
"And did it taste like victory?"
"…No," Sora whispered. "It tasted like more."