Land of Lightning coastline.
A figure landed on the soil of the Land of Lightning as silently as a ghost. It was Sora, who had come from the Land of Whirlpools.
He wore ordinary clothes, disguised as a wandering ninja.
His entire aura was withdrawn, almost merging with the surrounding environment.
His powerful sensory ability quickly swept the surroundings. After confirming there were no issues, Sora quickly headed towards the interior of the Land of Lightning.
However, what Sora, now moving away, did not notice was that inside a seemingly ordinary rock on the coast, the core of an extremely concealed device emitted a faint, subtle light.
A special fluctuation, faster than sensory perception, instantly transmitted towards the direction of Kumogakure.
…
Five days later, inside a small town tavern located beside a major transportation route in the interior of the Land of Lightning.
Sora sat in the shadows of the farthest corner, a cup of sake in front of him, organizing the intelligence he had collected over the past few days.
He had disguised himself as a wandering ninja, mingling in places with the fastest information flow like local taverns and black markets, investigating intelligence on Kumogakure.
'The situation is similar to that in the Land of Earth. Kumo's main forces are indeed concentrated at the front lines.'
'Compared to the early stages of the war, the village's internal defense feels noticeably weaker. It seems facing two major ninja villages, Konoha and Iwa, simultaneously puts immense pressure even on Kumo, known for its militant stance.'
Sora silently analyzed in his heart.
This intelligence roughly matched his previous assessments and the information he had obtained from Konoha.
By this point in the Third Great Ninja War, all major ninja villages were showing signs of exhaustion. The consumption of resources and ninja casualties were immense.
While Konoha's situation was difficult, Kumo and Iwa were not faring well either.
'However, Kumo's 'Thunder Blast' unit seems to have been reorganized and replenished. They have become active again on the northeastern front recently. Should I focus on this?'
Sora noted this piece of information.
The intelligence he had gathered so far was sufficient for him to report back, but after thinking, he decided not to return immediately.
Since he was here, he shouldn't leave empty handed.
He planned to visit a nearby bounty exchange, take on some missions, or see if there were any worthwhile 'side jobs'.
Having decided, Sora placed the money for the sake on the table, got up, and left the tavern.
...
'Hmm?'
Just as Sora stepped out of the tavern door, before merging into the street crowd, his steps paused slightly.
Within his sensory range, six miles away, five fairly strong chakra signatures were rushing at an extremely high speed towards the direction of this very town!
Among these five signatures, the weakest was at the level of a Jonin. The leading signature was deep, heavy, and carried a scorching, viscous feeling. It was definitely a master at the Elite Jonin level!
'Kumo patrol? Or a team returning from a mission?'
Several thoughts flashed through Sora's mind instantly, but he did not believe these people were targeting him.
His infiltration had been very careful, leaving no traces. He had only just arrived in this town and had been sitting in the tavern for less than half an hour.
Logically, his tracks couldn't have been exposed this quickly.
'Probably a coincidence. They are just passing through.'
Although he felt they weren't after him, Sora, being cautious by nature, would never entrust his safety to 'coincidence'.
He immediately changed his original plan to go directly to the bounty exchange. Turning, he quickly moved towards the other exit of the town.
Simultaneously, his senses firmly locked onto those five chakra signatures.
In his perception, as the five signatures approached to about three miles from the town, their speed did not decrease at all, nor did they change direction. They continued charging straight towards the town.
'It seems they really aren't after me.'
Sora relaxed slightly, but his footsteps did not stop.
Avoiding trouble was better than seeking it. Avoiding these Kumo nin was always good.
His speed was extremely fast. In a few leaps, he had crossed most of the town and reached the exit on the other side.
Sensing again from this distance, the five signatures had already entered the town and seemed to have stopped near the tavern he had just left.
'Just passing through, as expected.'
Sora paid no more attention. Picking up speed, he soon disappeared into the mountains and forests outside the town, heading towards the location of a nearby bounty exchange.
…
However, roughly the time it takes to burn an incense stick after Sora left the town, his expression darkened again.
In his perception, those five chakra signatures, which had originally stopped near the town tavern, had re entered his sensory range!
'What's going on?'
Alarm bells rang loudly in Sora's heart.
Once was a coincidence. Twice... that was definitely not a simple coincidence!
He immediately changed direction again, pushing his speed to the extreme. His figure turned into a wisp of smoke in the dense forest, speeding in a direction completely different from the bounty exchange.
'Was there a problem with that tavern? Or was some tracking mark left on me?'
While moving at high speed, Sora rapidly considered possible reasons for his exposure.
He carefully recalled every detail after entering the town, including people he contacted, things he touched, even the air he breathed.
With his sensory abilities and vigilance, if someone had placed a tracking mark on him, he wouldn't have failed to notice.
The tavern was also just an ordinary tavern. The owner and staff were ordinary people without chakra reactions.
'Weird!'
The sense of foreboding in Sora's heart grew stronger and stronger.
He tried to use the complex terrain and high speed changes in direction to shake off the pursuers behind him.
But no matter how he changed direction, those five signatures could always quickly readjust and latch onto him again!
The other side clearly possessed some method to pinpoint his location accurately!
Just as Sora was considering countermeasures, a new change suddenly occurred at the edge of his perception, at the extreme limit of six miles!
To his left front, right front, and slightly to the right of his direct rear, five new chakra signatures appeared almost simultaneously!
The appearance of these five signatures, together with the five behind him, vaguely formed an encirclement. It was like a rapidly tightening net, aiming to capture him in one fell swoop!
What made Sora's heart shudder even more was that among these newly appeared five signatures, one was extremely special and powerful!
That signature was full of wildness, brutality, and a chakra volume that seemed bottomless! It felt like a lurking primordial beast. Merely sensing it made one's heart palpitate!
And it also carried a peculiar sense of stability and harmony!
'This chakra feeling... vast, evil, full of the unique pressure of a tailed beast... Is it the Two Tails? Or the Eight Tails?!'
Sora's expression instantly became extremely grave. After quick consideration, he concluded it was the 'Eight Tails'. After all, the current Two Tails jinchuriki, Yumiko, was only about seven years old and obviously couldn't be a perfect jinchuriki.
A perfect jinchuriki, able to fully control the power of the Eight Tails 'Gyuki', possessed strength far surpassing ordinary Kage level!
The other four signatures were also not weak at all, at least at Jonin level!
Adding the one Elite Jonin and four Jonin closely pursuing from behind...
To deal with him, while fighting on two fronts, Kumo had dispatched at least ten elite ninjas at Jonin level or above, even including a strategic weapon like the Eight Tails jinchuriki!
This lineup was more than enough to surround and kill a Kage level expert!
"Damn it, so I just killed your Kumo's Toroi and Black Crow? Was it necessary to target me like this?"
Having traversed the ninja world for many years, this was the first time Sora swore out loud.
At this point, he was completely certain he had fallen into a trap meticulously set by Kumo.
Not only did the other side know about his infiltration, they also possessed some means to accurately lock onto his location, ignoring terrain and distance!
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