After glancing towards Kikyōyama, Sora made a decision immediately.
Although there were also Root squads near Kikyōyama, it was simply too close to Konoha village. If he took action there, he would easily get entangled by follow up support forces. The risk was too high, so it could only serve as a backup option.
The valley base on the border of the Land of Bears, however, was located in a remote, sparsely populated area, making it a much more ideal target.
This is the place.
A cold glint flashed in Sora's eyes. His figure instantly vanished from where he stood, transforming into a blurry afterimage as he raced at high speed towards the valley coordinates transmitted by his shadow clone.
...
While traveling, Sora quickly analyzed the detailed memories transmitted by his shadow clone in his mind.
The three Root ninja were heading in a clear direction, targeting that valley. Moreover, judging from their slightly hurried pace, they seemed to be carrying out some sort of urgent mission.
'Whatever your mission is, today, you stay here.'
Traveling at full speed, Sora reached the remote mountain range located at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Bears in less than half a day.
Based on the direction in his memory, he quickly found the hidden valley entrance covered by dense vegetation.
Infiltrating the valley, Sora reunited with his waiting shadow clone in a concealed rock crevice.
"What is the situation?" Sora asked quietly.
"The targets disappeared after entering the depths of the valley. I suspect the entrance is near that cliff face. To avoid alerting the enemy, I did not approach for reconnaissance."
The shadow clone answered calmly, then actively dispelled itself.
Poof.
A puff of white smoke appeared, and more detailed memories and information flooded into Sora's mind.
This included the precise location where the three Root ninja vanished, as well as that faint, almost imperceptible trace of cold chakra aura belonging to Root lingering in the air.
'So it is here.'
Sora's gaze sharpened, looking towards the seemingly ordinary cliff face deep in the valley.
He then fully activated his unique sensory ability, carefully scanning that area.
Soon, he discovered a concealed entrance at a certain point on the cliff face. Several layers of ingenious camouflage and trigger type barriers were deployed at the entrance.
The technique of these barriers was identical to those he sensed at the Root bases in the Forest of Death and downstream of the Naka River, just on a much smaller scale.
'Found it.'
The corner of Sora's mouth lifted slightly. He moved, appearing before that cliff face in an instant.
Extending his fingers covered with a faint layer of chakra, he lightly pressed on several inconspicuous rock protrusions in a specific sequence, then quickly performed a few hand seals.
Hum.
The cliff face shimmered briefly, like a water ripple, then revealed a dark hole just large enough for one person to pass through. A stream of cold air mixed with the smells of disinfectant and faint blood wafted out from within.
Without hesitation, Sora flashed inside.
Inside the hole was a narrow, downward sloping passage, and it was very dark, but this posed no issue for him.
Sora focused his senses to the extreme, meticulously probing every inch of space ahead and underfoot.
Sure enough, the passage was filled with various trigger type alarm barriers and traps. Some were chakra threads, some were pressure mechanisms, and others were optical sensors.
An intruder unaware of these would likely trigger an alarm within ten steps.
But for Sora, who already knew the base structure well from his shadow clone's memories and possessed both superior sensory abilities and knowledge of sealing techniques, these were as good as nonexistent.
As if taking a leisurely stroll, he triggered no mechanisms, silently infiltrating deep into this base.
As he progressed further, his senses completely ascertained the true state of this underground base.
'Ten people. Two standard squad configurations, plus two whose chakra reactions are slightly different, probably the base person in charge or researchers.'
Sora counted silently in his mind.
The chakra levels of these ten people were generally between Chunin and Special Jonin. The chakra of the two person in charge was at Jonin level.
For the current Sora, they barely qualified as opponents.
The key was to finish the fight quickly, not letting them send out a distress signal.
His senses swept over several rooms in the base. He noticed that one of the larger rooms contained some strange glass containers and instruments. Inside, oddly shaped pieces of tissue were soaking, some containers even pulsating slightly.
'Cloning experiments? That Danzo, as expected, is also involved in this forbidden research.'
Sora remembered Danzo's arm grafted with Sharingan and Yamato, the Wood Style test subject, from the original story. His disgust for Danzo, already above 100, increased by a few more points.
After confirming there were no other hidden enemies or surveillance methods nearby, Sora took a deep breath. The power of chakra within him and the Azure Dragon Fruit surged simultaneously.
He did not choose the attention drawing form of full Beastification, but instead entered the more convenient for narrow space combat Half Beast form.
Fine azure dragon scales instantly covered his cheeks, neck, and the outer sides of his arms. His pupils transformed into cold, azure gold vertical slits. The tips of his fingers slightly extended sharp claws.
Strength and speed instantly skyrocketed.
"Let's begin."
Sora silently recited in his mind. His figure vanished from its spot like a ghost.
The first target was a hidden sentry located at a corner of the passage.
The Root ninja wearing a cat mask was dutifully keeping watch. Suddenly, he felt a slight breeze. Before he could react, a palm covered with azure scales had silently pressed against the back of his neck.
Crack.
A slight, crisp sound. The sentry's body went limp, collapsing unconscious to the ground.
Sora's movements did not stop. Like a reaper in the dark night, relying on his extraordinary speed and senses, he swiftly moved through the outer areas of the base.
Second, third, fourth.
He specifically targeted those who were alone or in blind spots.
Either precise hand chops striking nerve centers, or using Dragon's Aura for brief mental intimidation followed by a single decisive strike.
The entire process was fast as lightning and completely silent. Five Root ninja responsible for outer perimeter guard duty and patrols were knocked unconscious without any ability to resist within a mere minute, lying on the ground like harvested wheat.
Sora's strikes were extremely measured, only causing temporary loss of consciousness, not taking their lives. After all, these were precious "experimental materials."
However, just as Sora took down the fifth target and prepared to stealthily head towards the inner area rooms where the two person in charge were located...
Hum.
Deep within the base, a certain room suddenly lit up with a piercing red light.
Simultaneously, a sharp, urgent alarm sound abruptly blared forth.
The corner of Sora's mouth under his Vermilion Bird mask lifted upwards.
'Finally noticed, huh?'
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📖 Like the story? Read 120 chapters ahead!
🔗 patreon.com/atomelectron
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━