A month's time quietly passed.
Within the Land of Fire, in an underground bounty exchange in a certain remote town.
The light here was dim, the air was foul, and all sorts of rogue ninja, ronin, and information brokers gathered here, talking in low voices and conducting shady transactions.
Sora was wearing an inconspicuous gray cloak and the simplest tanuki mask on his face, completely blending himself into the shadows.
As for why he wasn't wearing the "Vermilion Bird" mask, it was because the Vermilion Bird had already gained considerable notoriety in these underground places, almost catching up to Kakuzu's.
After all, there would be many expenses later for conducting various experiments.
This resulted in Sora, when passing by some bounty exchanges, casually accepting a few tasks with good bounties.
At this moment, he was sitting quietly in a corner, his powerful sensory abilities covering the entire bounty exchange.
'Fifth one...'
Sora counted silently in his heart.
Over the past month, using breaks between missions, he had traveled to multiple similar underground bases within the Land of Fire.
He continuously spread rumors about one of Konoha's Sannin, Orochimaru, conducting inhuman human experiments, researching forbidden techniques, and even stealing cells of the First Hokage in the Land of Rice Fields and other hidden locations.
These messages were carefully crafted by him, mixed with some real, albeit edited, details obtained from the Land of Rice Fields base, making them sound highly convincing.
He even released similar whispers through some special channels in the prosperous city where the Daimyo's mansion of the Land of Fire was located.
'I just don't know how the pampered Daimyo lords will feel, learning that a top ninja from the strongest ninja village under their command is conducting such blasphemous, life-defying forbidden experiments.'
Sora picked up a sip of the poor-quality ale, a trace of coldness at the corner of his mouth beneath the mask.
He understood that these rumors alone were utterly incapable of bringing down Orochimaru.
Especially during wartime, the value of a meritorious frontline commander far exceeded what a few vague accusations could shake.
However, once the seed of doubt is planted, it will take root and sprout in suitable soil.
Especially since Konoha internally was not a monolithic bloc.
Anyone with clear eyes could see that the Third Great Ninja War wouldn't last many more years. Sarutobi Hiruzen would inevitably step down after the war. Would that old schemer Danzo let go of this opportunity to strike a political rival, and possibly even get a share of the benefits for himself?
And what about those elders who valued reputation and rules? How would they view Orochimaru's actions?
More importantly, those nobles far away in the Daimyo's mansion, would they be willing to see an uncontrollable "madman" obsessed with dangerous forbidden techniques operating in their own backyard?
Feeling the timing was about right, Sora put down his cup, stood up slowly like an ordinary down-and-out ronin, and slowly left the bounty exchange.
...
Leaving the town, he entered a dense forest.
Sora quickly checked his surroundings. Confirming no one was following, he formed hand seals.
"Summoning Jutsu."
Poof. Poof.
Two puffs of white smoke appeared. The money-grubbing orange cat Chinchilla and the gluttonous black cat Kuro Maru appeared on the grass.
"Meow. Boss Sora, one thousand ryo, please."
"Meow~ Boss Sora, two pounds of dried fish, please."
Sora was long accustomed to the ways of these two cats. He directly took out two scrolls and several packs of specially made grilled fish jerky from his ninja tool pouch.
"Same as before. Deliver these scrolls to the places I told you about before."
Sora pointed at the scrolls and handed the fish jerky to Kuro Maru.
"Payment as usual. Base one thousand ryo, extra for long distances. Be careful, don't get spotted."
"Meow. Leave it to us." Chinchilla quickly put away the payment, patting his chest in assurance.
"Meow meow. For fish jerky, we guarantee to complete the mission." Kuro Maru called out indistinctly while happily munching on the jerky.
Although these two were greedy for money and food, their operational skills were indeed first-class. They had keen senses, agile movements, and were extremely good at hiding and shaking off pursuit.
Having them spread these "dirt" was more efficient and safer than Sora doing it himself.
Watching the two ninja cats, holding the scrolls in their mouths, vanish into the depths of the forest as two blurry shadows, Sora let out a soft sigh.
"The nails of public opinion are planted. Next, let's see how much effect they have."
He didn't linger any longer. With a flash, he sped off in the direction of Konoha village.
...
A few days later, the Hokage's office.
"Hokage-sama, mission completed."
Sora knelt on one knee, presenting a mission scroll, his voice calm and even.
Sarutobi Hiruzen took the scroll and looked at Sora.
"You've worked hard. This mission was a long journey. No troubles encountered?"
"Everything went smoothly. The target did not notice. The intelligence has been verified and recorded in the scroll."
The report Sora submitted was about investigating the logistics deployment of a certain small country. The content was half-true, half-false, completely fitting his identity and abilities as a member of the "Anbu Special Operations Group." No one could find fault with it.
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded, seemingly quite satisfied with Sora's answer.
"Mmm, well done. Go and rest. The village is short-handed recently. There may be new missions soon."
"Yes."
Sora bowed his head in acknowledgment, turned, and left the office.
The office door closed softly. Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly put down his pipe, his brows gradually furrowing.
Recently, some rumors about Orochimaru had begun to spread through some covert channels, even reaching his ears.
The content was shocking, directly pointing to human experiments and research into long-forbidden techniques.
He instinctively suspected it was a plot by Iwagakure or Kumogakure to sow discord, as this was a common tactic during wartime.
But then Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head, dismissing this distracting thought.
Orochimaru was a pillar of the front lines. They couldn't cause internal strife.
As for those rumors... it seemed he needed to investigate them discreetly and appropriately admonish Orochimaru.
...
Leaving the Hokage Building, Sora returned to the orphanage.
Nonō peeked out from the kitchen, looking at him gently. "You're back? Good timing, dinner is almost ready."
"Yeah, I'm back."
Sora took off the mask on his face, walked over to where Kabuto was sitting reading a book, and gently patted Kabuto's head.
"Reading a biology book?"
Kabuto pushed up his glasses, his eyes shining with thirst for knowledge.
"Yes, Sora brother. The books Nonō sister brought back are very interesting. The structure of life is truly marvelous."
Sora nodded, a thought stirring in his heart.
He took out several carefully organized documents from his ninja tool pouch and handed them to Kabuto.
These were introductory knowledge about cell cloning he had obtained from Orochimaru's base. After his screening, they were very suitable for beginners.
"Take these materials and look at them. They might be helpful to you."
Kabuto Yakushi took them curiously. After just flipping through a few pages, his eyes lit up.
"This... it's too precious. Thank you, Sora brother."
"You're welcome."
Sora looked at Kabuto's excited expression, as if seeing a future top scientist sprouting.
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