Time was like sand flowing through fingers, slipping away quietly.
In the blink of an eye, three months had passed since Sora officially joined the Anbu.
During these three months, Team Hei Five, where Sora belonged, had executed over ten missions, both big and small. Perhaps to accommodate Sora, most were C-rank and B-rank.
It should be noted that in Sora's Team Hei Five, the captain, Fox, was a veteran Jonin. The two teammates, Grey Wolf and Night Owl, were both Special Jonin. Although Sora's base strength was only at Chunin level, after opening the Eight Gates, he could barely be considered at the Special Jonin level. Normally, they would execute A-rank missions, or even S-rank.
The several C-rank missions they executed were mainly within the village or within the Land of Fire, involving protection, patrol, and investigating suspicious individuals, occasionally dealing with some reckless bandits and outlaws.
These types of missions held almost no difficulty for Sora. They served more to familiarize him with the Anbu's operational procedures and teamwork.
B-rank missions began to involve potential conflicts with other ninja villages, or pursuing defected Genin, or clearing out relatively strong bandit threats.
Sora participated in two missions tracking suspected Iwa-nin spies, and one mission to surround and destroy a bandit group that included several rogue ninjas.
At this mission level, the strength Sora displayed on the surface was already sufficient to handle the situations. He even performed quite brilliantly, quickly subduing enemies at critical moments multiple times, earning the initial recognition of his teammates Grey Wolf and Night Owl.
Fox, on the other hand, always maintained an observant stance, acting as a rear commander on the sidelines. He rarely intervened personally, but each time he did, it was precise, ruthless, and efficient, fully demonstrating the bearing of a veteran Jonin.
During breaks between missions, Sora also returned to the orphanage several times for rest and recuperation. Currently, the animal transformation on his back could be controlled at will. Targeted training for his head had also begun. However, the head was ultimately a critical area, so the mastery speed was slightly slower.
Occasionally, he would also arrange to meet Kurenai Yuhi. Sometimes they would eat at Ichiraku Ramen, sometimes they would simply stroll around the village.
Kurenai was very sensible. She never pressed for details about Anbu missions. Each time they met, she would carefully look Sora over. Only after confirming he was fine would she show a relieved smile and tell him about interesting things from the academy.
He also ran into Asuma, Kotetsu Hagane, and those guys a few times. They boisterously demanded Sora treat them, saying it was to celebrate his official entry into the Anbu, but Sora did not agree...
Everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion.
...
That afternoon, at the training ground near the orphanage.
Sora had just finished a round of daily taijutsu training and was preparing to return to the orphanage to continue training his animal transformation ability when an Anbu clerk wearing a wildcat mask suddenly found him.
"Green Snake, headquarters has an urgent mission assigned to you."
The other party handed over a scroll, his tone filled with an official, matter-of-fact quality.
Sora took the scroll, somewhat surprised.
Normally, Anbu missions were assigned to squads as a unit. It was rare to assign one individually to a specific member.
'A solo mission? And an urgent one at that?'
A trace of doubt rose in Sora's heart, but his face showed no expression. He quickly opened the scroll to review it.
Mission Content: Go to the Land of Grass, rendezvous with a Konoha spy codenamed "Dandelion", and escort him/her and the important intelligence he/she carries back to a Land of Fire border outpost.
Mission Rank: B-rank.
Mission Requirements: Depart immediately. Must reach the rendezvous point within forty-eight hours.
The end of the scroll bore the encrypted seal of the Anbu and the code name of the mission issuer. A code name Sora hadn't seen before, "Ranuki".
"B-rank mission? For me to execute alone?" Sora looked up at Wildcat. "What about my captain and teammates?"
Wildcat's voice was utterly flat, as he slowly said,
"Your captain, Fox, has other confidential missions and is temporarily unreachable. Teammates Grey Wolf and Night Owl are still recuperating in the medical department. Currently, only you in Team Hei Five are in a mission-ready state."
Sora fell silent for a moment.
Grey Wolf and Night Owl, a month ago during a seemingly simple C-rank escort mission, unexpectedly encountered an attack by rogue ninjas. Although they repelled the enemy, both sustained fairly serious injuries.
Captain Fox was also temporarily reassigned two weeks ago, said to be carrying out a confidential investigation mission, and had not returned yet.
'It is a bit coincidental that three people in one squad are simultaneously unable to execute missions...'
This thought flashed through Sora's mind, but Wildcat's urging interrupted his train of thought.
"The mission is urgent. You need to depart immediately." Wildcat's tone carried an undeniable insistence.
Sora suppressed the slight doubts in his heart. The Anbu's rule was to obey orders, and manpower was indeed tight right now.
"Understood." Sora nodded. "I will prepare to depart immediately."
"Good. The necessary equipment has been prepared for you in the Seventh Equipment Room. Good luck on your mission." After saying this, the Wildcat clerk shunshined away.
Sora stopped overthinking. He turned and walked quickly towards the Anbu base's equipment room.
Along the way, he briefly analyzed the mission situation.
The Land of Grass was located between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth. Its domestic environment was complex, with intertwined forces. A mission to rendezvous with a spy held relatively many variables and required extra caution.
Moreover, during this period, although the Third Great Ninja War had not yet fully erupted, friction and spy activities between the major ninja villages were already becoming increasingly frequent. The Land of Grass, as a buffer country, had always been a key target for infiltration by various forces. If one wasn't careful, there was a high likelihood of encountering relatively powerful ninjas.
'But since it's a B-rank mission, it should still be within my capabilities.'
Not long after, Sora reached the Seventh Equipment Room. He then received some equipment: shuriken, explosive tags, soldier pills, and the like, plus a simple map of the Land of Grass and detailed coordinates for the rendezvous point.
Although Sora didn't use shuriken and explosive tags much, he still carefully inspected each piece of equipment. After all, it was better to be prepared. After confirming everything was in order, he stored them in a scroll.
Returning to the dormitory, Sora quickly changed into the Anbu's standard combat uniform, put on his Green Snake mask, thought for a moment, and prepared a few extra smoke bombs.
'With my current strength, handling a B-rank mission should definitely be no problem.'
'As long as I don't run into a Jonin, I can basically handle it. Even if my luck is bad and I really encounter one, if I can't win, running away is always an option I can manage.'
'Furthermore, I still have the power of the Azure Dragon Fruit. If this mission is truly not right, I at least have a backup plan.'
Sora had a clear understanding of his own strength. In his normal state, he was at an upper Chunin level. Opening the Eight Gates put him roughly at the Special Jonin level.
As for the fruit ability, Sora had never fully displayed it within the village. Even he himself wasn't sure of the current upper limit of this ability.
After all, he had only used parts of it simply during missions over these three months. This was because Sora discovered his several teammates weren't particularly perceptive types. Even Night Owl only sounded intimidating by code name...
They were far less perceptive than the sensor-type ninjas Sora remembered from his memories. So, even if he used his ability, it wouldn't be easily detected.
...
After completing preparations, Sora did not delay. He immediately left the Anbu base and quickly headed towards the direction of Konoha's main gate.
The way was unobstructed. The exit procedures had already been arranged. The guarding ninjas inspected his mission scroll and directly let him pass.
Interestingly, Sora noticed one of the guarding ninjas looked somewhat like Kotetsu Hagane...
Leaving Konoha's main gate and stepping into the lush forest, Sora took one last look back at Konoha Village, which appeared peaceful and harmonious under the setting sun.
'Finish the mission early, return early.'
Without further hesitation, Sora exerted force with his feet. His figure leaped a few times and disappeared into the depths of the dense forest, speeding swiftly towards the direction of the Land of Grass.
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