Tazuna was still kneeling on the ground, his whole body limp as if his bones had been pulled out, slumped into a heap.
He stared at the cheerfully smiling young man before him, his mind in complete chaos.
One second ago, he had been a tragic hero fighting to save his country.
The next, he had become a debtor owing a massive A-rank mission fee.
The role reversal was a bit too quick.
"Alright, alright, Mr. Tazuna, get up."
Sora reached out and very "kindly" pulled him to his feet.
"The ground's cold. At your age, kneeling too long isn't good for your knees."
His tone was gentle, like a warm-hearted neighbor's kid.
But Tazuna only felt a chill rush from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.
Naruto didn't overthink it. He excitedly circled the two bound Demon Brothers, clicking his tongue in amazement.
"Wow! Sora-sensei, you're way too awesome! Whoosh whoosh—just like that, and they went down!"
Sasuke stood silently to the side.
His knuckles were white from gripping the kunai.
In that instant earlier, he hadn't even seen Sora's movements.
The teacher he had always thought was irresponsibly lazy had displayed strength completely beyond his comprehension.
Is this... the power of an Anbu squad captain?
No, perhaps even stronger.
For the first time, Sasuke had a concrete yet vague understanding of what "powerful" truly meant.
"Alright, stop spacing out."
Sora clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention back.
"The road ahead is still long—we can't waste time here."
He brought his hands together and formed a seal.
Poof! Poof! Poof!
Three familiar puffs of white smoke appeared.
Three identical "Soras" materialized before the group once more.
They each walked up to Naruto, Sasuke, and Karin, wearing the same infuriating grins as the original.
"Given that the mission difficulty has increased, our training plan needs an upgrade too."
The real Sora announced lazily.
"From now on, until we reach the Land of Waves, your training doesn't stop."
Naruto blinked.
"Huh? Training while walking?"
"Of course."
And so, the strangest team in ninja history set off once again.
Tazuna trailed behind, occasionally glancing up, hardly daring to breathe.
In the middle of the group were three kids undergoing hellish training.
"Bang!"
Another water balloon exploded in Naruto's arms, soaking him like a drowned rat.
"Aaaah! Damn it! Why can't I get it?!"
He frantically scratched his head.
Sasuke wasn't faring much better nearby.
The leaf in his hand was either shredded to bits by his violent lightning chakra or showed no reaction at all.
Sweat slid down his forehead, but he didn't even have time to wipe it.
Only Karin walked steadily, clutching her thick book and continuing to memorize.
And the commander of this team, Sora himself, strolled leisurely at the rear like an uninvolved overseer.
He mentally gave his teaching method a thumbs-up.
Not bad—very much in my old style.
The team advanced slowly in this bizarre atmosphere.
As dusk fell, they finally reached a small ferry dock by the sea.
A boatman wearing a douli hat was dozing against his small boat.
"Alright, today's mobile training is over."
As soon as Sora spoke, the three shadow clones that had tormented the kids the whole way vanished into white smoke.
Naruto flopped to the ground with a thud, feeling completely drained.
Sasuke leaned against a tree, gasping for breath.
Karin's face was pale; maintaining precise chakra output for so long had taken a huge mental toll on her too.
"Sora-sensei... I can't go on..." Naruto groaned weakly.
"Oh?"
Sora walked over and looked down at him.
"Then you can skip dinner."
Naruto sprang up like a carp flipping over, instantly revived.
"Who said I can't go on?! I feel like I could take on ten right now!"
Sora nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Sasuke and Karin.
"You two worked hard too."
"Sasuke, you've made great progress."
"Karin, your learning speed is impressive."
Sasuke, receiving praise, merely snorted and turned his head away, but the slight upturn of his lips betrayed his inner joy.
Karin beamed with a happy smile.
Sora arranged everything, then approached the boatman.
"Boatman, take us to the Land of Waves."
The small boat glided slowly across the sea shrouded in thin mist.
It was very quiet around them, only the sound of oars dipping into the water.
The mist grew thicker, visibility dropping drastically.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Karin instinctively gripped their weapons tighter, warily scanning the surroundings.
Though the training had been grueling, the results were clear.
Their chakra sensing and control had sharpened far beyond what they were when they set out.
"It's here."
Sora, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them.
He still wore his lazy expression, even yawning.
"I thought we'd have to wait until we reached shore."
As his words fell.
Whoosh—!
A massive decapitating carving knife wrapped in bandages spun out from the thick mist with a whistling tear through the air, slicing straight toward their small boat!
"Watch out!"
Sasuke and Naruto shouted in alarm simultaneously.
Yet Sora merely raised his right hand, extending two fingers.
Clink!
An unbelievably crisp sound rang out.
The heavy, powerful blade—capable of cleaving the entire boat and everyone on it in half—was casually pinched between his two fingers.
The edge hovered less than three inches from his forehead.
The violent gust messed up his flaxen short hair, but his expression didn't change in the slightest.
Holding the knife larger than his entire body, he tilted his head toward a spot deep in the mist, a pure, curious smile on his face.
"Yo, Mist Demon Zabuza Momochi?"
"Nice craftsmanship on your sword."
"But is that all the strength you've got?"