The next day.
Sora received orders from Anbu to depart for the Land of Waves.
Before leaving, he went to meet with Danzo at the Root headquarters.
Since Sora now belonged to Danzo's organization, he needed to report his movements to him. With Danzo's suspicious nature, failing to do so might lead to unwanted complications.
After all, the root had no actual binding power.
When Sora arrived at Root headquarters, Danzo said to him, "There are some things I need to tell you."
Sora nodded respectfully. "Danzo-sama, please speak."
Danzo's tone was cold and direct. "You don't need to be polite once you reach the Land of Waves. Those Uchiha are undisciplined and will certainly challenge your authority. If they disobey your orders, eliminate them! Don't hesitate!"
Sora's eyes flashed with killer intent. "I understand. I won't show them any leniency."
Danzo continued, "Also, Uchiha Masaki's son, Uchiha Fugaku, will be among those going to the Land of Waves. You can order him to do anything, but he must not die. We still need fighters in this war. If Fugaku dies, I can't predict what Uchiha Masaki might do."
He leaned forward slightly. "One more critical thing—for any Uchiha shinobi who falls in battle, remember to retrieve their Sharingan and bring them to me."
Sora's eyes narrowed slightly. He hadn't expected that Uchiha Fugaku would also be sent to the Land of Waves.
And more surprisingly, Danzo was already collecting Sharingan.
"Yes, Danzo-sama," Sora agreed.
Danzo nodded with satisfaction. "Good. Now go, and remember everything I've told you."
After leaving Root headquarters, Sora immediately set out for the Land of Waves.
He traveled to the border of the Land of Fire and boarded a boat. Due to heavy fog over the sea, what should have been a five-day journey stretched to seven days.
Upon arrival, Sora hurried to the Konoha outpost in the Land of Waves, where he met the deputy commander, Nara Kubota.
"Sora-sama," Nara Kubota greeted him with a bow.
Sora presented his transfer orders. "I believe you're already aware of the situation. These are my official orders. From now on, I will be leading Konoha's operations here."
Nara Kubota verified the documents and confirmed Sora's authority. "Sora-sama, would you like me to brief you on our current situation?"
Sora nodded. "Yes, tell me what's happening in the Land of Waves."
Nara Kubota explained, "The situation here is chaotic. Kirigakure's Bloody Mist policy has caused civil strife, and now the Third Mizukage has redirected their internal conflicts outward."
He frowned deeply. "The Mist shinobi are attacking us with reckless abandon. Their desperate fighting style has caused us significant casualties, so I've adopted a defensive strategy to preserve our strength. Though the situation is chaotic, we've maintained stability."
Sora considered this information. "The situation is better than I anticipated. We'll maintain the status quo for the next few days while we prepare to receive the incoming Uchiha shinobi. Then we'll launch an immediate counteroffensive."
His voice took on a dangerous edge. "Mist shinobi don't care about their own lives, correct? Let's see who can be more ruthless."
Nara Kubota was secretly alarmed.
It was almost exactly as he had guessed.
When Nara Kubota learned that Sora would be taking command and that nearly a hundred Uchiha shinobi would be arriving as reinforcements, he had suspected something was amiss.
Konoha's situation had been improving, and the Uchiha shinobi who had distinguished themselves in battle had grown increasingly arrogant. On various battlefields, these Uchiha had caused many incidents with their pride.
So Nara Kubota had guessed that Sora's transfer and the large Uchiha reinforcement were Konoha's way of dealing with these troublesome Uchiha.
Now, hearing that Sora planned to directly confront the Mist shinobi, his suspicions were confirmed.
And from Sora's tone, it seemed that what he intended to do was even more serious than Kubota had imagined.
Nara Kubota asked no further questions. As a member of the Nara clan, he had inherited their legendary intelligence and knew exactly what to ask and what to leave unspoken.
"I understand. I will follow your orders, Sora-sama."
Nara Kubota then took Sora on an inspection of the Konoha outpost.
Everything was in good order, thanks to Kubota's defensive strategy. Since he rarely took the offensive, his focus had been on maintaining strong defenses and counterattacks.
The outpost had 248 Konoha shinobi in total—quite a substantial force. However, because of Kirigakure's fighting style that willingly sacrificed themselves to inflict damage, Konoha suffered greater losses in every engagement. This had led the cautious Nara Kubota to avoid direct confrontation.
Sora called all the shinobi together. As their new commander, he needed to address them upon taking command.
No one objected to Sora's leadership; in fact, many supported it. Although Sora was known for being strict with his subordinates, he consistently led them to victory.
Moreover, Sora's reputation was at its peak. The prospect of following the "Blood-Eyed Shura" into battle made their blood boil with excitement.
But when they heard that many Uchiha shinobi would be joining them as reinforcements, their expressions immediately fell.
Sora noticed their concern. "You don't need to worry about team reassignments. You will continue to be led by Kubota, though I will make the strategic decisions. The Uchiha reinforcements will be under my direct command."
Hearing this, everyone relaxed. No one wanted to fight alongside Uchiha shinobi as teammates.
"That's all. Dismissed."
After the assembly dispersed, Sora went to his assigned quarters.
Once alone, he performed a Summoning Jutsu, calling forth a white snake.
As soon as the white snake appeared, it began complaining bitterly to Sora: "Sora-sama, didn't you say it would only be for a few days? It's been eight days! Because of that human, I was attacked by many snakes. Protecting him was extremely difficult. I've lost so much weight!"
Sora looked at the snake's plump body and twitched the corner of his mouth.
Sure you have.
"Alright, stop whining. How is he doing? Did you feed him enough?"
"I woke him once to let him eat. Then I found another snake and had it bite him to make him sleep again. Sora-sama, this human's mind isn't normal."
Sora raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
The white snake replied with disgust, "When that human woke up, he asked if he had reached heaven and if I was a messenger of god. I said yes, and he actually believed it! He even knelt before me. I've never seen such a foolish human."
The snake continued, "What's even more ridiculous is that after he learned about the White Snake Sage, he actually wanted to go see it. Doesn't he realize he would just become the Sage's meal?"
Sora looked surprised. "He knows about the White Snake Sage? Does the Sage know about him?"
The white snake shook its head. "This human only knows about the White Snake Sage because when those snakes threatened me to hand him over, they mentioned the Sage to intimidate me. That's how he heard about it."
"As for whether the White Snake Sage knows about him, I can't say for certain. But I think it does because I've heard that everything that happens in the shinobi world eventually reaches the White Snake Sage's ears."
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