When facing enemies, Sora was always cold-blooded and ruthless. But when dealing with his own subordinates, his attitude was much more gentle.
After all, Kurumi, Yuzuki Matsunaga, and Yato Toden all shared bonds forged in life-and-death situations with him. Over the years, after countless bloody battles and desperate straits, the connection between them had deepened to a degree unimaginable to ordinary people.
Since fate had placed him in Kirigakure, Sora had no intention of taking his talents to Konoha.
Besides-
Having been in the Anbu for so many years, Sora had plenty of blood debt from various great Ninja Villages on his hands. If he truly defected from Kirigakure, joining the Akatsuki would probably be his only option.
After finishing organizing the intelligence reports, Sora simply checked his gear.
Of course,
As a Shinigami, there wasn't much to check.
Kunai, shuriken, explosive tags...
Sora didn't need any of those.
He just restocked on some compressed food and soldier pills from the supply depot.
It's worth noting that although Sora had no Chakra, soldier pills could surprisingly restore his stamina and speed up his Reiatsu recovery.
They were one of the few items in the Ninja's toolkit that were actually useful to him.
A few hours later,
After getting everything ready, Sora headed for the camp's rally point.
This mission targeting Jiraiya was essentially a decapitation strike, emphasizing speed, precision, and ruthlessness. They couldn't afford to waste time.
In fact-
If not for having to handle the Byakugan situation, Fuguki might have chosen to launch the raid on Konoha's rear lines in the dead of night.
"Sora."
"You look well-rested."
Yagura, standing near the tent, saw Sora arrive and waved, offering a friendly greeting.
"Not bad."
Sora returned a polite smile.
"Hmph~"
Mei, standing nearby, let out a light snort, shot Sora a glare, and unusually kept her mouth shut.
Clearly, she was still deeply embarrassed by yesterday's 'What do you want' misunderstanding.
As for Yagura, he took it in stride. He was used to seeing his little junior sister and Sora bicker incessantly whenever they met.
To be honest-
Yagura thought the two were a good match. Their looks and talent complemented each other, and if Mei from the Great Elder's faction and Sora from the Mizukage's faction joined forces, it would greatly benefit the village's stability.
Unlike Konoha with its tangled internal politics, Kirigakure's power structure was simpler, divided mainly between the Mizukage's faction and the Great Elder's faction.
The Mizukage's faction consisted mostly of Ninjas from great clans like the Hozuki, Kaguya, and Yuki.
The Great Elder's faction, in contrast, was primarily made up of civilian-born Ninjas.
People like Yagura, Mei, and Ao were representatives of the Civilian Ninjas.
Of course-
Kirigakure was unique in that the Great Elder, Genji, commanded a force not inferior to the Mizukage's. The two sides were roughly evenly matched, a rare situation among the great Ninja Villages.
Perhaps.
Genji could be considered one of the most powerful elders in Ninja Village history.
"One more person, then we can move out."
Just then-
Fuguki also approached, his heavy footsteps rumbling like a small mountain.
"One more person?"
Just as Sora was feeling puzzled, a rather unfamiliar voice came from the tent in front of him.
"Hey, hey, hey..."
"I'm talking to you, Fuguki. Since when do Anbu rookies get to run missions with us, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen?"
No sooner had the words been spoken-
A menacing man with short black hair, no eyebrows, a fierce scar on his face, and the lower half of his face painted with red patterns emerged from the tent.
His aura was vicious. When he spoke, he revealed sharp, shark-like teeth.
Combined with the Kubikiribocho on his back, he looked every bit the terrifying killer.
This man was none other than one of Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen, the first wielder of the Kubikiribocho:
Biwa Juzo!
Clearly,
This tough guy wasn't in the best of moods. The moment he stepped out of the tent, he marched straight towards Sora.
He then stopped right in front of him.
Juzo looked down from his height, glaring at Sora, then slowly narrowed his eyes. "Anbu brat, I can barely sense any Chakra on you. You look weaker than the girls in the pleasure districts."
"How could I possibly fight alongside a weakling like you?"
The moment these words were uttered, the atmosphere instantly grew tense.
Yagura and Mei's expressions turned subtly complex. Even Fuguki watched the confrontation between the two with interest.
At that moment-
Sora's expression remained utterly calm. He simply looked at Juzo with an indifferent gaze, as if watching a circus clown perform.
Speaking of which,
Juzo could be considered a rare 'team player' in Kirigakure. In the original work, the future Juzo who joined the Akatsuki even sacrificed himself to save his teammate, Uchiha Itachi, making him practically the moral compass among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
"Hey!"
"Anbu brat, are you ignoring me!??"
Seeing Sora's completely unresponsive expression, Juzo's anger flared. He had intended to provoke Sora to gauge his level, but the other's utter indifference and spectator attitude made him feel deeply embarrassed and put him on the spot.
'If you'd just talk back, or flare your Chakra so I can test you, we could be done with this! Why are you just standing there like a log!??'
"Brat!"
"You've successfully caught my attention!"
Juzo stared fixedly at Sora. No sooner had the words left his mouth than his gaze sharpened. His right hand shot behind his back, drawing the Kubikiribocho, and swung it straight down at Sora's face.
Attack!
Juzo had unexpectedly launched an attack!
In an instant-
The Kubikiribocho, stained with countless lives, descended with a whistling gust of wind, hacking down fiercely.
However,
Faster than the falling blade was Sora's movement.
Facing the oncoming Kubikiribocho, Sora's eyes didn't even flicker. He simply shifted his body, evading the blade's path.
Then, as if teleporting, he appeared right in front of Juzo.
Thump!
A punch landed squarely in Juzo's abdomen.
The violent force erupted, causing Juzo's eyes to bulge, his entire body lifting half a foot into the air from the impact.