Chapter 281 : Sora Runaway

After several small ninja villages in the Land of Fire were massacred, he used Earth Style ninjutsu to bury all the corpses in the soil, which was now saturated with death and malice.

In the end, he planned to use space-time ninjutsu to transport all of that cursed soil directly into Konoha.

But Hema’s true trump card was his Earth Style resurrection technique—an ability that allowed him to reanimate four members of the Twelve Guardian Ninja.

Once revived, he intended to have them unleash the powerful Lightning Style: Thunder God’s Wrath in the heart of Konoha.

This technique was not only a collaborative jutsu but also an S-rank Lightning Style technique powerful enough to level the entire village.

It was during this time that he encountered Kazuma within Konoha’s territory.

The two spoke at length.

Through Kazuma’s influence, Sora began to develop a deep resentment toward Asuma and Konoha itself.

At this point, Naruto and his team had just returned to the village from a mission.

Sora hadn’t attacked Tsunade yet—only because he knew Riku was at her side. Attacking her under those circumstances would be suicide, even with the Nine Tails’ chakra flowing through his body.

Kazuma and Hema had spoken to Sora at length about Riku, fueling his discontent.

Though Sora initially planned to confront Tsunade, he quickly abandoned the idea.

He could sense that he was no match for Riku.

Not wanting to remain in Konoha, Sora chose to leave quietly. But as he exited the village, Danzo’s Root operatives were already watching.

The moment Sora left Konoha, they followed him.

Soon, Sora arrived in a forest several kilometers outside the village.

He had only just begun to run when several kunai came flying toward him, cutting off his path.

Reacting quickly, he rolled aside to evade the attack from Root operatives.

He immediately drew the special chakra blades Asuma had once given him.

Ahead, masked Root shinobi stood perched in the trees.

Sora’s heart sank.

He finally believed Kazuma’s words.

"So it’s true. You Konoha people only want the Nine Tails’ chakra from me."

His emotions boiled over.

Without hesitation, the Root shinobi charged at him with long blades drawn.

Furious, Sora retaliated.

With a swipe of the chakra claws in his hands, he sent slicing wind blades toward them.

"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"

Boom!

Just as the wind blades and Root operatives were about to clash, ANBU operatives suddenly arrived.

One of them used Earth Style to raise a wall and block Sora’s attack.

If Sora had actually killed a Konoha shinobi, it would’ve been a point of no return.

The three ANBU operatives confronted the Root shinobi.

"Root has no authority to act here. You’d better stand down. If not, I’m certain Lady Hokage will come down hard on Danzo—again."

ANBU was now fully under Tsunade’s command, loyal to her alone.

Using her authority, Tsunade had purged all members of ANBU loyal to other factions.

This reformation had been carried out by Yamato.

In fact, Yamato had pledged loyalty to Tsunade the moment she took over as Hokage, having inherited the will of the First Hokage.

Naturally, when ANBU was reorganized, Yamato ensured that it became a loyal force serving only the Hokage.

Those loyal to Danzo and other factions had already been quietly removed.

More importantly, the ANBU team now facing Root was far stronger.

They consisted of one Jōnin and two Chūnin.

The Root team, in contrast, had only three Chūnin.

Without saying a word, the Root operatives retreated under the ANBU’s warning.

Danzo had only ordered them to monitor Sora—not engage.

But Sora didn’t see any difference between Root and ANBU.

With a roar, he lashed out, slashing his steel claws toward the ANBU.

Clang!

Even with Nine Tails chakra coursing through him, Sora’s strength was only at the level of a Chūnin.

The ANBU Chūnin easily blocked his attack.

The ANBU Jōnin spoke calmly, "You’re free to leave Konoha, but you must report to the Hokage. Konoha doesn’t allow shinobi to come and go without clearance."

While civilians came and went daily for trade or travel, only shinobi needed Hokage authorization to leave or enter the village.

Sora, as a shinobi—and one currently under surveillance—was no exception.

ANBU’s restraint was generous. Had they acted like Root, they could have justified using lethal force.

But ANBU had clearly been ordered only to monitor him.

To Sora, though, their words felt like another layer of control and manipulation.

His resentment boiled over.

"You Konoha bastards... you’re all murderers. You killed my father. All of you deserve to die—Hokage, and Riku too!"

The ANBU shinobi frowned but didn’t react emotionally.

They were disciplined and composed.

The Jōnin responded evenly, "Please return. When a ninja leaves the village, he must notify Lady Hokage. That includes you."

But the more calmly the Jōnin spoke, the more unstable Sora became.

The Nine Tails’ chakra flared around him, forming the beginnings of the Tailed Beast Mantle.

The ANBU Jōnin’s eyes narrowed.

"Fukurou—fall back!"

The two ANBU Chūnin obeyed instantly, leaping back.

The Jōnin quickly formed hand seals.

"Earth Style: Earth Cage!"

In an instant, walls of earth shot up around Sora, trapping him within a sealed perimeter.

At the same time, the Jōnin fired a flare into the sky—calling for reinforcements.

He could sense Sora’s chakra skyrocketing, and knew the three of them wouldn’t be enough to restrain him much longer.

Meanwhile, in the Hokage’s office, Riku and Tsunade were receiving the mission report from Naruto and his team.

Suddenly, a flare arced into the sky outside the village.

Riku stood up, his expression sharpening as he turned toward the window.

"That’s ANBU’s flare. Something’s happened with Sora."

Naruto froze. "Sora? I thought he was still in the village?"

Tsunade frowned. "We suspected much of this was connected to Sora."

Naruto was stunned. He didn’t want to believe it.

To him, Sora might’ve been annoying, but he was still someone worth saving—a friend he wanted to bring back.

Yamato’s expression also grew grim.

An ANBU emergency flare was no small matter.

Riku turned to him. "Captain Yamato."

Yamato nodded and vanished immediately.

He was going to dispatch backup.

Naruto, clearly worried, turned to Tsunade.

"Grandma Tsunade... what happened to Sora?"

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