Bored out of his mind, Sora suddenly remembered Uchiha Madara's old hideout. If he recalled correctly, that place wasn't far from Kirigakure.
"Those three little brats won't be done for another four or five days anyway. Might as well go check it out," he muttered, rubbing his chin, a bit tempted.
It wasn't like he expected to uncover some grand secret—he was just curious. That one line, "Do you also wish to dance?" had always sent shivers down his spine. Madara's flair was just too legendary.
But in this life, with Sora in the picture, Madara wouldn't have many chances to show off. So he figured he'd go pay tribute in advance.
With that thought, he immediately informed Ao and Mei Terumī before setting out alone, leaving Kirigakure behind.
Before long, he arrived at the area where Rin Nohara had once appeared. Gazing at the ground beneath his feet, he murmured, "That thing should still be here, right? If it weren't, Obito wouldn't have died."
A few leaps later, Sora reached the spot where he had previously hidden something. He peeled away the surface layer of soil—and sure enough, found an Explosive Tag.
The tag still bore the words he had inscribed long ago, but clearly, it had done nothing.
"Obito… you died because of your own stupidity," Sora muttered, destroying the tag before scanning the area again.
He didn't regret killing Obito one bit. Even if he had to go back and do it all over again, he'd still kill him.
In the original timeline, sure, Obito had his reasons—Rin dying at Kakashi's hand—but Minato had always treated him like a son. Yet Obito had turned around and attacked Minato and Kushina like a madman. That crossed a line.
To Sora, that was unforgivable. Better to eliminate someone like that before they stab you in the back.
Recalling everything tied to Rin, and using his powerful sensory abilities, Sora began piecing together the likely location of Madara's hideout.
"It can't be too far," he reasoned. "Otherwise, it'd have been impossible for Madara and Black Zetsu to time things so precisely—making sure Obito witnessed Rin's death at just the right moment."
To manipulate events so flawlessly, the hideout had to be nearby.
Placing himself in Madara's shoes, Sora mentally retraced the logic, mapping out where the hideout might be.
"Found it."
After who knows how long, his eyes lit up as he locked onto a direction, then bolted forward and soon reached his destination.
"It should be right beneath me." Confirming his suspicion, Sora raised his right fist. "Let's dig it out then."
RUMBLE—!!
With a single punch, the ground quaked and shattered, revealing a circular hole over two meters wide.
Peering into the pitch-black abyss, a smile tugged at Sora's lips. Without hesitation, he jumped in.
About three to five seconds later, his feet touched down with a soft thud. Everything remained shrouded in darkness.
"Wood Style: Wooden Staff Technique."
"Fire Style: Flame Ignition Jutsu."
From his palm, a wooden rod roughly the thickness of an arm sprouted and instantly caught fire, lighting up the cavern.
The glow revealed a layer of thick dust on the ground—clearly, no one had been here in ages.
At the center of the chamber was an old wooden chair, worn and splintering. Behind it loomed a massive, irregular pit, as if a colossal beast had once resided there.
The rest of the chamber was bare, clearly swept clean long ago.
"This must be where the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was kept," Sora guessed as he examined the pit behind the chair.
The cavern was roughly seventy to eighty meters tall and over thirty meters wide, with jagged grooves all around—just like he remembered the statue's silhouette.
After circling the space and finding nothing else of note, Sora turned and left, returning to Kirigakure to resume his laid-back routine.
But not long after he left, the space within the cave began to twist.
A man wearing a black cloak patterned with red clouds and a spiral mask stepped out.
Upon seeing the ruined ground and fresh footprints, Shin Uchiha's face darkened.
After Obito's death, Shin had been personally raised by Black Zetsu as his replacement—and he'd spent some time living in this very hideout.
And now someone had discovered it?
"Was it a coincidence? Or… did someone figure it out?" he muttered.
Uncertain but unwilling to take any chances, Shin resolved to report to Black Zetsu.
Whoever it was—however they found this place—they had to die.
Before leaving, he set the entire hideout ablaze, ensuring no trace remained.
Back in Kirigakure, Sora checked in with Mei Terumī before sprawling lazily in his inn room, resuming his slacker routine.
Time flew by, and ten days passed in a flash. Uchiha Itachi and the other two kids officially earned their Chūnin titles.
In the second exam, the trio's teamwork netted them first place with double the points of the second-ranked squad.
In the final individual matches, Itachi, unsurprisingly, came in first. Hyūga Ryōya placed second.
Only Uchiha Izumi, lacking strength, ranked outside the top ten. But thanks to Sora's influence, Mei still granted her Chūnin status.
For her, it was no big deal—just a word from her lips.
After all, Sora was still technically a Genin, yet who in the ninja world actually treated him like one? Not a single soul—not even the bullheaded Raikage dared to look down on him.
"With the exams done, it's time we headed back. Take care," Sora said after a brief chat with Mei, then left with his three charges.
Once they were far from the village, he pulled the same trick again—using his Wood Dragon Boat to travel swiftly. In just one day, they returned to Konoha.
No accidents. No encounters. Everything went smoothly.
"Big bro Minato, here are your three brats, safe and sound. If you've got questions, ask them yourself," Sora said, shoving the kids into the Hokage's office.
Without even stepping inside, he hollered his message and darted back home like a puff of smoke.
He had already left Konoha's big-picture planning to Minato—there was no way he was going to deal with the follow-up chores. Too annoying.
Minato simply smiled and shook his head. He didn't say a word.
Sora had already done more than enough for Konoha. Apart from Hashirama Senju himself, no one had contributed more.
Everyone in Konoha understood that clearly.
Try handing someone else no missions for years and see what happens—chances are, they'd have their legs broken and be tossed out of the village.
Itachi kept calm, but Ryōya's eyes sparkled with admiration, utterly worshipping Sora after everything he'd seen.
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