Events Come One After Another

"Seven, you did well."

Returning to Konohagakure, at the Anbu base, Shinnosuke Sarutobi looked at Sora Uchiha with increasing satisfaction. During this mission, although Sora Uchiha was a newcomer, he was very quick in dealing with opponents, even faster than some veterans.

Members with such high efficiency were generally highly valued and placed great expectations upon within the organization.

"This time, destroying their supply convoy should keep those guys from Iwagakure busy for a while."

"Monkey."

The masked man responded. Shinnosuke Sarutobi pointed at Sora Uchiha, "For the next period, you will take him to familiarize himself with the organization's rules. During wartime, Anbu missions are more frequent than usual."

"Yes."

"Alright, you may withdraw for now," Shinnosuke Sarutobi waved his hand.

"Yes." Kazuki Utsuki responded crisply for a moment, then signaled with his eyes.

Sora Uchiha nodded lightly and left the office with him, even closing the door thoughtfully.

Beneath the dark stalactite background, the damp air was filled with the unique earthy scent of rocks. Occasionally, a few drops of water would drip from the stalactites overhead, having seeped through the rock surface.

Ever since Sora Uchiha first came here, he had been wondering about one thing: would working here for a long time cause eczema?

Well, looking at the Anbu members coming and going, he felt it was a redundant question.

In fact, although the Anbu base was built inside the Hokage Rock, the air circulation here was very good. Fresh air flowed in from all directions, and ninjas' physical constitutions were much stronger than ordinary people's. Therefore, even staying here for a long time wouldn't cause any serious illnesses.

Sora Uchiha looked at Kazuki Utsuki ahead. During the mission, the latter had been like a silent shadow, giving off a rigorous impression. It was hard to imagine that after killing Shisui, this man would specifically comfort him.

"Our squad is responsible for assassination and classified missions, meaning the dirty work of fighting and killing is handed to us. Intelligence and protection missions will be handled by other squads."

Kazuki Utsuki, walking ahead, suddenly spoke. Sora Uchiha narrowed his eyes slightly, feeling that Kazuki Utsuki's tone at this moment was deeper than before.

"Therefore, our squad's overall strength can be considered the top tier within the Anbu." He suddenly stopped and stared directly at Sora Uchiha.

"Seven, do you know what that means?"

Uh, Sora Uchiha looked at his serious gaze and thought for a while, "It means we can fight better?"

Kazuki Utsuki was taken aback, not expecting Sora Uchiha to give such an answer. He couldn't help but chuckle, "Strictly speaking, that's true." The next moment, his voice turned cold instantly, "Indeed, we can fight better, but this also means that the missions we undertake are more dangerous, with the highest mortality rate."

Due to the mask, Sora Uchiha couldn't see Kazuki Utsuki's expression. However, from the eyes carrying a hint of sadness deep within, he suddenly understood what Kazuki Utsuki had experienced in the past.

"In short, our squad doesn't have many rules, only one—obey orders."

Under the Anbu's training, most Anbu members were molded into what the organization needed.

As they spoke, they had returned to the path they came from. Kazuki Utsuki pushed open the door ahead, and they returned to the low-rise house. The old man at the entrance was still lying on the rocking chair, looking incredibly leisurely.

"That old man is a veteran who survived the Second Great Ninja War. Do not be disrespectful to him," Kazuki Utsuki earnestly instructed.

Hearing this, Sora Uchiha glanced at the sleeping old man again, thinking that one truly cannot judge a book by its cover. This old man in front of him, honestly, he couldn't see any trace of the cruelty of war on him.

Could it be... he's a hidden master like a monk who sweeps the floor?

Of course, this was just Sora Uchiha's imagination. The reason the old man didn't show any outward signs of injury was because he was in the logistics department and only had a scar tens of centimeters long on his abdomen.

"Alright, you can go back now. If there's a mission, you'll be notified," Kazuki Utsuki said to Sora Uchiha as he pushed open the door and turned around.

"Sure." Sora Uchiha, without any suspicion, stepped out of the threshold.

"Sora Uchiha." Kazuki Utsuki's voice came from behind. This time, he didn't use Sora Uchiha's codename but called him by his real name.

Strictly speaking, they were both still wearing masks and should be using codenames.

Sora Uchiha stopped. Behind him, after a moment of silence, a complex voice emerged, "Survive."

Sora Uchiha stepped out.

Kazuki Utsuki watched the retreating figure disappear, his expression unreadable. After a long while, his expression slowly returned to the calm of still water.

The missions their team undertook were the most difficult, hence the mortality rate was also the highest, at 80%. In fact, among those from the same batch, only he remained. Of the previous batch, only Shin'nosuke Sarutobi was left. That was why he had said that inexplicable sentence to Sora Uchiha.

The setting sun was blood-red. The villagers were unaware of what the Anbu had done. They continued their lives, which were as fulfilling and orderly as ever.

At the Konoha main gate, at the security team's post, Captain Yamashiro Ryuta sat in his small office with a stern expression.

On the desk in front of him lay a file, neatly placed.

Yes, it was the file of the old actor, Sora Uchiha.

In just one week, Sora Uchiha's file had appeared in four places: the Anbu, Root, Akatsuki Organization, and the Konoha Security Division.

It seemed that ever since the Chunin Exams ended, Sora Uchiha's peaceful days had been shattered.

The reason Sora Uchiha's file appeared before Yamashiro Ryuta was due to the two people who died in Sunagakure a week ago.

Of course, it wasn't because they found any evidence left by Sora Uchiha. The bodies were handled very cleanly, and not a single piece of physical evidence could be found.

The real reason was that a few days ago, his subordinate suddenly claimed to have found a "witness" from that night—a cleaner who was nearby. That day, the cleaner had just finished his work for the day.

On his way home, before the explosion, he saw Sora Uchiha's retreating figure heading towards the back mountain. Of course, he hadn't seen Sora Uchiha's face, but based on his build, he judged it to be a teenager.

When the security guard investigated him nearby, he recounted what he had seen that day, leading to Yamashiro Ryuta's current actions.

"Sora Uchiha..." Yamashiro Ryuta's fingers gently brushed over the bust shot of Sora Uchiha on the file, murmuring softly.

When he had previously heard at Ichiraku Ramen that Sora Uchiha was the first place finisher in the Chunin Exams, he had the thought, "Could this kid have done it?" But he thought he was overthinking it, suspecting a twelve-year-old boy.

However, the cleaner's account now made him re-evaluate the boy.

Uchiha, burned bodies, it made sense, after all, the Uchiha were most famous for their Sharingan and Fire Release.

According to the cleaner, a boy went to the back mountain half an hour before the explosion, and then an explosion occurred, killing two enemy ninjas and one Konoha ninja.

That night, he asked Sora Uchiha if he had encountered any suspicious individuals, and the latter replied no.

A boy, an Uchiha, a burned body, an encounter at night...

Connecting these dots, he didn't believe it was a coincidence; this was a security guard's intuition.

"Captain, it's time to clock out," someone called from outside the door.

Yamashiro Ryuta responded, gave Sora Uchiha's photo a deep look, then rolled it up, put it away, and tucked it into his inner clothing.

He intended to thoroughly investigate this Uchiha boy.

Konoha was buzzing, with one incident after another occurring.