It's Not That Bad, Really Not That Bad!

"Who is it?"

Shizune immediately lifted her skirt, pulled three or four silver needles from her thigh, and fired them toward the window!

Swish, swish, swish!

Accompanied by the sound of wind, four holes appeared in the window, but there was no response.

It seemed it had only been an illusion.

"No... has someone been watching us? It must be a ninja!"

Shizune turned and walked into the room.

Tsunade was currently enjoying her gambling. Although she had already lost three rounds in a row, she firmly believed that she would win the next one!

"Lady Tsunade! Someone was peeking at us just now. I suspect it was very likely a ninja!"

Shizune leaned into Tsunade's ear and whispered.

"What? I have indeed heard that Konoha Village is in trouble recently, so I am on my way back to the village, even though I've been delayed a bit along the way..."

Tsunade scratched her head, quickly regaining her righteous air.

"It's fine! We're arriving at Konoha Village soon anyway, so it doesn't matter if someone is watching us. It's not like they'd dare follow us all the way to Konoha Village, right?"

After saying this, Tsunade immersed herself back into the gambling game.

Beside her, Shizune was speechless.

"But!"

"Oh my... isn't this a winning hand?"

Tsunade looked excited.

A burly man nearby saw it and was immediately dissatisfied.

"You're missing a tile. You misread it; that's a false win!"

"I say! Naruto, did you know? I heard there's a very famous bathhouse around here. Do you want to come with me for some training?"

Beside a bustling street, Uchiha Sora and his group had just arrived.

With the day's escort mission completed, they needed to stop for a temporary rest.

Kakashi went to find lodging, while Jiraiya grabbed Naruto and Uchiha Sora, insisting on going to bathe.

"I'll pass! We still have a mission tomorrow!"

Uchiha Sora knew better; the "bathing" Jiraiya spoke of was anything but proper!

As a decent young man who had transmigrated, he couldn't participate in such peeping!

"Oh! Then you're missing out big time. I'll just go with Naruto then. You two can head out alone tomorrow morning. I see this mission is quite simple, so you can handle it yourselves!"

"I'll take Naruto and go train for a while longer!"

Seeing that he couldn't be swayed, Jiraiya didn't say much more and simply dragged Naruto away.

Uchiha Sora looked helpless.

There went a source of combat power!

Wouldn't dealing with Zabuza later be a bit more dangerous now?

But it didn't matter; he still had himself and Deidara.

Thus, Uchiha Sora didn't waste any words. He turned and found Kakashi, and after a brief explanation, he found a spot to start resting.

At night, Uchiha Sora completed his daily tasks and extracted a few more bullets using his chakra.

Afterward, he consumed most of his remaining chakra to craft a new Nuclear Energy Bullet.

He was arming himself to the teeth.

"Counting the gold coins, I'm still a few million short of the Quantum Suit. It won't be happening anytime soon."

Sighing, Uchiha Sora began to train his Sharingan.

He knew that besides technology, the other thing he could rely on was his Sharingan.

Needless to say, this was the strongest ocular jutsu in the ninja world. Once mastered, even without technological assistance, he could still achieve great things.

Combined with technology, it would be enough for him to stand in the top tier of the Hokage's world.

Just like that, Uchiha Sora began his cultivation in peace. The night passed without incident, and the next morning, the Bridge Builder led Kakashi and the others to set off once more.

However, the size of the team had shrunk significantly this time.

It looked a bit lonely.

Uchiha Sora and Sasuke looked like mere students, while Deidara swayed left and right along the way, looking rather unserious.

The only one who could fight—or at least looked like they could—was Kakashi.

This caused the eyes of those observing the scene to flicker.

"There aren't many of them. The only one with any real combat power seems to be Kakashi. Why don't we just strike now?"

Hidden in the tall grass, Zabuza sneered. Naturally, he did not recognize Uchiha Sora.

At this moment, he felt as though he had stumbled upon a massive bargain.

A mission that only required dealing with a single ninja, and the reward was quite generous to boot.

Watching as the group reached the edge of the bridge, Zabuza realized that if they crossed, the mission would be a failure. He could no longer sit still and immediately lunged out from the bushes.

His entire body moved like a gale of wind, appearing directly in front of the group.

"Heh, since you're passing through, leave behind a toll."

Zabuza's voice was cold.

He looked at Kakashi and the others with an expression of utter arrogance.

"Enemy attack! Get into formation!"

Kakashi immediately grabbed the Bridge Builder and tossed him behind his back.

Uchiha Sora and the others quickly surrounded the man to protect him.

"Bandits? You don't look like it. You must be a ninja."

Kakashi already had a Kunai gripped in his hand, his voice cold as he spoke.

He already had his suspicions.

This guy was definitely strong, and he might well be targeting the Bridge Builder.

Seeing that he could no longer hide his identity, Zabuza laughed wildly.

"That's right! But you won't need to know any more than that..."

As he finished speaking, he vanished entirely, only to reappear directly in front of Uchiha Sora.

To be precise, the blade in Zabuza's hand was already pressed against Uchiha Sora's body.

It looked as if he could strike him down at any moment.

"This!"

Kakashi was stunned; he hadn't expected this guy to be so fast.

What had just happened?

In a split second, the man had simply disappeared!

Meanwhile, the Bridge Builder was terrified, his legs trembling uncontrollably.

Seeing how frightened everyone was, Zabuza grew even more smug.

"Heh! I am Zabuza, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. It's only natural to be stunned by my speed!"

"But don't worry, my blade is quick—it won't hurt at all!"

He stared coldly at Uchiha Sora, as if he were looking at a fat lamb.

However, Kakashi realized he was too late to turn and intervene.

He could only shout out in a hurry.

"Don't do it! There's no need! Really, there's no need!"

When these words were spoken, Zabuza froze.

At a time like this, shouldn't they be threatening him or begging for mercy?

Why say there was "no need"?

What did that mean?

Before he could react, Uchiha Sora smiled faintly.

"Teacher Kakashi... don't worry. It's just one person; it's not enough to make me use that thing."

As soon as these words left his lips, Zabuza's scalp tingled.

His heart was filled with doubt and unease.

What was going on?

These two were talking to each other.

What did they mean?

Could this kid actually have some kind of heaven-defying trump card?

Zabuza reacted in an instant.

Without another word, he swung his massive blade directly toward Uchiha Sora's neck.

However, the next second, his blade missed!

To be precise, it felt as though his strike had merely passed through an afterimage.

"Not good! Is this a genjutsu?"

Zabuza gasped, his breath hitching. He hadn't even noticed when he had been caught in it.