Leaving, Yugao's decision

The Third Hokage's expression was utterly grim.

As Naruto, he had never been insulted like this. Even his enemies respectfully addressed him as the Third Hokage.

He was held in high esteem throughout the village, yet now a junior had mercilessly berated him.

Shocked and furious, the Third Hokage barked, "Uchiha Sora, I think you've gone mad! The village raised you into a capable ninja, and this is how you repay it?"

Listening to the hypocrisy spilling from the Third Hokage's mouth, Uchiha Sora replied expressionlessly, "You talk too much. Tell me, what do you want to do? Kill me? With your strength, I doubt you could!"

The Third Hokage fell silent.

He truly had no confidence in stopping Uchiha Sora from escaping with Flying Thunder God.

"Enough. Stop wasting time. I'll be taking those documents of yours. If you want them back, come up with a worthwhile offer to trade for them!" Uchiha Sora waved a hand and spoke without the slightest courtesy.

With that, he activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and vanished before the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage was left standing there with a dark expression.

He had never expected Uchiha Sora to be so brazen. Not only had he wreaked havoc in Root and taken numerous documents, but he had also ransacked his study, stealing most of his ninjutsu records, including the Scroll of Seals!

Those records contained all kinds of ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu, forbidden techniques, Sealing Jutsu, Barrier Ninjutsu, and more...

They were the culmination of the wisdom of Konoha's ninja over all these years!

Though they did not contain everything, they were more than enough to serve as the foundation of a major power!

"Issue a wanted notice to the outside world! Uchiha Sora is wanted, with a bounty of one hundred million ryo!" Upon returning to Naruto's office, the Third Hokage issued the notice.

Previously, only a handful of senior officials had known that he had classified Uchiha Sora as a rogue ninja. Once the wanted notice was issued, however, all of Konoha erupted!

Uchiha Sora's performance during the Chunin Ninja Exams had already left many people in Konoha with a lasting impression of his genius.

Everyone was stunned to hear that Uchiha Sora had stolen Konoha's secrets and defected from the village.

Once the notices were posted, Uchiha Sora became the topic of every casual conversation among Konoha's villagers overnight.

Anyone who mentioned Uchiha Sora had a few curses to throw at him.

"That ungrateful bastard! Konoha raised him for all these years, and he actually committed such a heinous betrayal! We have to catch him! Kill him!"

"If you ask me, there's not a single decent person in the Uchiha Clan! They bite the hand that feeds them! I don't think they've ever had good intentions!"

Even the Uchiha Clan became more hated by the villagers as a result.

"To think Uchiha Sora actually defected. A bounty of one hundred million ryo?" At home in the Hyuga Estate, Hyuga Hiashi looked at the wanted notice in his hand and shook his head. "A bounty that high certainly won't be easy to claim!"

"It seems something must have happened between the Uchiha Clan and the leadership!" he mused.

Little Hinata looked curiously at the wanted notice in her father's hand. Seeing Uchiha Sora's photograph on it, she asked, "Father, isn't that the kind big brother? Why is he wanted?"

Hiashi smiled and stroked Hinata's head. "You're not ready to know about these things yet. Once you're stronger, go find the reason yourself."

"Oh!" Hinata nodded, only half understanding.

But she had already secretly resolved to find that big brother someday and ask him what had happened!

At the Ninja Academy.

Hirai Mitsuteru, who had become a Chunin instructor, also heard the news. Listening to his colleagues discuss Uchiha Sora as though he were some irredeemably vicious criminal filled him with sorrow.

He did not know why Uchiha Sora had defected from Konoha either. As former teammates, they had been close, and in his eyes, Uchiha Sora was not someone who would betray the village.

Unfortunately, he knew his own strength was limited. He would probably never have another chance to ask him why.

Meanwhile, in the Third Hokage's office.

A purple-haired figure knelt on one knee, pleading with the Third Hokage. "Lord Hokage! Please allow me to leave the village and track down Uchiha Sora!"

The Third Hokage sighed. "Yugao, although the wanted notice has been issued, I don't want our Konoha ninja pursuing him. He's too dangerous! Even if you were once his teammate. Do you understand?"

"I don't understand!" Uzuki Yugao replied firmly. "All I know is that I have to find him and get an explanation!"

Looking at his stubborn subordinate, the Third Hokage felt a headache coming on.

Then Uzuki Yugao added, "If you refuse, Lord Hokage, I'll resign from the ANBU and as a Konoha ninja. As a civilian of Konoha, I should be allowed to leave the village, shouldn't I?"

"You... very well!" Left with no choice, the Third Hokage nodded his approval.

He knew that even if he refused, Uzuki Yugao would probably sneak out anyway.

Elsewhere, after returning to the island in Mirror Space, Uchiha Sora left a Shadow Clone behind to organize and study the ninjutsu records, while his real body left the island with Uchiha Izumi.

He planned to travel around the shinobi world and find a few promising recruits.

At this point, the Akatsuki was still searching for members and recruiting people.

Since he intended to build a force to compete against the Akatsuki, he naturally needed to prepare in advance.

It was also a good opportunity to see more of the world. Perhaps it might even trigger his automatic training!

Naturally, he had brought Izumi along so she could broaden her horizons as well.

After leaving the island in Mirror Space, his first destination was the Land of Water.

He chose the Land of Water because it was currently Obito Uchiha's base of operations, and its internal affairs were in chaos, with constant civil conflict.

Moreover, the three promising youngsters, Yuki Haku, Kimimaro of the Kaguya Clan, and Suigetsu, were all from the Land of Water.

Traveling through the Land of Water with Izumi, Uchiha Sora found many villages in ruins. In some, rogue ninja were even burning, killing, and pillaging.

Whenever they encountered rogue ninja who clearly had no moral limits, Uchiha Sora sent Izumi to fight them and gain practical combat experience.

With Sora safeguarding her, Uchiha Izumi's combat experience and strength improved noticeably.

During those battles, her Sharingan also developed to three tomoe!

Her talent with the Sharingan seemed no worse than that of a genius like Itachi.

Uchiha Sora was very pleased.

A month passed in a flash. Traveling with frequent stops along the way, the two finally arrived outside Kirigakure.

Because of its Bloody Mist policy, Kirigakure was not only extremely strict internally but also deeply hostile to outsiders.

As soon as the two approached Kirigakure's gates, Anbu ninja stopped them and demanded their travel permits.

Naturally, Uchiha Sora had no permit. After being denied entry, he chose to leave for the time being rather than force his way inside.

His main reason for coming to Kirigakure was to use its internal records to locate Suigetsu and the other two, while causing Obito some trouble along the way.

Unable to enter Kirigakure for the moment, Uchiha Sora did not act rashly. Instead, he chose to gather intelligence on the village's internal situation first.

After all, it was a major ninja village. Recklessly barging in without understanding the situation would be the stupidest course of action.

Through his Shadow Clones' continual reconnaissance, Uchiha Sora gained a rough understanding of Kirigakure's current state.

In short, the situation was terrible.

First, the Fourth Mizukage was most likely already under Obito Uchiha's control. The Bloody Mist policy was being enforced with increasing severity, leaving many ninja bitterly resentful.

Second, manipulated public opinion had made the positions of the Land of Water's major kekkei genkai clans increasingly precarious. Some, such as the Ice Release clan, had already suffered unfair treatment, while others, such as the Kaguya Clan, had outright rebelled.

Finally, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, who had been loyal to the village, had suffered devastating losses during the Third Shinobi World War, and the survivors had subsequently defected one after another. With the leadership deprived of the strength needed to suppress dissent, other factions within the village had begun fighting for power, making the situation even more chaotic.

I wonder how Obito controlled the Fourth Mizukage. By all rights, a perfect jinchūriki like the Fourth Mizukage shouldn't be susceptible to control! Uchiha Sora thought.

After all, jinchūriki were essentially immune to all genjutsu, and Obito's Mangekyo was not genjutsu-based either.

Unless he possessed Shisui's Kotoamatsukami, he should not have been able to control a jinchūriki without anyone noticing.

Looks like I'll have to find an opportunity to meet the Fourth Mizukage! Uchiha Sora thought.

Once he had a general understanding of Kirigakure's situation, Uchiha Sora began to act.

First, he sent Uchiha Izumi back to Mirror Space, then personally infiltrated Kirigakure.

After waiting for three consecutive days in a small tavern in Kirigakure, he finally spotted the man he was looking for.

The man had short black hair, a forehead protector tilted to the left, bandages wrapped around his lower face and neck, and sharp teeth.

It was none other than Zabuza Momochi!

Uchiha Sora waited until he finished drinking and left before rising to follow him.

The two walked one behind the other through Kirigakure's streets, and none of the pedestrians around them noticed anything unusual.

Only when they reached a deserted stretch of riverbank did Zabuza stop and turn around. Fixing his gaze on Uchiha Sora, he asked coldly, "You've been following me for so long. What exactly do you want?"

Uchiha Sora smiled faintly. "The Demon, Zabuza Momochi. A talented member of Kirigakure's assassination unit, proficient in the Silent Killing Technique! Am I right?"

"What? Want to try my Silent Killing Technique for yourself?" Zabuza grinned.

Uchiha Sora smiled without answering.

"Very well! Hidden Mist Technique!" Killing intent flashed in Zabuza's eyes as he immediately formed hand seals and unleashed the Hidden Mist Technique.

Thick mist immediately spread around them, reducing visibility to almost nothing.

"Kid, I don't care which faction sent you. Since you've come looking for me, you'd better be prepared to die!" Zabuza's voice came from within the dense mist, making his position impossible to pinpoint.

"Impressive. So this is the Silent Killing Technique!" Uchiha Sora praised quietly.

Even as he spoke, a trace of killing intent appeared behind him.

Shhk!

The next instant, a kunai pierced Uchiha Sora's body from behind!

Zabuza's figure gradually emerged. Looking at Uchiha Sora, whom he had impaled, he sneered, "A rookie like you dared to follow me? In your next life..."

Poof!

Before Zabuza could finish, however, the impaled Uchiha Sora vanished in a puff of white smoke.

It was a Shadow Clone!

Zabuza was slightly startled.

A longsword suddenly thrust toward him and plunged deep into his body. Uchiha Sora appeared behind him!

But Zabuza merely smiled as his body burst into water and splashed onto the ground.

It was Kirigakure's signature Clone Technique, the Water Clone!

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

Just then, Zabuza's voice rang out from the nearby river. In the next instant, a fierce water dragon burst through the white mist and swooped rapidly toward Uchiha Sora!

Boom!

The water dragon roared as it slammed toward Uchiha Sora's position!

Facing the familiar technique, Uchiha Sora merely smiled faintly. Gripping his longsword with both hands, he poured wind-nature chakra into it and slashed fiercely forward at the descending water dragon!

"Wind Slash!"