Time flew by quickly, and in the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
With only five days remaining before the First Ninja Way Conference, a fierce battle erupted unexpectedly in the Hidden Mist Village.
Ao had successfully lured Yagura out of the village, allowing Terumi Mei and over a dozen elite Jonin to ambush and swiftly eliminate him.
When Mei announced Yagura's death and began reorganizing the village, she learned that Kisame Hoshigaki, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, had deserted the village.
However, she currently had neither the time nor the ability to chase after him. After barely stabilizing the situation, she entrusted everything to the village elder and quickly departed for Konoha with her group.
Around the same time, the Hidden Cloud, Sand, and Stone villages also set out.
Within the Cloud delegation:
"Brother, do you think that 'Konoha Prodigy' kid will participate?" Killer Bee asked with righteous indignation.
"Hmph." The Fourth Raikage, A, sneered coldly, contempt flashing through his eyes. "He's certainly talented, but right now, he'd just embarrass himself."
"Is that so? Still, I hope he participates. I want to teach that bastard a good lesson!" Bee spoke eagerly, anticipation clear in his unusual rhyming tone.
"It would be perfect if he participates. I'll crush his confidence completely and turn him into a useless failure!" Raikage A said ruthlessly.
Though disdainful, Raikage A secretly feared Sora. Currently, Sora was already Kage-level, and no one knew how much stronger he'd become in the future. The best strategy would be to shatter his confidence early, crippling his growth and removing a dangerous future opponent.
It wasn't just the Cloud Village—the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, had reached the same conclusion. Both villages silently agreed: if Sora entered, they'd crush his spirit.
Oblivious to their schemes, Sora was busy in his home, practicing the Rasengan.
In the original story, Naruto used this jutsu from start to finish, evolving it to incredible heights. Given that Sora's body naturally absorbed energy, he could easily throw a Wind Style: Rasenshuriken—so why wouldn't he practice it?
With Minato's direct guidance and ideal conditions, skipping this training would simply be unforgivable!
"Gather chakra in your palm, compress it, rotate it chaotically, faster and faster—!"
"Rasengan!"
With a swift motion, Sora slammed his palm against a century-old tree beside him. With a loud bang, a fresh hole appeared in the center of the trunk.
"I did it!" Sora smiled excitedly, feeling exhilarated.
He'd learned the Flying Thunder God technique because of his spatial talent, but excluding that, Rasengan was the first jutsu he'd mastered completely on his own.
He couldn't recall how long Naruto had taken, but he'd surely done it faster—just ten days!
Looking at the Rasengan forming again in his palm, Sora murmured, "Next is the Big Ball Rasengan and Rasenshuriken."
He smiled confidently. Since he already mastered chakra nature transformation, further evolution of Rasengan would be straightforward. By the start of the Ninja Way Conference, he'd likely have preliminary mastery of both powerful techniques.
Immersed once again in intense training, three days passed unnoticed.
The first to arrive at Konoha was the Sand Village delegation. Minato dispatched Kakashi to greet them, tally their participants, and arrange accommodations.
The Sand shinobi leisurely wandered around Konoha, gawking at new things with amazement. Konoha villagers smiled with pride, knowing this prosperity was thanks to Sora-sama.
The second group to arrive was the Hidden Mist Village delegation led by Terumi Mei. Tsunade personally welcomed them, assuming two women would get along better.
However, Minato and Sora had underestimated their competitiveness—the two women immediately clashed, leaving everyone speechless. Nevertheless, Tsunade still managed to glean valuable intel about the Mist Village, accomplishing her goal.
The third group was the Hidden Cloud Village. To prevent these hotheads from causing trouble, Jiraiya volunteered to handle their welcome personally.
Finally, greeting the Hidden Stone Village delegation naturally fell upon Orochimaru, known for his ruthless, no-nonsense demeanor. If Ōnoki tried playing any tricks, Orochimaru's Kusanagi sword would quickly remind him of his place.
Imagining this, Sora found it rather amusing. Unfortunately, reality didn't fulfill his mischievous fantasy, as the presence of these legendary figures subdued the arriving delegations effectively.
Smaller ninja villages also sent representatives, but mere Jonin were enough to greet them, barely worth mentioning.
The day before the Ninja Way Conference officially began, the participant list was announced:
-Konoha: Namikaze Minato, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Senju Tsunade, Uzumaki Kushina, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Uchiha Fugaku, Sora, Hatake Kakashi, Might Guy.
-Hidden Cloud: Fourth Raikage A, Killer Bee, Samui, Yugito Nii, and about a dozen Jonin unfamiliar to Sora.
-Hidden Stone: Ōnoki, Kitsuchi, Han, Rōshi, and a dozen Jonin.
-Hidden Mist: Terumi Mei, Ao.
-Hidden Sand: Rasa, Chiyo, Ebizō, Baki, and around thirty cannon fodder—including one Chunin that amused everyone greatly.
Additionally, there were participants from smaller villages and seven or eight independent rogue shinobi.
When the list appeared, everyone felt the Hidden Mist Village's pain most acutely. After Yagura's disastrous rule, the Mist was severely depleted, and Mei could spare only two ninjas.
The Hidden Sand delegation elicited laughter with their numerous weak candidates, especially the unfortunate Chunin.
However, upon seeing Konoha's formidable lineup, Konoha's villagers swelled with pride, while the other villages' expressions darkened considerably.
Everyone knew Konoha was strong, but wasn't this a bit excessive?
Counting carefully, Konoha alone had eight Kage-level participants. If not for the restraint as hosts, they suspected Konoha could've easily sent over a hundred elite Jonin.
"Why do prodigies always appear in Konoha?" Everyone lamented inwardly.
Yet, upon noticing Sora's name among the participants, malicious intentions surfaced openly.
Amidst Konoha villagers' quiet concern, the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Stone simultaneously issued orders specifically targeting Sora.
If anyone encountered Sora, simply defeating him wouldn't be enough—they must thoroughly crush his spirit and break his confidence completely!
To ensure success, both villages held special strategy meetings. After detailed discussions, they concluded that Sora, as a young genius, must be extremely self-confident. The best way to handle him was by destroying that confidence completely.
After finalizing their plans, both villages eagerly awaited the tournament's start, brimming with confidence.
Sora, while unaware of these secret plots, noticed the cruel intentions hidden within their eyes and made a rough guess about their plans.
"Heh. You want to challenge me? Go ahead and try!"