With two wounded companions, their return to Konoha naturally took longer. To prevent further injury, Jiraiya and Tsunade carefully spent two full days getting them back.
By the time they arrived at Konoha, Might Guy had already regained consciousness, while only Sora remained unconscious.
After immediately transferring both of them to Konoha Hospital, Tsunade took over their treatment, while Jiraiya went to report the mission details to Minato.
"Jiraiya-sensei, how's Sora?" As soon as Jiraiya entered, Kushina grabbed him anxiously.
"Uh—" Jiraiya paused briefly, then quickly replied, "He's fine. He just severely overused his chakra. He'll be back to normal after about a week of rest."
Whoosh!
Almost as soon as Jiraiya finished speaking, Kushina vanished from sight, rushing straight to the hospital.
Watching her leave, Minato felt some of his anxiety ease. He apologetically explained, "Kushina has been waiting here ever since we heard about Sora, she hasn't rested a moment. Please forgive her rudeness, sensei."
Jiraiya waved his hand dismissively, indicating he didn't mind at all. Then, they began discussing the details surrounding Sora's situation.
"I find that Kumaichi guy extremely suspicious," Minato said. "He disappeared right after Sora and the others left. Moreover, for a supposed captive, how could he have known so many details?"
Although Minato spoke diplomatically, his tone was firm and resolute. He felt a strong sense of guilt because he was the one who had personally authorized the mission.
Having reached the same conclusion, Konoha quickly mobilized, urgently searching for Kumaichi's whereabouts throughout the region.
A week passed quickly. Sora, lively as ever, returned home—but this time, his mood was far from relaxed.
"My strength is still far too weak. I nearly died at Death God Mountain. How am I supposed to survive the Fourth Great Ninja War like this? Maybe I should just hide out at Ichiraku Ramen."
This recent brush with death had given Sora a much-needed wake-up call.
It had only been about two years since he'd arrived in this world, and he already had Kage-level strength. Since Shippuden hadn't even begun yet, he'd grown overly confident.
However, the incident with the Death God Cult had poured cold water over him, sharply cooling his prideful heart.
"No way. I must find a way to grow stronger. System, open my status panel!"
[Host: Sora]
[Physique: Elite Jōnin]
[Strength: Mid-Kage Level]
[Physique: Primordial Unity Body LV1 (10/100)] Note: Max level is 10; at maximum, capable of annihilating worlds with a single glance.
[Skills: All Techniques from the Heart LV1 (65/100), Eight Trigrams of Heaven and Earth LV1 (11/100), Creation Seal LV1 (24/100), One Slash, Two Halves LV1 (18/100), Ancient God's Martial Arts LV1 (46/100)]
Overall, his strength hadn't significantly increased, but his integrated skills had improved somewhat, though still far from the next level.
"Damn it! It's just killing, right? Why should I be afraid? Aren't those bandits in the Land of Fire basically free cards?"
Gritting his teeth, Sora thoroughly pushed away his lingering complacency.
After informing Minato, he left Konoha alone, following the map Minato had provided.
In no time, he arrived at the first bandit hideout. Seeing the villains who had committed countless atrocities, Sora charged without a second thought.
"Who are you?!"
"Aaaah—! Don't kill me! Please don't kill me!"
"Have mercy! I'll give you all our money—just spare my life!"
Sneering coldly, Sora's blade flashed rapidly. In less than three minutes, not a single soul remained alive on the mountain.
"Only three Chūnin-level ninjas. Still, even mosquito legs have some meat," Sora grumbled, dissatisfied as he collected three cards from the ground.
These bandits had committed countless evils. With the Land of Fire's current prosperity, as long as one wasn't lazy, living comfortably was easy. Yet they deliberately chose robbery and murder. Their deaths were entirely deserved.
Without further hesitation, Sora disappeared once again, heading straight for the next bandit camp.
Shortly after he left, a figure in Konoha Anbu attire appeared, examined the area, summoned a communication-type summoning beast, sealed the evidence in a scroll, and then followed Sora's trail.
While Sora carried out his slaughter, the ninja world continued evolving elsewhere.
The Sand Village, as Konoha's close ally, enjoyed many benefits and saw improvements in their conditions.
The Cloud Village, under the Fourth Raikage's agreement, handed over the promised one billion ryō to Konoha, forcing the entire village to tighten their belts and barely get by.
Yet beneath this facade of peace, dangerous currents surged relentlessly.
In the Mist Village, under the manipulation of Uchiha Shin—the heir to Uchiha Obito—the village was plagued with fear and bloodshed. In secret, he had already begun interacting with Obito and Nagato.
Thanks to their combined efforts, the Akatsuki organization grew rapidly, recruiting more members by the day.
Aside from Nagato and Konan, new members had joined: Kakuzu, the financial expert; Sasori, the puppet fanatic; Deidara, the explosive delinquent; Kisame, the shark-faced swordsman; and Hidan, the immortal fanatic.
With this ragtag yet powerful crew, all that remained was further preparation before they fully unleashed their terror.
Zetsu had already located all the Tailed Beasts. However, Konoha's Nine-Tails and Three-Tails caused him endless headaches. Konoha's current power was genuinely terrifying—even if all Akatsuki members attacked together, victory wasn't certain.
While Akatsuki pondered their problems, far away in the Land of Water, Mei Terumi assembled a large faction preparing to overthrow the Fourth Mizukage Yagura's brutal regime, intending to liberate the Mist Village from its bloody past.
Yet just before Mei's group could take action, Zabuza Momochi acted first.
"Zabuza, you dare betray me? You're courting death—!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Continuous explosions echoed, and Zabuza flew backwards, fleeing swiftly.
Yagura's furious roar alerted Mei and her allies, who quickly arrived at the scene.
"Ao! Keep an eye on the Fourth Mizukage!" Mei's words held deeper meaning, her eyes observing Yagura with a thoughtful expression.
The incident ended with Zabuza's escape, each party retreating with their own thoughts.
Shortly after their departure, a spatial vortex appeared before Yagura, and a figure clad in black robes with red clouds emerged. Orders spilled forth from the figure's mouth, and the enraged Yagura became as silent and obedient as a puppet.
After the Mist Village settled down, Sora finally finished exterminating all the bandit hideouts in the Land of Fire.
Though not fully satisfied, Sora felt slightly more confident as he saw his improved stats.
At least, if another incident like the previous one occurred, he was now confident he could protect his own life.
[Host: Sora]
[Physique: Elite Jōnin]
[Strength: High-Kage Level]
[Physique: Primordial Unity Body LV1 (11/100)] Note: Max level is 10; at maximum, capable of annihilating worlds with a single glance.
[Skills: All Techniques from the Heart LV2 (0/1000), Eight Trigrams of Heaven and Earth LV1 (12/100), Creation Seal LV1 (25/100), One Slash, Two Halves LV1 (20/100), Ancient God's Martial Arts LV1 (50/100)]
Now that the Land of Fire was thoroughly cleansed, Sora, having nowhere left to improve nearby, prepared to return to Konoha.