183. "I am Back"

Time — Around 2.5 Years Since Naruto Left the Village.

"So... what exactly happened?" Hanabi asked while looking intently at Sora.

"It was pure torture," Sora said with his eyes wide in terror.

It looked like he hadn't slept for countless nights.

"The ancestor didn't even let me go even after I reached the Grandmaster realm before reaching 50 realms," Sora gulped.

"The Golems could even use Rasengan at the ending levels along with speed comparable to mine, but also strength nearly 10 times more than mine, which is ridiculous. Not only that, the number of golems at that time was five times the maximum number of shadow clones I could create with my minimum chakra. I really thought I would die."

Sora felt chills on his skin, similar to a war veteran remembering certain unpleasant parts of his time during the conflict.

"It's okay, you survived, no? Plus, didn't you tell me that you were able to refine your other techniques unexpectedly during this ordeal?" Hanabi didn't really know how to navigate this situation.

"Yeah, but it really was unpleasant," Sora sighed.

It had been one week since he cleared the tower, and throughout the entire week, he had been sleeping.

The tower had been cruel to him; he wasn't able to sleep properly in the initial levels, and sleep was very rare in the last levels.

Luckily, due to being S-rank and an Uzumaki, his sleep requirements were not that significant, though they were substantially less than what could have been if he were a bit older due to his age.

'Though, now that I have overcome this, I feel like I can overcome anything,' Sora thought calmly.

"Anyway, have you tried out the newest dish in Ichiraku?" Hanabi changed the topic.

"Not yet. How about we go now?"

"Sure."

They walked in silence.

"So, how is your progress?"

"I mastered that wind jutsu finally. It gives me a lot of much-needed versatility. Along with learning chakra enhancement, I asked Lady Tsunade, and she assessed my strength with a spar. I am finally at Elite Jounin level," Hanabi grinned.

"Damn, awesome. We need to celebrate that," Sora said with his trademark grin.

Though he hadn't really celebrated much when his prowess reached Elite Jounin due to being busy, he had partied like no tomorrow when he reached S-rank.

A lot of notable figures in the village were invited, along with some people he considered his friends or acquaintances.

"I haven't really decided whether to hold a big party now or when I reach S-rank, though I am not sure when I will reach the latter."

Reaching S-rank was no joke. The difference between S-rank and Elite Jounin was very significant.

A normal ninja typically doesn't live past 20.

Even those who do work hard and are talented rarely reach the rank of Jounin, which is a very respected rank throughout the village.

This rank alone makes one nearly above 95 per cent of ninjas in the world.

After this comes Elite Jounin. The people who reach this level are valued greatly by the village.

Their numbers are generally not above 30 in any of the great villages—among the big five.

However, their numbers are generally composed of older individuals or clan heads who are the apex of their clans.

S-ranks other than a Kage in a great village are very rare.

Villages rarely have them, and their numbers do not exceed three in any village.

So, it really demonstrates Konoha's current strength.

"Well, that is up to you to decide. We should at least have a party among ourselves while visiting a lot of restaurants today," Sora cheerfully said.

"I don't even know how you eat that much with your small figure," Hanabi rolled her eyes.

"I can say the same to you," Sora smirked as he saw her frown.

"Are you trying to say that I eat a lot?"

"Does that statement mean anything else?" He shrugged while stretching his smirk.

"Aren't you very daring today, saying that when I am at arm's length?" Hanabi said while activating her Byakugan.

"Maybe~ I feel really daring to-" Sora paused in walking suddenly.

Hanabi also stopped. "Hmm?"

Sora grinned. "Nii-chan is back," and disappeared in a blur, instantly reaching his peak speed.

Hanabi flickered behind him; however, the gap between them increased at a speed faster than Hanabi's speed.

(A/N— Lol, I had to check the speed when I wrote this. The above statement means that Sora's original speed was more than double her speed. I bet some physics enthusiasts would have figured this out.)

They were literal blurs of red and white to the normal populace.

"Yo!" Sora said while stopping just before Naruto, who wasn't startled, as he had sensed Sora earlier.

"Yoo! I am back finally, Dattebayo!" Naruto said while waving his hand.

"How was your training trip? How strong are you? Did you reach S-rank? Did Pervy Sage properly train you or not?" Sora asked him a barrage of questions.

Hanabi appeared at this moment.

"Hehe, I will be officially considered S-rank, though it has been nearly two years since I was eligible for this rank. Pervy Sage was being perverted as usual, though he did give me the bare minimum support," Naruto said with a grin.

Hanabi almost stumbled when she heard that.

'S-rank in just six months?' She thought, shocked.

"What do you mean bare minimum, you ungrateful brat? I even gave you so many demonstrations of the techniques whenever you asked. That's the maximum I have given to any disciple of mine," the pervy sage in question protested.

"Well, I am not going to argue there, old man. I am tired of wasting time," Naruto decided to back away from the argument.

"You really have grown, huh? I never really thought I would hear such a statement from you," Sora said, shocked.

He wasn't really shocked about Naruto's progress, as he himself knows how broken the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu is. Though Naruto might not be as strong as Sora, his reserves, even without accounting for the Nine-tails, are ridiculous enough to overcome that disadvantage.

"What are you trying to imply?" Naruto asked with a tick mark on his forehead.

"I was saying that there is a new version of Ramen out at Ichiraku, which even I haven't tried out," Sora said shamelessly.

"Well, what are we waiting for? I missed Ichiraku so much," Naruto immediately forgot what he was going to say.

"Let's first meet Tsunade, unless you want to get chewed out by her."

"Fine," Naruto groaned.

The quartet started walking towards the Hokage Tower.

"How have you been, Ero-sennin? Did you complete your next book in the Icha-Icha series?" Sora asked the oldest man in their group.

"Yeah, I had gotten some inspiration," Jiraiya giggled as he remembered his inspiration.

The other three just rolled their eyes.

"Anyway, I heard about your clashes in the Land of Rice, Land of Wind, and Land of Water, and I am really impressed," Jiraiya said with a proud smile.

"Hehe, praise me more, old man. These days it's hard to get praise."

Jiraiya's eyebrow twitched.

"Anyway, how is your Fuinjutsu going?"

"I am a Grandmaster already and a decent one, in fact," Sora smirked while waving his hands on his clothes.

Jiraiya put chakra in his eyes and whistled.

"Though I can't get the exact idea, those seals do at least tell me that you are a Grandmaster. You probably know this, but from now on, you can do anything with Fuinjutsu as long as you have time and creativity," Jiraiya said while patting the boy's shoulder.

"Yeah, I know. I really want to experiment with some ideas I have."

They reached the Hokage's office.

"So you guys are finally back," Tsunade said while giving an unimpressed stare to Naruto and Jiraiya.

'Wait, why do I feel like those words are pointed at me too?' Sora thought while distancing himself away from the duo.

"I am talking to you too, brat. Why didn't you tell me when you returned?" Tsunade said to Sora.

"Oh, I forgot. I was literally sleeping for a week, only functional today. The ancestor was really evil. He didn't let me leave even after I became a Grandmaster. He let me leave only after I cleared the dungeon he created for me," Sora shivered, remembering the memories, immediately cutting that line of thought.

"Is that so? Interesting. I will hear about this from you later in detail. Anyway, you two, I gave you just one mission since you left, and yet you failed that too," Tsunade said while her eye twitched.

"I told you, some weird things happened during that time. That wasn't an excuse, right Naruto?"

The younger blonde in the room nodded.

Tsunade just stared at them.

"Well, whatever," she sighed.

***

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