Chapter 8

Sosuke looked at the three options and couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

Logically, Sosuke had no family connection with Ōnoki and could pick the first option.

However, the reward for the first option—Doton: Lightened Boulder no Jutsu was practically useless to him since he could already fly.

He didn't know how many times the system would offer options in total, and he could only try to pick the best reward each time.

Thinking this way, Sosuke eliminated the second option. 

The Dust Release looked cool, but since he already had Goro Goro no Mi, he didn't really need another offensive ability.

On the other hand, a day in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber from the third option was exactly what he desperately needed.

He already had a lot of potential to grow. Whether it was mastering his Devil Fruit abilities or learning Garp's fighting techniques, he needed time to train.

'In the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, one day equals a whole year, so I could get a lot stronger in just a day!'

He might seem powerful right now, but even fighting an Elite Jōnin was already difficult for him. 

If he didn't continue to grow stronger, he could die at any moment in the upcoming Second Shinobi World War.

Not to mention that in the next few decades, Madara Uchiha and Obito would cause chaos and pose a constant threat to Konoha.

"Since that's the case, I can only choose the third option. For now, I'll stay quiet and wait for the right moment to go find the Third Hokage."

Nevertheless, he first needed to complete his previous mission. The last option required him to go to the border and take down the Sand Shinobi's intelligence team.

After making his decision, Sosuke rested for a bit and was getting ready to set off again.

However, another group of shinobi was rushing toward his location.

This time, they were not coming from the direction of Konoha but from the border outpost instead!

He could already sense them from more than a kilometer away, deep in the dense forest.

The leader of the group was truly extraordinary with his short silver hair and the iconic short sword on his back made his identity unmistakable.

He was none other than the head of this border unit—Konoha's White Fang, Sakumo Hatake!

Beside him was another shinobi riding a dog. Given his appearance, there was no doubt—he was a member of the Inuzuka Clan.

"Sakumo-sama, we've detected an enemy! They're about a thousand meters ahead to the left!"

Hatake Sakumo nodded and said, "You guys surround them from the sides. I'll go ahead and check things out!"

If an ordinary person had said this, they would have been considered crazy. 

Who would rush in alone to check without knowing the enemy's strength?

However, the one who said this was Sakumo Hatake, one of the strongest in Konoha, similar to Minato.

Through the magnetic wave, Sosuke also heard Sakumo Hatake and the others talking. After realizing this, he quickly stood up to destroy the evidence and cover his tracks.

As for the identities of these attackers, Sosuke guessed that the attackers were probably from Root.

He understood that this was Danzo's doing. However, Sakumo Hatake didn't know that.

He began disposing of the four corpses one by one. 

Since they were already completely dead, Sosuke used his full power to shock them with electricity, instantly reducing them to charred remains, leaving no trace of their human forms.

Now, even if their own mothers were standing right in front of them, they probably wouldn't recognize them.

As for the belongings they carried, they were completely burned into ashes under the terrifying blast.

Just as he finished dealing with the corpses, Sakumo Hatake arrived.

Seeing that the person present was Sosuke, Sakumo lowered his guard slightly but still didn't approach recklessly.

"You're Sosuke? I've received intel saying you'd arrive at the border outpost today. Do you have a mission scroll with you?"

He didn't blame Sakumo for being so cautious. After all, this was the border, and enemies could sneak in at any time.

He tossed his mission scroll over. After carefully inspecting it, Sakumo Hatake finally relaxed.

He approached him and said, "Welcome to the patrol team. Did you encounter an enemy attack earlier?"

He had, of course, noticed the four corpses on the ground. Since they were burned to this state, Sakumo couldn't tell which village the enemies were from.

He nodded and said, "The enemies were all wearing masks, so I couldn't confirm their identities. The leader was an Elite Jōnin, and the other three were also jōnin."

Although he wanted to brush it off with a vague response, Sosuke knew that Sakumo wasn't so easy to fool.

He had no choice but to tell him the report of the strength of the attackers without any lie.

Sakumo had a strong reaction upon hearing this.

"Did you say an Elite Jōnin? One of these four was an Elite Jonin, and you were able to kill them all?"

It's not that he didn't believe him, it's just that what he said was too hard to believe.

Sakumo could clearly sense that Sosuke's chakra level was only at that of an Elite Chūnin. 

For someone at that level to kill an Elite Jonin would be like a dream.

Sakumo had heard about Sosuke's kenjutsu more than once, and many people compared him to him.

They said he was just a weakened version of Konoha's White Fang.

In terms of age, Sakumo was only two years older than him, but his chakra level was at Kage level.

Thinking about this, he subconsciously assumed that Sosuke was exaggerating the enemy's strength because he wanted to compare himself to him.

"It's understandable for young people to be competitive, but you need to be realistic. You're a Tokubetsu Jonin, how could you possibly defeat an Elite Jonin? Even if you tell the truth, no one will underestimate you."

Sosuke couldn't help but think to himself, 'So he's actually underestimating me?'

Fortunately, he wasn't the type who liked to show off. Since Sakumo didn't believe him, he could only accept it and enjoy some peace.

If Sakumo really believed that he had killed an elite jōnin, who knew how many patrol missions he'd be assigned in the future?

As he remained silent, Sakumo assumed he had accepted his words and didn't think much more about it.

Afterward, Sakumo carefully examined the scene once more. 

After finding no valuable clues, Sakumo could only make a mental note of the incident and plan to investigate further later.

On the way back, Sosuke was stared at and whispered about by others.

Sosuke's position was kind of awkward. He wasn't high enough to be treated like a top shinobi but wasn't low enough to be ignored either.

"Have you heard? This Sosuke keeps saying that his kenjutsu is on par with Sakumo-sama!"

"I think he's just bragging. I've seen Sakumo-sama's kenjutsu, and he can even defeat Elite Jonin!"

"It looks like we'll have to put him in his place, or this kid won't know his place!"