[41] The Unseen Future

Sora quickly stepped forward and picked up the cards, then backed away a few steps before beginning to examine them.

Though he didn't mind killing, he still wasn't fond of such gruesome scenes.

[Blue Card: +100 Chakra. Fuse?]

[Blue Card: +10 Physique. Fuse?]

[Blue Card: Fire Style – Basic Combustion Jutsu. Fuse?]

...

Eight consecutive blue cards—all dropped by the Chūnin-level opponents.

After fusing those, the remaining four purple cards were the real reward.

[Purple Card: +1,000 Chakra. Fuse?]

[Purple Card: +100 Physique. Fuse?]

[Purple Card: Earth Style – Light-Weight Boulder Jutsu. Fuse?]

[Purple Card: Secret Technique – Hive Nest Jutsu. Fuse?]

The first three were obviously valuable at a glance. As for the last one, Sora tapped to check the detailed description.

[Hive Nest Jutsu: Modify your body into a hive for bees to reside in, granting you full control over their movement and behavior.]

Just reading that made Sora shiver.

Wasn't this the technique of that bee-controlling clan who were rivals of the Aburame Clan?

Imagining his own body hollowed out and swarming with bees crawling inside made Sora's stomach churn with nausea.

He immediately shook his head and gave a firm command: "Fuse everything except the Hive Nest Jutsu. Get rid of that thing!"

As his order went through, the card representing the Hive Nest Jutsu began to turn translucent before shattering into powder—rendered completely useless.

Only then did the remaining three purple cards fuse into his body, further boosting his strength.

By now, his power had reached the edge of quasi-Kage level. Though he still lacked vast chakra reserves, it was nearly equivalent to having two Kakashis' worth.

Glancing at his system panel, Sora felt cheerful as he continued on toward the Fire Country's capital city.

These bounty hunters were truly helpful! Without them, he wouldn't have grown this strong so quickly.

Smack! He slapped his forehead.

That old geezer Ōnoki from Iwagakure could fly using the Ultra Light-Weight Boulder Jutsu. Even though Sora only had the basic Light-Weight Boulder version, surely it could still allow him to fly?

No sooner thought than done—his fingers flew through a series of hand signs, and moments later, Sora's body began to float shakily in the air.

Just like tree-climbing and water-walking, his lack of familiarity caused a few crashes.

But after about an hour, Sora had completely mastered the technique, gliding freely through the blue sky.

"I really need to get my hands on the Ultra version someday!"

Right now, his flight speed was on par with an average jōnin's sprinting pace, and his max altitude was just about a hundred meters.

Worst of all, the chakra drain was pretty significant—he could only maintain flight for four hours before running dry.

After savoring the freedom of the skies, the capital city of the Fire Country came into view.

He grabbed a bite to eat and checked into an inn to recover his chakra.

The bounty exchange office could wait—attacking without chakra was suicide.

What Sora didn't know was that a group of bounty hunters had been waiting for him along the road—but because of his aerial detour, he had unknowingly bypassed them.

One wonders what their expressions would be when they arrived to find the exchange office wiped out.

...

While Sora was soaring through the skies, the other Chūnin Exam participants had already returned to their home villages.

Before even going home, they rushed straight into their Kage's offices.

What they had seen and heard during their month in Konoha completely shattered their worldview.

"Lord Tsuchikage, during this trip to Konoha, I saw things I never imagined possible—we must establish trade relations with them!"

Bursting into the office, Yellow Earth's deep voice echoed off the walls.

Ōnoki raised an eyebrow at his son's urgency and barked, "Calm down! Start from the beginning!"

After a full day of explanation, Yellow Earth laid out everything he'd witnessed, not leaving out a single detail. The old man was stunned.

But knowing his son's honest and simple nature, Ōnoki understood it must all be true.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, he immediately convened a council of elders and dispatched envoys to Konoha to begin trade negotiations.

Sunagakure was even more direct. Fourth Kazekage Rasa, who had gone to observe the Chūnin Exams in Konoha, simply refused to leave. He demanded trade relations on the spot.

As time passed, word of Konoha's transformation spread like wildfire across the entire shinobi world. Merchants and shinobi flooded in every day.

This left Minato absolutely swamped. Working late into the night, he barely had time to sleep.

And yet, watching the money pour into Konoha like snowflakes in a blizzard, he couldn't help but feel pleased.

A painful kind of joy.

Thankfully, Hiruzen Sarutobi, seeing Konoha grow stronger by the day, gave up on his power-grabbing ambitions and began helping Minato manage the workload.

Only Kirigakure remained silent in the face of this news. While Obito manipulated Yagura into slaughtering the bloodline clans, he also made contact with Danzo Shimura.

Even though Danzo had fallen to civilian status, his access to information remained extensive.

In his desire to eliminate both Minato and Kushina, he leaked the news of Kushina's pregnancy and upcoming delivery to Obito, urging him to prepare.

Obito did hesitate at the thought of Minato and Kushina—but the memory of Rin's smile and voice pushed him into firm resolve.

What he didn't know was that originally, Sora had planned to redeem him—but after seeing Obito on the night of the Nine-Tails attack, he was marked for death.

That tale is for another time.

At that very moment, atop Mount Myōboku—one of the Three Great Sage Lands—the Great Toad Sage suddenly awoke.

"A variable... I can no longer see the future clearly!"

The enormous toad's body trembled slightly, his ancient face filled with shock and concern.

Fukasaku and Shima, standing nearby, exchanged stunned glances.

The Great Toad Sage was known as an omniscient seer who could peer into the future itself!

Now, to say a single variable had clouded the future—that was beyond belief.

But looking at the old sage's expression, they could only fall silent. The truth spoke louder than doubt.

What followed was a growing worry about Mount Myōboku's fate.

Their survival over the centuries had relied on the sage's precognition, allowing them to always bind themselves to the strong—like the Sage of Six Paths, Jiraiya, and the future Uzumaki Naruto. Each era had a protector aligned with them.

But the future…

They weren't the only ones disturbed. The other two great sage lands had begun to stir as well.

Not long after, a painting began circulating between the three sacred sites—a painting of a blood-soaked battlefield, with a lone figure standing amidst mountains of corpses.

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