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Chapter 30: First Mission
In the bustling village of Konoha, a peculiar red-headed boy named Sora was sprinting through the streets, his chunin vest flapping in the wind. At just six years old, Sora was quite the anomaly - an orphan, a newly minted chunin, and a walking disaster in the eyes of many villagers. His vibrant red hair stood out like a beacon, and the scar running from top to bottom over his left eye gave him an air of mystery that belied his young age.
As he raced towards the Hokage Tower, Sora couldn't help but grin. He'd just finished mastering the chakra control exercises Tsunade had assigned him, and by 'just,' he meant 'barely in time.' The bracers on his arms, embedded with storage seals, clinked softly as he ran, reminding him of the vast array of tools and tricks he had quite literally up his sleeve.
"Made it!" Sora exclaimed, skidding to a halt outside the Hokage Tower. He took a moment to catch his breath, his hand unconsciously tracing the hidden blue spiral tattoo on his right shoulder blade - a massive storage seal that held more secrets than most ninjas twice his age.
As he made his way up to the Hokage's chamber, he spotted a familiar face. "Oh Sora, nice timing," Shizune called out, Tonton the pig oinking in agreement. "Lady Tsunade told me to call you."
Sora rubbed the back of his head, a grin spreading across his face. "Hehe, my timing is always perfect, nee-chan!" With that, he knocked on the Hokage's door and waltzed in, his confidence bordering on cockiness.
Tsunade, the current Hokage and one of the legendary Sannin looked up from her paperwork. "That was fast," she remarked, raising an eyebrow.
"My middle name is Speed," Sora quipped back, puffing out his chest. "Though I guess my first name would be 'Trouble' and my last name 'Maker'."
Tsunade rolled her eyes, but there was a hint of amusement in her expression. "Alright, 'Trouble Speed Maker,' report on your progress."
Sora launched into a detailed explanation of his chakra control exercises, occasionally using exaggerated hand gestures that made Tsunade wonder if he was secretly practising some new jutsu. After listening to his report and clearing up his doubts, she nodded approvingly.
"Good. Here's the next set of exercises," she said, shoving a big scroll at him. "This should push your chakra enhancement to the next level. Try not to blow up any training grounds this time."
Sora's eyes lit up as he tucked the scroll into his bracers. "No promises, Tsunade-baachan!" he said cheekily, using Naruto's favourite nickname for her.
Just as he was about to leave, Tsunade called out, "Oh, and I called you here for a mission."
The boy straightened up immediately, his demeanour shifting from playful to serious in an instant. This would be his first official mission as a chunin or as a ninja - the search for Tsunade didn't count, much to his chagrin.
"Contact Shikamaru immediately. He'll fill you in. He leaves in three hours at most, so pack up for a month-long mission and meet him," Tsunade instructed.
With a nod and a quick "Hai, Hokage-sama!" Sora bolted out of the office, using the Body Flicker technique to zip towards the Nara Clan's residence. As he flickered from rooftop to rooftop, his mind raced with excitement. A real mission! With Shikamaru, no less! He wondered if Ino and Choji would be coming too - the famous Ino-Shika-Cho trio was always a force to be reckoned with.
As he reached the gate of the Nara compound, the usually sleepy guards snapped to attention, their eyes wide with a mixture of surprise and apprehension. Sora's reputation as a prankster rivalling even Naruto had clearly preceded him.
"Relax, guys," Sora said, summoning his chunin vest and putting it on with a flourish. "I'm here for a mission, not a prank. Though I suppose I could multitask if you're feeling left out..."
The guards exchanged wary glances, clearly debating whether this was part of another elaborate prank. Fortunately for them, Shikamaru's timely arrival saved them from making a troublesome decision.
"Oh, Sora," Shikamaru drawled, his hands in his pockets. "Good timing. I was thinking of finding you. Let's meet up with the others."
As they walked towards the Akimichi clan's residence, Shikamaru casually asked, "By the way, where do you live now? I went to your old address, but it seems you've moved."
Sora rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Well, I live in Training Ground 96 these days. Great view, lots of space, and the rent is dirt cheap!" He laughed, trying to play off his homelessness as a joke.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know they allowed people to live in training grounds."
"Well, I did some black- convincing, you know," Sora said, quickly correcting himself. "I'm great at persuasion!" He flashed a winning smile that wouldn't have looked out of place on Naruto's face.
Shikamaru's eyes narrowed slightly as he pieced together the situation. "So, let me guess. You were kicked out of your apartment complex due to suddenly becoming a chunin. And seeing that you went on a mission with Jiraiya of the Sannin, you didn't have enough time to buy a new house. So you thought of staying on the training ground, which you technically 'owned' due to some blackmailing you did to higher-ups."
Sora maintained a poker face, having anticipated Shikamaru's deduction. "Hey now, are you trying to imply that I'm homeless?" he said with a smile, staring directly at Shikamaru who stared back. "Because that would be... absolutely correct. Man, you're good at this!"
Shikamaru tripped over his own feet, caught off guard by Sora's blunt admission. "Damn, you should have started from there," he grumbled. "It would have been less troublesome."
They reached Choji's house, where the rotund boy greeted them with a friendly wave and an offer of chips. "Yo Sora! Have a chip!"
Sora popped one in his mouth. "I like this flavour! It tastes like... victory and youth!" he declared, channelling his inner Might Guy.
This prompted Choji to launch into a detailed explanation about the chips, their flavours, and the manufacturing process. "You see, this particular chip is made from a rare potato grown only in the mountains of the Land of Earth. The soil there gives it a unique mineral content that, when combined with our secret family recipe..."
Sora nodded along, pretending to understand the barrage of chip-related terminology being thrown at him. He caught words like "double-fried," "umami explosion," and "chakra-infused seasoning," but most of it went over his head. Still, he appreciated Choji's passion.
Their next stop was Ino's house where they picked up Ino. As they headed towards the village gate, Ino couldn't contain her curiosity any longer. "When did you become a chunin, Sora? Last I checked, you were still pulling pranks in the Academy!"
"Well, things happened," Sora replied vaguely, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Mainly due to infiltrating your chunin exams and helping during the invasion. You know, the usual career path for a six-year-old ninja."
"Wait, you infiltrated our chunin exams?" Ino gasped, shocked. Choji stopped munching on his chips, equally surprised.
Shikamaru, however, remained unfazed. "Duh, wasn't it obvious? He was the guy battling the second Hyuga, which should have been Hanabi, right? The third teammate was probably a clone."
Sora looked at Shikamaru in surprise. "Wait, you knew? And here I thought my disguise was foolproof! I even practised my 'I'm definitely not a six-year-old prodigy' walk for weeks!"
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