The four teenagers froze.
Because in their eyes, Sora was nothing more than a white-haired old man who looked as though he might struggle to even lift a sword.
Yet what happened next completely overturned that impression.
The instant Hiruzen answered—
Sora’s eyes turned blood-red.
He suddenly rose to his feet.
The fingernails on his left hand transformed into razor-sharp claws.
Then—
he turned.
SHNK!
Blood sprayed through the air.
Five deep claw marks were torn across the shinobi’s shoulder.
Flesh split open.
Even the bone beneath had been gouged deeply enough to resemble cuts made by a blade.
Before the man could react—
Sora’s right hand also transformed.
Five claws stabbed directly into the man’s chest.
BANG!
Several ribs snapped.
The wounded shinobi was blasted backward and crashed heavily onto the ground.
“AHHH!”
Pain from torn flesh and shattered bones forced a scream from his throat.
But his injuries were too severe.
He couldn’t even stand anymore, much less escape.
After hearing that this man had already killed several Konoha shinobi, Sora naturally had no reason to be gentle.
From beginning to end—
the entire exchange had taken only one or two seconds.
The chūnin-level shinobi that Hiruzen and the others had been chasing for so long…
was simply lying on the ground.
Defeated.
Sora’s crimson eyes quickly returned to normal.
He casually shook out the wide sleeves of his robe.
The claws on his hands disappeared.
Then he looked toward the four teenagers.
“If you don’t tie him up soon, he really might escape.”
“…Oh!”
“Right!”
The four finally snapped out of their daze.
They rushed forward and immediately restrained the injured shinobi.
Once the prisoner was secured, Hiruzen hurried toward Sora.
His eyes were filled with excitement.
“Elder, that was amazing!”
“Are you a shinobi from Konoha?”
Sora nodded.
“I am.”
He casually pointed toward the distance.
“My house isn’t far from here.”
“You can come over sometime if you’re free.”
Hiruzen followed his finger.
His eyes immediately widened.
Not far away stood the enormous seaside villa Hashirama had built for Sora.
“Whoa!”
“That house is huge!”
Hiruzen grinned.
“Can we really visit?”
“Of course.”
Sora smiled.
Internally, however, he was studying the boy.
Compared to the calm, serious Third Hokage from later on…
young Hiruzen is surprisingly similar to Naruto.
Talkative.
Friendly with strangers.
And a little reckless.
Hiruzen’s grin grew even wider.
“I’ll definitely come!”
“I’ve never stayed in a seaside mansion before!”
“Even my grandfather’s courtyard is smaller than yours!”
Homura and Koharu also thanked Sora.
Soon afterward, the four teenagers prepared to leave with their prisoner.
From beginning to end—
Danzō said nothing.
He still believed his earlier decision had been correct.
If sacrificing an innocent civilian meant preventing an enemy spy from escaping with Konoha’s secrets…
then that sacrifice was acceptable.
But Danzō also understood one thing.
His words had almost certainly offended the old man.
Sora, however, didn’t particularly care.
Some beliefs were formed when people were young.
Danzō had always been the kind of person willing to pursue results by any means necessary.
If sacrificing others served what he believed to be Konoha’s interests—
he would do it.
Seeing those tendencies already developing in him wasn’t particularly surprising.
The four teenagers soon disappeared into the forest.
Sora calmly returned to fishing.
But not long afterward—
someone else arrived.
A man wearing white combat clothing walked out from the trees.
Hyūga Kiyoshi.
He approached Sora and placed a bamboo box beside him.
Then he bowed respectfully.
“Thank you for showing mercy during our previous battle, Elder.”
“This is a gift from the Hyūga clan.”
Sora kept his attention on the water.
He didn’t even look at Kiyoshi.
“I didn’t really show mercy.”
“Kiyoshi, your taijutsu was simply better than Uchiha Yū’s.”
“Rotation blocked roughly a third of the power behind my punch.”
“The Hyūga clan’s reputation for taijutsu is well deserved.”
Then Sora added casually,
“Still…”
“I like receiving gifts.”
“Leave it there.”
“You can go.”
Kiyoshi didn’t move.
Sora didn’t bother looking at him either.
He simply continued fishing.
After a moment, Kiyoshi placed something else beside Sora.
It looked like a long bamboo staff.
“I paid a considerable amount of money to have this forged by a master craftsman from the Land of Iron.”
Sora finally glanced sideways.
“A walking stick?”
His expression became strange.
Kiyoshi had personally fought him.
He should know perfectly well that Sora had no need for a cane.
What was this supposed to mean?
Sora casually picked it up.
Immediately—
his expression changed.
Heavy.
This definitely wasn’t ordinary bamboo.
Sora set down his fishing rod.
Then he pulled on the handle.
SHING!
A snow-white blade slid free.
It was roughly two fingers wide, with an exceptionally sharp edge.
Sora’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Kiyoshi explained,
“The blade can conduct chakra of any nature.”
“The Hatake clan is famous throughout Konoha for its swordsmanship.”
“Your swordsmanship must also be extraordinary.”
“I assumed you might simply lack a weapon worthy of you.”
“So I had this prepared as a gift.”
Sora examined the blade.
“Good sword.”
Then he sheathed it again.
A smile appeared on his face.
“I’ll accept it.”
“Now tell me what you actually want.”
Kiyoshi immediately lowered his head.
“I want to become your student.”
Sora paused.
Then he looked at him.
“My taijutsu isn’t suitable for you.”
“The Hyūga Gentle Fist relies on continuous attacks and precise strikes.”
“My style…”
Sora smiled faintly.
“Usually ends everything with one hit.”
“You’ve experienced that personally.”
Outwardly, Sora looked completely composed.
Internally—
Shit.
I’m about to get exposed.
It’s not like the system gives me Son Goku every time.
What exactly am I supposed to teach him?
For a moment, Sora almost regretted accepting the sword.
But he’d already acted like a mysterious master and accepted the gift.
Handing it back now would look ridiculous.
Fortunately—
Kiyoshi quickly spoke again.
“You misunderstand me.”
“I don’t want to learn your taijutsu.”
Sora blinked.
Kiyoshi continued,
“I assume that kind of technique may be a secret inheritance of the Hatake clan.”
“I only want to spar with you whenever you have time.”
“Through fighting you, I want to discover the weaknesses in my own taijutsu.”
Then—
Kiyoshi hesitated.
His expression became awkward.
“And…”
Sora waited.
Kiyoshi finally forced the words out.
“Please don’t cripple me.”
“…What?”
Sora stared at him.
Kiyoshi continued seriously,
“Uchiha Yū still hasn’t recovered.”
“I’m a few years younger than him, but I want to surpass him.”
“If I’m repeatedly injured badly enough that I can’t train, my progress will suffer.”
He paused.
“You can injure me.”
“That’s fine.”
“Just…”
“Please don’t leave me bedridden for too long.”
His expression became increasingly uncomfortable.
“And every time I need treatment from Lady Mito…”
“Even though the Hyūga clan is wealthy…”
“the medical costs are starting to hurt.”
Sora nearly laughed.
So that’s it?
The problem solved itself before I even had to make something up.
Sora had been worried that if they fought again and he couldn’t reproduce that overwhelming one-punch victory, Kiyoshi might become suspicious.
But if Kiyoshi specifically didn’t want to be crippled?
That made everything easy.
As long as the system existed—
ten minutes a day was more than enough for sparring.
Sora smiled.
“That’s simple enough.”
“I’ll accept you as my student.”
He slowly stood.
“Let’s start now.”
Then, without hesitation—
50/50 ability, activate.
Target locked:
Hyūga Kiyoshi.
[Random selection…]
[One Piece World — Roronoa Zoro.]
[Calculating combat power…]
[Suppressing power…]
[Combat power adjusted to equal Hyūga Kiyoshi.]
[Activation complete!]
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