Naruto: The Clanless Prince

Sora took the initiative to confront the leader of Yugakure.

The leader of Yugakure was regarded as the strongest shinobi in the village, whether among the Jonin or the Kumogakure shinobi stationed there.

Although many shinobi were present in Yugakure, the core forces of Kumogakure were not part of the station.

This was because, compared to other strongholds of Kumogakure, the one in Yugakure was considered exceptionally safe.

After all, the Kumogakure shinobi never expected the Konoha shinobi to bypass their other, more strategic strongholds and instead target Yugakure directly.

As a result, while there were numerous Kumogakure shinobi in Yugakure, most were Chūnin or Genin, with only a handful of Jōnin.

Not a single Elite Jōnin was among them.

The Yugakure leader glared at Sora, wasting no time with words or unnecessary gestures. He immediately began weaving hand seals.

"Water Style: Water Grain!"

The Yugakure leader thrust his palms forward, firing a barrage of water bullets at Qianyu.

Sora dodged swiftly, evading the attack.

The water bullets struck the ground with tremendous force, leaving deep craters.

Seizing the opportunity, Sora hurled several kunai at the Yugakure leader, each fitted with an attached explosive tag.

The tags detonated on impact, filling the area with a thick cloud of dust that engulfed the Yugakure leader.

"Earth Style: Rock Pillar Prison!"

As Sora completed his hand seals, pillars of earth erupted from the ground within the dust cloud, forming a cage intended to trap the Yugakure leader.

"Water Style: Water Horn Technique!"

Before the earth pillars could fully form, the Yugakure leader leapt into the air, spitting out a stream of water in the shape of a horn. The water smashed through the earth pillars and surged toward Sora.

"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"

Sora quickly erected an earth wall, using it to block the incoming torrent.

He then drew his Chūnin sword, focusing his chakra.

"Breath of Thunder: Fifth Form—Heat World Thunder!"

Sora unleashed a lightning-infused slash, the blade radiating intense heat as it streaked toward the Yugakure leader in midair.

The Yugakure leader's eyes narrowed sharply. He had been observing Sora closely from the start of their encounter and recognized the technique immediately.

The lightning slash moved with incredible speed, closing in on its target in an instant.

However, just before it could strike, the Yugakure leader completed his hand seals.

"Wind Style: Wind Cut Technique!"

He clapped his hands together, conjuring wind blades sharp enough to cleave through the incoming lightning slash.

The Yugakure leader successfully deflected the attack, sending the dissipated energy scattering harmlessly around him.

Sora's eyes narrowed slightly.

'In addition to Water Style, he's proficient with Wind Style ninjutsu as well,' Sora thought.

Moreover, the speed at which he executed the Wind Style technique was noticeably faster than his earlier Water Style jutsu.

'Does this mean he specializes in Wind Style ninjutsu?'

With this in mind, Sora made his move.

"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!"

Forming the necessary seals, Sora unleashed a linear stream of flames that raced toward the Yugakure leader at blinding speed.

The moment the Yugakure leader was struck by the flames, his body was enveloped in smoke.

When the smoke cleared, the leader was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a burning tree stump.

It was the Body Replacement Technique.

Sora's Sharingan spun rapidly as he searched for the Yugakure leader's true location.

Suddenly, a kunai shot directly toward him.

"Wind Style: Firewind Palm!"

The Yugakure leader, hidden in the shadows, clapped his hands, compressing wind chakra into a violent gale that accelerated the kunai toward Sora with incredible speed.

Sora immediately used the Body Flicker Technique, disappearing from his position just before the kunai could reach him.

Once he reappeared and steadied himself on the ground, Sora quickly counterattacked.

"Breath of Thunder: Fourth Form—Distant Thunder!"

Lightning erupted from Sora's body as he dashed forward at an incredible speed, closing the distance to where the kunai had been launched.

His Sharingan locked onto the Yugakure leader, who was standing on a tree trunk. Without hesitation, Sora swung his blade, slashing at him with precision and speed.

However, just as his sword struck, the Yugakure leader's body transformed into a puddle of water.

It was a Water Clone Technique.

From a short distance away, the Yugakure leader's voice rang out once more.

"Water Style: Water Prison Technique!"

The water clone from before dissolved and reformed into a spherical prison of water, instantly trapping Sora.

The Yugakure leader approached with a kunai in hand, glaring at Sora, who was now submerged in the water prison.

"This is the end!" he muttered, his voice filled with malice.

As the Yugakure leader stabbed Sora with the kunai, Sora pressed his sword horizontally against his chest, his eyes narrowing in focus.

"Breath of Thunder: Ground Form—Thunderburst!"

A surge of lightning erupted from Sora's body, sending electrified slashes outward in all directions. The lightning shattered the water prison in an instant, forcing the Yugakure leader to retreat as Sora swiftly widened the gap between them.

The Yugakure leader frowned deeply, muttering to himself, "Lightning techniques that don't require hand seals... troublesome indeed."

Had Sora needed to form seals, the Yugakure leader would have easily ended the fight while he was trapped. However, with techniques like these, it was impossible to predict when Sora would attack.

The Yugakure leader's expression became conflicted.

"You've already reached the strength of a Jōnin at such a young age... Konoha really is full of geniuses."

Bitterness welled up inside him. Why were all the prodigies born in the great nations? For a small village like Yugakure, producing even one genius would bring immense recognition.

In front of him now were not one, but four prodigies from Konoha.

There was no need to mention Orochimaru and Jiraiya.

The boy in front of him, Sora, was clearly a genius.

And even the yellow-haired boy with them—though slightly less impressive than Sora—was far superior to the others and undoubtedly a prodigy as well.

But it was Sora who truly inspired envy in the Yugakure leader.

At such a young age, he had already mastered ninjutsu from four different elements—lightning, fire, water, and earth. He also possessed the Sharingan, one of the Three Great Dojutsu. His strength was already at the level of a Jōnin.

The Yugakure leader couldn't help but think, 'If only a genius like him was from Yugakure...'

If Yugakure had someone of Sora's calibre or even a shinobi like Hanzō of the Salamander from Amegakure, they wouldn't have to rely on other nations in times of war.

During the Second Shinobi World War, Amegakure had become a main battlefield for the great nations, yet with Hanzō of the Salamander leading them. They had managed to endure.

It was a stark reminder of how important a single powerful ninja could be for a village.

Sora's Sharingan continued to track the Yugakure leader's every movement.

He realized now how he had been caught earlier.

The Yugakure leader had deliberately revealed the location of his water clone by throwing the kunai and baiting Qianyu to destroy it. Once Sora did, the leader used the opportunity to trap him in the Water Prison Technique.

But Sora wouldn't fall for the same trick twice.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

Sora formed seals, manipulating the water around him to create a massive dragon that roared as it surged toward the Yugakure leader.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

The Yugakure leader wasn't about to back down. He formed his own seals, summoning an equally large water dragon to meet Sora's attack head-on.

Sora smirked, raising his ninja sword and pointing it at his water dragon.

"Breath of Thunder: Fifth Form—Heat World Thunder!"

The water dragon Sora created became infused with crackling lightning, radiating intense heat.

When the two water dragons collided, the clash was devastating. The impact caused both dragons to explode in a shower of water droplets that rained down from above.

The Yugakure leader's eyes widened in shock.

The falling water droplets were laced with Sora's residual lightning chakra, creating an inescapable electric storm.

With no shelter nearby, the Yugakure leader realized there was nowhere to run.

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