"Search!"
After pondering for a moment, Qingming directly ordered the ninjas in the four teams to search the surrounding dense forest.
This wasn't due to a lack of trust in Hinata Feihua's Byakugan; rather, he wouldn't be satisfied until they conducted a thorough search.
However, after a full quarter of an hour, they still found nothing.
During this time, the other three teams caught up, and upon hearing Qingming's account, they also joined the search.
Unfortunately, they came up empty-handed as well.
With no choice, the group continued to advance.
Nonetheless, everyone remained on high alert.
Not long after they moved on, several figures appeared nearby, cloaked in black and wearing masks, clearly resembling Konoha's Anbu attire.
However, when the leader lifted his mask, it revealed the familiar face of Oil Girl Ryoma.
It was evident that they were not actual Anbu ninjas but rather root ninjas under Danzo's command.
Oil Girl Ryoma approached a tree, turning his palm upward as strands of chakra dispersed around him.
After a moment, several tiny insects, smaller than sesame seeds, emerged from the soil, crawling onto his hand and beginning to consume the chakra.
These were not ordinary insects.
They were the unique parasitic insects of the Oil Girl clan, specially cultivated and mutated.
Compared to regular parasitic insects, their presence was much more subtle.
This subtlety allowed them to evade detection from Qingming and the others.
Indeed, the sense of being watched that Qingming had felt stemmed from these insects.
Of course, it wasn't the insects themselves observing him; rather, Oil Girl Ryoma was using a secret technique to watch him through them.
Unfortunately, these insects were so small that their internal chakra was nearly nonexistent, coupled with their unique ability to mask their presence, allowing them to escape Qingming's reverse tracking.
However, Qingming's intense reactions made Oil Girl Ryoma cautious, preventing him from approaching too closely.
That said, abandoning the task was out of the question.
Unless Danzo gave the order to stop, the root ninjas would not abandon their mission.
Having undergone "self-elimination" training, they had become true mission tools.
No matter how dire the circumstances, they would do everything in their power to complete the mission, even at the cost of their lives.
Of course, Oil Girl Ryoma was a bit special. As Danzo's right-hand man, he had greater autonomy and could make certain judgments on his own.
Based on Oil Girl Ryoma's assessment, although Qingming had detected some abnormalities, he had not uncovered his presence.
Since the task did not require his direct involvement, he decided to proceed with the mission.
Indeed, Oil Girl Ryoma would not be making a move this time, nor would any of the root ninjas take the initiative to attack.
This was Danzo's directive!
After learning about Qingming and Uchiha Shisui's latest achievements, Danzo had abandoned the option of directly sending his subordinates to eliminate them.
This wasn't out of compassion for their lives, but rather because intervening personally could easily alarm the prey.
Thus, during this cautious period, he planned to borrow a knife to kill.
As for which knife to borrow?
Now that they were already at the battlefield of the Mist Village, who better to use than the forces of the Mist Village itself?
After stowing the parasitic insects in his body, Oil Girl Ryoma said, "Hawk, immediately send a message to Mukyo, stating that the target has entered the Fire Country and instruct him to prepare for action."
"Yes!"
The response came from a hoarse voice, rendered even more eerie by the mask he wore.
However, the other root ninjas showed no reaction to his words, each behaving like cold machines, completely unaffected by the external world.
After the root ninja responded, he raised his right hand and placed his thumb in his mouth.
In the next moment, blood flowed out.
Then, with swift hand movements, he quickly formed the "Hai—Xu—You—Shen—Wei" five seals, casting the "Summoning Technique."
As the summoning technique was executed, a large night owl appeared in the clearing.
Following this, the root ninja pulled out paper and ink from his robes, quickly writing down the intelligence before placing it in the owl's mouth, instructing it to fly into the sky.
Once this was completed, the owl nodded to Oil Girl Ryoma, who then withdrew his gaze and said, "Let's go!"
With that, he took the lead, pursuing the direction Qingming and the others had gone.
The other root ninjas immediately followed suit.
Time passed quickly, and it was now the fourth day.
That evening.
Qingming sat cross-legged on a tree branch, deep in meditation, when he suddenly frowned and opened his eyes.
At the same moment, a hint of helplessness flashed in his gaze.
Just now, he had sensed the gaze of someone watching him again. Although it was faint and fleeting, he had caught it.
In fact, not only today, but for the past few days, he had felt this presence almost two to three times daily. Though the intensity of the observation had decreased since the first instance, it was indeed still there.
Initially, he would alert the others and conduct searches, but as the occurrences increased, he stopped worrying about it.
Sometimes, Qingming wondered if this was the enemy's strategy, deliberately trying to numb him with such tactics to wear down his energy.
If that were the case, he would certainly let them know the consequences of provoking him.
Also, today marked the fourth day.
If the enemy planned to strike before they reached the battlefield, tonight would be the ideal opportunity.
Because tomorrow afternoon, they would arrive at their destination, and after midday, they would essentially enter Konoha's defensive perimeter.
In such a situation, it would be considerably more challenging for them to make a move.
Thus, Qingming decided against sleeping tonight.
With his current attribute of 19 in "Spirit," a day without sleep wouldn't be a problem at all.
While he was lost in thought, he heard the faint sound of footsteps approaching. Qingming turned to see Uchiha Shisui standing beneath the tree.
Without delay, Shisui performed a "Body Flicker Technique," appearing right in front of him.
"Is there something you need?" Qingming asked directly, noticing that Shisui had come seeking him after their initial conversation before departure.
Indeed, Shisui's expression was serious as he replied, "Qingming, I also noticed the presence you mentioned today."
"Oh? You sensed it too?"
"Exactly!"
Shisui nodded, continuing, "I've asked the others, and it seems only the two of us have detected it. Unless the others are simply too dull to notice…"
"Then it means we are being targeted."
Qingming completed his sentence.
As for the rest of the team's sensory abilities...
He found it hard to believe that none of them could match the two of them; he wasn't a specialized sensor ninja nor had he trained in sensory ninjutsu.
Although his mental strength was formidable due to the Sharingan, he was merely in the instinctive application stage, which wasn't much stronger than that of a sensor-type ninja.
Given the intensity of the probing, sensor ninjas would surely detect it.
Among the team, there were two special Jonin from the Yamanaka clan, yet they had not detected anything.
It was evident that the enemy's focus was solely on the two of them.
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