Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Chapter 1030 Message Return and Miscalculation

Here, Qingming had just finished cultivating for a day according to the adjusted cultivation plan when, on the evening of the second day, the shadow clone left behind in the village sent him a message.

Fire Nation.

Northeastern region.

In that primeval forest.

Qingming, who was using the "Reflection Technique" to evolve his Sharingan, suddenly stopped.

A hint of doubt flashed in his eyes.

Then, he glanced around at the surrounding jungle, as if searching for which shadow clone had made a mistake, causing him to break down and resulting in the memory being transmitted to him.

But he quickly looked away.

There was no other reason than that he already knew who its owner was through the memories in his mind.

It wasn't a shadow clone that was cultivating nearby, but rather a shadow clone that stayed behind in the village that proactively delivered the message to him.

After confirming the owner of the memory, Qingming seemed to realize something, and quickly closed his eyes, concentrating all his attention to carefully browse through the memory.

Time passed by, minute by minute.

Several minutes later, Qingming finally opened his eyes again.

"Is it finally starting?"

Qingming murmured something.

At the same time, a sense of relief, as if his boots had landed on the ground, also appeared on his face.

That's right. According to the message from the shadow clone, Kushina Uzumaki is most likely about to give birth.

Just now, the Flying Thunder God mark he had left on Kakashi disappeared.

At the same time, there were also unusual movements among the Anbu ninja belonging to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

All of this points to one thing: what he has been waiting for is about to happen.

And he should go back now.
With that thought in mind, Qingming deactivated the 'Multiple Shadow Clone Technique'.

Instantly, all the shadow clones in the nearby forest disintegrated and vanished.

Suddenly, a flood of memories rushed into his mind.

Qingming suppressed his discomfort and quickly browsed through the memories, absorbing and digesting the cultivation experience contained within.

About ten minutes later, he finished processing the memories of these shadow clones.

After tidying up his equipment, he used the 'Flying Thunder God Technique' to teleport directly to the dense forest outside Konoha Village.

'Eye roll!'

With a silent command in mind, Qingming activated his Byakugan as usual and surveyed his surroundings.

After confirming that there was nothing unusual, he then approached Konoha Village.

However, as soon as he got closer, he discovered the problem.

Ahead, on the walls of Konoha, there were noticeably more ninjas on guard and patrol.

By rolling his eyes, Qingming observed the expressions on these people's faces.

As you can see, these people have obvious tension on their faces and are also unusually vigilant.

Of course, this doesn't mean they know anything.

As the village's top secret, even if these ninjas needed to be on high alert, the village could not tell them the truth.

The reason these people acted strangely was simply because, based on the series of unusual actions in the village recently, plus the sudden increase in the number of people sent today, they guessed that something big might happen in the village tonight.

That's why I seemed a little nervous.

This is also the survival wisdom of ordinary people.

As for why the village would reveal such an obvious flaw?

To this, Qingming can only say that times have changed.

In another timeline, the reason Konoha maintained a relaxed exterior but tight interior while waiting for Kushina Uzumaki to give birth was because they were unaware that someone was eyeing the Nine-Tails.

But now that we know this, we should naturally take advantage of our home field.

Therefore, choosing to impose martial law is quite normal.

In this way, even if it doesn't protect the Jinchūriki's safety, it can at least deter some petty people and prevent the situation from getting completely out of control.

Of course, there is another reason why Konoha made this choice: its confidence in its own strength.

Otherwise, they wouldn't dare to be so blatant.

These thoughts flashed through his mind, but Qingming quickly gathered them, activated 'Heavenly Defense', and passed through the Leaf Village walls and sensory barrier, entering the village. Afterwards, he traveled onward and returned home.

Upon returning home, he immediately used the 'Spirit Transformation Technique' to enhance his perception and sense the location of the Nine-Tails from a distance.

With his familiarity with the chakra of tailed beasts and jinchūriki, he quickly found his target.

"Huh, it's here!"

Qingming opened his eyes and muttered something under his breath.

Then, he exclaimed, "You're really brave!"

That's right, the location of the Nine-Tails that he sensed wasn't in any other hidden place, but in Hiruzen Sarutobi's mansion, the place he had just visited not long ago.

Qingming hadn't expected that Konoha would pull such a stunt here.

It's important to know that the former Hokage's residence is not a secret; it's not difficult for someone with the will to find it.

It's no wonder that Qingming said the other party was bold to place the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki here.

Wait ~
Just as he was reflecting on this, Qingming suddenly realized that in the shadow clone's memories, Hiruzen Sarutobi's ANBU subordinates didn't seem to be here.

With this in mind, Qingming closed his eyes again, sensing the locations of these people.

He quickly used the Flying Thunder God mark to pinpoint the location of these people. They were not in Hiruzen Sarutobi's mansion, but in another hidden underground place.

"Openly repair the plank road while secretly crossing the Chencang pass?"

In an instant, Qingming realized this possibility.

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

After all, given the inability to directly locate Kushina Uzumaki, a secluded place guarded by a large number of ANBU ninjas seemed more suitable as her hiding place.

In this situation, if the enemy appears, the most likely place they will look is that hidden spot.

Who knows, Konoha might have set up some kind of trap there, waiting for the enemy to walk right into it.

If we think about it more deeply, Konoha may have prepared more than just these two places. There might be a third or even a fourth backup location in other places.

In this way, even if both locations are exposed, Minato Namikaze can use the Flying Thunder God Technique to quickly relocate Kushina Uzumaki.

Should we investigate this?

This thought flashed through Qingming's mind.

But he quickly gave up on it.

There's no other reason than that, given the current situation, once he takes action, whether he succeeds or not, it will attract the attention of Konoha's higher-ups.

This time, he only intended to be the one to suffer the consequences, not to take the fall for Obito Uchiha.

Therefore, let Obito Uchiha test out what Konoha's backup plans are!

With that thought in mind, Qingming withdrew his thoughts, then closed his eyes again to sense the state of the Nine-Tailed Fox.

Since he knew that the seal on Kushina's body would loosen during childbirth, he could easily predict the progress of events by keeping a close eye on Kurama's movements.

After all, the Nine-Tails has been trapped for so long, it's impossible for it to remain indifferent and stay peacefully inside Kushina's body when it sees an opportunity. It will definitely take advantage of the loosening of the seal to cause some trouble.

In this way, as long as he confirms that the Nine-Tails' condition is abnormal, he can immediately understand how things have developed and then decide whether to take action.

Qingming was inwardly praising his own clever idea, but at that moment, things took an unexpected turn.

Just as he was sensing the Nine-Tails' state, the Nine-Tails, which could sense the malice and hostility of those around it, also sensed his presence through some unseen connection.

The next moment, a malicious roar rang in his ears, almost tearing his eardrums apart.

At the same time, the powerful oppressive aura unique to the Nine-Tails suddenly appeared in his mind.

Unconsciously, Qingming withdrew from the powerful perception state enhanced by the 'Spirit Transformation Technique'.

"Damn it, I miscalculated!"

Qingming cursed under his breath and quickly dispelled the 'Spirit Transformation Technique'.

Just now, he was only thinking about monitoring the Nine-Tails' movements, but he never expected that the Nine-Tails could sense him in reverse through some unseen connection.

This caught him completely off guard.

If that were all, it would be fine.

The key point is that the Nine-Tails' outburst will inevitably attract the attention of others.

Even if no one else noticed anything, Kushina Uzumaki, as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, would definitely have noticed something amiss.

Qingming could almost imagine that things must be in complete chaos on Kushina's side right now.

And just as Qingming had predicted, a commotion did indeed break out at Hiruzen Sarutobi's residence.

(End of this chapter)