Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Chapter 1040 'Return'

And so, the two sides chased and fled, soon approaching the location of the Konoha wall.

However, just as he was about to leave Konoha Village, Qingming suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Seeing this, Uchiha Shisui, who was hot on his heels, also stopped his pursuit and looked at Qingming from a distance of more than ten meters.

Coincidentally, the two people here are both the original forms.

The silent staring contest lasted for several seconds before Qingming spoke first: "You're chasing me so closely, let me see your strength."

As he spoke, just like before, he stretched out his right arm and conjured more than a dozen vines, forming a large net that enveloped Uchiha Shisui.

Without wasting words, Uchiha Shisui immediately brandished his short sword, using the power of Wind Release chakra to cut off all the vines attacking him in the blink of an eye.

"Not bad!"

Qingming exclaimed in admiration, then stomped his right foot on the ground.

The next moment, more vines sprouted from the ground, some continuing to entwine around Uchiha Shisui, while others lashed out at him like whips.

Another part, shaped like javelins, shot out from the ground and pierced various parts of Uchiha Shisui's body with lightning speed.

Faced with so many attacks from different directions, Uchiha Shisui dared not be careless in the slightest, and his three-tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly.

With his keen insight, he dodged the vines' attacks while counterattacking, cutting off the incoming vines, and keeping an eye on Qingming's movements.

This can be described as a competition of basic abilities.

Qingming didn't use his full strength, and neither did Uchiha Shisui. The two were simply competing in the most basic areas: observation skills and the ability to control chakra.

Qingming needs to use chakra as a medium to control the movement of each vine, while Uchiha Shisui needs to maintain the wind release chakra on the blade at all times to precisely cut the different vines controlled by Qingming.

It has to be said that without activating his Sharingan and using other abilities, he really couldn't beat Uchiha Shisui.

His opponent rushed in front of him several times, just one step away from hurting him.

Unfortunately, he unleashed even more chakra and manipulated a large number of vines to block them.

Time passes minute by minute.

As if sensing something, Qingming suddenly withdrew all the vines and said impatiently, "Forget it, I'm not fighting anymore."

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Shisui was slightly taken aback, not understanding what Qingming meant.

But judging from his tone, he was certain of his guess—the person in front of him was none other than Qingming.

This left Uchiha Shisui somewhat conflicted, unsure of what to do.

He has been thinking about this issue for some time now.

But Qingming's sudden move left him somewhat bewildered.

So, Uchiha Shisui asked directly, "What exactly do you want?"

He didn't mention Qingming's name, but directly asked about his purpose.

Clearly, even now, he is very cautious and does not want to take any risks to let people know that the person in front of him is Qingming.

This was both to protect Qingming and to prevent his actions from implicating the Uchiha clan.

Qingming appreciated his caution, and smiled, saying, "It's nothing, just catching a tailed beast."

"no!"

Before he could finish speaking, Uchiha Shisui decisively refused, saying, "The Nine-Tails belongs to the village. You can't take it away; it will cause great turmoil."

"Oh, really not okay?"

Upon hearing this, Qingming narrowed his eyes slightly, and his three-tomoe Sharingan had already been activated without him even realizing it.

On the other side, seeing Qingming's reaction, Uchiha Shisui did not back down either. He immediately activated his Mangekyou Sharingan and said firmly, "Absolutely not, Qingming, don't force me!"

Uchiha Shisui's expression was very serious, and his tone was cold. He didn't even care about revealing Qingming's name anymore.

Upon hearing this, Qingming remained silent, simply gazing at the other person. Time ticked by.

Just as the atmosphere in the forest was becoming increasingly oppressive, Qingming suddenly withdrew his aura, closed his Sharingan, and said, "Fine, since you want it, then I'll give it to you."

"what?"

Upon hearing Qingming's words, Uchiha Shisui could hardly believe his ears.

But the next moment, he saw a figure dart out of the forest, come to Qingming, and hand him a metal ball.

Instantly, Uchiha Shisui's attention was drawn to the metal sphere.

He clearly remembered that the Nine-Tails had been sealed inside this metal sphere before.

However, the surface of this metal sphere no longer has those densely packed sealing spells.

This calmed Uchiha Shisui down a bit.

Then, a hint of suspicion crept into his gaze as he looked at Qingming.

There was no way Qingming would so easily return the Nine-Tailed Fox that he had finally obtained.

Therefore, he wondered if Qingming was playing a trick on him.

That is, give him a fake metal ball, and then take the opportunity to run away.

On the other side, seeing the other party's hesitant gaze, Qingming shrugged and simply removed the seal on the metal sphere.

The next moment, an angry roar came from within, it was the voice of the Nine-Tails.

Immediately afterwards, a large amount of dark red chakra surged out of the metal sphere, then coalesced and transformed into the Nine-Tails.

"Roar--"

Another roar followed.

The Nine-Tailed Fox immediately turned its gaze to Qingming, its eyes filled with hatred and anger, as if Qingming had done something terribly wrong to it.

In fact, it's almost the same.

However, Qingming was not going to tolerate the other party. The moment the other party looked over, he activated the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan.

The next moment, he used his 'Genjutsu: Sharingan' to control Kurama's consciousness.

Qingming looked at the dumbfounded Uchiha Shisui in front of him and said in a tone as if he were throwing away trash, "Here, this is for you."

As he spoke, he ordered the Nine-Tailed Fox to attack the opponent.

Only after feeling the pressure emanating from Kurama did Uchiha Shisui come to his senses.

He immediately dodged the Nine-Tails' attack.

However, the Nine-Tails seemed to have identified him and kept attacking him.

Taking advantage of Uchiha Shisui's distraction, Qingming released the 'Wood Clone Technique,' causing the wooden clone that had delivered the metal ball to him, along with another wooden clone, to simultaneously disintegrate and dissipate.

Then, he seized an opportunity to use 'Heavenly Defense' to conceal his figure and headed straight for the Konoha wall.

On the way, he encountered several Konoha patrols that were surrounding him.

However, these people are all busy rushing to the battlefield between Uchiha Shisui and Kurama.

The two sides passed each other.

Soon, Qingming arrived outside Konoha Village.

Standing atop a large tree, looking back at the battlefield, the Nine-Tails was no longer rampaging; it seemed to be controlled again, standing quietly in place.

"Hehe~, not too stupid!"

Seeing this, Qingming chuckled, then locked onto the forest in the northeastern part of the Land of Fire. With a thought, he activated the 'Flying Thunder God Technique' and teleported there.

(End of this chapter)