Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Chapter 1175 Disguise
"This should be right here?"

Soon, Qingming arrived at a forest not far away. Looking at a small hill in front of him, he murmured to himself.

In Ito's memory, he met Orochimaru and accepted the mission at the base located below this hill.

Therefore, Orochimaru's hiding place is very likely here.

With this thought in mind, Qingming wasted no more time and immediately activated the White Eye between his eyebrows, looking down at the hill in front of him.

In an instant, everything before his eyes became unreal; all things turned into illusory black and white, making it possible for him to see the whole thing at a glance.

Ignoring these changes, Qingming focused his gaze on the base that Ito remembered.

Soon, laboratories and prison cells appeared, coming into view.

The laboratory contained numerous human and animal organs, preserved in jars of varying sizes filled with a green solution, creating a particularly chilling atmosphere.

Inside the cells were mostly experimental subjects whose bodies had already undergone deformities. After a cursory examination of their internal bodies, Qingming could almost certainly conclude that they wouldn't live much longer.

Even though Qingming didn't have a strong sense of belonging to this world, she had seen such a scene in Ito's memory before, but seeing it again now still made her feel a little uncomfortable.

Indeed, he has killed quite a few people over the years since he transmigrated here, but most of those deaths were related to war and missions, where it was a fight to the death.

Orochimaru's wanton trampling on the lives of others is inconsistent with the values ​​he cultivated in his previous life.

However, the ninja world was an extremely distorted world, and he had no intention of standing up for these people.

At the very least, he has no intention of changing the world right now.

Therefore, his gaze only lingered on these people for a moment before shifting away and continuing to search for Orochimaru.

This is clearly Orochimaru's experimental base for human modification, so it must be quite important. The other party is most likely here.

However, the development of events is often not guided by individual will.

He was initially confident that Orochimaru was there, but after scanning back and forth with his Byakugan several times, he still couldn't find any trace of him.

They didn't even see a single guard.

"How is this going?"

Qingming frowned slightly, puzzled. After a moment of contemplation, he used the 'Earth Escape: Earth Vein Dragon Technique' to dive underground and enter the base.

He went to the experimental area and looked at each laboratory one by one.

After a thorough inspection, he realized that Orochimaru must have left long ago.

Moreover, this base has most likely been abandoned by the other side.

As for the reason he made such a judgment
It's quite simple. The laboratories in this base are all covered in a thick layer of dust. If Orochimaru were still here, he certainly wouldn't have allowed this to happen.

Furthermore, the experimental equipment left behind in the base is mostly worthless stuff; anything slightly more valuable has disappeared, leaving only empty spaces.

As for the bottles and jars in the laboratory, they are mostly worthless items.

And those people in the cell were all products of failed experiments. None of the successfully modified ones, like the Ito squad, were there; they had obviously already left.

If he's not mistaken, the people in the prison have probably been starving for quite some time.

He can also verify his guesses through these people's memories.

With this thought in mind, Qingming immediately left the experimental area and headed to the prison area.

Soon, he arrived outside the cell.

However, when his gaze swept over, his expression changed slightly.

There was no other reason than that, based on his judgment, Orochimaru should have been gone for more than ten days. In such a long time, if no one provided food for these people, it was impossible for no one to starve to death.

Even if these dead people were eaten by others, there should at least be bones left. But what about inside the prison cells?
These people were indeed on the verge of death, but none of them actually died.

Things took an unexpected turn once again, and Qingming's mind raced.

In an instant, all sorts of thoughts came to mind.

After a moment, he shook his head and thought to himself, "Why think so much? Just read the memories, and everything will be clear."

Thinking this, Qingming waved his hand and unleashed a wind blade, severing the bars of the cell in front of him.

However, such a commotion only caused the few people in the cell to slightly open their eyes, glance at him, and then close their eyes again, silently waiting for their death.

Seeing this, Qingming didn't stop and went straight to the nearest person. He raised his hand and used the 'mind-reading technique' to read the other person's memories.

As for why the Rinnegan is not used?
It's very simple. There are too many people around, and he plans to kill them to silence them, so it's best not to use it.

In any case, with his current mental strength, reading these people's memories is a piece of cake.

As he thought this, a flood of memories rushed into his mind.

Suddenly, Qingming opened his eyes and looked toward a corner of the cell.

At that moment, a person was sitting there with his eyes closed and his breath faint, looking as if he was about to die.

But Qingming's gaze towards the other party was full of vigilance.

There was no other reason than that, in the memories he had just accessed, for the past ten days or so, it was this person who had been feeding the people in the cells every day, keeping them alive.

Therefore, this person is definitely not as simple as he appears on the surface.

The reason why the people in the cell were indifferent to his actions was not only because they had lost their will to live, but also because they were afraid of him.

That's why they remained silent from beginning to end.

Seemingly sensing his attention, the person in the corner finally opened his eyes.

Compared to his listless aura, the other person's eyes were extremely bright, a spirit that should not exist in a body in such a state.

Clearly, something was wrong with the other party.

Furthermore, this person's eyes gave Qingming a familiar feeling, like...
"Hehehe~, Lord Qingming, you really came!"

The person in the corner suddenly spoke.

Hearing that familiar way of speaking and tone.

That's right, that's the look Orochimaru gives his prey.

Although he didn't have much contact with Orochimaru, Qingming vividly remembered the way Orochimaru looked at him.

There was no way around it; whether it was his own reputation or the image of the other party in his memories from his past life, he couldn't help but take the other party seriously.

Therefore, he had memorized the other person's gaze long ago and constantly reminded himself to be careful of him.

However, that was all in the past.

Now.
Qingming looked at the other person, sizing him up, and said, "Orochimaru, you really have a really twisted sense of humor!"

Although his tone was calm, it revealed a strong sense of confidence.

Of course, despite saying that, Qingming also knew that the reason the other party did this was not because of any perverse pleasure, but because he wanted to find an opportunity to give him a hard time.

Unfortunately, he never gave the other party a chance, which is why the other party didn't take any action until now, when the truth has been revealed.

(End of this chapter)