Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Chapter 1177 Each with their own calculations, arrival, and perception

As Orochimaru watched Qingming's figure sink into the ground and then disappear, he fell into deep thought.

Just as Qingming had thought, Orochimaru did indeed have some guesses about his purpose based on his request.

But it was precisely because of these speculations that Orochimaru was so surprised.

In his understanding, natural energy is never easy to control, and 'Sage Mode' is not so easy to learn.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have refrained from trying to control this power when Jiraiya was right beside him as a living example.

It's important to understand that Orochimaru, having been on the battlefield twice, while obsessed with immortality, also clearly understands the importance of power.

Without sufficient strength, he would not be able to pursue his dream of immortality or explore the truth of the ninja world.

Therefore, Orochimaru was never someone who rejected power.

Even so, he still did not master this power.

Furthermore, he now needs to rely on Jugo's innate talent to indirectly control this power by developing the 'Cursed Seal Technique'.

That is why she was so interested in what he was going to do, and even went so far as to fulfill his requests free of charge.

Everything was just as Qingming had predicted. Orochimaru wanted to use this opportunity to observe what he relied on to dare to rashly come into contact with such a dangerous power as natural energy.

This way, it can also provide some inspiration for my own experiments.

Of course, if possible, Orochimaru wouldn't mind taking him down when he gets into trouble, so that he could have another test subject in his hands.

Various thoughts flashed through Orochimaru's mind. He pondered for a long time before finally pulling himself out of his thoughts.

He glanced at the timid crowd in the cell, reviewed the results of his observations over the past ten days, and finally shook his head in disappointment.

Ultimately, no miracle occurred among these people.

Raising his hand, just as the wisp of spirit was about to leave this body, Orochimaru formed hand seals and detonated the explosive tags buried all around.

Boom boom boom~
With the sound of explosive tags exploding, a large amount of soil collapsed in the base, especially around the cell, burying and killing all the surviving test subjects.

outside world.

on the sky.

Having already flown some distance, Qingming vaguely sensed the commotion here. After glancing back, he continued flying forward.

He had long anticipated the fate of these people.

Just now, in that last glance before he left, he had already spotted the explosive tags buried in the surrounding walls.

Clearly, this was Orochimaru's backup plan, aimed at destroying the base.

Now that this backup plan has been activated, the fate of those people is self-evident.

As for why he didn't save these people since he saw them, he should ask:
Putting aside the fact that he had no obligation to save these people, even if he had, it wouldn't have made any real difference.

Because he had already confirmed through his Byakugan that these people were doomed, Orochimaru's modifications had greatly depleted their life force.

In this situation, it's better to die than to come out and prolong one's life, thus avoiding further suffering.

Shaking his head inwardly, Qingming pulled his thoughts away from these people and instead recalled the scene of his meeting with Orochimaru.

Strangely enough, he hadn't sensed any particularly strong desire for his eyes from the other person just now.

At first, he was a little confused.

After all, based on what Orochimaru showed in his memories—his desire for the Sharingan and his covetousness for the Uchiha clan's bloodline—it's impossible for him to have hidden it so well.

But soon he realized that it wasn't that Orochimaru was hiding it well, but rather that the other party didn't currently have an overly strong desire for his eyes.

His existence has already caused a huge change in the timeline of the ninja world.

Both the timing of Orochimaru's defection and the timing of Obito Uchiha's cooperation with Nagato have changed.

Therefore, Orochimaru and Nagato may not have met yet.

Therefore, there was no incident where Orochimaru ambushed Nagato, attempted to steal his eyes, was easily defeated, and thus developed a strong interest in special eyes.

Of course, this is only a secondary reason. More importantly, because of Minato Namikaze's existence and Danzo's early death, the relationship between the Uchiha clan and Konoha is not so strained now.

In this way, Uchiha Shisui would not have had to commit suicide, and Uchiha Itachi, who was deeply influenced by him, would not have gone to extremes.

The end result is that the Uchiha clan still exists to this day, and Itachi Uchiha did not defect. This also prevents Orochimaru from attempting to steal the other's eyes and being easily killed.

Having never witnessed the potential of a top-tier Sharingan, Orochimaru naturally wouldn't have any special feelings about it.

After all, he had obtained the Sharingan before when he cooperated with Danzo.

And those Sharingan, well, how should I put it?

To ordinary ninjas, or even Jonin, they might seem incredibly powerful.

However, in the eyes of a ninja of Orochimaru's caliber, it was nothing special.

It was this kind of ingrained thinking that led the other party to make a misjudgment, believing that all Sharingan were the same, and that even as a genius, his eyes couldn't be that much better.

Therefore, they naturally wouldn't have an overly strong desire for his eyes.

It's hard to say, but compared to his eyes, the other party, who has mastered the 'Reincarnation of the Corpse', covets his body even more.

Various thoughts flashed through his mind, and Qingming shook his head inwardly, deciding not to think about it anymore.

As the saying goes, in the face of absolute power, any conspiracy or scheme is just a paper tiger; he only needs to act according to his own plan.

Gathering his thoughts, Qingming suddenly accelerated and flew towards his destination.

Time passes minute by minute.

About five minutes later.

Qingming arrived at a mountain peak located in the north of the Land of Fields, near the border of the Land of Earth.

Looking down from here, you can see several small villages nestled in the corners of the mountains.

This environment is almost identical to the mountain peak that the Wood clone investigated not long ago.

No wonder Jugo lingered there and left behind the legend of the murderer.

After all, who hasn't felt homesick at some point?
That's right, the village at the foot of this mountain is where Shigeo was born.

Close your eyes and sense the natural energy here.

As expected, the concentration was several times higher than in other places.

That's not the most crucial point. The most crucial point is that he can clearly sense that the surrounding natural energy is converging into the mountain below.

After thinking for a moment, Qingming dispelled his ninjutsu and landed on the mountaintop.

Then, he used the "Earth Escape: Earth Vein Dragon Technique" again, sinking into the mountain.

And so, Qingming, like a swimming fish, darted deep into the mountain's belly.

After exploring for a while, he stopped at one of the spots.

Looking around, Qingming had a thought and directly activated his chakra, converting it into earth-style chakra, which he then merged into the nearby soil and rocks, assimilating it.

Once he felt it was about right, he immediately manipulated the soil and rocks to shape them, and in no time, he created a space in the mountainside that was about 200 square meters in size.

Then, following his senses, he walked to the very center of the space.

The concentration of natural energy here is several times higher than outside.

However, this was not what Qingming was concerned about; he was more concerned about the natural energy that had disappeared here.

Indeed, in his perception, the surrounding natural energy was gathered here and then disappeared without a trace.

Based on his own speculation, Qingming had reason to suspect that this was a spatial node connecting to a certain sacred land in another dimension.

After thinking for a moment, Qingming activated his Rinnegan.

Besides the more explicit abilities he mentioned before, the Rinnegan actually has many hidden abilities.

For example, it can enhance the practitioner's spatial awareness.

This is evident in both the Otsutsuki clan and native ninjas of the ninja world.

Now, he intends to use his enhanced spatial perception to lock onto that alternate dimension node, and then use it as a springboard to lock onto that sacred place that absorbs natural energy.

As for what to do next, that depends on the situation.

(End of this chapter)