Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Chapter 1212 Delay and Discovery

I stood still and carefully sensed it for a while.

A moment later, Qingming opened his eyes again.

"Whoo~"

He let out a soft breath; now, he had a clear understanding of the direct changes that came with advancing 'Dust Escape'.

He glanced at the time; there was still some time before his rest period.
He didn't intend to waste this time.

It just so happens that he hasn't yet tested the cultivation bonus brought about by the improved aptitude after this advancement in 'Dust Escape'. He'll take the opportunity to test it out during the remaining time today.

With this thought in mind, Qingming wasted no more time. With a wave of his hand, he used the 'Instantaneous Movement Technique' and returned to Moon Island in a few flashes.

Then, he used the 'Multiple Shadow Clone Technique' twice in succession, creating shadow clones that absorbed natural energy and developed bloodline limits.

Make all the shadow clones that developed the Bloodline Limit leave.

Next, he packed up and sealed the shadow clone that had absorbed natural energy, and handed it to the wooden clone that had been on guard the whole time, asking it to take it to the node in the Land of Birds.

After completing all this, he used the 'Flying Thunder God Technique' to teleport directly into the volcano below Moon Island, instantly entering 'Sage Mode' and beginning a new round of physical enhancement.

Time passes minute by minute.

Soon, more than three hours had passed.

It was late at night.

Qingming finished his final round of training and returned to Moon Island.

During his recovery period, he checked the effects of the physical enhancement he had undergone over the past three hours.

After comparing the results, he concluded that this improvement in his aptitude had increased his efficiency in strengthening his body by about 30%.

Don't be fooled by the fact that this improvement seems similar to the last 'Melting Escape' advancement; it's not actually that.

Because their foundations are fundamentally different.

If we have to make a comparison, the effect brought about by this advancement of 'Dust Escape' is at least twice that of the last one.

Fortunately, the increased efficiency of physical enhancement brought about by these bloodline advancements is achieved by improving aptitude and reducing the difficulty of physical enhancement.

Otherwise, he would have to throw more chakra.

With his current chakra reserves, he simply doesn't have any extra chakra to invest.

Just as previously predicted, after three months, his chakra reserves were running low after advancing in 'Dust Release'.

Even with the addition of 'Tagokoro Hime' as a 'chakra battery' along the way, the extended time is very limited.

Qingming closed his eyes and carefully sensed the group of wooden clones that were sleeping on the island.

At this moment, their numbers were already quite small.

Based on the current rate of consumption, the chakra stored in their bodies can only last for a week at most.

This caused him to postpone the estimated time of his physical transformation by a week.

After all, by then, without any reserve chakra available, his daily efficiency in strengthening his body would inevitably decrease.

Consequently, the time required for physical transformation naturally increases.

Therefore, even if we estimate a result now, it will have to be changed later, so it's meaningless.

Therefore, it's better to train for a week first, and then make a more accurate estimate after the reserve chakra is used up.

As for adjusting the practice plan...
Qingming plans to wait until the results are estimated before taking any action.

Various thoughts flashed through his mind, and soon Qingming had a concept of what he needed to do next.

So he stopped wasting time and, seeing that his injuries had healed, deactivated the 'Multiple Shadow Clone Technique' and retrieved all his shadow clones.

It took Qingming about ten minutes to digest the memories of these shadow clones. Then, in a few flashes, he arrived at a wooden house in a corner of the island. After washing up quickly, he went into the house to rest and recharge for the next day's cultivation.

A speechless night!
The practice continued the next day!

And so, time passed day by day.
In the blink of an eye, a week had passed.

The day before yesterday, he went back to the village to rest for another day.

He originally thought that after more than twenty days, Orochimaru should have made his move.

However, to his surprise, Orochimaru still hasn't taken any action, but the Uchiha clan's unusual behavior has put the village on edge for quite some time.

In the end, it was Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Fugaku who personally explained the situation to Namikaze Minato, which cleared up the misunderstanding.

However, the Uchiha clan's vigilance was not abated.

Not only that, even Konoha Village has increased its vigilance.

After all, Orochimaru was a defector from Konoha, and no one could guarantee that he would only target the Uchiha clan after he arrived.

Moreover, the Uchiha clan is also part of Konoha. Now that they are being targeted, the village has to do something, both publicly and privately.

Therefore, under Minato Namikaze's orders, Konoha also strengthened its defenses, and the scrutiny of outsiders was raised to a whole new level.

Furthermore, to prevent Orochimaru from having already infiltrated the village, Minato Namikaze ordered the Anbu to carefully screen any ninjas in the village who had recently shown unusual behavior.

However, even with such a thorough investigation, there was still no trace of Orochimaru.

Upon receiving this news, for a moment, Qingming even doubted whether Orochimaru had no intention of targeting the Sharingan, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt it was impossible.

Putting himself in Orochimaru's shoes, if he had witnessed that great battle, whether for research purposes or the pursuit of power, he shouldn't have remained indifferent.

Now that the other party has not yet made a move, it reminds him of another guess he had earlier—perhaps the other party is trying to get a pair of Mangekyou Sharingan that are unique to him.

After all, once you understand why the Sharingan is called the eye of the soul, no one can refuse the possibility of having their wish fulfilled.

Who knows, right now the other party is hiding in some corner, conducting even more in-depth research on the Sharingan!

If that's the case, the Uchiha clan should be fine in the short term, but in the long run, the trouble will be much greater.

However, as I said before, he has already done what he was supposed to do.

Therefore, he hasn't paid much attention to this matter yet, but something else has caught his attention.

According to the feedback from his shadow clone, a few days ago, he seemed to sense the aura of Sage Mode belonging to Ryuchi Cave in Konoha Village, but when he arrived at his destination, he found nothing.

The shadow clone was worried that it had sensed something wrong, but Qingming synchronized his memories and was certain that the aura was from Ryuchi Cave.

In other words, people from Ryuchi Cave really did come to Konoha, and they deliberately avoided him.

Therefore, he could easily guess the other party's purpose: to investigate his background.

This might not even be the first time the other party has come; it just so happens that the shadow clone sensed it this time.

However, it doesn’t matter anymore.

What can the other party find out?
The more we investigate, the more confused we become.

After all, his birth and upbringing were normal, without any trace of the Otsutsuki clan. Apart from his strength and knowledge not being at the level of an ordinary Uchiha ninja, there was nothing else unusual about him.

Of course, this slight anomaly was enough to arouse the other party's suspicion.

If he knew more about the Otsutsuki clan and knew that they could be reincarnated through a power called "Karma," he might have thought that his body had been possessed by someone else.

If that's the case, then things will get interesting.

Fortunately, if things really come to that point, the other party will be even more wary of him, and he will have more time to cultivate in peace.

Overall, the advantages of disguising one's identity outweighed the disadvantages!

(End of this chapter)