Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Chapter 1225 Discovery
Due to the tight schedule and heavy workload, the group ran at full speed without any rest after leaving Konoha.

Thus, they finally arrived at their destination before nightfall, which was the last place where Itachi Uchiha and the others sent out their message before they disappeared—the Land of Rivers, which borders the Land of Fire.

This is why everyone's strength is at least at the level of Special Jonin; otherwise, it would have been impossible for them to arrive here in such a short time.

But this is not without its costs.

Putting everything else aside, just take those special Jonin for example. Even from a distance, Qingming could clearly hear their thunderous breathing.

Clearly, the forced march had exhausted them.

In this state, if we were to engage the enemy, let alone unleash our full combat power, we'd be lucky to get five or six out of ten.

At that time, we might have to spare some manpower to protect them.

Therefore, continuing on this journey might only lead to more losses than gains.

Fortunately, Yamato, the leader of the group, had a lot of mission experience. Just as they were about to enter the land of rivers, he suddenly ordered everyone to rest for half an hour.

Clearly, this is giving everyone time to recover.

Upon hearing this order, everyone immediately took a break without saying a word.

Qingming and the other Jonin who were still in good condition took the initiative to walk to the outer perimeter of the group, resting while keeping watch.

The special Jonin who were in poor condition huddled in the center of the group, focusing all their efforts on recovering their strength.

Time passes minute by minute.

Soon, half an hour passed.

With Yamato's shout of "Let's go!", the group set off again, officially entering the territory of the Land of Rivers.

As they approached their target location, the group slowed down, and several reconnaissance and sensory ninjas in the team began actively searching for any suspicious traces.

About an hour later, the group found a battlefield.

That's right, it's a battlefield.

The forest was covered with burn marks left by fire-style techniques, and the ground was littered with kunai, shuriken, and other combat tools.

In addition, there are some craters on the nearby ground that look like they were made by a large object.

Everyone else looked puzzled when they saw the pits, but Qingming, who knew Orochimaru's background well, had a look of joy on his face.

There was no other reason than that he thought of someone from these almost perfectly regular geometric pits—the Third Kazekage.

That's right, it's the Third Kazekage who was known as the strongest Kazekage of all time, but was killed by Sasori.

If he remembered correctly, the other party possessed a bloodline limit called Magnet Release, which allowed him to refine underground iron sand into various weapons to attack enemies.

In another timeline, when Orochimaru defected from Akatsuki and was confronted by Sasori and Deidara, he controlled the reanimated form of the Third Kazekage to fight them.

Therefore, it's not unacceptable that he now possesses the reanimated form of the Third Kazekage.

Thinking about it further, perhaps it was because he was heading to the Land of Wind to find the biological organization of the Third Kazekage that he was tracked down by the Konoha Anbu, ultimately leading to a great battle here.

"Qingming?"

Just as Qingming was lost in thought, a voice pulled him back to reality.

Qingming immediately composed himself, looked at the newcomer, and asked, "What's wrong, Zhishui?"

Uchiha Shisui glanced at the prismatic pit in front of him and asked, "Qingming, have you discovered something?"

Although his voice was soft, everyone present was sharp-eyed and heard his question, and immediately turned their attention to him.

Qingming initially wanted to deny it outright, but then, as if struck by a sudden thought, he nodded and said, "That's right. If I'm not mistaken, these traces should have been left by the Third Kazekage." "What? How is that possible? Didn't the Third Kazekage disappear before the Third Shinobi World War? How could he be here?"

Before Qingming could react, Uchiha Shisui spoke first, even though Qingming hadn't finished speaking. Uchiha Tetsuka, who was not far away, spoke up first.

This is also the question that others have.

So, Qingming explained the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release to them, then squatted down and picked up a few tiny grains of iron sand from the bottom of the pit in front of him.

Faced with these irrefutable facts, they had no choice but to believe Qingming's deduction.

At this moment, Yamato and Uchiha Inahisa also came over with their respective subordinates. Yamato said, "The Blue Ninja's guess is very likely true."

"Has Captain Tianzang made any discovery?"

The Eighth Hokage of Uchiha asked.

"Ah."

Yamato nodded and said, "Before this mission, I reviewed the files of the Anbu related to Sunagakure, which mentioned the fighting style of the Third Kazekage."

According to intelligence gathered by the Anbu, the Third Kazekage was indeed very skilled at using Magnet Release to shape iron sand and iron to attack enemies.

The traces left after the battle look like this on the field.

Hearing Yamato's reasoned and well-founded statement, even the most incredulous crowd had to admit it.

Now, the only question is, why is the Third Kazekage here, and why is he involved with Orochimaru?

Could it be that Sunagakure has some designs on Konoha?
This was the first thought that popped into everyone's mind.

Once this thought pops into your head, it's hard to suppress.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the room became particularly oppressive.

However, Qingming focused his attention on Yamato, his intuition telling him that Yamato hadn't thought in that direction.

When he mentioned that these were traces left from the battle of the Third Kazekage, there was a noticeable pause in his voice.

Combined with the experiments Orochimaru was conducting before his defection from Konoha, Qingming had reason to suspect that the village had already obtained information that Orochimaru had learned the forbidden technique 'Impure World Reincarnation'.

Compared to the Third Kazekage's inexplicable return after being missing for many years, it is more acceptable to believe that he has been resurrected and controlled by Orochimaru using forbidden techniques.

Although this is also quite outrageous.
Tick ​​tock~tick tock~
Time is like a clock, slowly passing by in everyone's hearts.

Just as everyone was lost in thought, Yamato suddenly clapped his hands lightly, and after attracting everyone's attention, he said, "From now on, everyone must be careful. We must find out the truth about this matter!"

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately responded in unison.

Then, Yamato nodded at Uchiha Inahime.

Uchiha Inahisa didn't waste any words and immediately ordered his three subordinates, "Each of you choose a direction and search for the coded message left by Itachi's team."

"Yes."

The three responded and immediately dispersed, forming a triangular shape, and ran forward.

Meanwhile, Qingming and the others cautiously followed behind these people, continuing their journey.

Clearly, these three were not only scouts but also bait, luring the enemy into making a move so they could then strike back.

This is the code of conduct for the Dark Division. Although it is not as extreme as that of the Root Division, it is not much better.

(End of this chapter)