The time quickly passed, and before he knew it, it was the next afternoon.
Inside his room, Qingming opened his mouth wide and yawned heavily. His eyes were half-lidded, and his face showed signs of extreme exhaustion, as though he could fall asleep at any moment. It was clear that he was utterly fatigued.
And indeed, this was the case.
Over the past several hours, except for taking a break to eat, he had dedicated himself entirely to his training. This had not only drained a significant amount of chakra but had also placed a heavy strain on his mind.
As a result, he felt completely worn out.
With a thought, Qingming raised his hand and deactivated the Shadow Clone Technique.
In an instant, three separate chakras, each carrying different fragments of memories, surged into his mind, giving him a brief moment of clarity.
However, this was only a temporary fix.
After processing the memories, Qingming felt even more exhausted.
He raised his head and glanced at the sky outside the window.
The sun had already begun to set, and it wouldn't be long before night fell. Since he had to go out again tonight for a mission, Qingming decided to stop his training for the day.
He stood up, walked to the side of the bed, and, in a moment of relaxation, collapsed onto the bed, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
······
Time passed slowly.
Soon, night had fallen.
At one point, Qingming suddenly opened his eyes.
Almost immediately, there was a knock at the door.
Qingming opened his senses and immediately sensed someone outside. From the person's aura, he recognized it was a messenger chūnin from the command center.
After confirming this, he relaxed a little, stood up to straighten his appearance, and then opened the door.
Without a word, he looked at the visitor and asked, "What's going on?"
The Konoha chūnin outside handed him a mission scroll, saying, "Qingming-san, Captain Shinju ordered me to inform you that tonight's mission has changed."
Qingming expressionlessly accepted the scroll. As he opened it, he spoke in a calm manner, "Go on."
Seeing Qingming remain so composed, Nakagawa Ichirou inwardly admired him. However, he didn't dwell on it and quickly relayed the full message from Zano Shinju.
"The village just received information that there might be a support unit from the Mist Village arriving tonight. The captain wants you to confirm whether this information is accurate. If it is, you need to assess the number and strength of the incoming forces."
He then added, "The enemy's travel routes are listed in the scroll."
After hearing this, Qingming said nothing for a while, focusing intently on the details written on the scroll.
It was basically in line with what the messenger had told him.
Indeed, it seemed that a group of Mist ninjas were moving from a forward base, but the exact number was unclear.
Thus, they needed him to use his flight abilities to gather intelligence.
As for the travel routes... the scroll listed three possible paths.
Clearly, the Konoha spies didn't hold high-ranking positions, as the information they provided was vague. Among these three routes, the chances were that only one was correct.
The routes were spaced quite far apart, and only someone like him, with the ability to fly, could cover them in a short period of time.
For others, the only option would be to cast a wide net.
Moreover, compared to others, he had one clear advantage: even if he were spotted, it wouldn't matter.
He could simply fly away without worrying about his safety.
As for the crossbows...
It was true that the Mist's deployment in Flying Fish Town had caught him off guard last night.
However, let's not forget that from the forward base to here, they could only travel by sea, meaning they would need to use ships. In such a scenario, even if the Mist brought crossbows with them, they would be largely ineffective.
Thus, Qingming didn't feel any concern for his safety.
A series of thoughts flashed through his mind.
Qingming tucked away the scroll and said to Nakagawa Ichirou, "I understand the mission. You can return and report."
"Yes, Qingming-san!"
Nakagawa Ichirou responded and turned to leave.
Watching him go, Qingming went back inside.
He washed up to clear his head, then ate a small meal to replenish himself before setting off.
······
An hour later.
On one of the maritime routes leading from Flying Fish Town to the Land of Waves, Qingming soared through the sky. His three-tomoe Sharingan activated, and using the bright moonlight, he carefully surveyed the ocean below.
However, after staying in the area for nearly half an hour, he had searched a radius of several dozen kilometers but found no sign of any Mist ninjas.
"It seems this route is a decoy," Qingming muttered to himself. He was about to leave, but suddenly stopped in mid-air, as if struck by a thought, and descended onto the surface of the sea.
With a wave of his hand, the chakra wings behind him vanished, and he canceled the Wind Release: Wind Wing technique.
Next, he crossed his hands and formed the Shadow Clone Technique seals.
Boom!
With a puff of chakra smoke, a shadow clone appeared before him.
Qingming nodded at the clone and then both began to form hand seals.
In the next moment, chakra wings sprouted from their backs, and they both simultaneously activated the Wind Release: Wind Wing technique!
Whoosh~ Whoosh~
Two sharp sounds of air slicing through the night echoed as both soared back into the sky. The shadow clone would stay near this route to monitor any potential Mist support forces, while Qingming himself flew toward the next route.
Indeed, Qingming had done all this just to leave a shadow clone behind to monitor the area.
The reason he descended earlier to perform the technique was because his Wind Release: Wind Wing wasn't perfected yet.
Though it was nearly at level 4 after last night's extended flight, he wasn't yet capable of creating a shadow clone with identical chakra wings.
So, for the time being, he had to land on the sea surface to perform the technique.
Admittedly, this was quite troublesome.
However, once his Wind Release: Wind Wing reached level 4 or 5, he wouldn't need to go through all these steps.
With that thought in mind, Qingming flapped his wings and sped off toward the horizon.
······
Half an hour later.
Qingming had briefly scanned the second route, but found no trace of the enemy either.
This time, he didn't linger. He repeated the same process, leaving a shadow clone to monitor while he moved on to the third route.
When he arrived at the third route, he found the same result — nothing.
However, Qingming wasn't anxious.
Now that he had control over all three routes, he simply needed to be patient.
Since he had nothing else to do, he decided to use this time to continue refining his Mind-Connecting Technique, which was already close to completion.
If successful, communication between him and the two shadow clones would become much easier.
With this thought in mind, Qingming began recalling the relevant memories in his mind.
After a short while, he began following the path his previous shadow clones had taken to continue his progress.
plz support me if you can.
patreon.com/Mano99
all the fanfic is 30 chapter a had and you will get 1 chapter everyday.