"Hoo~~~"
With a long sigh, Qingming calmed his emotions.
He had already found the target of the mission from the memories of Youno Mukai.
It was none other than himself.
Moreover, just as he had anticipated, the reason they were targeting him was indeed due to the "Fire Release: Burning Ash Technique," which appeared to be a flaw in his abilities, even though it was not one.
In the past few days, Root had been investigating the destruction of the Ghost Realm Island base.
At first, they hadn't suspected him.
After all, while his strength was formidable, without clear intelligence, he wouldn't have been able to pinpoint that base accurately.
However, when he repeatedly used the "Fire Release: Burning Ash Technique" during battles, the Root ninja assigned to gather information on him compiled a report, which was then sent to Danzo.
Things began to change.
With his sharp intuition and years of experience in scheming, the "Darkness of the Shinobi World" quickly connected the dots between this technique and the Copying Ability of the Sharingan.
Thus, he began formulating a plan to deal with him.
As for evidence?
Sorry, Danzo doesn't need evidence.
As long as you are even slightly suspicious, once he targets you, there is no escaping his attention. He lives by the motto of "better to kill an innocent than let one go."
Of course, these were secondary concerns.
The main issue was that Danzo harbored immense animosity towards the Uchiha clan and simply couldn't stand the idea of a genius like Qingming rising.
Every time Qingming shone on the battlefield, it was like a thorn in Danzo's side, making it impossible for him to sleep peacefully.
Danzo had been dreaming of eliminating him.
So, he seized this opportunity. He didn't care about any misunderstandings; he immediately created a plan to wipe Qingming out.
However, since the war wasn't over yet and he couldn't afford to cause a large disturbance within the village, he was also worried about his own lack of strength.
Thus, he devised a plan to "kill with the help of others."
The first step was to pass information about the Mist Village's activities near the Black Stone Base to Nara Kiko.
This wasn't difficult for Danzo.
After all, Nara Kiko obtained his intelligence through the Anbu, which Danzo had infiltrated. Often, Root operated under the Anbu's name when conducting external operations.
Thus, the information smoothly reached Nara Kiko's ears.
Danzo didn't worry about Nara Kiko verifying the information because it was indeed the Mist Village's plan; he had only exaggerated certain details to force Nara Kiko into acting quickly and providing support to the Black Stone Base.
The second step was to use various means to arrange for Qingming to join this support team.
This wasn't particularly difficult either, as Danzo had already figured out Nara Kiko's methods.
He knew that Nara Kiko would likely send Qingming, who was familiar with the Black Stone Base, as part of the support team. Danzo had anticipated this and released the intelligence accordingly.
The only variable was whether Qingming would agree to leave the main battlefield.
Fortunately, Qingming was very cooperative.
So, the second step succeeded as well.
As for the third step, it was the real "killing with the help of others."
Once the first two steps were confirmed, Danzo leaked the intelligence of Qingming's team directly to the Mist Village.
That led to the ambush from before.
If it were anyone else, this would likely be the end. Facing enemies outnumbering them by several times, with their escape route cut off, survival would be impossible.
But Qingming was no ordinary person.
Thus, this was only the beginning—Danzo's plan to exhaust Qingming's chakra and stamina.
The real trump card, however, was the three hidden Root squads.
Indeed, there were three Root squads concealed near the battlefield, and Youno Mukai's memories showed that Danzo had ordered him to work with these hidden squads to encircle and kill Qingming.
However, Mukai didn't know where these yellow birds were hiding.
Moreover, Qingming also learned from Mukai's memories that there was an insider within the support team.
This person was mainly tasked with guiding the hidden Root squads and Youno Mukai, ensuring they followed the predetermined route.
This was a precaution in case Qingming deviated from the expected path.
"Heh~ Even allies and enemies are using their own people. This style of operation truly lives up to the name 'Darkness of the Shinobi World!'"
Qingming let out a cold laugh, quickly recalling the details of his team members and their behavior during the mission.
However, to his disappointment, no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't pinpoint any suspicious individuals.
Clearly, the insider was very skilled at their job.
Coupled with Youno Mukai's sudden "self-detonation" earlier, it was evident that Danzo had sent out his elites for this mission.
Unfortunately for him, Danzo had no idea that Qingming possessed the Byakugan. He had immediately noticed the anomaly with Youno Mukai, and used that as a breakthrough point to uncover much more.
Wait...
Qingming suddenly realized that the absence of a Hyuga clan ninja in his team might also be Danzo's doing.
If this was the case, his level of meticulous planning exceeded Qingming's imagination.
But the more cautious Danzo was, the more he deserved to die.
Qingming had no intention of being constantly watched by a venomous snake.
He opened his panel and glanced at the evolution level of his Mangekyō Sharingan—(17296/50000)!
Originally, he had planned to wait until his Mangekyō Sharingan evolved into an Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, eliminating the risk of blindness, before taking the opportunity to deal with Danzo.
But now, it seemed that he couldn't wait that long.
This moment had come earlier than expected.
Recalling all the intelligence he had gathered on Danzo, Qingming knew that at this point, Danzo's body wasn't as old as it would be in more than a decade.
However, Danzo would still have the cells of Hashirama to maintain his physical vitality, so his current state would be almost the same as it would be ten years later.
But for now, Danzo lacked the Sharingan arm.
In other words, he no longer had as many Sharingan to use the "Izanagi" technique, which made him immune to unfavorable situations.
What Qingming had to watch out for was simply Danzo's right eye, which was protected by bandages and seals—he needed to avoid the same fate as Uchiha Shisui, who had been ambushed.
With that in mind, Qingming was confident that his strength was more than enough to defeat Danzo.
The only issue was locating him.
As someone who had spent years in the shadows, Danzo took great care in protecting his movements. Qingming, alone as he was, would be unable to track him down, and even Sarutobi Hiruzen would likely have difficulty.
However, Qingming wasn't too worried. As the war came to an end and everyone returned to the village, opportunities for a confrontation would increase.
Until then...
Qingming glanced at Youno Mukai, then raised his hand and threw a kunai directly into Mukai's throat.
After a few moments, confirming his death, Qingming performed a technique—"Fire Release: Burning Ash Technique!"
Boom~
A burst of flames appeared, instantly engulfing him.
In no time at all, he was reduced to ashes, along with the insects in his body.
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