In the blink of an eye, four days had passed.
It was now late July.
That afternoon.
Once again, in the forest clearing.
Qingming sat cross-legged on a large stone, constantly performing the "Palm Immortal Technique" to strengthen his body.
Unfortunately, the effects were minimal.
According to his estimations, once his "Constitution" attribute reached 18 points, any further improvement or transformation would take at least a month and a half.
If any delays occurred during this period, the time would extend even further—unless his "Palm Immortal Technique" could advance from lv8 to lv9.
Otherwise, he would just have to wait patiently.
With that thought, Qingming opened his proficiency panel, glancing at the lv8 (15,234/50,000) of his "Palm Immortal Technique." He immediately dismissed the naive idea of upgrading it in a short time.
A month and a half wasn't nearly enough to level up this skill.
Sigh, looks like I'll have to take it slow!
With a soft sigh, Qingming was ready to continue his training.
However, just then, a surge of chakra flowed back into his body.
At the same time, a segment of training experience and memories appeared in his mind.
Qingming immediately closed his eyes, silently absorbing these experiences and memories, gradually converting them into corresponding skill proficiency.
After a short while, Qingming opened his eyes, a trace of joy flashing in his gaze.
He then raised both hands, completed the hand seals in an instant, and performed the ninja technique—Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique!
A large amount of chakra surged from his body, and in the blink of an eye, the area within a hundred meters was enveloped in a thick white mist.
Soon after, the mist dissipated, and the surrounding scenery reappeared, as though nothing had happened.
This seamless control demonstrated Qingming's profound mastery of the technique.
In fact, this was true.
With the training experience and memories just absorbed, his "Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique" had successfully reached lv5 (0/0), achieving perfection.
This allowed Qingming to shake off the frustration he had felt earlier and once again look to the future with renewed hope.
However, after the excitement passed, Qingming began considering how to allocate his chakra.
Now that his "Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique" was perfected, the 5,000 chakra points saved from it needed to be redistributed.
His eyes swept across the various skills on the panel, finally settling on "Water Release: Great Shark Ball Jutsu."
As a highly versatile A-rank ninjutsu, Qingming hoped to integrate it into his combat system more quickly.
Though it was already at lv4 and usable without much issue, it was only effective against weaker opponents.
Against adversaries of similar strength, unless used unexpectedly, it wouldn't have much of an effect.
Therefore, it was necessary to invest more chakra to accelerate its growth.
With the additional 5,000 chakra points, the skill's daily proficiency gain would rise from 80 points to 110 points.
This would allow for faster progression.
"Alright, that's settled!"
With his decision made, Qingming stopped overthinking and swiftly focused his mind, closing the proficiency panel before resuming his training.
...
Time passed, second by second.
About an hour later.
As Qingming was deep in his training, a series of hurried footsteps echoed, growing closer.
Qingming's ears twitched slightly, and he opened his eyes.
Moments later, a familiar figure appeared before him.
It was none other than Uchiha Tetsuka.
Qingming looked at him and spoke, "What's happened, Tetsuka?"
Indeed, it was Uchiha Tetsuka who had arrived.
Over the past period, Qingming had left most of his affairs to him.
By this point, considering the timeline, Tetsuka should have just completed a mission and been resting—so why had he come here, and in such a rush?
Hearing Qingming's question, Uchiha Tetsuka took a deep breath before answering, "Qingming, there's been movement from the Hidden Mist Village."
Upon hearing this, Qingming's pupils contracted slightly. He immediately sat up straight, saying, "Explain it in detail."
His serious reaction wasn't unwarranted—this was too important.
Though there had been no aggressive actions from the Hidden Mist Village for over a month, Qingming knew it was merely the calm before the storm.
As the Third Shinobi World War neared its end, the struggles between the various factions would inevitably intensify.
The Hidden Mist Village's lack of action up until now was clearly them preparing for something bigger.
Now, with their sudden movement, Qingming naturally had to take it seriously.
"This afternoon, while three teams were on patrol, they spotted a small team of Mist Ninjas drifting near the coast. After an encounter, the Mist Ninjas quickly retreated."
"Afterward, I learned about this incident and immediately questioned the other teams. I found that, starting from noon, patrol squads had been reporting sightings of Mist Ninjas."
"They were spread across the entire defense line, striking in various locations, seemingly probing for weaknesses in our defenses."
After listening to Qingming's inquiry, Uchiha Tetsuka recounted in detail the situation three patrol teams had encountered and the results of his investigation.
Finally, with a worried expression, he said, "Qingming, things seem to be a bit troubling. I have a feeling the Mist Ninjas are preparing for something big."
"Mm."
Qingming nodded, acknowledging Tetsuka's concern.
He even suspected that the Hidden Mist Village had already struck a deal with the Hidden Sand Village, signing a peace treaty.
In the near future, they might mobilize all their forces to launch a full-scale attack on them.
In contrast, it seemed that Konoha wasn't planning to engage with them too deeply, at least not in a full-scale war for now.
From recent whispers, Qingming speculated that Konoha intended to first resolve matters with the Hidden Sand Village, determining the outcome of that conflict.
Only then would they focus on the Hidden Stone and Hidden Mist Villages.
From his memories of the past, he knew that even if Konoha wasn't at its peak strength, they would still manage to achieve a small victory against the Hidden Sand Village. Eventually, the Hidden Sand Village would sign a peace treaty with Konoha.
Even afterward, when an extremist faction within the Hidden Stone Village attempted to disrupt the peace talks, Konoha would intervene to prevent their plans from succeeding.
Although this had been motivated by the Hidden Sand Village's own interests, it still indicated that Konoha had been in a dominant position in those negotiations.
Of course, this would later set the stage for the Hidden Sand Village's involvement in Orochimaru's plan to bring Konoha to ruin.
These thoughts flashed through Qingming's mind, but he quickly shook his head, pushing them aside.
Right now, he only wanted to know when the Hidden Mist Village would launch their attack and how long he would have before his peaceful days were over.
Just as he was thinking about this, another person arrived—it was a messenger from the command center, instructing Qingming and Uchiha Tetsuka to immediately report for a meeting.
"Well, looks like my peaceful days are over," Qingming thought to himself, feeling helpless. He and Uchiha Tetsuka headed for the command center.
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