Sharingan Evolution: Proficiency's Path

After waiting for about half an hour, once everyone had gathered, a Konoha Jonin stepped forward.

This person was someone Qingming recognized; he was the examiner from their second Chunin exam a month ago—Tsuchikawa Masaki.

He was their team leader for this mission, tasked with leading them back to the battlefield in the Land of Rain.

With a clap of his hands, Tsuchikawa drew everyone's attention and said, "Some of you have come down from the battlefield in the Land of Rain, while others are going for the first time. However—"

At this point, he scanned the crowd, his voice suddenly turning very serious as he continued, "No matter whether you are a veteran or a newcomer, I expect absolute obedience to my commands in the coming days."

"Understood?"

The group exchanged glances and then replied in unison, "Understood!"

This time, aside from Tsuchikawa, who was a genuine Jonin, the only high-level combat strength in the group consisted of three Special Jonin; the rest were either Chunin or Genin.

With Tsuchikawa's demand for obedience, naturally, no one would dare to oppose. Moreover, he was appointed as their leader by the village, so they were obliged to comply.

However, Qingming felt a sense of unease. It seemed that something unknown was happening behind the scenes, leading the Konoha side to be on high alert. Otherwise, Tsuchikawa wouldn't be so serious.

In reality, this was indeed the case.

Over the past two weeks, several teams dispatched from Konoha to various battlefields had suffered multiple ambushes and attacks.

Normally, in response to such incidents, the village should have increased manpower or delayed support until the threats were eliminated.

However, the war had dragged on for some time, and Konoha was experiencing a shortage of personnel; they could not afford to lose any more troops on the front lines, so they could only proceed despite the risks.

That was why Tsuchikawa was so stern.

Seeing that no one voiced any objections, Tsuchikawa nodded and said, "Then let's go!"

With that, he took the lead and started running towards the village exit.

The others quickly followed suit.

Before long, the group had left the village.

······

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of Root.

In Danzo's office, a sudden knock on the door echoed.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Come in!" Danzo replied without looking up.

Creak~

The door opened, and a Root ninja entered, kneeling on one knee as he reported, "Sir, Uchiha Qingming and Uchiha Shisui have set out."

"Oh~"

Upon hearing this, Danzo finally set down the document in his hands and looked up, asking, "Are there any Uchiha Jonin accompanying them?"

"No, sir!"

The Root ninja replied firmly.

"Is that so?"

Danzo murmured, tapping his fingers lightly on the desk.

After a moment, he decisively ordered, "Immediately notify the Tears of Rain squad to act; everything must proceed strictly according to plan. No mistakes are allowed."

"Yes, Lord Danzo!"

The Root ninja replied before disappearing.

Watching the ninja leave, Danzo snorted coldly and muttered to himself, "Uchiha, huh…"

······

Realizing that the journey might not be smooth, Qingming reduced his training time along the way, maintaining high energy levels to be prepared for any sudden incidents.

His caution proved to be wise.

After leaving the village, things were still normal while they were within the Fire Country borders for the first few days.

However, once they stepped into the Land of Rain, not far into their journey, they were ambushed.

The attackers were none other than a group of Iwa ninjas.

Although the encounter appeared to be a chance meeting, Qingming keenly noticed a smug look in the eyes of the leading Iwa Jonin, as if to say, "I knew you would be here."

Additionally, their coordinated movements clearly indicated that they were well-prepared and had prior knowledge that someone would pass through this area.

The question then arose: how did they know about the route they were taking, which was different from usual and quite obscure?

'There must be an informant!'

A thought suddenly struck Qingming, filling him with a sense of dread.

If there was indeed an informant, then the leak could either be within their ranks or from someone in the village's upper echelons who had received relevant intelligence.

Regardless of which it was, it meant that the enemy had a much better understanding of their situation than they did of the enemy's.

This disparity in intelligence would inevitably put them at a significant disadvantage.

In fact, this was precisely the case.

Within just a few minutes of battle, they found themselves at a disadvantage, with several injured and some Genin already killed.

Of course, this was not only due to the disparity in intelligence but also because the enemy had set up an ambush in advance.

If one were to consider strength, these Iwa ninjas weren't necessarily much stronger than them.

After all, while this area was not the core defensive zone of Konoha, it still lay within Konoha's territory, meaning that the number of Iwa ninjas they could mobilize was limited.

Thus, the current situation was mainly a result of their being caught off guard; otherwise, they wouldn't be so passive.

Amidst the chaos, Tsuchikawa shouted to Qingming and Uchiha Shisui, "Qingming, defend the left flank; Shisui, keep an eye on the right side!"

Without waiting for a response from either of them, he raised his voice, "Everyone, break through with me!"

Qingming had initially planned to hold back a little, observing the situation first.

Unexpectedly, he was directly assigned a daunting task by Tsuchikawa.

After a brief hesitation, Qingming chose to comply with the order.

After all, he had already assessed that, while the Iwa ninjas were decent, they were still inferior to him.

Given their level, they didn't pose much of a threat.

Thus, it was fine for him to lend a hand.

The only thing to watch out for was the potential informant, so he decided to focus on defense when he made his move.

With this thought in mind, Qingming quickly evaded his current opponent, using Body Flicker Technique to reach the left flank of the team.

Next, he swiftly completed the hand seals for the ninjutsu—Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Technique.

A vast expanse of flames was spewed out, quickly dividing and coalescing into countless small fireballs.

He controlled these fireballs and scattered them toward the group of Iwa ninjas.

In the front, an Iwa ninja turned just in time to dodge the fireball attack. Feeling the intense heat emanating from it, he shouted, "Everyone, be careful!"

Upon hearing this, the other Iwa ninjas stiffened and quickly began to evade the incoming fireballs.

Like seeds of the phoenix flower, the fireballs flew in every direction, instantly disrupting the Iwa ninjas' assault rhythm.

While Qingming was doing this, Uchiha Shisui was not idle either.

He wielded his short sword, using Body Flicker Technique repeatedly to dash through the ranks of Iwa ninjas like a ghost, creating chaos among their formation.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Tsuchikawa fended off the attacks from the enemy Jonin while leading the team to break through.

Approximately half an hour later, Qingming's group finally managed to shake off the Iwa ninjas' siege. Although they hadn't completely evaded pursuit, they were no longer as passive as before.

After resting for a moment, Tsuchikawa assessed the casualties and, realizing they could not defeat the enemy, reorganized the team.

He assigned one Special Jonin to lead the rest forward while he, along with two other Special Jonin and eight Chunin, stayed behind to hold off the enemy.

As expected, Qingming and Uchiha Shisui were among the eight Chunin selected.

Having witnessed the final battle between Qingming and Uchiha Shisui during the Chunin exam, Tsuchikawa was very familiar with their strength, knowing that their combat capabilities far exceeded those of ordinary Chunin; hence, he decided to keep them.

Qingming and Uchiha Shisui had no objections to this arrangement.

It was a good opportunity for Qingming to figure out how the enemy had learned about their route.

For some reason, he had a vague feeling that this situation was not as simple as he had initially anticipated.

Until he clarified these matters, he wouldn't be able to sleep soundly.

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