Chapter 278 Undercurrent
"Search!"

Qing Ming pondered for a moment, then gave an order for his four teams of ninja to search the surrounding dense forests.

It’s not that he didn’t believe Hinata Tobika’s white eyes, but he was unwilling to give up without a thorough investigation.

However, after a full quarter of an hour, still nothing was found.

During this period, the three teams behind also rushed over, and after hearing Qingming's narration, they joined the search team.

Unfortunately, no problem was found either.

Helpless, everyone could only move on.

However, everyone was in high spirits.

Just after everyone left for a while, several figures appeared on the scene. They were wearing black robes and masks, and they were dressed like Konoha's Anbu.

However, when the leader took off his mask, he revealed the appearance of Aburame Ryoma.

It is obvious that they are not Anbu ninjas, but Root ninjas under Danzo.

Aburame Ryoma came under a tree, flipped his palm, and strands of chakra spread out.

After a moment, several bugs smaller than sesame seeds emerged from the soil, crawled into his hands, and began to devour the chakra.

Obviously, these bugs are not ordinary bugs.

It is a parasitic insect unique to the Aburame clan, and it is a mutated parasitic insect that has been specially cultivated.

Compared to common parasites, their scent is much weaker.

It is precisely because of this that he was able to avoid the detection of Qing Ming and others.

That’s right, the prying eyes that Qingming sensed came from these insects.

Of course, it wasn't these bugs that were looking at him, but Aburame Ryoma was using secret techniques to observe him through these bugs.

Unfortunately, these bugs were too small, with almost no chakra in their bodies, and their unique aura shielding allowed them to avoid his reverse tracking.

However, his violent reaction also made Aburame Ryoma cautious and he dared not get too close.

But giving up is impossible.

Unless Danzo gives the order, there is no possibility that the Root Ninja will give up the mission.

Having been trained to 'eliminate themselves', they are true mission tools.

No matter how bad the situation is, they will do their best to complete the task, even if it means sacrificing their lives.

Of course, Aburame Ryoma is a little special. As Danzo's right-hand man, he has greater autonomy and can make some judgments on his own.

According to Aburame Ryoma's judgment, although Qingming noticed some abnormalities, he did not discover his existence.

This mission didn't require him to do it himself, so he decided to continue the mission.

That’s right, Aburame Ryoma will not take any action in this mission, and even all the Root Ninjas will not take the initiative to take action.

This is Danzo's order!
Ever since learning about the latest battle records of Qingming and Uchiha Shisui, Danzo gave up the option of using his ninjas to kill them directly.

It’s not that Danzo has mercy on these people’s lives, but if he does it himself, it will easily alert the enemy.

So, during the insurance period, he planned to kill someone with a borrowed knife.

As for which knife to borrow?

Now that he has been brought to the battlefield of the Hidden Mist, which sword can he borrow? Naturally, it is the power of the Hidden Mist Village.

After taking these parasites into his body, Aburame Ryoma said directly: "Owl, send a message to Faceless immediately, saying that the target has entered the territory of the Land of Fire, and let him prepare for action."

"Yes!"

Hearing this, a Root ninja in the back spoke in response. His voice was already very hoarse, and now coming through the mask, it seemed even more creepy.

However, the other Root Ninjas did not react at all when they heard his voice. They were like cold machines, not affected by anything in the outside world.

The Root ninja responded, raised his right hand and put his thumb into his mouth.

The next moment, blood flowed out. Then, he danced with both hands, quickly forming the five seals of 'Hai - Xu - You - Shen - Wei', and performed the 'Spiritual Art'.

As the psychic technique unfolded, a gigantic night owl appeared on the scene.

Then, the Root Ninja took out a pen and paper from his arms, quickly wrote down the information, and stuffed it into the mouth of the Night Owl, causing it to fly into the sky.

After finishing all this, Owl nodded to Aburame Ryoma, who retracted his gaze and said, "Let's go!"

After saying that, he took the lead and chased in the direction where Qingming and others left.

Seeing this, several other Root ninjas immediately followed.

······
In a blink of an eye, it was the fourth day.

night.

Qingming was sitting cross-legged on a tree branch, practicing. Suddenly, he frowned and opened his eyes.

At the same time, a hint of helplessness flashed in his eyes.

Just now, he felt the prying eyes again. Although it was very faint and fleeting, he still caught it.

In fact, it wasn't just today. In the past few days, he noticed it two or three times almost every day. Although the feeling of being spied on was not as strong as the first time, it was indeed there.

At first, he would order people to conduct alert and search, but as the number of incidents increased, he stopped caring.

Qingming sometimes wondered if this was a strategy of the enemy, deliberately using this method to paralyze him and consume his energy.

If this is true, then he will definitely let the other party know the consequences of angering him.

Also, today is already the fourth day.

If the enemy is ready to attack before they arrive at the battlefield, then tonight is the best opportunity.

Because they will arrive at their destination tomorrow afternoon, and after noon, they will basically enter Konoha's defense zone.

In this situation, it will be more difficult to take action.

So, he didn't plan to sleep tonight.

Anyway, with his current 'Spirit' attribute of 19 points, not sleeping for a day is nothing.

Just as he was daydreaming, a faint sound of footsteps was heard. Qingming looked in the direction of the sound and saw Uchiha Shisui coming under the tree.

Then, he used the "Blinking Technique" to appear in front of him.

"Is something wrong?"

Qing Ming looked at the other party and asked directly.

The two had hardly spoken since their one exchange before they set out. Now that the other party suddenly came to them, there must be something going on.

As expected, he said with a serious expression: "Qingming, I also noticed the prying eyes you mentioned today."

"Oh, did you notice that too?"

"That's right!"

Uchiha Shisui nodded and continued, "I have asked other people, and it seems that only the two of us have discovered it. If it weren't for the fact that other people's perception is too poor, then..."

"That means we are being targeted."

Qing Ming continued what he said.

And other people's perception.
Qingming didn't believe that all of them were inferior to the two of them. He was not a specialized perception ninja, and he had never practiced any perception ninjutsu.

Although his mental power is strong due to the Sharingan, it is still at the stage of instinctive application and is not much stronger than a sensory ninja.

With that level of snooping, a perception ninja would definitely be able to discover it.

There were two special jonin from the Yamanaka clan in the team, but they found nothing.

It was obvious that the enemy was targeting them.

(End of this chapter)