Time flows on, and in the blink of an eye, a week has passed. During this week, Qingming gradually familiarized himself with the entire forward base and began leading his team on missions in the nearby sea areas.
Initially, he thought he would encounter the Mist Ninja again soon. After all, the situation here wasn't favorable; otherwise, they wouldn't have needed reinforcements from the Rain Country battlefield.
However, to Qingming's surprise, several days had passed, and he hadn't seen a single shadow of a Mist Ninja, as if all of them had gone into hiding.
Upon further reflection, this possibility did exist. Due to Danzo's leak, their support team had been ambushed, resulting in heavy losses. While they had suffered significant casualties, the Mist Ninja had also endured their fair share of losses.
With so many elite ninjas lost, even Kirigakure would need some time to recover, especially after the deaths of Black Hoe Thunder Fang and Pipa Tenzo, two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, which left a void in their high-end combat capabilities.
Thus, their temporary retreat was understandable, and Qingming found it quite favorable.
"Return to base!"
In the Land of Waves, in the southeastern sea area, Qingming gazed at the sunset on the horizon and spoke directly.
Upon hearing this, several Konoha ninjas responded in unison and began maneuvering the small boat towards the forward base.
As they neared the coast, Qingming leaped off the boat, gathering chakra beneath his feet, and landed steadily on the water's surface.
Turning to a young Uchiha ninja in the team, around fourteen or fifteen years old with a black mole on his forehead, he said, "Tiehuo, you handle the report."
"Again?"
Uchiha Tiehuo replied with a hint of reluctance.
Qingming chuckled and said, "Thanks for taking care of it!"
With that, he turned and headed towards a distant, indistinct reef.
Seeing this, Uchiha Tiehuo quickly shouted after him, "Don't forget about the challenge in three days!"
Without breaking his stride, Qingming raised his right hand in a casual wave, signaling that he had heard.
"The captain is going to train again; he's really dedicated!"
One Konoha ninja on the boat remarked, observing Qingming's retreating figure.
"Yeah!"
Another ninja chimed in, "The patrol missions are already tiring enough; I don't know how he manages to train after each task!"
"Not just that."
A third Konoha ninja interjected, "Haven't you noticed? The captain has been training a specific jutsu even while on mission."
"Of course we saw!"
The first ninja retorted bluntly.
He sighed, saying, "Sigh! That's why I say the captain is a freak; I couldn't keep up with that kind of intense training!"
"Ha ha! You definitely can't!"
Uchiha Tiehuo said proudly, "After all, he's one of the two great geniuses of our Uchiha clan. Ordinary people can't compare!"
At first, Uchiha Tiehuo had been unconvinced about Qingming, the newly appointed captain, but after Qingming bested him, he immediately became submissive.
After several encounters, his respect evolved into admiration.
Qingming didn't mind this at all; he used the opportunity to delegate all minor tasks within the team to Tiehuo.
Of course, he had to pay a price for this, which was the challenge mentioned earlier.
However, this challenge was more about helping Tiehuo with his training rather than a true contest.
This occurred about every three to four days, which didn't take much time, so Qingming readily agreed.
On the outer sea reef, after arriving, Qingming sensed the surroundings and found nothing out of the ordinary.
He crossed his arms and formed the "Tsu" hand seal to cast the "Shadow Clone Technique."
With a series of popping sounds, six shadow clones appeared.
Without needing to be instructed, they each dashed off in different directions, beginning their designated training exercises.
Currently, Qingming's "Swordsmanship" had already reached perfection, so there was no need for further practice in that area.
Thus, he directed the clone originally practicing "Swordsmanship" to start training "Phantom Sword Technique."
Unlike "Instant Sword Technique," practicing "Phantom Sword Technique" didn't require special weapons to conduct chakra.
It mainly tested the combination of the "Sharingan's Genjutsu" and "Swordsmanship," and this was precisely what they would practice.
However, this also meant that training "Phantom Sword Technique" consumed more chakra than just training "Swordsmanship."
Consequently, Qingming had to allocate some of his daily chakra reserves for this skill.
Fortunately, the amount of chakra consumed wasn't excessively high. With over sixty thousand chakra points, it was sufficient for a long time.
In other words, he only needed to rest for half a day every now and then, replenishing his chakra during that time, which would effectively resolve this issue.
Typically, he replenished chakra consumed outside of skill training this way.
While this might slow his overall progress slightly, it was still manageable.
Additionally, it allowed him time to rest.
Balance between work and rest is the key!
Naturally, Qingming wouldn't remain tense all the time.
Time passed, and soon it was night.
After the shadow clones completed their tasks, Qingming absorbed all their training experiences and memories before returning to the forward base.
Walking under the moonlight and entering his small courtyard, Qingming suddenly paused, activating his Sharingan as he glanced toward the corner of the yard.
"Meow~"
Suddenly, a cat's meow rang out.
Qingming's heart stirred as he walked over and found a large black cat licking its paws.
Upon seeing Qingming approach, the cat didn't seem startled but instead lifted its head to examine him.
Its gaze lacked the usual feline innocence and was instead filled with human-like intelligence.
The cat's eyes lingered on Qingming's Sharingan for a moment before it spoke, "Uchiha Qingming?"
Indeed, the cat spoke.
Clearly, this was no ordinary cat but a ninja cat.
Upon hearing the inquiry, Qingming nodded, replying, "It's me!"
Upon receiving confirmation, the black cat let out a breath of relief, its tone slightly reproachful as it said, "Where have you been? Why did you only come back now? You made me wait for quite a long time."
"Is there something you need?"
Qingming ignored the cat's complaint and got straight to the point.
Hearing this, the black cat produced a piece of paper and said, "The person you're looking for has been found. Grandma asked me to deliver this to you."
"Grandma Cat…"
Qingming murmured, recalling the request he made to Elder Hozuki before his departure.
It seemed that the leader of the Land of Crafts had indeed been located, and the Kusanagi Sword, which had been on his mind, should also be within reach.
With this thought in mind, Qingming took the paper, which revealed an address.
plz support me if you can.
patreon.com/Mano99
all the fanfic is 30 chapter a had and you will get 1 chapter everyday.