It wasn't surprising that Chunin and Jonin in Konoha knew about Danzo's existence; however, it was quite astonishing that a Genin loli, barely eight years old and fresh out of the academy, also knew about Danzo.
The hint of surprise that flashed in Kimura Taku's eyes was fully noticed by Inoyue, which indirectly confirmed that the person Danzo valued was indeed not simple.
Kimura Taku devised a plan based on the order to avoid any damage within three days: he would be responsible for the five-hundred-meter outer circle, thus firmly protecting the three kids within it.
However, a thousand-meter radius was still quite large, and it was indeed very difficult to simultaneously maintain vigilance and protection, so some compromises had to be made.
Twenty minutes later, Kimura Taku got up, merged into the ground, and disappeared again for his second patrol.
The five-hundred-meter range was not large, and for Inoyue and the other two, it was still within their capabilities.
The three did not need to act separately; this was something Inoyue had thought of long ago. The forest terrain here was flat, so they only needed to find a few trees of suitable height.
All three stayed in the trees, forming a triangle, less than twenty meters apart, with each observing one direction, and the five-hundred-meter range was completely within their surveillance.
Inoyue had received the scroll from Tsunade for about a month, and her strength had improved very quickly, especially in terms of mental power.
The scroll was merely a simple application of ideas for mental power practice; mental power was also a completely new subject for Tsunade, and she had not deeply researched it, so most of its contents were based on speculation.
However, it was precisely because of these speculative and imaginative things that Inoyue truly recognized her own strengths.
Mental power is very mysterious. According to the speculation in the scroll, it may have an intricate connection with a person's soul. Mental power attacks in the form of genjutsu, but even A-rank genjutsu has little offensive power and requires coordination with actual actions; however, in Inoyue's understanding, there are two exceptions: one is Jiraiya's 'Frog Song,' and the other is Uchiha's Tsukuyomi.
Frog Song is a Sage Art, which has high requirements, and the current Inoyue is simply out of reach, while the brother-complex's Tsukuyomi is a very good example. Forming a space with mental power, pulling the enemy's mind into one's own mental space, and then letting them suffer until their mind collapses—this can be imitated.
To form one's own mental space independently, one needs to meditate and construct it daily, and perfect one's space; this is only the first step. But even this first step cannot be completed in a short time; as for the second step, how to pull the enemy's mind into one's own space, there is still no clue at all.
Inoyue wants to completely cultivate a Tsukuyomi-like space in a short time, which she cannot do yet. However, after a month of practice, Inoyue has explored another method of using mental power.
If Tsukuyomi is the inward construction of mental power space, then Inoyue's other method is outward projection.
Projecting mental power allows it to freely release beyond one's body, just like the divine sense in cultivation. Although it cannot cause any physical attacks, it can act like a scanner, constantly knowing external matters.
To use mental power as divine sense, there must be a medium connecting to the outside world, and the eyes are the medium connecting the inner mind with the outside world.
The current Inoyue can concentrate her mental power through a brief hand seal and then project it from her eyes. As long as it is within a certain range of her visual field, regardless of whether there are obstacles in front of her, the mental power can penetrate and directly manifest the scanned image in her mind.
This method is similar to Hyuga's Byakugan, but its power is lower than Byakugan, temporarily unable to achieve a 360-degree view without blind spots, nor can it see the flow of Chakra.
Since the images formed after mental power scanning are black, white, and gray, somewhat like the world after death, Inoyue named it: Mind's Eye.
When the Mind's Eye is activated, the golden yellow ring at the bottom of her eyes expands to fill the entire whites of her eyes, leaving only the black pupils in the center, creating a somewhat strange appearance.
The Mind's Eye's scanning area is about three hundred meters within her line of sight; anything further becomes blurry.
Activating the Mind's Eye does not consume Chakra; it consumes Inoyue's mental power. With Inoyue's current immense mental power, using the Mind's Eye is effortless, and she can maintain it for about five hours even if it is continuously active.
This time limit is only her current limit at around 8 years old; as she ages, her powerful mental power will grow again.
Inoyue is confident that her Mind's Eye can continue to be developed and evolved, perhaps in the future, it will be no worse than Uchiha's Sharingan or Hyuga's Byakugan, and may even be comparable to the Rinnegan. Through that's probably impossible.
A good mental state is key to ensuring one's mobility; no matter how much mental power there is, it cannot be wasted.
Activating the Mind's Eye once every ten minutes, for about twenty seconds each time, also serves a corresponding purpose.
The five-hundred-meter Vigilance range does not mean that the entire five-hundred-meter area needs to be constantly monitored; it only requires attention to any movement within this area.
Inoyue transformed into a night hawk and perched on a treetop to observe and guard.
She unexpectedly found that the Mind's Eye could also observe below the ground, though the distance was not deep, only about five meters. If she wanted to observe positions below five meters, the mental power output would increase exponentially.
Kimura Taku returned every two hours. When the time was almost up, Inoyue could detect a dark shadow moving underground. It would only emerge from the ground after reaching a hundred-meter distance, then walk to the previous gathering point.
Every two hours, the four of them would meet once to report on the situation in their respective areas.
When encountering such situations, Inoyue really wished she could learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu. The clones are physical entities, and the main body always stays in the dark, thus avoiding many dangers.
The Third Shinobi World War is currently underway. The communication devices Naruto used to catch cats after the plot began should still be in the development stage now. If those things were available, these meetings that increase the chance of exposure wouldn't be necessary.
Time slowly passed. There was about an hour left until the shift change. For Inoyue, who cherished her life, this first mission on the battlefield felt a bit long. No matter how long time felt, it still had to pass. Kimura Taku had not yet returned, but four people were already rushing from the rear.
Four people, one Jonin, and three Genin. Inoyue spotted them as soon as they entered the three-hundred-meter range. Based on her observation, they were colleagues sent from Konoha's rear to take over the shift.
As the Konoha personnel arrived for the handover, Inoyue was about to reveal herself to greet them, but at that very moment, she suddenly observed that two more people were secretly following behind the four. Their movements were extremely covert; if Inoyue had not developed her Mind's Eye, she would never have discovered them.
Teammates? Enemies? Inoyue's heart skipped a beat.
It was still more than half an hour before 4 AM. Logically, the handover time should not exceed five minutes either way, but it was clearly not yet the handover time, and the number of people was also incorrect; it should always be a four-person squad configuration.
The newcomers were definitely not Konoha comrades. Inoyue took a deep breath, suppressed her wildly beating heart, and let out two soft night hawk chirps, one long and one short. This was a signal, a signal of danger, and it simultaneously stopped Uchiha Suien and Kami Kida, who were about to reveal themselves.
What was the current state of Uchiha Suien and Kami Kida? Inoyue didn't know, but her own state was nothing but tension, her heart almost leaping out of her chest.
Inoyue continuously breathed softly, slowly adjusting her state. This was not her first time facing an enemy, but it was facing an enemy under an absolute disadvantage. There were six people on the other side; among the four visible, at least two were Chunin, and among the two hidden behind, there was definitely a Jonin, and perhaps both were Jonin.
Intuition is a very sensitive thing, especially for someone with unusually strong mental power like Inoyue. This could also be attributed to a woman's sixth sense.
With one Jonin, there might still be a chance to fight, but adding Chunin and Genin, fighting would be a suicidal act. With two soft, short chirps, Inoyue signaled to retreat temporarily, heading towards the outer boundary, so that they could circle back while also looking for Jonin Kimura Taku.
With a Jonin present, there might still be a chance to fight.