A day later.
Evening.
In a certain area of the forest, two teams from Iwagakure and Kumogakure were engaged in a fierce battle.
Soon, only five figures remained on the battlefield: three Iwa ninjas and two Kumo ninjas. The Iwa ninjas were in worse condition, while the Kumo ninjas appeared to be in slightly better shape.
As the two sides faced off against each other, three shadowy figures suddenly appeared in the middle of the fray. Clad in black cloaks and wearing masks, their identities were obscured, making it impossible to determine which faction they belonged to.
Instantly, the remaining Iwa and Kumo ninjas became wary.
However, their caution proved futile. The three figures wasted no time with unnecessary chatter; they immediately launched a silent attack on the five combatants.
The trio coordinated seamlessly, their swordsmanship sharp and agile. They avoided direct confrontations, swiftly incapacitating two of the fighters in mere moments.
Seeing this, the remaining three felt a wave of panic wash over them.
Before they could execute their escape plan, the cloaked figures suddenly distanced themselves, forming hand signs as if to cast a jutsu.
The three ninjas knew they couldn't afford to be careless and quickly prepared to counter with their own jutsu.
After being pressured into a defensive position, they recognized that the opening created by their opponents was a perfect opportunity to disrupt the situation.
However, just as they raised their arms to cast their techniques, they saw the eyes of the three cloaked figures change from black to a menacing red.
In the depths of those blood-red pupils were three jet-black tomoe.
"Sharingan?!"
A surge of dread coursed through the three ninjas as they instinctively tried to avert their gazes, but it was too late.
In the next moment, they felt an intense pain, as if their bodies were pierced by massive iron spikes, rendering them immobile.
Clearly, they had fallen victim to the Uchiha clan's signature genjutsu—Kagen (Illusion: Shackles Technique)!
"Are you ninjas of the Uchiha clan? Why are you attacking us?"
One of the Kumo ninjas gritted his teeth against the pain and asked.
Yet, the three cloaked figures paid him no heed.
After subduing the situation, they quickly flashed behind the three ninjas, and with a few swift blows, knocked them unconscious.
Not just them—the two previously incapacitated Iwa ninjas were also swiftly rendered unconscious.
Once this was accomplished, the three cloaked figures reverted to their true forms, revealing themselves as shadow clones of Qingming.
In fact, there was not only the three clones on the battlefield; another clone stood silently on a tree branch above, quietly observing the movements of the Kumo and Iwa ninjas with the Sharingan active, staying alert for any unforeseen incidents.
Swish!
The clone on the branch executed the Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique), appearing in the midst of the battlefield.
He glanced at the other three clones and said, "Hurry and clean up the battlefield. Someone is bound to be on their way here; we need to act quickly."
"Understood."
Without further ado, the three clones nodded and promptly set to work cleaning up the scene.
Their movements were practiced and efficient, betraying the fact that they had performed this task many times before.
Indeed, Qingming had initially tasked them with seeking suitable targets for capture, planning to personally handle the arrests.
However, as the number of captives he had amassed grew, so did the amount of chakra available to him each day, leading to longer training times.
Gradually, he found it increasingly difficult to manage both tasks.
Thus, Qingming decided to let his shadow clones handle the capturing themselves.
These clones inherited his memories, meaning their combat experience and skills were quite competent.
Moreover, given that Qingming specialized in agility and seldom engaged in direct combat, he didn't need to worry about their resilience in battle.
With four clones coordinating their efforts, the task proceeded smoothly.
A few minutes later, the battlefield was cleaned up.
The four clones erased all traces of their presence, gathered the unconscious Iwa and Kumo ninjas, and swiftly departed from the area.
Unbeknownst to them, shortly after their departure, an Iwagakure jōnin arrived at the scene. Observing the strangely familiar 'clean' battlefield, he frowned slightly.
Qingming's reckless capture operations had aroused suspicion within Iwagakure, and this special jōnin had come specifically to investigate the matter.
After surveying the area and finding nothing amiss, he bit his thumb, quickly formed the hand signs Inu—Tatsu—Tori—Saru—Ushi, and slammed his hand onto the ground, summoning forth a technique—Tōrinkan no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)!
In an instant, several small black mice, about the size of a palm, appeared. Their coats were sleek, and their eyes shone brightly with life.
The Iwa jōnin crouched down, grabbed one of the mice, and held it in his palm. "Xiao Qi, sniff around and see how many people's scents are nearby."
The mouse, named Xiao Qi, vigorously twitched its nose and squeaked a few times.
It seemed as though the Iwa jōnin understood its response, as he scanned the surrounding bodies and counted, "Can you tell which direction they went?"
"Zhi zhi~"
Xiao Qi squeaked several times, extending its front paw and pointing in a specific direction—the very path that Qingming's four shadow clones had taken.
Seeing this, the Iwa jōnin grinned. "Xiao Qi, well done! Here, take this."
Saying this, he pulled out a handful of peanuts from his pocket and offered them to the mouse.
Delighted, Xiao Qi quickly devoured the peanuts.
At this moment, the Iwa jōnin said, "Xiao Qi, lead the way. Follow those scents and see if you can find them."
"Zhi zhi~"
Xiao Qi squeaked in response and set off with a group of smaller mice, running ahead.
The Iwa jōnin cautiously followed behind them.
Meanwhile, in a hidden cave.
Qingming drained the chakra from the last Kumo ninja. Noticing that his own chakra had yet to reach full capacity, he extracted a portion of mental and physical energy from the unconscious ninja to convert it into chakra for his own replenishment.
Satisfied, he began to perform the Kagami no Jutsu (Illusion Technique), promoting the evolution of his Sharingan.
An hour later.
Qingming ceased the technique.
At this point, his chakra had dropped to half of its peak state, while the proficiency of Kagami no Jutsu had increased to lv6 (9895/10000).
Clearly, after more than a day of effort, Qingming had made significant progress toward reaching lv7.
Determined not to waste time, he checked on the condition of the unconscious Kumo and Iwa ninjas within the cave, confirming that they wouldn't wake up anytime soon before getting up and leaving.
After orienting himself, he headed toward another hidden cave.
During his earlier training, his shadow clones had relayed their memories—there, they had prepared three Iwa ninjas and two Kumo ninjas for him.
The reason he didn't allow them to bring the captives to him was primarily for safety.
Qingming understood how reckless his actions were; if the higher-ups from Iwagakure and Kumogakure took notice of him, separating the captives would ensure that he wouldn't lose everything in one fell swoop.
plz support me if you can.
patreon.com/Mano99
all the fanfic is 30 chapter a had and you will get 1 chapter everyday.