Chapter 274: Success

After finally getting a lead, the sudden loss of information left Qingming feeling somewhat distressed. Just as he was lamenting silently, he noticed that the Uchiha elder before him wore a composed expression, as if he were confident and had everything under control.

Suddenly, Qingming recalled that before saying "not obtained," the elder had added a qualifier: "temporarily." This meant that the elder likely already had information about the leader of the Artisan Village.

However, judging by the elder's demeanor, it seemed he would require some sort of commitment from Qingming first.

With this thought in mind, Qingming pondered for a moment before directly asking, "Is there something you need me to do, Elder?"

Upon hearing this, the Uchiha elder sized Qingming up several times, nodding in satisfaction. "A teachable youth!" he exclaimed, bursting into a hearty laugh.

After the laughter subsided, he continued, "Actually, not long ago, Granny Cat sent word that her clan's ninja cats have spotted someone who resembles the leader of the Artisan Village. However, this information hasn't been confirmed yet."

Granny Cat.

Relevant information quickly flashed through Qingming's mind. Granny Cat was an upright black market merchant who lived with a group of ninja cats and operated a ninja tool shop, maintaining a longstanding friendship with the Uchiha clan. She served as both an intelligence source for the Uchiha and their exclusive weapons supplier.

Since the intelligence came from her, it should be reliable.

Thinking this, Qingming immediately asked, "Where is the target located?"

"In the Land of Crafts," the Uchiha elder replied.

"What?" Qingming was taken aback. "He still dares to stay in the Land of Crafts?"

"Dares?" The Uchiha elder looked at Qingming with a puzzled expression and asked in return, "Why wouldn't he dare?"

Realizing the implication, Qingming hesitated briefly before understanding: the Five Great Shinobi Villages were more concerned about the entire Artisan Village siding with another village, rather than just fearing the individual leader. As long as the leader didn't engage in any behavior that might raise suspicions—like gathering the ninjas of the Artisan Village—the Five Great Villages would likely not act against him even if they discovered his whereabouts. After all, once the war ended, they would still need the Artisan Village's services, so they wouldn't want to go too far.

It made sense that the leader would choose to remain in the Land of Crafts, perhaps even intentionally making an appearance from time to time to reassure the Five Great Villages.

After working through these thoughts, Qingming said to the Uchiha elder, "Elder, once you confirm his movements, please inform me immediately."

"You want to take action personally?" The Uchiha elder furrowed his brow, but after considering Qingming's past achievements, he finally nodded and replied, "Very well! I'll have someone notify you when the time comes."

The two continued to chat for a while longer before Qingming took his leave. Throughout their conversation, the Uchiha elder hadn't specifically asked him to do anything, which Qingming had anticipated.

What the elder really wanted was a stance from him, rather than any specific task to be carried out. At least not for the time being.

This is precisely why Qingming had been so straightforward in asking what the elder wanted him to do; he had no intention of being beholden to the elder for just a mere grass-cutting sword.

Ultimately, it was all just a performance to him. To Qingming, whether the Uchiha clan was composed of radicals or conservatives, they were all just familiar strangers.

He could do anything if he wished—even help them overthrow the rule of Konoha. However, if he didn't want to, no amount of coercion or persuasion would have any effect on him. Having the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and rapidly growing strength gave him that confidence.

The sun rose and set.

Before he knew it, the next day had arrived.

In the morning, Qingming arrived at the familiar training ground in the northwestern part of the main camp. For the first time in a while, he didn't create any shadow clones, choosing instead to practice the ninjutsu—Water Release: Water Barrier—himself.

After a full afternoon and evening of study, he had gained some insight into how to develop water attribute chakra. Now, all he needed to do was successfully perform "Water Release: Water Barrier," which would mark his entry into the realm of this technique.

Compared to his initial practice of Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, the difficulty of Water Release: Water Barrier was undoubtedly higher.

But Qingming was confident!

Not for any particular reason, but simply because his chakra control now was on an entirely different level compared to before. Not to mention, he also had the eye technique "Man's Reign" at his disposal.

The different attributes of chakra were merely manifestations of its different states. Given that every jōnin could develop a second or even third attribute, it theoretically suggested that everyone should have access to all attributes.

However, the difficulty increased significantly as one progressed.

Yet, this was not an issue for Qingming.

Since chakra naturally had these properties, he could use "Man's Reign" to guide the process. With sufficient theoretical knowledge, he should be able to accomplish this easily.

With these thoughts in mind, Qingming activated his Sharingan, scanning the area to confirm no one else was around. His mind focused, and the three tomoe of his Sharingan transformed into the Mangekyō.

A slight stinging sensation coursed through him as blood trickled from his right eye, and the power of "Man's Reign" enveloped him.

Recalling the insights and experiences from the book regarding the development of water attribute chakra, he combined that with the relevant theoretical knowledge and silently guided his inner chakra to undergo transformation.

After a brief moment, he lifted his hands and began forming the hand seals methodically—"Tiger—Snake—Rat—Snake—Tiger!"

Boom!

A burst of chakra smoke erupted.

A water wall suddenly emerged from the ground, standing about a meter in front of Qingming.

However, after barely half a second, the water wall collapsed, spilling into a puddle at Qingming's feet.

Closing the Mangekyō, Qingming wiped the blood from his face, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

His initial conjecture had proven correct: with the help of "Man's Reign" and sufficient theoretical knowledge, he had easily developed water attribute chakra.

Moreover, he successfully performed the B-rank ninjutsu—Water Release: Water Barrier.

Though the water wall collapsed almost immediately, this marked a breakthrough from zero to one.

Qingming opened his skill panel and glanced at it. As expected, a new skill had appeared on his panel—[Water Release: Water Barrier: lv0 (1/100)]!

Now, all he needed to do was continue practicing, and he would soon be able to elevate this technique's level.

As his proficiency in "Water Release: Water Barrier" increased, his understanding and mastery of the changes in water attribute chakra's form and properties would also deepen.

Eventually, he wouldn't need to worry about the water wall collapsing unexpectedly.

Additionally, he could also start attempting to learn "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique."

However, this time, Qingming decided not to expedite the process with "Man's Reign."

Now that he had successfully developed water attribute chakra, he just needed to persist in practicing a few dozen more times, and he would surely achieve another breakthrough from zero to one.

At that point, it would just be a matter of grinding it out.

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