bookbashuk Chapter 347 The Real Uncertainty
Chapter 347 The Real Uncertainty
Chapter 347 The Real Uncertainty
The moment their eyes met, the other person's pupils suddenly contracted.
Chi Quan did not hesitate for a moment.
He lunged forward as if peeled off a stone wall, his footsteps barely making a sound, and within three steps he was right in front of the man. The allied ninja opened his mouth to shout, but Chi Quan pressed down with his left hand, tightly covering the man's mouth and nose, while his right hand thrust a short blade diagonally into the man's heart from under his ribs.
The knife went in very deep, yet remained extremely steady.
The man let out a very short "uh" sound, his body tensed up suddenly, and then went limp.
The water bag fell to the ground, rolled half a circle, and slumped against the edge of the broken bricks.
Chi Quan grabbed the body with one hand and dragged it into the shadows behind the low wall, his movements as fast as if he had done it a hundred times before.
Shino had already followed, crouching down to glance at the man's headband, waist, and cuffs.
"The patrol posts outside the designated areas are not fixed posts," he said.
Did he shout it out?
"no."
Chi Quan released his hand from the other person's mouth and nose, glanced down at the bloodstain on his palm, didn't even frown, and simply asked, "How long will it take for someone to look for him?"
Shino looked at the water pouch beside the corpse and said calmly, "If he was just taking a break, no one would have come looking for him for at least a moment."
That's enough.
Izumi dragged the body deeper behind the collapsed wall. There, half-collapsed wooden beams and rotten straw mats had been piled up, just big enough to stuff a person inside. Shino flicked his sleeve, and several insects crawled to the corpse's collar and neck, as if confirming something.
"What's going on?" Chi Quan asked.
"He has a newly replaced sentry post tag on him." Shino pulled a small wooden tag from the man's waist, with a very simple mark engraved on it. "He was probably on his way to relieve the guard on the southwest roof, but he turned back to sneak a drink of water."
Chi Quan glanced at the mark, his eyes flickering slightly.
"Southwest roof?"
"Um."
Which place?
Shino looked up and gazed at the rooftops further west of the half-collapsed pharmacy not far away.
"The third tallest one faces the southwest slope."
Chi Quan stared at that spot for a couple of moments, then suddenly asked, "Is there any way to take his place?"
Shino looked at him: "You want to go up?"
"It's not about going up, it's about keeping the shift on the roof temporarily," Chi Quan said in a low voice. "As long as we make it look like this person has already gone to take over, the people on the roof won't suspect anything for a while."
Shino remained silent for a moment.
"You can try," he said, "but you'll need to borrow his water pouch and wooden sticks."
Chi Quan has already begun to take action.
He tore off the man's half-draped cloak, crumpled it into a ball, and wedged it next to a piece of broken wood on the other side of the low wall. Then he gently tossed the water pouch into a spot where it could be seen slightly by the slanted light from the roof. At first glance, it looked as if someone was squatting behind the wall, tilting their head back to drink water, with their shoulders and the corner of the cloak just peeking out.
Shino glanced at it twice and said, "Add a little more sound."
What was that sound?
Shino didn't answer, but with a flick of his sleeve, a tiny black insect flew into the cloak. The next instant, two very soft rustling sounds came from inside the cloak, as if someone had actually crouched down and moved their shoulder.
Chi Quan raised an eyebrow as he looked at her.
"OK."
"We can hold them off for half a quarter of an hour," Shino said, "at most."
"Half a quarter of an hour is enough for us to retreat."
The two did not stop.
Ikezumi put away the wooden tag, took one last look at the main building of the high-rise, and after confirming that no one was looking this way, turned her head slightly to Shino.
"Walk."
The two quickly retreated through the gap between the collapsed wall and the abandoned fence they had come from.
This retreat was faster than the advance, but still extremely steady. Ikezumi hardly looked back, relying solely on the terrain he had just surveyed to navigate the broken walls, charred wood, and wet mud. Shino, on the other hand, would occasionally whisper "Stop," "Left," or "Wait," clearly relying on the insects to keep an eye on the rooftops and alleyways for any sudden glances that might sweep over them.
After leaving the first and most dangerous section of the abandoned courtyard, Chi Quan asked in a low voice, "How many of the insects have retreated?"
"Sixty percent."
"What about the rest?"
"Keep it."
Chi Quan glanced at him.
Zhi Nai Pingping said, "It's a pity not to stay since we've already gotten in."
"Aren't you afraid of being wiped out?"
"I'm scared." Shino pushed up her sunglasses. "That's why I kept the kind that's hardest to erase."
"for example?"
"In the seams of the ledger pages, under the bed board, inside the medicine barrel, in the layers of bandages, on the adhesive backing of the drawings."
Chi Quan didn't stop walking, but the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
"You're really suited for this."
"Thanks."
I wasn't praising you.
"But your tone sounds like it."
5
'
The two of them, one after the other, crawled back into the edge of the charred forest.
Once we retreated completely to the first layer of scorched forest, the sounds from the village were greatly muffled by the fog and trees. Even so, the oppressive feeling of Osmanthus Village being "crowded with people" still lingered in the distance, like a barbed iron pressing down on the low-lying land.
Chi Quan retreated all the way back to the charred piece of wood where he had first started before finally stopping.
He didn't speak immediately, but instead turned around and stared at the village for a few moments, as if to make sure no one was chasing after him and there was no unusual change of guard.
Shino stood to the side, and the faint flapping of wings from his sleeves finally subsided.
Chi Quan whispered, "If they discover that the person from earlier is missing, how long will it take before they become suspicious?"
"We'll start searching in half an hour, and there will be some small-scale movement in a quarter of an hour," Shino said. "But by then we won't be here anymore."
Chi Quan nodded and finally turned around.
"Let's go back first."
But after taking only two steps, Shino suddenly raised his hand.
"etc."
Chi Quan stopped immediately: "What?"
Shino closed his eyes, as if chasing an insect that was still in the village.
After a few breaths, he said, "Helian said something else."
"What?"
He said, "Don't touch the women and children at the rendezvous point; keep an eye on anyone who can hold a pen."
Chi Quan's eyes suddenly turned cold.
"He needs to be in charge of record keeping and paperwork."
"Yes." Shino's voice remained calm. "He wants a list, not indiscriminate killing."
Chi Quan stood still for a moment before muttering under his breath, "That's cunning."
Shino said, "That's why we need to go back even faster."
"Um.
""
This time, the two didn't linger and retreated completely to the inner side of the Land of Fire.
The morning mist gradually closed in behind us, swallowing Osmanthus Village back into a silhouette of gray and charred black. In the distance, the flag of the Land of Thunder still fluttered in the wind, occasionally punctuated by shouts that were quickly swallowed by the forest.
Chi Quan didn't say much on the way.
His mind raced through all the information he had just received: the reconstruction of the sensor panels in Xijingyuan and the main alley, the postponement of Shiliangkou, the temporary stagnation of the waterway and Nanguan, the southern rendezvous point being monitored, the possibility of the western post road being intercepted, and the lists and documents becoming Helian's new targets.
Fragments of old talisman boards unearthed below the well courtyard —
Once these fragmented pieces are pieced together, it's no longer just about "what Guihua Village is like now," but rather what the Allied Forces will do next, and where they will reach.
After walking for nearly a mile, Chi Quan finally spoke.
"How long can you, an insect, stay in the village at most?"
Shino thought for a moment.
"If it's not deliberately cleaned, it will last about three days. If there's always food or damp cracks in the wood, it can last longer."
"Can it continuously send data back?"
"It depends on the distance. If we're too far away, I can only vaguely sense the location and the big movements. If you want to hear clearly, I'll have to get closer."
Chi Quan hummed in agreement.
"There will be more to come."
"I know."
"You don't seem surprised at all."
"Because when you asked 'How do we kill Helian next time' from behind the wall, I knew you wouldn't just come this once."
Chi Quan smiled, this time a little more genuine than before, but still short-lived.
"Your hearing is fine."
"Insects."
"Okay, I'll count the bugs."
The two continued forward.
The forest gradually filled with the more mature scents of the interior of the Land of Fire. The smell of burnt wood faded, replaced by the rich aroma of grass roots and damp earth, with wisps of smoke occasionally drifting from the direction of the outpost. In the distance, birds were startled, fluttering about before settling back elsewhere.
After a while, Chi Quan seemed to finally sort out some of the threads in his mind and asked, "What do you think of Helian?"
Shino didn't answer immediately.
Chi Quan tilted his head: "So you actually want to think about this?"
"No," Shino said flatly, "it's about filtering out unnecessary descriptions."
"And what about the rest?"
"He holds grudges, is cautious, changes his mind quickly, doesn't trust other people's judgments much, and trusts what he sees with his own eyes more." Shino paused, "Also, he now treats you as something that needs to be guarded against separately."
After listening, Chi Quan gave a soft "hmm".
"almost."
"And you?" Shino asked.
What do I think of him?
"Um.
"6
Chi Quan took a few steps and gently pushed aside a fallen twig with his toes.
"He's the kind of person who'll cover up the spot he was bitten on even tighter. If you punch him, he'll first cover up the half of his face that was hit, and then try to bite back." He paused. "This kind of person is hard to pry open, but as long as you can make him keep looking back at the spot where he was hit yesterday, other places will become vulnerable."
Shino said, "So you still want to make a fuss about Osmanthus Village."
"It's not just a thought," Chi Quan glanced at him, "it's a certainty."
Shino neither agreed nor disagreed, only saying, "Then we need to be more careful next time. We were lucky today."
Chi Quan chuckled softly: "You still believe in luck?"
"I don't believe it," Shino said. "That's why I said 'that's right.'"
After listening, Chi Quan suddenly asked, "Before I dragged that person inside, did you already let the worms crawl onto his neck?"
Shino doesn't deny it.
"Yes."
Why?
"If you're even a step slower, I'll make sure he can't utter a complete sound."
Chi Quan glanced at him twice.
"You're keeping up pretty well, aren't you?"
Shino's tone was flat: "Because you do things too fast, it will be troublesome if you are slow."
"I thought you would say something like 'because it's necessary for the mission' or something like that."
"There's no need."
"Too."
By the time the two returned to the outskirts of the temporary outpost, the sun had already fully climbed above the treetops. The sentry ninjas near the outpost quickly recognized their signal and let them in. The camp was much livelier than it had been in the morning; the supply officer was counting the newly distributed ninja tools, there were low voices coming from the wounded soldiers' tents, and fresh meat soup was simmering in a pot, the aroma of medicine and steam mingling in the air.
Silent was the first person to see the pool.
She was carrying a plate of freshly ground hemostatic herbs toward the other side when she looked up and saw the two of them coming out of the woods. She first breathed a sigh of relief, then her brows immediately furrowed.
"You're back pretty quickly," she said, walking briskly closer and staring at the half-dried blood on Chi Quan's hand. "Are you injured?"
"It's not mine," Chi Quan answered smoothly.
"Whose is that?"
I found it on the street.
Jingyin almost laughed out of anger at his question: "Can you..."
Before he could finish speaking, Shino added from the side, "It's definitely not his."
Shizune choked, then turned to Shino: "Aren't you going to stop him?"
Shino pushed up her sunglasses.
"I was trying to stop them."
Chi Quan coughed softly beside him, as if he was suppressing a laugh.
Shizune, too lazy to argue with them, said directly, "Let's go to Lady Tsunade's place first. She's been waiting for you to come back since early this morning."
""
Chi Quan's expression turned serious.
"Is she in the main tent?"
"Yes, Shikamaru and Kakashi are here too." Shizune paused, then lowered her voice, "They look like they've received other intelligence; they don't look too good."
Ikezumi and Shino exchanged a glance.
He then wiped the blood off his hands on the grass and said directly, "Let's go."
As the three walked through the camp, many people subconsciously looked over. Someone wanted to ask a question, but was pulled back by their companion, clearly knowing not to speak rashly at this moment. The tent flap on Shikamaru's side was half-open, and the faint sound of papers turning and a very low "tsk" could be heard from inside.
Chi Quan lifted the curtain and went inside.
Tsunade was leaning against the long table, on which lay three maps and a stack of newly delivered documents. Shikamaru sat to one side, twirling a pen in his hand, his brow furrowed; Kakashi leaned against the side of the table, his book unopened, clearly not in the mood to read.
Hearing the noise, the group looked up at the same time.
Tsunade's eyes immediately fell on Ikezumi and Shino.
"You're back?" Her voice wasn't loud, but it was firm. "How much did you see?"
Chi Quan walked to the table and pointed directly at the location of Osmanthus Village on the map.
"They're thinking more than we did," he said. "And they're targeting more than just the village."
"Explain yourself clearly." Tsunade stared at Izumi's fingers. "Where do you start?"
Chi Quan didn't sit down. He traced a line along the southwest corner of Guihua Village with his finger, his fingernail making a soft rubbing sound on the edge of the map.
"They nailed all the spots that hurt the most last night to the wall. They're patching up the sensory panels on the southwest slope, the main alley, and the well courtyard. This isn't just ordinary security; it's a coordinated deployment. The talisman panels have already been brought into the village. The Thunder Kingdom's finest sealed boxes don't have many, but they're enough to form the framework."
Shikamaru paused for a moment, his pen still in his hand.
"To what extent will the collaboration go?"
"It's not done yet, but they want to connect the three places before tonight," Chi Quan said. "An old storage layer was unearthed under the well courtyard, and Helian went down to check it out himself. Inside were old medicine jars, old wooden beams, and fragments of shattered talisman boards. He's not sure yet whether they were left by us or were originally from the village, so he sealed off the well courtyard."
Kakashi raised his eyes.
"He went down himself?"
"Hmm." Chi Quan nodded. "He even brought three teams: perception, explosives, and investigation. This shows that he considers that area below to be the real point of uncertainty."
Tsunade, her face grim, pressed her hand against the edge of the map: "Continue."
Shino stood beside Ikezumi, his voice as flat as if he were reciting a prescription.
"Helian will not touch the waterways or the South Gate for the time being. Until the supplies in the North Reservoir are replenished and redistributed, we will not touch the waterways or the South Gate. We must first secure this position." This is the original statement.