Eve of the Storm

After Fox left, time seemed to stretch infinitely.

Every minute and every second was filled with torment. Ling could not predict what consequences that secret message would bring. Would Tsunade believe it? Would she take action immediately? Or would she choose to sit tight, or even... discard him, this restless chess piece?

The Jōgan maintained a high state of alertness at all times, monitoring every little movement in the surroundings. The routine surveillance outside the dormitory remained unchanged, showing no abnormalities whatsoever, which made Ling feel slightly relieved. At least Fox had not sold him out to Danzo immediately.

However, beneath this calm, even more unsettling undercurrents lurked.

That night, when Ling once again tried to "listen" to the Forest of Death, he was astonished to find that the energy fluctuations in that underground laboratory area had become extremely obscure and quiet, as if deliberately suppressed and shielded by a more powerful force. The previously clear and recognizable conscious whispers had also become blurry and difficult to capture.

Was it a coincidence? Or could it be that... Danzo's side had already sensed something and strengthened its concealment measures?

A shadow cast over Ling's heart. If Danzo was already alert, the time and space left to him would be even more limited.

The next day, training proceeded as usual. Rock Lee was still passionately coaching Taijutsu, Neji's Byakugan remained cold and precise, and Might Guy was still enthusiastically sweating away his youth. Everything seemed completely unchanged.

During the lunch break, however, Neji walked over to Ling seemingly casually and whispered, "The frequency of Anbu patrols around the Forest of Death has increased lately, especially at night. If you have the habit of extra training at night, you had better change places."

Ling's heart gave a fierce jolt! Neji's Byakugan had clearly noticed the unusual troop movements. Was this a warning to him? Or some kind of probing?

He raised his head, meeting Neji's emotionless Byakugan, and replied calmly, "Thanks for the reminder, Senior Neji. I've been refining chakra in my dorm at night lately, so I won't be going near the forest."

Neji nodded, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

Yet Ling could not calm down. Anbu patrols increased? Were they people sent by Tsunade to investigate? Or had Danzo heightened security? Was Neji's reminder out of intra-squad goodwill, or was he acting on someone's orders to sound him out?

The asymmetry of information made Ling feel like he was standing in a fog, requiring the utmost caution with every step.

In the afternoon, Fox did not appear for additional "observation" as usual. This in itself was an unusual signal.

It was not until evening that an ordinary clerical worker came to the dormitory and handed Ling a new mission scroll.

"A special mission signed by Lord Hokage," the clerical worker said expressionlessly, "requires you to report to Training Ground Three at nine o'clock tomorrow morning sharp to undergo a three-day wilderness survival and reconnaissance assessment. This is a necessary evaluation for entering the Anbu training sequence."

A wilderness survival assessment? At this juncture?

Ling took the scroll and opened it. The contents looked very routine, and the location was specified as the southeast area of the Forest of Death (not the northwest area where he had discovered the anomaly).

Yet the moment his fingers touched the Hokage's seal at the end of the scroll, a trace of extremely faint Yang Release Chakra belonging exclusively to Tsunade flashed past, transmitting a short message like a code: [Received, do not move, wait for instructions.]

Ling's heart pounded violently, then he forced himself to calm down.

Tsunade received the message! She knew! And she gave a clear response-"Received, do not move, wait for instructions"!

This meant she believed the authenticity of the intelligence and had already begun handling it, but demanded that Ling absolutely must not act rashly and should wait for her next step.

This was undoubtedly the best response! Ling temporarily won Tsunade's further trust and tossed the difficult problem right back to her.

Yet the three words "wait for instructions" were also fraught with variables. How would Tsunade handle it? Would she investigate and gather evidence in secret? Or prepare a thunderous blow? How long would he need to wait?

And was placing the assessment location in the Forest of Death also a cover and a smokescreen?

Ling put away the scroll unconcernedly and said to the clerical worker, "Understood, I will attend on time."

After sending the visitor away, Ling sat alone in his room, carefully digesting the numerous changes within this single day.

Tsunade had already taken over, which slightly lessened his pressure. But Danzo was clearly also alert, and the covert contest between the two sides had escalated. Right now, he was like a small boat in the eye of the storm-temporarily safe, yet also swept along by a greater force.

He had to strictly execute Tsunade's instruction-"do not move"-and must never do anything at this moment that might trigger variables.

At the same time, he also needed to make thorough preparations for the "instructions" that might arrive.

Ling took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and began to concentrate more intently on his cultivation. He continuously familiarized himself with and integrated the Yin Release Energy brought by the fragment, tempered his newly born Sharingan, and strove to elevate every shred of his strength.

He knew the peace was about to end. When Tsunade's "instruction" was issued, it would surely be a time of earth-shaking upheaval.

He had to possess enough strength to survive the coming storm and seize his own opportunity.

The next day, Ling arrived at Training Ground Three on time. The ones in charge of the assessment were precisely Fox and two other unfamiliar Anbu (clearly Tsunade's direct subordinates).

The assessment process was strict and dull, amounting to nothing more than basic wilderness survival skills, trap setting, intelligence gathering and recording, and so on. Ling executed everything meticulously, performing like a Genin with decent aptitude but nothing out of the ordinary.

His Jōgan, however, constantly focused on the direction of the deeper forest. He could sense that in that northwest area marked as a restricted zone, the energy shielding had become even tighter, and occasionally even extremely faint fluctuations belonging to a barrier being triggered would drift over.

Clearly, something was happening over there. Yet, remembering the instructions, he did not show the slightest curiosity.

The three-day assessment ended uneventfully. Ling's performance was "good," and he smoothly passed the evaluation.

Upon returning to the dorm, life seemed to return to its previous track-training, cultivation, undergoing inspections.

Yet Ling could clearly sense that the invisible pressure shrouding Konoha was continuously accumulating. Unfamiliar faces entering and leaving the Hokage's Building increased, Anbu deployments grew more frequent, and even the issuance of daily missions became much more cautious.

A sense of oppression, as if a storm was about to sweep through the city, permeated the air.

That night, while Ling was refining chakra, the mark on his chest gave another unheralded throb of palpitations!

This time, it was no longer resonance or pull, but a sharp, warning-laden prick of pain!

Simultaneously, the Jōgan captured an extremely subtle yet malicious sense of peeking, coming not from the familiar Root surveillance outside the window, but from... the shadows of the dormitory building itself! That presence was cold, viscous, and carried a somewhat inhuman sensation!

Something had sneaked in! Its target was most likely him!

Ling's whole body bristled, instantly entering combat state as his Sharingan nearly activated on its own!

Who was it? Someone sent by Danzo to silence him? Or... sent by that mysterious person?

Was the storm finally going to arrive ahead of time?!