Danzo's True Colors

The atmosphere at the scene dropped to freezing point. Everyone waited for Xiao Yun to explain himself and give them an answer.

"Lord Danzo, I know you suspect I'm a spy sent to Konoha by another village, don't you?"

Xiao Yun smiled faintly.

No one spoke, tacitly admitting it. Although the five great ninja nations had occasional conflicts, they generally maintained a relative balance.

In truth, as the leaders of the five great ninja nations, they all knew that this fragile balance could be shattered at any moment.

Therefore, the nations were extremely wary of one another, and sending spies into each other's territory was commonplace.

Spies themselves were not frightening. What was frightening was a spy reaching the upper ranks. That would be disastrous.

"As a member of Konoha's Anbu, I must strictly guard against anything that could harm Konoha. This is not directed at you alone."

Danzo spoke coldly.

"Heh, if you were the leader of another village, would you send a genius like me to be a spy?"

Xiao Yun retorted.

"This..."

Everyone was left speechless. Xiao Yun had a point. A genius like him would be protected at all costs. How could they possibly send him to another nation as a spy unless they had water in their brains?

"Then how do you prove that you belong to the Uzumaki Clan?"

Danzo asked again.

"Sigh, strictly speaking, I shouldn't reveal the Uzumaki Clan's secrets to the public. But to prove my innocence today, I can't worry about that anymore."

"The Reaper Death Seal is a secret technique of my Uzumaki Clan. You only know that it can seal an enemy's soul, but you don't know that it can also be undone."

Xiao Yun spoke slowly.

What?

The Reaper Death Seal dragged both the enemy's soul and the user's soul into the Reaper's stomach, where they would struggle against each other for all eternity.

A ninjutsu like that could actually be undone?

Of everyone present, the Third Hokage's expression was the most vivid, because only he knew that Uzumaki Naijiu had once told him the technique could be undone—and that only members of the Uzumaki Clan knew how.

"Actually, undoing this technique isn't difficult. As long as you find the Reaper Mask, transform into the Reaper, and cut open your own stomach, the sealed souls can regain their freedom."

Xiao Yun said seriously.

"Hmph. Words alone prove nothing. How will you prove that what you say is true?" Danzo asked again.

"Enough, Danzo. I have already confirmed that Xiao Yun is a member of the Uzumaki Clan. This matter ends here. Do not ask any more questions!"

The Third Hokage spoke sternly.

Seeing the Third Hokage's expression, Xiao Yun knew the old man believed he was from the Uzumaki Clan.

He had gambled that the Third Hokage knew how to undo the Reaper Death Seal. The original story had never mentioned it. Fortunately, he had read the Naruto manga carefully. The all-powerful Snake Uncle had found a way to undo the Reaper Death Seal, or he really would not have been able to talk his way out of this.

Danzo would certainly have taken him away for questioning. Xiao Yun had nothing to hide, but his decisive battle with Samueru was only days away. If he were taken away, wouldn't Tsunade end up marrying that old pervert, the Fourth Raikage?

Thus, the investigation ended with the Third Hokage forcibly putting a stop to it.

Xiao Yun truly had not expected one battle to cause so much trouble.

Anbu

"Danzo, you failed to do what you promised me. Therefore, our deal is void."

Under the moonlight, Hyuga Hiashi closed his eyes.

Originally, Hyuga Hiashi had wanted to win Xiao Yun over through marriage. However, after the Third Hokage learned that Tsunade was carrying Xiao Yun's child, his attitude had subtly changed, and he repeatedly delayed the marriage arrangement.

Therefore, he had tacitly approved of Danzo taking Xiao Yun away this time. As long as they delayed things until after the date of Xiao Yun's decisive battle with Samueru, Tsunade would marry the Raikage. Then, when he proposed that Xiao Yun marry into the Hyuga Clan, everything would fall naturally into place.

Yet judging from Xiao Yun's explanation, he truly seemed to be a member of the Uzumaki Clan.

After saying that, Hyuga Hiashi vanished in a flash, leaving alone. Danzo remained behind, leaning on his cane and gazing thoughtfully at the bright moon beyond the window.

"Yamato, come out!"

After Danzo spoke, a masked ninja emerged from the darkness.

"Contact Orochimaru. Tell him that I will no longer interfere with his Windmill Operation. There is only one condition: he must not make a move against Xiao Yun."

"Yes!"

As he watched Yamato leave, Danzo's previously kindly expression suddenly twisted into something incomparably sinister. He tore off the bandages around his right arm, revealing dozens of eyes densely packed across it.

Looking closely, they were all Sharingan!

Under the moonlight, Danzo looked terrifying and bizarre.

"Xiao Yun, you can only belong to me! Hahaha!"

Hokage Office

"Lord Hokage, do you think what Xiao Yun said was true?"

Kakashi looked at the Third Hokage in confusion.

The Third Hokage wore a grave expression. After pondering for a long time, he slowly said, "Actually, I am not sure either."

Although Xiao Yun had revealed the Uzumaki Clan's greatest secret, it still could not completely rule out the possibility that he was a spy sent by another village.

"Then why didn't you allow Lord Danzo to investigate him?"

The confusion in Kakashi's eyes deepened.

The corners of the Third Hokage's lips rose slightly, forming a strange smile. "Kakashi, how much do you know about Danzo?"

"Although Lord Danzo is usually cold and ruthless, he is absolutely loyal to Konoha."

Kakashi replied.

"Is that so? Take a look at this."

As he spoke, the Third Hokage took a report from a drawer.

"This... this can't be! How could Lord Danzo..."

After reading it, Kakashi stammered.

No wonder the Third Hokage had not allowed Danzo to take Xiao Yun away. So that was why.

"Kakashi, do not reveal this matter for now. The most important thing at present is to properly organize the Third Ninja World Genin Selection Tournament."

"Yes!"

"Teacher Might Guy, I opened the third gate! And I can faintly feel signs that the fourth gate is about to break through too!"

Rock Lee jumped up excitedly.

As the saying went, disaster and fortune depended on each other.

After experiencing that battle with Xiao Yun, Rock Lee's strength had miraculously advanced by leaps and bounds. His former bottlenecks had shattered in an instant. Not only had he opened the third of the Eight Inner Gates—the Gate of Life—but even the fourth gate, the Gate of Pain, showed faint signs of a breakthrough.

"Lee, as expected of my disciple! Waaaah!"

"It is all thanks to my teacher's grace! Waaaah!"

The two hugged each other and wept, making Xiao Yun and Naruto shudder. These two were far too emotionally expressive.

"Thank you very much! Junior Brother Xiao, without fighting you, I could never have broken through so quickly."

Rock Lee wiped away his tears and dropped to his knees before Xiao Yun.

"We're fellow disciples. Why be so polite?" Xiao Yun chuckled, then added weakly, "Lee, you still haven't written me an IOU for the money you borrowed last time. Teacher Might Guy hasn't written one either. How about we make one today?"

"Oh, right, Teacher. I remember you said that once I opened the third gate, you would teach me a new taijutsu, didn't you?"

"That's right. The Genin Selection Tournament is about to begin, so we must hurry and train. Let's go right away. Xiao Yun, for Lady Tsunade's sake, you have to do your best too!"

The two completely ignored Xiao Yun and left arm in arm...