Identity Exposure Crisis

Konoha soon came into view. There were no towering red walls from his memories, and the village was nowhere near as large. On Hokage Rock, there were only two stern-faced carvings.

The First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.

The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.

Gazing at Hokage Rock in the distance, although he had accepted the fact that he had traveled back too early, he still felt somewhat unwilling to accept it.

It was now Konoha Year 18.

Good grief, forget Naruto Uzumaki! Even Kushina Uzumaki, Naruto's mother, was probably still waiting inside some little girl's womb!

Still, seeing the village brimming with life, his mood gradually improved.

Compared with Amegakure, Konoha's environment was simply wonderful.

Bright sunshine, cool breezes, lush green trees, and distinctive, aesthetically pleasing buildings.

And the Eight Inner Gates Technique!

For Rinto, the Eight Inner Gates Technique could push the advantages of his immortal body to the absolute limit.

Unlike Hidan from the original story, Rinto's immortal body was far more unreasonable.

His cells were incredibly invasive, while also possessing an extremely strong tendency toward self-repair and division, especially when injured.

That was why he could reattach his fingers without needing stitches.

At the same time, he could train without regard for his life. The more Weighted Gear, the better—there was no need to worry about damaging his body at all.

Finally, with the Eight Inner Gates Technique added on top, that enhancement would reach a truly terrifying level.

Most importantly, Rinto did not need to worry about dying after opening the Gate of Death.

That was why he was determined to obtain the Eight Inner Gates Technique.

As he calculated his next steps, Rinto held Rie's hand and followed the Merchant Caravan toward Konoha.

At the village entrance, four ninja guards were carefully checking the identities of those entering.

Mr. Kato stepped forward, reported the caravan's headcount and cargo, and submitted to inspection.

Just then, a ninja with an Uchiha Clan Crest tattooed on his left arm pointed at the children behind the caravan and asked.

"What about them? Are they members of the caravan too?"

Mr. Kato froze for a moment, then shook his head with a bitter smile.

"No. They are orphans from the Land of Hot Water."

"Orphans? Orphans could travel all the way from the Land of Hot Water to Konoha?!" The ninja guard clearly did not believe him.

If they were ninja, traveling between the Land of Hot Water and Konoha would take only two days. For ordinary people, it could take as long as a week.

Judging by how thin and malnourished these children looked, they clearly could not be ninja.

And they had no luggage. How could they possibly travel continuously for a week without food or water?

The ninja guard suddenly recalled something that had happened a few days ago.

In the Land of Hot Water, an entire village had been massacred for no reason. According to reports from the front lines, the scene had been utterly horrific.

What left the Five Great Nations baffled was that after the killers were slain, they had all knelt neatly before a massive grave, with their crimes carved onto their backs.

And there was also Amegakure's not particularly clever scheme.

At that thought, the ninja guard's gaze toward the children immediately became wary.

"Mito, go report this. Tell them a large number of orphans have appeared at the village entrance."

Mixed among the caravan members, Rinto watched the ninja guard's actions with cold eyes.

Although the identity he was playing was also that of an orphan, he did not need to be inspected alongside those children.

Back in the Land of Hot Water, Rinto had joined the caravan as a hired hand. Not only that, he had deliberately become very familiar with the caravan leader, Mr. Kato, and his young son, Nihongi. Using that opportunity, he told this Konoha colleague every detail of his fabricated background and identity.

Simply put, Mr. Kato was a Konoha spy, and not a particularly professional one.

After all, his job only required him to travel among the various nations, conduct business, and gather some basic intelligence.

Having received professional spy training, Rinto had identified Mr. Kato's identity from the moment they first met.

Rinto also believed that his information would reach Konoha's Intelligence Division at the earliest opportunity.

Soon, several ninja who had rushed over from the village took the children away.

Konoha would surely come up with a proper arrangement. After all, this was Konoha!

Rinto had no intention of interfering. His help along the way had merely been a matter of personal interest.

After completing the registration process, Rinto took Rie's hand and followed the caravan into Konoha.

In secret, he sensed at least ten gazes sweep across him and Rie, but Rinto did not care.

His infiltration plan was flawless.

Because he had no intention of carrying out Hanzo of the Salamander's orders in the first place. At most, he would send back some inconsequential intelligence each month.

Hanzo of the Salamander probably would not truly place his hopes on a group of children like them.

After all, he was Hanzo of the Salamander, the God of Shinobi! Someone who trusted no one.

In any case, Rinto regarded this undercover mission as a simple publicly funded vacation.

In a relaxed and cheerful mood, Rinto bid farewell to Mr. Kato and the reluctant Nihongi, then headed toward the center of Konoha.

He planned to take Rie to register at the Hokage Building. Otherwise, like the hired hands in the caravan, he could only stay in Konoha temporarily.

But! That also meant there was a high chance he would be questioned.

The bustling streets were packed with people. Rie, who had never traveled so far from home, was like a curious child, wanting to look at this and taste that.

"Hold on for a little while. Once your brother is done, I'll buy it for you!"

At that, Rie obediently nodded, her large eyes full of anticipation.

Soon, they arrived at the Hokage Building. It was a grand, three-story circular building, its outer walls entirely the fiery red of flames.

"Stop! Brat, this is the Hokage Building."

As soon as the words fell, three figures instantly appeared before Rinto. They all wore black vests and animal masks. They were clearly members of the Konoha assassination tactical special forces established by the Second Hokage.

Hearing that, Rinto obediently stopped and said, "Sorry for disturbing you. May I ask if this is where Konoha resident identities are processed?"

"Yes!" The Anbu in the middle nodded, then asked in a low voice, "What business do you have?"

"Uh..." Rinto's eyelid twitched as he complained inwardly.

What nonsense. Of course I'm here to get an identity registered. What else, buy soy sauce?!

Without showing anything on his face, Rinto explained expressionlessly, "Yes, I do have business here. I want to register for Konoha identity."

"Earth Dog, take these two brats to the Intelligence Division."

Rinto broke out in a cold sweat. What a unique codename.

However, the Anbu called Earth Dog did not seem to mind it. He waved at Rinto and Rie, then walked through the main entrance.

Soon, the two were brought to the Intelligence Division on the first floor of the Hokage Building.

Rinto neither looked around curiously nor stared at anything he should not. He perfectly played the role of a mature boy who had experienced a great upheaval.

Rie, on the other hand, poked at things and looked around like a curious child.

Four and seven might be only three years apart, but in the world of Naruto, they were worlds apart.

During the Warring States era, a seven-year-old child might have to go to war, while a four-year-old would not. That was the greatest difference.

Likewise, Konoha had emerged from the Warring States era less than twenty years ago, so it was far more wary of Rinto than it was of Rie.

"You go in. You wait here with me, I—" Before Earth Dog could finish, Rie had already hidden behind Rinto and screamed.

"No! I don't want to leave Brother! Rie won't go anywhere, Rie wants to stay with Brother!"

It was obvious that she truly feared being alone with strange men, especially adult men. After all, that incident had hurt her too deeply.

"Sorry." Rinto shielded Rie, his face apologetic. "My sister is in a special situation. Could you let her come in with me? She's only four."

Hearing that, Earth Dog glanced at the brother and sister, whose combined ages did not even amount to adulthood, then mercilessly shook his head.

"Sorry, those are the rules!"

Seeing that, Rinto sighed, took Rie's hand, and turned to leave.

The role he was playing now was that of a mature boy who had taken on everything for his little sister. If he allowed her to be separated from him, his persona would fall apart.

Moreover, he did not want Rie staying with Earth Dog. It was not that he feared for Rie's safety, but that he worried about her mental state.

Over the past week or so, he had racked his brains, having Rie give food to the orphans and teaching her all kinds of things, all so she could escape the psychological shadow left by before.

Now, he could not let Rie recall that fear again.

"Since that's the case, I'm sorry to have wasted your time. Please take us out."

Earth Dog had not expected Rinto's reaction to be so intense.

Although the seven-year-old boy still wore that indifferent expression, the fact that he was leaving at the slightest disagreement truly surprised him.

Did this boy not know that Konoha was the safest village in the Shinobi World? Could they not separate for a little while?

And Rinto's answer was: no!

Although Rie's mother had originally said, "Please make full use of my daughter Rie!"

By the time it reached Rinto, it had automatically become: Please take care of Rie!

Seeing Rinto about to leave, Earth Dog fell silent for a moment. He did not dare violate the rules either, so he led Rinto away.

Just then, a calm voice suddenly rang out from the end of the corridor.

"Earth Dog, let them in."

As the words fell, a black-haired young man with a neat hairstyle walked out.

"Lord Sarutobi." Earth Dog immediately stood ramrod straight.

Sarutobi?

Which Sarutobi? At this time, the only Sarutobi who could freely enter and leave the Hokage Building and knew the Anbu codenames was likely Tobirama Senju's disciple, Hiruzen Sarutobi!

In an instant, Rinto's heart tightened. This was no simple man!

After all, being accepted as Tobirama Senju's disciple and appointed Hokage both proved that this man's abilities were extraordinarily powerful.

Though waves crashed through his heart, Rinto was a professional spy after all. He revealed nothing on his face and turned to look at Earth Dog beside him.

"Mr. Earth Dog, is that all right?"

Earth Dog immediately nodded. What a joke—Lord Sarutobi standing before him was Lord Tobirama Senju's direct disciple.

More importantly, Hiruzen Sarutobi was currently the Anbu Captain, his direct superior.

Creak. The door opened.

Hiruzen Sarutobi led Rinto and Rie into the slightly dim room.

Inside, a chair stood alone in the middle of the room. In front of it was a broad wooden desk, behind which sat three chairs. It was the standard layout of an interrogation room.

"Please sit." Hiruzen Sarutobi pointed at the solitary chair in the center of the room.

Suddenly, Rinto felt Rie beside him begin trembling violently. He instinctively looked over.

Rie was clutching his hand, her body shaking uncontrollably. A shadow had completely fallen over her beautiful eyes as she stared fixedly at the chair in the middle of the room, her face filled with terror.

Damn it! Rinto's scalp went numb, and immense guilt instantly surged through him.

The dim environment, the lonely chair—it was so similar to that night's scene!

Rinto remembered that Rie had fainted behind the chair where her father had been sitting.

Before he could react, Rinto moved instantly, striking the back of Rie's neck with a Hand Blade.

The next second, little Rie's eyes rolled back and she fainted. Rinto caught her and held her tightly in his arms. Then, his gaze instinctively swept across the room and met Hiruzen Sarutobi's thoughtful eyes.

This is bad!

Rinto's heart skipped a beat. He knew things had just become serious!

He had been too anxious just now and forgotten to control his reaction speed and attack speed. Yet in the eyes of a powerhouse like Hiruzen Sarutobi, that tiny flaw was a gaping hole.

After all, he was a seven-year-old child! Without systematic training, how could he possibly possess such reaction speed and control over his strength?

Damn it, the plan is completely ruined. I'll just have to take things one step at a time!

At that thought, Rinto held Rie tightly in his arms, forced himself to put on an angry expression, and glared viciously at Hiruzen Sarutobi like a mother wolf protecting her cub.

After all, that was the most fitting reaction for an older brother desperate to protect his younger sister.

Hiruzen Sarutobi said nothing. Instead, he calmly pulled out a scroll from his Ninja Pouch and spread it on the table.

"Please sit." Sarutobi's voice held no fluctuation.

After saying that, he ignored Rinto and lowered his head to read the scroll.

Unable to think of a good solution for the moment, Rinto could only inch his way to the chair and slowly sit down while holding Rie.

The greatest problem before him was his identity. Once the seed of suspicion was planted, there was a high chance he would be dragged off by the Yamanaka Clan to have his memories examined.

Unless he could dispel Hiruzen Sarutobi's doubts.

Most importantly, the secret of his transmigration could not be exposed. Otherwise, Tobirama Senju, that research fanatic, would definitely drag him away to be dissected.

Uh... I don't seem that afraid of being dissected, though!

After blanking out for a moment, Rinto hurriedly tossed aside the stray thought and returned to his previous line of reasoning.

Not only could the secret of his transmigration not be exposed, the secret of his immortal body could not be exposed either.

Thinking about it, my life is exhausting! Guarding so many secrets every day... am I just naturally suited to be a traitor?!

No, no, no! Circumstances forced this on me! Who told me to start on hell difficulty as one of these damn Cultists?!

In the dim room, time passed second by second.

Rinto felt an unusually sweet scent filling the air. His head grew somewhat heavy, and his thoughts became much slower.

After an unknown amount of time, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been reading the scroll, suddenly raised his head and said in a deep voice.

"Zhu Kangping."

"Who?" Rinto was terribly dizzy and could not react in time. He instinctively asked in return.

To be honest, he truly could not remember who this Zhu Kangping was. Besides, his name was Rinto, not Zhu Kangping.

Back in Amegakure, whenever someone called him by that false name, he always needed a moment to realize they were calling him.

But in Sarutobi's eyes, that reaction seemed somewhat unfathomable.

After all, the air here had long been infused with a large amount of hallucinogenic drugs.

Strangely enough, an ordinary person would become muddleheaded after taking a single breath, answering anything they were asked. Yet this seven-year-old child before him barely seemed affected.

At that thought, Sarutobi looked at Rinto with a faint smile.

"Impressive! As expected of the most professional Dark Child. Your drug resistance and reaction speed surpass even the elite. It seems Hanzo of the Salamander sent you to infiltrate Konoha with no small objective in mind!"

Hearing Amegakure and Hanzo of the Salamander, Rinto jolted in fright. He instinctively bit the tip of his tongue, and the sharp pain mixed with the taste of blood instantly restored his awareness. His eyes immediately cleared.

Seeing that, the smile at the corner of Hiruzen Sarutobi's mouth deepened. Even after taking the antidote, his own head still felt somewhat heavy, yet this fellow had actually become even more alert.

Impressive.

How could he have known that at the Jashin Cult base, Rinto drank poison like water?

"Cough, cough. Um, sir, I don't understand a single word you're saying."

"You're still pretending? Your mental fortitude really is something else!"

For a moment, Sarutobi actually felt a desire to recruit talent.

If Konoha had not long since infiltrated Amegakure so thoroughly it was like a sieve, this guy might really have fooled them this time.

After all, judging from Rinto's background investigation alone, there was not a single flaw.

Sakuta Rinto, born into a Blacksmith Family in the Land of Hot Water, seven years old, with a four-year-old younger sister named Sakuta Rie;

When the Rain Ninja Massacre happened, he hid in his home's cellar and escaped disaster. Later, he gathered the family's belongings and fled to the Land of Hot Water.

He later sold those possessions and prepared to follow a Merchant Caravan to the Land of Lightning. However, because Konoha and Kumogakure were at war and the roads had been cut off, he instead followed the original Merchant Caravan to Konoha.

According to the report from undercover agent Kato Noriyoshi, he behaved normally throughout the journey;

He often grieved alone in the dead of night, yet acted exceedingly strong in front of his younger sister Rie;

At the same time, he doted on Rie immensely, even allowing her to use Ration Pills to make friends with other War Orphans.

Only when teaching Rie did he display emotions such as strictness and exasperation, but that was entirely consistent with someone who cared deeply for his younger sister.

Thinking of this, Hiruzen Sarutobi could not help but sigh. If the Land of Rain had Dark Children of this caliber everywhere, then Amegakure would be truly terrifying.

Of course, that was impossible.

Still, even one Rinto was enough to send a chill down Hiruzen Sarutobi's back.

Just looking at the identity Rinto had fabricated, Sarutobi himself felt a sense of recognition, and even found the boy incredibly strong, making him want to help him.

But after learning Rinto's true identity, looking back at that disguise again, not only did he not look down on the boy, he found Rinto even more astonishing!

He was only seven years old!

When Sarutobi had been that age, he had already been on the battlefield, but in terms of meticulous thinking, he was not even worthy of carrying the boy's shoes.

What an incredible little brat. Adorable. I want him!

Hanzo really stepped in shit and got lucky!

Just then, Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly froze.

No, there was another flaw in this disguise!

The surname!

Damn it, I should have thought of it earlier. How could a tiny village in the Land of Hot Water possibly have surnames? After all, surnames belonged only to major clans!

Sakuta, Sakuta? Sakuta!!!

Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly remembered something. He hurriedly flipped the scroll back to the beginning and finally found that somewhat familiar name.

Gasp! Sakuta Mizuguma!

Had this boy inherited his teacher's surname?!

And why had he given that surname to Rie as well?! Didn't he know that surnames were not something one could hand out casually?!

If Rinto had known what Sarutobi was thinking, he might really have scratched his head and innocently said that he truly had not known.

In truth, Rinto himself knew there was a flaw in the plan, but no matter what, when introducing Rie, he could not bring himself to leave out the surname he had promised her.

It was an agreement between him and Rie's mother, and a hurdle he could never get past.

He could deceive others without any psychological burden, even deceive himself. But whenever he saw Rie's innocent big eyes, he always thought of that resolute woman covered in blood. He could not deceive Rie, nor could he hide even the slightest thing from her.

While Hiruzen Sarutobi sank into thought, Rinto's mind was racing just as quickly.

The moment Hiruzen Sarutobi called out his false name, he knew that he had definitely been exposed.

There was no possibility of deception here. If they knew that name, Konoha must have learned everything about him in Amegakure.

And the source of all this trouble was those two self-righteous idiots, Hanzo of the Salamander and Salamander Shinda.

Their own village had already been infiltrated like a sieve, yet they still wanted to mess with others. They were idiots beyond saving.

Having reached that conclusion, Rinto suddenly felt a flash of realization. Here and now, he had to give something up!

Just as Rinto made up his mind, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned, looked up at him, and asked in confusion.

"Who is Sakuta Mizuguma?"

He knew who Sakuta Mizuguma was, but he wanted to know the relationship between Sakuta Mizuguma and Sakuta Rinto.

Hearing Sarutobi's question, Rinto gave a bitter smile and sighed.

"You've investigated this deeply already? Sigh! Small villages really are tragic!"

As he spoke, he slowly pulled Rie in his arms even closer.

"Sakuta Mizuguma is my teacher, my close friend, and my Bonds."

Rinto's voice was calm, without the slightest fluctuation. There was no act in it. Everything he said was completely true.

His painstaking plan to infiltrate Konoha was half for the Eight Inner Gates Formation, and the other half for Teacher Mizuguma.

After all, the Eight Inner Gates Formation was only his first priority. Kumogakure's Lightning Release: Lightning God Armor was also a decent backup option.

He could clearly have ignored Hanzo of the Salamander's orders and fled to Kumogakure with Rie, but Rinto had still chosen to come to Konoha.

After all, once news of his defection reached Amegakure, Mizuguma, who truly cared about him, would surely be happy, while Hanzo of the Salamander, who cared only about profit, would surely be unhappy.

If the two clashed, Mizuguma might end up dead.

Hearing Rinto's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi instinctively believed him.

Bonds held special meaning for Konoha.

And Hiruzen Sarutobi, who deeply understood the Will of Fire, believed that this little brat could not deceive him in the field where he was most skilled.

Someone who did not understand Bonds could never achieve that degree of selfless devotion.

And this little brat before him possessed the Uchiha kind of Bonds, the kind of Bonds born from deeply loving one's clan.

The Will of Fire, meanwhile, was the Bonds born from deeply loving one's village.

Thinking of this, Hiruzen Sarutobi could not help but feel immensely proud.

Unfortunately, he had misunderstood again.

The Will of Fire was indeed great love, and the Uchiha Clan was indeed a clan of narrow-minded people. As for Rinto, his heart was even smaller than the Uchiha Clan's. He was the textbook definition of petty.

Seeing that Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent, Rinto continued expressionlessly.

"I was an orphan. I grew up in the Jashin Cult, where I experienced inhuman human experiments, brutal and unreasonable brainwashing, and companions slaughtering one another over a single bite of food.

During those days, I silently accumulated strength. Later, I escaped during a sacrifice.

I ran desperately along the road until I reached Amegakure, where I used trickery to kill the cultists' Messenger, Ineyū.

Later, Hanzo of the Salamander saw that I was clever and took me as his disciple. He then assigned Teacher Mizuguma to teach me the Chakra Extraction Technique.

That was also the first time I met him, that guy who looked serious on the surface but was not serious at all!

Afterward, because I had no talent for cultivation, Hanzo disliked me, so Mizuguma took me to Kabukicho Ichiban Street."

As he spoke, Rinto smiled and shook his head.

"Can you imagine it? Taking a seven-year-old child to visit prostitutes! Just how unreliable was that man?!

He even found himself an excuse: 'Seeing the True Self, Steadfast Belief.' At the time, I wanted to kick him to death!

Later came the lost intelligence. I imagine you already know all about that."

After saying that, Rinto lowered his head and assumed the posture of someone ready to be beaten or killed. He clutched Rie tightly and said nothing more.

He was gambling. Gambling that the attack on Amegakure's Intelligence Department had not been Konoha's doing, gambling that Konoha had not obtained Ineyū's scroll, gambling that Hiruzen Sarutobi approved of his beliefs.

The odds were slim, but Rinto still wanted to struggle.

After all, being sliced into pieces felt so good!

After a long while, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been resting his elbows on the desk with his clasped hands before his mouth, finally spoke.

"Did you kill Ono Buta?"

The instant those words fell, Rinto's heart abruptly relaxed. He knew he had won the gamble!

"Yes!" Rinto nodded.

"Why? Why did you kill a companion from your own village?!" Sarutobi's voice suddenly became incomparably stern.

Rinto understood that the most crucial moment had arrived!

If he got through this, he would be accepted and turned, and from then on the sky would be the limit.

If he failed, he could only become Rinto sashimi.

Taking a breath, Rinto suddenly rose to his feet. Rage erupted from his eyes as he sneered in a strange tone.

"Companion? You call people like that companions?

Wow, a companion should at least be a human being first, shouldn't they? Those fucking beasts were not even human, so how could they be called companions?!"

Rinto roared himself hoarse, his excited heart and trembling hands seemingly cheering on his own performance.

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned deeply, staring closely at Rinto's every movement. Rinto likewise showed no fear as he glared viciously back at Sarutobi.

"She! Rie, this child, her mother, you... you... you know what those beasts did to her?!

Say it! Doesn't Konoha know how to investigate everything? Say it! Do you know what those beasts did right in front of her and her father?"

The next moment, the emotionally collapsing Rinto suddenly stopped. The fury on his face was instantly replaced by pain, and deep shadows covered his still-young cheeks.

He felt it. He felt Rie trembling in his arms, felt the large patch of wetness soaking through his chest.

Thud! Rinto fell backward weakly and crashed heavily back into his chair.

"I can give you everything I know about Amegakure's intelligence, but I have two requests." His voice was dry and hoarse.

"This child is innocent. Please raise her for me.

"And tell the outside world that I was killed after my infiltration failed, that I did not defect from Amegakure."

After saying that, Rinto lowered his head and fell silent, not making another sound.

"No!" Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice suddenly rang out.

"I refuse your requests!"