I Really Am Kimura Yao

Night.

After the Third Hokage returned home and finished dinner with his wife, he brought the sashimi sushi he had specifically asked her to prepare to Interrogation Room Three at the Anbu headquarters.

Sniff!

Sniff!

Li Yao, who had fainted from hunger, violently twitched his nose twice and woke up. His eyes remained shut; this time, he did not even have the strength to open his eyelids.

Creak... As the door opened, the enticing aroma of food and the fresh scent of fish entered through his nose and into his stomach, fiercely stimulating the stomach walls of Li Yao, who had not eaten all day.

Gastric acid immediately began to seep out. A stomach wall without even a drop of water clearly could not withstand the sudden surge in acid. Waves of corrosive pain rose from his stomach, as if flames were burning him alive.

Hmph... Unable to speak, Li Yao could only let out agonized groans through his nose.

The Third Hokage turned and shut the door, then walked over to Li Yao alone and placed the opened lunchbox before him.

The enticing fragrance of food and fish suddenly intensified, constantly stimulating Li Yao's stomach to secrete acid and tormenting him with pain like a blazing sun scorching his heart.

The Third Hokage simply watched Li Yao writhe in pain from the gastric acid.

After a while, the intense pain and hunger pushed Li Yao's body and mind to the brink of collapse.

The Third Hokage watched quietly. Just as Li Yao was about to pass out, his hands rapidly formed seals.

"Genjutsu—Bringer-of-Darkness Technique!"

Illusory genjutsu Chakra instantly seeped into Li Yao's body, attempting to penetrate his Chakra.

Bang!

As expected, even though Li Yao's physical body was on the verge of mental collapse and unconsciousness, the consciousness within his Chakra instantly rejected the invading genjutsu Chakra.

"Not even when he's mentally exhausted, huh?"

The Third Hokage lowered his hands and frowned slightly. His tone sounded regretful, but the light in his eyes grew even more fervent.

From last night until now, it had been a full day and night.

The Third Hokage had specifically told Baku not to let the boy sleep. Coupled with the lack of food, the boy's body and mind were now at their absolute breaking point.

Yet even under such circumstances, the boy could still easily resist a genjutsu on the level of Bringer-of-Darkness. The Third Hokage could now be certain of one thing.

At the very least, Three-Tomoe Sharingan genjutsu was useless against the boy before him.

As for whether he could withstand Mangekyō Sharingan genjutsu... honestly, the Third Hokage was not sure.

From what he knew, every pair of Mangekyō Sharingan had different areas of specialization. If they encountered a Mangekyō Sharingan that specialized in genjutsu, the Third Hokage felt the boy probably would not be immune to it. Ordinary ones should be manageable.

After all, the Mangekyō was called the power of the gods for a reason. It could not be judged by common sense.

Even so, the boy's ability to resist every genjutsu beneath Mangekyō Sharingan level was enough to make anyone covet it.

"Release!"

The Third Hokage formed a seal with one hand and dispelled the Immobilization Jutsu on Li Yao.

Since he had confirmed that the Memory Probing Technique and genjutsu were both useless against Li Yao, the only way left to uncover the improved Spirit Transformation Technique was the simplest one: questioning him.

"Ah..."

The instant his body could move again, Li Yao immediately curled up and cried out in pain.

"Eat."

The Third Hokage personally picked up a piece of sushi with his chopsticks and held it before Li Yao's mouth. Acting almost on bodily instinct, Li Yao bit down at once, nearly snapping the chopsticks along with it.

Gulp!

Soon, the sushi went down his throat and quickly entered his stomach.

In an instant, the vast amount of acid secreted by his stomach walls surged forward like a swarm of bees finding sweet honey.

"Phew!"

Li Yao let out a long breath. The searing pain caused by the gastric acid gradually faded, and he finally had the energy to take in his surroundings.

"Eat."

At that moment, a warm, gentle voice sounded. A pair of chopsticks holding another piece of sushi appeared before Li Yao. He swallowed it instinctively, then immediately looked up.

The man appeared middle-aged and looked somewhat like a monkey. His eyes were as lively as a monkey's as well, yet he gave off a composed air.

This was a wise man.

The thought flashed through Li Yao's mind.

The middle-aged man wore a conical hat, and the large red character for "Fire" on it was especially conspicuous.

He was dressed in a long pale gray robe.

Even though Li Yao had little memory of what the Third Hokage looked like from the previous owner of this body, he instantly recognized him through information from his previous life. This was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The moment he recognized him, Li Yao reacted quickly. He did not show surprise at encountering the Third Hokage here, because from the conversation between the Third Hokage and one of the others last night, Li Yao had already learned that the Third Hokage had captured him.

He needed to act confused about why he had been brought here and ask the Third Hokage.

"Lord Hokage, why have you brought me here? Did I commit some crime?"

The words could be questioning, but his tone needed to convey instinctive respect or fear toward the Third Hokage. The point was to present himself as an innocent man who had been wronged.

However... Li Yao had planned it well, but reality was cruel.

What he considered Oscar-worthy acting was like a clown playing a hero before a veteran powerhouse like the Third Hokage. It was seen through at a glance.

"Crude acting."

That was the Third Hokage's assessment of Li Yao's performance.

He could not be bothered to test him further and asked directly, "Tell me, who are you?"

Faced with the Third Hokage's certainty that he was not Kimura Yao, Li Yao's expression changed. He then pretended not to understand the deeper meaning behind his words and answered honestly, "Lord Hokage, my name is Kimura Yao. I live at Number Three, Gate Street, on the north side of the village."

Heh heh!

Seeing that Li Yao still wanted to bluff his way through, the Third Hokage gave a cold laugh. He truly would not give up until he saw the coffin.

The Third Hokage sneered. "I'll ask you one last time. Who are you? How many seals does the improved Spirit Transformation Technique have? How does its Chakra circulate? Tell me all of it. Do not cling to any more wishful thinking. I already know your secret."

"I really am Kimura Yao! Lord Hokage, what Spirit Transformation Technique? I don't know it, and I can't use it either!"

Li Yao was stunned. He truly was stunned. Why was the Third Hokage so certain that he knew about some improved Spirit Transformation Technique? Why was he asking how many seals it had and how its Chakra circulated?

How could he know any of that?

He only knew that he had to cling to his identity as Kimura Yao.

"Did you really think no one would notice after you took over that child Kimura Yao's body?"

"Did you not know that every person's Chakra is different?"

Seeing that Li Yao still refused to give up, the Third Hokage sneered again and explained in detail how Minato had discovered that his Chakra temperature differed from Kimura Yao's, as well as how they had later tested the differences in their lifestyles and eating habits.

"I..." Li Yao opened his mouth, then fell silent.

He could insist that the eating habits were caused by temporary confusion after the previous owner's parents had died, and that he was fine now.

But faced with evidence like Chakra temperature, comparable to DNA verification, Li Yao knew that no matter how much he argued or insisted he was Kimura Yao, it would be useless. The Third Hokage would not believe him.

At that thought, Li Yao's mind went dizzy.

Heh heh... Li Yao's lips trembled as he unconsciously let out a despairing laugh.

Who would have thought?

Who would have thought!

He would fall at the hands of six-year-old Minato.

Li Yao finally understood. The reason he had been captured must have been that Minato discovered he was an impostor who had taken over his friend's body, then reported him to the Third Hokage. That was why he was now in this desperate situation.

Just yesterday, he had secretly sworn that he would become stronger, change the tragic future in which Minato and his wife died, become Hokage, and bring a peaceful world to the ninja world.

And yet... he had been reported that very night.

It was laughable.

All of this was like... no, all of this was a dream.

He was not Kimura Yao, and he could never be Kimura Yao. To Konoha, he would always be nothing more than an enemy who had taken over Kimura Yao's body.

Faced with an enemy, Minato reporting him was understandable.

But... why did he feel such hatred that he wanted to destroy everything?

I think... it's because I still don't want to die!

Li Yao said nothing. Countless thoughts ran through his mind, ultimately filling him with unwillingness. He looked at the Third Hokage. He did not want to die. He still wanted to make one last attempt.

Li Yao said, "Lord Hokage, I am indeed not Kimura Yao, but I am not Konoha's enemy either. I'm not even a ninja. I don't know why I suddenly woke up after sleeping and found myself in another body."