Testing

Danzo had been born into the Shimura Clan, one of Konoha's great clans. In his youth, he had trained under Tobirama Senju, the Second. He and Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third, had both been direct disciples of Tobirama, and Danzo was Hiruzen's most trusted right-hand man. He was cold-hearted and extremely calculating.

In the original story, Danzo could be called the greatest schemer in Konohagakure.

And to Li Tong, who had read the original story, Danzo was—not a good person!

Li Tong gave him a thorough once-over but made no unusual move. Treating Danzo like an ordinary Anbu Ninja, he nodded and followed him toward the Hokage Building.

Danzo walked ahead without a word.

Li Tong followed behind, quietly observing him.

Over forty-nine thousand Reputation? That's incredibly high! Li Tong suddenly realized that a Reputation score between twenty-five thousand and fifty thousand belonged to Kage Level figures. Danzo's score was already close to the very peak of that level. He was just one step away from being called a Kage.

White Fang only had a little over thirty-seven thousand Reputation. Was Danzo really stronger than White Fang—and by that much?!

Something was wrong!

In the original story, White Fang was a top-tier powerhouse whom even the Konoha Sannin had to defer to. True, he had been over thirty when he died, while he was only in his twenties now and still had many years to grow. But even so, White Fang, who was currently the Anbu Captain, shouldn't have been weaker than Danzo. The gap in their Reputation was far too large!

Sprite, a lot of Danzo's Reputation comes from his position, doesn't it? Li Tong guessed, asking inwardly.

"Ding! In response to the host's question: Danzo's total Reputation comes from a combination of Reputation for strength and Reputation for status. The proportion from status is substantial, so his strength cannot be estimated from his Reputation!"

Just as I thought! Li Tong nodded.

The Card Emperor Sprite had said before that Reputation was only a reference and did not directly represent strength. Plenty of people had high Reputation without being strong. The Daimyo of the Land of Fire was an obvious example. That guy's Reputation was surely extremely high, but he wasn't even a ninja.

Then how much of Danzo's Reputation comes from strength?

"Related system functions have not yet been unlocked. Unable to view."

"All right." Li Tong didn't press further. Over the past half month, he had spoken with the Card Emperor Sprite countless times. To many of his questions, it replied, "Related system functions have not yet been unlocked. Unable to view," or "Beyond access permissions. Unable to answer."

The two walked along, one ahead of the other.

Danzo suddenly glanced back at Li Tong from the corner of his eye. The next instant, he blurred and vanished!

Li Tong's heart jumped. Danzo had disappeared from sight.

The next moment!

Sshk!

A tearing sound burst from behind and to Li Tong's side. A terrifying flash of a blade slashed toward the back of his neck. Every hair on Li Tong's body stood on end. He hunched down and narrowly evaded the strike, then pushed off hard with both legs and shot backward like an arrow, flinging his hand out at the same time!

Sshk! Sshk! Sshk!

Three kunai shot out in a triangular formation.

Danzo neither dodged nor retreated. One slash knocked all three kunai aside, and he surged forward like a shadow, instantly reaching Li Tong, his blade flashing like a streak of light!

Too fast!

Li Tong had no time to dodge!

Thwack! Poof!

The moment Danzo struck him, Li Tong turned into a section of log amid a puff of white smoke. It was the lowest-level, E-rank Substitution Technique, but Danzo was startled: he hadn't seen when Li Tong had prepared it.

Li Tong appeared in the trees behind Danzo. He brought his hands together and swiftly formed the Hand Seals. The cards had granted him the ability to use Hand Seals, so he didn't need to train—

"Lightning Style: False Darkness!"

KRA-KOOM!

A terrifying bolt of lightning shot straight for Danzo's back. Danzo was startled again. An ordinary Body Flicker Technique couldn't evade this attack; he didn't even have time to form Hand Seals. The lightning was too fast.

"Secret Technique: Spider Web Curse!"

A black, tadpole-shaped Cursed Seal appeared on the back of Danzo's neck. The instant the False Darkness attack arrived, the seal burst into black light, forming what looked like a spiderweb. The lightning slowed and seemed to become sluggish, unable to advance another inch.

Taking advantage of the momentary delay, Danzo vanished in a flash.

The False Darkness lightning struck a large tree behind where Danzo had been and blasted it to pieces!

The boom was deafening. Danzo appeared in midair above Li Tong.

"Curse Seal: Binding Illusion!"

Danzo flung out chains of black Cursed Seals, aiming straight for the top of Li Tong's head.

Damn it! Li Tong cursed inwardly. He held out one hand, palm open. Pale blue points of light appeared in his palm and rapidly grew to the size of a soccer ball. He thrust it upward with a fierce swing!

"Rasengan!"

"You—" Danzo exclaimed in shock.

BOOM—

The chains of Cursed Seals collided with the Rasengan.

In an instant, Danzo's chains shattered, and the Rasengan unleashed its full power. The spinning chakra whipped up a gale, and after destroying the chains, its terrifying shock wave sent Danzo flying!

Li Tong took a deep breath and lowered his hand. He watched Danzo arc through the air, flip over, and land steadily on the ground more than twenty meters away. Li Tong watched but didn't move.

When Danzo first attacked, Li Tong hadn't understood why he had done it. But when he unleashed Lightning Style: False Darkness, he noticed Danzo's status information. Under their relationship, Danzo was still neutral toward him!

That meant Danzo had no intention of killing him!

He felt no particular fondness for Li Tong, but neither did he bear him any ill will.

And he hadn't used his full strength. His speed, power, reactions, and awareness were all only a fraction of what he was capable of. Otherwise, with Danzo's strength at least at Kage Level, Li Tong wouldn't have had any chance of dodging his attacks.

There was only one explanation left.

Danzo was testing Li Tong's strength!

"An A-rank jutsu?" Danzo rasped, staring intently at Li Tong, his expression uncertain.

"Yes! I created it myself!" Li Tong replied earnestly.

"You created it?" Danzo looked doubtful.

"That's right! It's an A-rank jutsu I created myself. I know it's hard to believe, but it's the truth. I'm the only person in the world who can use it. I must have been a genius before, though I don't remember because I lost my memory." Li Tong's words were shameless beyond belief!

He was doing it on purpose. He had deliberately used the Rasengan.

Danzo had come to test him, most likely on Hiruzen Sarutobi's orders. If so, Li Tong understood that he couldn't perform too poorly. Only a genius would be valued. Besides, after using Lightning Style: False Darkness, he didn't have much chakra left. If he didn't use the Rasengan to impress Danzo, and Danzo attacked again, Li Tong didn't want to get hurt by accident.

"Who's there?"

"Stop!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! ...

Seven figures appeared around them one after another amid rising clouds of white smoke. They all held long swords and stood on guard. Li Tong glanced around and thought, What a coincidence. The newcomers were Fugaku Uchiha and the other members of the Konoha Military Police Force.

"It's you!" Fugaku Uchiha was greatly surprised when he saw Li Tong. He had just been leading a patrol when he heard the commotion and brought his men over. He hadn't expected it to be that Li Tong.

"What a coincidence." Li Tong raised an eyebrow at Fugaku Uchiha.

Fugaku Uchiha immediately turned to Danzo, frowning as he barked, "Who are you? Why are you attacking a Konoha ninja?" Li Tong was now a Konoha Ninja; there was no question about that. So Fugaku Uchiha naturally considered him one of their own, and anyone attacking him was an enemy.

Danzo swept a cool glance over Fugaku Uchiha and the others, then raised a hand and removed his mask. In a raspy voice, he said, "It's me. I was only testing his strength."

"Greetings, Lord Danzo!"

The seven Uchiha Ninja all dropped to one knee and lowered their heads respectfully the moment they saw Danzo's face.

"Mm," Danzo murmured. He looked at Li Tong again and crooked a finger. "Let's go. Lord Hokage is waiting for you."

"So it was you, Lord Danzo. Yes!"

Li Tong left with Danzo. Only after the two had gone a long way did Fugaku Uchiha and the others rise. Watching them walk away, they all looked shaken.

Of all the powerful figures in Konoha's High Command, Danzo was the most intimidating. As the second-most powerful man in Konoha, he seemed even more frightening than Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage. Hiruzen often came across as approachable and kind, while Danzo seemed as though he had never smiled.

"Lord Danzo... was testing Li Tong's strength?" Fugaku Uchiha blinked, stunned. Then he abruptly turned to look at the large tree that Lightning Style: False Darkness had completely destroyed.

The tree had been blasted to pieces. The ground where it had stood was now a crater, still marked by scorching from lightning and fire.

"Why would Lord Danzo personally test that kid's strength?"

"That's strange. Lord Hokage summoned him?"

Several Uchiha Ninja murmured among themselves, but Fugaku Uchiha furrowed his brow as he studied the marks left by Lightning Style: False Darkness. Hesitantly, he asked, "Can Lord Danzo use Lightning Release Ninjutsu?"

Could he?

It seemed he couldn't!

But if he couldn't, then had that kid—

Whoosh!

A gust of wind swept by, and someone suddenly appeared beside Fugaku Uchiha! The newcomer was only twelve or thirteen years old, yet she was already fair and beautiful, with a graceful, budding elegance.

"Sister Mikoto," the other Uchiha Clan members greeted her.

Mikoto Uchiha looked hurried. As soon as she appeared and saw Fugaku Uchiha, she said urgently, "Young master, I just received word that Li Tong was recently attacked by an elite Jonin and killed his attacker!"

"Hm?" Fugaku Uchiha's eyes widened. He stared blankly for a moment, then shouted, "What did you say? Say that again!"