Probing

Danzo, born into the Shimura Clan, a prominent family of Konohagakure, had trained under the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, in his youth. He and the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, were both direct disciples of Tobirama, and he served as Hiruzen's most trusted right-hand man. He was cold-hearted and possessed a deep, calculating nature.

In the original story, Danzo could be considered the number one schemer within Konohagakure.

Having read the original work, Li Tong's feeling toward Danzo was simple: he was no good man!

Li Tong looked him up and down, but made no unusual movements. Treating Danzo merely as an ordinary Anbu ninja, he nodded and followed him toward the Hokage Building.

Danzo walked in front, not saying a word.

Li Tong followed behind, quietly observing Danzo.

Forty-nine thousand reputation points? How is it so high? Li Tong suddenly thought. Reputation between twenty-five thousand and fifty thousand belonged to the Kage-level existence, and Danzo's reputation value was already approaching the absolute peak of Kage-level ninjas, only a step away from being a true Kage.

White Fang's reputation was only over thirty-seven thousand. Was Danzo stronger than White Fang, and by such a wide margin?!

Something was wrong!

In the original story, White Fang was a top-tier powerhouse whom even the Sannin of Konohagakure had to respect. Although White Fang was over thirty when he died in the original, he was only in his twenties now and still had many years of growth ahead of him. Even so, White Fang, as the captain of the Anbu, should not have been weaker than Danzo. The difference in reputation was just too large!

"Sprite, is a lot of Danzo's reputation based on his status?" Li Tong guessed as he asked in his heart.

"Ding! Answering the host's question: Danzo's total reputation value is derived from both strength reputation and status reputation. The proportion of status reputation is not low, therefore it is impossible to estimate the opponent's strength through reputation alone!"

"As I thought!" Li Tong nodded.

The Card Emperor Sprite had mentioned before that reputation was only a reference and could not directly represent strength. Many people had high reputations without any strength; the Daimyo of the Land of Fire was the most obvious example. That guy's reputation was certainly extremely high, yet he wasn't even a ninja.

"Then, how much strength reputation does Danzo actually have?"

"The relevant system function has not been unlocked; unable to view."

"Fine." Li Tong did not press the issue. Over the past half-month, he had communicated with the Card Emperor Sprite countless times. For many questions, the Card Emperor Sprite would either reply that the relevant system function was not unlocked or that his clearance was insufficient to answer.

The two walked along the road, one after the other.

Danzo suddenly turned his head, swept a glance at Li Tong from the corner of his eye, and then his body flickered, turning into a blurred shadow!

Li Tong's heart skipped a beat; Danzo had vanished from his sight.

The next moment!

Swoosh!

A tearing sound erupted from behind and to the side of Li Tong. A terrifying blade light slashed toward the back of his neck. Every hair on Li Tong's body stood on end. He shrank his body, narrowly dodging the strike, then kicked off the ground with both legs, shooting backward like an arrow while flicking his hands!

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Three kunai shot out in a triangular formation.

Danzo did not dodge or parry; he knocked all three kunai away with a single strike of his blade, then transformed into a blur and rushed in front of Li Tong, his blade as swift as a startled swan!

Too fast!

Li Tong had no time to dodge!

Splat! Bang!

The Li Tong struck by Danzo transformed into a log amidst a puff of white smoke—it was the lowest-level E-rank Substitution Technique. Danzo was startled, as he hadn't seen when Li Tong had set it up.

Li Tong appeared in the bushes behind and to the side of Danzo, his hands coming together to complete the hand seals instantly. The cards had granted him the ability to perform seals; he didn't need to train for them.

"Lightning Style: False Darkness!"

BOOM-CRACK!

Terrifying lightning struck directly at Danzo's back. Danzo was shocked again; an ordinary Body Flicker Technique could not dodge this attack, and he didn't even have time to perform hand seals—the lightning was too fast.

"Secret Technique: Spider Web Curse!"

A black, tadpole-shaped curse mark emerged on the back of Danzo's neck. The moment the False Darkness attack arrived, the black mark erupted with dark light, vaguely forming the shape of a spider web, actually causing the lightning to stutter and slow down, unable to advance an inch.

Taking advantage of the moment the lightning was stalled, Danzo flickered and vanished.

The lightning struck the large tree behind Danzo's original position, shattering it into splinters!

The roar was deafening, and simultaneously, Danzo appeared in the air above Li Tong's head.

"Curse Seal: Binding Illusion!"

Danzo threw out chains of black curse marks from his hand, striking directly at the top of Li Tong's head.

"Bastard!" Li Tong cursed inwardly. He held his palm out, and a faint blue light appeared in his palm, instantly expanding to the size of a soccer ball. He thrust it upward with force!

"Rasengan!"

"You—" Danzo let out a sound of surprise.

BOOM—

The curse mark chains collided with the Rasengan.

At this moment, the curse mark chains shattered into dust, and the power of the Rasengan exploded completely. The swirling chakra whipped up a violent gale, and the terrifying shockwave, after destroying the chains, actually sent Danzo flying!

Li Tong took a deep breath and lowered his hand, watching Danzo arc through the air, flip over, and land steadily on the ground more than twenty meters away. Li Tong watched him, but did not move.

When Danzo first attacked, Li Tong hadn't understood why, but when he released the Lightning Style: False Darkness, he realized. At that moment, he had noticed Danzo's status information: in the relationship column, Danzo's attitude toward Li Tong was still neutral!

This meant that Danzo had no intention to kill him at all!

He held no particular bias toward Li Tong, nor did he harbor any ill will.

Furthermore, he hadn't even unleashed his full strength; whether it was speed, power, or reaction time, he had only displayed a fraction of his capability. Otherwise, given that Danzo possessed at least Kage-level strength, there would have been no possibility for Li Tong to dodge his attacks.

That left only one explanation.

He was testing Li Tong's strength!

"An A-rank ninjutsu?" Danzo asked in a hoarse voice, his gaze locked onto Li Tong, looking somewhat suspicious and uncertain.

"Yes! It's my own creation!" Li Tong replied with great earnestness.

"Self-created?" Danzo's eyes were full of doubt.

"Correct! It is indeed an A-rank ninjutsu I created myself. Although it is difficult to comprehend, that is the truth. Aside from me, no one else in this world knows this technique. I must have been a genius before, though I don't remember it due to my amnesia." Li Tong's statement was utterly shameless!

He had done it on purpose; he had used the Rasengan intentionally earlier as well.

Danzo coming to test him was likely at the behest of Hiruzen Sarutobi. Since that was the case, Li Tong understood he shouldn't perform too poorly. Only geniuses were valued. Moreover, after casting Lightning Style: False Darkness, Li Tong's chakra was running low. If he didn't use the Rasengan to shock Danzo, and Danzo attacked again, Li Tong didn't want to risk being accidentally injured.

"Who goes there?"

"Everyone, stop!"

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

White smoke billowed as seven figures appeared in succession around the two, all holding katana and standing at the ready. Li Tong swept his gaze across them and thought to himself that this was quite a coincidence; the arrivals were none other than Fugaku Uchiha and other members of the Konoha Military Police Force.

"It's you!" Fugaku Uchiha was greatly surprised to see Li Tong. He had just been leading a patrol when he heard the commotion and rushed over, never expecting it to be Li Tong.

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

Fugaku Uchiha immediately turned to look at Danzo, frowning as he barked, "Who are you? How dare you attack a Konoha ninja!" Li Tong was currently a Konoha ninja, a fact beyond doubt, so Fugaku Uchiha naturally categorized Li Tong as one of his own, making anyone attacking him an enemy.

Danzo cast a cold, indifferent glance at Fugaku Uchiha and the others, then raised a hand to remove his mask, saying hoarsely, "It is I. I was merely testing his strength just now."

"Greetings, Lord Danzo!"

Upon seeing Danzo's face, the seven Uchiha ninjas, including Fugaku Uchiha, all dropped to one knee and bowed their heads in respectful greeting.

"Hmph." Danzo acknowledged them with a faint nasal sound, then looked back at Li Tong and beckoned. "Let us go. The Hokage is still waiting for you."

"So it was Lord Danzo. Understood!"

Li Tong followed Danzo away. It wasn't until the two had walked a great distance that Fugaku Uchiha and the others stood up, looking at the pair's retreating backs with lingering fear.

Among the high-ranking officials of Konoha, Danzo was the most feared power-broker. As the second-in-command of Konoha, he was considered even more terrifying than the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Hiruzen Sarutobi often appeared approachable and friendly, whereas Danzo—he never seemed to smile.

"Lord Danzo... was testing Li Tong's strength?" Fugaku Uchiha blinked, stunned for a moment, before suddenly turning back to look at the tree completely destroyed by the Lightning Style: False Darkness.

The tree had been blasted into splinters, and the ground where it once stood had become a large crater, still bearing the scorched marks of lightning and fire.

"Why would Lord Danzo personally test the strength of this brat?"

"It's truly strange. The Hokage summoned him?"

The few Uchiha ninjas murmured among themselves, but Fugaku Uchiha frowned deeply, staring at the traces left by the Lightning Style: False Darkness, and asked hesitantly, "Does Lord Danzo... know lightning-style ninjutsu?"

Did he?

It seemed he did not!

But if he didn't, could this tree have been destroyed by that brat...

Whoosh!

A whirlwind stirred, and a person suddenly appeared beside Fugaku Uchiha! The newcomer was young, only twelve or thirteen years old, yet she was fair-skinned and beautiful, already possessing a graceful, budding elegance.

"Sister Mikoto," the other Uchiha Clan ninjas greeted the newcomer.

Mikoto Uchiha, however, seemed very urgent. Upon appearing and seeing Fugaku Uchiha, she said anxiously, "Young Master, the news just received is that Li Tong was assassinated by an elite jonin not long ago, and he killed the attacker in return!"

"Hm?" Fugaku Uchiha's eyes widened, and after a moment of stunned silence, he shouted: "What did you say? Say that again!!"