Surveillance

The opponent's presence was almost imperceptible, but as long as one was human, one needed to breathe. No matter how slow or careful that breathing might be, it would inevitably create a flow of air.

Li Tong sensed it!

In the woods behind the wooden cabin, a person was hiding within the thicket, motionless, devoid of presence, breathing slowly.

Someone is monitoring me! Li Tong thought to himself. He did not believe the person was there to protect him or for any other benign reason. The logic was simple: even if it were an Anbu ninja, appearing stealthily around him leaned far more toward surveillance than protection.

The straight-line distance was about fifty meters.

Suddenly, Li Tong sensed that the person had moved. The movement caused a slight noise, no louder than the rustling of leaves and branches, and the breathing quickened slightly, accompanied by an involuntary leak of presence.

It was a very cold presence, and Li Tong had already locked onto it.

The person had circled to the other side of the woods, opposite the cabin, changed positions, and became motionless once again.

Who could it be?

Li Tong furrowed his brows and turned to look in the direction of that person. Of course, he could see nothing, as he was inside the cabin and could only see the wooden walls. He pressed his palms together: Byakugan! Activate!

His eyes widened, wrinkles appeared at their corners, and white filled Li Tong's pupils.

The world in his vision shifted to grayscale. The wooden walls became translucent, and as the image zoomed in, Li Tong saw the person whose presence he had locked onto. The figure was crouching on a tree branch, body hidden among the foliage, draped in a black cloak and wearing a mask.

The mask was specially crafted; it could not be penetrated by his sight!

However, Li Tong's True Sight Eye displayed the person's information.

Name: Gui Qi
Identity: Ninja of the Anbu Special Mobile Force, Konohagakure, Land of Fire.
Reputation: 8,000
Relationship: Hostile

Anbu Special Mobile Force, is it Root? Li Tong's spirit jolted; he was quite surprised.

Although both the Anbu headquarters and the Root organization could be referred to as Anbu externally, there was a clear distinction in their full titles. The former was the Anbu Special Assassination and Tactical Squad, while the latter was the Anbu Special Mobile Force.

Li Tong naturally confirmed immediately that this was a Root ninja.

A Root ninja with 8,000 reputation, monitoring me with ill intent? Li Tong did not understand why.

One thing was certain: for a Root ninja to act, they must have received orders from the Root leader, Danzo. In other words, this Root ninja codenamed Gui Qi was acting under Danzo's orders. Danzo must have given him other instructions as well; otherwise, simple surveillance would not have resulted in a hostile relationship.

Yet, Li Tong could not think of how he had offended Danzo.

Or perhaps, were Gui Qi's orders from Danzo, but Danzo was merely acting on the orders of Hiruzen Sarutobi?

Eh? Li Tong discovered another question. Is 8,000 reputation considered a Jonin or an Elite Jonin?

According to the calculation rules for strength and reputation, 3,000 to 8,000 reputation was the Jonin level, while 8,000 to 15,000 was the Elite Jonin level. 8,000 reputation was exactly the threshold between the highest standard of a Jonin and the lowest of an Elite Jonin.

"Ding! Answering the host's question: reputation is merely a reference value and cannot be used as an absolute basis for inferring strength," the Card Emperor Sprite replied.

That was as good as saying nothing.

Of course, it didn't matter.

Why on earth are they monitoring me with ill intent? With this question in his heart, Li Tong observed Gui Qi for a while before withdrawing his gaze and deactivating the Byakugan.

Li Tong did not rest well that night.

Because that Gui Qi remained outside the entire time, possessing terrifying patience, capable of staying motionless for hours. If Li Tong's perception hadn't been so sharp, he might have been able to sleep, but his senses were too acute. He could feel Gui Qi outside, constantly, which made it impossible for him to feel at ease.

Before dawn, Gui Qi finally departed.

It wasn't until the morning glow appeared outside the window that Li Tong finally fell into a deep sleep.

"Little brat, actually sleeping in! Get up!"

A roar akin to a lion's shout jolted Li Tong's consciousness from deep sleep. He sat up abruptly from the wooden cot, nearly colliding with Tsunade's face. Tsunade, who had been leaning over to look at him, stood straight up, hands on her hips, looking thoroughly dissatisfied.

"Why did you come in without knocking?" Li Tong asked, bleary-eyed and yawning.

Indeed, Tsunade had appeared directly in Li Tong's bedroom, never once considering that she might see something she shouldn't.

"Look at what time it is!" Tsunade pointed at the sun outside the window. "Why have you slept so long?"

"Cultivating. Practicing the Mystical Palm Technique. I only slept before dawn," Li Tong bluffed, glancing toward the window.

It was nearly eight in the morning; Li Tong had slept for less than three hours in total.

"Hmph! Quite diligent, aren't you?" Tsunade curled her lips, smiling strangely. "One day left. If you can't use the Mystical Palm Technique by tonight, you lose!"

"I know, I know. Don't be annoying. Get out and let me sleep a bit more," Li Tong urged her to leave.

"No sleeping. You have to teach me the Hypnosis Technique!" Tsunade pulled Li Tong, who had just laid back down, back up. She then pressed her palms together, formed a seal, and a soft light glowed on her hands as she pressed them against Li Tong's forehead.

A cooling sensation invaded Li Tong's consciousness, and he became instantly alert.

He wasn't sleepy anymore!

Tsunade used a medical ninjutsu on Li Tong that could alleviate mental exhaustion.

"Fine." Li Tong knew he wouldn't be able to sleep anymore, "But, we have to eat breakfast first."

"Alright, hurry up and get dressed; I'll wait for you outside." Tsunade tossed the clothes draped over the chair to Li Tong, who was wearing only a sleeping robe, then turned and walked out.

Not long after, in the bustling downtown area.

"Look, it's Li Tong!"

"I heard that brat went crazy, saying he wants to learn the Mystical Palm Technique in one day."

"Probably scared out of his wits by Lady Tsunade, considering he was almost buried alive."

"Heh! This is interesting. He's walking so close to Lady Tsunade now; I wonder if the Hyuga Clan will still give him trouble."

Li Tong walked side-by-side with Tsunade down the street. Even though he was wearing sunglasses, he was still recognized, and ten thousand flies were buzzing around him.

A miraculous thing had happened once again: the news of the bet between Li Tong and Tsunade had spread thoroughly throughout Konoha, and it seemed everyone knew about it.

"Brat, do you want to go on a mission outside the village?" Tsunade suddenly asked.

"Hm?" Li Tong glanced at Tsunade, "Why ask that all of a sudden?"

"A piece of advice!" Tsunade's tone was somewhat serious, "Don't leave Konoha. Within the village, the Hyuga Clan will show some restraint, but once you leave the village, you'll likely die a miserable death..."

"Is that so?" Li Tong replied noncommittally, then added, "Is the Hyuga Clan really so lawless that no one manages them?"

Tsunade shook her head and did not answer.

After eating breakfast on the street, the two returned to the wooden cabin by the lake.

Li Tong began teaching Tsunade the Hypnosis Technique again.

This continued until about two o'clock in the afternoon.

Tsunade felt she had mastered enough techniques and wanted to find someone to test the effects of the hypnosis on. The target naturally couldn't be Li Tong, because he understood the principles of the technique and his subconscious would resist it, making him essentially immune.

Therefore, Tsunade planned to go find her dear younger brother, Nawaki Senju.

"Brat, you have less than four hours left, so keep it up! I'll come find you before dark!" Tsunade said to Li Tong in a teasing tone before bidding him farewell.

"Idiot woman," Li Tong muttered under his breath.

He didn't eat lunch.

Not long after Tsunade left, Li Tong headed out to the street.

The flies were everywhere.

Li Tong didn't care anymore; he found a high-end restaurant, ate, and then began to stroll around.

He was looking for hostile targets he could kill. Tsunade had been bothering him for days, and he finally had some time to himself.

From afternoon until dusk, Li Tong still hadn't found a suitable target. It wasn't that there were no foreign spies, but it was hard to encounter anyone with decent strength; they were all small fry with only a few hundred reputation points—in other words, Genin.

Generally speaking, spies who collected daily intelligence were mostly Genin. Collecting daily intelligence didn't require high combat strength, but it did require high observational and analytical skills.

The sky darkened, and the sunset glowed like blood.

"Damn it! Stop!"

"Block him!"

In the eastern section of the downtown area, the street suddenly fell into chaos. A burly foreign samurai was charging recklessly through the street, knocking over pedestrians and overturning roadside stalls, fleeing in a panic.

Behind him, several Konoha Military Police Force ninjas were in pursuit.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

A Chunin from the police force threw shuriken, aiming straight at the burly samurai.

The burly samurai swayed his body while running, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, dodging the shuriken attack. This was no ordinary mortal samurai; he had some real skill!

Li Tong had just walked out of an alleyway and noticed the chaos.

The burly samurai charged straight toward him, roaring with a ferocious expression, "Get out of the way if you don't want to die!"

Everyone else near the alley entrance had already run away, fearing trouble. Only Li Tong stood there alone. He hadn't quite grasped the situation, and he lacked the sense of crisis that ordinary people felt when facing a desperate criminal.

"Brat, you're looking for death!" Seeing that Li Tong didn't dodge, the burly samurai assumed Li Tong was trying to block him. After all, Li Tong was wearing a Konoha ninja uniform.

The burly samurai was less than ten meters from Li Tong when he drew the katana at his waist, his speed suddenly surging.

A lethal charge!