Who Are You

Lin Chongshu vaulted over the earthen wall and passed through two narrow alleys.

The village had already descended into chaos. Explosions and battle cries from the village entrance had drawn most people to the front lines and rear gate.

He avoided several groups of hurriedly running genin and quickly found the house where Karin and her mother had once lived, but it was empty inside.

He followed the direction of the rear gate through two alleys and spotted Karin behind a row of mud-brick houses. Her red hair stood out conspicuously among the crowd.

Two Kusagakure genin flanked her on either side as they followed the evacuating crowd toward the rear gate.

Lin Chongshu quickly caught up, adjusted his facial features to resemble one of the passing genin he had seen earlier, then slipped into the crowd from the side and blocked the three of them.

"There are injured people ahead. She needs to go treat them immediately."

The moment Karin saw him, her entire body stiffened.

[Detected intense negative emotions from Karin toward the host: fear, vigilance, resistance. Reward extraction complete.]

[Obtained: Six Paths Sage Body: Incomplete Uzumaki Version +1]

One of the genin glanced back toward the rear gate. The people there had nearly all fled.

He released Karin's arm and pushed her toward Lin Chongshu. "Then she's your responsibility... We're leaving first." Before he could finish, the other genin grabbed him.

"Wait." That genin stared at Lin Chongshu, his gaze sweeping him from head to toe. "Where's your identification? Take it out and let me see."

Lin Chongshu met his eyes for a second.

"Who carries something like that around with them?" Lin Chongshu's tone did not change.

The genin grew even more suspicious.

He stepped forward and shielded Karin behind him. "We're evacuating now, and you didn't bring it?"

This was the Chunin Exams venue. Kusagakure did not have as much talent as the Hidden Leaf Village, so not every genin had a dedicated instructor, and naturally, no one could know everyone else. That was why everyone carried identification.

Especially now, when they were fleeing for their lives. How could anyone possibly leave something that important behind?

Lin Chongshu did not answer.

The genin's fingers had already reached the hilt of his kunai. "You're not from Kusagakure. Who are you? What are you trying to do?"

Lin Chongshu fell silent for two seconds, then smiled. "You're really smart..."

Before he could finish, he suddenly stepped forward. The strands of hair hanging over his forehead instantly turned white, his pupils narrowed into orange-yellow vertical slits, and the markings around his eyes lengthened.

Green light from a Chakra Blade burst from his fingertips. With one swift strike, the green light cleanly sliced through the genin's neck, severing both his windpipe and blood vessels. Blood sprayed from the wound and splattered across the mud-brick wall.

The genin clutched his throat and stumbled backward, bubbling out incoherent sounds. His eyes were wide open, and he never understood what had happened before he died.

[Detected intense negative emotions from Karin toward the host: extreme fear, shock. Reward extraction complete.]

[Obtained: Six Paths Sage Body: Incomplete Uzumaki Version +1]

Karin screamed and staggered back two steps.

The other genin frantically began forming hand seals. His fingers were still trembling, and before he could finish, Lin Chongshu slapped him across the head.

Lin Chongshu struck with such force that the genin's head twisted halfway around. His body turned halfway with it before collapsing.

[Detected intense negative emotions from Karin toward the host: extreme fear. Reward extraction complete.]

[Obtained: Six Paths Sage Body: Incomplete Uzumaki Version +1]

The alley fell silent.

Karin's glasses sat crookedly on her face, their lenses speckled with blood.

She desperately shrank back, wildly waving both hands in front of herself. "Who are you? What are you trying to do?"

Lin Chongshu crouched down and wiped the blood from his face. Looking at the trembling Karin, he suddenly grew interested. This was the perfect chance to extract more Sage Body energy!

He deliberately leaned closer and lowered his voice. "I'm your future master. Your life is over. From now on, you belong to me."

Karin collapsed onto the ground and braced herself with her hands as she backed away, her body beginning to tremble uncontrollably.

[Detected intense negative emotions from Karin toward the host: fear, rejection. Reward extraction complete.]

[Obtained: Six Paths Sage Body: Incomplete Uzumaki Version +1]

Hearing another dense wave of footsteps approaching, Lin Chongshu realized he could not delay any longer.

He took Karin's mother's earring from his clothes and dangled it before Karin. "I was lying. I was just messing with you. I'm here to save you. Your mother sent me."

Karin's crying stopped for a moment. She stared at the earring for several seconds, then reached out and snatched it, clenching it tightly in her palm.

Her lips were still trembling, but her eyes had changed.

Clutching the earring, she looked up at Lin Chongshu. Just as she was about to say something, he swiftly pulled her to her feet.

A cold shout came from the alley entrance. "Stop."

A ninja stood at the mouth of the alley with both hands in his pockets.

He glanced at the two genin corpses on the ground, then at Karin, whose hand Lin Chongshu was holding. His tone was unhurried. "What are you doing?"

Lin Chongshu released Karin's hand and pushed her a step behind him.

Before he could speak, the man did not even remove his hands from his pockets. Dozens of shuriken appeared out of nowhere and rained down toward Lin Chongshu.

Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!

Lin Chongshu was instantly riddled with shuriken.

Karin screamed, but immediately afterward, Lin Chongshu's body turned into a puddle of water.

Water Release: Water Clone Technique!

A hand suddenly reached out from behind her and grabbed her wrist. She sharply turned around to see Lin Chongshu pulling her toward the exit of the alley.

Lin Chongshu dragged Karin into another side alley. At its end stood a waist-high earthen wall, and beyond it was the sandy ground outside the village.

With only three steps left before the wall, the man suddenly appeared at the alley entrance. His hands remained in his pockets, and his breathing was not the least bit disturbed.

Lin Chongshu stopped short, panic rising in his heart.

In Sage Mode, he was more than twice as fast as usual, yet this man had still caught up in the blink of an eye.

So strong! This man was stronger than everyone he had fought before.

He shielded Karin behind him. His pupils rapidly contracted in Sage Mode, pushing his senses to their limit as his hands quickly formed seals.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

Water gathered before him and condensed into the rough shape of a water dragon.

The water dragon sprang up from the ground, opened its massive jaws, and slammed toward the figure at the alley entrance.

Taking advantage of the opening, Lin Chongshu picked up Karin, turned, and prepared to run for the earthen wall.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

A violent gale poured in from the alley entrance, forcibly suppressing the water dragon's momentum.

The water dragon warped in midair under the pressure of the wind. Its head was torn apart, bursting into a spray of water that the gale whipped back at Lin Chongshu, soaking him from head to toe.

"Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique!"

Just as Lin Chongshu stepped onto the earthen wall, several wind blades grazed his body. They sliced open his clothes in strips and blocked his escape route.

But a layer of fine sand beneath Lin Chongshu's skin stopped the blades, and he did not bleed.

The man stood at the alley entrance. Seeing that Lin Chongshu had somehow escaped injury, he finally pulled one hand from his pocket. "Interesting..."

With his escape cut off, Lin Chongshu's palms began to sweat.

But during that rapid exchange, the other man's ninjutsu casting speed had completely surpassed his own in Sage Mode. He had even found time to accurately slice at him the instant the water dragon was suppressed.

Could a Kusagakure chunin really be this strong?

"You're not from Kusagakure." Lin Chongshu stared at the shadow at the alley entrance.

The man was silent for a moment, then let out two soft chuckles. "Neither are you."

Lin Chongshu slowly clenched his hand at his side. Sand silently flowed around his feet, and golden sand was drawn from beneath the ground by magnetic force, gathering in his palm.

He never used Magnet Release in front of others unless he was certain he could kill them.

It was his trump card, but also his fatal weakness. If someone recognized Magnet Release and word reached the Land of Wind, Rasa would surely go mad and intensify the hunt for him.

But he had no other choice now. If he got held up here, he would be dead either way.

He raised his right hand, and sand began to swirl around the two of them.

The person opposite him tensed his shoulders slightly.

He stared at the sand in Lin Chongshu's palm, the curve of his lips widening a little. "Magnet Release? Heh, heh. I know who you are now."

He took a step forward, moonlight slanting across his face from the alley entrance. "You're Lin Chongshu, the rogue ninja of the Land of Wind!"

Lin Chongshu's pupils abruptly contracted. "Who exactly are you?"