Exposed (Thanks for the Positive Reviews, Bonus Chapter)

Sakura's cheeks flushed bright red.

She looked at the strange boy who had suddenly appeared, chased everyone away for her, and even praised her forehead. Her eyelashes trembled twice before she placed her hand in Lin Chongshu's palm.

Lin Chongshu pulled her up from the ground and stuffed the bouquet into her arms.

Holding the flowers, Sakura's lips moved as she tried to say thank you. Before she could, Lin Chongshu lifted her bangs again, revealing the forehead that everyone had always mocked.

Sakura instinctively wanted to shrink back, but Lin Chongshu's movements were gentle. He took out the red ribbon and measured it around her forehead. He had originally wanted to tie her a romantic bow, but since he did not know how to tie one, he could only fasten it into a dead knot.

"Done." Lin Chongshu admired his handiwork with satisfaction, then swiftly fled the scene under Sakura's lovestruck gaze.

That afternoon, he continued bullying the Uchiha Clan.

After the street patrol ended and the crowd dispersed, Lin Chongshu began hunting for Naruto again.

Lin Chongshu searched around, but Naruto was neither by the swings nor at home today. In the end, he found Naruto beside the canal at the village entrance.

Lin Chongshu stood in front of him and did nothing. Yet when Naruto looked up and saw him smiling, the system's voice rang out.

[Detected that Uzumaki Naruto has developed intense negative emotions toward the host: pain, disappointment. Reward extraction complete.]

[Obtained: Nine-Tails Power · Nine-Tails Chakra +1]

After another ordinary day for the people of Hidden Leaf Village, Lin Chongshu stretched and returned to the inn.

On the way back, he hummed a little tune and wondered whether he should look for Tenten tomorrow to see if he had a chance. After all, she came with handlebars on her head, and the handling felt pretty good too.

But when he returned to the inn and leaned against the door, his expression suddenly changed.

Not long afterward, the inn's back door was pushed open from within, and Lin Chongshu emerged again, wrapped in his coat.

He hurried along with his head lowered, quickly making his way down the alley toward the Ninja Academy.

After he had gone roughly five or six body lengths, the two shadows at the street corner moved. One ahead and one behind, they silently followed him into the darkness of the alley.

Ten minutes later, a crack opened in a second-floor window of the inn. An orange-yellow vertical pupil appeared through the gap in the curtains and looked toward where the two shadows had vanished.

"Someone really was watching me. I need to leave quickly."

Before returning to the inn each day, Lin Chongshu would activate Sage Mode and make a few extra rounds through the area. He would buy some fruit or small trinkets, using the opportunity to sweep his surroundings with his sensory abilities.

Today, while picking apples at a fruit stall, he had noticed someone watching him from the shadows. Even after circling around several times, that feeling had not disappeared, confirming his suspicion.

Lin Chongshu's real body flipped out through the window, landing without a sound, and sprinted toward the outskirts of the village in the opposite direction. Whoever had set their sights on him, running first was definitely the right call.

As he ran, he thought it over. Had his bribing the construction crew to sneak in been exposed? Impossible.

Even if it had been exposed, they could have simply monitored him until he left with the construction crew or expelled him in advance. There was no need to send two ninja to watch him.

Had the Uchiha Clan come looking to settle the score? Probably not.

The Uchiha Clan was busy preparing its rebellion. Killing some brat who cursed in the streets would only give the Third Hokage an excuse to make trouble for them. There was no benefit in it. Once the rebellion succeeded, they could kill him whenever they wanted without taking this kind of risk.

Had his identity as a rogue ninja from the Land of Wind been exposed? That was impossible too.

Sunagakure had only put a C-rank bounty on him. To Konoha, he was just a small fry. Besides, he had disguised himself. Konoha would not expend so much effort using special methods to compare low-ranking rogue ninja from other countries one by one.

And if they had discovered he was a rogue ninja, why not just kill him? Why bother monitoring him?

Could it be...

As Lin Chongshu was thinking, several kunai shot toward him from behind.

He sidestepped them and turned around. His pursuers were no longer hiding.

There were two people chasing him from behind: a short-haired man in a cat-faced mask and a purple-haired woman wearing something like a dog-faced mask.

They wore matching black bodysuits and gray flak jackets, with katana strapped to their backs. Judging by their attire, they were members of Konoha's Anbu or Root.

Lin Chongshu did not dare reveal too many abilities and merely kept Sage Mode active as he ran at full speed.

The two behind him closed in relentlessly. Lin Chongshu reached into his ninja tool pouch, pulled out four cross-shaped shuriken, and flung them behind him.

The shuriken traced four arcs through the air. Just as the two sidestepped to evade them, the shuriken collided midair and changed trajectory a second time, forcing both of them to draw their katana and block.

This was a Ninja Tool Manipulation technique he had drawn from the Fuma Clan. Even members of the Fuma Clan needed years of training to master the changes in trajectory after shuriken collided in midair, but he used it as naturally as muscle memory.

That attack only held them off for an instant.

The cat-faced man's figure suddenly blurred, leaving an afterimage under the moonlight as he rapidly closed in.

"Secret Sword: Moon Shadow!"

The blade cut through the night, leaving behind a cold gleam.

A bone flute instantly appeared in Lin Chongshu's hand. He held it horizontally before him and blocked the slash.

The cat-faced man's mask was right before him. Surprise flashed through the eyes visible in its holes; he had not expected this boy, who looked so young, to be able to block his strike.

The purple-haired woman formed hand seals at the same time. "Shadow Clone Technique!"

Two shadow clones appeared at her sides. Together with the original, they slashed down simultaneously from the left, above, and right.

"Leaf Style Swordsmanship: Dance of the Crescent Moon!"

Lin Chongshu exerted force with his hand, driving back the cat-faced man before him with a heavy blow, then rapidly formed hand seals with one hand.

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

A vertical wall of water erupted from beneath his feet, forming a transparent barrier before the blades striking down from all three directions. The blades slashed into the water wall, sending spray everywhere, but every attack was blocked.

Before the spray even hit the ground, flute music rose from behind the water curtain. It was soft, yet extraordinarily piercing in the night wind.

"Demon Flute: Phantom Sound Chains!"

The cat-faced man and the purple-haired woman froze at the same time. Their blades remained raised in midair, their bodies locked in attacking stances, but their eyes had already begun to lose focus.

Lin Chongshu did not continue the fight and turned to run.

Konoha's border was right ahead. As long as he crossed that boundary marker, it would trigger Konoha's barrier. After that, every second would count.

He tightened his grip on the bone flute and quickened his pace.

"If you take one more step and trigger the barrier, no one will be able to save you." The voice came from the side, calm and unhurried.