New Identity (Thanks for the Positive Reviews, Bonus Chapter)

Lin Chongshu turned to look.

A figure emerged from the shadows of the trees at the edge of Hidden Leaf Village's barrier, wearing a white Hokage robe and a red conical hat, a smoking pipe held in one hand.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"You have one last chance. Tell me, who are you? What are you doing in Hidden Leaf Village?"

Lin Chongshu's mind raced. He had already formed a suspicion: if Hidden Leaf Village's people could identify him so quickly even after he had disguised himself, there was only one possibility—Orochimaru had betrayed him.

Orochimaru had most likely returned to the base with Sasori of the Red Sands, discovered what Lin Chongshu had done there, and traced the identity of an orphan from the Land of Fire that he had acquired. It would not have been hard to deduce that he intended to infiltrate Hidden Leaf Village.

That shameless snake had probably guessed Lin Chongshu would betray him, so he had acted first, hoping to kill him with someone else's blade.

But that shameless snake could not possibly have been colluding with the Third Hokage. Even if he wanted Lin Chongshu dead out of distrust, he could only have used Danzo's hand. Why had the Third Hokage come instead?

Lin Chongshu looked into the Third Hokage's eyes. The old man had no intention of speaking further. He was waiting for Lin Chongshu's answer.

Behind him, the masked Hayate Gekkō and Uzuki Yugao had also broken free of the genjutsu and blocked Lin Chongshu's retreat.

If he could not figure this out, he was going to die...

A flash of insight suddenly struck Lin Chongshu. No, don't fall into that trap of thinking. It's Danzo. It has to be Danzo who wants to find me.

This was a critical moment when the Uchiha Clan might rebel. Danzo, who favored killing, and the Third Hokage, who at least publicly favored peace, must have been monitoring each other's movements to prevent any accident involving the Uchiha Clan.

At a time like this, the Third Hokage had suddenly discovered that Danzo was secretly searching for a stranger who had just arrived from outside the village, and that this stranger had been lingering near the Uchiha Clan's gathering place every day. Naturally, that would have aroused his suspicions.

He must have connected Lin Chongshu's recent actions and Danzo's search for him to the Uchiha Clan's possible rebellion.

But understanding the reason was not enough. To survive, he had to prove his value.

By acting now, the Third Hokage had effectively exposed some of the people he had planted around Danzo as spies. If he learned that Lin Chongshu was merely some useless nobody, he would definitely kill him without hesitation to conceal this operation.

The Third Hokage valued talent. For Yamato's Wood Release alone, he had been willing to completely fall out with Danzo, surround Root with Anbu forces, and use force to take Yamato away.

So while displaying his value, Lin Chongshu also had to make the Third Hokage feel that he naturally belonged on his side and was worth recruiting.

Lin Chongshu suddenly threw himself to the ground.

"Lord Danzo! Please spare me! My dream was only to come to Hidden Leaf Village and see it—to see the Hyuga Clan! I've seen it now. I swear I'll never come again!"

He deliberately filled his voice with terror, while letting the natural energy inside him fluctuate uncontrollably for a moment. It lasted only an instant, as though he had failed to suppress it in his emotional agitation.

Then he quickly deactivated Sage Mode and suppressed the chakra fluctuations in his body to the lowest possible level, making himself look like he had been scared out of his wits.

Though the Third Hokage could not use it himself, he had surely studied Sage Mode and the use of natural energy. The First Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and his disciple Jiraiya could all use it. He must have seen it before.

Sure enough, the fingers holding the Third Hokage's pipe trembled slightly.

Hayate Gekkō and Uzuki Yugao were also somewhat stunned. Lin Chongshu had actually called the Third Hokage "Lord Danzo," yet the Third Hokage did not correct him.

He merely looked down at Lin Chongshu, who was kneeling on the ground, his voice exactly the same as before. "You want to become one of Hidden Leaf Village's people? You want to become one of the Hyuga Clan?"

Lin Chongshu raised his head and widened the eyes that bore only faint traces of the Byakugan.

"Yes, I do. My father said that I have Hyuga Clan blood in me. I should be one of Hidden Leaf Village's people too, but I don't want to become one of the Hyuga Clan."

Since the Third Hokage had linked him to the Uchiha Clan, he must have investigated his movements. Since he knew Lin Chongshu had been following the Uchiha Clan around every day, he surely also knew that he had been visiting the Hyuga Main House every day.

An outsider loitering at the Main House's entrance every day was either looking for trouble or had some connection to them. Lin Chongshu wanted the Third Hokage to fill in the answer himself.

"Where did you come from? And who is your father?" The Third Hokage's voice remained unhurried.

Lin Chongshu began fabricating a new identity for himself: he came from one of Orochimaru's secret bases on the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rain.

That "Hyuga Clan ninja" was not his biological father either, but another test subject at the base. There was a prominent swastika-shaped mark on his forehead.

The man had said that he had been betrayed by his own people while fighting the Land of Wind, which was why he had been imprisoned in the laboratory.

Orochimaru had fused that man's Byakugan with a special physique and transplanted it into Lin Chongshu, but Lin Chongshu had failed to awaken the Byakugan. Only slightly discolored pupils remained.

The Hyuga Clan ninja had also secretly told him not to believe anything Orochimaru said. Orochimaru only wanted to turn him into a weapon.

If he ever had the chance to return to Hidden Leaf Village, he was not to acknowledge the Hyuga Clan either. He had to beware of a man named Danzo.

Later, a riot had broken out in the laboratory over a month ago. He had escaped in the chaos. Since he had always wanted to come to Hidden Leaf Village, he had slipped into the village by following a construction crew.

Now that a group of people wanted to kill him, he naturally believed the people before him were Danzo's men.

The framework of this story was true.

Orochimaru really did have a base on the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rain. A riot really had broken out there over a month ago, and the Third Hokage had some vague understanding of the connection between Danzo and Orochimaru.

The Third Shinobi World War, the Hyuga Branch House's attitude toward the Caged Bird, and the details of Orochimaru's human experiments were all real as well.

It was also true that he possessed a trace of Byakugan blood and a Sage Body. He had not even called it a Sage Body, merely allowing the Third Hokage to confirm it using his own experience.

After hearing him out, the Third Hokage fell silent for a while, then suddenly smiled. "I'm not Danzo. I won't kill you. You're very clever. Do you want to join Hidden Leaf Village?"

Lin Chongshu froze. He was not pretending. He genuinely did not understand why the Third Hokage had suddenly praised him for being clever, but he could only follow his persona now.

"Yes! I want to become a ninja of Hidden Leaf Village!"

The Third Hokage looked down at him, and there was an additional layer of meaning in his gaze that Lin Chongshu could not quite understand. "Then go undercover beside Danzo for Hidden Leaf Village. Danzo probably won't kill you either."

The Third Hokage did not fully trust Lin Chongshu. He believed that most of what Lin Chongshu had said was probably true, though parts of it had been embellished.

But he approved of Lin Chongshu's displayed ability and temperament. Within seconds of their first meeting, Lin Chongshu had assessed the situation and concocted a story that was half true and half false, while never forgetting to demonstrate his value from every angle.

If this were not such a critical time, he would have investigated everything thoroughly before bringing Lin Chongshu into the Anbu.