How Many Times Do I Have to Go Undercover?

The Third Hokage told Lin Chongshu how to contact Uzuki Yugao through both channels after obtaining intelligence, then told him that he had to report all intelligence related to Uchiha clan members directly to him.

Then, just as he had when he arrived, he disappeared into the shadows on the other side of the barrier.

Lin Chongshu put his hands in his pockets and walked along the forest path outside Konoha, turning the matter over in his mind.

Danzō had approached him because of Orochimaru. Orochimaru wanted to use Danzō to kill him, but Danzō wasn't a fool, so he hadn't acted outright.

But the question was, how could he survive under Danzō?

As soon as he left the forest, two more people in Anbu uniforms and masks appeared in front of him.

One of them stepped forward and grabbed Lin Chongshu by the arm, pressing his thumb down hard as if checking whether he was real.

Lin Chongshu glanced at the hand gripping his wrist and couldn't help grumbling to himself: Could you two idiots be the ones my Water Clone tricked earlier?

"Sir, if you don't want to suffer, please come with us."

"Fine, let's go." Lin Chongshu sighed and followed them toward another base on the outskirts of Konoha.

As they walked, he reviewed the relationship between Danzō and Root.

Root had originally been nothing more than a training division for the Anbu, ostensibly under the Anbu's jurisdiction. It had changed in nature because the unstable circumstances during the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars called for an organization that could operate in secret. The Third Hokage had tacitly approved of it.

During the Fourth Hokage's tenure, Konoha had been flush with talent, and the need for Root was no longer as urgent as it had been when the organization was first formed. When the Third Hokage became the Hokage's advisor, he had taken the opportunity to keep Root in check for a while.

It wasn't until the Nine-Tails Incident broke out and the Third Hokage returned to power, with Danzō once again serving as Hokage's advisor, that Root had another chance to grow.

Root was now in a transitional period, with neither enough experienced hands nor promising newcomers. Its future core members—Yamanaka Fu, Aburame Torune, and Sai—had yet to mature, while former Root stalwarts like Orochimaru and Aburame Ryūma were no longer directly under Danzō's control for various reasons.

The two men brought Lin Chongshu to an Anbu training facility.

The room was small and dimly lit. A man with bandages wrapped around half his head was already waiting inside.

Shimura Danzō sat in a chair, his cane resting across his knees. He narrowed the right eye visible beneath his bandages as he sized up Lin Chongshu.

"Lin Chongshu, the rogue ninja from the Sand Village. Why did you infiltrate Konoha?"

Again? Lin Chongshu spread his hands, well-practiced by now. "Sir, I'm not Lin Chongshu."

He was confident Orochimaru didn't know he possessed Shikotsumyaku. He guessed that the intelligence Orochimaru had given Danzō included his appearance, his status as a rogue ninja from the Sand Village, and the possibility that he had disguised himself as the person he looked like now.

But this was his real face, with no jutsu maintaining it.

Danzō said nothing. After receiving Orochimaru's message, he had indeed sent people to investigate Lin Chongshu and confirmed that he wasn't using any jutsu to alter his appearance.

At that moment, he had realized Orochimaru was trying to get him to do the dirty work. He had given Danzō false information, hoping he would kill someone who looked nothing like the rogue ninja from the Sand Village.

He had also concluded that Lin Chongshu must be valuable in some way for Orochimaru to go to such lengths to use him as a weapon.

Lin Chongshu turned the tables and asked, "Did Orochimaru send you to kill me?"

Then he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his irises had turned orange-yellow, dark markings extended around his eyes, and his bangs had turned white. Sage Mode.

Danzō's right eye widened slightly. He had seen Jiraiya's Sage Mode before, and what this kid was showing seemed similar to Jiraiya's ability.

"Lord Danzō, I'm a researcher. This is the result of the research I conducted with Orochimaru: a controllable Sage Mode." Lin Chongshu deactivated Sage Mode, and his eyes returned to black.

Danzō lifted his cane from his knees. Hearing Lin Chongshu call him by name and show off his research, he understood that Lin Chongshu wanted to join him. "Is that why you infiltrated Konoha?"

"Exactly! I've thought it through. I'm not even a rogue ninja, so why keep doing research with Orochimaru when I could join you instead? It would be safer, too."

Danzō rubbed his arm. "You'd betray Orochimaru and join me for that reason alone?"

Lin Chongshu smiled. "I won't hide it from you. There's another reason. I've got a formidable rival who could threaten my position at Orochimaru's side. Rather than wait until Orochimaru abandons me, I'd rather find a way out now."

"Who?"

"Kabuto Yakushi."

Danzō fell silent for a moment, then replied evenly, "He won't live long. He can't replace you."

Lin Chongshu knew Danzō was referring to the matter between Kabuto and Yakushi Nonō. He had already planned to make them kill each other, but he didn't contradict Danzō. He simply continued.

"I also want Sharingan. You're the only one who can provide it."

"You've studied Sharingan, too?" Danzō leaned forward slightly. "If you had a sufficient number of Sharingan, how would you use them?"

Here it came: Danzō's entrance exam...

Lin Chongshu gave him the answer he wanted. "The Uchiha have an ultimate ocular jutsu called Izanagi. It can temporarily alter reality, rewriting even the outcome of death. It's a terrifying jutsu that can make its user invincible."

"If I had a large number of Sharingan, I'd focus on Izanagi and combine it with Hashirama Cells for large-scale application."

Danzō unconsciously rubbed the top of his cane with his right hand.

When Lin Chongshu said the name Izanagi, Danzō believed him. Intelligence of that caliber wasn't something just any researcher could access, and Orochimaru wouldn't share the Uchiha's forbidden jutsu records with outsiders.

Lin Chongshu was thinking he should be able to get into Root's research division now, but Danzō's next words nearly left him stunned.

"I can provide you with Sharingan. But I'd still prefer you to return to Orochimaru and serve as a spy for Root. You won't have to worry about being labeled a rogue ninja anymore. If Orochimaru ever crosses Konoha and is killed, you'll be safe."

Lin Chongshu grumbled inwardly: He wants me to go undercover again? The Third Hokage had me spy on Danzō, and now Danzō wants me to spy on Orochimaru. How many times do I have to go undercover? When Orochimaru starts paying my social security, he'll find I've been paying into it twice.

"How am I supposed to go back? Orochimaru must think I've already defected," Lin Chongshu asked.

"You didn't betray him. You survived Konoha's slaughter and returned to Orochimaru's side. Isn't that perfectly reasonable?"

Danzō was afraid Orochimaru would double-cross him, and he was just as afraid Lin Chongshu would double-cross him. Having the two keep each other in check was exactly what he preferred.

Lin Chongshu thought it over. "All right. But I have two conditions."

Danzō looked up at him.

"First, I want to take part in the plan to assassinate Kabuto Yakushi."

"Second, I don't just want Sharingan. I want Uchiha Mikoto, too."