How Many Undercover Missions

After the Third Hokage told Lin Chongshu how to maintain two-way communication with Uzuki Yugao, he instructed that all intelligence regarding the Uchiha Clan must be reported directly to him.

Immediately afterward, the Third Hokage vanished into the shadows of the trees inside the barrier just as he had arrived.

Lin Chongshu shoved his hands into his pockets and walked along the forest path outside the Hidden Leaf Village, lost in thought.

Danzo sought him out because of Orochimaru. Orochimaru wanted to use Danzo's blade to eliminate him, but Danzo was no fool, so he hadn't attacked directly.

The question was, how could he survive under Danzo's thumb?

Just as he stepped out of the forest, two figures dressed as Anbu, wearing masks, appeared before him.

One of them stepped forward and reached out to grip Lin Chongshu's arm, his thumb pressing down with significant force as if verifying he was a physical entity.

Lin Chongshu glanced at the hand on his wrist and couldn't help but think to himself: The two idiots who were fooled by my Water Clone just now wouldn't happen to be you two, would they?

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

"Fine, let's go." Lin Chongshu sighed and followed the two toward another stronghold on the outskirts of the Hidden Leaf Village.

As he walked, he mentally reviewed the relationship between Danzo and Root.

Root had originally been a training department for the Anbu, technically under the jurisdiction of the Hidden Leaf Anbu. Its nature changed due to the unstable external situation during the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars, which necessitated an organization that operated in the shadows—a development tacitly approved by the Third Hokage.

During the era of the Fourth Hokage, the Hidden Leaf was brimming with talent, and the need for Root was no longer as urgent as it had been at its inception. As the Third Hokage served as an advisor, he had taken the opportunity to suppress Root for a time.

It was only after the Nine-Tails Incident that the Third Hokage returned to power and Danzo once again became an advisor, giving Root another chance to develop.

Root was currently in a period of transition. The core members of the future—Yamanaka Fu, Aburame Torune, and Sai—had not yet matured, while former pillars like Orochimaru and Aburame Ryūma were no longer under Danzo's direct control for various reasons.

The two agents brought Lin Chongshu to a training facility for the Anbu.

The room was small and dimly lit, with a man whose head was half-wrapped in bandages already waiting inside.

Shimura Danzo sat in a chair with his cane resting across his knees, his right eye—visible beneath the bandages—narrowing as he examined Lin Chongshu.

"Sand Village rogue ninja Lin Chongshu, what is your purpose in infiltrating the Hidden Leaf?"

Here we go again? Lin Chongshu spread his hands, acting out of habit: "My lord, I am not Lin Chongshu."

He was confident that Orochimaru did not know about his mastery of Shikotsumyaku. He guessed that in the intelligence Orochimaru had provided to Danzo, it must have been his appearance, his identity as a Sand Village rogue, and the possibility that he was currently disguised as the person standing there.

But the face he wore now was his genuine, "real face," maintained by no jutsu.

Danzo did not speak. He had indeed sent men to investigate Lin Chongshu after receiving the message from Orochimaru, confirming that the person had used no jutsu to alter his appearance.

At that moment, he realized that Orochimaru wanted to kill with a borrowed knife, providing him with false intelligence to goad him into eliminating someone who looked nothing like the rogue ninja from the Sand.

He also concluded that Lin Chongshu must possess some unique value, worth the effort Orochimaru had spent to use his blade.

Lin Chongshu took the initiative and asked, "Is it Orochimaru who wants me dead?"

He then closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his pupils had turned orange-yellow, his eyeshadow had elongated, and the hair at his forehead had turned white—Sage Mode.

Danzo's right eye widened slightly. He had seen Jiraiya's Sage Mode, and the power displayed by the brat before him seemed to be an ability similar to Jiraiya's.

"Lord Danzo, I am a researcher. This is the result of the joint development between Orochimaru and myself—a controllable Sage Mode." Lin Chongshu deactivated Sage Mode, and his pupils returned to black.

Danzo took his cane from his knees. Hearing Lin Chongshu call his name directly and demonstrate his results, he understood the boy's intent to defect. "Is this why you infiltrated the Hidden Leaf?"

"Yes! I've thought about it. I'm not a rogue ninja. Instead of doing research for Orochimaru, why wouldn't I just defect to you? It's much safer."

Danzo rubbed his arm. "Is that the only reason you would betray Orochimaru to come to me?"

Lin Chongshu smiled. "I won't hide it from you, there is another reason. I have a fierce rival who threatens my standing by Orochimaru's side. Rather than being abandoned by Orochimaru eventually, it's better to find a way out early."

"Who?"

"Kabuto Yakushi."

Danzo was silent for a moment, his tone flat. "That man won't live long. He cannot replace you."

Lin Chongshu knew Danzo was referring to the situation between Kabuto and Yakushi Nonō. He was already planning to have them kill each other, but he did not contradict Danzo, choosing instead to continue.

"I also want the Sharingan. Only here can I find the Sharingan."

"You have research on the Sharingan as well?" Danzo leaned forward slightly. "If you were provided with an ample supply of Sharingan, how would you intend to apply them?"

Here it is, Danzo's job interview.

Lin Chongshu recited the answer: "The Uchiha have an ultimate ocular jutsu called Izanagi, which can briefly alter reality. Even if the user dies, they can rewrite the outcome. It is a terrifying jutsu that can make the user invincible."

"If I had a large number of Sharingan, I would focus my research on Izanagi and apply it on a large scale in combination with Hashirama Cells."

Danzo's right hand unconsciously rubbed the top of his cane.

When the name Izanagi came from Lin Chongshu's lips, he believed him. Intelligence of this level was not something an ordinary researcher could access, and Orochimaru would never share classified Uchiha jutsu data with an outsider.

Lin Chongshu was just thinking that he had surely managed to infiltrate Root's research department, when Danzo's next words left him stunned.

"I can provide you with Sharingan. But I still want you to return to Orochimaru's side as a mole for Root. You won't have to worry about the rogue ninja label anymore. If Orochimaru ever touches the Hidden Leaf's interests and is executed, you will be safe."

Lin Chongshu complained internally: Another undercover mission? The Third Hokage wants me to spy on Danzo, and Danzo wants me to spy on Orochimaru. How many undercover roles am I supposed to play? When Orochimaru pays my social security in the future, he's going to find out I've been paying twice.

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

"You didn't betray him; you simply escaped the massacre in the Hidden Leaf. Isn't it normal for you to return to Orochimaru now?"

Danzo was afraid that Orochimaru would play him, but he was equally afraid that Lin Chongshu would play him. Having the two of them check and balance each other was exactly what he preferred.

Lin Chongshu thought for a moment. "Fine. But I have two requirements."

Danzo lifted his eyes to look at him.

"First, I want to personally participate in the plan to assassinate Kabuto Yakushi."

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