Just in Time

The next morning.

Ye Liang climbed out of Anko's bed with a smug look on his face.

Of course, he had done nothing. Even if the Third Hokage came personally to question him, that would still be his answer.

Anko was not in the room.

A clattering sound came from the kitchen.

"That little girl got up pretty early." Ye Liang knew Anko was making breakfast. Ninjas had missions to carry out in the mornings, so they got up early.

He stretched and climbed out of bed. Rain was falling outside.

Heavily.

"I wonder if it rained this hard when Yu Xun and Yun Hai broke up." Ye Liang walked to the window, feeling sentimental. Several figures stood guard outside.

Ye Liang knew they had been sent by the Third Hokage. Although the latter had told him to enjoy himself in Konoha for a few days, he clearly still did not trust him. The Jonin outside were all there to watch him.

"Interesting. That monkey is pretty careful."

The Third Hokage's nickname was Monkey.

Ye Liang walked into the living room, and a fragrant aroma immediately washed over him.

Not bad. Anko was actually pretty good at making breakfast.

"Leave as soon as you finish eating. Thanks to you, my wallet is completely empty. If I don't want to starve to death, go be someone else's burden!" She shot Ye Liang an annoyed look, but the moment their eyes met, her face reddened and she did not dare look at him again.

The two had indeed done nothing last night, but they had slept in the same bed. It could not be helped—Anko's home only had one room!

Anko was still just a young girl. How could she handle something like that? She did not dare meet Ye Liang's eyes at all.

"Got it."

Ye Liang answered lazily.

In truth, he had brought this situation upon himself.

When they had gone out for ramen last night, he had gotten carried away and eaten several extra bowls, completely emptying Anko's wallet.

Still, Ichiraku's ramen really was delicious. Ye Liang could still savor the taste.

"Looks like I need to find a way to make money today."

Ye Liang had not expected that, even after transmigrating, he would still be troubled by money. That was a little...

Ding dong!

Just then.

Ye Liang's system finally chimed.

"Responding to the host's current needs, a side quest has been activated."

"Quest requirement: Earn your first pot of gold."

Reward: One random C-rank Ninjutsu.

"Another low-level quest."

Ye Liang had now roughly figured out how the quests worked. The more dangerous the quest, the greater the reward. Ordinary daily quests like this only rewarded commonplace Ninjutsu.

Ye Liang felt somewhat helpless.

But judging by his experience as a modern man, the people who truly lived long were not those who took risks.

Risk had never been equal to opportunity!

He thought it over briefly.

"Besides obtaining rewards through quests, I can also learn from masters who already possess god-tier skills."

Taking a master was undoubtedly another option.

Ye Liang did not know how talented he was, but he knew he needed to go out and earn money now.

After helping Anko clear the dishes, Ye Liang headed out alone.

Konoha's streets were quite deserted. Aside from several furtive pairs of eyes watching him, Ye Liang knew these people were Konoha Jonin assigned to tail him.

"Good grief, there seem to be quite a few of them."

Ye Liang clicked his tongue. Just as he was about to head to Ichiraku Ramen Shop to see whether they were hiring, a chilling sensation suddenly traveled from behind him to the back of his neck.

"Killing intent!"

Ye Liang immediately sensed danger!

He possessed Jonin-level strength, so he had at least that much awareness.

The killing intent was thick and intense, radiating outward. Yet Ye Liang was deeply puzzled. He had only just arrived in Konoha—why was someone already so hostile toward him?

So far, he had only offended Orochimaru. But everyone knew Orochimaru was a loner. There was no way he had close friends who would come seek revenge on his behalf. That made the source of this killing intent rather intriguing.

Ye Liang suddenly thought of someone!

Danzo!

If anyone in Konoha would harbor hostility toward him, he truly could not think of anyone besides Danzo!

Danzo was Konoha's darkness!

In this era, Danzo's Anbu corps was at its most active. Though Hiruzen Sarutobi ruled Konoha on the surface, Danzo had accomplished quite a few major things during this period!

For example, recruiting Uchiha Itachi! Plotting against Uchiha Shisui! Even the Uchiha clan massacre was inextricably linked to Danzo.

Opinions of Danzo in the real world were divided. Besides the many people who cursed him, there were also some who greatly admired him.

Dedicating his entire life to Konoha's prosperity—this was Danzo in a nutshell.

"If it really is him, then this is bad!" Ye Liang knew his appearance had made Danzo feel threatened, so he hurriedly ran in every direction.

He tried to get away from that killing intent, but how could he escape within Konoha?

In an abandoned alley, Ye Liang was blocked by several Jonin dressed in Anbu uniforms.

"One, two, three... seven. Seven of them! Looks like Danzo is taking pretty good care of me." Ye Liang snorted as he looked at the Anbu agents surrounding him.

"Just you guys? Heh. If you insist on courting death, don't blame me."

Ye Liang talked tough. In this situation, other than putting on an act, he honestly did not know what else to say. With this many opponents, even if he exhausted all his Chakra, he probably could not kill the seven people in front of him.

"Haha! Little Brother Ye Liang, you must be joking. You are Konoha's guest. How could we possibly make a move against you?"

A burly, short-haired man walked out from behind the crowd.

Ye Liang recognized him at once. It was Danzo!

At this time, Danzo had not yet transplanted Sharingan into himself, so he was not yet wrapped head to toe in bandages.

"Little brother, your Ninjutsu is quite exquisite. You actually severely wounded a Special Jonin like Orochimaru. But since you have come to Konoha, naturally you must follow Konoha's rules. Why are you wandering around outside for no reason? Are you trying to scout out the situation?" Danzo suddenly raised his voice, startling Ye Liang.

It was not like a louder voice gave someone more presence. Ye Liang was speechless.

"No wonder Hiruzen Sarutobi became Hokage instead of you, Shimura Danzō. The only thing louder about you is your voice."

"What did you say?!"

Danzo immediately flew into a rage.

He glanced at several cat-masked Anbu nearby and immediately had them charge at Ye Liang.

But that was exactly what Ye Liang wanted!

Ye Liang knew that mere intimidation would make it difficult for Danzo to truly fear him, so he planned to show off a little and deter him.

Only by keeping Danzo uncertain of his true strength could he live safely in Konoha. Otherwise, if someone dragged him out of his room in the middle of the night or poisoned his food, that would be truly unjust.

"Just in time!"

Ye Liang looked at the Anbu ninjas swiftly surrounding him, neither speaking nor smiling.

All of a sudden!