In the blink of an eye, the time came to the afternoon of the next day.
Lin Ze was running rapidly through the mountains and forests. Eight Gates Released Formation had already been released, and it only maintained a relatively fast speed, running desperately in the direction of Konoha.
The ashes of four Iwa Shinobi and Lin Ze also used their flying abilities to find a hidden location and raise them while they were on the way.
At this time, Lin Ze's breathing was somewhat disordered, and his muscles were experiencing bursts of tearing soreness.
'Opening Gate of Pain three times in a row is really going to kill me... Fortunately, I have Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon's recovery power, otherwise I would have been paralyzed by now.'
He swallowed a few Soldier Pill and Lin Ze while gritting his teeth and persevering, while carefully sensing his surroundings.
His current condition is extremely poor, Chakra has bottomed out, and his physical strength has been exhausted. If he encounters other Ninja Village patrols or wandering Ninja again, he will be in big trouble.
'It would be great if we now have the god-level perception ability of Karin, or Byakugan, Sharingan...'
Lin Ze couldn't help but sigh.
Karin Uzumaki's extremely wide range of precise perception in the original work is simply a magical skill at times like this.
There are also Byakugan's clairvoyance and telescope, Sharingan's insight and Genjutsu's see-through, which are all excellent abilities for saving lives and fighting.
In contrast, the night vision enhancement brought by Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon has really limited effect when driving during the day.
'It's a pity that Devil Fruit ability cannot be selected multiple times...'
Lin Ze shook his head, threw away these unrealistic thoughts, and concentrated on his journey.
Now he just wants to return to Konoha as soon as possible, to a relatively safe place.
The journey was uneventful, perhaps because it was already close to Land of Fire Border, and Konoha's patrols had intensified, so Ninja from other countries did not dare to approach easily.
Finally, as the sun set, Lin Ze saw the towering wall of Konoha and the vaguely visible Hokage Rock from a distance.
Lin Ze stopped not far from Konoha's perception barrier and looked at his arms and body.
The few scratches and bruises caused by the previous battle have almost healed due to the strong recovery power of Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon, without leaving even a scar.
'The resilience is good, but it's a bit troublesome now...'
Lin Ze frowned.
His "intact" appearance does not look like someone who has experienced a fierce battle and desperately escaped.
You know, he "personally" witnessed the "death battle" between Root and Iwa Shinobi, and then "ran away in a panic".
There were no injuries on the body at all, which is unreasonable.
'You have to add some drama yourself...'
Lin Ze sighed, he really brought it upon himself.
He carefully checked the surroundings and after confirming that no one was around, he Dragon Transformation his right hand slightly and his fingertips became sharp.
Then he gritted his teeth and made several cuts on his left arm, chest and thigh that were not too deep but looked quite ferocious.
Then, Lin Ze took out a few more Shuriken and made several holes in his back.
Finally, he condensed a small sip of Dragon Breath, controlled the temperature, and burned some of the edges of his clothes and remaining bandages, creating traces of being rubbed by Fire Release Ninjutsu.
After doing all this, Lin Ze was grinning in pain.
Although Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon's recovery power has allowed the wound to heal slowly, the psychological pressure of paddling oneself is still very high.
'It should be almost done... it looks embarrassing enough.'
Lin Ze took a deep breath, mobilized the remaining Chakra again, dragged his "scarred" body, and staggered towards Konoha Gate.
"Stop! Who is that?!"
Guard Ninja at Konoha Gate immediately spotted him and shouted loudly.
But when they saw clearly the broken Aoda Mask and ANBU clothes on Lin Ze's face, their tone softened a little.
"Is it ANBU? What's going on?"
Lin Ze gasped, took off his mask, and said in a hoarse voice:
"I am ANBU Squad B-5 Aoda. I have urgent information... I need to meet Lord Hokage immediately!"
The guard Ninja, who looked like Izumo Kamizuki, recognized Lin Ze. Seeing his embarrassed appearance, he was shocked and did not dare to neglect. He immediately let him go and sent someone to report to Hokage Building.
Lin Ze had a smooth journey and came directly to the door of Hokage Office.
Type Gate of Opening, Hiruzen Sarutobi is sitting behind the desk, eyebrows slightly furrowed, seeming to be working on files.
Seeing Lin Ze, who was covered in injuries and weak in breath, come in, a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.
"Lin Ze? Aren't you on a mission? How did you end up like this?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi put down the pen in his hand with a hint of concern in his tone.
Lin Ze took a deep breath, tried hard to squeeze out the expression of fear and anger on his face, and began to report the draft he had already prepared:
"Lord Hokage! The mission... the mission is a trap!"
"After I received the contact codenamed 'Dandelion' at Land of Grass Valley, he suddenly launched a sneak attack on me! He still used the extremely clever Genjutsu!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi paused slightly while holding Pipe's hand, and his eyes became solemn:
"Oh? 'Dandelion' attacked you? Continue."
"After I barely cracked Genjutsu, I found three Ninja wearing masks suddenly appeared around me, a bit like ANBU! They teamed up to besiege me and wanted to capture me alive!"
"I was forced to activate Eight Gates Released Formation Fourth Gate to counterattack, and I barely managed to kill one person despite being seriously injured..."
Lin Ze said in a hurried tone, but he deliberately omitted the specific process and only emphasized the other party's Identity and his own "tragic".
As for why he didn't mention "Root" - he stayed at ANBU for six months, but he never heard a word about this department.
And Lin Ze remembers that in the original book, after Hiruzen Sarutobi died, when Danzo, the leader of "Root", wanted to fight for Hokage Position, many people present did not even recognize him.
Obviously "Root" is an existence that is even more secretive and less known than ANBU.
"Just when I was about to lose my strength, a group of Iwagakure Ninja suddenly appeared! They seemed to be coming to track 'Dandelion'! A battle broke out between the two sides!"
When Lin Ze said this, a frightened expression appeared on his face at the right time:
"The battle was very fierce. I took advantage of their melee to forcefully squeeze Chakra and turned on Gate of Pain again before I managed to escape..."
Lin Ze lowered his head and said in a low voice:
"Sorry, Lord Hokage, the mission failed and the information was not brought back..."
There was a brief silence in the office, except for the subtle crackling sound of burning tobacco in Hiruzen Sarutobi Pipe.
Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly blew out a smoke ring and looked at Lin Ze with deep eyes.
'Danzo... You really couldn't help but take action.' He sighed in his heart, anger and helplessness welling up.
What makes Danzo so angry is that he actually put his hand into ANBU and used such despicable methods to deal with a child, which undoubtedly touched his bottom line.
Unfortunately, he understands Danzo's character. For the so-called "village safety", Danzo will do anything.
Moreover, the potential shown by Lin Ze and its alien orphan Identity will indeed make Danzo feel "uneasy" and "desire for control".
Even... Hiruzen Sarutobi himself has a similar concern deep down in his heart.
It's just that he prefers to use fetters and guidance instead of Root's forced brainwashing.