Alone and Infinite.

Chapter 267 Hidden Identity Activated!
"Lord Hiashi is absolutely right."

Nara Shikaku also said seriously:

"I'll probably be the assistant examiner, but I won't be responsible for arranging the exam; I'll just need to keep an eye on things."

Even ordinary Chunin can't do this job well; they might not be able to react in time.

Hiashi Hyuga also has his own agenda; he is currently planning to gradually introduce Li Xia to the public so that the village can slowly learn about the existence of this 'excellent Byakugan'.

This includes very complex psychological changes and game theory.

In summary, there are only two points.

1. Hiashi Hyuga had no sons and no sufficiently outstanding male offspring.

2. Li Xia has no connection with other factions in the Hyuga clan and can only rely on him.

Li Xia was, of course, unaware of Hyuga Hiashi's subtle psychological state.

Just as he could never have imagined that Hiashi Hyuga had been contemplating the possibility of becoming his son-in-law.

He simply felt that this matter was beneficial to him, which is why he readily agreed.

After successfully completing the task assigned by the Third Hokage, Nara Shikaku did not linger.

Instead, he simply said goodbye and left.

Once Nara Shikaku's figure had disappeared, Hyuga Hiashi poured himself another cup of hot tea and said solemnly:
"Xia, you need to be careful with Nara Shikaku just now. The Nara clan always produces wise people."

Furthermore, the Nara clan was the only one to be granted special permission by the Daimyo of the Land of Fire to participate in the council meetings.

If you accidentally reveal a weakness in front of him, you are very likely to be caught.

In a sense, he was a very scary guy.

Be very careful!

Li Xia nodded. After all, he was the future commander of the Allied Ninja Forces, so it was inevitable that he would be formidable.

"I will be careful."

After finishing talking about Shikaku, Hyuga Hiashi asked with concern:
"Were there any dangers encountered during this mission?"

"It's quite dangerous, mainly because it's a kill mission, and the opponent is quite strong."

The person on the other end is also a shrewd old fox; there's no need to spell things out, they'll understand naturally.

For example, kill missions are usually independent and don't involve too many things, so there's no need to worry about them.

Hiashi Hyuga nodded knowingly:
"It's good that you returned safely. The S-level mission will be very helpful for you to integrate into the village."

Furthermore, S-rank missions are also important for advancing to Jonin, and you currently lack basic missions.

Once you've filled this gap in your knowledge, I'll try to find you a job in the village.

After promising Li Xia a rosy picture, Hiashi Hyuga told Li Xia to rest more and make good use of his vacation.

When you have time, you can give Hyuga Neji and Hyuga Hinata some pointers on their practice.

Li Xia naturally agreed to these requests.

He also received a 'mission consolation payment' of over one million ryo from Hiashi Hyuga.

Li Xia expressed his gratitude again and subtly indicated that he would always stand firmly on the side of the 'Clan Chief'.

He then bid farewell and left amidst a satisfied smile from Hiashi Hyuga.

After returning to her cabin, Li Xia ate a simple meal and then lay down.

Whatever his plans, at least Hiashi Hyuga was right about one thing.

He definitely needs rest; he didn't get any rest during the three days he hid away to recover from his injuries.

Instead, mobilizing his true qi consumed a great deal of his mental energy, in addition to rushing back to Konoha.

Handing over tasks and reporting to the family.

Li Xia had just lain down when he felt exhaustion wash over him like a tidal wave.

Soon, the room was filled with long, soft breathing.

Seeing His Highness sleeping soundly, Aowu couldn't help but open his mouth wide and yawn.

He skillfully curled himself into a ball, mimicking the way Hei Tan did, and lay down beside Li Xia's pillow, falling into a deep sleep.

Inside the Hokage Building, Nara Shikaku entered the confidential room, only glancing at the huge cabinet.

They easily found Li Xia's file.

"Hyuga Natsu Special Jonin"

Nara Shikaku's eyebrows gradually furrowed; the information was extremely simplistic.

Normally, the ninja information stored in the village is very detailed.

Even the teachers' comments and daily performance at the ninja academy are included.

It also includes briefings on every mission, with more information available for higher-ranking ninjas.

By the time one reaches the Special Jonin stage, they have at least twenty mission experiences.

Nara Shikaku held the thin piece of paper, his gaze fixed on the red rectangular stamp at the bottom.

"Anbu. Gen?"

With Danzo involved, Nara Shikaku rubbed his forehead in annoyance.

I was originally planning to investigate the details of this suddenly appearing white-eyed person.
Lu Jiu disagreed with Danzo's behavior, but did not want to provoke this 'friend of three generations' with a special status.

Even if he makes many small moves, as long as the Third Hokage is there, he can be suppressed and prevented from getting out of control.

As for the Third Hokage not being present...
Lu Jiu put the file back, finding it amusing that he instinctively thought of the worst possible outcome.

How can this be?

Even though the Third Hokage was old, he was still one of the strongest ninjas in the ninja world.

In this peaceful era without war, who could possibly threaten the Third Hokage?

impossible! Absolutely impossible!
the next morning
Li Xia ate breakfast while watching Aowu being tormented with a smile.

Xiaolong has been running around with me these past few days. Although he's not exactly filthy, he's certainly covered in mud.

The obsessive-compulsive maid blushed bright red as she vigorously wiped Aowu's body.

Grandpa Long really wanted to curse and say that only women need to be so clean.

But that little girl was only ten years old at most, and Aowu was too embarrassed to scold her, so he could only close his eyes and 'enjoy' it.

The water in the basin was changed several times until the dragon scales once again displayed that dazzling, jewel-like color.

Only then did he nod in satisfaction, and leave with the sewage.

It shuddered uncomfortably, then whimpered and landed on Li Xia's shoulder, saying weakly:
"Boss, what do we do next? There are still several days left."

Li Xia put down her chopsticks, picked up a white handkerchief to wipe her mouth, and switched to the team channel.

"Activate hidden identity!"

Mentioning this, Aowu immediately perked up:
"Boss, how do we activate it?"

It wasn't that it hadn't considered activating this hidden identity, but aside from directly contacting the Hidden Cloud Village, it had no clue what to do.

Li Xia straightened his clothes and said in the team channel:

"I plan to travel around the entire Hidden Leaf Village, spending several days going back and forth, trying to visit every shop at least once."

Take a stroll through Konoha. Try to visit every shop at least once. That's why.

Aowu racked his brains, trying to keep up with Li Xia's train of thought.

Seeing Aowu's expression, Li Xia didn't directly reveal his thoughts.

Instead, they changed their approach, guiding the woofing sound little by little.

"Let's go out into the street first, and talk as we walk."

Konoha's commercial district isn't very large, occupying about a quarter of the area.

This is also the area with the highest foot traffic.

Li Xia strolled slowly down the bustling street, while Xiao Long huddled inside his straw hat.

"It's certain that the Five Great Ninja Villages have always been sending spies into other villages."

Aowu nodded. This matter is also recorded in the original work. The most famous undercover agent should be Uchiha Itachi, who infiltrated the Akatsuki organization and possessed highly confidential communication genjutsu.

But he would rather stab Kakashi in the kidneys for three days and three nights in the illusion space than reveal any information.

However, the derivative world is not entirely consistent with the original work, especially since the derivative world is constructed based on the collective consciousness.

There are still subtle differences, such as the differences between the original ninjutsu that Li Xia knows and the derivative world's.

“Sending ninjas as infiltrators is obviously the most difficult task.”

This is normal; ninjas need to be vetted, and even the slightest flaw will expose them.

"So, as a high-ranking member of your ninja village, if you were to plant spies in other villages, how would you do it?"

After thinking for a while, Aowu remembered Li Xia's idea of ​​going to visit the village.

"Could it be that they've planted merchants? But what kind of intelligence could they gather that way?"

Xiaolong is not bad-minded and has a good overall perspective, but he is clearly lacking in this aspect of thinking.

Because it was so strong before it died, it is very likely that it was very strong from the moment it was born.

Too much power can simplify many things.

Awoo is aware of this deficiency, so it has been working hard to make up for it, which is a long process.

"Never underestimate merchants—"

Li Xia's gaze swept over the various signs:

"For example, if I open a ninja tool shop, most of the people who come to the shop are ninjas. If I get to know the customers well, will I overhear some information while chatting with them?"

"That makes sense—"

"Furthermore, if there is indeed an operation, even if some supplies are distributed, everyone has their own habits."

For example, some people like unusual shuriken or special ninja tools. Would they buy these tools before taking action?

Li Xia said softly, "You can see the skill in the details, just like how intelligence agencies can predict actions by observing the special mobilization of food or supplies in reality."

An army marches on its stomach – or as the saying goes, ducks are the first to know when the river warms in spring.

In short, once a ninja village launches a major operation, the first to sense it will definitely be the merchants whose daily lives are closely related to these ninjas.

Even if ninjas are extremely disciplined, keeping a complete secret, they won't let a single word slip by, whether it's a horse's bridle or a person's gag.

But merchants will still sense it because—business orders suddenly drop, fewer ninjas come to the store, or they simply don't come at all.

"hiss!"

Awoo took a deep breath; it really hadn't thought about this at all!
Now that I hear what Li Xia said, it makes perfect sense!

"Therefore, if I were to plant spies in other ninja villages, I would definitely do so in multiple ways, including ninjas, merchants, and domestic workers."

Based on comprehensive intelligence analysis, businesses and domestic service providers, for example, are unlikely to be exposed unless they proactively contact the information.

The street had come to an end. Li Xia turned around and looked at the bustling street.

There are hundreds of shops of all sizes here. After removing the shops run by famous ninja families, only more than two hundred remain.

Completely awakened, Awoo said excitedly:

"In other words, there must be spies from other ninja villages in these shops. We don't know which one specifically, so we can only use the process of elimination."

"Go in one by one?"

"That's pretty much what it means."

“But—” Awoo suddenly thought of a flaw in this method: “Even if there are spies from Kumogakure, how can we guarantee that they will recognize you?”

It was immediately suspected that Li Xia had a hidden identity: there was a high probability that he was a secret agent from the Hidden Cloud Village who had lost contact with the outside world.

The condition for triggering this hidden identity is obvious: reconnect with the Hidden Cloud Village.

The best approach would undoubtedly be to go directly to the Hidden Cloud Village's Anbu.

But this is extremely risky; if Li Xia guesses his identity wrong, this action would be tantamount to suicide.

The current Raikage has a bad temper, and there's also Killer Bee, the perfect Jinchūriki.

If a conflict were to break out, he could very well die there. After much deliberation, he ultimately abandoned the idea of ​​heading straight for Cloud Village.

"Those who came to infiltrate must be members of the secret service, and specifically a special secret service team, similar to my identity."

"I can only gamble that these squads know me."

Aowu was stunned: "So—we're betting?"

Li Xia smiled and said calmly, "There's no such thing as 100% certainty. Hiding one's identity is an unexpected bonus."

Our starting point in the first round is already quite high; if the prediction is correct, this will be icing on the cake.

If it doesn't work out, there's nothing to regret.

and"

Li Xia started walking towards the first shop she had marked in her plan, but the voice in the team channel carried a reassuring calmness:

"I think that since the Temple of Light has already set up so many mysteries, it wouldn't deliberately create difficulties in this regard."

The probability is very high!

"How many is this again?"

The little paws drew an 'X' on the simple Konoha map.

"Oh, that's the ninety-eighth one—"

He wrote down the numbers to himself and let out a sigh.

To avoid attracting attention, Li Xia spent five days wandering aimlessly through the commercial street.

Many business owners have even become familiar with this young man who seems to have a lot of free time and always carries a large handful of snacks.

After all, who wouldn't like a customer who always has a smile on his face, speaks politely, is handsome, and most importantly, is generous?

Sometimes, two little tails follow behind him—Hyuga Neji and Hyuga Hinata.

"It's okay, just treat it as a vacation."

Li Xia comforted Aowu and headed towards the last shop on today's itinerary.

They sell cassette tapes here, and the loudspeakers at the entrance are playing songs with a rustling sound.

Li Xia pushed open the glass door, and the enthusiastic owner immediately came to greet her.

"Oh my, isn't this Lord Xia? Welcome, welcome!"

The owner had heard of this generous guest before; this patriarch of the Hyuga clan seemed very interested in everything.

Even the Hyuga family didn't find it strange; sometimes when they bought large items, they would even send someone to help with the delivery.

It's not surprising that the Hyuga clan is involved; someone who has lived on the moon since childhood suddenly arrives in the 'prosperous' Konoha.

Having both money and time, it's perfectly normal to casually browse and shop, right?

Hiashi Hyuga was even more pleased to see Li Xia's interest in life in Konoha, and specifically instructed Neji and Hinata to spend more time with their teacher when they had free time.

Li Xia hadn't seen cassette tapes in a long time, and she looked at them with great interest as she browsed the shelves filled with them.

"By the way, sir, we just received a batch of new Walkmans. I wonder if you would be interested?"

"Oh?" Li Xia was genuinely interested; Walkmans that played cassette tapes were a very retro and niche hobby.

He still misses it quite a bit, since he had a Walkman when he was a child, and not long after that, MP3 players suddenly appeared.

His parents bought him an MP3 player.

"Give me one, and also some of the more popular cassette tapes, I want them all!"

The boss rubbed his hands together excitedly. What a big spender!
He hurriedly turned around and shouted, "Kai! Come out here quickly and give me one of the latest Walkmans, the special collector's edition!"

"coming--"

A sleepy-eyed young man yawned as he walked out of the cubicle.

Kai glanced casually at the guest, then his pupils widened suddenly.

Damn it!
----------

1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

Today's average daily value: 1638
(End of this chapter)