Ye Liang brushed the dust off his clothes.
His modern-day instincts told him this was the moment to make an impression—he had to play it cool, or else he'd be seen as weak and done for…
"You must be Konoha's Hokage. I'm a ninja from Otogakure, just passing through. I accidentally ran into your disciple—please don't take offense." Ye Liang extended his hand toward The Third.
No matter which world it was, shaking hands was always part of etiquette.
Sarutobi Hiruzen hesitated for a moment but still reached out.
Just as their palms touched, a powerful force suddenly surged from The Third's hand. In the next instant, Ye Liang saw the Hokage glaring at him darkly!
"This old man's trying to size me up!"
Ye Liang instantly realized the older man's intention.
He immediately summoned all his strength.
Earlier while fleeing from Orochimaru, although his chakra had run dangerously low, his physical stamina remained intact. Ye Liang had no choice but to rely on the boost from his system!
"Rip!"
In an instant, Ye Liang's sleeve split open.
Due to the sudden surge of strength, his arm swelled like an inflated ball—far beyond what his clothing from his previous life could withstand.
In that moment of expansion, Ye Liang ended up with a torn sleeve…
"Well now! This wandering ninja actually has the strength of a Jonin! No wonder he managed to hold Orochimaru off for so long. But such a strong kid—who is he really? Otogakure?"
Hiruzen was puzzled. No matter how much he speculated, there was no way he could ever guess where Otogakure was located—it was a village created later by Orochimaru, and right now, even Orochimaru himself might not know if he'd survive…
"Hokage-sama, treating visiting travelers this way—isn't this going too far?"
Ye Liang stared unflinchingly at The Third.
His palm felt like it was on fire—like every bone inside was shattering.
"So this is The Third's strength!"
Ye Liang understood the gap between them, yet refused to yield.
"Oh hell no! Whoever lets go first is a dog!"
Roaring inwardly, Ye Liang decided to stubbornly see this through against The Third.
"Well then, why don't you just let go!" Actually, The Third felt rather strained himself. He had just barely survived a major battle and was completely drained.
Being suddenly forced into a strength contest with a hot-blooded young man like Ye Liang made even a hero feel short of breath. According to Ye Liang's knowledge, The Third was already over fifty years old at this point.
But The Third also had his pride!
"Old fart! Despite your age, you've got quite some strength left—were you born a rhinoceros or something!"
Ye Liang's face turned bright red from strain, while The Third showed no sign of backing down either. The two stared at each other like bulls ready to clash horns.
"Erm… Hokage-sama! Why don't you both just stop now? You've been shaking hands for quite a while already."
A nearby ninja could no longer bear watching.
The two men locked in confrontation were nearly bursting with pressure. Even those who hadn't noticed before could now clearly see what was happening.
"Just who exactly is this young man! To actually match the Hokage in a contest of strength!"
"Unknown!"
"Just now I heard him mention Otogakure! Must be a ninja from there, though I've never heard of it before!"
"Must be some powerful hidden village! Legend has it that during the early days, some strong villages that loved peace chose to hide deep in mountains and forests because they despised wars."
"No wonder he could fight against Lord Hokage! That's insane!"
"Hidden villages, powerful kekkei genkai! Mysterious supreme experts! How come I've never even heard of such villages? I'm truly disgracing Konoha Village!"
The surrounding people expressed regret, and The Third quickly shook off the tightly grasping hand.
Now that someone had offered an escape route, this became the perfect timing for him to let go.
"Kid, you have impressive strength. But since the matter regarding Orochimaru hasn't been cleared up yet, why don't you stay in our Hidden Leaf Village for a few days and enjoy yourself. I really appreciate you, hahaha." The Third laughed loudly, then hurriedly took his surrounding subordinates and left as if fleeing.
"What a coward!"
Ye Liang shook his head in disdain at the old man's behavior.
However, the old man letting him stay in Konoha Village for several days really troubled him.
As a reincarnated adult with this body, Ye Liang currently had absolutely no money, and even if he did bring money, it wouldn't work here.
So, where should he stay?
Silently, Ye Liang turned his head backward...
Anko Mitarashi, sensing something was wrong, had already started preparing to run away.
If even the Hokage couldn't deal with that expert ninja, how could she possibly take him on? Would she just offer herself as a sacrifice?!
"Miss Anko? From what I remember, you're living alone now, right?"
What does he think he's doing?!
How does he know I live alone?!
Could it be...!
Sure enough, he'd had bad intentions towards me all along! That's why he kept touching me earlier!
"Hokage-sama! Please help me!"
...
After a long while, during the twilight hours.
Ye Liang arrived at a remote civilian house.
This place was very dilapidated, located in Konoha Village's slum area. However, Ye Liang immediately guessed this must be Anko Mitarashi's room.
Anko's parents died when she was young. Because back then Konoha Village was extremely dark, full of bloody wars everywhere, as an orphan she could only live alone in the slum area.
This situation was exactly like Naruto's.
At this moment, Ye Liang figured out what era he was in.
It was still during The Third's reign. Orochimaru had already begun researching Kinjutsu, meaning it was still the wartime under Sanshouo Hanzo's rule.
However, not long later would come the emergence of The Fourth, followed by the Nine-Tails' attack on the village, officially entering the Shippuden era.
"Didn't expect I actually reincarnated into the period before Shippuden? Actually this is good news. Otherwise, with my current abilities, I definitely couldn't handle those god-level freaks!"
Ye Liang quietly felt relieved.
Later on would come Akatsuki's appearance, Kaguya's army attacking the village—that would be when real top experts show up. This transition period now would precisely give Ye Liang sufficient time to develop.
But Hinata-sama probably hadn't even been born yet… and that complicated things a bit.
Hinata should be born within these two years.
Am I supposed to wait twenty more years for her?!
Ye Liang was still just eighteen years old. Even if he waited for her twenty years, he'd only be thirty-eight.
He knew he could wait!
Plus, with the immortality jutsu Orochimaru had researched, Ye Liang could use them to strengthen himself. He'd be ageless, practically immortal—plenty of time to spare.
"Tsk tsk tsk, perfect."
Ye Liang smacked his lips in approval before casually stepping into Anko's cozy bedroom.
"Hey, you bastard! What do you think you're doing? How can you act so shamelessly?! This is my house, you know!"
"So what? I saved your life before—what's one night gonna hurt?"
"Ah! What are you doing with my wallet?!"
"Let's grab some ramen—got a problem with that?"
"RIP my poor wallet…"
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** on the weekend!