The Hyuga-brand shuriken launcher finally came to a stop.
Sore arms were one reason—but more importantly, everyone standing in front of him was already dead beyond dead.
Only a handful of alert bandits remained, hiding behind trees and rocks.
"What a pity. My power isn't enough," Hyuga Arin sighed regretfully.
Even with chakra reinforcement, his arms still couldn't throw shuriken hard enough to pierce through trees and rocks.
That said, none of them dared to come out now.
With that terrifying number of shuriken, popping their heads out meant instant death. Who would dare?
[EXP: 328]
He had wiped out more than thirty people in one go.
These bandits were seriously not worth much.
He glanced at the dropped items. Only he could see them, each with a clear form, faintly glowing.
He quickly stepped forward to collect the loot. Most of it was silver.
Even mosquito legs were meat.
He'd spent a fortune on shuriken—his family's savings were almost gone.
If he hadn't graduated and become a genin soon to earn money, he'd be eating dirt.
This money really came at the perfect time.
[Silver: 96 taels]
"Finally broke even," Hyuga Arin let out a breath of relief. With this amount, he wouldn't have to tighten his belt anymore.
Aside from money, quite a few items had dropped as well.
[Iron Ore] ×3
[Wool Thread] ×2
These were useless to him—materials for life skills. He tossed them straight into his inventory.
The best part was the two pieces of equipment.
[Bandit's Left Greave: Movement Speed +5]
[Bandit's Right Bracer: Strength +3]
"The Bandit Set—best starter set," Hyuga Arin's eyes lit up.
He remembered that if the set was completed, it granted a skill: [Sap], which forcibly silenced the target for three seconds.
Although it only worked on enemies below level 30, it was still god-tier in the early game.
He immediately equipped both items, clenched his fist, and felt a surge of power before continuing forward.
Just as he passed a tree stump—
Hyuga Arin suddenly stepped back.
A bandit burst out from behind a tree ahead, blade slashing through empty air.
The bandit awkwardly turned his head, forcing out an embarrassed smile at Hyuga Arin.
Hyuga Arin returned a polite, equally awkward smile.
Then casually slit his throat with a kunai.
[EXP: 12]
[Silver: 3 taels]
With a tap of his foot, Hyuga Arin accelerated, moving even faster than before—like a phantom rising and falling.
Bandits kept popping out one after another.
Each was either cut across the throat or stabbed clean through the chest with a kunai.
As screams rose and fell, the remaining bandits hiding no longer dared to come out—some didn't even dare make a sound.
One bandit curled up tightly, praying.
"Don't find me. Please don't find me."
Suddenly, the outside fell silent.
He cautiously raised his head—
A face poked out from behind the rock in front of him.
"Found you."
"AAAAH—!!"
Hyuga Arin flicked the blood off his kunai. His Byakugan swept the surroundings.
There wasn't a single living person left.
Under Byakugan's X-ray vision, hiding was meaningless. The rest had already fled.
"Sooner or later, I really need to grind out a barrier technique."
In the game world, monsters wouldn't move until fully cleared—and they could even respawn.
But here, it was completely different.
The monsters could run.
Two kunai flew at him from behind.
Hyuga Arin tilted his head twice, dodging them as they embedded deeply into the rock.
Under the sunlight, he saw two steel wires attached to the kunai.
"Fire Release: Twin Dragon Fire!"
In the distance, a man with bandages covering his face—leaving only one eye exposed—bit down on the other end of the wires.
Flames burst from his mouth, racing along the wires straight toward Hyuga Arin.
At the same time, a short man wielding steel claws leapt down from above.
So even bosses would actively come over.
Left, right, above—everything was sealed.
Front and back were blocked as well.
He was completely trapped.
Bang!
Smoke exploded.
A curved shield appeared in front of Hyuga Arin, with a rock behind him for cover.
The flames slammed into the shield, only heating it red-hot.
The descending man's steel claws scraped against the shield, sparks flying.
"Where the hell did that shield come from?!"
What kind of ninja carries a shield!?
"Substitution Technique!" Hyuga Arin added calmly from behind the shield.
"THIS is Substitution Technique?! What kind of substitution uses a shield?!"
The claw-wielding man roared in fury.
"I used a spiked club earlier," Hyuga Arin muttered.
The short man finally snapped and charged straight at the shield.
Hyuga Arin kicked it hard.
The shield flew forward, smashing into the short man and sending him flying back.
Whoosh!
The short man crashed into the fire-style user.
A smell of roasted meat filled the air.
"AAAH!"
The short man hurriedly pushed the shield away.
The front of his clothes had turned to charcoal, and blisters bubbled up across his burned flesh.
"Damn brat!!"
He glared furiously at Hyuga Arin.
Hyuga Arin was even angrier, shouting back:
"Couldn't you two just stay obediently at the mountaintop?!"
He still planned to finish farming the remaining bandits!
At the very least, he needed the rest of the Bandit Set.
So far, he'd dropped four pieces.
Aside from the first two—
[Bandit's Right Greave: Movement Speed +5]
[Bandit's Right Bracer: Strength +5]
Another right bracer.
But he didn't have two right hands!
He was still missing a left bracer, a necklace, and a ring.
Bandit bosses usually dropped armor and blades.
If these two died early and the rest of the bandits ran away, whose fault would that be?!
Definitely not his.
The two men fell into confusion.
Weren't they allowed to come down the mountain?
He was the one attacking them—so why did it look like he was more furious than them?
Before they could figure it out—
Kunai appeared in Hyuga Arin's hands once more, flying straight at the two of them.
Hyuga · Stationary Kunai Turret · Hyuga Arin returns to the battlefield.
Seeing the sky filled with kunai, both men felt their souls nearly leave their bodies.
One drew his sword, the other rapidly swung his steel claws.
Blocking kunai while retreating step by step.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
What kind of ninja carried this many kunai?!
Did kunai grow on trees or something?!
Did they not cost money?!
The two hurriedly ducked behind a large rock, finally breathing a little easier.
Though they'd been hit, the wounds weren't fatal.
But Hyuga Arin's strength had increased.
Under the relentless barrage, the rock they hid behind began to crack and crumble.
"What kind of monster is this guy?!" the short man screamed in frustration, too scared to even poke his head out.
"I think… those eyes look like the Hyuga clan?" the taller man said hesitantly.
He'd only heard rumors and never seen a Hyuga member before—but the description matched.
But this fighting style—
It wasn't ninja-like at all!!!