Hyuga Arin entered a grueling routine of working by day and studying by night.
During this period, his medical ninTechnique progressed at a frightening pace.
He even formed his first synthesized skill.
[Medical NinTechnique (lv1) EXP (0/500) Trait (None)]
[Synthesis Requirements: lv1 Mystical Palm + lv1 Delicate Illness Extraction Technique + lv1 Healing Regeneration Technique + lv1 Chakra Scalpel]
With the synthesis of Medical NinTechnique, Hyuga Arin officially became a medical ninja.
In this era—where medical ninja were extremely scarce—he could arguably rank second among them.
The only thing he lacked was experience.
The number of cases stored in his mind was enormous; even by standards of the later era, he would be considered an excellent medical ninja.
While he still couldn't match Tsunade's level, within Konoha Hospital there was already no one stronger than him.
After all, merely knowing Mystical Palm did not make one a medical ninja.
Many people had mastered Mystical Palm—but that was as far as they went.
However, this period of study severely slowed Hyuga Arin's leveling progress.
So—
"Nawaki, let's become rogue ninja," Hyuga Arin said seriously, pushing up his rimless glasses.
He was saying this inside the house left behind by the First Hokage—
to the First Hokage's own grandson.
"Huh?" Nawaki stared at him blankly.
No—
How did things suddenly escalate to defection?
And him, a direct descendant of the First Hokage, becoming a rogue ninja?
(Sarutobi Hiruzen: Crown prince, why do you rebel?)
Seeing Nawaki's stunned expression, Hyuga Arin spoke passionately:
"First, we escape the village. Then we kill bandits.
After killing bandits, we kill wandering ninja.
After killing wandering ninja, we wipe out small ninja villages.
After wiping out small villages, we declare war on the other four great ninja villages."
"If we can't win, we run. If we can win, we kill.
Once we've destroyed the four great villages, we return to Konoha, stand atop the summit, and shout—everyone will support us.
Then we brothers join forces."
"Destroy the Five Nations, unify the ninja world, bring peace to all under heaven.
After that, the world is ours to roam!"
Once he reached max level, he'd go hunt the Ōtsutsuki clan in space.
The ninja world could be left to Nawaki.
"Hahahaha!"
Thinking of that glorious future, Hyuga Arin burst into laughter.
"Big Bro… I think before we defect, my sister will kill us first," Nawaki said cautiously.
Based on his understanding of his sister, if he really did this, she would absolutely perform righteous fratricide.
"Pathetic," Hyuga Arin said disdainfully.
"Just a mere Tsunade, and you're scared like this? As long as we brothers work together, a single wave of the hand will make Tsunade kneel and submit."
He continued to incite him:
"Come on, shout it with me—
Self-reliance! Defeat Tsunade!"
"Self-reliance… defeat Tsunade…" Nawaki muttered softly.
"Louder!"
"SELF-RELIANCE!! DEFEAT TSUNADE!!"
"BOOM!!"
The front door suddenly exploded.
Tsunade appeared in the doorway, veins bulging on her forehead, staring coldly at Nawaki.
"What did you just say?"
Nawaki's body instantly started trembling.
"N-no, it was Big Bro!"
He pointed straight at Hyuga Arin.
At some point, Hyuga Arin was already sitting calmly among a pile of scrolls.
He lifted his head from the medical case records and looked at Nawaki in confusion.
"Nawaki, what's wrong?"
Nawaki trembled even harder.
His finger shook as he pointed at Hyuga Arin, then at Tsunade, then back at Hyuga Arin, then back again.
"This… this isn't how it was just now…"
Hyuga Arin tilted his head and asked in a puzzled tone:
"Didn't you just say something about defeating Teacher Tsunade?
Sorry, I was too focused on reading case files—I didn't quite catch it."
"Oh? You want to defeat me?"
Tsunade cracked her knuckles, ka-ka, smiling without warmth as she looked at Nawaki.
"Perfect. Let me see how capable my dear little brother really is."
Nawaki took a deep breath.
"Hyuga Arin!!!"
"Nawaki, accept your judgment!!"
"BOOM!!"
…
"Tsunade-sensei."
Hyuga Arin stood obediently beside her, looking at Nawaki—now unconscious with a huge lump on his head—and shuddered.
Good thing he was clever.
He silently prayed for Nawaki in his heart.
One sacrifice is better than two.
Hopefully Nawaki's spirit in heaven would forgive him.
Amen.
"Hm?" Tsunade glanced sideways at Hyuga Arin.
Hyuga Arin fully leveraged the advantage of still being young—
his face as well-behaved and innocent as possible.
"Sensei, I've finished reading all the materials.
I feel I'm ready for hands-on practice."
Although he had already mastered Medical NinTechnique, he was still stuck at the theoretical stage and hadn't actually treated anyone himself.
Tsunade sighed.
"If you want hands-on experience," she said,
"then you'll have to operate on the battlefield."
"The battlefield?"
Hyuga Arin was stunned.
This was Konoha Year 36.
The Second Great Ninja War shouldn't start until next year.
Why was it suddenly ahead of schedule?
Had his butterfly wings caused this?
Tsunade explained with a grave expression:
"Relations between the major countries are extremely tense.
The great villages are probing Konoha's attitude—many are openly entering the Land of Fire under the guise of missions."
"It's not full-scale war yet, just small engagements.
To stop their infiltration, Konoha is preparing defensive lines to drive them out and guard against further incursions."
She knew Hyuga Arin wasn't a simple ninja—he had his own way of thinking.
This kind of situation wasn't hard for him to understand.
Hyuga Arin frowned.
"Defense, huh?"
So it wasn't a full outbreak yet.
That meant he still had room to maneuver.
"Tsunade-sensei, will the Hyuga clan allow Hyuga Hiashi to go to the battlefield?"
As members of the same squad, if Tsunade went to the front lines, then Hyuga Hiashi and Hyuga Hizashi would likely move with her.
"They will," Tsunade replied.
"The Hyuga clan does intend to protect Hyuga Hiashi, but not excessively. A ninja can't live a lifetime without danger."
The Hyuga wouldn't truly allow their heir to become useless.
Those two years were to ensure Hiashi fully mastered the main family techniques.
From now on, their guard would loosen.
Probably.
Even Tsunade wasn't entirely certain.
"When do we leave?" Hyuga Arin asked, frowning.
He really didn't want to be on a team with Hyuga Hiashi—yet the guy still hadn't kicked him out.
"In three days."
Tsunade patted his shoulder.
"I'll give you three days off. Don't worry—we'll mostly be negotiating while setting up defenses. The fighting shouldn't be too intense."
Konoha was currently operating on two fronts.
One was establishing defensive lines at the borders to block foreign ninja from entering the Land of Fire.
The other was expelling foreign ninja already inside Fire Country—that one was far more dangerous.
Tsunade had been assigned to the first: building defenses and treating the wounded.
Hyuga Arin nodded and glanced at the still-unconscious Nawaki lying on the floor.
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