Hyuga Arin pushed open the door and stepped out of the cramped room. There were still people patrolling outside.
Looking at the sealed underground base, he couldn't help thinking: if someone planted explosive tags at the entrances and blew them up, wouldn't everyone inside be trapped?
If he were the one to do it…
He'd only get experience. There'd be no way to pick up loot.
Why didn't this system have an auto-loot function? Why did he have to personally go to the place where the enemy died to collect items?
At least dropped items couldn't be moved before being picked up. Otherwise, he would've lost a lot of stuff already.
Still, even if he could only get experience, it would be more than enough for a massive power spike.
Hyuga Arin roughly estimated the number of people in this place—enough to let him gain over ten levels in one go.
He walked out of the room and glanced at the unfamiliar surroundings. Before going to the Hunter world, this had also been his first time here. He wasn't familiar with the place at all.
"I remember Murakami Hana lives on the second floor, the third room."
He was staying on the first floor. To get to the second floor, he'd need to pass through the corridor, cross the central plaza, and go up the stairs.
As he walked, he could clearly sense at least ten pairs of eyes sweeping over him.
"So cautious, even inside their own base?"
Hyuga Arin was honestly shocked by the Rain ninja's level of vigilance.
It was practically "the beam is crooked because the top is crooked."
Well… maybe that wasn't entirely fair.
But being watched every single step—such dense surveillance—was really uncomfortable.
Konoha wasn't even this strict, and that was toward outsiders. This was surveillance of their own people.
"…Something's off."
Hyuga Arin suddenly paused slightly.
In that instant, at least twenty gazes focused on him.
When had he become this sensitive?
He scanned his surroundings. Without activating the Byakugan, he couldn't see a single figure.
Before, he couldn't sense others' attention at all. Now, other people's gazes felt like fingers lightly poking at him—unmistakably clear.
"Is this the effect of Nen?"
Hyuga Arin fell into thought.
The class change had improved him far more than he'd expected.
Pulling himself together, he soon arrived at Murakami Hana's door and knocked.
Murakami Hana opened it quickly, but the fox-like smile that usually sat on his face vanished the instant he saw Hyuga Arin.
Does he really dislike me that much?
"What, not satisfied with your room?" Murakami Hana said impatiently.
Hyuga Arin's eyes lit up.
From Murakami Hana's tone, he realized that the time flow between the two worlds didn't interfere with each other at all.
Several days had passed over there, yet time here hadn't moved even a little.
He probed cautiously, "My Technique is complete. I was wondering if I can now serve Lord Hanzo."
Mentioning Hanzo made him think of the bald Hanzo from the Hunter world, then of how he'd beaten him black and blue, and finally of replacing that image with this world's Hanzo.
By that logic… hadn't he technically beaten Hanzo of the Salamander too?
Mental victory was still a victory.
Murakami Hana looked him up and down suspiciously.
"You just refused Lord Hanzo earlier today, and now your Technique is suddenly finished?"
As expected.
So much time had passed in the Hunter world, yet here, time hadn't advanced at all.
Hyuga Arin scratched his head. "I didn't expect it either. The Technique just suddenly completed itself."
A flicker of doubt flashed across Murakami Hana's face. No matter how one looked at it, this back-and-forth behavior was extremely suspicious.
If not for the fact that Hyuga Arin hadn't shown any concrete signs of wrongdoing, Murakami Hana might have already attacked.
With the Rain ninja's level of caution, any hint of espionage could easily result in immediate execution.
"I'll submit a request to Lord Hanzo. Go back and wait for news."
Murakami Hana failed to find any solid flaw in Hyuga Arin and ultimately suppressed his doubts.
"Alright," Hyuga Arin replied indifferently.
Perfect timing—he wanted to explore this base anyway. It was still far too unfamiliar to him.
As Murakami Hana closed the door, Hyuga Arin caught a glimpse past him—
a luxurious living room.
Bang! The door shut tight.
Hyuga Arin clenched his fist.
The difference in treatment was ridiculous.
He lived in a tiny room that felt like it'd trap him there for life, while Murakami Hana lived in luxury.
All because Murakami Hana was a jōnin and he was just a genin?
No sense of fairness at all. At this rate, Rain Hidden Village was doomed sooner or later.
…
Inside a dark room.
"Lord Hanzo, Mu Yu has requested to carry out a mission," Murakami Hana reported in a deep voice while kneeling on one knee.
The fake Hanzo frowned slightly.
"He just refused me, and now he wants to take a mission?"
This kind of abnormal behavior was far too suspicious.
His fingers lightly tapped the desk as he considered whether Mu Yu should be captured and interrogated.
"Does he have any other suspicious points?" Hanzo asked in a low voice.
He didn't think Mu Yu belonged to any major faction.
If he were a spy from one of the Great Ninja Villages, this behavior would be far too stupid. He didn't believe their spies would act like this.
As for small villages…
That was another story.
Hyuga Arin had no idea that because of this back-and-forth, the fake Hanzo had already mentally removed him from the list of possible Great Village spies.
Murakami Hana thought for a moment.
"I'm not very familiar with him. But Mu Yu is… crazy. He might attack anyone. If he thought he had a chance, he'd probably attack me too."
That was all he really knew. That was his impression of Mu Yu.
Anything else would require further observation.
Hearing this, the fake Hanzo relaxed slightly. A true spy wouldn't choose such a persona.
Still, the suspicion didn't vanish completely.
"Recently, Konoha ninja have been pushing deep into the Land of Rain. Take him with you and eliminate them," Hanzo ordered coldly.
"At the same time, increase surveillance on Mu Yu."
Murakami Hana suddenly raised his head, hesitating.
"Lord Hanzo…"
Hanzo cut him off sharply.
"What? Are you afraid?"
This mission wasn't even issued by the fake—
it came directly from the real Hanzo.
"I am willing to give my life for Lord Hanzo!" Murakami Hana hurriedly declared.
Loyalty!!!
Hanzo nodded.
"Remember—do not use Rain Hidden Village's identity."
"Yes!!"
Murakami Hana finally let out a breath of relief.
Although he strongly opposed Hanzo's non-resistance policy, he still felt instinctive fear toward the Great Ninja Villages.
Every time the Five Great Villages went to war, Rain Hidden Village—being a strategic crossroads—was always invaded by three major villages.
They knew all too well how terrifying those villages were.
…
Hyuga Arin wandered around the secret base, only to discover something he hadn't expected at all—
There were no entertainment facilities whatsoever.
Everyone strictly stuck to their posts. If there was no mission, they stayed obediently in their rooms, waiting.
Even capitalists would shed tears at such perfect workhorses.
Alright.
Very ninja-like.
But this meant Hyuga Arin couldn't gather any information. With a helpless sigh, he returned to his room.
He really wanted to file a strong complaint—this lifestyle was downright anti-human!
Staying here felt incredibly dull.
All he could do was train while checking what skills he might still be able to level up.
Completely unaware that he was about to be sent off to fight Konoha ninja.
⭐ Want more? Read up to 85 chapters ahead on Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/CanonBreaker ⭐
The advance chapters are already written—all that's left is unlocking them.
🔓 BONUS CHAPTER SYSTEM
Every bit of support pushes the story forward:
10 Reviews → 📖 1 Bonus Chapter
100 Power Stones → 💎 1 Bonus Chapter
🔥 The stronger the support, the faster the story evolves.
🚀 More power. More chapters. More domination.