[Name: I'm Hyuga Arin]
[Class: None]
[Level: Lv13 (125/2500)]
[Chakra: 130/130]
[Skills: Gentle Fist (Lv3), Clone Technique (Lv2), Substitution Technique (Lv5), Transformation Technique (Lv2), Eight Trigrams Air Palm (Lv3), Byakugan (Lv3), Fire Release · Unknown Flame (Lv1)]
[EXP Pool: 0]
[Equipment: (Bandit's Left Greave), (Bandit's Right Greave), (Bandit's Right Bracer), (Bandit's Battle Saber), (Bandit's Battle Armor)]
[Inventory: Kunai (0), Explosive Tags (9), Shuriken (99), Steel Wire (0), …]
Hyuga Arin felt the chakra within his body increase, his strength and agility all rising slightly.
Although there was no attribute panel, leveling up definitely boosted all stats—just not by much.
At most, about a tenth increase overall.
Nawaki stared at Hyuga Arin, feeling as if a streak of golden light had flashed over him—
like a god descending into the mortal world.
But then he wondered if it was just his imagination.
He turned to Uchiha Sōsuke and asked,
"Did you just see a golden light flash on my boss?"
Uchiha Sōsuke stiffly shook his head.
He still couldn't accept that Hyuga Hizashi had lost just like that.
That was Hyuga Hizashi.
One of the Hyuga Twin Stars!
Hyuga Arin didn't care about any Twin Stars.
He squatted down beside Hyuga Hizashi and slapped his face twice.
"Wake up. You haven't paid yet."
That was money meant to improve his quality of life.
Hyuga Hizashi slowly opened his eyes, staring blankly at Hyuga Arin.
Hyuga Arin immediately stepped back.
"Don't try to scam me."
Hyuga Hizashi stood up expressionlessly, pain throbbing in his head. That last kick had landed squarely on his skull, knocking him out.
He asked in a low voice,
"What you used just now—was that Hard Fist?"
Gentle Fist and Hard Fist were two completely different paths.
The Hyuga clan had never produced anyone who walked the Hard Fist path.
"So what if it was?" Hyuga Arin shrugged, utterly unconcerned.
Crushing Fist was a style he'd developed himself, pieced together from memories of his previous life.
Unfortunately, it hadn't crystallized into a skill on the panel.
It was pure, brutal punching.
Hyuga Hizashi took a deep look at Hyuga Arin—
Then turned around and left.
He didn't hesitate for even a moment.
Hyuga Arin handed the banknote to Nawaki and looked around.
"Anyone else!?"
…
Night fell over Konoha.
Moonlight spilled down, yet it couldn't outshine the lights of the many shops.
Hyuga Arin let out a slow breath.
"Big Bro, today we made twenty-three thousand taels," Nawaki said, handing over the money.
Hyuga Arin took out three thousand taels and passed them back.
"Your labor fee."
"Thanks, Big Bro."
Twenty thousand taels was enough to improve Hyuga Arin's living conditions.
But for him, money wasn't the biggest gain.
It was—
[EXP: 5625]
"Ninja really are valuable," Hyuga Arin clicked his tongue.
He'd originally thought leveling up once would be enough.
Now this EXP was enough for two levels.
If he did this a couple more times, he could reach level 18.
At level 18, he could choose a class.
Class change unlocked other profession skills—
And among those skills were methods to remove the Caged Bird Seal.
"After changing class, I'll still need to grind skills."
Hyuga Arin wasn't in a rush to level up.
He wasn't far from level 18 anyway.
Right now, improving his combat strength mattered more.
He took 3,500 EXP and directly poured it into Substitution Technique.
Each level of Substitution only required 100 EXP.
To max it out took exactly 3,500 EXP.
[Substitution Technique (Lv10) EXP (Max) Trait (Selectable)]
[Swap: Can swap places with any currently used item]
[Explosion: All substitution items explode violently]
[Illusion: After substitution, enemies cannot see you for a period of time]
Three traits in total, with detailed explanations following.
After careful consideration, Hyuga Arin came to three conclusions:
First choice: Swap.
Second choice: Swap.
Third choice: Swap.
It had to be Swap!!
This was basically Flying Thunder God!
[Substitution Technique (Lv10) EXP (Max) Trait (Swap)]
A massive amount of information about Substitution Technique flooded his mind.
A once-simple Technique suddenly became incredibly complex, making his head throb.
I'm growing a brain, he thought grimly.
He still had 2,125 EXP left.
"Big Bro!!" Nawaki suddenly shouted, snapping Hyuga Arin back to reality.
Hyuga Arin turned and scratched his head.
"What did you say just now?"
He'd been completely absorbed in the system panel.
Nawaki sighed and repeated himself.
"Big Bro, I have class tomorrow. I won't be able to help you set up the stall."
Hyuga Arin waved his hand.
"It's fine. I'll handle it myself tomorrow."
With EXP increasing this fast, he had no intention of stopping anytime soon.
The two of them began collecting the kunai stuck in the ground and the coiled steel wires.
Hyuga Arin made the motions of stuffing them into his ninja pouch—
In reality, they went straight into his inventory.
Seeing there was nothing left to clean up, Nawaki asked curiously,
"Big Bro, you're already a ninja, right? Ninja missions pay pretty well too. Why don't you just do missions?"
Hyuga Arin sighed helplessly.
"It's not that I don't want to. I really can't. My team's united in name only, and your sister's always swamped—she doesn't have time to worry about me."
With Hyuga Hiashi, it wasn't just discord—they clashed on every possible level.
As for Tsunade, she was busy treating the wounded.
Tensions among the Five Great Nations were rising fast.
If ninja encountered enemy shinobi during missions, it could instantly turn into a life-and-death battle.
Many ninja were severely injured, and Tsunade was working nonstop to save them.
With a team like that, how could they take missions every day?
They'd have to wait until Tsunade gave the word.
"Yeah, that makes sense," Nawaki said, thinking of how rarely his sister was home.
"Then I'll head back first. I can only come help you next weekend."
"Go on," Hyuga Arin waved him off. "I don't really need company anyway."
He watched as the street filled with more and more passersby.
Under the ambiguous glow of neon lights, people laughed and chatted as they walked past him.
Playful banter drifted through the air.
Night belonged to adults.
He decided to experience the adult world himself—
Even though he wasn't of age yet.
And didn't even have a girlfriend!
He checked into an inn.
Alone, of course.
He had no intention of staying in that rented house anymore.
He planned to cancel it tomorrow.
After getting the key from the front desk, he went straight to his room.
Once the door closed—
He finally had time to test his new Technique.
He raised his hand and threw a shuriken at the wall.
"Substitution Technique!"