Hyuga Arin was in a very good mood right now.
He couldn't beat Hanzo of the Naruto world—even if he was full of resentment, there was nowhere to vent it.
But this bald-headed Hanzo here was far weaker than that Hanzo.
You could say this was payback where payback was due, grudges repaid on the spot.
Although this Hanzo's physical body had reached the peak of what a human could achieve, without chakra or Nen, he posed no threat to Hyuga Arin whatsoever.
Payback for grievances. Retribution for resentment.
Hanzo showed no fear at all—on the contrary, he was extremely calm.
At this point, he seemed to understand why the other party refused to let him go.
Had he been dragged into this by association?
Because of his name.
"Actually, my name isn't Hanzo," Hanzo said seriously. "Hanzo is just a codename."
For a ninja, anything could be used to complete a mission. And outside of missions, if it meant preserving one's life, anything went as well.
Hanzo could be a name—or merely a codename.
As long as he didn't say otherwise, no one would know the truth.
More importantly, he truly didn't want to die because of a name. He could clearly feel the faint killing intent on the other man.
"I can change my codename anytime."
If the other party wanted, Hanzo was perfectly willing to call himself Little Hanzo.
Hyuga Arin actually paused because of this response, momentarily unsure what to say. He sighed helplessly and asked,
"As a ninja, what other skills do you have? I want to see them."
Since they were both ninjas, he was genuinely curious about the differences between ninjas of the two worlds.
Hanzo finally let out a sigh of relief. At least that faint killing intent had dissipated—for now. Even so, he didn't dare relax. Ninjas were the best at hiding killing intent.
He answered honestly:
"Combat techniques, weapon usage, and some ninja tools—smoke bombs, shuriken, wire, sleeve blades. Other than that, interrogation, tracking, and concealment of presence."
"Other than these, there's nothing else."
Among the various hidden ninja organizations, everyone mastered roughly the same things. Each group only had a few proprietary tools.
He'd heard rumors of ninjas even stronger than jōnin—perhaps those people possessed abilities Hyuga Arin wanted to see. Hanzo himself hadn't reached that level.
Hyuga Arin frowned slightly.
This was almost identical to what he'd learned at the Ninja Academy—except these people lacked ninTechnique.
"Since you're being honest, I suppose I won't kill you," Hyuga Arin said, losing interest in killing Bald Hanzo.
This guy was only impressive among ordinary humans. Even if he killed him, there wouldn't be any good drops—probably not even much experience.
"But I do need you to properly demonstrate your combat techniques."
Hyuga Arin cracked his wrist and smiled maliciously.
Hanzo felt a chill run down his spine.
He knew it wouldn't be that simple.
…
Night had fallen.
Hyuga Arin tossed the unconscious Hanzo aside. From the bruises and swelling all over his face, it was obvious he'd suffered quite a bit.
Unconscious Hanzo would like to say: this wasn't "demonstrating combat techniques" at all—this was pure venting of anger.
Hyuga Arin had beaten him while muttering the whole time:
"So cautious you wouldn't even show your face!! Treating me like a beast of burden!!"
Tears quietly streamed from unconscious Hanzo's eyes.
Who was he supposed to reason with?
"Sure enough, there are differences between the two worlds' ninja styles," Hyuga Arin leaned against a tree, eyes closed, digesting what he'd gained.
This round of the exam lasted an entire week. Wasting some time wasn't an issue.
TaiTechnique was crucial in combat—even in the Naruto world.
Most ninjas had limited chakra. After using just a few ninTechnique, their chakra would be heavily depleted, forcing them into close combat.
No matter the ninja type, taiTechnique was never neglected.
That said, taiTechnique was important but rarely decisive. In the current Naruto era, only Kumogakure truly emphasized taiTechnique.
Konoha only began taking taiTechnique seriously after Might Dai's death.
Hyuga Arin had no direct connection with Might Dai—he'd only heard of him, mostly because of some of Dai's eccentric behavior, which had become one of Konoha's favorite gossip topics.
Naruto-world taiTechnique focused on attacking three vital points: the chest, throat, and head—aimed purely at killing.
In this world, ninja taiTechnique still targeted those areas, but also emphasized many other vulnerable points on the human body.
Not just to kill—but to disable, to torture.
If chakra was removed from the equation, this world's ninja taiTechnique was actually more refined.
Hyuga Arin intended to take the best of both and integrate it into his own fighting style.
He glanced at the experience Hanzo provided.
[Experience: 79]
This level of strength was enough to bully Ninja Academy students.
Turning to his status panel, his gaze settled on Brain Enkephalin, which was two levels away from max.
Originally, he'd viewed this skill as a way to endure the pain of the Caged Bird Seal. But as it leveled up, he realized it was also developing his brain.
"I have a little over 2,900 experience now. Let's see what happens when I max it out—maybe it'll give me a trait that accelerates learning."
[Brain Enkephalin (Lv8) | EXP (0/800) | Trait: None]
[Brain Enkephalin (Lv9) | EXP (0/900) | Trait: None]
[Brain Enkephalin (Lv10) | MAX | Trait: Pending Selection]
Once Brain Enkephalin reached max level, three traits appeared.
[Learning: Can learn any technique from others in a short time]
[Comprehension: Can rapidly comprehend any skill]
[Emotionless: Enter a saint-like state of no desire and no thought]
"Emotionless—pass!!"
Hyuga Arin immediately rejected the third option. He had zero interest in entering some emotionless saint state. It sounded terrible at a glance.
That left Learning and Comprehension, which genuinely put him in a dilemma.
"If I choose Learning…" Hyuga Arin pondered,
"Could I use the Byakugan to cosplay the Sharingan and become a bootleg Copy Ninja on the spot?"
What could be learned wasn't just taiTechnique—there were ninTechnique as well.
This ability was undeniably powerful. The Uchiha clan had collected countless techniques through the Copy Eye.
If he chose this, he'd never need to worry about lacking ninTechnique.
As for Comprehension, it allowed him to instantly understand everything—no weaker than Learning.
Learning let you copy the form, then rely on experience to level it up.
Comprehension meant understanding something thoroughly—perhaps even leveling it without spending experience at all.
Hyuga Arin's skill growth didn't rely solely on experience. Long-term practice and personal insight could also increase skill levels.
In other words, he had two paths to becoming stronger.
He simply preferred the convenience of using experience, while spending his free time on physical training. He didn't need to grind skills painfully like others.
Ultimately, the choice came down to this:
Did he want more skills,
or better skills?
After a moment of thought, Hyuga Arin made his decision.
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