The two of them carried the corpses back to the base. At the entrance, two ninjas were already waiting.
"Hand the bodies over to them," Murakami Hua said proactively, setting the corpse down on the ground. He reached out, intending to close Yushu's eyes.
But the moment his hand pressed down on Yushu's eyelids, they opened again, staring straight at Hyuga Arin.
Hyuga Arin guiltily lowered his head and placed Jiehua, whom he had been carrying on his back, beside him.
Both corpses stared wide-eyed, the resentment from the moments before death still clearly palpable.
"They are heroes of the Rain Hidden Village," Murakami Hua said solemnly, his voice low. "Their achievements will be engraved in our hearts forever."
Mm-hmm, everything you say is right.
But what does that have to do with him, a Konoha ninja?
Hyuga Arin put on a heavy expression. Suddenly, he missed the old [Brainfein]. The current [Brainfein], once activated, consumed chakra like crazy.
It could no longer be used casually to regulate his emotions.
Murakami Hua seemed to recall something and said to Hyuga Arin, "Your merits, I will report them to Lord Hanzo. Lord Hanzo will not forget your contributions."
So… none of your battle merits are counted, then?
In this heavy atmosphere, Hyuga Arin really just wanted to complain.
The two ninjas silently lifted the bodies and left, exiting through the same passage they had entered.
If Hyuga Arin's guess was right, those two would take the corpses back to the Rain Hidden Village.
Curious, he asked, "Aren't you afraid those two might expose this place?"
Zhengzang was actively searching for Hanzo. If they returned to the Rain Hidden Village, wouldn't that expose Hanzo's presence here?
Murakami Hua looked at Hyuga Arin in surprise. Seeing that he genuinely didn't know, he explained, "This place itself is one of the Rain Hidden Village's bases. The village already knows of its existence."
He glanced around and lowered his voice. "As for where Lord Hanzo actually is, no one really knows. The person we meet is a stand-in. The real Lord Hanzo could be in any base at all."
The Rain Hidden Village had quite a few bases. Their existence was also a result of the nation's circumstances.
The three great ninja villages frequently turned this land into a battlefield. The Rain Hidden Village had been attacked more than once or twice, and there were also continuous internal conflicts within the country.
Influenced by the Land of Rain, the Rain Hidden Village had come close to splitting apart multiple times.
The last person who resolved the issue of the Rain Hidden Village's fragmentation was the current leader of the Rain Hidden Village—Zhengzang.
The dragon-slaying youth eventually becomes the evil dragon.
At least, that was how Murakami Hua saw it. In Zhengzang's eyes, however, Hanzo and his supporters were unlawful elements attempting to split the Rain Hidden Village.
Hearing this, Hyuga Arin fell into thought. Although Hanzo was hiding himself, he had no intention of starting a new faction. He was still using the Rain Hidden Village's existing bases.
Yet his constant movement among these bases had left Zhengzang unable to locate Hanzo's trail.
From this, it was clear just how much prestige Hanzo currently held within the Rain Hidden Village.
Under such circumstances, for Hanzo to replace Zhengzang, he merely lacked an opportunity—a legitimate, justifiable opportunity.
What kind of mindset was Zhengzang in, to still oppose Hanzo head-on?
He couldn't win. Not at all.
Hyuga Arin shook his head.
With the issue of the two corpses resolved, Murakami Hua went back to report in.
Hyuga Arin returned to the cramped room. During times without missions, this was the only place he could stay.
Unfortunately, his former neighbors were gone now.
Though the three of them hadn't been close anyway, so it wasn't a big deal.
He returned to his room and looked at his status panel.
After deducting the experience gained from vitality, he still had more than fourteen thousand experience points.
"These experience points are enough for me to level up twice."
He glanced at his skills and fell into brief hesitation.
Fourteen thousand experience was enough to push a single skill to an advanced tier, causing his combat power to skyrocket—possibly no less than the boost from leveling up.
Rubbing his chin, Hyuga Arin pondered, "If these points could max out a skill, I could consider it. A max-level skill would be a qualitative change for me."
Unfortunately, because of chakra limitations, some skills were simply hard to use.
For example, max-level Clone Technique and [Brainfein]—if used well, both were absolutely god-tier skills.
But their chakra consumption was far beyond what he could afford.
"Better to level up," Hyuga Arin made his decision.
If he could quickly reach level 36, he wouldn't need to go to the Hunter world to search for ways to develop abilities.
[Name: I Am Hyuga Arin]
[Class: Hunter]
[Level: Lv19 (0/5500)]
[Chakra/Nen: 240/610 +50 +20]
Ever since changing classes, each level now increased chakra by a full hundred, no longer the measly ten points per level.
What could you even do with ten points of energy cap? Just give me ten times that!!
He poured in 5,500 experience points.
[Name: I Am Hyuga Arin]
[Class: Hunter]
[Level: Lv20 (0/6500)]
[Chakra/Nen: 240/710 +50 +20]
The experience requirement jumped by a thousand immediately.
"Looks like from now on, each level-up will require an extra thousand experience."
Hyuga Arin had long been prepared for this. In the later stages, experience would be a massive bottleneck.
This time, having so much experience was basically picking up a bargain—an opportunity like this wouldn't come often.
He still had over 8,900 experience left and continued pouring it in.
[Name: I Am Hyuga Arin]
[Class: Hunter]
[Level: Lv21 (0/7500)]
[Chakra/Nen: 240/810 +50 +20]
"So much chakra… unprecedented," Hyuga Arin took a deep breath. For the first time, he felt his chakra pool reach such a level.
He stretched out his hand, chakra wrapping around his palm.
This was the application of Nen. In this state, both his strength and defense were enhanced. As long as the opponent couldn't break through the chakra coating, they simply couldn't injure him.
However, every battle with an enemy would continuously consume chakra.
The chakra on his hand slowly dissipated, along with the chakra flowing within his body.
Next was the Nen application 'Zetsu'. In this state, even the Byakugan couldn't see the energy within his body, and his presence was greatly diminished.
All the chakra in his body returned to his cells. In this condition, Hyuga Arin's recovery ability was comprehensively strengthened.
But the price was that, right now, he was truly just an ordinary person.
An ordinary person with a relatively good physique.
Then came 'Ren'. The chakra within his body suddenly erupted.
Blue energy enveloped his entire body—this was Hyuga Arin's strongest combat state, fully unleashing all the power within him.
"In my current state, maybe I could even trade blows with a jōnin," Hyuga Arin said excitedly. But soon, the aura bursting from his body gradually faded.
The rate at which his chakra was being consumed was simply too severe.
"Guess I was overthinking it," Hyuga Arin sighed helplessly. This state was powerful, but his chakra just couldn't hold up.
In the end, it all returned to the same old problem.
"Too little chakra!" Hyuga Arin wailed in agony.
But as he was now—
"I've finally reached the realm of a chūnin."
Although he had reached chūnin level, his actual combat strength was uncertain. By Hyuga Arin's estimation, his real fighting power should be around that of a special jōnin.
He looked at the remaining two thousand-plus experience points.
This time, they were going into skills.
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