[Phantom: After activation, attacks generate phantom effects, increasing damage]
[Swap: Allows position swapping with a clone]
[Consciousness: Allows consciousness to be transferred into a clone]
The first option increased attack power. He wasn't sure how this boost was applied—if it only enhanced close combat, its usefulness in the early stages would be limited.
Right now, his fighting style relied almost entirely on long-range ninTechnique to ambush enemies. The opponents he encountered weren't necessarily ones he could beat in close combat.
If it enhanced ninTechnique, though, then it would be extremely useful.
The second option overlapped with the Substitution Technique, except this one allowed swapping positions with a clone.
"Am I supposed to cosplay Uchiha Shisui?"
Maybe Shisui's Technique didn't work exactly like this, but the effect looked similar enough.
Shisui wasn't even born yet anyway. When the time came, who was copying whom would be up for debate—whoever used it first had the right to speak.
As for the third option—
"This doesn't boost combat power much, but it's extremely useful for other things."
Transferring consciousness into a clone—wasn't that basically a body immune to physical danger? Of course, clones were phantasms to begin with; they couldn't fight and were mostly useful for communication and errands.
But that wasn't what he wanted. He only cared about increasing combat strength.
"In the end, the most cost-effective option is Phantom."
He made his choice.
[Clone Technique (Lv10)] — MAX
Trait: Phantom
The moment the choice was made, a flood of research memories related to the Clone Technique surged into his mind. He immediately tested the new effect.
Wei—Si—Yin.
Chakra rippled briefly through his body, yet nothing appeared.
"Can this still be called a clone technique?" Hyuga Arin muttered.
The Technique had become a buff-type skill. Once activated, it stayed on—just like Ignition Flame.
He threw a punch forward.
A phantom fist appeared, throwing the same punch, overlapping perfectly with his own.
"Double hit?"
This technique could consume more chakra to generate additional phantoms. The more phantoms there were, the greater the increase in attack power.
He extended his hand and used Bear Pummeling Hand. Chakra gathered into the shape of a bear's paw, and a phantom paw formed alongside it, overlapping perfectly.
"So the clone functions like a second strike—and the effect is instantaneous."
The current Clone Technique could now enhance ninTechnique. However, enhancing ninTechnique increased chakra consumption, and the phantom's attack only lasted for a single instant.
In other words, it was like casting the same Technique twice at once. The original Technique retained its duration, while the phantom strike was a one-time burst.
"Chakra consumption is acceptable."
A puff of white smoke rose as the Clone Technique deactivated.
"This really does strengthen me a lot."
The technique hadn't disappointed him. Unlike Transformation Technique or Brainfein, its chakra consumption wasn't absurdly high.
As long as he didn't use high-cost Technique, maintaining the Clone Technique itself wasn't too expensive.
That said, it had one serious drawback.
Once activated, it couldn't be stopped mid-process.
If Hyuga Arin cast a Technique while low on chakra, the Clone Technique would still forcibly draw chakra from his body to replicate it.
The result was obvious—he'd burn through his remaining chakra and potentially die, even if his body tried to stop it.
This was a technique that required caution.
Hyuga Arin looked at the remaining thirty-thousand-plus experience points and first leveled up twice.
[Name: I Am Hyuga Arin]
[Class: Hunter]
[Level: Lv23 (0/7500)]
[Chakra/Nen: 1080 / 1010 +50 +20]
With twenty-four thousand experience left, he invested five thousand into Nen.
[Nen (Lv2)]
Experience: (0/10000)
Traits: None
Advanced methods of using Nen flooded into his mind, along with extensive practical experience. His control over Nen became far more refined—without increasing chakra consumption.
He continued by investing another ten thousand experience.
[Nen (Lv3)]
Experience: (0/20000)
Traits: None
Even more detailed knowledge of the three Nen applications appeared in his mind.
'Shū' — Using Ten to wrap aura around objects in contact with the body, reinforcing their properties.
Shuriken · Heavy Firepower Mode had been strengthened. Congratulations.
'In' — Concealing one's aura to make Nen usage difficult to detect, turning aura semi-material.
This allowed him to attack while remaining hidden. It could deceive ordinary sensory-type ninjas, but those who could see energy flow—like White Zetsu—would be much harder to fool.
And then there was 'Focus', which Hyuga Arin had developed on his own—concentrating aura intensely in a specific body part to enhance it.
His eyes lit up as an idea struck him.
With a little over nine thousand experience left, Hyuga Arin didn't level up again.
Instead, he invested it into Bear Pummeling Hand.
[Bear Pummeling Hand (Lv5)]
Experience: (0/1600)
[Bear Pummeling Hand (Lv6)]
Experience: (0/3200)
[Bear Pummeling Hand (Lv7)]
Experience: (0/6400)
With around four thousand nine hundred experience remaining, he poured all of it into the Byakugan.
[Byakugan (Lv3)]
Experience: (0/900)
[Byakugan (Lv4)]
Experience: (0/2700)
[Byakugan (Lv5)]
Experience: (0/8100)
Hyuga Arin opened his eyes. A white glow flashed through them, extending his vision even farther.
"Right now… I'm terrifyingly strong."
His close-combat ability had improved, but the greatest boost was to his long-range combat power.
Now he could:
Lock onto targets with the ByakuganEnhance shuriken with ShūStack Bear Pummeling Hand, Clone Technique, and Ignition Flame
From several kilometers away, he could strike targets with precision.
He had become a true long-range sniper.
And in doing so, he had fulfilled his original idea—
The Byakugan was made for sniping.
With about thirteen hundred experience left, he decided to save it.
From this point on, he would focus entirely on strengthening his sniping capabilities.
If he could kill the enemy from afar, there'd be no risk of injury at all.
And if the enemy tried to track him down?
Substitution Technique said hello.
With proper setup, he could even snipe jōnin—or possibly even Kage-level opponents.
Hyuga Arin was already envisioning a beautiful future.
In the entire ninja world, there was no one else like him. Most people wouldn't even think to guard against this kind of threat.
"Still, I'll need some real-world testing to see how effective this actually is."
Rubbing his chin, Hyuga Arin pondered.
This sniper style had just been developed. How far it could go was still uncertain.
He really wanted to test it on Hanzo.
A man whose strength rivaled a Kage would yield an enormous amount of experience.
…
Hyuga Arin's current role was essentially that of Hanzo's political advisor.
Every day, he followed Hanzo around with nothing to do. At night, Hanzo would send him back to rest.
And the questions Hanzo asked were all about how to control the nobility.
But those ideas had mostly been off-the-cuff. Hyuga Arin had no real implementation plan.
More importantly, he didn't want to be reduced to a decorative ornament.
"Lord Hanzo," Hyuga Arin said bluntly, "I want to go out and carry out missions."
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