[Name: I'm Hyūga Ming]
[Class: None]
[Level: Lv.13 (125/2500)]
[Chakra: 130/130]
[Skills: Gentle Fist (Lv.3), Clone Technique (Lv.2), Substitution Technique (Lv.5), Transformation Technique (Lv.2), Eight Trigrams Air Palm (Lv.3), Byakugan (Lv.3), Fire Release · Unquenchable Flame (Lv.1)]
[EXP Pool: 0]
[Equipment: Bandit Left Greave, Bandit Right Greave, Bandit Right Bracer, Bandit War Blade, Bandit Armor]
[Inventory: Kunai (0), Explosive Tags (9), Shuriken (99), Steel Wire (0), …]
Hyūga Ming felt the chakra inside his body swell noticeably, his strength and agility increasing in tandem.
Even without a visible attribute panel, he could clearly feel it—
every level-up boosted all stats across the board.
The increase wasn't huge.
Roughly ten percent at most.
But it was real.
Nawaki stared at Ming, blinking.
For just an instant, it felt like a golden glow had flashed over Ming's body—
as if something divine had descended into the mortal world.
Then it was gone.
He rubbed his eyes and turned to Uchiha Sōsuke.
"Hey… did you just see a golden light flash on my boss?"
Sōsuke stiffly shook his head.
He still couldn't accept what had just happened.
Hyūga Hizashi.
Defeated just like that.
That was Hyūga Hizashi—
one half of the Hyūga Twin Stars.
Ming, on the other hand, couldn't care less about Twin Stars or whatever.
He walked over, squatted beside Hizashi, and slapped his face twice.
"Wake up. You still haven't paid."
That was money meant to improve his quality of life.
Hizashi opened his eyes groggily and stared at Ming in a daze.
Ming immediately stepped back.
"Don't even think about scamming me."
Hizashi stood up expressionlessly, his forehead throbbing.
That kick had landed squarely on his head.
He stared at Ming and asked in a low voice,
"What you used just now… was Strong Fist."
Gentle Fist and Strong Fist were two completely different paths.
No one in the Hyūga clan had ever walked the Strong Fist path.
"So what?" Ming shrugged, completely unconcerned.
Crushing Fist was something he'd developed on his own—
drawing on memories from a previous life.
Pure, explosive power.
Not a skill on the panel.
Just raw martial technique.
Hizashi looked deeply at Ming.
Then turned around and left.
No hesitation.
No regret.
Ming handed the banknotes to Nawaki and scanned the surroundings.
"Anyone else!?"
Night fell over Konoha.
Moonlight spilled down, yet it was outshone by the glow of countless shop lamps.
Ming let out a slow breath.
"Boss, today we made twenty-three thousand ryō," Nawaki said, handing over the money.
Ming took three thousand and passed it back.
"That's your cut."
"Thanks, boss."
Two thousand ryō was more than enough to stabilize Ming's living situation.
But money wasn't his greatest gain today.
It was this—
[EXP Gained: 5625]
"So ninja really are valuable," Ming clicked his tongue softly.
He'd only planned to level up once.
This was enough for two full levels.
A few more days like this, and he could hit Lv.18.
At Lv.18, he could choose a job class.
And among those class skills—
Were methods to remove the Caged Bird Seal.
"After job change… I'll need to grind skills too."
Ming wasn't in a rush to level further.
Lv.18 wasn't far off.
Right now, strengthening his combat power mattered more.
He took 3,500 EXP and poured it directly into one skill.
Substitution Technique.
Each level only required an extra hundred EXP.
Maxing it out took exactly 3,500.
[Substitution Technique (Lv.10) – MAX]
[Trait: Pending Selection]
Three traits appeared.
Replacement: Can substitute with any currently used item
Explosion: The substituted item detonates violently
Illusion: Enemies cannot perceive you for a short duration after use
Ming stared at the options for all of three seconds.
First choice: Replacement.
Second choice: Replacement.
Third choice: Replacement.
No hesitation.
This was basically Flying Thunder God Lite.
[Substitution Technique (Lv.10) – Trait Selected: Replacement]
A flood of information slammed into his mind.
A technique once considered simple suddenly became absurdly complex.
Ming felt his head throb.
So this is what it means to grow a brain…
Remaining EXP: 2125.
"Boss!!"
Nawaki's shout snapped Ming back to reality.
Ming turned, scratching his head.
"Huh? What did you say?"
He'd been completely absorbed in the system panel.
Nawaki sighed and repeated himself.
"Boss, I've got Academy classes starting tomorrow. I can't help you run the stall anymore."
Ming waved it off.
"No problem. I'll handle it myself."
With EXP rolling in like this, he wasn't about to stop.
They began pulling kunai out of the ground and winding up the steel wire.
Ming made the motions of stuffing them into a ninja pouch—
though everything went straight into his inventory.
Once things were mostly cleaned up, Nawaki asked curiously,
"Boss, you're already a ninja, right? Missions pay pretty well. Why don't you just take missions?"
Ming sighed.
"It's not that I don't want to. I literally can't."
"My team's a mess—looks united, totally fractured inside. And your sister's busy 24/7. She doesn't have time to drag me out on missions."
Calling it not united was generous.
He and Hyūga Hiashi clashed on every level.
As for Tsunade—
She was swamped treating the wounded.
Tensions among the Five Great Nations were rising daily.
Encounters between ninja from different countries were already turning into lethal conflicts.
Severely injured ninja were flooding in.
Tsunade barely had time to breathe.
That team wasn't going anywhere until she said so.
"Makes sense," Nawaki nodded.
He knew better than anyone how busy his sister was.
"Then I'm heading home, boss. I can only come help again next weekend."
"Go on," Ming waved him off. "I don't need company anyway."
He watched the crowd thicken under the neon glow.
People laughed and chatted as they passed by.
Teasing voices drifted through the air.
Night belonged to adults.
Maybe he'd try living in the adult world too—
Even though he wasn't grown yet.
And didn't even have a girlfriend.
He checked into a nearby inn.
Just one room.
He had no intention of staying in that dusty rental anymore—
he'd cancel it tomorrow.
After taking the key from the front desk, he entered the room.
Once the door shut—
He finally had time to test his new technique.
Ming raised his hand and hurled a shuriken at the wall.
"Substitution Technique!"
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