That explosion just now immediately made Kusamori think of explosive tags.
But the problem was—where did Kimu get explosive tags from?
Even he himself only had a handful at most.
During the fight with Suiame earlier, he'd clearly heard multiple explosions.
Don't tell me this brat is carrying a whole stash of explosive tags…
But how?
Kusamori's mind was full of questions, yet he understood very clearly that now was not the time to ask.
The key issue wasn't the tags—it was the fact that this lunatic genuinely had thoughts of killing him.
If he asked the wrong question and triggered something, the other party might silence him on the spot. At that point, there wouldn't even be anyone to complain to.
Hyūga Ming stepped closer, looking down at him from above.
"Kusamori-sama, can you still walk on your own?"
If he couldn't walk and needed to be carried… then it'd honestly be cleaner to just kill him here.
That tone doesn't sound like someone trying to help at all, Kusamori cursed inwardly.
It sounded more like someone deciding whether to finish him off.
"I can!" Kusamori snapped through clenched teeth.
He forced himself upright, swaying slightly. Just as Hyūga Ming didn't want to help him, Kusamori also didn't want this maniac anywhere near him.
Up to now, he hadn't felt any overt killing intent—but Hyūga Ming's behavior alone already radiated danger.
Being able to hide killing intent this well… after losing his memory, this guy was practically born to be a ninja—
Wait.
Thinking back to how he'd openly jumped down and started slaughtering people…
Maybe not so much.
"You walk in front," Kusamori ordered coldly.
Because of the poison, he couldn't move violently, but basic movement was still fine.
What he absolutely didn't want was Hyūga Ming leaving his field of vision. If that happened, this guy might just casually toss a few shuriken at his back.
And Kusamori was certain—he'd do it.
Hyūga Ming didn't care and walked ahead. Since he'd already decided not to act, there was no reason to change his mind now.
"What about Kojima Kōji?" Kusamori asked from behind.
"The mission's done," Hyūga Ming replied, turning his head slightly. "He's at the back gate. Want to go confirm it, Kusamori-sama?"
Kusamori nodded. "Back gate. I'll confirm it. Then we leave from there."
Confirming Kojima Kōji's death was mandatory. After that, they needed to withdraw—the rest was about how he'd cover this up.
The death couldn't be traced back to Amegakure.
Judging by Hyūga Ming's killing spree, everyone inside was probably already dead.
Crunch.
The sound of a branch snapping.
Kusamori suddenly turned toward a corner, where a figure lay sprawled on the ground, as if they'd tripped while running.
"You didn't kill them all?!" Kusamori's voice warped.
Hyūga Ming looked at him like he was an idiot.
"I told you. I have zero interest in ordinary people."
Civilians with no ability to fight back didn't count as monsters.
As a gamer, he had no habit of slaughtering NPCs.
A few measly experience points—what was the point?
"Besides, they probably didn't even see who attacked."
In the dark chaos, everyone was just trying to escape. Who had time to identify the attacker?
"Let's go."
Hyūga Ming said it casually and walked toward the back gate without waiting.
Kusamori clenched his teeth hard.
This guy absolutely had no qualifications to be a ninja.
What kind of ninja leaves behind witnesses like this?
But with his combat strength gone, Kusamori couldn't silence anyone even if he wanted to. He could only follow behind Hyūga Ming and leave.
After confirming the target's death, the two returned to the watchtower overlooking the city.
Kusamori immediately went back to his own room.
Staying around Hyūga Ming any longer would either get him killed—or give him a heart attack.
Once Kusamori shut himself in, Hyūga Ming headed straight back to his own room.
"This haul wasn't bad at all."
Looking at the 4135 EXP displayed on his panel, he spent one point and leveled up.
Name: I'm Hyūga Ming
Class: None
Level: lv16 (0/4000)
Chakra: 230 / 160 +50 +20
Skills:
Gentle Fist (lv5)
Clone Technique (lv2)
Substitution Technique (lv10)
Transformation Technique (lv4)
Eight Trigrams: Air Palm (lv3)
Byakugan (lv3)
Fire Release: Shiranui (lv4)
Medical Ninjutsu (lv2)
Bear Pounce (lv4)
Brainphin (lv8)
Two-Tiger Style: Fire Heaven Form (lv1)
EXP Pool: 4132
Seeing that he still had enough EXP to level up again, Hyūga Ming hesitated.
If he were somewhere safe, leveling immediately wouldn't be an issue.
But undercover in Amegakure?
That required caution.
A level-up didn't boost his strength dramatically, nor did it grant any instant power spike.
Right now, maintaining his disguise was far more important.
His gaze settled on Transformation Technique.
"Substitution at max level is basically god-tier… so what about Transformation?"
Transformation was the cornerstone of his long-term infiltration in Amegakure.
Sure, Konoha intelligence claimed Amegakure lacked sensor-type ninja—but what if they were wrong?
Intel was never absolute.
If a village wanted to hide something, even a great village might fail to uncover it—let alone a small one underestimated by the Five Great Nations.
To be safe, Hyūga Ming poured his EXP into Transformation Technique.
It required relatively little EXP anyway.
Transformation Technique (lv5) EXP (0/500) – Trait: None
Transformation Technique (lv8) EXP (0/800) – Trait: None
Transformation Technique (lv10 – Max Level)
Trait Selection Available
True Form: All detection-type abilities fail to see through your transformation
Simulate: Copy the physical attributes of the transformation target
Mass: Alter your own mass—become wind, become a mountain
"…Huh?"
Hyūga Ming stared at the third option, eyes widening.
Become wind. Become a mountain?
Wasn't that description a little too broken?
He glanced back at True Form—this was exactly what he needed right now.
But Mass…
That trait looked absurdly powerful. The improvement to his combat potential would be immediate and obvious.
Then there was Simulate.
"Simulate is basically useless."
In the ninja world, all combat strength was built on chakra.
Even Senju Hashirama's so-called "sage body" relied on chakra. Pure physical stats alone didn't amount to much.
"…Wait."
"What if it's not someone from the ninja world?"
Hyūga Ming frowned.
What about fighters from other worlds?
For example—
If he transformed into someone from Dragon Ball, where warriors relied almost entirely on physical strength…
Could he just bulldoze the entire ninja world?
The problem was, that possibility was far too uncertain.
He fell into deep hesitation.
One option was essential.
One option was risky but potentially explosive.
One option was stable and overwhelmingly powerful.
"Damn it… this is hard."
Decision paralysis hit him full force.
Finally, he clenched his teeth.
And chose—
…
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