Amnesia.
Disordered pain perception.
Prone to madness and violent rage.
This was the persona Hyuga Arin had designed for himself.
As a medical ninja, he naturally knew these kinds of cases. With a bit of acting, it was easy to muddle through.
This condition wasn't common—there were only a handful across the entire ninja world—but it was widely known.
Because every ninja village, more or less, had one or two individuals with similar symptoms.
It was also the easiest illness to fake.
With this setup, the Rain ninja wouldn't dwell on his past abnormalities. And once they heard that this condition could rapidly increase combat strength, Amegakure wouldn't truly relegate him to being a civilian either.
For a small ninja village, no fighting strength could be wasted.
Even if he might die later, it didn't matter—especially in a place like the Land of Rain.
Sometimes, ninja were simply consumables.
Just look at how Hanzo would treat his subordinates later on—Rain ninja were basically used like living explosive tags.
It had to be said: Hanzo was ruthless.
Several others entered the room as well. According to the intelligence Hyuga Arin had obtained, these were all the stationed ninja of this city.
They had all rushed over because of the "Konoha attack."
It certainly wasn't for his sake—Mu Yu was just an insignificant genin.
…
Hyuga Arin was strapped down with restraints.
He lay in this room for five days.
During these five days, Kusamori repeatedly came to explain Hyuga Arin's identity to him.
Most of it Hyuga Arin already knew.
Kusamori was his superior, with ten genin under his command. Hyuga Arin was just one of them.
The truly unexpected information was this:
"We are Lord Hanzo's most loyal subordinates," Kusamori said softly while sitting beside Hyuga Arin.
"Our entire lives are devoted to serving Lord Hanzo."
"As for that so-called Rain Shadow, Shozo—he'll only drag us into the depths of hell."
From everything Kusamori had said over the past few days, Hyuga Arin pieced things together.
At present, the one controlling Amegakure was a man named Shozo.
The current policy—no resistance, only surveillance—was issued by Shozo.
Hanzo, meanwhile, was already Amegakure's golden signboard. Many small ninja villages would flee at the mere mention of his name.
Yet Hanzo had not officially become Amegakure's leader.
Or rather, at this moment, he was still fighting against some nobody who wouldn't even merit a name in the original story.
The outcome was inevitable—Hanzo would win.
But the process might take as long as two years.
If Hyuga Arin remembered correctly, the Second Shinobi World War truly erupted in Year 37.
Hanzo declared war on the three great nations in Year 38.
This old bastard Shozo really knew how to cling to life—
at the very least, he'd managed to survive until Year 37, constantly blocking Hanzo from taking power.
"I swear my life to Lord Hanzo," Hyuga Arin said earnestly.
He had no choice but to sound sincere.
He was still tied up—there was nothing he could do otherwise.
As for whether he'd truly belonged to Hanzo's faction before, it didn't matter.
He had amnesia now.
Who he used to serve was irrelevant.
"So, sir… could you untie me?" Hyuga Arin asked, looking at Kusamori with pleading eyes.
Even though he could break free himself—Bear Palm's strength was more than enough—
But he was playing the role of an amnesiac genin. Where would Bear Palm come from?
"Alright. From today on, you'll carry out missions with me," Kusamori said solemnly.
He untied Hyuga Arin while maintaining a vigilant gaze.
Last time, Hyuga Arin had gone berserk and nearly killed him.
Caution was necessary.
"Thank you, sir," Hyuga Arin said, rolling his wrists and flashing a bright smile.
The hardest hurdle was over.
All that remained was fully blending in.
…
Hyuga Arin changed into clean clothes, donned a purple vest, and adjusted the Amegakure forehead protector on his brow.
He was now officially a member of Amegakure—
Genin Mu Yu.
"Heh heh." Hyuga Arin chuckled twice at his reflection.
He had come to Amegakure to farm drops, only to become an Amegakure ninja instead.
What a completely unfunny joke.
He pushed open the restroom door and walked out. Kusamori had already been waiting outside for some time.
Kusamori nodded in satisfaction as he looked Hyuga Arin over.
"What Technique do you still remember?"
Hyuga Arin thought for a moment.
"Only the Three Basic Techniques."
The Academy basics—Transformation, Clone, Substitution.
They were practically universal. There was no way Amegakure didn't know them.
Kusamori nodded.
"Looks like you've forgotten your previous Technique. That's fine—I can teach you again."
Amegakure's system was simple:
Jōnin taught chūnin.
Chūnin taught genin.
Hyuga Arin, however, had little interest. Instead, he said flatly,
"Compared to learning Technique, I want to kill enemies."
A bloodthirsty gleam flashed across his face.
Skills were nice, but how could they compare to farming kills?
Kusamori frowned.
"Right now, that old man Shozo wants us to stay hidden. We absolutely cannot clash with other villages."
"Huh?" Hyuga Arin rolled his eyes in frustration.
Just his luck.
"But if you really want to kill," Kusamori continued bluntly,
"you can kill civilians in the Land of Rain as you like—as long as you don't kill too many."
What kind of nonsense was that?
Did he really look like someone with no bottom line?
What did killing civilians even give him?
A few points of experience? A bit of money?
What was the point?
One genin was worth far more than a bunch of civilians.
"I prefer killing the strong," Hyuga Arin replied coldly.
"If they're not ninja, I have zero interest."
"Of course, Sir Kusamori—if you are interested, we could try sparring instead."
Hyuga Arin's eyes lit up as he stared at Kusamori.
He felt that he could probably kill him.
Kusamori's face darkened.
"Remember—I am your superior. Do not show killing intent toward your superior."
"Tch." Hyuga Arin clicked his tongue dismissively.
Kusamori sighed helplessly.
Mu Yu had changed so much.
He hadn't been like this before.
Who would have thought that after losing his memory, he'd become this vicious?
"I'll find you opportunities," Kusamori said, leading Hyuga Arin out of their safehouse.
Now that Hyuga Arin posed no issues, Kusamori took him straight to work.
At the highest tower of the border city—
Hyuga Arin was stationed here.
"Your task is to sort through and organize the intelligence sent up by the other ninja," Kusamori explained,
"then analyze it and infer Konoha's movements."
He pointed to seven people behind him.
"They're all my subordinates. You used to know them. You can ask them about your past if you want."
Kusamori's primary responsibility was intelligence concerning Konoha.
Hyuga Arin nodded and smiled politely at the group.
"Please take care of me from now on."
For some reason, every one of them shivered at that friendly smile.
"I have other duties. I'll leave the rest to you," Kusamori said.
His body turned into a puddle of water and vanished.
Seeing Kusamori leave, the others showed no interest in talking to Hyuga Arin. They merely cast him a cold glance before returning to their work.
"Looks like relationships among colleagues here aren't very good," Hyuga Arin muttered.
Then, as if he'd thought of something, a chilling smile slowly spread across his face.
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