Hyuga Arin stepped out of the high tower, a slip of paper clenched in his hand—a list of addresses.
Don't think that going undercover meant he couldn't farm experience.
According to the intelligence he'd reviewed, this city was home to a large number of wandering ninjas.
After the Five Great Nations sealed their borders, wandering ninjas had begun to converge on small countries instead.
And the Land of Rain had become one of the hardest-hit areas.
Other minor nations' ninja villages would actively expel wandering ninjas.
But Rain Hidden Village's policy of non-resistance applied even to them.
Hyuga Arin had memorized all their locations.
"How terrified does this guy have to be of the Five Great Ninja Villages," Hyuga Arin muttered, unable to understand why the current Rain Shadow, Shozo, would issue such a policy.
Wandering ninjas without restraints were capable of anything.
He walked straight up to a secluded house and knocked on the door.
"Who is it!?" A wary voice came from inside.
"Your ancestor!!"
Hyuga Arin kicked the door open with a single blow, sending it flying inward and exposing several wandering ninjas holding blades.
His gaze swept the room, landing on the dark-red bloodstains on the floor.
According to the intelligence, the original family of four who lived here had all been slaughtered by wandering ninjas.
"Rain ninja!?" A bald man near the door shouted in alarm.
Unlike him, his companions hesitated not at all, drawing their long blades and charging forward.
Byakugan.
The disguised Transformation Technique masked the abnormal veins, only making Hyuga Arin's eyes seem faintly luminous.
He raised his hand and unleashed a barrage.
"Shuriken—Heavy Firepower!"
Empowered by Bear Paw Hand, the shuriken ripped through the room at terrifying speed.
[Experience +80][Experience +77][Experience +95]…
The eight men inside barely managed to block one or two shuriken—but the rest pierced straight through their bodies.
In the end, Hyuga Arin gained [Experience +645], five money pouches, and a special kunai.
[Wandering Ninja's Kunai: +20 Attack]
Another off-hand weapon.
"They don't even have genin-level strength," Hyuga Arin said calmly, wiping the blood off his cheek.
One of the wandering ninjas had been too close, splattering blood across his face.
He collected all the shuriken he'd thrown and prepared to head to the next location.
Hyuga Arin had already memorized all the wandering ninja intel in the city.
They were perfect sources of experience.
As he stepped outside, his brow furrowed.
Under the Byakugan, he saw an enormous mass of chakra behind a distant tree.
"This chakra… it's almost jōnin-level."
A bronze battle blade appeared in his hand as he shouted toward the tree,
"Who's there!? Come out!!"
A red-haired boy slowly emerged, looking panicked and frightened.
"I—I didn't see anything!!"
He turned to run.
Hyuga Arin flipped forward, landing directly in front of him.
The boy's bangs covered his eyes, hiding them from view.
But that appearance—
"You're Nagato?" Hyuga Arin asked curiously.
Nagato crouched down, clutching his head in terror.
How did this person know his name?
He was too afraid to answer.
At that moment, a middle-aged man rushed over and shielded Nagato with his body.
"I'm sorry, honorable ninja," the man said hastily. "This is my son. If he offended you, please accept this as compensation."
He pulled out a small money pouch.
Hyuga Arin glanced at the two of them and shook his head.
"No need."
So Nagato really was in this city.
Hyuga Arin rubbed his chin, lost in thought.
Neither father nor son dared to move.
They knew full well that the ninja in front of them—despite his young appearance—could easily take their lives.
Hyuga Arin looked at Nagato, whose hair concealed his eyes.
Those eyes were Rinnegan, transplanted from Uchiha Madara.
At this very moment, Nagato's every move was under Madara's watchful gaze.
Hyuga Arin shook his head.
Madara would drop incredible loot—but that was a late-game boss.
Right now, Hyuga Arin absolutely couldn't afford to provoke him.
His figure blurred and vanished.
Nagato's father finally let out a long breath, then turned and scolded his son harshly.
"Why were you running around recklessly!?"
Nagato lowered his head, then spoke softly after a long pause.
"The people who took over Aunt Shunai's house… the man just now killed all of them."
Nagato's father turned to look at the house behind them and fell silent.
Wandering ninjas were tumors to people like them.
…
Hyuga Arin arrived at another building and knocked on the door.
"Open up—here to bring warmth."
Before anyone could respond, he kicked the door open and sent shuriken flying.
The people inside weren't even worth describing.
In the end, Hyuga Arin gained [Experience +564], a Lightning Release skill book, and three money pouches.
[Skill Book: Lightning Release · Perception Lightning]
He tossed the skill book into his inventory without hesitation.
Neither Lightning Release nor Water Release were within his learning plans.
His main focus was Fire Release, Earth Release, and Wind Release.
Even though he lacked Earth chakra affinity, game skills didn't care—
as long as the panel said it was usable, he could learn it.
Experience was limited.
It was better spent upgrading core abilities.
…
By the end of the day, Hyuga Arin had wiped out most of the wandering ninjas in the city.
Altogether, he gained [Experience +1856].
Most of the drops were money pouches, yielding anywhere from ten to a hundred taels of silver.
Wandering ninjas were weak, with terrible drop rates—far inferior to bandit leaders.
Among all the wandering ninjas in the city, not a single one truly reached genin-level strength.
Or perhaps there were—but they were hiding much deeper.
His biggest gains were:
[Low-Grade Health Potion ×5]
[Low-Grade Mana Potion ×3]
"Now I can actually fight prolonged battles," Hyuga Arin said with satisfaction.
"With these potions, I don't have to rely entirely on leveling to reset my state."
It had been a good day.
Kusamori, however, was in a very bad mood.
He stormed into the room and slammed his palm onto the table.
"What exactly did you do!?"
"Just killed some wandering ninjas," Hyuga Arin replied indifferently.
Kusamori took a deep breath.
Was this just about killing wandering ninjas?
"Because of you, that old bastard Shozo wants to send someone to replace me as the controller of this city!"
This city was extremely important to them—whether for recruiting manpower or harvesting resources.
Hyuga Arin grinned.
"Then just make sure he never gets here."
The killing intent radiating from Hyuga Arin made Kusamori frown.
"You mean…?"
"Kill the person he plans to send," Hyuga Arin said plainly.
Kusamori shook his head firmly.
"Impossible. That would be betraying Rain Hidden Village."
As if you haven't betrayed it plenty already.
Hyuga Arin rolled his eyes inwardly, then continued to tempt him.
"As long as it's a chūnin, I can kill him for you."
"You?" Kusamori looked at Hyuga Arin with deep suspicion.
"I'm very strong right now," Hyuga Arin said, baring his teeth in a chilling grin.
"Want to try?"
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