Mass.
That was Hyuga Arin's final choice.
If the goal were purely to conceal his identity, then the first option—Reality—was indeed extremely strong, but it offered little long-term value.
Besides, a max-level Transformation Technique might not be incapable of fooling others anyway.
As for the second option—Simulation—the uncertainty was simply too great.
Physical attributes were a composite of many factors: bloodline, talent, chakra. He couldn't be sure that, lacking those conditions, transforming would truly preserve the target's physical strength.
In the end, Hyuga Arin chose the most reliable option: Mass.
This choice clearly had enormous future potential, and it was steady and dependable.
[Transformation Technique (Lv.10)]
Experience: Max
Trait: Mass
A far more complex body of Transformation Technique knowledge surged into his mind.
If Hyuga Arin had to evaluate it, this version of Transformation Technique completely surpassed the current level of ninTechnique in the ninja world.
It was a technique that simply should not have been possible in this era.
Just like Substitution Technique—once either reached max level and selected a trait, it became a transcendent, era-defying ninTechnique.
In theory, Hyuga Arin could teach this technique to others.
But the difficulty involved was beyond imagination.
It wasn't that the technique itself was impossibly hard—it was that it required a vast amount of prerequisite knowledge and understanding.
He himself only grasped it because the system had directly implanted that knowledge into him.
"My own self-preservation isn't even guaranteed yet. How would I have time to teach others?"
Hyuga Arin immediately cut off such naive thoughts. Before he had sufficient strength, there was no way he would pass this kind of ninTechnique on to anyone.
At most, he could sell skill books or equipment he didn't need.
Those didn't affect him much.
"But this Transformation Technique… it's really absurd."
Hyuga Arin carefully experienced the details of the technique.
Ordinary Transformation Techniques, no matter how they changed appearance, never altered the user's fundamental form or mass.
A user couldn't turn into a pebble by the roadside, nor into a massive boulder.
But his current Transformation Technique ignored those rules entirely—as long as he was willing to expend chakra.
From something as small as a needle to something as massive as a mountain, it was theoretically possible.
The only problem was the sheer, ocean-like amount of chakra required. With his current reserves, it was completely unsustainable.
True Seventy-Two Transformations.
"Even if I can't reach that extreme yet, I can still do this much."
Hyuga Arin formed the Ram seal. The chakra within his body began to fluctuate at an eerie frequency.
"Transformation Technique · Water Transformation!"
Puff!
A cloud of smoke burst forth. Hyuga Arin's body became transparent.
He reached his hand toward his own chest—his arm passed straight through his body and emerged from his back.
"No Devil Fruit needed. I can still use elementalization."
"In a sense… doesn't that make me invincible?"
Hyuga Arin withdrew his hand, pleasantly surprised.
Then his expression immediately turned sour.
Puff!
Smoke appeared again. Hyuga Arin reverted to his original form and collapsed onto the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"My chakra's completely drained."
"No—this chakra consumption is even more insane than Substitution Technique."
His face twisted in bitterness.
After using this form of Transformation Technique, he had zero combat capability left. He quickly took out a low-grade mana potion and drank it in one gulp—icy cold, with a faint bitter taste.
The trace amount of chakra left in his body began to recover rapidly.
Only then did Hyuga Arin sit up.
"I almost played myself to death."
After catching his breath, he quickly used Transformation Technique again, turning back into Mu Yu.
This time, the transformation felt different—far more refined, almost indistinguishable from his real body.
In the past, Transformation Technique had always felt like wearing a layer of clothing. That sensation was completely gone now.
He glanced at the pitiful 232 experience points remaining.
With that little experience, he couldn't do anything at all.
Activating his Byakugan, he looked toward Kuromori's room. Kuromori wasn't resting—instead, he was sitting at his desk, writing something.
"Still working seriously, huh."
A faint smile tugged at Hyuga Arin's lips.
…
"This mission was carried out under my leadership…"
Kuromori was writing his mission report—detailing the completion process, as well as certain issues that could be corrected.
This report was meant for Lord Hanzo.
If Lord Hanzo saw how smoothly the mission had been completed, Kuromori would surely be able to follow him even more closely.
Though his body was still weak, it couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart.
That man was the hero of the Land of Rain—
Hanzo of the Salamander.
Although Rain Shadow Masakado still held the title of Kage, he had never enjoyed Hanzo's popular support. Masakado merely clung to the banner of legitimacy.
Other small ninja villages feared only Hanzo.
Many of them would choose to flee the moment they saw Hanzo.
As for the Five Great Ninja Villages?
They would say: Hanzo of the Salamander? Who's that? Some nobody? Never heard of him.
The Five Great Villages didn't even exist on the same plane as these small villages.
As for Masakado, the Five Great Villages at least recognized him—after all, he was still technically a Kage.
But that recognition ended there.
Other small villages didn't recognize him at all; he had no notable achievements to speak of.
The two factions existed in entirely different social strata.
And Amegakure itself didn't belong to the circle of great villages either—so to them, Hanzo was nothing short of a heroic figure.
"Kuromori-sama."
Hyuga Arin's eerie voice suddenly came from behind.
"Why isn't my name on that report?"
Kuromori shuddered violently and whipped around.
Mu Yu was standing right behind him, staring quietly. At some point, a bronze knife had already appeared in his hand.
Where does this guy keep getting his weapons from?
And how had Mu Yu walked right up behind him without being noticed?
Had he really become this weak already?
Kuromori swallowed hard.
"Just about to write it. Just about to."
He was genuinely afraid of Hyuga Arin now.
Part of it was because of his weakened state—but more than that, he was afraid that Hyuga Arin might suddenly go berserk.
This guy's bloodlust was no joke.
For the sake of his life, Kuromori wrote down Mu Yu's contributions to the mission in full.
Still, he did it with reluctance.
A merit earned by one person versus two—how could that be the same?
If he weren't completely outmatched right now, he would've swallowed the credit whole.
At best, he would've written Mu Yu's name down as a casualty.
Unfortunately… that wasn't an option.
Hyuga Arin watched as Kuromori wrote his name into the mission report. Though the credit was downplayed, it was at least recorded.
Only then did he nod in satisfaction.
"Now then, Kuromori-sama, you can send the report."
Seeing that Hyuga Arin had no intention of leaving, Kuromori understood—unless the report was actually sent, this man would not go away.
With no choice, he reluctantly took out a summoning scroll and spread it out on the desk.
He placed the mission report on top, bit his thumb, and pressed it onto the scroll.
Puff!
A burst of smoke appeared, and the completed mission report vanished.
Hyuga Arin watched thoughtfully.
Kuromori hadn't formed any hand seals to use the summoning technique—very different from the method Hyuga Arin used himself.
As for what the actual difference was…
He had no idea.
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