Amnesia.
Distorted pain perception.
Prone to emotional instability and violent outbursts.
That was the role Hyūga Ming had designed for himself.
As a medical ninja, he naturally understood such cases. With only minor acting, it was easy to pass as genuine.
This condition was rare—across the entire shinobi world, only a handful of cases existed—but it was well documented.
Because almost every village had, at one point, produced one or two ninja with similar symptoms.
Which made it the perfect illness to fake.
With this explanation in place, the Rain ninja wouldn't dwell on his past actions. And once they heard that such a condition could rapidly boost combat strength, the Hidden Rain certainly wouldn't discard him as a civilian.
For a small village, every bit of fighting strength mattered.
Even if the person would eventually die.
Especially in a place like the Land of Rain.
Here, shinobi were consumables.
Just look at how Hanzo would later use his own people—as living explosive tags.
It had to be said: Hanzo was ruthless.
Several more people entered the room.
Based on the information Hyūga Ming had extracted earlier, these were all the stationed shinobi of the city.
They'd gathered entirely because of the "Konoha attack."
Definitely not because of him.
Mu Yu had only ever been a barely noticeable genin.
Hyūga Ming was restrained with binding straps.
For five days, he lay in that room.
During those five days, Kusamori repeatedly explained his identity to him.
Most of it was information Hyūga Ming already knew.
Kusamori was his direct superior.
Kusamori commanded ten genin.
Hyūga Ming—Mu Yu—was merely one of them.
The truly valuable intelligence came later.
"We are Lord Hanzo's most loyal followers," Kusamori said softly while sitting beside him.
"Our lives exist solely to serve Lord Hanzo."
"As for that so-called Rain Shadow, Shōzō—he'll only drag us into the abyss."
From Kusamori's words, Hyūga Ming pieced together the situation.
The man currently controlling the Hidden Rain was named Shōzō.
The policy of "non-intervention, monitoring only" had been issued by Shōzō himself.
Hanzo, meanwhile, had become the village's living symbol.
Many small villages fled at the mere mention of his name.
Yet despite that, Hanzo was not the current leader of the Hidden Rain.
Or rather—
He was still fighting someone who wasn't even worthy of a name in the original canon.
The outcome was inevitable.
Hanzo would win.
The only question was when.
Hyūga Ming remembered correctly—
The Second Shinobi World War would erupt fully in Year 37.
Hanzo would declare war on the Three Great Nations in Year 38.
Which meant—
That old bastard Shōzō was surprisingly hard to kill.
He'd managed to cling to power all the way into Year 37, suppressing Hanzo the entire time.
Impressive. In a disgusting way.
"I will devote my life to serving Lord Hanzo," Hyūga Ming said earnestly.
He had to sound sincere.
After all, he was still tied up.
Whether he'd truly been one of Hanzo's men before didn't matter.
He'd "lost his memory."
That erased everything.
"So, sir… can you untie me now?" Hyūga Ming asked hopefully.
He could have broken free himself—Bear Palm was more than enough.
But he was playing the role of an amnesiac genin.
Where would that kind of strength come from?
"Very well," Kusamori said solemnly.
"From today onward, you'll accompany me on missions."
As he spoke, he released the restraints—
while remaining visibly alert.
Last time, this lunatic had nearly beaten him to death.
Caution was mandatory.
"Thank you, sir," Hyūga Ming said, rotating his wrists and flashing a bright smile.
The hardest part was over.
Now came assimilation.
Dressed in clean clothes, wearing a purple vest, Hyūga Ming adjusted the Hidden Rain forehead protector on his brow.
He was now officially a Rain ninja.
Genin Mu Yu.
"Heh," he chuckled at his reflection.
He'd come to the Hidden Rain to farm drops—
And somehow ended up becoming one of them.
What a terrible joke.
He exited the washroom.
Kusamori had already been waiting outside.
After giving him an approving look, Kusamori asked,
"What techniques do you still remember?"
Hyūga Ming thought for a moment.
"Only the Three Basic Techniques."
The Academy staples.
Even street dogs in the shinobi world knew them.
Kusamori nodded.
"So you've forgotten everything else. That's fine—I can teach you again."
In the Hidden Rain, the hierarchy was strict.
Jōnin taught chūnin.
Chūnin taught genin.
Hyūga Ming, however, wasn't interested in lessons.
"I'd rather kill enemies," he said bluntly.
A bloodthirsty gleam flashed across his eyes.
Skills were nice—but nothing compared to farming real experience.
Kusamori frowned.
"That old bastard Shōzō ordered us to stay hidden. No conflicts with other villages."
"…Huh?" Hyūga Ming rolled his eyes.
Bad luck really followed him everywhere.
"But if you really want to kill someone," Kusamori continued calmly,
"you can kill civilians. As long as it's not too many."
Hyūga Ming stared at him.
What kind of garbage suggestion was that?
Civilians barely gave any experience.
Maybe a little money.
Completely worthless.
One genin was worth more than dozens of civilians.
"I prefer killing the strong," Hyūga Ming replied coldly.
"If they're not ninja, I'm not interested."
Then he smiled.
"Of course, Sir Kusamori—if you're interested, we could try each other."
His eyes gleamed.
He genuinely believed he could kill him.
Kusamori's face darkened instantly.
"Remember your place. I am your superior. Do not show killing intent toward me."
"Tch." Hyūga Ming clicked his tongue dismissively.
Kusamori sighed inwardly.
Mu Yu had changed too much.
Before his injury, he'd never been like this.
Who would've thought that losing his memory would turn him into a feral monster?
"I'll find you opportunities," Kusamori said, leading him out of the safehouse.
Since Hyūga Ming was now cleared, he could be put to work.
At the highest tower of the border city—
Hyūga Ming was assigned his post.
"Your job is to organize the intelligence gathered by other units," Kusamori explained,
"and infer Konoha's movements."
He gestured to seven people behind him.
"They're all my subordinates. You knew them before. You can ask them about your past."
Kusamori's main responsibility was intelligence regarding Konoha.
Hyūga Ming nodded and smiled politely.
"Please take care of me."
For some reason—
Everyone who saw that gentle smile shivered violently.
"I have other duties," Kusamori said.
"Leave the rest to them."
His body dissolved into a puddle of water.
When he vanished, no one spoke to Hyūga Ming.
They merely cast cold glances at him and returned to work.
Hyūga Ming watched them.
"…Looks like workplace relationships here aren't great either."
A chilling smile crept across his face.
Perfect.
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