Hyuga Arin went out wearing rather thin clothes.
Even though it was icy and snow-covered outside, with his physical constitution, a bit of cold meant nothing to him.
"Ah—choo!!!"
"Big bro, how about we go back and put on something thicker?"
Nawaki couldn't help saying from the side.
Arin wasn't exactly wearing shorts and a T-shirt, but his outfit was still just a single layer. One gust of cold wind went straight through him.
Even Nawaki, bundled up in a padded coat, felt cold just looking at him.
"It's fine." Arin waved his hand. Chakra rapidly enveloped his body, pushing the cold away.
One application of Nen was repelling low temperatures. If that wasn't enough, he could simply raise the temperature of his Nen.
Chakra nature manipulation.
As long as he could use it, chakra could be directly converted into the desired attribute.
Raising the temperature was an easy trick.
"Alright, not cold anymore."
So yeah—mere cold really wasn't worth mentioning.
The main reason they were out today was to buy furniture and household items.
In winter, there weren't many shops open, but furniture stores still operated—just with much worse business.
They quickly picked a furniture shop.
Arin bought quite a lot and made a reservation for home delivery.
Only then did Nawaki finally reveal his real purpose for coming to see him.
"Big bro, fight me—one on one!"
Arin tilted his head.
"Are you sure!?"
This wasn't him bullying someone—Nawaki was the one who asked for it.
It wasn't that Arin looked down on Nawaki. But now he had solid jōnin-level strength, while Nawaki, despite being a genius, was at best an outstanding genin.
And that was already under Arin's pressure-driven training.
A jōnin fighting a genin—there was really no suspense.
"I'm sure! To defeat you, big bro, I've trained for a long time!"
Nawaki spoke confidently.
Even though he'd been beaten by Arin once and acknowledged him as his big brother, that didn't mean he accepted being weaker forever.
"I believe you've grown fast these past two years as a ninja, big bro—but I won't lose to you!"
Nawaki raised his fist, fire practically blazing in his eyes.
A strange smile appeared on Arin's face.
He hoped Nawaki would still be saying that in a moment.
…
"Go, Nawaki big bro!!!"
In the Forest of Death, at the place where they used to train.
Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki were wildly waving glow sticks.
"Wait—where did those glow sticks even come from!?"
Arin suddenly realized something was very wrong.
And what was with Minato and Kushina's fanatical expressions? Were these really just Nawaki's little follower and little sister?
They looked more like members of some bizarre cult fan club.
"Big bro, don't worry about such details." Nawaki said with a bright smile, standing not far from Arin, itching to fight.
"Those details are very worth worrying about, okay!?"
Arin pointed at Minato and Kushina.
Their state was completely off—and what was with those green cloaks they were wearing? Why was Nawaki's face printed on them!?
What exactly had he done to these kids!?
Had this turned into Hot-Blooded High School crossed with a cult? Or a full-on idol fan support group?!
Nawaki didn't care at all. He just said seriously to Arin,
"Big bro, I'm coming."
"Whoosh!"
Nawaki crossed the distance between them almost instantly, throwing a punch.
Arin merely shifted his body to the side to dodge, clicking his tongue.
"So fast."
He drove a knee toward Nawaki's abdomen. Nawaki reacted just as quickly, slapping Arin's knee aside with one hand and spinning backward at high speed before landing steadily.
"Not bad."
Arin praised him sincerely. That reaction speed was already brushing the threshold of a chūnin.
He suddenly fell into thought.
What kind of fantasy Naruto world was this?
Seeing Arin distracted, Nawaki leaped at him again, raising his fist and smashing down.
The monstrous strength of the Senju clan—Arin had no intention of testing it head-on. He lightly jumped backward to dodge.
But Nawaki didn't stop. Instead, he slammed his fist into the ground.
"Earth Release! Quaking Fist!"
"Boom!"
The ground shattered as a huge earthen spike shot upward from beneath Arin's feet.
Arin flipped backward again to evade, staggering a few steps after landing, nearly falling. He clapped his hands at Nawaki.
"Nice. With this level, you're already qualified to take the chūnin exams."
Casting ninjutsu without hand seals meant Nawaki was extremely familiar with the technique—and had deliberately sacrificed most of its power.
"But the damage is too low. You'll need to keep improving it."
Nawaki steadied his breathing, then stomped hard on the ground, cracking it. His body shot forward like a cannonball toward Arin.
"Don't look down on me!!!"
Arin hadn't used even a fraction of his real strength. To Nawaki, it felt like he was being completely toyed with.
Arin sidestepped, dodging Nawaki's charge. Nawaki landed and immediately swept his leg.
Arin hopped back lightly to avoid it.
Nawaki rose and rushed again, turning his hands and feet into weapons, attacking nonstop.
Arin merely swayed his body, dodging every strike with ease.
Arin was untouched.
Nawaki, on the other hand, stopped, panting heavily.
He slammed his fist into the ground.
"Use your full strength already!!"
"Hyuga Arin!!"
Quaking Fist!
Spikes erupted from the ground again, only for Arin to leap and flip away.
"Looks like if I don't get serious, you won't let this go."
Arin shrugged. The smile on his face slowly faded, his gaze turning cold.
Unrestrained killing intent burst from his body.
In that instant, Nawaki froze.
His body stiffened, completely unable to move. A bone-chilling cold crawled up from deep within his marrow.
Move!!
Move already!!
Nawaki screamed inside his head—but his body refused to respond.
At that moment, a sharp kunai was pressed against his throat, forcing him to raise his head.
"Nawaki," Arin's icy voice rang out,
"this is what being a ninja means."
Nawaki swallowed hard.
He'd lost. Without question.
All that long, grueling training—ended the instant Arin got serious.
"You can't even withstand my killing intent," Arin said, withdrawing the kunai.
"How are you supposed to fight me?"
"How… how could this be…"
In the distance, Kushina knelt on the ground in shock.
"The invincible Nawaki big bro actually lost…"
Minato said sorrowfully,
"I will inherit your will, Nawaki big bro."
He looked at Arin with determination.
"One day, I'll defeat you, Big–Big Brother Arin!"
"I'M NOT DEAD YET!!!" Nawaki roared.
Why did it sound like he'd already died in their mouths!?
"Hold on—whether you're dead or not isn't the point. What the hell is 'Big–Big Brother'!?"
Arin stared at Minato, speechless.
"My life is very important!!"
Nawaki declared firmly.
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