The miracle never happened.
Especially after Hyuga Arin stopped holding back—even the seven people who were still standing in the end were all knocked unconscious.
Although the Shadow Clones themselves weren't particularly strong and had limited chakra, once they were boosted by Ignition and Demon Back—one ninjutsu enhancement and one taijutsu enhancement—their combat power skyrocketed.
Add to that the Eight Trigrams Gentle Fist, which allowed Arin to predict every move his opponents made…
Winning under those conditions would've been the real miracle.
In the end, even Nawaki and Aburame Mushi-hime enjoyed a very high-quality sleep.
"I knew it," Orochimaru sneered coldly.
After spending several days observing Arin, he understood him quite well. Arin's battles never ended simply—he always fought for absolute victory. Unless he physically couldn't win, he would never stop until the opponent was completely stripped of combat ability.
"Still… isn't this a bit too much?" Jiraiya couldn't help saying from the side.
They could've stopped once things were more or less decided, yet Arin had wiped everyone out completely.
Arin, meanwhile, looked at the experience value scrolling before his eyes.
[27312]
"I think it's great," Arin replied with a radiant smile.
Aside from the lack of loot drops, everything was perfect.
There were hardly any places left to farm experience—how could he possibly let an opportunity like this go?
Whether anyone else was happy or not didn't matter. He was happy.
And just like that, amid Arin's barely restrained laughter, the chūnin exams came to an end.
That day, everyone remembered one name:
Hyuga Arin—the bastard.
"From today on, you're all chūnin."
After the exams, the successful candidates gathered in a room inside the arena to receive their green flak jackets.
Orochimaru and Jiraiya personally handed them out.
Seven people had made it to the final stage—six were promoted, while the last one had already fainted from crying in the bathroom.
This was just bullying.
He'd held out until the very end, hadn't he? Everyone else got promoted—only he stayed a genin.
So what had all that effort been for?
For motivation next time.
Arin accepted the green vest and put it away. He didn't particularly like green—it always felt vaguely suggestive.
He'd already been promoted to chūnin last year in Amegakure, yet in Konoha they'd dragged it out for a full year.
Absolutely ridiculous.
He still even had his Rain Village vest.
"Orochimaru-sensei, when do we head to the battlefield?" Arin asked with barely concealed anticipation.
Now that the exams were over, surely it was time to go earn merit—and farm some experience.
Unlike Arin's excitement, the others immediately tensed up, all of them instinctively glancing at him.
Who wanted to rush to the battlefield these days?
Every front line was a meat grinder. Sending ten ninja over, it was a blessing if five came back alive.
Even jōnin were dying at alarming rates.
This guy wasn't right in the head. Best keep some distance.
Arin, completely oblivious to how a single sentence had made his fellow newly promoted chūnin mentally blacklist him, continued on cheerfully.
Which was honestly why he never had friends—and why that wasn't surprising at all.
"Assignments should come down in the next few days," Orochimaru said, rubbing his temples.
"In the meantime, train well. The stronger you are, the better your chances of surviving on the battlefield."
The four… ahem, battlefronts were all short on manpower, and another wave of ninja would be dispatched soon.
Tsunade had already dealt with Chiyo's poison and was on her way back to regroup.
Soon, the three of them wouldn't be staying in the village either—they'd be sent to the front. Whether they'd be split up or deployed together depended on Sarutobi's orders.
Even though Hiruzen was still on the Iwa front, his command over the village remained intact.
The newly promoted chūnin all wore solemn expressions. They'd long since accepted this reality.
"A few more days, huh…" Arin muttered with mild disappointment.
What kind of person was this, really? Others dreaded the battlefield—he was looking forward to it.
Life as a chūnin was… a little boring.
Mainly because Orochimaru suddenly went radio-silent, apparently busy with something unknown.
Nawaki vanished too, claiming he was undergoing "secret training."
Mushi-hime said she'd come up with a new insect dish that Arin would definitely love.
No. He would rather die.
So the three of them all disappeared, leaving Arin alone at home.
"Hey! That was my dessert! How could you eat it all?!" Hyuga Natsuna's voice rang out from the kitchen.
Judging by the volume, she was very much alive.
"Ahhh, I'm sorry! I'll give you all of it next time!! W-wahhh!!"
That emotional turnaround was… fast.
Arin rubbed his head in frustration and walked into the kitchen.
Natsuna was tied up tightly with Nen threads, her pale neck already marked with a thin red line.
Beside her, Machi held the threads with one hand and calmly ate cake with the other.
Natsuna made that cake.
…The kid had it rough.
"Machi, let her go," Arin sighed.
Machi withdrew the threads and immediately ran behind Arin, sobbing pitifully.
It actually sounded kind of sad.
"Maybe you should just go home," Arin said, feeling a bit guilty.
"I refuse!!" Natsuna shouted, eyes red, sniffling hard.
"Hey! You're wiping your nose on my clothes!!"
This was exactly why he didn't like kids!
Arin stared at the ceiling in despair.
Ever since Natsuna moved in, Machi had completely stopped doing chores and dumped everything on her. Natsuna had resisted fiercely at first—but after Machi's expressionless death threats, she'd cried and given in.
Was it really okay for a woman in her twenties to bully a seven-year-old like this?
As for Arin—
He didn't do housework anyway.
So… was Hyuga Hiashi really that terrifying as a fiancé?
Machi and Arin both suddenly sensed something and turned toward the window.
To Nen users, the chakra inside a ninja was actually very noticeable.
"You two, go back to your rooms," Arin waved them off.
At least Natsuna had her own room here—small mercies.
Arin sat down on the couch as a figure slipped in through the window.
Mask. ANBU combat uniform.
Either ANBU—or Root.
"Player, you have a new mission," the newcomer said coldly, far more unapproachable than Crow.
"So you're the one taking me this time?" Arin asked curiously.
He'd only done two missions so far—an ambush on an Uchiha squad, and battlefield support. Since returning to Konoha, he hadn't seen Root at all.
Finally, someone showed up.
"Your direct superior is Crow. I'm only here to deliver the mission," the Root operative replied emotionlessly.
"So…?"
"You'll be executing this mission alone."
He handed Arin a scroll.
"Is it killing Uchiha?" Arin asked eagerly as he unrolled it.
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