"So, what's in it for me?"
Hyuga Arin smiled as he looked at Hiruko standing on the tree branch. "I'm not saying I wouldn't consider it."
If the conditions were right, defecting wasn't completely off the table for him.
In this day and age, people chased higher ground like water flowed downhill.
No matter where you went, it was still just farming monsters.
Hiruko's face darkened. He stared at Arin and snapped,
"What rogue ninja? What are you talking about?!"
"Then that attack just now… that was you."
He glanced toward the distant house. Strangely enough, there was no visible damage at all.
Earlier, he'd sensed an unusual surge of chakra and immediately used Reverse Summoning.
That instinct came straight from his time on the Kirigakure battlefield.
"Playing dumb, are we?"
Arin raised his hand, a Dark Warblade appearing in his grip.
"Teacher Hiruko, those people were planning to betray Konoha."
"They were not!!" Hiruko roared.
After a brief silence, he asked through clenched teeth,
"Then what happened to them?"
Arin looked at him as if the answer were obvious.
"Of course—they're all dead."
Hiruko's breathing grew ragged. His teeth ground together as he demanded,
"Who said they were going to defect?! And who are you?!"
Arin scratched his cheek awkwardly.
Only now did he realize—Hiruko hadn't recognized him at all this whole time.
He pointed at his own face.
"Teacher Hiruko, you seriously don't recognize this face? You're the one who sent me undercover to Amegakure wearing it."
Hiruko's expression twisted violently.
He remembered now.
A boy who'd become his disciple due to Tsunade's recommendation—
the one he'd later dispatched to the Rain Village.
"Hyuga Arin!!!"
His hands flew through seals.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Strike Dragon!"
Behind Hiruko, massive arcs of lightning converged, rapidly forming a hazy dragon-shaped construct that surged straight toward Arin.
Arin took a deep breath.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Technique!"
A gigantic fire dragon burst from his mouth, colliding head-on with the lightning dragon.
Lightning and fire exploded outward, electrical arcs scattering in all directions as flames swept across the forest.
"RROOO—!"
The fire dragon let out a resonant dragon's cry and forcibly shattered the lightning dragon.
"How is that possible?!"
Hiruko stared in disbelief.
The fire dragon moved like a living creature—
no, it was alive.
He could clearly see the dragon's eyes turning within the flames.
Since when could ninjutsu become alive?!
The fire dragon surged toward him like an unstoppable army, ready to swallow him whole.
He prepared to use Reverse Summoning to escape—
"Shua."
The fire dragon vanished.
Arin's figure appeared instead, descending calmly.
The blade in his hand rested lightly against Hiruko's neck.
The fire dragon that had swapped places with him circled once in the air before dispersing.
Even with a blade at his throat, Hiruko had already completed his seals.
As long as he activated his chakra, he could vanish instantly.
"Teacher," Arin said with a light chuckle,
"I don't intend to kill you. I just need an explanation—why were you with those rogue ninja?"
Hiruko halted his chakra and took a deep breath.
"They were not rogue ninja," he said coldly.
"I don't know where you got your information, but it's absolutely wrong. You'd better think carefully about how you're going to explain this to the Hokage."
Those people did have thoughts of leaving the village—but only thoughts.
They were still hesitating.
Hiruko had been trying to persuade them to stay.
Several of those chūnin were from the same generation as him.
Yet Arin had killed them outright.
Why?!
Just because he was a genius?!
The Hokage would never allow something like this to slide.
Their deaths would not simply be written off.
What shocked Hiruko even more was that the genin he could once kill with ease had grown this powerful—strong enough to contend with him.
True, he'd lost his composure.
In a full, proper fight, he might not have lost this quickly.
But still—
"Explain?"
With a poof, Arin reverted to his original appearance—now wearing a mask and clad in ANBU combat gear.
"I think you should explain to them."
Arin glanced behind Hiruko.
One after another, figures wearing ANBU masks and combat uniforms had appeared.
They'd rushed over after sensing the disturbance.
The clash of lightning and fire had been visible across half of Konoha.
"Player, you went too far on this mission,"
the Root operative who had delivered Arin's orders stepped forward.
He'd been told to assassinate targets—not to engage in a full-on ninjutsu exchange.
"But my mission is complete," Arin replied indifferently.
"And there's also him—Jōnin Hiruko had extensive contact with these people."
"ANBU!!"
Hiruko gritted his teeth.
"They were innocent!!"
He would never admit that his companions were traitors.
"Apologies, Jōnin Hiruko,"
a Root ninja stepped forward, disguised as ANBU, his voice low and steady.
"We have conclusive evidence that they had already begun secretly planning to flee the village."
He continued,
"And Jōnin Hiruko, due to your close association with them, you will need to undergo an investigation. Please come with us."
Hiruko drew in a deep breath.
Facing Konoha's ANBU, he knew further arguments were pointless.
Once ANBU moved, there would always be "conclusive evidence."
That was the Hokage's will.
"…Fine. I'll go with you."
Hiruko followed the Root operatives unwillingly.
Behind his mask, Arin's expression turned strange.
Hiruko wasn't being taken to ANBU.
He was being taken to Root.
And Hiruko was a research-type ninja.
Would Danzō really let him go?
Could Hiruko still defect later like in the original history?
Arin felt it was… doubtful.
The operative who had issued the mission stayed behind and said to Arin,
"Your mission is considered complete. You may return."
"What do you mean considered complete?"
Arin frowned.
"I did it perfectly. You seriously won't take me to see Root?"
"Lord Danzō has not issued such an order."
"So what exactly am I—am I a Root member or not?"
The Root ninja hesitated.
"Hey—you hesitated!" Arin pointed at him indignantly.
The ninja immediately replied,
"Lord Danzō has already registered your identity within Root's records."
Just without emotional erasure.
And without the Tongue Curse Seal.
…Damn it.
So jealous.
The Root ninja seethed internally.
Elsewhere, Hiruko—now being escorted by Root—asked in a low voice,
"How did Hyuga Arin become this strong?"
In just one year, he'd grown into a ninja on par with him—perhaps even stronger.
The Root ninja beside him shook his head.
"You mean the Player? Even we don't know much about him."
Most of Arin's information was exposed, but the deeper details had already been sealed away.
Even they weren't privy to it.
So did Hyuga Arin really count as a Root ninja?
Root identities were supposed to be secret—
yet somehow, with Arin, it felt… different.
Hiruko fell silent, his fists clenched tightly.
"A genius…"
In just one year, he'd surpassed more than a decade of Hiruko's effort.
Orochimaru was like this.
Jiraiya was like this.
And now—even Hyuga Arin.
"…Is the Hyuga clan's talent really that terrifying?"
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