"Staying in the village for several months and only gaining sixty thousand experience…"
Hyuga Arin stared at the experience pool on his status panel, utterly speechless.
[Experience: 68,892]
This was already counting the chūnin exams and the Root mission.
Inside the village, there was basically no way to gain experience at all.
And there was still no word about a battlefield assignment.
He was slumped on the sofa, while Hyuga Natsuna was vigorously wiping the table in front of it—so hard it practically gleamed.
Why did it suddenly feel like he was exploiting child labor?
But then again, he himself was only thirteen and already fighting and killing for Konoha.
If Konoha didn't consider that illegal, then this probably wasn't a big deal either.
Still… wasn't Natsuna wiping the table for a bit too long?
"Do you need something?" Arin asked curiously.
Natsuna looked up, a hint of longing on her face.
"Can… can I go out?"
"Go ahead. I'm not stopping you." Arin rolled his eyes.
If she wanted to leave, he wouldn't stop her.
It wasn't some kind of confinement play.
She was the one stubbornly refusing to leave.
"Can you protect me while I go out?" Natsuna pleaded.
"If other Hyuga members see me, they'll definitely drag me back for that engagement!!"
She'd been cooped up here for a long time.
After finally escaping the Hyuga compound, she hadn't even gotten a chance to play properly.
And with her features being so distinctive, if she went out alone, she'd be caught immediately.
Arin shook his head decisively.
"I don't feel like going out."
Unless he was going out to farm monsters, he had zero desire to step outside.
Anything beyond a hundred meters from his front door counted as a long trip.
Disappointment spread across Natsuna's face.
As a caged bird of the Hyuga main family, she didn't attend the Ninja Academy, didn't train as a ninja, and was destined to stay within Konoha—most of the time confined to that tiny corner belonging to the Hyuga clan.
Arin felt he might be going a bit too far with the kid.
After some thought, he said, "Come here for a second."
Natsuna crossed her arms and stared at him warily.
"That kind of thing is not allowed."
"Allowed my ass."
Arin jumped up and smacked her on the head.
"Clear those filthy thoughts out of your brain. A flat little brat like you, who'd even like you?!"
"Machì has more appeal than you do."
Machì, who had just stepped out to drink water, immediately crossed her arms as well and looked at Arin expressionlessly.
"I'm not allowed either."
"DAMN IT, I'M THIRTEEN!!!" Arin roared.
"What the hell is wrong with your minds?!"
Machì rolled her eyes and turned to head back to her room.
"Wait a second, Machì," Arin called out.
He placed a hand on Natsuna's head.
"Transformation Technique!"
Poof!
In an instant, Natsuna transformed from a seven-year-old girl into a curvy, twenty-year-old beauty.
Her face resembled an older version of herself, but her originally white eyes had become normal brown pupils.
Arin's Transformation Technique could be used on others.
As long as enough chakra was injected at once, it could last a very long time.
Natsuna looked down—she couldn't even see her feet anymore.
Realizing something, her face flushed red as she angrily shouted at Arin:
"Your head is full of filthy thoughts!!"
It was way too obvious.
Arin instinctively turned his head aside, his face slightly red.
What was wrong with liking mature women?!
"You didn't even try to deny it!!" Natsuna accused.
He'd just claimed they were dirty-minded, but this transformation exposed him completely.
"Alright, alright." Arin waved his hand, changing the subject.
"Machì, take her out with you."
He looked serious as he warned Machì,
"No killing. No stealing."
Machì really didn't look like someone who paid for things properly.
At least, not in Arin's eyes.
Most Phantom Troupe members had that habit—
see something they liked, take it; anyone who stopped them, kill them.
He took out his wallet and handed over a thick stack of bills.
"Got it," Machì replied casually, accepting the money.
She'd been in this world for a long time now—finally, she could go out and see it properly.
And honestly, she wasn't that bloodthirsty.
At least compared to Arin, she was practically kind.
"I'm… going out with her?"
Natsuna shuddered slightly and looked at Arin pitifully.
"Any objections?" Machì shot her a cold glance.
Natsuna recalled the many times she'd nearly died at Machì's hands in this house and shook her head violently.
"No."
Very firm.
Seeing the two get along—more or less—Arin turned back to his game panel and ignored them.
After a moment's thought, he spent 51,100 experience to instantly max out Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique.
[Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique (Lv10) — Max Level]
[Trait (Pending Selection)]
[Fireball: Fireballs are invincible and accept no rebuttal!]
"Why are you here again?" Arin stared at the first option in disbelief.
"This thing is so abstract it hurts."
[Split: When a target is killed, the flames will split and spread to nearby enemies.]
"What kind of messed-up relationship does my Fire Release have with Fire Brand?!"
"I'm practically unlocking all of Brand's skills at this point!"
[Burn: As long as your chakra supply continues, the flames will not extinguish.]
"A weakened version of Amaterasu?" Arin thought for a moment.
The first option was too ridiculous.
The second only triggered after a kill and was hard to control.
In the end, he chose the third.
This one was more reliable.
His ninjutsu didn't just end once cast—he could continue controlling it, even feeding it chakra.
Though he didn't understand the theory behind it, he could do it.
That alone massively boosted the power of Phoenix Sage Fire.
Looking at the remaining ten thousand experience points, Arin decided not to spend them yet.
"I've already got four max-level Fire Release techniques. Six more and I can fuse them into Fire Release."
He sprawled back onto the sofa.
"In Konoha… it's really impossible to grind skills."
Once Machì and Natsuna could go out, they were gone all day, every day.
Several days later, Arin finally received a message from Orochimaru.
He headed straight to the waterfall where Nawaki had trained before.
A number of people were already gathered there.
Jiraiya greeted him with a grin.
Orochimaru stood nearby, deep in thought.
Tsunade glanced at him with her usual expressionless look.
"Big bro!! You're finally here!!"
Nawaki rushed over excitedly.
Beside him, Aburame Mushihime clasped her hands together, her face flushed as she stared at Arin and Nawaki.
…Wait.
Why did that look feel so weird?!
Arin shot Mushihime a distinctly unfriendly look.
"Alright," Orochimaru spoke up at last.
When he saw Arin, his trademark gentle smile appeared.
"This time, we'll be moving out in secret."
"Our mission is to provide support to the Kumogakure frontline."
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