"You need to return to Konoha and report in," Danzō said after a moment of thought.
There was no easy way around it. At present, Sarutobi Hiruzen still held authority above him. Blocking Hyūga Akira from returning would be a direct challenge to the Hokage's power, and for now, their relationship remained stable.
More importantly, Danzō was positioning himself as the next Hokage. Undermining the office's authority at this stage would only hurt him in the long run.
Akira's face immediately fell.
He had been hoping to squeeze out one more harvest in the Land of Rain. Getting sent straight back like this was a blow.
His Nanika's Wish List fragments weren't even complete yet. Even if the drop rate was abysmal, it still hurt to leave unfinished business behind.
Danzō noticed Akira's reluctance and spoke again after a short pause.
"This war in the Rain Country is only a minor front. The real battlefield lies with Iwa, Suna, Kumo, and Kiri. This conflict won't end anytime soon—you'll have plenty of chances later."
That's easy for you to say, Akira thought.
Once Hanzō really went all out and pushed back the Three Great Nations, Danzō might not sound so confident.
According to the original timeline, Hanzō didn't just repel three major villages—he counterattacked deep into their territory. That was what eventually forced the battlefield to shift fully into the Rain Country, turning it into the main theater of war.
Later, even Kumogakure jumped in, and that was when Hanzō finally collapsed. No matter how strong he was, Amegakure simply didn't have the foundation to withstand four great villages at once.
As for Kirigakure, they were busy clashing with the Uchiha clan.
It was only during the Third Shinobi World War—after Konoha had bled heavily in the Second—that Hiruzen was forced to keep the Uchiha locked on the Mist front, unable to redeploy them elsewhere. There simply weren't enough people left.
In the Second War, Konoha had still managed to keep children off the battlefield. Minato's generation only joined after graduation. By the Third War, the academy students were being rushed through early graduation just to fill the ranks.
That alone showed how desperate things had become.
But right now, this period was the absolute peak of Hiruzen's reign.
Whether Hanzō could last as long as he originally did was anyone's guess. Given how aggressive he'd become, Akira doubted he'd survive beyond three or four years at most.
In the end, Akira couldn't influence the village's decision.
He could only accept it.
"Once you return to the village, someone will handle your formal induction," Danzō said.
Internally, he was already reconsidering Akira's placement. Without the Tongue Eradication Curse Seal as leverage, Akira couldn't be allowed access to Root's deepest secrets. He would have to be used differently—still valuable, but controlled in another way.
"Yes," Akira replied.
After receiving approval, Akira obediently returned to his tent.
Everything else would have to wait until he got back to Konoha.
For now, he was barred from further combat. All he could do was let that old fox Hanzō live a little longer.
He couldn't beat him yet—but that didn't stop him from cursing him out mentally.
"Then now's the perfect time."
Akira pulled out the instance scroll.
It was time to enter the Hunter world.
He stepped out from a shadowed corner and squinted as sunlight poured down from above.
"So bright…"
It had been a long time since he'd seen a sky this clear.
The Land of Rain was perpetually shrouded in clouds, rain falling more often than not, the sun rarely visible. Everything there felt gloomy and oppressive.
It wasn't that the Rain Country never saw sunlight—Akira had just never been lucky enough to catch it.
"Where am I?"
He looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings and first checked the mission details.
[Server Mission: Destroy the Phantom Troupe]
"…That aligns with my goals, but isn't this asking a bit much?" Akira muttered, rubbing his chin.
Looks like a direct clash with the Phantom Troupe was unavoidable.
First things first—he needed to figure out where he was, and what time it was.
Turning his head, he saw bustling streets and a steady flow of pedestrians. Akira immediately used a transformation technique to dull his presence, blending into the crowd like a drop of water in the ocean.
After wandering for a while, he finally slipped out of the crowd, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"So this is… Kent City, the Hunter Exam selection site."
And judging by the timing, it wasn't the start of the Yorknew City arc yet—it was roughly one month after the Hunter Exam had concluded.
That put it around early February.
The Yorknew arc wouldn't begin until September.
"That gives me about seven months."
Plenty of time.
His memory of Hunter x Hunter was a little hazy, but he remembered the general timeline well enough.
"Still…" Akira pinched his chin again. "I need money."
He didn't have a single unit of currency from this world.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, several familiar figures emerged from the shadows nearby.
"Hey. You passed the Hunter Exam, didn't you?"
They were former exam candidates—people he'd encountered during the test but who had been eliminated within the first three stages.
For the sake of gathering information earlier, Akira had instinctively used his usual disguise—Mu Yu. Getting recognized wasn't surprising.
What was surprising was that they somehow knew he'd passed.
Without a word, Akira casually took out his Hunter License. It spun lightly between his fingers as a playful smile appeared on his face.
"You mean this?"
A Hunter License granted access to nearly 90% of countries normally off-limits, entry into 75% of forbidden zones, unlimited use of public facilities, free access to most information networks—and could be used as collateral for massive loans.
Most importantly—
It bore no name.
And if lost, it would never be reissued.
Anyone holding it could use it.
Naturally, it attracted greedy eyes.
"Hand over the license if you don't want to die," one of them sneered.
"Do you have money?" Akira asked instead.
"What does that have to do with—"
They didn't finish the sentence.
Several of them lunged forward at once.
With a flick of his wrist, the license vanished back into Akira's inventory.
He smiled as he looked at them.
"I hope you do. Otherwise, you'll be paying with your lives."
The Hunter License had another nickname—
A license to kill.
Murder wasn't a crime.
"B-big brother… this is all the money we have…"
A bruised, swollen-faced man held up a thick wad of cash with trembling hands.
Out of everyone who'd jumped Akira, he was the only one still conscious.
They'd rushed him together, only to be beaten down in seconds. Now he finally understood what kind of monster he'd provoked.
Someone completely out of their league.
Akira took the money and smiled at him.
The man's face relaxed in relief.
Then—
Akira tapped his Baihui point, knocking him unconscious.
[EXP +358]
That was the combined experience from all of them.
"…Completely useless," Akira muttered as he turned and left the alley.
People like that wouldn't drop anything worthwhile. Killing them wasn't even worth the effort.
Still, the money was enough.
Enough to head straight to Heavens Arena.
In the entire Hunter world, there was no place better for farming experience than that.
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