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"...Zabuza-sama!"
It was unclear how much time had passed when Haku awoke from unconsciousness once more.
This time, since he hadn't been knocked out again upon waking, the first thing Haku did upon regaining awareness was to check on Momochi Zabuza's condition.
Though the night was dark, a bonfire burned not far away.
By the flickering light of the flames, Haku quickly spotted Zabuza tied up nearby.
Seeing that Zabuza was still breathing, Haku, who had been frantic with worry, finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Awake?"
A voice suddenly reached Haku's ears.
Turning toward the sound, he saw a masked man approaching, holding a skewer of grilled meat.
Haku didn't need to ask to know that this masked man was the "Kirigakure ANBU" who had ambushed him.
The repeated cycles of waking and losing consciousness earlier had undoubtedly been this man's doing.
Since the man hadn't taken Zabuza's head, nor sealed their bodies and consciousness to bring them back to Kirigakure in the Land of Water, Haku understood that he must have some other purpose.
So, without hesitation, Haku spoke up: "Sir… may I propose a deal with you?"
"What a coincidence. I was just about to propose one to you as well."
The man—Ryūsei—sat down in front of Haku and asked, "What kind of deal did you have in mind?"
"I am a descendant of the Yuki clan. I possess the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, and I'm only fifteen years old."
Haku began promoting himself. "If you let Zabuza-sama go, I am willing to become your tool. You can use me however you wish!"
'Even if it means killing…'
The last sentence echoed silently in Haku's heart.
If it meant saving the person who had given him purpose, he was willing to cast aside his kindness and become a merciless killing tool!
"Such touching loyalty. It's clear he's become the only light in your life."
Ryūsei chuckled. "However, I have no interest in tools whose loyalty doesn't belong to me. So, I refuse."
Before Haku could anxiously raise the stakes, Ryūsei continued, "I can let Momochi Zabuza go… but in exchange, you must assist me with an experiment."
"Of course! As long as you release Zabuza-sama, you can do whatever experiments you want on my body. Human experimentation is fine!" Haku immediately replied, clearly misunderstanding Ryūsei's meaning.
"It's not that kind of experiment. Just cooperate obediently, and that'll be enough."
Ryūsei undid the chains binding Haku and handed him the skewer of grilled meat. "Eat this first. Once you've recovered, you'll serve as my test subject."
"...Understood."
Haku showed no intention of resisting. He took the skewer, removed his mask, and began eating.
Once Haku finished, Ryūsei pulled out a ninja tool pouch from seemingly nowhere and tossed it in front of him. Then, he formed a hand seal.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
With a poof of white smoke, a shadow clone with an immense amount of chakra appeared beside Ryūsei.
Unless it suffered fatal or severe damage, this clone would not easily disperse.
Seeing the shadow clone, a glint of realization flashed in Haku's eyes.
Due to the convenience and versatility of the Shadow Clone Technique—originally developed by the Second Hokage—its training methods had long since spread throughout the shinobi world.
However, out of pride and habit, shinobi from different villages still preferred their own village's clone techniques.
For example, Momochi Zabuza and Kisame Hoshigaki favored Water Clones.
Shinobi from Iwagakure preferred Earth Clones.
Only Konoha shinobi consistently used Shadow Clones.
Does this mean this 'Kirigakure ANBU' isn't actually from Kirigakure… but a Konoha ANBU?
But if he's from Konoha, why hasn't he killed us or taken us back to the village?
Or… does he not belong to any of the Five Great Shinobi Villages?
Though intensely curious about Ryūsei's identity, Haku didn't dare ask.
The fact that Ryūsei wore a mask meant he didn't want his true identity exposed.
If Haku's curiosity pushed too far, Zabuza would undoubtedly die.
So, Haku obediently fastened the tool pouch to his waist.
Ryūsei then took out a notebook and pen, pointing at his shadow clone.
"Fight my shadow clone. You may only use the weapons in that pouch—no Kekkei Genkai or ninjutsu."
"...Understood."
Though deeply confused, Haku still didn't dare question the order.
The shadow clone and Haku moved to a clearing not far from the bonfire, engaging in an irregular battle under the dim firelight in the dark of night.
This fight was no different from Ryūsei's previous unregulated spar with Sasuke Uchiha—a contest of fundamentals.
And the result?
The shadow clone won.
Because it cheated.
It secretly activated the Three Tomoe Sharingan, using its incredible dynamic vision to exploit every opening in Haku's movements, leaving numerous wounds on his body before finally subduing him.
Watching this, Ryūsei drew a horizontal line in his notebook and said to the clone, "Heal him. Then continue."
Once the clone treated Haku's injuries, the two resumed their irregular duel.
The outcome remained the same—the shadow clone achieved complete victory.
Again and again, Haku lost.
Again and again, he was healed.
Each time Haku was defeated, Ryūsei's main body would mark his notebook with either a horizontal or vertical line.
By the time Haku was subdued once more, Ryūsei had drawn enough lines to form two complete kanji for "correct" (正)—meaning Haku had lost ten times in total.
After the shadow clone healed Haku again, Ryūsei didn't order them to continue. Instead, he dispelled the clone, which still had plenty of chakra remaining.
Then, he created a new shadow clone.
This one didn't possess an overwhelming amount of chakra—instead, it was roughly equal to Haku's.
"Eat this. Then keep going."
Ryūsei tossed Haku a small packet.
Catching it, Haku saw that it contained soldier pills.
Though he still didn't understand what Ryūsei was trying to accomplish, Haku obediently swallowed one and resumed fighting the clone.
Even though the clone's chakra and endurance were now on par with Haku's, the battle still ended in the clone's victory.
From start to finish, Haku hadn't even touched it.
The darkness weakened Haku's combat ability but enhanced the clone's.
The process repeated—Haku lost repeatedly, was healed repeatedly.
This time, however, it was Ryūsei's main body doing the healing.
Before long, Ryūsei's notebook was one stroke away from completing a fourth "correct" kanji.
Just as Ryūsei was about to conclude that the experiment had failed and step in himself—
Swish—
This time, as Haku was subdued, his body suddenly emitted a bright blue glow.
In the darkness of night, the radiance was dazzling to Ryūsei's eyes.
Seeing this light, Ryūsei's heart surged with exhilaration.
It worked!
Not only could his main body trigger the "loot drop" mechanism—his shadow clones could too!
When the blue orb automatically flew toward Ryūsei's main body rather than the clone, he understood.
He was unique… yet not unique.
As long as it was him—whether main body or shadow clone—defeating an opponent counted as his victory and had a chance to yield loot.
Moreover, just as Ryūsei had suspected, the invisible "rating" wasn't just based on the method of victory but also on relative strength.
Defeating someone of higher level or greater power meant even a trivial victory could easily produce loot.
For example, Kurenai's verbal surrender, or knocking out Zabuza with a simple chop to the neck.
Defeating weaker or lower-level opponents, however, reduced the drop rate.
Like with Ino and Hinata over the past few years—or Haku, who had been repeatedly knocked out earlier without yielding anything.
But this drop rate could be exploited through a loophole—shadow clones!
And now, Ryūsei hadn't just confirmed this hypothesis…
He had found the system's flaw.