A puff of smoke erupted.
Hyuga Arin appeared at the spot where the shuriken had been, instantly lowering his head. A shuriken flew out from behind him—
Thunk!
It embedded itself directly into the wall.
Nearly a third of his chakra was gone in one go.
"So Substitution Technique has basically turned into Flying Thunder God," Hyuga Arin muttered, stroking his chin.
"But the chakra consumption is way too high."
Before changing classes, chakra only increased by 10 points per level—there was no helping that.
He still had 2,000 EXP left.
He spent 1,200 EXP to upgrade Gentle Fist to Level 5.
Gentle Fist required 400 EXP to go from Level 3 to 4, and 800 EXP from Level 4 to 5.
A massive amount of Gentle Fist knowledge flooded into his mind—
Including Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms and Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.
More importantly, it was the deeper understanding of Gentle Fist itself.
"Level 5 already puts me on par with the main house?"
Without any transmission from the main family, he had already mastered their secret techniques.
And all of it was integrated into the Gentle Fist skill.
"Air Palm and Rotation count as two separate skills, though."
Hyuga Arin raised and lowered his hands. Blue chakra shimmered between his palms, wavering but not dispersing.
Only when he withdrew his hands did the blue glow finally fade.
"Lastly…"
His gaze fell on Fire Release · Unknown Flame—the skill he valued most.
After all, if you can fight at long range, why fight up close?
He had 925 EXP remaining.
He poured 100 EXP into Fire Release · Unknown Flame.
[Fire Release · Unknown Flame (Lv2) EXP (0/200) Trait (None)]
He continued.
[Fire Release · Unknown Flame (Lv3) EXP (0/400) Trait (None)]
[Fire Release · Unknown Flame (Lv4) EXP (0/800) Trait (None)]
The methods and applications of Unknown Flame continuously flowed into Hyuga Arin's mind.
At this point, he could already develop other techniques based on Unknown Flame.
As long as they fell under its application scope, they wouldn't form new, separate skills.
He was left with just 125 EXP—no longer enough to spend on anything meaningful.
Hyuga Arin clenched his fist.
Flames ignited over his knuckles, yet caused him no harm at all.
"Half a point of chakra per second. If I keep it up continuously, I can last about four minutes."
Once skills leveled up, chakra became the real bottleneck instead.
But now, he was no longer the same as before.
As long as EXP was sufficient, he could grow stronger without ever hitting a ceiling.
Tomorrow, he would keep going—
He planned to fleece every last genin in Konoha.
For now, sleep.
…
Inside the Hokage's Office
Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly exhaled a smoke ring, looking at the disciple in front of him with a helpless expression.
"Tsunade…"
"Old man, spit it out. What do you want?" Tsunade crossed her arms, clearly annoyed.
Calling her over in the middle of the night—
Given this old lecher's reputation, she was highly suspicious, eyeing Sarutobi with clear distrust.
Sarutobi felt wounded by that look.
Just how bad had his image become in her eyes?
"Ahem." He coughed lightly. "You should really keep an eye on that subordinate of yours—Hyuga Arin."
Hyuga Arin?
Just hearing that name made Tsunade's head throb.
"What did he do this time?"
Really.
If she'd known, she never would've agreed to this mission.
She was supposed to help the Hyuga clan's young master grow, yet they'd shoved an absolute troublemaker into the mix.
And that troublemaker just happened to be her little brother's big brother.
She seriously suspected Hyuga Arin did it on purpose—
Not for any ulterior motive.
Just to piss people off.
Sarutobi sighed. "He set up a public arena today. It caused quite a disturbance."
Konoha wasn't the Hidden Cloud Village.
They weren't that violent.
Hyuga Arin's behavior definitely affected public order.
And for some reason, the Uchiha clan didn't step in at all.
Veins bulged on Tsunade's forehead. "That brat…"
Sarutobi didn't want the situation to escalate.
Konoha didn't encourage arena fights—if clients saw this and thought Konoha was just a bunch of violent thugs, that'd be a problem.
Even if… that wasn't entirely wrong.
But Konoha's reputation as a peace-loving village had to be preserved.
"Understood," Tsunade said irritably.
Right now, she really wanted to grab that brat and beat some sense into him.
Sarutobi hesitated, then said carefully, "Since he's fallen out with the Hyuga clan and doesn't have much money, maybe take him on a few more missions. Let him earn some."
Tsunade's gaze sharpened.
"Old man, what are you scheming?"
She smelled a plot.
Sarutobi shook his head. "Nothing. He's your subordinate—help him out a bit. Leave the wounded to the hospital staff."
The Konoha Hospital wasn't useless.
Although Tsunade pioneered medical ninTechnique, plenty of others had learned it by now.
Tsunade stared at Sarutobi for a long moment, then turned and walked out of the Hokage's office.
Sarutobi slowly exhaled another smoke ring, his expression growing somber.
"The Hyuga clan…"
They were a solid, impenetrable block.
Konoha's control over the Hyuga was far too weak.
Most other clans had, to some extent, integrated into the village.
Only the Uchiha and the Hyuga retained the ability to break away at any time.
The Uchiha had been pushed out.
The Hyuga, on the other hand, chose isolation themselves.
In Sarutobi's eyes, the Hyuga were another thorn—less dangerous than the Uchiha, but still not something to ignore.
Konoha's clans were meant to serve Konoha.
Yet the Hyuga contributed little, instead wasting their strength on internal strife.
Back when his position was unstable, he'd been forced to concede a great deal of power.
Now that he sat firmly on the Hokage's seat, it was time to take that power back.
And Hyuga Arin, in his view, was an opportunity—
A crack in the Hyuga clan's solid fortress.
From the shadows, Danzō Shimura slowly stepped forward.
"Hiruzen. The borders are tense. Other villages aren't giving up. We need new power."
"If we can recreate another God of Shinobi, only then can Konoha truly be protected."
Sarutobi adjusted his Hokage hat. "Danzō, we can't disturb the First Hokage's rest."
"Konoha's strength is more than enough to face any threat."
His three disciples had already matured.
There was also the sudden rise of Hatake Sakumo, along with the major clans—
Not to mention himself and Danzō.
Konoha was brimming with talent.
No need to say more.
One versus four—the advantage is ours.
Danzō said coldly, "I do this for Konoha."
"But I am the Hokage," Sarutobi replied firmly.
"You'll regret this, Hiruzen."
Danzō cursed under his breath as he left.
As for Hyuga Arin—
What did he have to do with Danzō?
Danzō had designs on every clan in Konoha—
Except the Hyuga.
That disgusting Caged Bird Seal cut off all his interest.
The Hyuga clan?
Even dogs wouldn't want them.