Seeing Akishima blown to pieces by the explosion, Kuromori finally let out a breath of relief.
The most dangerous enemy was dead.
He hadn't expected the ninja sent by Masakado to be this strong—he'd nearly capsized completely.
Next, as long as he handled things properly, Rain Shadow Masakado wouldn't discover the truth for quite some time. And that window of time would be more than enough for Lord Hanzo to make many moves.
Everything he had done was for Lord Hanzo.
For Amegakure.
"What about the other three?" Kuromori wiped the blood from his face—the result of Akishima's punches earlier.
During that desperate struggle, he'd taken quite a bit of damage.
Hyuga Arin remained standing on the tree, showing no intention of coming down. He chuckled lightly.
"As for the others, they're all dead. Right now, it's just the two of us left, Kuromori-sama."
Kuromori nodded coldly.
"Then it's over. Clean this place up. We leave immediately."
This area needed to be thoroughly dealt with. They couldn't allow anyone to discover the deaths of Akishima's squad. As long as everything was covered up, no one would be able to trace the mistake back to him.
But Hyuga Arin clearly had a different opinion.
Tilting his head, he said,
"What are you talking about, Kuromori-sama?"
"…Huh?" Kuromori frowned. "Have you gone deaf?"
Hyuga Arin patiently explained,
"No. I'm just reminding you—things here aren't completely finished yet."
"There are still enemies?" Kuromori scanned the surroundings, instantly becoming alert again. When it came to Hyuga Arin's judgment, he still trusted it.
Hyuga Arin helplessly slapped a hand against his forehead.
Was this guy's head full of water?
It was already this obvious, and he still hadn't realized.
Hyuga Arin was even starting to doubt his own decision.
"Kuromori-sama, there are no other enemies here."
He snapped his fingers lightly.
Flames ignited at his fingertips.
"But there's still… you and me."
The fire caught on the steel wires beside him. Like a chain reaction, the flames raced along the wires, spreading outward and igniting all the surrounding lines.
For a moment, it looked like a massive hemispherical fireball covering the ground.
But the flames didn't last long—falling rain quickly extinguished them.
Only then did Kuromori fully react.
He stared at Hyuga Arin in disbelief.
"You're going to kill me?"
"You finally figured it out."
"Just you?"
"Just me."
Hyuga Arin leapt lightly down from the tree, landing on the ground. He slowly spread his hands, assuming the stance of the Gentle Fist.
"And it's a fair duel, too. Not everyone gets an opportunity like this."
If he could backstab, he'd never fight head-on.
If he could use dirty tricks, he'd never clash directly.
That was Hyuga Arin's usual way of fighting.
A frontal, life-and-death battle like this—
This was his first time.
Just thinking about it made him a little excited.
Kuromori stared at the stance Hyuga Arin had taken, his eyes widening.
"Gentle Fist… you really aren't Mu Yu."
The Gentle Fist of the Hyuga clan was far too famous. The entire ninja world played with hard fists—only the Hyuga played with Gentle Fist. It was impossible not to recognize it.
"Why now?" Kuromori asked quietly. In that instant, he fully understood.
This was a silencing.
The only person who knew all of Mu Yu's details was him.
Rain ninja were different from those of the great villages. They had no formal ninja academies, no veteran mentors guiding them.
Amegakure shinobi were all about "free growth."
Usually, only a direct superior knew a subordinate's full capabilities.
Once Kuromori died, no one else would know what "Mu Yu" was truly capable of—until he showed it himself.
"Because now is the most appropriate time."
Previously, Hanzo hadn't even known who Mu Yu was. Even if Hyuga Arin wanted to continue infiltrating, he had no upward path.
But Kuromori had already reported his name to Hanzo.
Once Kuromori died, Hyuga Arin could directly establish contact with Hanzo.
Continuing the infiltration would become far easier.
In other words—
Kuromori no longer had any value.
"Don't even think about running," Hyuga Arin said as he slowly advanced.
"The fire I just lit rearranged all the traps here. The layout is completely different from what you know now."
Hyuga Arin hadn't wasted these years.
Although he had a game interface, he himself wasn't fully datafied. Many abilities couldn't be reflected on a panel.
Trap-setting was one of them.
It wasn't something that could ever be condensed into a skill.
Kuromori took a deep breath.
"So you're a chūnin too? What's your real objective?"
Hyuga Arin shook his head.
"I'm still a genin. Aside from silencing you, I also want to test my own strength."
And to be safe, he'd deliberately weakened Kuromori from the start.
The kunai embedded earlier weren't just random—they were meant to alert Akishima's group, preventing them from charging headlong into the traps.
That way, Akishima would be forced to fight Kuromori and drain his strength.
Although, judging from the earlier fight—
Without those traps, it wouldn't have been "draining Kuromori's strength" at all.
Kuromori would've been straight-up killed.
Is this guy the absolute bottom tier of chūnin?
Everyone can bully him?
Hyuga Arin felt a bit disappointed.
"Testing strength?" Kuromori gritted his teeth, his expression turning vicious.
"A genin using me—a chūnin—to test himself? The arrogance of you Konoha bastards knows no bounds!"
His hands flashed through seals.
"Water Release: Water Shuriken Technique!"
Shuriken rapidly condensed in midair. Kuromori charged toward Hyuga Arin, kunai in one hand, seals still forming with the other.
"Then test it with your life, you bastard!!"
Hyuga Arin watched him charge in, not bothering to cancel his Transformation Technique. Beneath his feet, a faint Eight Trigrams diagram slowly formed.
"Gentle Fist Art · Unknowable Fire · Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
His figure vanished in an instant.
Violent flames ignited around his hands. His twin palms became like blazing infernos as they struck toward Kuromori in a rapid storm.
One palm.
Three palms.
Eight palms.
The water shuriken Kuromori controlled struck first—only to evaporate into mist upon contact with Hyuga Arin's blazing palms.
Hyuga Arin's Eight Trigrams was fundamentally different from the Hyuga clan's traditional version.
The Hyuga Eight Trigrams targeted sixty-four chakra points, completely sealing the opponent.
Hyuga Arin's Eight Trigrams focused on form.
Every palm carried scorching flames, reinforced by Bear Bo Hands.
A single strike was enough to take a life.
This was Hyuga Arin's strongest attack—stronger even than his shuriken.
At the instant Kuromori collided with him—
Nine palms.
Fifteen palms.
Eighteen palms.
The kunai was slapped away.
Kuromori's palms and arms shattered instantly, reduced to charred black lumps under the flames.
Chest. Head. Abdomen.
Almost in an instant, all were struck.
The terrifying force sent his body flying backward, but the raging flames completely incinerated him into ash.
Hyuga Arin slowly came to a stop at the twenty-third palm.
"Twenty-three palms to take down a chūnin."
A notification flashed before his eyes.
[Experience +1112]
Kuromori: Dead.
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