Of course, that was nothing more than a beautiful fantasy.
If Hyuga Arin's shuriken really could fly eight hundred li, then in theory, an unguarded Senju Hashirama really could be killed by a single throw.
But if you had the strength to throw a shuriken eight hundred li, you might as well fight Hashirama head-on anyway.
Hyuga Arin broke into a run, heading downhill.
At this distance, he absolutely couldn't use the Substitution Technique. After teleporting, his chakra would be completely drained.
The chakra cost of Substitution was determined by distance.
At this range, his chakra truly wouldn't be enough—not even a drop would remain.
He sprinted down the mountain, rushed into the forest, and picked up the two dropped items.
[Exorcist Skill Fragment (1/10)]
A perfect start.
Now only three fragments remained.
He picked up the second dropped item.
[Skill: Clone]
Completely useless.
As if he didn't already know how to make clones. Even though it was a Nen-based clone skill, it still wasn't worth much.
Hyuga Arin ran onto the main road.
The original guards were already gone. With their noble master dead, were they supposed to stay here and wait for death?
He picked up the final dropped item.
[Skill: Indoor Fish]
"Another trash skill," Hyuga Arin sighed.
He lifted the carriage curtain and glanced once at the gorgeously dressed corpse inside.
"Mission complete."
Letting the curtain fall back down, he took out a summoning scroll from his inventory.
This scroll had been given to him by Hanzo.
Earlier, the scroll had jumped slightly in his inventory, but only now did he have time to check it.
Compared to grinding monsters, which was more important—Hanzo or farming?
Obviously, grinding.
From the summoning scroll fell a single letter, with just one line written on it:
"Come to the Rain Hidden Village immediately."
"…What now?" Hyuga Arin was full of question marks.
Rain Hidden Village.
A dense drizzle fell over the village.
The entire place was enveloped in an eerie silence. Though it was only overcast, it felt like deep night.
Hyuga Arin stepped into the Rain Hidden Village.
All the surrounding doors were tightly shut, and not a single person could be seen.
It was as if the entire village had turned into a ghost town.
"What happened here?" Hyuga Arin activated his Byakugan without hesitation.
With three hundred and sixty–degree vision, penetrating layer after layer of obstacles, he saw villagers hiding inside their homes.
Just then—
A figure suddenly appeared in front of him.
Murakami Hana appeared with a solemn expression.
"Come."
"Where to?"
"Just follow me."
Without offering any explanation, Murakami Hana leapt onto the rooftops.
Hyuga Arin hurried to follow.
They didn't head toward the center of the village, but instead moved toward a remote, out-of-the-way area.
Murakami Hana pressed on in silence, soon jumping down in front of a single-story house.
He stepped forward and pushed the door open.
The first thing to emerge from inside was the glint of two blades.
"Who's there?" a voice demanded coldly, though the speaker didn't reveal himself.
"Murakami Hana."
After hearing the name, the door was slowly opened.
The two of them entered one after another.
But the cramped interior surprised Hyuga Arin.
A house of less than fifty square meters held more than ten people.
How did this tiny place fit so many?
At the center table sat Hanzo.
Seeing Hyuga Arin enter, Hanzo spoke softly:
"You're here."
"Hanzo-sama… what is this?" Hyuga Arin looked around in confusion.
Hanzo said gravely, "The situation has changed. The three great ninja villages have begun openly entering the Rain Hidden Village. War is about to break out."
Hyuga Arin rubbed his chin.
It was already the end of the year—indeed, the outbreak of war wasn't far away.
Maybe it was time for him to return to Konoha and prepare.
Once the war broke out, staying in the Rain Hidden Village wouldn't yield much.
Konoha, on the other hand, would be fighting one against four—how could the experience gains be low?
"So this means…?"
"We must completely take control of the Rain Hidden Village before the war begins."
Hyuga Arin rubbed his chin again.
It looked like Hanzo planned to directly enter this war.
Compared to the original timeline, Hanzo was joining the Second Shinobi World War a full year early.
The changes to the future would be enormous.
His tiny butterfly wings were finally about to stir up a great storm.
He just hoped it wouldn't blow someone completely out of existence. Changing someone's gender in the future was acceptable—but disappearing entirely was not.
"You're going to move against Shozo?" Hyuga Arin asked curiously.
Hanzo shook his head.
"How could I act against my teacher?"
Even if that was the truth, it couldn't be said out loud.
"I only want to take control of the Rain Hidden Village. Mokuu, I need your help."
Help him grind monsters?
That was Hyuga Arin's specialty.
But judging by Hanzo's expression, that didn't seem to be the plan—and it gave Hyuga Arin a bad feeling.
"I need you to…" Hanzo paused, then said heavily, "…kill the traitor, Shozo."
This completely contradicted what you just said!!
Wait—
It wasn't Hanzo doing the killing. It was him.
So technically, Hanzo wasn't killing Shozo himself?
Hyuga Arin scanned the room, wearing a puzzled expression.
Was it really okay to say something like this so openly?
"Don't worry," Hanzo explained after seeing Hyuga Arin's doubt. "These are all my people. Nothing said here will ever leak out."
Hyuga Arin scratched his head.
He didn't really care about information leaks. What he cared about was—
"Why me?"
Hanzo answered meaningfully, "Because you're the most suitable."
"Then explain it properly!!"
Enough with the riddles—
Riddle-men should get out of Gotham—no, out of the Rain Hidden Village!!!
Suppressing his doubts, Hyuga Arin said, "But I'm not a match for that leader."
Shozo's chakra was at the jōnin level. Even if the man was old and frail, he still wasn't someone Hyuga Arin could defeat right now.
"We will help you."
Hyuga Arin quickly learned the current state of affairs.
Hanzo's decision was sudden.
After obtaining critical intelligence, he chose to seize full control of the Rain Hidden Village before the war erupted.
Shozo, caught off guard, never expected Hanzo to dare attack so openly.
He immediately gathered his remaining forces and fortified himself inside the central building.
Now, the Rain Hidden Village was split into three factions.
The first was the conservative faction led by Shozo, entrenched within the main building.
The second was the radical faction led by Hanzo, hidden throughout the village, waiting for Hanzo's command.
The third was the neutral faction—those who stayed home, closed their doors, and waited to see how the conflict would end.
In the rain-soaked streets, the looming building ahead appeared faintly through the curtain of rain.
"So you want me to attack a building guarded by a bunch of ninjas?" Hyuga Arin stared at Hanzo in disbelief.
He was just a chūnin.
On Konoha's side, he was still officially a genin.
"No." Hanzo shook his head.
"I'll take you inside."
Under the rain, figures began appearing behind them—standing on the ground, crouching on rooftops, clinging to utility poles, spanning across buildings.
Hanzo slowly raised his hand—
Then slammed it down.
"Attack!!"
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