What the hell?
Hanzo—the man who would later suppress the Three Legendary Sannin—only had chakra at a chūnin level?
Even though the Sannin hadn't yet reached their peak, they were still elite jōnin.
And they were supposedly suppressed by someone with only chūnin-level chakra—almost even losing?
That joke wasn't funny at all.
There was only one possible explanation.
The person in front of him wasn't Hanzo at all—but a body double.
Hyūga Akira was speechless.
He was just a small fry—was all this caution really necessary?
This Hanzo gave off the air of a true powerhouse, yet was being absurdly careful even when meeting someone like him.
"You are Muyū?" the fake Hanzo asked in a deep voice.
"Lord Hanzo, I am Muyū," Akira replied, activating Brainorphin to adjust his emotions. His face filled with fervent devotion.
Loyalty.
The fake Hanzo nodded expressionlessly. He had seen plenty of people like this—fanatics who worshipped Hanzo.
"Since you wish to serve me, you must first complete a task I assign to you."
Another task?
What was he, a chain-quest NPC?
Akira cursed inwardly. He had just arrived and this guy already wanted to put him to work—did he really think Akira had come to Amegakure to be a beast of burden?
Akira showed a troubled expression.
The fake Hanzo frowned. "What? Do you have objections?"
Akira looked panicked.
"Lord Hanzo, in order to better serve you, I am currently practicing a ninjutsu. I need some time. Once I complete it, I'll be far more useful to you."
The fake Hanzo frowned deeper. "How long?"
Akira hesitated.
"At most a month. If I'm lucky… maybe just a few days."
He honestly had no idea how long the Hunter Exam would take—it all depended on how time flowed between worlds.
The fake Hanzo pondered briefly.
"I can give you one month. But if after a month you still refuse to take missions, you will no longer need to exist."
In other words: one month later, if Muyū was still useless, he'd be erased.
Even as a stand-in, the fake Hanzo could make such decisions—especially over the life of a mere chūnin.
"Thank you, Lord Hanzo!" Akira put on a fanatical expression.
"When I complete this technique, I will offer everything I have to you. Loyalty!"
The fake Hanzo watched him carefully, silently concluding that this man must truly be working on something important. That level of fanaticism was rare even among Hanzo's followers.
"Very well. You may go. Murakami Hana, assign him a room. Let him remain there to train."
"Yes!" Murakami Hana responded.
Akira's face was still burning with devotion, but inside his heart tightened.
If not for Brainorphin controlling his emotions, he would have blown his cover.
If the Hunter Exam required him to disappear—and Hanzo monitored him the entire time—that would cause serious trouble.
Still… he could probably fake things with the Substitution Technique.
Now it all depended on how this Hunter Exam actually worked.
Murakami Hana led Akira out. The room was left with only the fake Hanzo, who immediately stood and knelt into the darkness.
"Lord Hanzo."
The real Hanzo emerged from the shadows.
He looked toward the door and asked, "What do you think of him?"
The fake Hanzo thought for a moment.
"A Rain ninja who fanatically worships Hanzo."
Such people were everywhere in Amegakure. Hanzo's power and reputation inspired immense devotion among the younger generation.
Hanzo merely nodded.
Just a talented young man—nothing more.
Whether a chūnin lived or died made little difference.
Outside, Murakami Hana said bitterly, "You were far too bold."
"I was just telling the truth. If I complete this technique, my strength will increase significantly," Akira replied indifferently.
Murakami Hana ground his teeth in frustration. He really had no way to deal with this guy.
"I hope that technique truly benefits you."
Refusing a mission directly in front of Lord Hanzo—it would definitely leave a bad impression.
No, it already had.
Murakami Hana was furious.
"Where's my room? If you have complaints, wait until I'm settled," Akira reminded him.
He preferred Murakami Hana's usual sly, confident demeanor.
This current look was just… stupid.
In the end, Murakami Hana assigned Akira a room and left without another word.
Akira looked around.
A small room.
One bathroom. One bedroom.
A simple bed and a desk.
No windows. Completely sealed.
"…Living here feels like my life is already over."
Akira sighed helplessly. Still, he had no choice.
Activating Byakugan, he scanned the surroundings.
No monitoring devices.
To the right, a fairly attractive kunoichi lived next door.
To the left, a man—alive.
"…They're really not monitoring me?"
He was genuinely surprised. Given Hanzo's paranoia, he'd expected at least some kind of surveillance.
But this era had no cameras, and perhaps Hanzo truly believed this was enough.
Still, the sudden lack of scrutiny felt… unnatural.
Akira sat on the bed and focused on his task panel.
"This is the moment to test it."
If he wanted to successfully change classes, he had no choice but to do this.
Otherwise, even if he gathered everything else, he'd never remove the Caged Bird Seal.
That curse had loomed over him since the day he was born into this world.
As he focused on the task—
[Begin Hunter Exam? Yes / No]
"Yes."
The moment he answered, a wave of noise flooded his ears.
The cramped room vanished.
In its place appeared a vast underground plaza—wide and open, yet still cut off from sunlight.
"Where is this…?" Akira looked around.
Everyone nearby wore a badge on their chest.
He checked his own chest.
He had one too.
"Did I cross servers?"
Was that even a thing in this game?
The Hunter world's server was no easier than the Naruto world's.
"And it skipped the preliminaries straight into the first exam?"
Akira looked toward the distant passageway.
This… was definitely the real thing.
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