A slender figure with pink hair appeared in front of Hyuga Arin.
The slight tension in his body immediately eased.
Good—at least it wasn't one of the more troublesome Phantom Troupe members.
If it had been those people, and he didn't go all out, he really might not have been able to handle them.
But the person in front of him now was different.
Her combat strength was only average; her real value lay in her excellent support abilities.
With his current strength, even without burning his life, defeating her would be easy.
Machi Komacine.
Hisoka's dedicated healer.
Looks like Hisoka wouldn't need to cry under his blankets after all—his healer was still alive.
Machi glanced at Hyuga Arin, lifted her hand slightly, then sighed helplessly.
She walked over to the sofa, plopped down, and casually crossed her legs.
Hyuga Arin: "???"
"You don't remember me at all?" Arin asked curiously.
Instead, Machi looked at him strangely.
"Hyuga Arin. The boy who defeated Hisoka. I was at Heaven's Arena back then."
They hadn't met face-to-face, but she knew very well who the boy was who had beaten Hisoka.
He was just more muscular now.
If you looked carefully, he was still recognizable.
Arin thought it over.
Machi remembered him—meaning this was the Machi from the Hunter world.
But she hadn't recognized him as her killer.
Ah, right.
He'd been disguised as a mafia member at the time. No wonder.
"So you're not surprised at all being in an unfamiliar place?" Arin asked.
She was way too calm.
Machi replied coldly,
"I was already dead. Being alive again is strange enough. A different place doesn't really matter."
"Besides," she continued, staring at him,
"I tried to attack you just now. My body completely lost control. It only recovered after I stopped wanting to attack you."
Her curiosity deepened.
"Isn't your Nen ability something like breathing fire or disappearing? Since when could you summon the dead?"
Arin looked down at the card in his hand.
The card that once showed all Phantom Troupe members now displayed only one figure—Machi.
"…Maybe. Probably," he said vaguely.
That explanation somehow worked.
Still, the fact that Machi couldn't attack him was interesting.
Machi suddenly asked,
"What happened to the Phantom Troupe?"
She had wanted to ask this for a long time.
Her last memory was of a mafia member with a gun charging at her.
She had sensed something wrong, but it was already too late.
The man dropped the gun, drew a blade—
—and then everything went black.
But she knew the Troupe had been set up.
"Not sure," Arin replied with a smile.
"And this isn't your world anymore anyway. I honestly don't know what happened there."
Machi looked at him without changing expression.
Her instincts told her he was lying.
"Another world? Some kind of strange Nen ability?"
"No. Literally." Arin spread his arms.
"Welcome to the world of ninjas."
Machi frowned.
Her instincts told her this time—he wasn't lying.
"Give me proof."
"Tomorrow," Arin said, stroking his chin.
A strange smile appeared on his face.
Machi immediately hugged her chest.
"What are you planning to do?"
She had a bad feeling.
Arin smiled harmlessly.
"You can't attack me. So that means… you have to follow my orders too, right?"
Machi stared at him coldly, saying nothing.
Thin threads emerged from between her fingers.
She couldn't kill Arin—but she could kill herself.
"Go clean the entire house," Arin ordered.
Machi felt her body move on its own, standing up against her will.
Making a woman who specialized in killing… clean the house?!
No wonder she had a bad feeling.
Arin plopped down onto the sofa, looking at her with disdain.
"I'm thirteen, you know. What kind of filthy thoughts are you having? You pervert."
Veins twitched on Machi's forehead.
This guy was even more annoying than Hisoka.
…
Machi was cleaning the house.
Arin sat on the sofa, watching her while idly playing with the summoning card in his fingers.
She looked completely human. For now, he couldn't see anything strange.
He asked curiously,
"Machi, can you still use your abilities?"
Machi didn't answer.
Threads appeared around Arin, but the moment they got close, they vanished.
Looks like the summoning card's restrictions on her were quite severe.
In the ninja world, Machi's strength would roughly be at the level of a special jōnin—very useful to him.
But her identity was tricky.
If she were just an ordinary person, Konoha wouldn't care much.
But someone with power comparable to a ninja?
Konoha would absolutely notice her—possibly detain and interrogate her.
Unless Machi behaved herself.
But considering her background—born in Meteor City, later a Phantom Troupe member—
She might look gentle, but she was utterly lawless.
Letting Machi live in Konoha would almost certainly put her at odds with the village.
"…Can I put her away again?"
The card in Arin's hand flashed faintly.
Machi's figure vanished.
Arin's eyes lit up as he stared at the card.
"She really turned into a summon."
But… why Machi?
He'd just sighed in relief that it was Machi—
and now he was sighing because it was Machi.
As a summon, Machi was only so-so.
Her combat power wasn't great.
As for medical skills, she might not even be better than Arin's medical ninjutsu.
Useful, but not essential.
Arin summoned her again.
Machi frowned.
"What just happened?"
She realized she was standing in a different spot—but had no memory of moving.
No memory when recalled?
Arin fell into thought.
Still, he didn't fully trust her words.
Machi was a Transmuter, after all.
Nen affinities didn't perfectly reflect personality—but some traits did align.
Transmuters were especially good at lying.
"Nothing," Arin shook his head.
Being able to recall Machi at will was a huge advantage.
But now the Phantom Troupe Summon Scroll had become a Machi Summon Scroll.
Looks like he could only summon her specifically now.
Machi glanced at Arin.
Under these circumstances, she could only hide her intentions for now—
wait for a chance to break free and kill him.
…
Arin yawned.
Once again, he was awakened by violent knocking at the door.
"Who the hell is it this early?"
The entire house looked brand new now—thanks to Machi's hard work last night.
Hyuga the Skinflayer used her and tossed her back—
a textbook example of a shameless slave owner.
He walked over and opened the door.
"Big brother!!"
Senju Nawaki's energetic voice rang out.
Arin helplessly slapped his palm to his face.
"Don't you have school?"
"Today's the weekend! No school!!!"
◇ You can read 96+ Chapters Ahead on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/CanonBreaker
✨ Bonus Chapter Goals ✨
10 Reviews = 1 Bonus Chapter
100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter