[Premonition: You can treat all things as your enemies]
[Future Sight: You can glimpse the near future]
[Berserk: Your combat power will surge dramatically]
Hyuga Arin looked at the three traits.
All three were highly practical.
Premonition was practically a divine tool for grinding experience—clearly a direct enhancement to Ghost Brain.
Future Sight could also grant an advantage in battle, but it overlapped with the predictive aspects of his Gentle Fist. One let you see, the other let you predict—different in form, similar in effect.
As for Berserk, it looked temporary. And "berserk" probably referred to the body—there was no way it would increase his chakra reserves.
In the end, he chose Premonition.
After all, it was a god-tier experience-farming trait. Even if it couldn't generate particularly strong "enemies," in times without war, this would be one of his few remaining sources of experience.
[Ghost Brain (Lv10) — Max Level — Trait: Premonition]
Sure enough, martial arts-type skills really were easy to level. The entire process only cost 4,500 experience.
Arin jumped up from the bed.
He looked around the tent, scratched his head, then glanced at his pillow.
Ghost Brain—activate!
It said "all things," didn't it? A pillow counted as a thing, right?
The "pillow" Arin used was basically a block of wood—something he'd casually shaved into shape.
Soon, a pillow-shaped phantom as tall as a person appeared in front of him.
"…It actually works."
Arin snapped his fingers. Black-blue flames instantly ignited on the pillow phantom. The thing was alive, even struggling to break free of the flames—yet in the end, it was quickly burned to ash.
[Experience: 35]
"…That's it?"
Arin was a little surprised by how dangerous the pillow phantom had been. That thing could probably kill an ordinary person.
But for him—
"The experience is way too little."
The black-blue flames slowly dissipated in midair.
All things considered, it was better than nothing. Activating Ghost Brain consumed stamina and chakra, and the cost wasn't particularly high.
If he used only chakra—
"I could fight all day!"
Sometimes, the Cloud Ninja really did act mentally unstable.
After several peaceful days in the camp, the scouts from the forward line returned with a report.
"Cloud Ninja spotted!!"
Arin, who had been dozing off in the meeting tent, immediately perked up and opened his eyes.
"Are they launching a large-scale attack?" he asked excitedly.
The commanders from the various lines fell silent.
They had all been hoping this front would just end peacefully.
Instead, they'd somehow ended up with a warmonger in their midst.
Couldn't he yearn for peace a little? So many Konoha ninja had already died in this war. Even the Hyuga clan had suffered heavy losses.
…Wait. This Hyuga seemed to be on bad terms with the Hyuga clan.
Never mind, then.
Hyuga Hikaru rubbed his temples, already getting a headache.
"Send Hyuga clan members to investigate."
"What about me?" Arin raised his hand.
"You go too. Just make sure you come back alive," Hyuga Hikaru replied, placing no real restrictions on him.
After all, this was someone Orochimaru had personally told them to look after. If a battle really broke out, command would probably be handed straight to Arin.
Hikaru seriously suspected that if Arin ever became supreme commander, he'd immediately lead everyone straight into the Land of Lightning.
It was absolutely something he'd do.
"Got it." Arin didn't waste words and walked straight out of the tent.
Several line commanders looked deeply worried.
"Cloud Ninja… they're not really planning another attack, are they?"
This time, they didn't have Orochimaru and the others. Even knowing Arin's combat strength, they didn't believe he could withstand the Cloud's two pillars.
After all, even Orochimaru's trio had only barely driven off B. Arin alone might not be able to pull it off.
Hyuga Hikaru sighed.
"For now, we observe. Everyone return to your positions on the front lines. If the Cloud Ninja make any unusual moves, I'll immediately request reinforcements from the village."
That was what he said—but everyone knew the truth.
The village truly had no one left to send.
If the Cloud Ninja launched another surprise attack, they'd have no choice but to fight to the death.
Which only made it stranger.
Why would the Cloud Ninja, already so badly damaged, stir up trouble again?
Why the Cloud Ninja were reigniting hostilities, Arin didn't know.
He called over Nawaki and the others, then dashed toward the northwestern defensive line.
"Big bro, what's going on?" Nawaki asked nervously.
"There's abnormal movement from the Cloud side. We're going to investigate whether they really plan to attack again," Arin said in a low voice.
When they reached the northwestern line, Arin saw many Hyuga clan members rushing forward.
The Hyuga were the best reconnaissance ninjas.
Arin swept the distant mountains with his Byakugan but saw no trace of the Cloud Ninja.
"Let's go too."
This reconnaissance mission required leaving the defensive line and probing toward the Cloud side.
The three quickly descended from the mountain, moving swiftly through rocky terrain. Soon, they reached a forest at the foot of the mountain and leapt onto the branches, advancing forward.
Arin kept his Byakugan active the entire time, scanning the surroundings for any sign of the Cloud Ninja.
Neither Nawaki nor Mushi-hime noticed that Arin's footfall on one branch left behind a scorched mark.
After the three passed, that blackened mark flickered—then a tiny black-blue flame appeared. The flame rapidly grew, gradually forming into another Hyuga Arin.
Meanwhile, the Arin moving ahead revealed a faintly strange expression.
Substitution Technique!
His figure wavered—and the one advancing forward changed, while Nawaki and Mushi-hime remained completely unaware.
Arin stood on a tree branch. His body rapidly grew taller, his clothing shifting and transforming into the uniform of a Cloud ninja.
He condensed the Dark Battle Blade; as the Transformation Technique took effect, the weapon turned into a standard Cloud long blade, which he sheathed behind his back.
Under the disguise, his Byakugan locked onto a target.
"Found you."
"Hyuga Hiashi."
Hyuga Hiashi was crouched on a tree branch, surveying the surroundings. His squad was also searching for signs of the Cloud Ninja.
They had already gone some distance, yet still hadn't encountered a single Cloud ninja.
But the reports from the front lines shouldn't be wrong.
He looked ahead. If they went any farther, they'd be close to the Land of Lightning.
So far, there was still no sign of the Cloud Ninja—almost as if they had completely withdrawn, with no intention of attacking.
"Who's there?!" Hiashi suddenly turned his head, looking to the side.
A chakra presence at the level of a jōnin was rapidly approaching.
Two Hyuga jōnin instantly moved in front of him—their duty was to protect Hiashi.
Soon, they saw the approaching figure.
Dark skin, Cloud ninja attire—it really did look like a Cloud ninja.
But—
Why was there a faint layer of chakra surrounding his body? Was he using some kind of technique?
The Cloud ninja in question was, of course, Arin.
He curled his lips as he looked at the two Hyuga branch members.
"What luck. Running into three Hyuga at once."
"Looks like the one in the middle is from the main house, huh?"
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