System Loophole

"...Lord Zabuza!"

After an unknown amount of time, Haku woke from his coma once more.

Since he had not been knocked unconscious this time, the first thing Haku did upon regaining consciousness was worry about Zabuza Momochi's safety.

Though it was dark, a campfire burned not far away.

With the help of the firelight, Haku quickly spotted Zabuza Momochi tied up nearby.

Seeing that Lord Zabuza was still breathing, Haku finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Awake?"

At that moment, a voice sounded beside Haku's ear.

Following the voice, he saw a Masked Man approaching with a skewer of grilled food in hand.

Without asking, Haku knew that this Masked Man was the "Hidden Mist Anbu" who had ambushed him.

The repeated cycles of waking and passing out earlier had probably been his doing as well.

Seeing that the man had neither cut off Lord Zabuza's head nor sealed their bodies and consciousness before taking them back to Kirigakure in the Land of Water...

Haku knew the other man must have some purpose.

So Haku quickly said, "Sir, can I make a deal with you?"

"What a coincidence. I wanted to make a deal with you too."

Ryusuke sat down in front of Haku and asked, "What deal do you want to make with me?"

"I am a descendant of the Yuki Clan. I possess the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, and I am only fifteen this year."

Haku pitched himself, saying, "As long as you let Lord Zabuza go, I am willing to become your tool. You can do whatever you want with me!"

Even killing people is fine!

That final sentence echoed in Haku's heart.

If he could save his benefactor, then even if he had to kill, he was willing to cast aside his kindness and become an emotionless tool of slaughter!

"Such touching loyalty. It is clear he has become the only light in your heart."

Ryusuke smiled. "But I am not interested in tools that are not loyal to me, so I refuse."

Before Haku could anxiously raise the stakes, Ryusuke continued, "I can release Zabuza Momochi, but you have to help me with an experiment."

"No problem. As long as you release Lord Zabuza, my body is yours to do with as you please. Any kind of human experiment is fine." Haku answered at once, clearly misunderstanding Ryusuke's meaning.

"It will not go as far as human experimentation. You just need to cooperate obediently."

Ryusuke undid the chains on Haku and handed him the grilled skewer. "Eat this first. Once you recover, you can serve as my experimental subject."

"Yes."

Haku had no intention of resisting. After taking the grilled skewer, he removed his mask and began eating.

Once Haku finished eating, Ryusuke somehow took out a Ninja Tool Pouch and tossed it in front of him. Then he formed hand seals with both hands. "Shadow Clone Technique!"

With a poof, white smoke dispersed, and a Shadow Clone with an enormous amount of chakra appeared beside Ryusuke.

Unless it suffered a fatal or severe attack, this Shadow Clone would be difficult to dispel.

A glint flashed through Haku's eyes when he saw Ryusuke's Shadow Clone.

Because of its convenience and usefulness, the training method for this ninjutsu developed by the Second Hokage had long spread throughout the Shinobi World.

But due to their pride and habits, ninjas from the major ninja villages still often used their own villages' Clone Techniques.

For example, Zabuza Momochi and Kisame Hoshigaki preferred Water Clones.

Ninjas from Iwagakure preferred Earth Clones.

Only Konoha's ninjas favored and exclusively used Shadow Clones.

Could this Hidden Mist Anbu not be a Kirigakure ninja at all, but a Konoha Anbu?

If he was Konoha Anbu, why did he not kill them or take them back to Konoha?

Or did he not belong to one of the Five Great Ninja Villages?

Though he was deeply curious about Ryusuke's identity, Haku did not ask. More accurately, he did not dare to.

Ryusuke wore a mask, which clearly meant he did not want others discovering his identity.

If Haku's curiosity got the better of him, Lord Zabuza would surely die.

So Haku obediently fastened the Ninja Tool Pouch around himself.

Ryusuke then took out a notebook and pen, pointed at the Shadow Clone beside him, and said, "Fight my Shadow Clone. You may only use the weapons in that Ninja Tool Pouch. You cannot use your Kekkei Genkai or ninjutsu."

"...Yes."

Haku was greatly puzzled, but still did not dare ask.

The Shadow Clone and Haku moved to an open area not far from the campfire, using the firelight to engage in an unrestricted battle in the dark of night.

This battle was like the unrestricted fight Ryusuke had once had with Sasuke Uchiha. It was a contest of fundamentals.

And naturally, the Shadow Clone won.

Because the Shadow Clone cheated. It secretly activated the Three-Tomoe Sharingan and, relying on its astonishing dynamic vision, missed none of Haku's openings. It left numerous wounds across Haku's body before finally subduing him.

Watching this, Ryusuke drew a horizontal line in his notebook and said to the Shadow Clone, "Heal him, then continue."

After the Shadow Clone healed Haku, the two resumed their unrestricted duel.

The result was the same. The Shadow Clone won completely.

Defeat after defeat, treatment after treatment.

Each time Haku lost, Ryusuke's original body marked something in the notebook with his pen, either a horizontal or vertical stroke.

When Haku was subdued by the Shadow Clone once again, Ryusuke added another mark to the notebook.

The horizontal and vertical strokes formed two complete tally marks, showing that Haku had lost ten times.

After the Shadow Clone healed Haku, Ryusuke did not have them continue. Instead, he dispelled the Shadow Clone, which still had plenty of chakra remaining.

Then Ryusuke created another Shadow Clone.

This Shadow Clone did not possess an astonishing amount of chakra. Its chakra level was about the same as Haku's.

"Eat this, then continue."

Ryusuke took out a small packet and tossed it to Haku.

Haku caught it and saw that it contained soldier pills.

Though he had no idea what Ryusuke was doing, Haku obediently swallowed one soldier pill and continued fighting the Shadow Clone.

Although the Shadow Clone had about the same amount of chakra as Haku, and its endurance was far inferior to the previous Shadow Clone's, it still won the battle.

From beginning to end, Haku never touched the Shadow Clone.

The darkness of night weakened Haku's combat ability, but it enhanced the Shadow Clone's.

What followed was the same as before: Haku lost again and again, and was treated again and again.

But this time, the one treating him was Ryusuke's original body.

Before long, Ryusuke's notebook was only one stroke away from completing the fourth tally mark.

Just as Ryusuke felt the experiment had failed and was preparing to step in himself...

The Shadow Clone defeated Haku once more.

Whoosh—

This time, blue light suddenly flickered over Haku's body as he was subdued. In the darkness of the night, it was dazzling and piercing in Ryusuke's eyes.

The moment he saw that light, Ryusuke was overwhelmed with joy.

Success!

Not only could his original body trigger the equipment-drop mechanism by defeating opponents—his Shadow Clones could trigger it too!

When the Blue Light Cluster was automatically collected and flew toward Ryusuke's original body rather than the Shadow Clone...

Ryusuke understood. He was unique, but he was not the only one!

As long as it was him, whether his original body or a Shadow Clone defeated an opponent, it counted as his victory and had a chance of dropping equipment.

And just as Ryusuke had previously guessed, the invisible rating was not only related to the method of victory, but also to strength!

If he defeated someone of a higher level or someone stronger than himself, then even a childish victory could easily make something drop.

For example, Yuhi Kurenai's verbal surrender, or Zabuza Momochi being knocked out with a hand strike.

If he defeated someone lower-level or weaker than himself, the drop rate would decrease.

For example, Ino and Hinata, who had not dropped anything over the past several years, and Haku, who had repeatedly been knocked unconscious earlier.

But there was a loophole in this drop rate: Shadow Clones!

And now, Ryusuke had not only confirmed this guess, but had also found the system's loophole.