"The haul this time was pretty good."
Looking at the 4,135 points in his experience field, he first spent one experience point to level up.
[Name: I'm Xiao Ming] [Class: None] [Level: lv16 (0/4000)] [Chakra: 230/160+50+20] [Skills: Gentle Fist (lv5), Clone Technique (lv2), Substitution Technique (lv10), Transformation Technique (lv4), Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm (lv3), Byakugan (lv3), Fire Release: Unknowing Fire (lv4), Medical Ninjutsu (lv2), Kumate (lv4), Naufra (lv8), Niko Style: Flame Sky Form (lv1)] [Experience Pool: 4132]
Hyuga Akira hesitated as he looked at the experience, which was enough for another level. If he were somewhere safe, there would have been no problem with leveling up directly.
But since he was continuing to work undercover in Amegakure, leveling up required some consideration.
One level would not improve his strength much, and he had no highly efficient way to increase his power.
The most important thing now was to keep his disguise from being exposed.
Hyuga Akira looked at the Transformation Technique on his panel. "The Substitution Technique practically became god-tier at max level. What about this Transformation Technique?"
The Transformation Technique was the key to his remaining hidden in Amegakure.
Although Konoha's intelligence said Amegakure had no sensory Shinobi, what if it did?
Intelligence was not absolute. If a village deliberately concealed something, even if it was a small village, the Large Ninja Villages could not obtain crucial intelligence.
What was more, with the Five Great Shinobi Villages targeting one another, they looked down on the Small Ninja Villages and put too little effort into investigating them in the first place.
To be on the safe side, Hyuga Akira put his experience directly into the Transformation Technique. The technique itself required relatively little experience.
[Transformation Technique (lv5), Experience (0/500), Trait (None)] [Transformation Technique (lv8), Experience (0/800), Trait (None)] [Transformation Technique (lv10), Experience (Max level), Trait (Awaiting selection)] [Authenticity: No investigative skill can see through you] [Simulation: Copy the physical attributes of your transformation target] [Mass: You can change your own mass to become wind or a mountain]
"Huh?" Hyuga Akira's eyes widened as he looked at the third available trait.
Becoming wind or a mountain-wasn't that description a little beyond the limits? He looked at Authenticity's effect again. That should have been what he needed most.
But looking at Mass, that trait seemed extremely powerful. The improvement it would bring him was absolutely obvious.
Then he looked at Simulation again.
"Simulation isn't much use."
Hyuga Akira disliked the second option most. After all, all combat power in the Shinobi World relied on chakra.
Even Hashirama Senju, who had the strongest body, needed chakra for his so-called Sage Body. Physical attributes alone could not produce much power.
"Wait. People in the Shinobi World don't have great physical attributes, but what about people from other worlds?" Hyuga Akira frowned.
For example, if he transformed into someone from the Dragon Ball World, one of those Dragon Ball Warriors who relied entirely on physical attributes, wouldn't he be able to steamroll the Shinobi World?
But there was far too much uncertainty involved.
Hyuga Akira fell into indecision. He badly needed the first option. The second involved considerable uncertainty, but if it really worked, his strength might advance by leaps and bounds. The third was a very solid choice.
"This really is hard to choose."
His fear of making choices was about to flare up.
Finally, he gritted his teeth.
And chose...
Chapter 45: The Powerful Transformation Technique
Three: Mass.
That was Hyuga Akira's final choice. If his aim was to conceal his identity, the first option, Authenticity, did have a powerful effect, but it would be of little use in the future.
Besides, a max-level Transformation Technique might well be enough to fool others.
As for the second option, Simulation, there were simply too many uncertainties.
Physical attributes were a combination of various factors: bloodline, talent, and chakra. He was not sure whether transforming without those conditions would still preserve the target's physical attributes.
In the end, Hyuga Akira chose the most reliable option, Mass.
At a glance, this option held great promise for the future, and it was dependable.
[Transformation Technique (lv10), Experience (Max level), Trait (Mass)]
More complex Transformation Technique methods appeared in his mind. By Hyuga Akira's assessment, this Transformation Technique completely surpassed the Shinobi World's current techniques.
It was a ninjutsu that could not be achieved in this era.
Just like the Substitution Technique, once both reached max level and had their traits selected, they became ninjutsu ahead of their time.
In theory, Hyuga Akira could teach this ninjutsu to others, but the difficulty involved was unimaginable.
It was not that the ninjutsu itself was so difficult, but that people lacked much of the necessary understanding and knowledge.
He had only understood all that knowledge and those concepts directly through the system's infusion.
"I can't even protect myself properly yet. Where would I find the time to teach anyone else?" Hyuga Akira immediately cut off that naive thought. Until he had sufficient strength, he would never teach this ninjutsu to anyone.
Only Skill Books and equipment he could not use could be sold.
Those would not affect him much.
"But this Transformation Technique really is incredible." Hyuga Akira carefully explored the details of the Transformation Technique.
No matter how an ordinary Transformation Technique changed someone's appearance, their own form and mass would not change. Its user could not become a little pebble beside the road, nor could they become an enormous boulder.
But with his current Transformation Technique, as long as he was willing to expend chakra, he could ignore those rules.
As small as a needle tip or as large as a mountain range-but the chakra required was immense, far beyond what Hyuga Akira could currently afford.
It really was the Seventy-Two Transformations.
"Although I can't go that far, I can do this now."
Hyuga Akira formed the Ram Seal, but the chakra in his body began fluctuating at a strange frequency.
"Transformation Technique: Water Transformation!"
"Poof!" A cloud of smoke rose, and Hyuga Akira's body turned transparent. He reached a hand toward his chest, passed it straight into his body, and extended it out through his back.
"I can turn into an element without a Devil Fruit."
"In a sense, doesn't this make me invincible?" Hyuga Akira withdrew his hand, pleasantly surprised, but that delight soon faded.
"Poof!"
Smoke rose again. Hyuga Akira returned to his original form and collapsed straight onto the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"I ran out of chakra."
"Seriously, how does this burn chakra even faster than the Substitution Technique?" Hyuga Akira's face was bitter.
After using this Transformation Technique, he had no ability to keep fighting. He took out a Low-Level Magic Potion and drained it in one gulp. It was icy cold with a hint of bitterness.
Only then did the last trace of chakra in his body begin recovering rapidly.
Hyuga Akira finally sat up. "I nearly got myself killed messing around."
Once he recovered, he hurriedly used the Transformation Technique to turn himself back into Muyu. This transformation was different from the previous ones, becoming more detailed, as though this were his original appearance.
Previously, the Transformation Technique had always felt like putting on a layer of clothing. Today, that feeling was gone.
He glanced at his pitiful 232 experience points. That amount could do nothing now.
He activated his Byakugan and looked into Kusen's room. Kusen was not resting, but sitting at the table writing something.
"He really is working hard." The corners of Hyuga Akira's mouth curled up.
"On this mission, under my leadership, Kusen..."
Kusen was writing the mission report, covering its completion and some mistakes that could be corrected.
All of this was for Lord Hanzo to read.
As long as Lord Hanzo saw how smoothly he had completed the mission, he would surely be able to take another step toward serving at Lord Hanzo's side.
Although his body was still weak, it could not dampen the excitement in his heart.
That man was the hero of the Land of Rain.
Hanzo of the Salamander.
Although Rain Shadow Shōzō still held the title of Kage, he was not as popular as Hanzo of the Salamander. Shōzō merely maintained his position as the legitimate leader.
The other small Ninja Villages feared only Hanzo. In fact, many people from those villages chose to flee as soon as they saw him.
As for the Five Great Shinobi Villages...
The Five Great Shinobi Villages' response was: Who was Hanzo of the Salamander? Where had that nobody crawled out from? Never heard of him.
The Five Great Shinobi Villages and these Small Ninja Villages were simply not on the same level.
As for Shōzō, the Five Great Shinobi Villages at least knew him. He was a Kage, after all, but that was the extent of it. The other small Ninja Villages, however, said they had no idea who he was. He had no battle achievements worth mentioning.
The two men simply did not move in the same circles.
But Amegakure did not move in the Large Ninja Villages' circles either, and to its people, Hanzo was a hero.
"Lord Kusen." Hyuga Akira's eerie voice came from behind him. "Why am I not mentioned here?"
Kusen shuddered and quickly turned to see Muyu standing behind him, staring eerily at him. At some point, a Bronze Blade had appeared in his hand.
Where exactly did all these weapons of his come from?
And why had he only noticed the other man's presence after he had walked up behind him? Had he grown that weak?
He swallowed and said, "I was just about to write that. Just about to."
He was somewhat afraid of Hyuga Akira now. His weakened condition had something to do with it, but more than that, he feared Hyuga Akira going berserk. This fellow's bloodlust was far from ordinary.
For the sake of his own life, he wrote down Muyu's entire contribution to the mission.
Still, he was reluctant as he wrote. How could taking all the credit alone be the same as sharing it between two people?
If he could beat the other man right now, he would certainly have taken all the credit for himself. He would still have written Muyu's name in the report, but as a casualty.
What a pity.
Hyuga Akira watched Kusen write him into the mission report. Although Kusen seemed to be downplaying his contribution somewhat, he did include some of what he had done. Only then did Hyuga Akira nod.
"Now, Lord Kusen, you can send the letter back."
Seeing that Hyuga Akira had no intention of leaving, Kusen knew the other man would never leave readily without seeing the mission report sent off.
He could only reluctantly take out a Summoning Scroll, unroll it on the table, and place the mission letter on it. Then he bit his thumb and pressed it onto the Summoning Scroll.
"Poof!" A cloud of smoke rose, and the completed mission letter vanished.
Hyuga Akira gave it a thoughtful look. The other man had actually used the Summoning Technique without forming hand seals, which was very different from how he used it.
But he did not know what the actual difference was.
Chapter 46: An Ordinary Day in the Land of Rain... Probably
"Is there anything else?" Kusen began ushering him out, his expression unpleasant.
The letter that he had originally intended to use to inflate his own contribution now had to tell the truth.
How was he supposed to get Lord Hanzo to take him seriously like this?
Despite all his swaggering around among the Genin, he was actually just an insignificant little Chunin to Hanzo. Without some particularly outstanding contribution, Hanzo might not give him a second look.
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