Hyuga Akira was left speechless by what he saw.
He knew Hanzo was cautious, but wasn't this taking caution too far?
Only after the two of them drew closer did Murakami Hana remove the black cloth covering Hyuga Akira's eyes.
"Follow me." Murakami Hana led the way, his voice drifting back. "You haven't fully earned Lord Hanzo's trust yet, so naturally, we can't let you know where this is. Once you've earned Lord Hanzo's trust..."
Hyuga Akira nodded and followed behind Murakami Hana. Although this was a concealed building, its interior was far from small and had been laid out very spaciously.
Past a long corridor was an enormous space about the size of a stadium, built three stories high, with multiple rooms on each floor.
More shinobi appeared around them, and quite a few people wearing Rain Ninja forehead protectors walked past.
Many greeted Murakami Hana on sight.
Murakami Hana seemed quite popular here. Everyone merely gave Hyuga Akira a couple of curious looks before quickly leaving to attend to other things.
Murakami Hana's voice drifted back from ahead. "As long as you're strong enough, they'll respect you too."
Hyuga Akira said nothing. What did he need their respect for? He only needed them to drop experience and items.
Seeing that Hyuga Akira had no desire to talk, Murakami Hana quickened his pace. They reached the door to the room at the very back of the third floor.
"Don't say anything out of turn in there," Murakami Hana reminded Hyuga Akira.
Hyuga Akira nodded, and only then did they enter, one behind the other.
Inside, a man wearing armor and a respirator over his face was waiting.
"Lord Hanzo." Murakami Hana knelt on one knee, and Hyuga Akira followed his example behind him.
He couldn't help studying the man who would become the central figure of the Second Shinobi World War out of the corner of his eye.
But his Byakugan, which he had kept active all along, noticed something amiss.
Wasn't there something wrong with the amount of chakra this Hanzo possessed?
He didn't have anywhere near a Jonin's chakra reserves!!!
Chapter 65: The Hunter Exam Actually Took Him to Another World
What the hell?
Hanzo, who would be able to overpower the Sannin in the future, only had Chunin-level chakra?
Although none of the Sannin had reached their peak, they were still elite Jonin.
They had been overpowered by someone with only Chunin-level chakra and had nearly lost?
Even a joke couldn't be this ridiculous.
Then there was only one possibility: the person before him wasn't Hanzo at all, but Hanzo's double.
Hyuga Akira was speechless. Was this much caution necessary just to meet a nobody like him?
Hanzo was making him feel like some powerful figure, being this cautious about meeting him.
"You're Muyu?" the false Hanzo asked Hyuga Akira in a deep voice.
"Lord Hanzo, I am Muyu." Hyuga Akira used Naufra to manipulate his emotions, his face filled with fervor as he looked at Hanzo.
"Loyalty!!"
The false Hanzo nodded expressionlessly. He had seen far too many people this fanatical about Hanzo.
"Since you want to become one of my men, you'll need to complete the mission I assign you."
Another mission.
Do you think you're an NPC handing out a quest chain?
Hyuga Akira cursed inwardly. He had only just arrived, and this guy already wanted to put him to work. Did he really think he had come to slave away for Amegakure?
Hyuga Akira put on a troubled expression.
The false Hanzo frowned. "What? Do you have a complaint?"
Looking terrified, Hyuga Akira said, "Lord Hanzo, in order to serve you loyally, I've recently been practicing a ninjutsu that requires some time to train. Once I master it, I'll be able to serve you better."
The false Hanzo frowned. "How long will it take?"
Hyuga Akira looked hesitant. "A month at most. At the shortest, perhaps a few days."
He didn't even know how long that Hunter Exam mission would take. It mainly depended on how the flow of time compared between the two sides.
The false Hanzo considered for a moment before saying, "I can give you a month, but if you still refuse a mission after that, there will be no need for you to exist."
If this Muyu still wouldn't carry out a mission after a month, he would make sure he could never carry one out again.
Although the false Hanzo was a double, he could still make simple decisions like this. In particular, he could decide the fate of a Chunin's life.
"Thank you, Lord Hanzo." Hyuga Akira put on a fanatical expression. "Once I master that ninjutsu, I shall offer you everything I have. Loyalty!!"
Watching Hyuga Akira's performance, the false Hanzo began to wonder inwardly. It seemed this fellow really did have an important ninjutsu to master.
Even among all the people he had seen, the fervor on this one's face stood out.
Anyone who saw him could sense Hyuga Akira's fanaticism toward Hanzo.
"All right, you may leave. Murakami Hana, arrange a room for him. Stay in your room and practice during this time."
"Yes!" Murakami Hana acknowledged.
Hyuga Akira's face showed fervor, but inwardly, he tensed.
If Naufra hadn't been able to control his emotions, he would almost have given himself away.
If he took the Hunter Exam here while this Hanzo watched him the entire time, his disappearance would inevitably cause a great deal of trouble.
Still, he could use the Substitution Technique to bluff his way through it.
It all depended on how this Hunter Exam worked.
Murakami Hana led Hyuga Akira out. Left alone in the room, the false Hanzo quickly rose and knelt on one knee toward the darkness.
"Lord Hanzo."
The real Hanzo stepped out of the darkness.
He looked toward the door and asked, "What do you think of him?"
The false Hanzo thought for a moment. "He's a Rain Ninja who fanatically worships Hanzo."
There were plenty of people like that in Amegakure. Both Hanzo's strength and the impact he had made inspired countless young people in Amegakure to worship him.
Hanzo merely nodded. He was just a talented young man, and Hanzo had no particular thoughts about him.
The presence or absence of a Chunin's strength made little difference.
"You were far too bold," Murakami Hana said outside, looking deeply distressed.
"I was just telling the truth. If I can master this ninjutsu, my strength will improve quite a bit." Hyuga Akira was utterly unconcerned.
That made Murakami Hana grit his teeth in frustration. He really had no way to deal with this fellow.
"I hope your ninjutsu gives you a substantial improvement."
He had actually said that right to Lord Hanzo's face. If he left Lord Hanzo with the impression that he was a coward, it would affect Murakami Hana too.
He had probably already left that impression, actually refusing Lord Hanzo's mission outright.
Damn it.
Murakami Hana seethed inwardly.
"Where exactly is my room? If you have any complaints, wait until I've settled in," Hyuga Akira reminded him.
He still preferred the smiling Murakami Hana, who acted as though everything was under his control.
The way he looked now really was a little stupid.
In the end, Murakami Hana arranged a room for Hyuga Akira, then left without paying him any further attention.
Hyuga Akira looked at the cramped room before him. It had only a toilet and a bedroom.
The bedroom contained a simple bed with a desk beside it. The entire room was sealed up tight, without even a window.
"This really is... Living here feels like my whole life is over."
Hyuga Akira sighed helplessly. What else could he do? He could only stay here.
He quickly scanned the area with his Byakugan and found no surveillance devices, though he did see an attractive female shinobi living in the room to the right.
On the right was a man. Alive.
"They really aren't watching me?" Hyuga Akira was stunned. Given how cautious Hanzo was, he wasn't even using some ninjutsu to monitor him?
As for surveillance cameras, there was no point even considering those. Such things hadn't been invented in this era yet.
Perhaps something like that would emerge after the Third Shinobi World War.
Hanzo suddenly relaxing his restrictions made him feel rather uneasy.
Hyuga Akira sat on the bed, gathered his thoughts, and looked at his mission list.
"I can give it a try now."
To successfully complete his class change, he had to go through this. Otherwise, even if he collected everything, he still wouldn't be able to remove the Caged Bird Seal.
Ever since he had been born into this world, that thing had been a shadow he could never shake off.
When he focused his attention on the mission.
[Begin the Hunter Exam: Yes or No]
"Yes."
Hyuga Akira answered softly. A clamor reached his ears, and at some unknown point, the cramped room before him had turned into a spacious underground plaza.
He still couldn't see the sun outside.
"This is..." Hyuga Akira looked around at the surroundings that had changed without his noticing. Seeing a badge on everyone's chest, he reached up and felt his own. He had one too.
"I crossed over to another server?"
The game had a feature like this?
The Hunter x Hunter server wasn't necessarily much easier than the Naruto world server.
"And I skipped the preliminaries and went straight into the first test?" Hyuga Akira looked toward the passage in the distance.
Chapter 66: The Hunter Exam Begins
Hyuga Akira found a corner and sat on the ground. There didn't seem to be many people yet.
"Hey, you're number 88, right?" A slightly plump man approached Hyuga Akira with a friendly smile. "I'm Tonpa, number 16 this time. Nice to meet you."
Hyuga Akira tilted his head and looked at the man before him. He remembered this person appearing in the plot of Hunter x Hunter, known as Tonpa the Rookie Crusher.
This guy had actually set his sights on him.
Wasn't that just asking for death?
Seeing no reaction at all from Hyuga Akira, Tonpa's smile stiffened a little, and he changed the subject. "You look like a newcomer this time. I'm a veteran of this exam, so if there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me."
"Oh." Hyuga Akira nodded, then suddenly lunged forward, grabbed Tonpa's face with one hand, and slammed him hard into the ground.
Boom!!
[Experience: 15]
"So little experience." Hyuga Akira looked with disdain at the now-unconscious Tonpa. Trash like this couldn't drop anything good.
The loud commotion drew quite a few people's attention.
"Hahaha, Tonpa picked the wrong person to mess with."
"That guy got knocked out fast this time."
"This guy's no pushover."
Some looked at the unconscious Tonpa with schadenfreude, while others watched Hyuga Akira warily.
Before you continue