"So, regarding the final exam."
Standing at the front, Netero addressed the group. All nine remaining examinees had gathered, every pair of eyes focused on him.
"You nine will participate in a tournament-style elimination match."
A staff member wheeled over a blackboard covered with cloth. Netero pulled it away, revealing the match order.
"Does that mean only one person passes?" Leorio couldn't help asking.
"No," Netero replied. "As long as you secure a single victory, you'll pass…"
Hyūga Akira rolled his shoulders slightly.
Finally, the last stretch.
The final exam was simple: get one win, and you were qualified. In theory, only one person would be eliminated in the end.
Normally.
But there was one special rule—killing was forbidden. Anyone who killed their opponent would be immediately disqualified, and everyone else would pass.
And because of that rule, the final outcome was already decided.
Killua would kill someone.
Killua would be disqualified.
Everyone else would pass.
Which meant… this was basically a free win.
As long as you made it to the finals and didn't become the unlucky soul Killua killed, you were guaranteed success.
Once Netero finished explaining the rules, the matches began.
The first match was Hanzo vs. Gon.
There wasn't much suspense here. Hanzo completely outclassed Gon, but Gon simply refused to give up.
No matter how much pressure Hanzo applied, no matter how many times he beat him down, Gon never surrendered.
Akira glanced sideways at Hisoka, who was watching. A faint killing intent was already leaking from Hisoka's body.
Hanzo noticed it immediately.
That bastard's doing it on purpose…
"I really don't want to end up against that guy," Hanzo thought bitterly.
"I concede. I lost this match."
He retracted his wrist blade. If it weren't for Hisoka's killing intent, he could have tortured Gon until his spirit broke—but Hanzo wasn't interested in provoking Hisoka any further.
The result: Hanzo conceded, Gon unconscious.
The third match was Hanzo vs. Hyūga Akira.
"I concede."
Hanzo surrendered instantly.
Last time, he couldn't win.
This time, he absolutely couldn't.
The fourth match was Hisoka's.
He toyed with his opponent for a bit, then ended it casually.
But things changed in the fifth match.
Killua vs. Illumi.
Illumi revealed his true identity, completely dismantling Killua's mental defenses.
In the sixth match, Killua lost control and killed his opponent.
Killua was immediately disqualified.
Everyone else advanced.
"…And it's still not over?" Akira frowned slightly.
The quest status still showed in progress.
It wasn't until that afternoon, when the Hunter Association officially distributed Hunter Licenses, that the message finally appeared.
[Quest Completed]
"See you next time, old man," Akira said to Netero, his smile anything but sincere.
He ignored the chaos in the stairwell completely.
Illumi provoking Killua.
Gon demanding an apology.
A dead examinee lying on the floor.
No one cared.
The entire room fell silent as they watched Akira's body slowly turn transparent.
"So you really do have a way to leave," Netero said with a cheerful smile, as if Akira's disappearance didn't bother him at all.
Back in the narrow room of the Rain Country.
Akira opened his eyes.
System messages flooded his vision.
[Quest Completed]
[Job Change Successful]
[Nen Energy Bar Unlocked]
[Chakra Energy Detected]
[Nen and Chakra Fusion Initiated]
[Energy Capacity Increased]
[Skill Acquired: Nen]
[Nen-Related Skill Permissions Unlocked]
"Finally… I did it!"
A blue aura burst out around Akira's body.
The amount of chakra inside him had increased by at least three times, and it felt far more refined—far easier to control.
He raised his hand. Blue energy flowed from his fingertips, condensing in the air and forming numbers—one through ten.
Something like this was impossible with chakra alone.
Even elite chakra-control specialists could only stabilize chakra at best—not shape it with this level of precision.
"My chakra has basically taken on Nen's properties," Akira muttered.
"Calling it chakra feels inaccurate now… Chakranen?"
…That sounded awful.
Knowledge about Nen surfaced in his mind.
The four major concepts.
The four basic techniques: Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu.
Akira opened his status panel.
[Name: I'm Hyūga Akira]
[Class: Hunter]
[Level: Lv18 (0/5000)]
[Chakra / Nen: 240 / 510 +50 +20]
[Skills:
Transformation Technique (Lv10),
Substitution Technique (Lv10),
Brain Endorphin (Lv10),
Gentle Fist (Lv7),
Fire Release: Shiranui (Lv4),
Bear Strength Hand (Lv4),
Eight Trigrams Air Palm (Lv4),
Byakugan (Lv3),
Clone Technique (Lv2),
Medical Ninjutsu (Lv2),
Niko Style: Fire Heaven Form (Lv1),
Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Technique (Lv1),
Rotation (Lv1),
Nen (Lv1)
]
[Experience Pool: 1236]
His chakra cap had jumped to 510—580 with equipment bonuses.
But his current reserves hadn't caught up yet.
A new skill sat in the list:
[Nen (Lv1) — EXP: 0/5000]
"Five thousand EXP just to level one… what a monster of a skill."
Still, it was absolutely worth it.
"I can start training Nen now," Akira murmured.
"And I can finally use the Nen-related items in my inventory."
Once he gathered the necessary Exorcist-type Nen skills, he could completely eliminate the Caged Bird Seal.
At this point, he'd already completed half his ultimate goal.
"But I still can't develop my own Nen ability yet…"
In the game system, Hunters couldn't create their own abilities early on. You had to rely on dropped skills.
Personal Nen abilities only unlocked at Level 36, during the first awakening.
For Ninjas, awakening granted a random kekkei genkai.
For Pirates, it unlocked Conqueror's Haki.
For Hunters, it meant developing your own unique Nen ability.
The knowledge he received confirmed this—no shortcuts.
"Still… my body isn't fully bound by the system," Akira thought.
He'd already gained chakra before officially becoming a Ninja-class character.
In theory, developing Nen early might be possible.
But without proper theoretical knowledge, it was too risky.
I'll need to return to the Hunter world again someday… and study Nen properly.
With his job change complete, Akira's strength had risen across the board.
"Even a Special Jōnin wouldn't be impossible now."
That test could wait.
Right now, there was only one question that truly mattered.
"How much time passed in the Naruto world… while I was in the Hunter world?"
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