Doubling

"Bang!"

Without a word, Dan took out a scroll and released the corpses of four Root Ninja.

The shop owner was also a man of experience. Upon seeing the gray armor and animal masks on the corpses, his face immediately changed, and he asked with a trembling voice:

"Mr. Araki, are they..."

"That's right, they are Konoha's Anbu ninja. These four are Jonin from the Yamanaka, Akimichi, Nara, and Hyuga clans."

Dan's words were astonishing.

"This..."

Upon hearing this, the shop owner's face showed difficulty.

After all, this Bounty Exchange was located in the Land of Fire. Knowing they were Konoha Anbu corpses, the shop owner was hesitant to accept them.

But Dan's next words dispelled his doubts:

"Don't worry, these Anbu are not directly under the Hokage, but subordinates of other Konoha high command. They won't bring trouble to the Bounty Exchange. Help me see how much they are worth?"

Although these Root members were not wanted by anyone, their corpses were valuable in themselves, and there were people eager to buy them for research.

"Since Mr. Araki says so, I'll trust you this time."

The shop owner did not hesitate for long and decided to accept the corpses.

He no longer asked about the origin of the corpses but directly got to work, inspecting them with very professional techniques. Finally, he held up one finger to Dan and quoted a price.

Ten million Ryo.

"Only this much?" Dan frowned, showing displeasure.

"Mr. Araki, please don't be angry first. If the corpses were intact, I could offer thirty million Ryo, but they are damaged."

The shop owner shook his head with regret, pointing to the four corpses on the ground to explain to Dan, "Please look."

He pried open the mouths of the corpses, and it was clear that a black, horizontal curse mark was carved on each person's tongue.

This was Danzo's Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal.

When a Root Ninja died, this technique would automatically activate, destroying the victim's brain tissue and everything inside their mind.

The brains of these Root members were all destroyed, leaving only the bodies below the neck, which still had some research value.

The most gruesome was the Root member from the Hyuga clan.

This person bore both the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal and the Caged Bird Seal. Not only was his brain turned into mush, but his Byakugan eyes were also completely destroyed, making his death extremely hideous.

"This Hyuga clan member's corpse has no value. If Mr. Araki doesn't want to sell it, he can take it away," the boss specifically reminded.

"The Hyuga clan is too hateful. They have no class at all."

Dan criticized coldly, then waved his hand and instructed the boss, "Forget it, please dispose of it for me."

After confirming the transaction.

The boss quickly brought a box containing ten million in cash. Dan took the box and turned to leave.

After leaving the Bounty Exchange, he found an inn in town to rest for a while.

This time out, the matter was settled.

In the past, it took Dan quite some time every time he left the village as a bounty hunter, from selecting a target to searching for the person all over the world, and then killing them and bringing them back to the Bounty Exchange.

It would take at least half a month, and as long as two or three months.

The money he earned was often not enough to spend.

This time, four Root Ninjas delivered themselves to his doorstep, which was much more convenient and greatly simplified the process. Ten million Ryo wasn't a small amount; it was enough to cover food, drink, and other expenses for at least half a year.

Body strengthening was an expensive hobby, especially in this world.

Over the past 24 years, Dan had spent at least two to three hundred million on himself to complete his physical modifications.

His physique was built with money. Every inch of muscle on his body was not muscle, but gold, stacks of banknotes.

The "cost" of one of his arms was tens of millions of Ryo, more expensive than Asuma.

"I wonder how many people are in the Root..."

Dan muttered to himself, his eyes flickering.

He felt like he had found a stable source of income: as long as he killed Root Ninjas, he could exchange them for money at the Bounty Exchange, and his future life would be worry-free.

After resting for a while.

Dan closed his eyes and quietly felt the flow of Chakra within his body, using his will to guide it through the meridians and acupoints to his right arm.

When he opened his eyes again and looked at his right arm, it rapidly swelled, soon becoming disproportionate to Dan's body.

It was like a giant's arm attached to an ordinary person.

This was the Akimichi Clan's Expansion Jutsu.

As is well known.

The Sharingan's insight is potent, allowing it to see the flow of chakra within an opponent's body and thus copy the Ninjutsu they use.

Kakashi utilized this ability to replicate over a thousand Ninjutsu, earning him the title "Copy Ninja."

Dan was no different.

In his previous battle against Root Ninjas, he had seen through the Akimichi Clan attacker's Expansion Jutsu. Now, after some experimentation, he had successfully copied it.

The notion that the Sharingan cannot copy Kekkei Genkai and clan secret techniques isn't entirely accurate.

Kakashi could also copy the Expansion Jutsu, but he couldn't use it because his physical constitution was a limiting factor, incomparable to the Akimichi Clan.

It was akin to this:

A person who is 1.5 meters tall sees another person who is 2 meters tall dunking a basketball. They copy the technique, but due to the massive disadvantage in height, they are unable to complete the dunk.

The Akimichi Clan was that 2-meter-tall person.

Their Expansion Jutsu was a Yang Release nature transformation developed based on their unique, stout physique.

And Yang Release happened to be Dan's forte.

His physique was far more robust than that of the Akimichi Clan.

He was equivalent to a 3-meter-tall person; once he learned how to dunk, he could do it with ease.

As for other clan secret techniques:

The Nara Clan's Shadow Jutsu and the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Body Switch Technique both belonged to Yin Release secret techniques, essentially the same in principle as the Uchiha's Sharingan dōjutsu.

However, the principles behind these Yin Release secret techniques were comparatively more complex, and even with the Sharingan's insight, they weren't easily copied.

Furthermore, they didn't suit Dan's combat style.

As for the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist and the Aburame Clan's Kikaichū Technique, they were even harder to replicate, as Dan possessed neither the Byakugan nor the ability to raise insects.

Inside the room.

Dan extended the enlarged hand from the Expansion Jutsu under the bed and lifted it slightly. The entire bed was then raised by him.

The principle of the Expansion Jutsu was to consume bodily heat to temporarily increase the user's strength.

For the Akimichi Clan, this amplification could typically reach several times, even over ten times.

But Dan's physical strength was already nearing its limit, approaching the ceiling for humans. Therefore, the increase in strength provided by the Expansion Jutsu wasn't substantial.

Only thirty to fifty percent.

It didn't sound like much, but in reality, Dan's thirty to fifty percent strength was enough that few could withstand a single punch.

Overall.

This trip, he gained ten million Ryo and the Expansion Jutsu, a considerable harvest.

That's about enough, time to return to Konoha.

Dan hadn't forgotten that he'd promised his older sister and brother-in-law that he would attend the Uchiha Clan Meeting next month.

Although he didn't care about the Uchiha's fate, how should he put it--

He'd just go watch the show.