Knockoffs

Led by a kind villager, the four of them arrived at the village chief's home.

The village chief of Santa Village was an old man of only fifty or sixty years, looking just a tad younger than the Third Hokage.

Under the narration of this gentle village chief, the members of Genma Team gained a bit more insight into this A-rank mission, specifically regarding details not mentioned in the intelligence report.

However, they still lacked further understanding of the bandit's strength, as these villagers and passersby were all ordinary people who had no way of gauging the level of his power.

After pondering for a moment, Genma decided it would be best to head into the forest tomorrow to scout and confirm the bandit's strength; if he wasn't particularly strong, they would take him down directly.

Once Genma had explained the details of tomorrow's operation to Kamizuki and the other two, he felt it wasn't too late and asked the old village chief to arrange lodging for them for the night.

The old village chief very kindly arranged two rooms for the members of Genma Team to rest in.

Although the rooms provided by the old village chief were not exactly luxurious, they were very clean and tidy. Kamizuki and Genma shared one room, while Mangetsu and Mai shared the other.

The night passed without incident...

At the first light of dawn the next day, Genma Team rose, washed up, and after a simple breakfast prepared by the village chief, they set off into the forest where the bandit frequently appeared.

The members of Genma Team shuttled back and forth through the trees in the forest, constantly searching for the figure of the bandit.

Kamizuki tucked Adou into his clothes, leaving only its head exposed, and activated his Byakugan to scan the surroundings for the bandit.

Whether it was because the bandit didn't feel it was time to "clock in" yet or for some other reason, Genma Team searched the forest for an entire morning without finding a single trace of human activity.

Just as Genma instructed his subordinates to find a flat spot to rest and have some lunch, Kamizuki deactivated his Byakugan.

Mangetsu found a relatively flat area and signaled for the others to come over and rest.

The moment the group jumped from the trees to the ground, a loud bang suddenly erupted from the earth. "Boom!"

Following this loud noise, a cloud of smoke rose up, and the two large trees on either side of the smoke snapped in two.

When the smoke cleared, however, the members of Genma Team were seen standing unscathed before the dissipating haze.

As the smoke dispersed, a giant of a man, standing a full two meters tall, slowly emerged from the lingering mist, carrying a spiked club as thick as a man's thigh.

The giant wore a Hidden Leaf Village leaf headband on his head, swaying as he walked. He lifted the massive club onto his shoulder with ease and spoke:

"Your luck has run out today. I planted these trees, I opened this road; if you want to pass, leave your toll money behind."

Upon hearing this, Kamizuki couldn't help but laugh, thinking, Damn! Such a classic line has actually made its way into the Naruto world? I really have to admire the predecessors of my great China!

Hearing the giant's opening line, even the two girls nearby couldn't hold back their laughter and burst out laughing.

Sakura Mangetsu was better; although she had a tomboyish personality, she still cared about her image in front of outsiders, so she only covered her small mouth and giggled.

Mai Shiranui, however, laughed heartily and boisterously.

The giant was left a bit bewildered by Mai's unrestrained laughter.

A moment later, the giant regained his senses, looking at these brats who hadn't even grown their hair out yet, daring to mock him so brazenly.

The giant's anger meter climbed rapidly, and his face began to flush a deep red—the result of pure fury.

Just as the giant was turning red with rage, Kamizuki pointed at him and asked:

"Are you the bandit who has been robbing passersby in the forest nearby?"

"And what the hell is that headband on your head?"

When the giant heard Kamizuki's questioning, his anger vanished in an instant, replaced by a look of immense self-satisfaction.

The giant said arrogantly:

"Listen up, let me tell you brats who haven't even grown your hair out yet: I am the captain of the guard for the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, of the Hidden Leaf Village in the Land of Fire—Genma Shiranui himself!"

After hearing the giant's self-introduction, Mai and Mangetsu, who had just stopped laughing, gave the giant a strange look before glancing at the real Genma Shiranui, who had been silent the whole time.

The two girls couldn't hold it in any longer and burst into wild laughter. Sakura Mangetsu, who had previously cared about her image, completely abandoned it this time, laughing hysterically. In the end, the two girls, nearly laughing themselves to death, hugged each other as they continued to roar with laughter.

Kamizuki, who had just questioned the giant, was also suppressing his laughter, his expression pained.

Meanwhile, Genma Shiranui, who had remained silent, felt his face burning after hearing the giant's words and seeing the expressions of his three subordinates.

After the giant finished reciting the lines he had memorized by heart in one breath, he waited to see the look of terror and fear on their faces after hearing his incredibly impressive title.

He had done this many times before, and he had many different lines, swapping out the prestigious titles of various ninja villages to keep things fresh.

But instead of the look of fear he expected, he heard laughter even more frantic than before. The giant, bewildered, said:

"Uh! The script doesn't seem to be playing out right! Shouldn't you be showing expressions of terror and fear? Why..."

Kamizuki adjusted his mood slightly and thought, Damn! Where did this clown come from today? He's too funny! I'm holding it in so hard...

Finally, having composed himself, Kamizuki looked at the giant and said:

"Uh... hey you, if you are Genma Shiranui, then who is this uncle standing next to me?"

Looking at the middle-aged man Kamizuki was pointing at, the giant mocked him as if he were an idiot:

"Are you stupid? You're asking me who he is? You don't even know your own companion, and you still come..."

When the giant said the words "still come," he finally noticed that the people in front of him were all wearing the leaf headbands exclusive to the ninjas of the Hidden Leaf Village.

Suddenly, sweat broke out on the giant's back. He realized he had kicked a steel plate today; he hadn't expected to run into the real deal while out "working."

But the giant suddenly had a change of heart; if he had encountered the real deal today, then... if he were to finish off this real deal right now, wouldn't he become the real deal himself from here on out?

The giant's thoughts suddenly cleared, and with a lewd grin, he raised the massive mace in his hand, saying to the group of brats before him:

Since you all know the truth, don't blame your master here for being merciless. Feast your eyes on my mace!

As soon as the giant's voice fell, a loud "Boom..." echoed as the mace slammed into the ground.

Following the sound, a cloud of dust rose up. Before long, the dust settled to reveal the giant lying on the ground, his face so battered and bruised that even his own mother probably wouldn't recognize him.

Just like that, the bandit was easily taken down by the Genma Team. After tying him up, they brought him back to Santa Village to be dealt with by the old village chief, and confiscated all the tools he had used to impersonate ninjas from other villages.

Upon receiving the bandit who had been impersonating a ninja from Genma, the village chief of Santa Village sent him to the authorities and gave the Genma Team a token of mission completion to take back to Konoha to turn in.

That afternoon, the Genma Team departed amidst the cheers of the Santa Village villagers and set off on the journey back to Konoha.

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