Exposure

"..." The corner of his mouth twitched. "Stir-fried is too heating; let's just go eat barbecue." Uzumaki Reikawa pretended not to hear him, continuing on his own, "If you like tomatoes, you can even add some ketchup."

Although he didn't know what was going on, Naruto felt great seeing Sasuke get shut down, wearing a look of suppressed laughter.

Sakura and Karin blinked, a bit confused by the current situation. What was happening?

However, Sasuke saw through Reikawa's intentions and said coldly, "Stir-fried is too heating; it can be stewed into soup."

"..."

Back at the main body, Uchiha Gen was executing a mission under the guise of Hyuga Mokujin.

However, the mission process was not going smoothly. Uchiha Gen felt more speechless than anything regarding the probes coming from all sides. He didn't know who had started the rumor, but because his eyes were highly likely to be the Byakugan of the Main Branch, many people who found him weren't looking to hire him for missions—they wanted to confirm his identity and gouge his eyes out.

Unlike the way he had imagined making a name for himself, most people recognized him through his bounty poster, and the bounty was gradually increasing, currently reaching over 15 million ryo. If nothing unexpected happened, it would continue to rise. Uchiha Gen stared greedily at his own bounty, suppressing the urge to sell himself out.

If he waited a little longer, the bounty was expected to surpass Asuma's. However, if he hadn't been wearing a mask, making it impossible to be certain if they were truly Main Branch Byakugan, the bounty would likely have already exceeded it.

Although he wasn't getting many missions, by killing bounty hunters and taking their loot, Uchiha Gen had accumulated a considerable sum. He had also obtained some information regarding the whereabouts of the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, the wandering monk Roshi, which seemed to have been exposed due to the disappearance of the Five-Tails Jinchuriki and the subsequent recall by Iwagakure.

Presumably, compared to his own delayed information, the Akatsuki must have known long ago. He just didn't know who would be sent to retrieve the Tailed Beast, or perhaps Roshi had already been captured?

Uchiha Gen pondered for a moment. Hmm, the feeling of being isolated by an organization is truly terrible.

He looked at the system panel and directly chose to redeem the skin for the Shikotsumyaku bloodline; at the same time, the bounty he had earned over these past few days was completely wiped out.

The shop updated again, but the skin that appeared this time was that of an ordinary passerby with long black hair and black eyes; the only distinct feature was a tear mole at the corner of the eye. Compared to the previous skin, it didn't show any obvious abilities, but the price was still the head of an Asuma.

He applied the Byakugan skin to his clone and chose to use the Shikotsumyaku skin for himself.

However, the newly appeared Byakugan clone glanced at the main body and quipped, "You're looking more and more like a ghost."

Uchiha Gen "..." Although this skin looked decent, the pale face, green eyes, and his own lack of vitality did indeed make him look a bit like a ghost.

But, "Aren't you me? So why are you roasting yourself?"

"Oh, I forgot."

"..."

The skill panel had also permanently added two skills: Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Seedling Fern and Shikotsumyaku: Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets.

Now, excluding Uzumaki Reikawa who was still in Konoha, Uchiha Gen could utilize three identities: Uchiha Gen, Hyuga Mokujin, and the newly acquired Bone Lord. To avoid trouble, it was clearly most appropriate for Bone Lord to investigate the situation of the Jinchuriki.

The prototype was already set; as for the organization, he would call it Genkyo—"Gen" for the source, and "kyo" for the void or non-existence.

After familiarizing himself with Bone Lord's skills, he applied this skin to a clone. Uchiha Gen planned to go find Orochimaru, while Hyuga Mokujin and Bone Lord would remain behind to cooperate and grind for missions. Although they were happy to be hired for matters concerning Jinchuriki, that didn't mean they would stick their necks out to protect them. Everything had a price. Just like a stranger suddenly offering you food with great enthusiasm—would you accept it readily, or would you be suspicious?

It was just... for some reason, Uchiha Gen felt this Byakugan clone was a bit strange. Not only did he roast himself, but he also seemed to have a bit of mysophobia. No matter what he touched, he would wipe his palms with paper afterward. He didn't remember having that habit. But Uchiha Gen suddenly thought of how Naruto could fight with his own clones, and he felt relieved.

Meanwhile, the target of his thoughts, Orochimaru, was frowning as he looked at the White Zetsu he had designed to die. What kind of thing was this? Why did it feel somewhat like First Hokage Cells? At this thought, a sharp glint flashed in Orochimaru's eyes, and just as he was about to approach to take some samples, his movements suddenly stopped. He retreated violently, only to see a massive fire erupt in front of him, looking as if it intended to burn both the corpse and Orochimaru together.

Following the source of the flames, he saw a guy wearing an orange spiral mask. Looking at the black-cloaked, red-cloud Akatsuki robe on his body, a burst of anger suddenly rose in Orochimaru's heart.

Aside from defecting, he hadn't done anything to offend the Akatsuki organization recently, yet he had been chased to so many bases; the losses incurred were immeasurable.

Uchiha Obito was also getting irritable. The "cunning rabbit has three burrows" approach and the small traps set during the pursuit were incredibly annoying. Even now, he wasn't sure if the person in front of him was a Shadow Clone. "What is your relationship with Uchiha Gen?"

Hearing this, Orochimaru's mood suddenly improved. He cracked a smile. It seemed his work had caused some trouble outside. However, why would he tell these things to someone who had caused him such significant losses? He licked his lips, provocatively saying, "What relationship? Perhaps there is one, perhaps there isn't, who knows? Do you want to take a guess?"

"..." Hearing this, Obito wanted to flip the table, but he held back for the moment. If he really flipped the table, he might end up making another wasted trip. Thinking of how interested Orochimaru had been in the White Zetsu's body just moments ago, he said calmly, "Let's make a trade. Tell me everything you know about him, and I can give you that corpse to study."

Upon hearing this, the mocking expression on Orochimaru's face faded slightly, but then he thought of something and replied bluntly, "I don't know." However, after saying that, he didn't leave immediately, as if waiting for something.

"..." In truth, Obito's question had contained a trap; regardless of whether he agreed or not, he could have gleaned some information, but it had been seen through by Orochimaru immediately.

Thinking of this, Obito set his thoughts aside for the moment and tossed over a charred arm. Seeing this, Orochimaru released a small snake to swallow the charred arm and took it away.

With the item in hand, Orochimaru suddenly laughed again. "It's not that I don't know at all. I don't know which Uchiha Gen you're talking about, but the Uchiha Gen I know is a dead man, and his strength was only at the Three-Tomoe level. Believe it or not, I don't know what he did; he was the one who broke the control himself."

After speaking, he wanted to leave. Seeing this, Obito looked indifferent and used Kamui to phase through and close in rapidly. The next moment, a kunai slashed across Orochimaru's neck, but a puff of smoke exploded—was it really another Shadow Clone?

In fact, the Orochimaru from just a moment ago had been the real one, but after obtaining the arm, he had retreated with the small snake as a precaution. Looking at the arm in front of him, Orochimaru laughed. He had a premonition that this thing would fully compensate for his losses this time.