The special effect that came with the upgraded Three Body Technique was just as astonishingly powerful.
All Tailed Beasts, even the artificially created Zero-Tails, were essentially Chakra lifeforms.
These Chakra lifeforms were extremely unusual. Even if they were casually cut apart and separated, they could still retain their consciousness and remain formidable fighters.
Take the Nine-Tails, for example. First, Gold and Silver Brothers stole some of its Chakra. Then Minato Namikaze cut it in half. Yet the half that remained inside Naruto was still incredibly powerful.
The portion of Nine-Tails Chakra inside Gold and Silver Brothers was, in other words, a Chakra Clone of the Nine-Tails.
Normally, the ability to create clones that were living Chakra beings belonged exclusively to Tailed Beasts.
Now Xuan Yu had this ability too.
His title of "Tailless Tailed Beast" had become more fitting than ever.
After his strength had skyrocketed, Xuan Yu had no desire to waste time hanging around the Akatsuki base. Instead, he wanted to go out and "snatch" a little...
Ahem!
He meant go out on a mission!
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he sprang into action with astonishing efficiency. He decided to do it, and did it.
After leaving his room, Xuan Yu headed straight for Kakuzu's.
Kakuzu had only just lain down in his room.
As one of the Ninja World's most notorious workaholics, he knew all about balancing work and rest.
He had barely rested at all lately, spending all his time embroiled in a struggle with Xuan Yu.
Now that Xuan Yu was his partner and wouldn't interfere with his missions anymore, he planned to get a good night's sleep, then go on a mission with Xuan Yu once he woke up.
Of course, it would be even better if he could find a chance to kill Xuan Yu, take his corpse to the Bounty Exchange for a payout, and recoup all his previous losses.
With that thought, Kakuzu contentedly closed his eyes and prepared to sleep.
But just as he was about to drift off, the unexpected happened!
Outside Kakuzu's room, Xuan Yu faced the door and unleashed his Unrecognizable Footwork.
With a bang, he kicked Kakuzu's door open.
The thunderous crash jolted Kakuzu upright in bed.
At first, he thought they were under attack.
The odds of that were low, but not zero.
But the moment he glanced toward the doorway, he was so furious he nearly exploded on the spot.
Because standing there was none other than that brat, Uchiha Genba!
Kakuzu's voice was ice-cold. "Brat, do you want me to kill you?"
Xuan Yu didn't take Kakuzu's threat seriously at all. With a teasing grin, he said, "Kakuzi, quit saying things like 'I'll kill you.' It's never going to happen. As a ninja, you should be realistic instead of always daydreaming."
As soon as Xuan Yu finished speaking, he activated Phantom Body Flicker.
"Whoosh—"
In the blink of an eye, five Xuan Yus appeared in Kakuzu's room!
All five of them charged at Kakuzu at an astonishing speed.
"Hmph!"
Kakuzu snorted, and a Kunai appeared in his hand.
To figure out which one was the real Xuan Yu, he said, "Using a Genin-level trick like the Clone Technique in front of me? How laughable."
Before he could finish, one of the five Xuan Yus instinctively shot back, "Kakuzi, who told you this was the Clone Technique?"
"Swish!"
The moment Xuan Yu's words left his mouth, the Kunai in Kakuzu's hand flashed toward the one who had spoken.
But the Kunai struck nothing more than an illusion.
It passed straight through "Xuan Yu" and clanged into the wall.
"So that wasn't the real one?" Kakuzu frowned.
But as soon as he finished speaking, the "Xuan Yu" who had been struck by the Kunai formed the hand seal for Water Release: Water Gun, then pressed a cool finger against Kakuzu's temple!
The unmistakable sensation instantly told Kakuzu that the figure beside him wasn't an illusion. It was Xuan Yu's real body!
Xuan Yu thought it was a shame he still hadn't learned Hozuki Suigetsu's Water Release: Water Gun. If he had, combining it with Phantom Body Flicker for that smooth sequence would've made it even more effective.
As he faced Xuan Yu, Kakuzu's expression remained placid, but inside, he was reeling.
Xuan Yu's rate of growth was almost unimaginably terrifying.
Kakuzu had never seen Xuan Yu use this ability before. He even suspected that Xuan Yu hadn't known the technique until recently.
And the technique's effects were downright absurd.
A moment ago, Kakuzu had tested him with a Kunai and confirmed that the figure in front of him was an illusion. Yet in the next instant, that same illusion had become Xuan Yu's real body.
However, thanks to Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear Secret Technique, Xuan Yu's technique wasn't much of a threat to him.
But any other ninja who didn't know how it worked could easily suffer a serious loss if they fought Xuan Yu unprepared.
Though Kakuzu was stunned by Xuan Yu's rapid growth and Phantom Body Flicker, he showed nothing on his face.
His pale green eyes swept coldly over Xuan Yu. "Brat, what do you want?"
Xuan Yu grinned. "Isn't it obvious? I came to get you to go on a mission with me. What else would I want?"
After hearing him out, Kakuzu flopped back onto the bed and grumbled, "It's time to rest. We can talk about missions after I wake up..."
But Xuan Yu didn't even wait for him to finish. He hoisted Kakuzu onto his shoulder and started out.
As he strode along, he lectured him. "How can you still sleep at your age? You're over eighty, the perfect age to get out and see the world! Get up and do a mission. That's what matters!"
Kakuzu flew into a rage. "You little—!%#*...!"
What happened next was an utterly bizarre sight for the members of Akatsuki.
Kakuzu, who lived by the creed "Money first, missions above all," was being carried over the shoulder by the organization's newest recruit and hauled off to do a mission.
All the way there, Kakuzu cursed up a storm, while Xuan Yu ignored him completely and kept heading toward the Black Market.
The absurd scene left Deva Path Pain, Konan, and the rest of Akatsuki wearing some truly remarkable expressions.
Kisame Hoshigaki flashed his rows of sharp white teeth and chuckled. "This new guy sure has plenty of energy. He even invited Kakuzu to the Black Market for a mission."
Beside Kisame, the Venus flytrap-shaped Zetsu chuckled. "You might not believe this, but I secretly watched them. The new guy and Kakuzu had a brief exchange just now. The brat's gotten even stronger, and he used a very unusual technique to suppress Kakuzu."
"Tell us exactly what happened." Orochimaru's cold voice came from nearby. He was clearly very interested in the information Zetsu had shared.
If Xuan Yu really was talented enough, Orochimaru would consider making him the vessel for his next reincarnation.
After Orochimaru asked, Zetsu didn't hold back. He immediately recounted everything that had happened in Kakuzu's room.
After hearing Zetsu's account, Deva Path Pain furrowed his brow slightly.
There was nothing wrong with Xuan Yu being a genius ninja. For Akatsuki, it could even be a good thing.
But wasn't Xuan Yu's rate of growth a little too monstrous?
It hadn't even been that long, and Xuan Yu had already made such a huge leap?
Konan's exquisite face was also full of shock.
It wasn't as if she'd never met a genius before, but Xuan Yu was the first ninja she'd seen who was this monstrous.
Compared to everyone else, Orochimaru's expression was the most complicated.
As a rogue ninja from the Leaf Village, he knew Uchiha Shisui's abilities very well.
The ability Zetsu had just described was exactly like Shisui's Phantom Body Flicker.
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