The moment the Bounty Exchange manager finished speaking, he caught sight of Xuan Yu standing beside Kakuzu out of the corner of his eye and was about to turn around to fetch the mission scrolls.
To his surprise, Xuan Yu suddenly called out to him. "Wait!"
Xuan Yu stepped forward and said with a cheerful smile, "Get me a copy of the mission scrolls for every job, too."
"Th-this..."
The Bounty Exchange manager was taken aback, hesitating.
If Xuan Yu had come alone, he would have refused him on the spot. But it was obvious that Xuan Yu had come with Kakuzu.
"What's with all the 'this' and 'that'?" Xuan Yu interrupted impatiently, frowning.
Then he threw an arm around Kakuzu's neck again and grinned at the manager. "Kakuzi and I are teaming up to grind missions. If you don't prepare the same mission scrolls for me, how are we supposed to team up happily?"
After a brief moment of thought, the manager saw that Kakuzu didn't object and had no choice but to agree to prepare a copy of the mission scrolls for Xuan Yu as well.
Kakuzu didn't try to stop Xuan Yu from using his name to throw his weight around.
There was only one reason: he couldn't control Xuan Yu right now!
Before long, the manager returned and handed identical mission scrolls to Xuan Yu and Kakuzu.
Xuan Yu accepted his scrolls and nodded at the manager in satisfaction.
Then he and Kakuzu turned and left the Bounty Exchange hall together.
The moment they were gone, several receptionists in the hall couldn't help whispering among themselves.
"Hey, do you think that kid who was just with Lord Kakuzu might be his disciple?"
"Don't talk nonsense! Didn't you see how that young gentleman called Lord Kakuzu 'brother'? If you ask me, he's probably a powerful mercenary whose strength is on par with Lord Kakuzu's!"
"How could that be? The young gentleman is so young. No matter how you look at it, there's no way he could have the same terrifying strength as Lord Kakuzu..."
For a while, everyone speculated about Xuan Yu's identity.
But they knew so little about him that in the end, no one could say for sure what his relationship with Kakuzu was, or how strong he was.
After leaving the Bounty Exchange, Xuan Yu said excitedly to Kakuzu, "Kakuzi, let's start with the highest-paying mission! First, we'll take out this gang leader with a thirty-million-ryo bounty."
As he spoke, Xuan Yu looked down and examined the details on the mission scroll.
He'd been so focused on the bounty amounts that he hadn't had time to look at the other information.
Now that he glanced at the target's name, he nearly froze.
"What the hell? The target is Kishimoto Qi... Yi? Qi Yi? Whew, good thing it's not Shi." Xuan Yu stared at the name on the scroll and muttered to himself.
Kakuzu frowned. "What are you mumbling about?"
Xuan Yu snapped out of it and waved a hand. "Nothing. Let's split up and take care of that gang leader based near Kusagakure first!"
Kakuzu nodded, but still asked in confusion, "If we know exactly where a target like this is, why split up?"
Xuan Yu put on the air of an experienced veteran and explained earnestly, "Kakuzi, you're still too young. How could a gang leader like this not have spies in the Black Market after learning that someone put a bounty on him?"
"The moment he finds out you've accepted the mission to hunt him, he'll either be on guard and make himself harder to get to, or he'll realize you're heading for his hideout and flee to safety."
"But I'm different. I'm an unknown newcomer, so he won't be wary of me. If we split up, even if I can't catch him off guard, I can at least keep an eye on him. That way, you won't get there and find he's disappeared. What do you think?"
Kakuzu was left speechless. He casually picked a direction and strode off, tossing over his shoulder, "We'll do it your way."
Watching Kakuzu walk away with such confidence, Xuan Yu smiled meaningfully.
As if he'd actually go and keep watch near Kusagakure like a good boy.
Xuan Yu had already made his plans. He'd have his Chakra Clones rush through the remaining missions, then meet up with Kakuzu afterward.
Once Kakuzu was out of sight, Xuan Yu flashed into a secluded forest nearby and rapidly formed Hand Seals to perform a jutsu.
"Clone Technique!"
"Poof—!"
Three clouds of white smoke burst open, and three identical copies of Xuan Yu appeared beside him.
Unlike ordinary basic clones, which could only be used to deceive enemies, the three Xuan Yus standing beside him were all Chakra Clones.
Each Chakra Clone used up one-tenth of Xuan Yu's Chakra and had roughly one-tenth of his original body's strength.
Like Tailed Beast Clones, Xuan Yu's Chakra Clones had independent minds and considerable combat power.
After summoning the Chakra Clones, Xuan Yu immediately handed over all the D-rank and C-rank mission scrolls he had to them.
D-rank missions usually involved odd jobs like finding cats or catching dogs, and paid no more than twenty thousand ryō.
However, D-rank missions posted on the Black Market were often more difficult than ordinary jobs like finding cats or catching dogs.
C-rank missions generally involved escorting clients, delivering confidential documents, or wiping out bandits, with rewards ranging from thirty thousand to a hundred thousand ryō.
These missions could involve a slight risk of combat, but usually didn't require direct confrontations with other ninja.
So whether the mission was D-rank or C-rank, Xuan Yu's Chakra Clones, each with a tenth of his strength, were more than capable of handling it.
After assigning the lower-rank missions, Xuan Yu's original body also began working on the B-rank missions and above.
With so many mission scrolls in hand, there was no way he'd come away from this trip empty-handed.
While Xuan Yu and his Chakra Clones busily went about grinding missions, Kakuzu headed toward the area around Kusagakure at a leisurely pace.
Kakuzu was in a pretty good mood. As he traveled, he thought to himself, With that kid Xuan Yu's strength, he might really be able to take out this target with ease if he catches him by surprise.
If so, maybe I won't even have to lift a finger to pocket fifteen million ryō. Even if Xuan Yu fails, it won't matter. As long as he keeps an eye on the target and stops him from hiding, taking him out once I arrive will only be a matter of time.
Little did Kakuzu know that he was celebrating too soon.
Xuan Yu hadn't gone anywhere near the gang leader based around Kusagakure. He was busy grinding missions like crazy.
So when Kakuzu reached a small village near Kusagakure, he waited for a full half-day without seeing Xuan Yu show up.
By the time Kakuzu was getting impatient, Xuan Yu had already gone to the Empty District Black Market, where he turned in a massive number of missions to Yoshino Yujin, the Bounty Exchange manager. Only then did he happily use the Body Flicker Technique to hurry toward the mission's destination.
Xuan Yu's Body Flicker Technique was astonishingly fast. With his speed stat boosted by more than five thousand points, traveling was no trouble at all.
Besides, he'd already reached an understanding with Yoshino Yujin, the manager of the Empty District Bounty Exchange.
He'd make a point of turning in missions in the Empty District, and as their partnership deepened, Yoshino would give him more and more extra benefits.
After turning in so many missions at once this time, the extra commission Xuan Yu received from Yoshino Yujin was on the verge of increasing from one percent to one and a half percent.
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