What Kind of Monster Is This? Even His Clones Are This Overpowered!

Nadare Rōga, one of the Snow Ninja Trio standing beside Kazahana Dōtō, was deeply displeased with the way Genba and Kakuzu had acted just now.

After seeing Genba and Kakuzu leave without even looking back, Nadare immediately sneered, "What Kakuzu? What Uchiha Genba? They're both frauds, nothing like their reputations! If they don't have the guts to take the mission, they could've just refused. What a pathetic excuse!"

Nadare was certain that Genba and Kakuzu were simply incapable of taking the mission, so they'd made up an excuse on the spot.

The others thought much the same as Nadare.

Even Kazahana Dōtō felt that the reports of Genba and Kakuzu's abilities seemed exaggerated.

But just then, Kazahana Dōtō's pupils suddenly contracted. He hurriedly warned Nadare, "Look out!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, a dark figure suddenly appeared.

In the blink of an eye, the figure was right in front of Nadare.

As one of the Snow Ninja Trio, Nadare was undoubtedly quite capable, but his strength was no match for Genba.

"Leaf Whirlwind!"

Genba spun three hundred and sixty degrees in midair and unleashed a powerful roundhouse kick.

"Whoosh—"

In an instant, a small whirlwind spun rapidly into being and completely engulfed Nadare.

Nadare hadn't even understood what was happening before he was sent flying high into the air. He crashed heavily to the ground, dazed and disoriented.

"Gah!"

After hitting the ground, Nadare couldn't stop the sweetness rising in his throat, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Even with his Chakra Armor on, Genba's attack had left him seriously injured.

Seeing how hard Genba had hit him, Kazahana Dōtō was naturally furious.

"Ice Style: Black Dragon Blizzard!"

When Kazahana Dōtō performed the technique, a waterspout quickly rose from the lake nearby.

As the waterspout shot into the sky, its temperature plummeted. Before long, it had turned into a black tornado of ice and charged toward Genba.

"Whoosh—"

Genba's figure flickered. Using Phantom Body Flicker, he split into five.

Kazahana Dōtō's Black Dragon Blizzard pierced all five of his figures in quick succession.

Then Kazahana Dōtō was astonished to see that all five Genbas had been mere illusions.

Before Kazahana Dōtō could attack again, the five Genbas rejoined to form a single Genba. His casual voice reached Kazahana Dōtō's ears.

"My lord, I came to discuss a partnership, not to fight you. If you're not interested in working together, then I'll take my leave."

Hearing this, Kazahana Dōtō suppressed his anger and said, "Didn't you refuse just now?"

Genba didn't answer right away. Instead, he said, "My lord, let's find somewhere else to talk in private."

With that, Genba headed straight off into the distance.

He wanted to kill three birds with one stone and come out way ahead on this mission. That meant he couldn't let too many unrelated people learn about it.

After Genba walked away, Kazahana Dōtō said coldly to the Snow Ninja Trio and his other subordinates, "Stay here and wait for me. I'm going to see what he wants."

Without wasting any time, he hurried after Genba.

After leading Kazahana Dōtō to a secluded spot, Genba got straight to the point. "My lord, I attacked your subordinate just now partly to teach him a small lesson for badmouthing me behind my back, and partly to show you what I can do."

"Nadare was no match for me, and your ninjutsu had no effect on me at all. Based on those two things, you should have a fairly clear idea of my abilities now."

Kazahana Dōtō was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected that to be the reason Genba had suddenly attacked.

But he still said, "You're certainly strong, but I doubt one person alone can complete both of my commissioned missions."

Kazahana Dōtō had more or less figured it out: Genba wanted to accept the mission on his own, without telling his partner.

Otherwise, when Kakuzu rejected the mission just now, Genba wouldn't have stayed silent.

And then he wouldn't have secretly doubled back to ask for a private meeting.

In response to Kazahana Dōtō's doubts, Genba said with a smile, "I'm afraid you've misjudged the situation, my lord. What you've seen isn't the full extent of my abilities, because this is only a clone. My real body is still with my partner."

"A clone?" This time, Kazahana Dōtō was genuinely surprised.

Genba had suddenly attacked moments earlier and instantly defeated Nadare, one of the Snow Ninja Trio.

Then, when faced with Kazahana Dōtō's powerful Black Dragon Blizzard, he'd emerged completely unharmed.

Kazahana Dōtō had never imagined that Genba's clone had been responsible for all of it.

Once he learned that the Genba standing in front of him was only a clone, he began to understand how the rising mercenary could partner with Kakuzu—and why the two of them had such a terrifying record of success.

Genba answered Kazahana Dōtō's question with absolute certainty. "That's right, my lord. The one standing before you is a genuine clone. Considering the information you've received and the abilities I've demonstrated, I believe you can safely entrust me with capturing a Tailed Beast for research."

Kazahana Dōtō frowned. "Are you saying you'll only accept the mission to capture a Tailed Beast?"

Genba nodded. "Exactly. I haven't the faintest idea how to go about capturing the Land of Snow's fugitives. Those two have evaded the Snow Country's ninja for years without getting caught. I can't just expect to capture them easily either."

Hearing this, Kazahana Dōtō nodded. That explanation made sense.

If Kazahana Koyuki and Sandayū Asama had been easy to catch, he would have caught them long ago!

After thinking briefly, Kazahana Dōtō decided to work with Genba after all.

Genba's demonstrated strength had satisfied him.

And so far, Genba had maintained a one-hundred-percent mission success rate.

Hiring him to capture a Tailed Beast and deliver it to the Land of Snow for research was undoubtedly worth a try.

He asked at once, "How should we work together?"

Genba didn't answer. Instead, he asked, "After I capture the Tailed Beast, do you still need me to deliver it all the way to the Land of Snow? If so, this mission will cost at least five hundred million ryō."

"Five hundred million ryō?" Kazahana Dōtō's tiger-like eyes widened.

As the Daimyo of the Land of Snow, he could afford that much. But he couldn't possibly spend that much to buy a Tailed Beast for research.

Though he was extremely confident in the Land of Snow's technological capabilities, he couldn't guarantee that they would actually be able to fully understand the Tailed Beast.

He couldn't be bothered to haggle with Genba just then. After a brief pause, he made a final offer. "One hundred million ryō! That's the most I can pay to hire you to capture a Tailed Beast and bring it to the Land of Snow for research!"

"If you're willing to work with me, I can provide you with some information the Land of Snow has gathered about Tailed Beasts and their Jinchūriki."