The black-clad ninja, having previously been stripped of a portion of his chakra by some eerie method, had managed to drive his detached arm into Genma's abdomen. Before Genma could react further, the ninja swiftly recalled his arm.
In an instant, the black-clad figure seamlessly reattached his severed limb with uncanny precision.
Genma instinctively glanced up, noticing a distinct, centipede-like scar on the man's shoulder. No wonder his attack had been ineffective—this enemy's arm was a junction point for the Jiongu technique. His earlier strike had merely severed a few of its tendrils.
The Jiongu secret technique, in essence, transformed its user into a "tentacle monster." Countless hair-thin tendrils formed within the body, drastically enhancing the user's attack power, vitality, and resilience. Most crucially, it granted the ability to steal the hearts of other shinobi, allowing the user to directly acquire chakra natures they didn't naturally possess.
In other words, a Jiongu user could bypass their own innate talents or training, relying solely on the "generous contributions" of others to master all five chakra natures. In some ways, this mirrored Genma's own "learning path."
Regardless, Genma was facing a ninja whose strength far surpassed his own.
"You know of Jiongu… It seems your background is indeed extraordinary," the black-clad ninja said, catching Genma's faint mutter.
Jiongu was an exceptionally obscure technique. Those who could identify it at a glance were exceedingly rare. It wasn't even passed down within a clan but rather confined to a single family, transmitted across generations among only a handful of members.
"I never expected a mere local faction leader to go to such lengths for their safety, hiring a ninja like you as a bodyguard…" Genma wanted to say, but his throat, raw and damaged, couldn't manage such a long sentence.
Needless to say, the cost of hiring a ninja of this caliber far exceeded that of employing the entire Fuma Clan. On the bright side, a ninja this powerful was likely the only one of his kind here—there was almost no chance of a second.
Seeing Genma's labored breathing, the black-clad ninja realized his silence wasn't defiance but an inability to speak. With a flourish, he cast off his cloak, revealing a muscular frame.
Since his secret technique had been exposed, there was no need for pretense. Genma closely observed his opponent, noting the dense web of centipede-like scars crisscrossing his body. He knew that if those scars split open, they would unleash a torrent of black tendrils.
"My name is Jiongu Ryo," the man declared. "You're worth interrogating."
The self-proclaimed Jiongu Ryo confirmed Genma's grim fate. His eyes locked onto Genma's abdomen, where something seemed to spread from the nearly-piercing wound, halting the bleeding.
It was almost unimaginable.
Under normal circumstances, such a devastating injury would leave anyone clinging to life. Yet this man seemed to retain the strength to fight.
Genma wasn't sure if Jiongu was a surname or simply the technique's name prefixed to Ryo's, but he knew he couldn't die here so easily. He wasn't a sensory ninja; in the past, he'd been relatively insensitive to chakra fluctuations, which felt like little more than a faint breeze across his skin. But now, in his half-crippled state, he was hyper-aware of every external change, as if his skin had been coated with menthol oil, amplifying every sensation.
Acting purely on instinct, he sensed danger behind him. Without hesitation, he rolled to his right.
Bang!
Boom!
A massive hole exploded in the wall behind him, and a giant fireball shot out from it. The fireball grazed Genma's body, streaking across the room before detonating against the far wall.
Glancing back, Genma saw a pale mask wreathed in a mass of black hair emerging from the hole. The flames had erupted from its mouth. He understood now why his Mayfly technique had failed earlier—a Jiongu mask clone was hidden in the wall.
The Mayfly technique couldn't penetrate a medium like a Jiongu mask clone, which was composed of two parts: a mass of Jiongu tendrils and a heart stolen from another shinobi. The heart, concealed beneath the mask, could generate elemental chakra and unleash jutsu under the main body's control.
This "Fire Release Mask" had been pre-positioned in the wall to detect intruders and prevent escapes. During the assault on the Tsugawa Clan's village, Genma had only revealed minor details about his abilities, but the consequences were severe.
At this point, the enemy had no need for such caution. The Mayfly technique was an escape skill, unusable in the heat of battle. Unlike Kamui, which could phase through objects instantly, Mayfly required four to five seconds to meld into a surface—time enough for this formidable foe to kill him a dozen times over.
A hard fight was inevitable. After the initial shock of his grievous injury, Genma calmed himself. As time passed, his breathing grew steadier, his heart pounding powerfully in his chest.
"Impressive recovery," Jiongu Ryo remarked, closely monitoring Genma's changes. He'd long recognized the immense intelligence value this intruder held. Given the vast gap in their strength, he resolved to extract every bit of it.
Earth Release: Earth Spear
Ryo formed hand signs, his arms darkening to an inky black. Simultaneously, Genma hurled a kunai wrapped with seven or eight explosive tags. The dim room concealed the kunai's trajectory, leaving only a sharp whistle in its wake.
But as it reached Ryo, he casually snatched it from the air. Then he noticed the explosive tags.
A surge of chakra erupted from his palm, instantly disrupting the seals on several tags. A few, however, survived the chakra surge, stubbornly clinging to the kunai.
Boom!
A fierce explosion rocked the room, engulfing Ryo in flames. "Did it work?" Genma wondered.
It didn't.
Before the smoke and flames cleared, a black hand swept them aside, revealing Ryo unscathed. The close-range blast of explosive tags had no effect.
That was a bit insulting—not to Genma or the tags, but to the Senju Clan. Those tags could've killed five Nawakis.
In the next moment, Ryo charged, delivering a straightforward hand-thrust aimed at Genma's chest. This time, Genma could clearly track his movements—Ryo's speed seemed diminished.
Genma crossed his arms to block, attempting to clamp down on the hand-thrust. But Ryo's arm was like steel, its force unstoppable. Gritting his teeth, Genma lifted his arms and sidestepped, narrowly shifting half his body out of the way.
The attack, meant for his chest, struck his left shoulder instead. Ryo's fingers and half his palm sliced into Genma's shoulder with ease.
Genma tried to siphon Ryo's chakra again, but Ryo withdrew swiftly, leaving Genma gravely injured with no loss to himself.
The assault didn't stop. The wall behind Genma shattered again, and though he sensed it, he couldn't react in time. A Fire Release Mask unleashed a fireball at his back, striking his right side and sending him crashing across the room.
Searing pain nearly knocked him out, but it wasn't enough to end him. Rolling to extinguish the flames, Genma's White Zetsu body began rapidly healing the burns.
The attack surprised him—not because the Fire Release was too powerful, but because it was too weak. A technique like Fire Release: Head Carving would've charred him to ash. Then it clicked: Ryo's reduced speed and jutsu power were deliberate. He was testing Genma's recovery.
A ninja battle where the enemy didn't aim for a quick kill but toyed with their prey? Genma had to admit, strength granted such arrogance.
Ryo didn't take him seriously, and Genma was powerless to change that. Ryo wanted to see his recovery, and Genma had no choice but to perform.
"Stealthy infiltration and chakra absorption… Impressive support abilities," Ryo said. "But your base strength is pitiful, turning these valuable skills into parlor tricks."
Harsh, but true. Genma couldn't match a true powerhouse head-on.
Ignoring Ryo, Genma focused on forming hand signs. Ryo, intent on probing, didn't interfere.
Genma paused, then half-turned to his side.
Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet
Facing forward again, he continued.
Fire Release: Garuda
The dual assault of water and fire blasted holes in the room's walls, as if Genma were trying to create an escape route. But when he looked at Ryo, still standing in place, he knew it was futile.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
Seven more masks appeared beside Ryo, plus the one in the wall and his main body. Genma was now facing a one-against-nine battle.
Theoretically, a Jiongu user needed only four masks to cover all five chakra natures. But why stop there? Each extra heart was another chakra source, another clone, another layer of power.
Why reveal his full strength now? Because Ryo was genuinely afraid—afraid Genma might escape.
Among Genma's techniques, only Water Severing Wave stood out as exceptional, but his Rasengan wasn't instantaneous, useless in fast-paced combat. Ryo had already seen Water Severing Wave, so relying on it to turn the tide was impossible.
Genma could use Water and Fire Release; Ryo, predictably, wielded all five. With Genma's chakra nearly depleted—most of it spent healing wounds to stay alive—he was outmatched and trapped, at a dead end.
Genma felt he had one last card to play, a technique that existed only in theory, never tested. Facing a swarm of Jiongu attribute masks, he felt like he was in a barber shop open all weekend without a single sweep of the floor.
His arms hung limply.
Just as Ryo assumed Genma had given up in the face of overwhelming odds, Genma's hoarse voice broke the silence.
"Honestly, your technique sequence was off. You showed your hand too early," he rasped. "If I hadn't recognized you as a Jiongu user and you'd led with all five elements, I might've mistaken you for Sarutobi Sasuke. Then I'd have surrendered without a fight."
Sarutobi Sasuke, a top-tier ninja of the Sarutobi Clan, was renowned for mastering all five elements. His prowess far exceeded that of a Jiongu user, who relied on stolen hearts to mimic such versatility.
Genma's taunt—praising the "authentic" five-element master in front of this "counterfeit"—was a masterclass in mockery. Who could stand that?
For the first time, Ryo's calm rationality cracked. Forgetting his plans for capture and interrogation, a burst of lightning chakra erupted around him. In a flash, he appeared beside Genma, sweeping a leg at his neck.
Genma barely raised an arm to block, but it didn't matter. The kick sent him crashing into the ground.
The blow was meant to kill.
Yet as Genma's body slumped lifelessly, it wasn't crimson blood that poured from him.
It was…
Searing steam.
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