Naruto: My Clones Can Evolve

"Kazu-sama, what are you planning to do?" Natsu asked with a hint of confusion.

Kazu chuckled, signaling for his men to release the restrained Hidden Cloud jōnin.

"Natsu, if your samurai can defeat these three jōnin, I'll recognize your strength and recommend you as bodyguards for Lord Gato. But if you fail… these Cloud ninja will kill you without hesitation to survive."

The three jōnin from Hidden Cloud Village stood up, their eyes flashing with murderous intent.

Natsu froze for a second before his expression turned icy.

"If that's all it takes to prove our strength, I'll take care of them myself," he declared, stepping toward the Cloud ninja.

"A single samurai dares challenge us alone?"

"You'll see just how powerful the Hidden Cloud can be!"

One of the Cloud jōnin summoned lightning chakra, crackling dangerously in his hands.

"Lightning Release: Thunder Summon!"

A surge of lightning shot toward Natsu with overwhelming force.

Could an aged samurai like him really withstand such an attack?

"Heh, pathetic mutts." Natsu smirked as his katana flashed from its sheath with blinding speed.

Several invisible arcs of light cut through the air, and the lightning dispersed into nothingness.

With one swift motion, Natsu leapt into the air, channeling the redirected lightning into the ground. He landed gracefully without a scratch.

"How… how did you counter that?" one of the Cloud ninja stammered.

"Die... One Flash!"

Natsu's body blurred past the three jōnin, his blade flashing in the dim light.

Splurt!

Blood sprayed into the air as the three Cloud ninja collapsed lifelessly.

"Well done!" Kazu clapped with satisfaction. "You truly are formidable, Natsu."

"My comrades and I won't disappoint Lord Gato," Natsu said coldly.

Suddenly, a subordinate rushed in, his face pale. "Kazu-sama, a powerful ninja has broken in!"

Kazu frowned for a moment before breaking into a sly grin. "It seems this is your chance to shine, Natsu."

Natsu nodded and ordered his men to prepare for battle. "I will personally escort you out through the back, Kazu-sama," he said.

The samurai stood silently in formation, awaiting the intruder.

They weren't expecting a white-haired teenage boy to casually push the door open and step inside.

"Samurai?" Genzuki smiled as his eyes scanned the room. "What are warriors from the Land of Iron doing meddling in the Land of Waves?"

The samurai chuckled coldly.

"Less talk, kid. We're working for Gato now. If you know what's good for you, you'll get lost—or we'll cut you to pieces!"

Their eyes gleamed with malice when they noticed Chino and Yagura standing behind Genzuki.

"And we've got two little girls to keep us entertained after we deal with you," one of the samurai sneered.

Hearing the word "girls," both Yagura and Chino's expressions darkened.

Before Genzuki could respond, Yagura, who had been holding back for quite some time, lost his patience.

"Water Release: Water Needles."

With a single hand seal, countless water needles materialized in the room, glinting ominously.

Yagura snapped his fingers, and the needles shot out like a hailstorm.

"What… what are these things?!"

The samurai didn't even have time to scream. Their bodies were pierced by hundreds of needles, dropping lifelessly to the ground as if struck by machine gun fire.

Yagura's Water Needle technique was already at an S-rank level of destructive power.

Genzuki chuckled. Sometimes it was nice to let others take care of the small fry.

Fortunately, a few of the samurai were still breathing.

"Talk. What are you doing here?"

The samurai remained silent, their expressions defiant.

Genzuki didn't mind. He had other ways of extracting information.

"Mangekyō Sharingan!"

His crimson eyes spun, their ominous glow boring into the samurai's minds like daggers.

Within seconds, Genzuki had taken all the information he needed.

"You're useless now, but… I can't let anyone discover you're dead."

"Kamui."

The bodies of the samurai vanished into Genzuki's personal dimension, leaving no trace behind.

As Genzuki processed the information he had extracted, his eyes narrowed.

"Natsu… Kazu? Seems like there's more going on here than I realized."

"But what intrigues me more is the S-rank rogue ninja Gato hired. Who could it be?"

Witnessing Genzuki's astonishing power, both Chino and Yagura were visibly shaken.

They had never seen the full extent of Genzuki's abilities and were beginning to wonder just how many different jutsu he could use.

"Genzuki-nii, can my Blood Dragon Eyes do that too?" Chino asked in awe.

Genzuki smiled gently. "If you work hard, you'll become even stronger."

"Okay! I'll train really hard!" Chino nodded firmly.

Genzuki called out toward the door. "Waitress, bring us some food and sake!"

The waitress, who knew this was Gato's territory, had been expecting a bloodbath. When she opened the door and saw only Genzuki and his companions, she was dumbfounded.

"Uh… what happened here?"

"Any problem?" Genzuki asked with a pleasant smile.

"N-no! I'll bring your food right away!" The waitress rushed into the kitchen.

The meal was excellent—far better than anything Genzuki had tasted in Charcoal Shinobi Village.

In the Land of Waves, fresh seafood was abundant. Fish, shrimp, clams… the variety was staggering.

Chino, who had lived a hard life on the run, had never seen or tasted such delicacies. Her eyes sparkled as she dug into the food.

"This is so good!" she mumbled with her mouth full.

After their meal, the group left the restaurant. But as soon as they stepped outside, Genzuki paused, taking in the scene before him.

He laughed softly. "Waiting for me to finish eating—how polite of you."

Standing outside the restaurant was Natsu, flanked by dozens of samurai.

"What did you do to my comrades?" Natsu demanded coldly.

"They tried to kill me, so I killed them. Seems fair, doesn't it?" Genzuki said nonchalantly.

Natsu clenched his fists, fury burning in his eyes.

"This has nothing to do with Gato anymore. Now, it's personal. I'll kill you and avenge my brothers!"

Genzuki sighed.

"You made the wrong choice by serving Gato. That path leads only to death."

Cracking his knuckles, he added, "I don't need to hold back anymore. From now on, anyone serving Gato… will be killed without mercy."

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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 30 at patreon.com/Emik01.