The Hidden Mist Blacksmith, forging the glory of the Ninja Sword Style!

It's not because Kakuzu is strong.

It's because Kakuzu is cheap.

If a minor noble wants to hire someone who is proficient in all elemental ninjutsu and whose strength is above that of an elite Jonin, their options are very limited: either Hiruzen Sarutobi or Kakuzu.

But if this minor nobleman hires Hiruzen Sarutobi, he'll probably go bankrupt.

If we could hire Kakuzu, we wouldn't even need half, no, a third.

A powerful being like the Bamboo Cat is highly sought after in the world of wandering ninjas.

Moreover, the things that the bamboo cutter cat does are particularly astonishing.

It will attract the attention of others.

The middle-aged man smiled.

"Lord Orochimaru, the Taketori Neko is powerful and dangerous. Obtaining information about him will not be cheap."

"Make a price."

"One million taels."

Orochimaru frowned.

"Do you think I'm easy to bully?"

"No, no, Lord Orochimaru, how could I dare? It's just that it's really worth the price. I happen to have the position of the Bamboo Cat. If you want it, Lord Orochimaru, I can give it to you right now."

The middle-aged man's smile became even more obsequious.

"The timeliness of this is extremely high."

"Moreover, our people sacrificed a lot to obtain this intelligence."

Orochimaru still frowned.

"Taller."

One million taels—that's the level of a top-tier A-grade mission, even an S-grade mission.

Is information about the location of a bamboo cat really worth that much?

A typical A-level mission only yields a few hundred thousand taels of silver.

Rank A missions involve matters at the national or ninja village level.

"Lord Orochimaru, how much do you think you can accept?"

"One hundred thousand taels."

The middle-aged man's face showed signs of distress.

"Lord Orochimaru, this is too low. More than a dozen of us have died."

After some haggling, the price was settled at 300,000 taels.

After Orochimaru paid, the middle-aged man's expression suddenly changed. He had looked bitter and unwilling before, but in the blink of an eye, he looked happy. This made Orochimaru realize that the middle-aged man could accept the price and was not at all reluctant.

The middle-aged man handed over a scroll.

It wasn't a ninjutsu scroll; it was just ordinary paper.

"Lord Orochimaru, the information is right here."

Orochimaru nodded and walked out.

When he reached the end of the street, he looked back and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"These ordinary people are really greedy."

"It's been a long time since I've dealt with someone like this, and I actually ended up suffering a small loss."

However, at this moment, Orochimaru has no time for middle-aged grudges.

Finding the Bamboo Cat is of utmost importance to Orochimaru right now.

"Ding!"

The knives in their hands clashed.

Then, they separated at an extremely fast speed.

Hozuki Mangetsu and Uchiha Shisui both retreated simultaneously.

They looked up at each other, both with somewhat serious expressions.

"Uchiha Shisui?"

"Ghost Lantern Full Moon?"

The battlefield is a petri dish that breeds geniuses.

In the course of constant battles, true geniuses will emerge.

Just like Kisame Hoshigaki, just like Kakashi Hatake.

It wasn't through the praise of others, but through her own solid abilities.

Powerful ninjas always attract attention and become the subject of discussion.

Hero, Genius

People usually categorize ninjas into different levels based on their age.

Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Raikage, Kyoto, Pakura, Rasa, Yagura, and Juzo Biwa.

These people will all be classified as a generation.

Because Minato Namikaze performed the best in this generation, many people referenced his nickname when naming this era.

Minato Namikaze is known as the Yellow Flash, or sometimes as the Golden Flash.

The two are not very different.

Therefore, some people call this generation the golden generation.

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist have fallen from grace due to their crushing defeat.

But with the help of their Zanpakuto, the three of them, including Biwa Juzo, once again became the subject of everyone's discussion.

The Third Kage and others are referred to as the older generation.

They're all basically old now.

Moreover, the Third Raikage is already dead.

The Third Kazekage has disappeared.

Of the powerful figures from that generation, very few are still alive today.

The generation from Konoha is considered to be relatively well preserved.

Besides Hiruzen Sarutobi, there was also Danzo Shimura, and two elders.

The three legendary ninjas, among others, are known as the old generation.

While everyone acknowledges the strength of the older generation, there isn't much discussion about them.

Because their strength is basically fixed, it will not change much.

There has been enough discussion already.

Humans are creatures that are prone to getting bored with the old and seeking the new.

The most discussed topics right now are the Golden Generation and the Silver Generation, led by Kisame Hoshigaki.

Kakashi and Asuma of Konoha.

Kisame Hoshigaki of Kirigakure, Zabuza.

Darui of Kumogakure.

Hunting in Iwagakure Village.

Sasori of the Red Sand from Sunagakure, but Sasori of the Red Sand is significantly older, it's just that Sunagakure really doesn't have any other capable talents.

Aside from Sasori of the Red Sand, if I had to name one other, it would be Maki.

Next up are Uchiha Shisui and Hozuki Mangetsu, primarily from this age group, the second generation of Silver Saints.

There aren't that many people worth paying attention to, and the age gap with the Silver Generation isn't that large.

Therefore, people gave it this name.

Both of them knew each other's information.

Uchiha Shisui was skilled in genjutsu and body flickering techniques, and possessed the Sharingan.

Hozuki Mangetsu is skilled in Water Release techniques and wields a flounder.

With Orochimaru's defeat, Hozuki Mangetsu realized that the Hozuki clan's current situation was dire.

Therefore, Hozuki Mangetsu is eager to gain fame and relieve the pressure on the Hozuki clan.

Last time, Hozuki Mangetsu took the initiative to confront Kakashi, partly for this reason.

However, after their exchange, Hozuki Mangetsu had to admit that he was still no match for Kakashi.

Asma, on the other hand, had already completely left the battlefield.

In this situation, Hozuki Mangetsu can only target Uchiha Shisui.

A genius of the Uchiha clan.

"liberation!"

A large amount of chakra was poured into the flounder.

A ball of light appeared on the flounder.

The next moment, Hozuki Mangetsu hurled the ball of light from the flounder fiercely toward Uchiha Shisui's location.

Uchiha Shisui's pupils contracted.

"The art of instantaneous body!"

Just before the ball of light landed, Uchiha Shisui dodged away.