Chapter 42

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Scarlet blood sprayed out as the blade was withdrawn.

"You..."

The Cloud ninja, wearing a forehead protector, stared in disbelief at the person behind him. Before he could say anything more, he collapsed to the ground with a look of shock, despair, and concern.

This was just the beginning.

The sound of the blade slicing through the air quickly followed.

After a few muffled sounds of surprise, everything fell silent again.

Gensou, who had been preparing to act, stood still, his gaze filled with meaning as he looked at the sole remaining figure.

Step. Step. Step. The person, sheathing her blood-stained short blade, walked toward Gensou.

When she was only two meters away, she knelt down on one knee, her cold and beautiful face lowered, her usually steady voice now tinged with rare excitement and admiration:

"Hagoromo Han, greets the clan leader!"

"Hagoromo... clan leader..."

"It's been a long time since I heard that title."

A trace of nostalgia flashed in Gensou's eyes.

He looked down at the woman before him, with her exceptionally fair skin and tall, voluptuous figure, which did not lose to Tsunade at all. He did not immediately believe her but calmly asked:

"Proof."

Without hesitation, the blonde woman pulled down her light gray mesh armor, exposing a very eye-catching patch of snow-white skin to the air.

As the woman's chakra operated in a special way, a red mark quickly appeared on her previously smooth and white skin under Gensou's gaze.

Gensou's eyes lit up.

There was no mistake; the woman before him was indeed a member of the Hagoromo clan.

After becoming the clan leader, Gensou had created a secret technique that used a unique chakra operation method to reveal identity marks to ensure the safety of scattered clan members. This was to verify identities among his spies spread out in the world.

As for the design of the mark, it was just a little personal amusement.

Gensou's demeanor became much friendlier as he asked:

"Does every clan member now have this mark?"

The blonde woman, Hagoromo Han, also known as Samui, respectfully replied, "Yes, clan leader. Following the crisis response plan you left behind, the Hagoromo clan has scattered across the ninja world. To ensure identity verification and secure communication, the elders have used the mark you developed on every clan member, passing it down through the bloodline."

Gensou understood, "So, you are part of the branch hidden in the Cloud Village."

Samui nodded, "In the Cloud Village, my name is Samui."

"Samui..."

Gensou once again scrutinized the tall, fair-skinned, and cold woman kneeling before him, who looked nothing like the typical people of the Land of Lightning.

No wonder she didn't resemble most Cloud ninjas; she had the blood of the Hagoromo clan.

As for whether her complexion would draw attention in the Cloud Village, the Land of Lightning wasn't a closed-off country. With people coming and going, and since there were also fair-skinned individuals within the country, it wouldn't raise suspicions.

"Stand up and tell me about the situation of the Hagoromo clan over the past few decades." Gensou commanded, then added, "And put your clothes back on."

Samui, feeling no shame about her revealed skin, glanced at her significant burden that always made her shoulders ache. She didn't care much but still complied and covered herself up.

Every member of the Hagoromo clan had been taught about the illustrious deeds of the most remarkable and powerful clan leader, Hagoromo Gensou, from a young age.

Including Samui, the Hagoromo clan members scattered throughout the ninja world revered Gensou immensely.

Thus, upon hearing that the legendary clan leader had appeared in Konoha, the Hagoromo clan, always loyal to their true identity and hidden in the shadows, quickly mobilized.

Samui had joined the Cloud search team and, upon discovering Gensou, without hesitation, turned her blade on her Cloud comrades to ensure the clan leader's safety.

If she didn't mind exposing her identity, she certainly wouldn't care about revealing her skin, especially in front of him.

If given the chance, she would even be willing to serve him personally, a supreme honor for the descendants of Hagoromo.

Just like how the Hokage was to Konoha.

For the Hagoromo clan, Gensou held an unimaginable position in their hearts, further cemented by their blood ties.

Speaking of which, it's necessary to mention the greatest failure, Uchiha Madara.

Being a clan leader to his extent was unparalleled.

Even the most hawkish Uchiha Setsuna, who sought to overthrow the Second Hokage Tobirama, didn't follow him, showing just how poorly he led his clan.

The time was still early.

Within the Valley of the End, aside from a Cloud ninja team that met their end, there were no other outsiders.

In front of the "Hagoromo Gensou" statue, the actual Gensou listened attentively to Samui's recounting of the Hagoromo clan's history over the past decades.

After being hit by a truck and coming to this familiar yet strange Naruto world, Gensou had adopted a more carefree attitude.

Did he not know that killing those noblemen would bring retribution?

Of course, he knew.

But having lived a mundane life before, seeing various distressing things but only being able to curse them silently, he couldn't do anything, barely having enough money and worried about bringing trouble to himself and his family. He had lived an extremely mediocre life.

Given a second chance, especially with the power he now possessed, should he continue living like that?

As a famous Captain wisely put it,

"If the Army didn't come, you bullied me. If the Army came, you still bullied me. Then what the hell was the Army for!"

Changing perspectives, Gensou decided he had to live freely and unburdened, to make the most of this second chance.

Therefore, when the Five Kage attacked him without warning, he was only initially furious. He didn't harbor the intense hatred others expected, nor did he vow to bathe the Five Great Shinobi Villages in blood repeatedly, sparing no one.

Victory and defeat are part of the game.

They seized the opportunity to strike him down.

Gensou could accept this calmly.

Of course.

Just as a goose leaves a trace, so does a person.

As an outsider, time had ingrained certain things into Gensou's heart.

For example, the Hagoromo clan.

As their leader, Gensou, worried about his potential demise, had left several contingencies for the Hagoromo clan.

The most crucial being their survival in a drastically changed ninja world.

Powerful clans like the Senju, Uchiha, Uzumaki, Kaguya, and Yuki, who dominated the Warring States period, had disappeared by the village era.

Knowing the plot, Gensou had planned a new path for the Hagoromo clan.

It seemed his descendants had followed his plans well.

(End of Chapter)