"Impressive. The power of combined ninjutsu is no joke," Daniel thought as he watched the chaos unfold below him. In the world of Naruto, the reason why ninjas had overtaken samurai as the dominant warriors was largely due to the effectiveness of ninjutsu. Pure taijutsu alone might not allow a ninja to overpower a samurai of the same level, but the introduction of ninjutsu changed the game entirely. Large-scale ninjutsu could easily wipe out an entire army, something samurai couldn't defend against.
This was why the Five Great Nations had minimal military forces. Their armies, when they existed, were primarily for maintaining public order, acting as guards, or simply for appearances.
Why waste resources on maintaining a traditional army when a few powerful ninjas could easily outclass them? In a world where a handful of skilled ninjas could decimate large forces with a few jutsu, the investment in armies seemed pointless. The few resources available were better spent on hiring ninjas.
As for why the Land of Iron, a samurai country, was still able to exist, the reasons were complex. Daniel had once asked Zabuza about this.
Firstly, the Land of Iron wasn't weak. Even if the Five Great Ninja Villages wanted to destroy it, they would pay a high price. Given the Land of Iron's icy, desolate terrain, there was little incentive for the ninja villages to wage such a costly war.
Secondly, the daimyos of the Five Great Nations had no interest in allowing their respective ninja villages to grow beyond their control.
After all, if a conflict arose between ninjas and samurai, there was no need for a direct confrontation. In terms of assassination skills, ninjas far surpassed samurai. This was demonstrated when Deidara and Sasori encountered a powerful samurai during one of their missions. Despite the samurai's strength, which rivaled elite ninjas like Kakashi, he was quickly taken down by Sasori's poisoned senbon.
As the combined ninjutsu from the Grass Village shinobi rained down, Daniel didn't bother to block it. Instead, he simply leaped into the air, rising over ten meters above them.
Combined ninjutsu were a common tactic during ninja wars, and each of the Five Great Villages had their own specialties. For instance, the Stone Village's Earth Release techniques were infamous for their ability to reshape the battlefield, isolating and dividing enemy forces for easy annihilation.
The Sand Village specialized in a combination of Wind Release and puppet techniques, while the Mist Village relied on Hidden Mist jutsu and Water Release. The Cloud Village was known for its powerful Lightning Release, and the Leaf Village predominantly used Fire Release, especially the Uchiha and Sarutobi clans, who were known for their mastery of fire jutsu.
During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Uchiha Madara's Great Fire Annihilation technique was famously blocked by over twenty elite Mist Village Jonin using Water Release. Even the Ten-Tails had trouble with the combined jutsu of the Five Great Villages at the start of the war.
"Fire Release," Daniel called out, raising his left hand toward the sky. In his palm, a massive fireball, nearly ten meters in diameter, began to swirl and expand.
Although Daniel referred to it as Fire Release, it wasn't truly a ninjutsu. It was a technique derived from the One Person Under the Heavens universe, specifically a skill from the Fire Dao School. Unlike typical ninja techniques, which required hand seals, Daniel's technique did not. Only bloodline limit users, like Pakura with her Scorch Release, could use certain techniques without hand seals in the ninja world.
Boom!
The enormous fireball crashed down on the gathered Grass Village shinobi. Instantly, a radius of dozens of meters was engulfed in flames, and most of the Grass ninjas were turned into living torches.
Panic erupted among the Grass ninjas. Some shouted orders to continue attacking, while others scrambled to organize a firefighting effort.
Among the chaos, a few brave Grass ninjas hurled kunai, shuriken, and senbon at Daniel, while others tried to douse the flames with Water Release jutsu. Unfortunately for them, their water techniques were ineffective against the intensity of Daniel's fire.
Ninjutsu effectiveness depended greatly on the skill of the user. Many ninjas knew Fire Release, including the Sarutobi clan, but the Uchiha clan's Fireball Jutsu was the most famous in the ninja world, second only to their Sharingan. This wasn't because the technique was special, but because the Uchihas' version of it was far more powerful, capable of melting weapons like kunai with ease.
Of course, despite its fame, the Fireball Jutsu had an embarrassingly poor track record in actual combat, much like Itachi's Amaterasu, which never seemed to burn anyone to death.
"They're really weak. Is this the best Grass Village's Jonin have to offer? Small villages really are different," Daniel thought as he casually dodged the incoming projectiles with a quick use of Moonwalk, all while launching another two fireballs toward the ninja below.
From the beginning, Daniel hadn't encountered anyone in Grass Village with the strength of a Jonin like Kakashi or Guy. Even their so-called Jonin were weaker than average.
But this made sense. While ninja rankings—Genin, Chunin, Jonin—were standardized, the actual power levels varied significantly between villages. A Jonin from a small village like Grass was no match for a Jonin from a large village like the Leaf.
It was not uncommon for ninjas who were considered mere Chunin in major villages to defect to smaller villages and be instantly promoted to Jonin.
In large villages, ranks were assigned with strict criteria, whereas in small villages, the standards were more lax.
"Where's Karin?" Daniel demanded as he grabbed a Grass ninja by the throat just outside the medical ward.
"I don't know."
Crack.
Without hesitation, Daniel snapped the man's neck and turned to another Grass ninja.
"She's inside! Karin, get out here!" the second Grass ninja stammered, terrified by Daniel's ruthlessness.
After a moment, a girl with red hair and square-framed glasses timidly stepped out of the building. Her arms were covered in bite marks, evidence of her unique healing ability.
"You monsters," Daniel muttered, his rage flaring up as he saw the marks on Karin's arms. Initially, he hadn't intended to cause too much of a scene in Grass Village.
But now, he couldn't hold back.
Without another word, Daniel slaughtered the remaining Grass ninjas in the area. Karin, witnessing the bloodshed, stared at Daniel in wide-eyed terror.
"Don't be afraid. I'm here to save you. Just take a nap; you'll be safe soon." Daniel cast a genjutsu on Karin, putting her to sleep, then placed her inside his storage device.
Crack.
Daniel then appeared in the center of Grass Village's plaza. As he stood amidst the wreckage, he coldly eyed the remaining Grass ninjas who had gathered around.
Clapping his hands together, Daniel pressed his right hand to the ground. In an instant, the earth beneath the village shook violently. The ground collapsed, and within moments, the entire village, spanning several kilometers, sank into the earth. Many of the remaining Grass ninjas fell into the massive chasm.
This wasn't Earth Release; it was alchemy. Daniel hadn't yet learned Earth Release techniques, as both Zabuza and Haku specialized in Water Release.
"That should do it," Daniel muttered, feeling his anger subside a bit after burying the village. He glanced coldly at the few surviving ninjas before turning to leave.
The Grass ninjas, still in shock from what had just happened, exchanged glances but made no move to stop him. Grass Village, a village known for its diplomatic dealings and survival tactics, had lost its warrior spirit long ago. The fierce resolve to fight until the end had faded.
"You sure caused quite a commotion," Zabuza remarked as Daniel rejoined the group. He had been staring at Daniel for a while, noting the smoke and flames rising from the village in the distance.
"It wasn't supposed to be this noisy," Daniel admitted.
He wasn't lying. Originally, he had planned to quietly rescue Karin, but the Grass Village leader had a sealing jutsu in place that triggered the moment Daniel accessed his memories. If not for that, Daniel would have only needed to kill the leader, and the rest could have been avoided.
"All of this for her?" Zabuza asked, finally turning his attention to the red-haired girl Daniel had brought back. He noticed the bite marks on her arms but didn't react. Haku, however, immediately began tending to Karin.
"What's so special about her?"
"Why couldn't I just have come here to save her?" Daniel retorted.
"Hmph. Who would believe that?"
Zabuza's cold smile showed that he wasn't buying it. There had to be a good reason for Daniel to go through so much trouble and take on an entire village.
"It doesn't matter what you believe. I know why I did it."
Daniel's reason for saving Karin wasn't purely based on her abilities, though those were valuable. He genuinely wanted to help her because of the suffering she had endured. He wasn't like Orochimaru, exploiting others solely for their talents.
"Don't worry, you're safe now," Haku reassured Karin, who had woken up and was trembling in fear at her unfamiliar surroundings. Haku's gentle demeanor and handsome face quickly put her at ease.
"You… you won't bite me, will you?" Karin asked,
her voice trembling.
"Bite you? Don't worry, no one here will do that."
With Karin safe, the group continued toward the Land of Rice Fields. However, the addition of Karin to the group had noticeably slowed their pace. Daniel didn't mind, as it gave him more time to train along the way.
"Do you think Karin will still fall for Sasuke in this timeline?" Daniel wondered as he watched the young girl interact with Sasuke, who barely spoke a word to her.
In the original story, Karin's infatuation with Sasuke began after he saved her from a dire situation. Having endured so much hardship, Sasuke had become a beacon of hope for her, the first light in her otherwise dark life.
The damsel-in-distress trope may seem cliché, but it worked. When someone rescued you in your most desperate moment, it left a deep impression.
In Naruto, several major couples had formed through acts of rescue. Minato and Kushina, and later their son Naruto with Hinata, followed this pattern.
In the Naruto world, winning someone's heart was relatively simple. To win over girls like Sakura or Ino, all you needed was to be more attractive than Sasuke. But with someone like Hinata? Unless you could step in and save her before Naruto did, you'd have no chance.
Of course, there were always exceptions. Shikamaru and Temari's relationship wasn't based on the same trope; in their case, it was more of a beauty-saving-the-hero scenario.
However, Daniel had no intention of meddling in Sasuke's future love life. He didn't have the time or interest to get involved in such things.
"Why are you buying so many water balloons?" Zabuza asked as Daniel purchased a large quantity of balloons on the way to the Land of Rice Fields.
"For training, of course," Daniel replied. He was planning to use the balloons to replicate Naruto's method of learning the Rasengan.
"Don't just stand around. You might as well train too." Daniel handed half the balloons to Sasuke. Since he had taken Sasuke away from Kakashi before the boy could learn the Chidori, he intended to teach him the Rasengan instead.
"This is for learning an A-rank jutsu—it's the Fourth Hokage's signature move. By the way, I should mention that Naruto learned it in just over a month."
Naruto had completed the Rasengan within a week of training with Jiraiya, but only because he had already prepared by completing the preliminary steps of the technique. Even then, Naruto's version required the use of shadow clones to complete.
"I'll master it faster than he did," Sasuke declared, his competitive spirit ignited. Learning an A-rank jutsu, especially one created by the legendary Fourth Hokage, was a challenge he couldn't resist.
It had taken Minato three years to develop the Rasengan, and even Jiraiya had needed several months to master it.
In the ninja world, jutsu were ranked by the difficulty of learning them, not by their raw power. The same jutsu could vary greatly in strength depending on the user. For example, Madara's Fire Release was leagues beyond the standard Uchiha's Fireball Jutsu.
"Looks like we'll be seeing Rasengan versus Rasengan in the future."
Daniel didn't hide the Rasengan training from Zabuza and Haku. Even though they knew how it worked, knowing and mastering it were two different things. Naruto was able to rely on the Rasengan throughout his life, but not everyone could wield it so easily.
It was like the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu. Many ninjas in the Leaf knew it, but few could use it as effectively as Naruto. The reason was simple: most ninjas didn't have the massive chakra reserves that Naruto had.
The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, had developed the Shadow Clone Jutsu primarily for gathering intelligence, not for combat. Tobirama himself had never relied on it for battle.
Still, the jutsu had proven invaluable for Leaf Village's intelligence-gathering efforts. The range of Shadow Clones far surpassed other clone techniques like Earth Clones, Water Clones, or Sand Clones used by the other villages.
Tobirama had been a genius when it came to creating jutsu. Flying Thunder God, Shadow Clone, Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, and Impure World Reincarnation—each of these jutsu was incredibly powerful. And Daniel wanted to master them all.
Unfortunately, since Sasuke had left the Leaf too early, he hadn't learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu, let alone the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu.
For Daniel, mastering Shadow Clone Jutsu would be a game-changer. If he could combine it with Wood Release, he could leave clones in every world he visited. That way, if something went wrong, he'd be alerted immediately.
With his current strength, a Wood Release Shadow Clone could last a long time without dispersing, provided it wasn't involved in any combat. This was something even the Homunculus in Fullmetal Alchemist couldn't achieve.
With a few dozen clones stationed across various dimensions, combined with the portals from Kamar-Taj, Daniel could easily manipulate events across the multiverse. For him, Shadow Clone Jutsu was even more important than the Flying Thunder God technique.
"Have you heard? Apparently, the last Uchiha from the Leaf Village betrayed them, and there's a five million bounty on his head."
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