Chapter 21: The Philosophy Behind Ninjutsu
Development
Whoosh—!
The moment the signal was given, the Rain shinobi had barely begun to react before a storm of weapons descended upon them.
Kunai and shuriken tore through the rain, instantly killing several shinobi.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Gōenji's shuriken found their targets with frightening precision. He sent them curving around shinobi who were already moving to evade other attacks, striking from unexpected angles. Whenever an enemy raised a defensive technique, he simply changed the trajectory of his weapons and attacked from behind, slipping through the gaps in their defenses.
One after another, the blades pierced their opponents.
The enemy force was simply too small.
And they were facing an elite squad led by Danzō.
With such an overwhelming difference in numbers and strength, the battle was almost effortless.
Less than a minute later, more than a dozen Amegakure shinobi were lying motionless on the ground.
Gōenji hadn't used a single ninjutsu.
There was no need.
With so many allies surrounding him, wasting chakra would have been pointless.
Yet while watching the battle, Gōenji had gained a completely different understanding of Danzō.
The man hadn't used any Wind Release.
He had simply relied on kunai, shuriken, and his swordsmanship—and even those basic techniques had revealed an astonishing level of skill.
His close-quarters swordsmanship was particularly impressive.
Every movement was precise, efficient, and deadly.
This wasn't merely ordinary close-quarters combat.
Danzō's combat fundamentals were those of a veteran who had survived countless battles.
I didn't expect Danzō to be this strong.
His combat instincts are terrifying.
Compared with the original story, the difference was enormous.
The Danzō Gōenji remembered from the anime had relied heavily on Izanagi, and his performance had been compromised by genjutsu. But the man standing before him was completely different.
There was a reason for that.
A ninja's strength couldn't be maintained through talent alone.
If a shinobi stopped fighting and stopped training for an extended period, their combat ability would inevitably deteriorate.
Gōenji had memorized that lesson.
He couldn't afford to become complacent.
Even if his strength continued to increase, there would always be someone stronger waiting somewhere in this world.
"Everyone. Move to the next target."
Danzō gave the order after his men searched the surrounding area and confirmed that no evidence had been left behind that could expose Konoha's involvement.
The squad immediately moved on.
Danzō wasn't deliberately trying to frame Iwagakure in every attack.
But Gōenji had already begun to understand what the man was attempting to accomplish.
Danzō had enough skill to make Hanzō believe that reconciliation between Amegakure and Iwagakure was impossible.
That alone demonstrated just how capable a schemer he was.
Even if Gōenji had no particular liking for him.
...
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Clang! Clang!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Argh!"
Along the border between Iwagakure and Amegakure, battles erupted at irregular intervals.
They rarely lasted long.
Of course, some engagements were more difficult than others.
Konoha wasn't invincible.
They had only around fifty shinobi in this operation, and there was no one among them on the level of Hashirama Senju.
Naturally, they suffered casualties as well.
Occasionally, a Konoha shinobi would fall.
And when that happened, the battlefield was carefully arranged to leave behind traces suggesting an Iwagakure attack.
In that regard, Danzō was truly remarkable.
Gōenji didn't even understand exactly how he did it, but somehow, even after a shinobi died, the Transformation Technique remained intact.
Perhaps Danzō had employed some special method.
Gōenji couldn't say for certain.
There were simply too many mysteries in the shinobi world.
Ninjutsu, scientific knowledge, technology, specialized ninja tools...
The deeper he looked, the more complicated the world became.
If this continues, Amegakure will react soon.
Based on what he had witnessed and Danzō's actions, Gōenji could already predict what would happen next.
And they weren't targeting only Amegakure.
At times, Konoha's shinobi disguised themselves as Rain shinobi and attacked Iwagakure forces.
Then they deliberately left behind subtle traces that suggested Amegakure was responsible.
Of course, such a scheme was hardly foolproof.
Gōenji knew it was an obvious attempt at manipulation.
The higher-ups of both villages would naturally understand that another force might be deliberately provoking them.
They might even suspect that one of the local villages was orchestrating the attacks itself.
But the ordinary shinobi on the ground didn't have the luxury of thinking that deeply.
When a shinobi saw an Iwagakure or Amegakure ninja attacking them, they reacted.
They fought back.
And after enough blood had been spilled, suspicion became hatred.
Following Danzō had taught Gōenji quite a lot.
He had witnessed almost everything the man did.
Danzō truly was a master schemer.
More importantly...
He was incredibly strong.
According to the official Naruto databooks, Danzō's abilities were comparable to Hiruzen Sarutobi's.
After witnessing battle after battle, Gōenji had begun to understand why.
Danzō was powerful.
With his current strength, Gōenji had absolutely no chance of defeating him in a direct confrontation.
Damn. Who the hell ever said Danzō was weak?
Weakness was always relative.
The impression that Danzō was weak largely came from his later battle against Sasuke—and from comparing him to monsters like Hashirama and the other legendary figures of the shinobi world.
As an individual shinobi, Danzō was unquestionably Kage-level.
And he wasn't the only one.
There were plenty of powerful shinobi within Konoha.
The Nara.
The Yamanaka.
The Aburame.
Gōenji had seen members of these clans fight throughout the mission, and every battle revealed something new.
Whenever he had the opportunity, he secretly activated his Sharingan and observed their chakra networks.
He wasn't simply watching them out of curiosity.
He was looking for something he could use.
Since he was currently on a mission, Gōenji didn't have much time to read or experiment.
His Sharingan was the fastest way to gather information.
And those observations had already given him several new insights.
That was the advantage of having an extraordinary capacity for comprehension.
The Nara clan's techniques fall under Yin Release. To truly understand them, I'd need to understand the fundamental nature of Yin Release itself.
Yin Release can give form to things that have no physical form. That's fascinating... but unfortunately, my talent for Yin Release is nowhere near my talent for Fire Release.
His thoughts continued.
The Yamanaka clan is similar. Their techniques also rely heavily on Yin Release, but their applications are more focused on the mind and consciousness.
Creating something from nothing... If only my talent for Yin Release were as monstrous as my talent for Fire Release.
He glanced at the shinobi around him.
The Aburame clan's abilities should lean more toward Yang Release. Yang Release gives physical form to life, while Yin Release gives form to imagination.
Both were profound concepts.
Far more complicated than simply manipulating flames.
With my current talent, I can't hope to reach the same level with Yin or Yang Release that I can with Fire Release.
Still, that didn't mean he had no talent in either.
His aptitude for Yang Release was actually fairly decent—roughly comparable to his aptitude for Yin Release.
I could probably make use of that.
If I combine Yang Release with Fire Release, I might be able to develop something interesting.
Gōenji followed the squad while quietly contemplating the path he wanted to take in the future.
He would definitely learn Yin Release.
After all, genjutsu was fundamentally connected to Yin Release.
If he could strengthen his Sharingan through it, his overall combat ability would rise dramatically.
As for Yang Release...
He had another idea.
It wasn't that Yang Release was inherently superior to Yin Release.
He simply thought combining Yang Release with Fire Release could produce something much cooler.
Giving form to life.
His thoughts immediately went to the technique used by Gaara's mother.
She had infused her will into the sand to protect her child.
That's exactly what I want.
If she can give life to sand... then why can't I give life to flames?
The image alone excited him.
One day, he wanted to be surrounded by flames that moved according to his will.
A living inferno under his absolute control.
It might not be the strongest technique in the world.
But it would certainly be cool.
Of course, that was something for the future.
He wasn't stupid enough to sacrifice his combat strength simply to pursue something flashy.
Not while he was still struggling to survive.
For now, it was nothing more than an idea.
Still, he had already formed a rough plan for his future development.
Yin Release.
Yang Release.
Fire Release.
He wanted to combine all three and eventually create his own unique techniques.
Yin Release had the advantage of his Sharingan, so his progress in that field would probably be faster.
However, directly developing Yin Release nature transformation would be extremely difficult.
Instead, he could combine genjutsu with Fire Release and use that as a foundation for developing his own techniques.
That would dramatically reduce the time and effort required.
There are still too many things I don't understand about Yin Release.
For now, I'll focus on developing pure Fire Release.
Gōenji had thought through all of that in only a few moments.
His mind moved faster than most people could imagine.
By the time he finished, the squad had already reached the edge of a cliff.
Danzō stood silently in the rain and wind, his figure motionless as he stared into the distance.
Gōenji's eyes narrowed slightly.
The mission was only beginning.