It's been a long time, but I'm finally getting back to writing. I'll alternate between this book and Great Demon King, switching styles and moods. Yeah.
First of all, I should explain some of my ideas to the readers, including my thoughts on the Naruto setting and so on. Since this isn't part of the story, I'll just write whatever comes to mind, wherever it takes me.
I came up with this book a while ago, for the same reason I mentioned in my last book: most Naruto system novels are crossovers into another world. Honestly, on Qidian, there are only two that I think are worth reading, and neither of them really suited my tastes in the end. You've probably experienced the same thing after reading a lot: the more books you read, the pickier you get. Sometimes a great idea is ruined by a plot point you don't like. Personally, I'm not fond of harems. Most readers on Qidian are men these days, and to cater to them, many authors give their protagonists harems. There's no denying that some big-name authors have done a great job developing each of the women in their harems, but most of the time, the characters are one-dimensional and the plots all feel the same. For example, if the protagonist is a student loser, then after some lucky break, his grades will shoot up. Then the class beauty—usually the class president or some older girl—or the shy deskmate who has long had a crush on him will be astonished. He'll make a stunning impression on the college entrance exam—or the middle school entrance exam, if he's younger—and become the top scorer or something. His classmates won't believe it, and that's his first chance to humiliate them. Then he goes to college, where he absolutely can't pass up the beautiful teacher. He definitely won't be comfortable living in the dorms, so he moves out. What? He's sharing a place? And his landlady or roommate is a beautiful woman? Now he's in luck! Even two bathrooms won't satisfy the readers! Then one day, the protagonist accidentally catches someone in the shower.
And so on and so forth: helping a beautiful police officer solve a case, stumbling across a beauty being robbed or assaulted, meeting a cute girl selling herself to save her father, a beautiful hacker, a beautiful older woman... In short, all the beautiful women the protagonist never met before suddenly come pouring out of the woodwork. Seduce them, seduce them, seduce them—ugh!
The same goes for high-powered fantasy settings. It's all much of a muchness: a teacher at the academy, the top-ranked senior girl (of course, if the top-ranked student is a guy, he's the protagonist's rival), the eldest daughter of some powerful family "traveling incognito," an older sister (and he gets both sisters), or the childhood sweetheart from before the protagonist made it big. As long as it's female, even if she's a god, the protagonist gets to sleep with her!
I have a lot of pent-up frustration about this. Maybe I'm just too serious, but I hold love in a very sacred regard. It's one of the most beautiful aspects of human relationships. I'd rather have my protagonist spend his whole life fighting than have him be promiscuous. With my last book, Great Demon King, my original plan was to have no female lead. But then I thought everyone needed a warm harbor to come home to, so in the end I gave the protagonist a girl. She was also the only female character in that book I spent any real time developing. I suppose it was my way of giving our Hui a home.
Most Naruto novels on Qidian are fanfiction. A small number are crossovers into another world or apocalyptic novels—the so-called system stories. The former are fine; some have just one female lead. The latter aren't so great, with all their female leads. I'm not a fan of that.
Next, the protagonist. I'll talk about protagonists in other works here, but only about my own. The protagonist I have in mind should be decisive, willing to take responsibility, and free of his loser mentality from his previous life. He should have the heart of a strong man. I wrote this idea into Great Demon King, which is why Hui ended up as a much colder protagonist than the Naruto fanfic leads most of you are used to. I really like Dragon Snake Romance, and I was influenced by Meng Ru Shen Ji. The protagonist of my last book had a little of Wang Chao—the protagonist of Dragon Snake Romance—in him. It was a kind of tribute.
As for some of the Naruto characters, I'll say it again: I stick to the original and respect it. Of course, I mean the characters' personalities and appearances, how the various events unfold, and most of the ninja techniques. The protagonist will need a few original techniques of his own, but they can't go beyond the bounds of Naruto. Time-based ninjutsu, for example, could never appear in Naruto. Kaguya Otsutsuki is the upper limit of Naruto's power. She is the origin of chakra, like Pangu, who created heaven and earth in Chinese mythology. Pangu created the world; Kaguya created chakra. The protagonist can surpass her in the end, but I can't just make things up. The five chakra natures and their techniques; the various kekkei genkai, led by the Sharingan; Yin and Yang Release, led by Six Paths Obito, Six Paths Madara, and Otsutsuki Kaguya; senjutsu, represented by Naruto and the First, Hashirama; and the Eight Inner Gates... To be honest, looking back at my last book now, I have mixed feelings. For example, I didn't handle the beginning very well, though I corrected some things later and made up for it somewhat. I feel I've made a lot of progress since then. First, I'd like to thank my Chinese teacher—I only had one. I didn't learn any useful writing techniques in middle or high school. My writing style came from writing self-criticisms. Haha, just kidding.
I absolutely won't rush the ending or abandon Great Demon King. I think I've put more effort into this book than other authors put into theirs. I'm not a full-time author, I'm not under contract, I don't put my books behind a paywall, and I don't make money from them. To be blunt, I write for the enjoyment of it and for the kind of happiness from my childhood that I can never find again. I agonize over every move in the characters' fights, trying to make them clear and logical. I'm moved by the tragedies in Naruto, but from my protagonist's perspective, I can't have him change everything, because he's already a member of the Naruto world, not a savior or a person who crossed over from another world. I admire every character who fights for their dreams, even if they sacrifice their lives, good or evil. I've worked hard to build a relatively systematic power system and ninja technique system for the Naruto world. I insist on not using the term "Kage Level." I'm proud to have written Great Demon King, a book you all accepted.
As for this book, the system-based Naruto story I'm about to start writing, it will still be set in the Naruto world. It's July 21, and I haven't settled on a title yet, but there's no rush. The basic premise is simple: the protagonist crosses into another world and gets a system. It's a clichéd opening, but I hope I can make it feel fresh.
Next, I'll explain how writing my last book shaped my understanding of Naruto:
First, let's look at Taijutsu. Taijutsu is the simplest of Naruto's power systems. Its attacks are simple and unadorned, yet surprisingly powerful. It has a place even in a manga whose story is dominated by ninjutsu and eye techniques. I'll divide it into three levels.
Taijutsu.
The first level is gaining basic control over your own body and overcoming the fear of close combat. This is easy to understand. When ninjas fight with ninjutsu, they keep their distance. But when they fight with Taijutsu, they often face gleaming blades at close range, which is terrifying for a beginner. In real life, most people would probably freeze if someone pointed a knife at them. To fight for real, we have to overcome our fear. When someone swings a knife at us, we must keep a straight face and dare to fight back. Ninjas at this level have usually seen blood. As you know, in the Zabuza arc, Naruto was so scared when he saw blood for the first time that he couldn't move. But then he steeled himself and stabbed himself with a Kunai. That snapped him out of it and brought back his courage. After that, Naruto never hesitated in battle again. He charged forward without fear and defeated every enemy!
I really admire Naruto, and I sincerely hope everyone can be like him: kind, yet fearless.
The second level is mastering the skills and strength needed to defeat enemies with Taijutsu, and gaining fairly fine control over your body. The gap between this level and the first is much larger. Its best-known examples are Lee and the Raikage, and its representative technique is the Eight Inner Gates. At this level, ninjas need to unlock the power hidden within their bodies. In an infinite-flow story, that would be unlocking the Gene Lock; in Dragon Ball, it would be transforming. That should make the idea clear. At this level, a ninja can control most of their muscles and bones, greatly increasing their explosive power and physical abilities. If they reached the Raikage's level, they could withstand blades with their bodies, or even take a Wind Style: Rasenshuriken head-on and survive. They could approach the speed of sound through Taijutsu alone, and easily break the sound barrier with the Body Flicker Technique.
The third level is complete mastery of one's body, allowing someone to adjust their strength, speed, and physical durability at will, like the protagonist of Great Demon King or Adam from my previous book. For example, if someone's combat ability in speed, strength, and durability were each 100, they could instantly boost their strength to nearly 200 during a fight. Or they could raise their speed or durability instead, as they pleased. They could fight however they wanted. Most importantly, when this concept is applied to the Naruto setting, it's like mastering every gate of the Eight Inner Gates. If they completely disregarded what their body could withstand, they could open the final gate, the Gate of Death, and fully unleash their body. Without using the Body Flicker Technique, they could easily break the sound barrier through physical speed alone. The naked eye couldn't follow their movements. Their punches could compress the air and create steam. However, the Eight Inner Gates only increase speed and strength, while doing even greater damage to the body. They can't increase the body's durability at the same time, so the body will completely break down in a matter of seconds. Of course, at that level, unless someone had a Six Paths body like Six Paths Madara, or the bodies of the Sage of Six Paths or Otsutsuki Kaguya, anyone could be blown apart with a single punch. This is the pinnacle of Taijutsu in Naruto, and its end point.
Ninjutsu.
Ninjutsu is a broad concept, and here I'll divide it into four levels. The first is gaining a basic grasp of chakra and being able to use some low-level techniques. There isn't much to say about this. Even Naruto, who couldn't use the Clone Technique properly at the Ninja Academy, counts. After all, he did make a clone, even if it wasn't much use.
The second level is fine control over chakra, enough to walk vertically up a tree or perform Water Walking. At this point, a ninja has entered the realm of mastery, because chakra is the foundation of ninjutsu. Once you learn how to control chakra, learning ninjutsu follows naturally.
The gap between the third level and the second starts to widen. A ninja has to begin mastering changes in chakra: shape transformation and nature transformation. Their representative techniques are the Rasengan and Chidori. These changes in chakra also include some kekkei genkai, or combinations of chakra natures. The best-known example is the Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi. She is the only ninja in the original story with two kekkei genkai, and she developed them herself. Unlike the traditional kekkei genkai passed down through bloodlines, these can be discovered on one's own, as long as one has enough understanding of and control over chakra.
The final level is combining all chakra natures into one: the origin of ninjutsu, Yin-Yang Release. At this level, all techniques are ineffective. Other than senjutsu and Taijutsu, no ninjutsu or genjutsu can break through the user's defenses, and no defense can withstand their attacks. Even a body brought back with Impure World Reincarnation, supposedly immortal, is no exception. If struck, it will be erased at its very core. In addition, ninjas at this level can use every ninjutsu in existence. Of course, compared to Yin-Yang Release, that hardly matters.
Genjutsu.
The mechanics of genjutsu in the original story are very vague, so I'll divide it into three levels here. The first level requires a higher starting point than ninjutsu or Taijutsu. The user needs a good grasp of chakra flow and must be able to use chakra to disrupt an enemy's senses. That's the most basic form of genjutsu. Unlike the other two systems, the first level of genjutsu covers a wide range. It includes not just the most basic illusions, but also advanced techniques that completely seal off an enemy's senses, such as the Darkness Technique. In general, any technique that affects an enemy's chakra and five senses belongs to this level.
At the second level, the user's genjutsu begins to break away from the real world. Within the illusion, time, space, mass, and other things begin to defy common sense. I don't need to tell you the representative technique: Tsukuyomi. But this level also includes Izanami, Kotoamatsukami, and the most powerful genjutsu, Infinite Tsukuyomi. Tsukuyomi best represents this level, allowing the user to control everything in Tsukuyomi Space at will. I won't explain it in detail here. Izanami is somewhat similar: it constructs an endlessly looping illusionary world. Unless the victim accepts themself, they'll remain trapped in the illusion forever. It's a vicious technique. As for Kotoamatsukami, it directly manipulates everything the victim perceives, even their own will. Its power is great enough to override the control that Impure World Reincarnation exerts directly over the dead person's soul, making it a starting point for using an illusion to interfere with reality. Finally, there's Infinite Tsukuyomi. In terms of sheer power, there's no question that it's the strongest genjutsu in the Naruto world. But it isn't necessarily all that complex. It can probably be seen as a collection of countless Tsukuyomi. Its power is simply so great that it can trap everyone in the world in an illusion.
The final level is "making the false real": using genjutsu to interfere with reality, a step beyond Kotoamatsukami. As far as we know, only one technique represents this level: Izanagi.
Izanagi was originally a technique the Sage of Six Paths used to create the world. Its essence was bringing something out of nothing: creating reality from "nothing," like creating something from the void. But as the technique was passed down through the generations, it changed because of its users. It became a technique for moving between dreams and reality and twisting reality. That is also why it can be countered by Izanami, a second-level genjutsu. Even so, it is the only genjutsu in the Naruto world that can interfere with reality. But in truth, this technique wasn't made to alter reality. Strictly speaking, it isn't a genjutsu at all, but a Yin-Yang Release technique for creating things. When I say Izanagi is a third-level genjutsu, I mean the version used by Danzo and Madara Uchiha, not the version used by the Sage of Six Paths to create the Tailed Beasts.
That's the basics of the three main parts of the ninja power system. Now let's briefly talk about some other things.
Kekkei Genkai.
Kekkei genkai have no levels; they only differ in their origins. One kind comes from the ancestor of a kekkei genkai clan, who passed down their understanding of kekkei genkai techniques by embedding it in their bloodline. The other kind is developed independently by an individual, who uses their understanding and control of chakra to combine different chakra natures and create a new kekkei genkai.
Sharingan.
One-Tomoe: enhanced dynamic vision. Two-Tomoe: further enhanced vision, with the ability to copy ninjutsu and Taijutsu. Three-Tomoe: the user can follow fast-moving objects, such as Naruto when he uses Nine-Tails Chakra. After training, they can also follow the movements of Killer B in his Tailed Beast Cloak form. They can copy most ninjutsu and Taijutsu, and reflect genjutsu up to a certain level. This is the peak an ordinary Uchiha clan member's eyes can reach. Mangekyō Sharingan: an evolution triggered by intense stimulation of the brain, which causes the user's vision to deteriorate. Judging from Obito's experience, it seems that evolution from three Tomoe isn't required—Obito evolved directly from two Tomoe. The abilities of each eye differ from person to person. But once both eyes are brought together, the user can use Susanoo. Kakashi's experience also suggests that the Mangekyō Sharingan alone can be used to produce the Complete Body Susanoo, depending on the amount of ocular power. Most people definitely can't use it; they need the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan: two pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan merge into one. The users need to be related by blood, such as brothers. There's no risk of blindness, and the user's ocular power and Susanoo grow stronger. Most people can only use the Complete Body Susanoo at this stage. It's the Sharingan's ultimate technique. Rinnegan: a person with the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan can evolve it after obtaining the power of life. In Naruto, the source of that power is the First, Hashirama. The user can use the Six Paths Technique, or the Six Paths of Pain, and gains seven extraordinary abilities. The Sage of Six Paths once used one of them to create the moon. Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan: only Kaguya Otsutsuki and Sasuke Uchiha have obtained this. Its abilities differ from person to person. The Ten-Tails' eye has nine Tomoe too, but it doesn't possess those abilities.
Senjutsu.
The characters known to use Senjutsu are Hashirama, Jiraiya, Minato Namikaze, Naruto, and Kabuto. Orochimaru also had Senjutsu Chakra—the source of the Senjutsu research that Kabuto conducted. Orochimaru himself said that Kabuto's body contained his Senjutsu Chakra. But since Orochimaru never used Senjutsu in the original story, we'll set that aside for now. Jugo also had Senjutsu Chakra from birth, and Orochimaru used him as the source for his Senjutsu research. Senjutsu lets the user sense the energy in nature, extends the range of their attacks, greatly improves their perception, and enhances their abilities in every area. It's like a transformation.
Tailed Beasts.
The power of the One-Tail through the Nine-Tails can't be determined simply by counting their tails. In other words, the Nine-Tails isn't nine times as strong as the One-Tail. But it's still true that the Nine-Tails is the strongest, followed by the Eight-Tails. Their hosts—the Jinchuriki—can use the power of the Tailed Beasts. The best examples are Killer B, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, and Naruto later in the story.
Combat Ability.
Some people in Naruto have highly destructive ninjutsu, such as Pain, while others have no such techniques but are still powerful fighters, like the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. Here, we need to understand that a ninja's body is very weak compared to their destructive power, unless they have a special body, such as a Six Paths body, the Raikage's body, or Hashirama's body, which is full of vitality. An ordinary ninja would die if they were pulverized by Shinra Tensei, and they'd also die if their throat were cut by a Kunai. So we can't judge a ninja's strength only by how grand their battles look.
Whew, that's about it. Consider it a rough outline of the setting. I'll cover the details in the book.
That's all.
Before you continue