The Draw

After talking with his father, Kanna had finally put one of the worries weighing on his mind to rest.

Train! Train hard! He wouldn't leave the house until he reached a certain level of strength! That was Kanna's plan.

What was his strength like now? He was a weakling. The only jutsu he knew was the Transformation Technique, and it wasn't much use. He hadn't even mastered it, and any ninja with a halfway decent eye for detail could probably see through it.

By that measure, Kanna could claim to be the weakest candidate in Kirigakure's history. At least previous graduates had been able to kill someone with their own strength. Kanna had the resolve to kill, but when it came down to actually doing it, would he dare?

Would he? Kanna didn't know himself. It was like watching someone get killed on TV: since it had nothing to do with you and you were only there for the spectacle, you didn't feel much of anything. Some people even got annoyed when the protagonist hesitated and agonized before killing someone—even if the other person was a villain—and wished they could jump in and put them out of their misery. But if they actually had to kill someone, they'd probably be so scared they wet themselves.

When he honestly examined himself, Kanna felt he was doing pretty well. But weak was weak. If Zabuza hadn't interfered that day, there was a nine-in-ten chance he'd have been the one to die.

In a way, Zabuza had saved his life. How ironic.

Strength. It all came down to strength! And now, he had a chance to improve his.

He'd saved up nearly three months' worth of draws. What jutsu would he get?

He had eighty-four chances in total. Kanna could spend eighty-one at once to exchange for an S-rank jutsu, or choose several lower-rank jutsu and one or two A-rank ones. The latter was probably what suited him best.

What rank was the Chidori, the only jutsu Kakashi had ever developed? A-rank. And what rank was the Rasengan, the Fourth Hokage's only offensive jutsu? Also A-rank.

A-rank jutsu were already quite advanced. They were the sort of techniques used by Jonin and even the Kage of various villages. And S-rank jutsu?

S-rank jutsu were practically the pinnacle of ninjutsu. Their power and difficulty were almost unimaginable. There was no way Kanna could learn and use one at his current level.

Never mind anything else; chakra alone was enough to limit a low-level ninja's ability to use advanced jutsu.

Pushing aside his fantasies, Kanna resolutely chose an S-rank jutsu anyway.

Even if I can't use it, it'll still be nice to look at!

As soon as he silently chose an S-rank jutsu, a vast amount of information suddenly flooded his mind. It was dense and abstruse. Kanna only skimmed through it, but even that left his mouth dry and his head spinning.

But reality had a surprise in store for him.

An S-rank jutsu: the Flying Thunder God Technique!

The technique that earned the Second Hokage the title of "the fastest ninja in the Shinobi World"! The signature technique that made the Fourth Hokage famous! The Space-Time Ninjutsu that could let its user roam the Shinobi World at will—the Flying Thunder God Technique!

Even though this S-rank jutsu had not the slightest direct offensive capability, even though its destructive power was insignificant compared to other S-rank jutsu—not even as great as that of most A-rank, B-rank, or lower-rank jutsu—no one dared underestimate the Flying Thunder God Technique. In the entire history of the Shinobi World, only four Space-Time Ninjutsu had ever appeared: the Flying Thunder God Technique, Kamui, Amenotejikara, and Amenominaka. That alone showed how precious the Flying Thunder God Technique was.

Each of the four Space-Time Ninjutsu had its own strengths. The Flying Thunder God Technique might not be particularly powerful by comparison, but it was certainly not weak. Or rather, they couldn't really be compared, since the last two were both above S-rank.

At any rate, Kanna was genuinely satisfied. The Flying Thunder God Technique—even if he couldn't learn it, at least he had something to look forward to. If he still couldn't figure it out once he had enough chakra, he could just transplant it into Highland. By then, as long as he didn't get himself killed or end up in a hopeless situation—like the Second Hokage, who was surrounded and killed after staying behind to protect his students and subordinates—it would be genuinely hard for him to die.

If he couldn't win, he could flee. If he could win, he could give chase. He could come and go as he pleased. It was all so carefree, so satisfying.

Of course, that all depended on having enough chakra. Otherwise, it was all pointless.

After drawing the Flying Thunder God Technique, Kanna's face first lit up with excitement, then fell with frustration.

The treasure was right in front of him, but he couldn't get his hands on it. It was a miserable feeling.

Chakra, chakra. Even if he was confident he could soon raise his chakra reserves to the level of a Chunin—or even reach that level—he still wouldn't have enough. Not nearly enough.

How could he increase his chakra? Should he really try to claim a Tailed Beast, or simply distinguish himself and become Kirigakure's Three-Tails Jinchuriki?

Or, once he drew Orochimaru's Living Corpse Reincarnation, should he just switch bodies? Maybe into a body from the Uzumaki Clan, supposedly the clan with the largest chakra reserves?

Or perhaps he could use a Cursed Seal? Fight for Samehada?

The Preta Path's Blocking Technique Absorption Seal? The First's cells?

Even though Kanna had thought of all these ways based on his knowledge of the Naruto world, he couldn't do a single one of them.

"Serves me right. I did this to myself..." Kanna simply closed his eyes and muttered to himself. If he hadn't been so ambitious, dismissing the lower-rank, B-rank, and A-rank jutsu that were bound to become obsolete later, he wouldn't be so conflicted now.

"I still have three chances. I might as well exchange them for lower-rank jutsu."

With no other choice, Kanna stopped thinking about the Flying Thunder God Technique and exchanged his last three chances for a lower-rank jutsu. The next moment, his expression turned strange.

A lower-rank jutsu: the Water Body Flicker Technique.

"Huh... Could I have some connection with the Second Hokage?" Kanna rubbed his cheek, torn between laughter and tears.

The Water Body Flicker Technique was a variation of the Body Flicker Technique, with its own strengths and weaknesses.

The traditional Body Flicker Technique could be used to move at high speed over any terrain—as long as there was somewhere to land. But because of the limitations of human reflexes, most ninja couldn't control the technique well enough for it to become widely used. The few who did master it, however, were incredibly powerful: Uchiha Shisui, known as Body Flicker Shisui; Hanzo of the Salamander, known as the demigod; and Tobirama Senju and Minato Namikaze, the "fastest ninja in the Shinobi World" and the "Yellow Flash." All were masters of the Body Flicker Technique.

The Water Body Flicker Technique was different. Tobirama had come up with it on a whim as a Body Flicker Technique suited for use on water. It was easier to activate than the regular Body Flicker Technique. After all, there were hardly any obstacles on the water, so you could dash wherever you wanted.

But comparing the two techniques, it became clear that the Water Body Flicker Technique required more precise control of chakra when Water Walking. Otherwise, the Body Flicker Technique's explosive force and recoil could easily send you plunging into the water. In exchange, it was much more forgiving when it came to precise positioning. Unlike the traditional Body Flicker Technique, where judging the distance was difficult, the Water Body Flicker Technique combined Water Style with the Body Flicker Technique. With the current to help, positioning became much easier. As long as you could react in time, you didn't have to worry about overshooting. After all, you were walking on water—you could speed up or stop whenever you wanted, like riding a jet ski over the waves.

Besides, since the Water Body Flicker Technique was also one of Tobirama's jutsu, it had plenty that could help him study and understand the Flying Thunder God Technique. After all, the latter could be considered an advanced evolution of the Body Flicker Technique.

The moment he obtained the Water Body Flicker Technique, Kanna made up his mind.

Learn it!

He absolutely had to learn it—and master it!

With that, Kanna began studying the Water Body Flicker Technique's formula and chakra circulation, word by word.

Then his face fell.

There were no hand seals. You simply circulated chakra, used your superb control of Water Style to create a current out of thin air, then combined it with the Body Flicker Technique to move at high speed.

This jutsu's difficulty couldn't be measured by its rank at all. It was a technique, an idea, a way of combining Water Style with the Body Flicker Technique!

Sure, the technique itself wasn't difficult. But he still had to master both the chakra control needed to manipulate the water and the Body Flicker Technique! That was like three jutsu rolled into one!

In other words, this wasn't even a jutsu in the true sense. It was a technique that combined two jutsu! Just like how the Harem Jutsu was really a combination of the Shadow Clone Jutsu and the Transformation Technique.

"What a rip-off!" Kanna wailed, then collapsed helplessly onto the bed, close to tears.