God

(ps: Those meddlesome censorship beasts really are everywhere these days. A certain round thing and the sun have both been censored. That certain round thing's method is pretty vicious.)

Ever since Kanna had come to understand "fear" and gained even the slightest inkling of the great terror of life and death, his training had begun to make more sense. His progress had picked up speed, his efficiency had improved, and after two months, his chakra naturally broke through to a new level.

Chunin! He now had a Chunin-level amount of chakra.

From the moment he entered this world and inherited Kanna's body to his breakthrough into the Chunin level, it had taken a little over five months—half a year. That might have seemed like decent progress, but in reality, it was nothing special. It was perfectly ordinary and not worth mentioning.

Generally speaking, after graduating from the Ninja Academy, students who satisfied their Jōnin instructors—which most did, unless they had an unscrupulous teacher like Kakashi, who had no interest in teaching—were granted Genin status. After some training and missions, their team's Jōnin instructor could then apply for them to take the Chunin Ninja Exams.

Don't think the Chunin Ninja Exams were especially difficult. In the original story, the exams Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke took part in were a joint event hosted by Konohagakure and Sunagakure, a large-scale Chunin exam attended by all the countries and ninja villages. The proctors and judges were elite Jōnin, Kage, nobles, and other people with exceptionally high standards. As a result, only Shikamaru Nara passed the exam.

Was it because Gaara, Sasuke, Lee, and Neji weren't strong enough? Of course not. It was just that, in the eyes of those big shots, even Gaara—a ninja who came close to Jōnin level and was more battle-ready than some Special Jōnin—wasn't worth mentioning. Shikamaru's tactical intelligence, on the other hand, made them sit up and take notice. The Shinobi World never lacked fighters; a ninja with a talent for command and a nimble mind was the real asset. Of course, if your combat strength was truly overwhelming and you crushed every other candidate in your year, you could also stand out. Unfortunately, there had been no such talent in Naruto Uzumaki's year.

Kanna now had enough chakra to qualify as a Chunin, far more than he used to. All he needed was some more practice in actual combat, and he'd be eligible to apply for next spring's Chunin Ninja Exams.

Still, Kanna felt he had a long way to go. He figured he'd only be taking the Chunin Ninja Exams for the experience; actually passing seemed unrealistic.

Sometimes, Kanna couldn't help feeling frustrated. Just look at Kakashi and Itachi Uchiha. The former entered the Academy at four, graduated at five, became a Chunin at six, and made Jōnin at twelve. The latter entered the Academy at five, graduated at seven, and became a Chunin at eleven. That might have been a step behind Kakashi, but Itachi took off like a rocket afterward. Six months after becoming a Chunin, he joined Anbu, and at thirteen, he became an Anbu squad captain. Kakashi hadn't been accepted into Anbu until he was seventeen. As for what happened afterward, everyone knew the story: the year Itachi became an Anbu squad captain, he wiped out the Uchiha Clan. Then, after defecting from the village and joining Akatsuki, he cut off Orochimaru's arm and cowed him into not fighting back. Unable to take Itachi's Sharingan, Orochimaru had no choice but to defect from Akatsuki. Itachi's strength placed him consistently among the top three in Akatsuki, an organization packed with S-rank missing-nin.

They were all human, yet the gap between them was enormous. Kanna was still struggling to become a Chunin, studying one jutsu after another without success, while they had become Chunin and Jōnin at a young age and made themselves known across the land.

Was there any point in comparing himself to geniuses like them? Absolutely. Kanna knew that if history didn't change, the Third Shinobi World War would break out in three years, and Kirigakure would join the fighting. He was bound to be sent to the battlefield. If he wanted to survive, he had to get stronger!

Get stronger, get stronger! Those were the only words in Kanna's head now. One night, he even dreamed that he drew the S-rank jutsu Kotoamatsukami and Impure World Reincarnation. He deliberately let Orochimaru capture him, used Kotoamatsukami on him, and let Orochimaru's reincarnation jutsu take over his body. Then Orochimaru used the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu, sacrificing Orochimaru—Kanna's body, Orochimaru's soul—to bring Kanna back to life. Since nobody controlled the revived Kanna, he immediately released the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu. From then on, he was neither alive nor dead, had unlimited chakra, and was invincible.

It had to be said: that really was a good idea.

But after reflecting on it, Kanna felt he might be getting a little obsessed. Chakra was certainly important, but it wasn't all-powerful. The Tailed Beasts had tons of chakra, didn't they? Of course they did. But there were plenty of people in this world who could beat them. The Tailed Beasts even had the Tailed Beast Ball, while Kanna, with his current chakra control, would probably struggle just to shape chakra into a sphere. What good was having more chakra?

On December 3, in the 44th year of Konoha, Kanna got up early. After finishing his usual training, he once again studied the Flying Thunder God Technique's formula.

The Flying Thunder God Technique encompassed the principles behind all kinds of jutsu, including Kunai-throwing techniques, Body Flicker, Sealing Jutsu, Barrier Ninjutsu, and Substitution Technique. At its core was the most profound principle of all: "piercing the barriers of space" to achieve instantaneous movement. It was so difficult, so incredibly difficult! Kanna had had the jutsu for so long, yet he hadn't even found a clue. At least his throwing technique had improved considerably; it wasn't as if he'd gained nothing.

But today, Kanna decided that since he couldn't find a clue, he might as well use Highland to break down the Flying Thunder God Technique and see if it could give him some inspiration.

His Chunin-level chakra was just enough to meet the Flying Thunder God Technique's requirements. Just how powerful was Highland? Could it really analyze jutsu? Today would tell!

He pulled open his collar, revealing the circular, Cursed Seal-like mark on his chest. Kanna closed his eyes and began recalling the Flying Thunder God Technique's formula.

The formula wasn't a set of hand seals; it was an analytical breakdown of the jutsu. The Flying Thunder God Technique's formula was extremely complex, but Kanna could at least imitate what he remembered.

He bit his finger and drew three lines of blood inside the ring. They crossed at the center and met at the circle's midpoint, dividing the ring into six sixty-degree sectors.

Following what he remembered, Kanna inscribed the analytical diagrams for Body Flicker, Sealing Jutsu, Barrier Ninjutsu, Substitution Technique, and the "barriers of space" into the sectors. (Remember the jutsu Orochimaru stole back then? The scroll had diagrams drawn on it, proving that jutsu could be analyzed. That was the sort of thing Kanna was inscribing.) Then, solemnly, he wrote the true name "Flying Thunder God Technique" in the final sector.

A faint glow flashed. Then all the diagrams gradually faded away. As chakra flowed into it, the ring-shaped area of Highland suddenly expanded, covering his entire chest and abdomen. The lines of blood writhed and intertwined, forming a huge character: "God."

"'God'? Hahaha! Good!" Kanna clapped his hands and laughed. "Yes, that character 'God' is perfect! Cut down myself and illuminate the Way! Cut down my own self and illuminate the Way! Slay gods and demons!"

Kanna stood up, lifted his head and chest, and walked toward the balcony. As he passed the cabinet beside him, he swept out an arm and grabbed the wooden Kunai resting on top.

He stepped onto the balcony, his body swaying gently with the iron scaffolding. Swish, swish, swish! Using his finger as a brush and blood as ink, Kanna inscribed on the Kunai the formula he had practiced countless times.

Sword of Shinobi Love! Those four characters were the unique Flying Thunder God teleportation formula used by the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze!

Then Kanna took a deep breath, extended his arm, and pointed the Kunai's tip at the ground. Highland activated!

Everything changed. The world in Kanna's eyes suddenly brightened, crisscrossed by countless dots and lines. It was like the patches of color left on the retina after someone had been exposed to a powerful light.

He lowered his head slightly and saw a light shining from the wooden Kunai in his hand, invisible to everyone else.

"Did it work? Well, let's give it a try." Kanna chuckled, then his expression turned serious. He opened his fingers, and the wooden Kunai fell.

With Kanna's eyesight, the palm-sized Kunai soon disappeared from view. Yet he could still sense its position clearly.

Once he pierced the barriers of space, distance meant nothing. It wasn't just a few dozen meters—even the ends of the earth would be within reach.

"Don't let me down, Highland." Kanna closed his eyes, a faint smile on his face. Then, without hesitation, he took two steps forward and stepped off the balcony.

The wind howled, whipping Kanna's hair around. A nameless terror suddenly rose within him, the deepest fear of life and death. If he didn't activate the Flying Thunder God Technique now, he would die!

Beneath his collar, blown open by the wind, the diagrams appeared one after another. A torrent of chakra surged through their circuits in an instant. Flash! Kanna vanished from midair.

The next moment, a clear, piercing cry rang out, filled with boundless joy and exhilaration.

On the ground, Kanna stood with his eyes closed and his arms spread wide, crying out at the top of his lungs.

He stood firm, a Kunai planted at an angle in the ground beneath his feet. His expression was complicated, mixing relief with emotion.

The Flying Thunder God Technique had worked!