The Battle with Shennong (Part 2)

It was precisely this outcome that made Shennong realize his own shortcomings. He knew that relying on his Medical Ninjutsu alone would never be enough, so he decided to research **Activation Ninjutsu. This research required human subjects for experimentation, and while exploring Angkor Fortress, Shennong also discovered the real reason Konoha had attacked the Sky Ninja Village. It was also why the Sky Ninja Village had received no help from the other villages when it called for assistance.

The Sky Ninja Village had begun researching the Zero-Tails after the First Shinobi World War. Because of Shennong's usual conduct, no one had let him in on the research. After the First Shinobi World War, the Five Great Nations were established, and each nation possessed a Tailed Beast as its ultimate weapon. This guaranteed a balance of military power among the Five Great Nations. The Sky Ninja Village was powerful, but it lacked an ultimate weapon like a Tailed Beast, so it had always ranked below the Five Great Nations. Since the Tailed Beasts were all in the Five Great Nations' hands, getting one from them was all but impossible.

Another thing was that, at the start of the First Shinobi World War, Kusagakure, which had been called the strongest village in the Shinobi World, and Amegakure, which had been almost as powerful as the Five Great Nations, both fell into decline. Kusagakure was reduced to little more than a village, while Amegakure, though still doing fairly well, had lost much of its strength and was basically being kept afloat by the Hanzo Clan.

(The First Shinobi World War broke out after the Five Great Nations were established and the First Hokage had distributed the Tailed Beasts. I checked the information, and though it may not be entirely accurate, I'm going with this setup.)

After seeing the state of affairs, the Sky Ninja Village's leader knew that, although Angkor Fortress had helped the village avoid much damage during the First Shinobi World War, once-powerful villages were gradually disappearing. To stand against the Five Great Nations, the Sky Ninja Village needed its own strategic weapon. If the Five Great Nations held all the Tailed Beasts, then the Sky Ninja Village would make its own. It was common knowledge in the Shinobi World that the Sky Ninja Village excelled at creating all kinds of tools—even more so than Artisan Village, which was only good at making ninja tools. Just look at the Angkor Fortress built by the Sky Ninja Village.

The Sky Ninja Village really was incredibly inventive, and they managed to find a way: by harnessing the hatred and darkness in people's hearts to generate Dark Chakra, then converting it through a special process, they could create a monster with an enormous amount of chakra. That monster was the Zero-Tails.

Though the Zero-Tails was surely no match for a true Tailed Beast, the Sky Ninja had never intended to pit it against one in the first place.

Instead, they planned to use the Zero-Tails as the power source for their Sky City, Angkor Fortress. Tailed Beasts could produce vast amounts of chakra on their own, so using the Zero-Tails to power Angkor Fortress would allow it to remain airborne forever and unleash its full potential. Although the Sky Ninja had built Angkor Fortress, its enormous energy requirements had always kept them from using it to its full capacity. With an inexhaustible power source, however, it would surely become tremendously powerful. The fortress cannon alone—which used up nearly all of Angkor Fortress's energy in a single shot—could be fired repeatedly. It had never been used since the fortress was built, because firing it would leave Angkor Fortress without enough energy to fly. Even if the Sky Ninja Village spent all its resources, it could only fire the cannon a handful of times.

Once the research succeeded, the fortress cannon could be used without limit, just like a Tailed Beast. At that point, the Sky Ninja Village might not surpass the Five Great Nations in power, but it could make them the Six Great Nations. Unfortunately, just as the Zero-Tails research was beginning to bear fruit, word got out. That was the real reason the Sky Ninja Village was destroyed.

That was also why Konoha later searched extensively for Angkor Fortress. At the time, the Zero-Tails was the main reason Konoha was after the Sky Ninja Village. Once the village was destroyed, everything else mattered less.

After the Sky Ninja Village lost its support, research on the Zero-Tails was put on hold. But Shennong found the research in Angkor Fortress, along with the specimen created through the combined efforts of the entire village. By then, however, there was no one left to continue the work.

To take revenge on Konoha, Shennong restarted the research. It would take a long time, and he was afraid he might die before finishing it. So he used his Medical Ninjutsu to study how to extend his own life, giving himself enough time to complete the Zero-Tails and avenge the destruction of the village.

That was also why Shennong was still in Konoha when the remnants of the Sky Ninja later launched their revenge. He let those Sky Ninja catch Konoha off guard and inflict a little damage, but they couldn't seriously hurt the village. Didn't they get wiped out easily once they were discovered?

Shennong really was impressive. Normally, he should have been unable to create the Zero-Tails on his own, but he found another way: he thought of how true Tailed Beasts had Jinchuriki, and decided to find a Jinchuriki for the Zero-Tails.

Shennong had spent years traveling through battlefields and treating civilians for several reasons. First, he used the orphans and unnoticed corpses left behind on battlefields to complete his **Reanimation Technique. The next step was the Body Rebirth Technique, the same kind Orochimaru used. That was what he had worked with Orochimaru on. He hadn't planned to teach Orochimaru the Body Rebirth Technique, but Orochimaru was a formidable man and managed to develop it from the scraps of information Shennong gave him. The two techniques were very different.

Shennong's Body Rebirth Technique focused mainly on the **body. It used chakra to keep the body permanently active and thereby attain immortality, much like Tsunade's Yin Seal. He had already perfected the Body Rebirth Technique seen in the movie; he simply lacked the vast amount of chakra needed to activate it.

Orochimaru's Body Rebirth Technique, on the other hand, focused on the soul. The body didn't matter much to him, since people were always being born and growing up. When he grew old or suffered a mortal injury, he would transfer his soul. Although Orochimaru hadn't learned Shennong's body-focused Body Rebirth Technique because Shennong kept it secret, his physical body still had an extremely powerful regenerative ability. You could even say Orochimaru was only one step away from achieving body rebirth. Consider Tsunade's strength: her punches could shatter a mountain. When Orochimaru's arms were sealed by the Third Hokage, Tsunade hit him with punch after punch, yet he was fine. That shows just how powerful his body was. Jiraiya once sneaked a look at Tsunade bathing, and she punched him so hard he broke six ribs and nearly died. That shows just how strong Orochimaru's regenerative ability was. Of course, Orochimaru had taken a different path from Shennong. If he had used Shennong's body-activation method, Tsunade would probably have knocked him out with a single punch.

Another reason Shennong traveled through battlefields was to find a Jinchuriki for the Zero-Tails. A person's body had to be compatible with a Tailed Beast; not just anyone could become a Jinchuriki. If the compatibility was too low, they couldn't become one or withstand the enormous amount of chakra. They would usually just explode.

Naruto becoming the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki was partly due to the Fourth Hokage's personal feelings, but also because they couldn't find anyone else. Of course, even if they had found someone, the Fourth Hokage wouldn't have agreed. His decision to make his own son a Jinchuriki came after years of studying his wife, Kushina. He did it all so Naruto could gain greater strength and survive in a world at war with shinobi.

You could say sealing the Nine-Tails inside Naruto was an incredibly wise decision on the Fourth Hokage's part. From the Nine-Tails' attack to the masked man's assault and the sealing of the Nine-Tails, he made that choice in an incredibly short time. The Fourth Hokage truly lived up to his title.

First, the Nine-Tails had to be sealed. From his perspective as Hokage, it was necessary to protect the village. Second, given the circumstances, Kushina could probably have sealed the Nine-Tails if she'd fought with all her strength. Even if the seal had only been temporary, they could have figured out what to do afterward, and Konoha would have been fine. But whatever happened, Kushina was going to die. The Fourth Hokage truly loved her, and he had always promised to protect her. Now he had failed to do so, so he decided to die alongside her, just as Kushina had said: "Minato, you don't have to go this far." This proves that the Fourth Hokage was a good man and a good husband.

And then there were the Nine-Tails' attack that night and the masked man's assault. Although Minato won in the end, it was a close fight. That was what impressed me most about the Fourth Hokage: after just one exchange, he immediately figured out Kamui's weakness and defeated the masked man. That shows just how powerful the Fourth Hokage was. Some might not think much of it and say they only fought for an instant, so how could that show how strong he was?

But in my view, the Fourth Hokage's Flying Thunder God Second Step, which defeated the masked man, was one of the most spectacular moments in all of Naruto. It showed that Minato's strength, experience, intelligence, and judgment were all top-tier. In the Naruto World, perhaps no one could match him in those respects. That's what made the Fourth Hokage the very embodiment of a shinobi.

Some people might say I'm exaggerating, but look at Naruto, Kakashi, Guy, and Killer B fighting Masked Obito later on. Before that battle, they already knew something about Obito's abilities, and Kakashi's eye was connected to Obito's. Even so, they fought for a long time without defeating him. The Fourth Hokage, on the other hand, exchanged only one attack with the masked man and not only deduced his ability, but also found his weakness and landed a hit. Just think: since Obito first used Kamui, who else had ever hit him? That shows how incredible the Fourth Hokage was. His combat strength might not have been the greatest in Naruto, but he was definitely the greatest shinobi.

Shinobi put their missions first. White Fang only abandoned a single mission, yet he was driven to kill himself. There may have been more to the story, but it still shows that a shinobi could afford to lose their life, but not abandon a mission. If you died without completing it, that meant you weren't strong enough. If you survived but failed to complete it, then it wasn't a matter of strength.

In the Naruto World, the Fourth Hokage, Minato, was the first shinobi—and the only one—to decide that a mission could be abandoned. Even Madara Uchiha and the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, didn't have that privilege. Who knows if anyone after him did?

Since the Fourth Hokage had decided to die with Kushina, the only person they couldn't bear to leave behind was Naruto. At first, the Fourth Hokage had been worried about him. But he was the Hokage, after all. What Hokage didn't have his own trusted subordinates? Even someone like Danzo still had a few loyal followers after being stripped of his power, let alone Minato, the Fourth Hokage.

There was Kakashi, a loyal and devoted subordinate right out in the open, not to mention the ones in the shadows. That made Naruto's childhood in the series seem rather strange. He was the Fourth Hokage's son, after all. Even if he was the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki, surely they wouldn't have let him drink expired milk.

That's right. Minato hadn't been worried before, but now that someone like the masked man had appeared, he had reason to be. Other people's protection could never truly be your own. That was why the Fourth Hokage sealed the Nine-Tails inside Naruto: he wanted Naruto to be able to protect himself in the future. After years of research, he used the Uzumaki Clan's unique Sealing Jutsu to seal himself, Kushina, and the Nine-Tails inside Naruto. That way, if Naruto ran into danger before he was strong enough, Minato could still protect him.

So Minato's decision was a little unfair to Naruto, but it also left him with the power to protect himself. Without the Nine-Tails inside him, Naruto wouldn't have been much weaker, but he would have lost the Nine-Tails' regenerative power. In Naruto, it doesn't matter how strong you are; what matters is how much punishment you can take. Just look at Orochimaru: no matter how much you hit him, he won't die. Naruto was the same way. I can't beat you, but I can wear you out! Hahaha.

All things considered, the Fourth Hokage, Minato, was a good Hokage—a good leader and a good husband. I doubt there's a woman who wouldn't like a man like him. He was a good father, too. Though he wasn't all that good to Naruto, a father had to protect his child, didn't he?

Most importantly, Minato made that decision without giving himself much time to think. He chose in an instant. Who else in Naruto had that kind of judgment? Of course, it would be different if they'd already planned it or had some ulterior motive. But even by the time Ye Wuji watched Naruto, there still wasn't anything to criticize about the Fourth Hokage, Minato. Maybe he didn't do so well against Madara and Black Zetsu later on, but think about who Madara and Black Zetsu were. The difference in their power was absolute, and Minato couldn't do much about that. Besides, Impure World Reincarnation couldn't truly bring out a person's full strength. With the power of all four Hokage, why should they fear even Ten-Tails Madara—let alone the Sage of Six Paths in his prime?

(I got a little carried away. Sorry about that. I mainly wrote all this because I got to the Fourth Hokage and wanted to share some thoughts. If you don't like them, please don't say anything. These are just my personal opinions.)