Planning

Calming his mind, Chiba carefully contemplated the path he should take.

If he were on his own, Chiba felt he would need to develop in a more balanced way, meaning he couldn't afford to have any glaring weaknesses.

In this Ninja World, one is bound to encounter all sorts of different enemies; having obvious weaknesses is tantamount to seeking death.

However, if he placed himself within the team of Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato, that would be a different story.

They could perfectly compensate for each other's shortcomings through mutual complementarity.

After all, a person's energy is not infinite; it is impossible to master ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, ninja tools, reconnaissance, medical support, and defense all at once.

By having each person specialize in one or two abilities, they could fully leverage their greatest advantages.

Now, the first thing Chiba considered was what kind of value he could provide within this team.

Although the members of their squad had only just begun to touch upon ninjutsu, they were already beginning to show their fangs.

Nagato goes without saying; whether in taijutsu, ninjutsu, or genjutsu, he would undoubtedly become a top-tier powerhouse in the future, and his reconnaissance abilities were also formidable.

As for Yahiko, he possessed a powerful physique and three elemental affinities, along with a massive reserve of chakra from his abundant stamina. These would inevitably bring him great lethality, especially in an environment like the Land of Rain, where the chakra cost for casting Water Style is very low; he could easily become a human artillery battery.

Konan's dual affinity for Wind and Earth also offered strong offensive potential, and given her mental talent, she could certainly cultivate some powerful genjutsu.

Looking at these points, even if Chiba truly possessed multiple affinities, there might not be a need for him to output firepower, as the team's offensive capabilities were already saturated.

Moreover, since he currently only had a single affinity, continuing to develop offensive ninjutsu under these circumstances could be considered a dead end.

Conversely, Chiba suddenly felt he could focus his efforts on other areas, such as defense and support.

In Chiba's view, there were only a few Earth Style ninjutsu in the entire Hokage series that left a deep impression on him.

Among them, the most profound were undoubtedly the Ultra-Light-Weight Rock Technique and the Super-Weighted Rock Technique of the Third Tsuchikage.

By manipulating gravity, the Third Tsuchikage could fly through the air, move at high speeds, and exponentially increase the power of his attacks. In the final battle, he even used the Ultra-Light-Weight Rock Technique to propel a small, kilometer-sized meteorite.

Undoubtedly, this is a top-tier support ninjutsu that performs excellently in every aspect.

Chiba understood, however, that he currently had no chance of getting his hands on such a technique, and the difficulty of cultivating it would surely be immense.

Still, this did not prevent Chiba from using this technique as a reference point, aiming to achieve supportive effects by developing other Earth Style capabilities.

Furthermore, if the opportunity arose in the future, it was not impossible to find a way to scheme for this technique.

Next was Kakuzu's Earth Style: Earth Spear Technique.

In Kakuzu's hands, this technique, which hardens the skin using Earth Style to increase defense, performed quite impressively.

Beyond making the body as hard as diamond, it also greatly increased physical destructive power.

If not for Kakashi's sneak attack with the Chidori, even the attacks from Naruto and his team wouldn't have been able to break through his defense.

This technique could also be listed as a key reference for Chiba.

Although he didn't know if he could acquire this technique later, he could certainly develop in this direction on his own.

Even if he couldn't reach the power of Kakuzu's original technique, any progress he made would be a supplement to his own defense.

Beyond that, there was the Second Tsuchikage's invisibility ability.

By using Earth Style to hide one's own chakra, one could achieve the ability to remain undetectable to others.

Honestly, this was the technique Chiba hoped to obtain the most.

With this technique, one could say he would be able to advance to attack or retreat to defend; it would be top-tier for both assassination and escaping.

If things looked bad, he could just dive into the ground with Earth Style. Unless he faced those monsters from the late stages of the series, no one would be able to find him.

Especially since he might even have the chance to use this technique to sneak into various ninja villages to steal secret documents and the like—just thinking about it made Chiba incredibly excited.

This could also be listed as a primary focus. If he couldn't learn the technique, he would practice it himself; he would develop as much as he could. After all, the enemies he currently faced were unlikely to be too strong, and he would be satisfied if he could develop it enough to fool an average Jonin.

In the Ninja World, there were certainly many similar but weaker techniques; he could wait until he was stronger to gradually learn and perfect them.

After filtering through all the ninjutsu in his mind that he felt had potential, Qiangu truly discovered that the Earth affinity seemed to have the most promise in defense and support.

Moreover, these development directions aligned well with his positioning within the team.

As for high-damage Earth Style, there didn't seem to be anything particularly strong.

Chiba quickly set his goals: in the early stages, he would focus on developing defense and concealment, and in the later stages, he would look for ways to develop more uses through nature transformation.

Perhaps he could also learn a bit of medical ninjutsu—not much, just enough to treat basic wounds. Once learned, he could even heal himself while fighting.

After finally reaching a decision, Chiba suddenly realized that this development path of his was actually quite good.

Regardless, specializing in Earth Style meant he wouldn't die easily, right?

If he encountered a strong enemy, he could use Earth Style to sneak away. Even if he couldn't run, he could at least take a few more hits while waiting for reinforcements. If he encountered someone not so strong, he could slowly grind them down with his Earth Style's durability and stamina. At worst, it would be a stalemate.

Hmm, it would be even more perfect if he could learn a few control techniques that could annoy people.

As he thought about it, Chiba's brow finally smoothed out, and he no longer felt depressed about having a single affinity.

Although the tactics were indeed a bit cowardly, at least his life would be guaranteed. In such a cruel world, being able to survive is the greatest victory.

Especially since, within their team, he could truly play a more rational role and compensate for their shortcomings.

With this, the team had a turret, crowd control, a tank, a healer, and a scout—it was simply perfect.

Although he still felt a slight tinge of disappointment over lacking multiple elemental affinities, Chiba had already adjusted his mindset.

There is no strongest ninjutsu, only the most suitable one; relying solely on Earth Style did not mean he couldn't become a powerhouse.

Chiba kept encouraging himself.

However, just as Chiba was brimming with ambition and preparing to learn a few more powerful techniques to strive for improvement, he was struck by another blow from Jiraiya.

To be precise, it wasn't just him; everyone, including Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato, suffered the same setback.