Swordsmanship

Land of Rain.

Goenji brought his three teammates to the location Danzo had designated.

The river gradually flowed down from its source, its vast waters rushing fiercely. The surroundings were exceptionally still, while the trees rustled in the wind.

"This is the rendezvous point. I wonder when the spy will arrive. Hopefully, the enemy hasn't discovered them!"

Goenji's gaze was sharp as he surveyed the surrounding terrain. His Sharingan slowly spun, and only after confirming there were no enemies did he relax and begin waiting for the spy's arrival.

He had no idea what kind of intelligence this spy had obtained to require them to personally conduct the handoff. Hopefully, nothing unexpected would happen.

Danzo's intelligence network was indeed formidable. Judging from the mission details, the spy he had planted in Amegakure this time had likely acquired some important information.

As for why they had been sent to meet the spy, Danzo probably had other arrangements elsewhere.

"I'm growing more and more impressed by Shimura Danzō!"

From this brief time working under Danzo, Goenji had begun to understand why someone like Shimura Danzō still had so many people who admired him.

Though he was a schemer, Goenji had to admit that his abilities were extraordinary. For him to serve as Konoha's Root and accomplish so much for the village was no small feat.

Disgusting as he was, his abilities were beyond question.

No wonder he was always trying to seize the position of Hokage. His capabilities were right there for all to see.

"Captain, I haven't detected anyone." Aburame Fuzei was one of the rare women of the Aburame clan. Her voice was somewhat timid, and she wore dark glasses, her body entirely concealed beneath a cloak.

She raised her right hand, where insects continuously crawled over her slender fingers. Even Goenji's scalp went numb at the sight.

The densely packed insects made his skin crawl, even though he had no aversion to clustered patterns and wasn't afraid of bugs.

As the team's sensory ninja, she was responsible for detection.

Goenji said, "Keep searching. Based on the timing, they should be arriving soon."

He glanced at the sky, recalling the intelligence Danzo had provided.

It should be around this time.

"Ze, set up camp first and conceal us," he then said to his other teammate, Ze.

Ze was a tall man. Hearing this, he rapidly formed hand seals and slapped both hands against the ground.

Rumble—!

The earth split open, forming a huge opening like a doorway.

The four of them entered.

A square chamber appeared before their eyes.

It was only about the size of a small room.

There was just enough space to fit all of them, with some room left over.

Earth Release really is the perfect ninjutsu for home and travel!

Goenji sighed inwardly.

Fire Release had no such function.

He wondered whether he could develop a Fire Release technique that would let him have a home-use ninjutsu as well.

It reminded him of Yamato's Wood Release houses. They had been incredibly comfortable during missions.

But how could Fire Release accomplish something like that?

Even with his exceptionally powerful mind, he found it rather difficult.

After all, every type of ninjutsu had its strengths and weaknesses.

In his eyes, most Fire Release techniques were offensive.

Functional ninjutsu like this really was difficult to develop.

Unfortunately, his chakra nature was limited to Fire Release. To learn ninjutsu of other attributes, he would have to spend a great deal of time developing the corresponding nature transformations.

But with that time, given his talent for Fire Release, who knew how far he could advance it?

According to what he remembered from the original story, Kakashi had said while Naruto was training in Wind Release nature transformation that it normally took a ninja around three years to develop another elemental attribute.

If even Kakashi had said so, it definitely required an enormous amount of time.

Even if he was no ordinary ninja, it would still take him quite a while to develop another attribute.

With that time, he could probably develop who knew how many practical Fire Release techniques.

So he did not set his sights on those ordinary ninjutsu.

"No one can be perfect. Besides, I don't have a system. For now, I should focus on studying Fire Release more thoroughly and think about other things later."

Goenji's thoughts turned to developing Fire Ring Repulsion.

It was not complete yet; he merely had a framework.

Now, he needed to finish that framework. Once it was done, he would have another defensive ninjutsu.

It would give him more tactical options.

Naturally, a new ninjutsu alone would not be decisive in determining the outcome of a battle.

After all, many Jonin needed to master a great number of ninjutsu.

A Jonin could not have any obvious weaknesses.

Just like Goenji himself: if he only knew Fire Release, he would not currently be qualified to become a Jonin.

There were elemental counters among ninjutsu. Konoha required ninjas not to have such weaknesses and to develop methods of dealing with them through other means.

Such as ninja tools, taijutsu, genjutsu, and so on...

Only when two combat methods reached the standard expected of a Jonin would one qualify.

Therefore, a single ninjutsu could not play a decisive role.

Only by integrating a new ninjutsu into one's own combat system could it become a decisive technique.

Just like the Flying Thunder God: without other methods to support it, it could not reach that level.

Otherwise, Minato Namikaze would not have needed to develop a technique like the Rasengan.

A ninja's battle was a battle of intelligence, and also a battle of how well each side had organized its own combat system.

It was not simply about a single ninjutsu.

"Fuzei, keep watch outside. Let's rest for a while," Goenji said.

Aburame Fuzei glanced at Goenji. "Mm."

He's so handsome!

Captain!

And he's an Uchiha with such powerful strength. He truly fits everything I admire in the strong.

Rustle, rustle~

Insects emerged from her body, slowly burrowing out through the sealed ground and scattering in every direction.

Without blinking, Goenji's Sharingan could see the densely packed, foreign chakra within Aburame Fuzei's chakra system.

The Aburame clan's Insect Manipulation Technique truly was unique.

Unfortunately, he could not copy it.

He then looked at his other two teammates.

One was Ze, who specialized in Earth Release.

The other was Ryoma, who specialized in swordsmanship.

All three were Chunin, and none of them were weak.

Or rather, there was no one Danzo had brought along who could be underestimated.

They were all experts.

Ryoma in particular stood out in Goenji's field of vision.

Especially Ryoma's swordsmanship, which had already entered Goenji's mind.

"Once Fire Ring Repulsion is complete, I can develop swordsmanship-based Fire Release techniques."

Condensing fire nature into swordsmanship could increase its damage.

During these days of missions in the Land of Rain, he had not been idle.

He had constantly been using his Sharingan to secretly learn other people's ninjutsu and swordsmanship.

Ryoma's swordsmanship was the most distinctive among the team Danzo led.

"Once Danzo's mission in the Land of Rain is complete, I should be promoted to Jonin."

And he would use Ryoma's swordsmanship to improve his own.

The Sharingan truly was incredibly useful.

As long as one's physical qualities were sufficient, replicating taijutsu and swordsmanship was effortless.

[Her family is so rich! I feel inferior. I need to work hard on writing and make money quickly, so I can give the girl a better future. Work hard, keep it up~]