Chapter 24: Swordsmanship
Land of Rain.
Gōenji led his three teammates to the location Danzō had designated.
A river flowed slowly down from its source, but the water farther downstream was turbulent. The surrounding forest was unusually quiet, with only the rustling of leaves breaking the silence.
"This is the rendezvous point. I don't know when the spy will arrive, so stay alert. We can't afford to be discovered by the enemy."
Gōenji's gaze swept across the surroundings, sharp as a blade. His Three-Tomoe Sharingan rotated slowly as he examined every corner of the area.
Only after confirming that there were no enemies nearby did he relax slightly and settle down to wait.
He had no idea what kind of organization the spy belonged to, so there was no way to arrange a proper handover in advance. All he could do was hope nothing unexpected happened.
Danzō's intelligence network was truly impressive.
Judging from the mission information, the spy he had planted within Amegakure had clearly obtained some important information. As for why Gōenji's team had been sent to make contact with the spy, Danzō probably had other arrangements elsewhere.
The more I see of Shimura Danzō, the more I have to admire him.
These small encounters had finally allowed Gōenji to understand why someone like Danzō had so many followers.
Danzō was undoubtedly a schemer, and there was plenty about him that Gōenji disliked. But his abilities were beyond question. He had contributed an enormous amount to Konoha and had served as one of the village's foundations for years.
It was no wonder he had once dreamed of becoming Hokage.
His ability was there for everyone to see.
"Captain, I haven't detected anyone."
Aburame Fūjin's voice came from nearby.
She was a young woman from the Aburame clan. Her voice was somewhat timid, and dark sunglasses concealed her eyes while a cloak covered most of her body.
She raised one hand.
A mass of insects crawled over her slender fingers.
Even Gōenji's scalp prickled at the sight.
He wasn't afraid of insects, but seeing so many of them crawling together was still enough to make his skin crawl.
As a sensory-type shinobi, Fūjin was the team's primary specialist in reconnaissance.
"Keep scouting," Gōenji said. "According to the information we received, the time should be about right."
He glanced toward the sky, recalling the schedule Danzō had given him.
The contact should arrive within this window.
"Zē, we'll set up a temporary shelter and stay hidden for now."
Zē was a tall man.
After receiving the order, he immediately formed a series of hand seals before slamming both palms against the ground.
Rumble!
The earth split open, revealing a large opening that resembled a doorway.
The four of them descended through the opening.
A small, square chamber had been formed beneath the ground. It was roughly the size of an ordinary room—large enough for all four of them with a little space to spare.
Gōenji couldn't help sighing inwardly.
Earth Release really is incredibly convenient for traveling and living in the wilderness.
Fire Release doesn't have anything like this.
For a moment, he wondered whether he should develop a Fire Release technique that could serve a similar purpose.
It reminded him of Yamato's Wood Release houses from the original story. Those things were ridiculously convenient during missions.
But how exactly could Fire Release accomplish something similar?
Even with his extraordinary mind, he couldn't immediately find a practical answer.
Every chakra nature had its strengths and weaknesses.
Most Fire Release techniques were inherently offensive. Developing something as practical as a temporary shelter through Fire Release would be extremely difficult.
Unfortunately, Fire was currently his only chakra nature.
If he wanted to learn another nature transformation, he would have to invest a tremendous amount of time into mastering it.
And with his talent for Fire Release...
Who knew how far he could go if he devoted all that time to it instead?
Gōenji remembered something Kakashi had said in the original story while teaching Naruto Wind Release.
An ordinary shinobi could take several years to master another chakra nature.
Even Kakashi had said so.
That alone demonstrated how much time such an endeavor required.
Gōenji wasn't an ordinary shinobi, but mastering another nature transformation would still consume a considerable amount of time.
In the same period, he could probably develop several practical Fire Release techniques.
For now, there was no reason to spread himself thin.
No one is perfect.
I don't have some miraculous system that can solve every problem for me. I should focus on taking Fire Release as far as I can. I'll worry about the rest later.
His thoughts returned to the Repulsion Flame Ring.
The technique still wasn't complete.
At present, he only had the basic framework.
Now he needed to finish it.
Once completed, it would give him another defensive option and greatly expand the number of tactics available to him.
Of course, a single new technique wouldn't suddenly determine the outcome of every battle.
After all, an experienced jōnin usually possessed a considerable arsenal of techniques.
A jōnin couldn't afford to have an obvious weakness.
Take Gōenji himself.
If Fire Release were the only thing he knew, he wouldn't have been qualified to become a jōnin in the first place.
Chakra natures had advantages and disadvantages against one another. Konoha's system of training emphasized that shinobi needed alternative methods to compensate for those weaknesses.
Ninja tools.
Taijutsu.
Genjutsu.
Swordsmanship.
A shinobi needed at least two different combat methods at a jōnin-level standard.
That was why no single ninjutsu could truly determine a battle on its own.
A technique only became decisive once it had been integrated into an overall combat system.
The Flying Thunder God Technique was a perfect example.
Without Minato's other abilities supporting it, the technique alone wouldn't have made him the terrifying shinobi he was famous for being.
Otherwise, Minato wouldn't have needed to develop the Rasengan.
A battle between shinobi wasn't simply a contest of ninjutsu.
It was a contest of intelligence.
It was also a contest between complete combat systems.
"Fūjin, keep watch outside. We'll rest for a while."
Gōenji settled down.
Fūjin glanced at him and nodded.
"Understood."
Captain is so cool...
As a member of the Aburame clan, she naturally admired powerful people. The fact that Gōenji was also an Uchiha with overwhelming strength only made him more impressive in her eyes.
A moment later, insects began crawling out from beneath her clothes.
They spread silently through the opening in the ground before dispersing in every direction.
Gōenji's Sharingan remained fixed on her.
Through the dōjutsu, he could clearly observe the dense, unfamiliar chakra network within her body.
The Aburame clan's insect-control techniques were truly unique.
Unfortunately, even with the Sharingan, he couldn't simply reproduce them.
His gaze shifted toward his other two teammates.
Zē specialized in Earth Release.
Ryūma specialized in swordsmanship.
All three were chūnin, but none of them could be underestimated.
In fact, every person Danzō had brought along was an expert in their own field.
Ryūma in particular had caught Gōenji's attention.
His swordsmanship had already been deeply imprinted in Gōenji's memory.
Now that the basic framework of Repulsion Flame Ring is complete, I can start developing Fire Release swordsmanship.
Infusing Fire Release chakra into swordsmanship could dramatically increase the destructive power of every strike.
And Gōenji hadn't been idle during his time in the Land of Rain.
Whenever he had the opportunity, he had secretly used his Sharingan to observe other shinobi and memorize their techniques.
Among Danzō's forces, Ryūma's swordsmanship was the most interesting to him.
Once Danzō's mission in the Land of Rain is complete, I should be able to advance to jōnin.
And when that happened, he would have even more freedom to develop his own combat system.
For now, Ryūma's swordsmanship would serve as another source of knowledge.
Gōenji couldn't help admitting that the Sharingan was incredibly convenient.
As long as his body was physically capable of reproducing what he saw, copying physical techniques, swordsmanship, and other forms of martial arts was almost effortless.