"Ah," Daniel sighed lightly as he watched Itachi disappear. He understood Itachi's choice. It was similar to Han Fei's decision back in his time—someone who had a grander perspective but ultimately chose loyalty to their homeland. Even with all his wisdom, Han Fei still chose Korea in the end.
"Forget it, I'll leave him to Sasuke to handle," Daniel thought. He had no doubt that Sasuke could defeat Itachi now. Not only was Sasuke much stronger than in the original timeline, having mastered Wood Style and Sage Mode, but if he awakened the Rinnegan, it would only be a matter of time before he reached the level of a Six Paths Sage. And he wouldn't need to be a jinchūriki to do it.
Though jinchūriki were powerful, once someone reached the level of a Six Paths Sage, they were formidable even without the power of a tailed beast. The Sage of Six Paths wasn't a jinchūriki when he defeated Kaguya, and Sasuke himself, at the end of the original series, wasn't a jinchūriki when he fought Naruto.
Daniel's true goal wasn't the Ten-Tails itself—it was the God Tree. The chakra fruit that the God Tree could produce was what Daniel was really after. As for where to gather the energy to grow a new God Tree, there were countless uninhabited planets in the universe. It might take a bit longer for the fruit to ripen, but time was something Daniel could afford.
One reason Daniel needed the Rinnegan was to control the God Tree. Not everyone could become the Ten-Tails jinchūriki. Just as only members of the Uzumaki clan had the proper physique to host the Nine-Tails, becoming the Ten-Tails jinchūriki required an extraordinary body.
Nagato, for instance, was nearly drained by a single Rinnegan, despite his Uzumaki heritage. A regular shinobi trying to become a Ten-Tails jinchūriki would be committing suicide.
"It seems the Five Great Nations may have joined forces. The daimyo of these nations are beginning to lose faith in their own shinobi villages. But how exactly did Asuma get involved in all this?"
After knocking Asuma unconscious and storing him in his Impossibly Large Cloth, Daniel set off toward Rain Village's central bridge while exchanging information with Konan and Nagato. From them, he learned that none of the attacking ninja were from any of the major villages. They were all under the direct command of the daimyo, with the Fire Nation's Twelve Guardian Ninja leading the charge. A considerable number of skilled samurai were also involved, likely seeking vengeance for the Land of Iron.
It was an impressive force—strong enough to take on one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. But unfortunately for them, they were up against Akatsuki in Rain Village.
Nagato's power had now fully recovered, making him comparable to the likes of the First Hokage or Uchiha Madara before Madara gained the Rinnegan. Given time, Nagato would likely surpass them both. Add to that the other members of Akatsuki, and the attackers didn't stand a chance. After their initial surprise attack, it was now Akatsuki's turn to hunt them down.
"Zombies... looks like the ninja world's version of a Raccoon City outbreak," Daniel muttered as he approached the bridge and saw the shambling, decaying corpses. He immediately recognized what he was dealing with. He'd fought plenty of these in the Marvel universe.
"This must be the Earth Style forbidden jutsu, Ultimate Earth Creation: Soil of the Dead," Daniel remarked. He had read about this jutsu in Orochimaru's notes. Orochimaru had extensively researched ways to revive the dead and had, of course, taken an interest in this technique. However, Daniel had dismissed it after reading the details.
The jutsu had too many weaknesses. While it allowed the user to revive people they had killed and turn them into puppets, the resurrected corpses were significantly weaker than they had been in life—barely stronger than normal humans. The technique required a large amount of soil imbued with death energy, into which the bodies were buried and revived as zombie-like creatures.
Moreover, the zombies were slow and lacked the intelligence or power they had possessed in life. Against ordinary people, they were terrifying, but they were nearly useless against experienced shinobi. A single fatal blow could destroy them, as their bodies were merely animated dirt.
This jutsu might be useful for stalling an enemy, but in the heat of battle, it was little more than a minor inconvenience. The only reason it was considered a forbidden technique was its gruesome nature—resurrecting the dead was always a controversial topic in the ninja world.
In terms of actual combat power, these zombies weren't even as dangerous as those from a typical zombie apocalypse. At least being bitten by a regular zombie was fatal unless you had a cure. But with these ninja zombies, all you risked was a mild case of corpse poison.
"Judging by how many there are, they must have killed quite a few people," Daniel mused as he observed the undead shambling through the streets. For every revived corpse, there had been a living victim. Given that many of the bodies were still relatively fresh, it was clear these people had been slaughtered recently to fuel the jutsu.
"The Five Great Nations' daimyo have made a grave mistake," Daniel thought darkly. He immediately created four shadow clones.
"I'll leave this mess to you," Daniel said.
"Understood," the clones replied. One of them disappeared with a Flying Thunder God teleportation and reappeared moments later, holding a variety of recording equipment—cameras, digital recorders, and more.
Daniel intended to document the entire affair, capturing the gruesome details of the zombie massacre. Even in the ninja world, there were lines you couldn't cross. One of those lines was the mass killing of civilians. If such atrocities were kept hidden, they might be ignored, but once exposed, there would be consequences.
"A Four Divine Beast Barrier, huh? Not bad. If I'm right, the person behind this must be the trap master," Daniel said as he approached the Green Dragon Gate. Standing in front of it was a tall woman with long, jet-black hair and an elegant figure. He immediately recognized her.
"Trap masters aren't officially recognized titles, but shinobi with that nickname are always tricky to deal with. Most of them specialize in Earth Style and excel at laying complex traps. You see them most often in Iwagakure, though other villages have them too."
Trap masters could drastically reshape the battlefield with Earth Style jutsu, laying traps far in advance or even constructing them on the fly. Their skills were somewhat akin to the techniques Daniel had taught Esdeath, using her ice abilities to create a mirror maze for battle.
During the Fourth Shinobi World War, trap masters didn't get much opportunity to shine. White Zetsu's ability to burrow through the ground had rendered most of their traps useless.
Boom.
With a single kick, Daniel struck the Green Dragon Gate. The massive structure shook violently, and deep cracks appeared on its surface. The black-haired woman's eyes widened in shock. She knew exactly how strong her barrier was, yet it had nearly shattered from one blow.
"So, it doesn't regenerate like Guren's Crystal Style barriers, huh?" Daniel observed. He had expected the gate to repair itself, similar to the Crystal Labyrinth Jutsu used by Guren, a powerful Bloodline Limit user.
Guren's Crystal Style was an incredibly potent Bloodline Limit, though she hadn't fully explored its potential. Even so, her crystal barriers were tough enough to withstand most attacks.
Daniel had used her technique as inspiration for developing an advanced version of Esdeath's Ice Labyrinth technique. His version covered the entire battlefield, including underground and above ground, making it much harder to escape.
After testing the barrier, Daniel decided not to continue attacking it directly. Instead, he used his Ope Ope no Mi powers, performing a quick Room swap to teleport himself past the gate.
"Futon!" The black-haired woman called out desperately. A burly young man beside her responded by hardening his right arm with Earth Style chakra, forming a massive stone fist that he hurled at Daniel.
"Earth Style, huh? Chidori Sharp Spear!" Daniel countered. A spear of lightning extended from his hand, piercing through the man's stone arm and into his shoulder. The paralytic effect of the lightning left him frozen in place.
Thanks to his knowledge from another world, Daniel had quickly mastered Sasuke's signature Lightning Style techniques and even taught them to Sasuke himself. It was oddly satisfying to wield techniques that had once belonged to others.
"Trying to run? Not so fast," Daniel muttered as the black-haired woman tried to flee. Another Chidori Sharp Spear shot from his left hand, striking her shoulder and immobilizing her as well.
Their Earth Style techniques were interesting, especially the trap master's. Daniel was curious to learn more about it, so he decided to keep them alive for now.
"Come on out, Chiriku. Or are you planning to ambush me?" Daniel called out as he turned his gaze toward the nearby water's surface. Moments later, a figure slowly rose from the water—it was none other than Chiriku, a former member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja who was thought to be dead.
Chiriku was a zealot who believed that shinobi should serve the daimyo, not run autonomous villages like Konoha. He had once led a coup to take over the Land of Fire, but his plans had been foiled by
his fellow Guardian Ninja, including Asuma and Dilu.
"Who are you?" Chiriku asked, his voice filled with suspicion.
"Who I am doesn't matter to a dead man," Daniel said coldly. He threw a bamboo stick onto the ground in front of him, and in an instant, it swapped places with Chiriku. The monk barely had time to react before Daniel's lightning needles pierced his vital points, paralyzing him completely.
Though the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist was the only known technique capable of blocking chakra flow by attacking the chakra pathways, Daniel had devised his own method, combining medical ninjutsu and Lightning Style to achieve a similar effect.
Chiriku was a fanatic, willing to sacrifice anything for the daimyo—even his family and friends. He was the type of person Daniel could respect but never aspire to be, much like Itachi. For Daniel, Chiriku's blind devotion was a tragic waste.
"You're willing to sacrifice everything for the daimyo, but what has he ever done for you?" Daniel asked as he sifted through Chiriku's memories. He shook his head in disappointment.
"So, these are the famed trap masters: Funen, Fudou, and Kazuma. Interesting names," Daniel remarked as he absorbed their memories. The burly young man, Fudou, was an Earth Style specialist who loved dueling other Earth Style users. His downfall, however, was his lack of intelligence—he had been tricked by Yamato's Wood Style and killed in the original timeline.
Funen, the black-haired woman, was a trap master obsessed with beauty.
Kazuma, a curious figure, had a strange ability involving hair. She could use all five chakra natures and had five lives as long as her hair remained intact. By kissing people, she could absorb their chakra nature and incorporate it into her own. Her technique was somewhat reminiscent of Kakuzu's heart-stealing ability.
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