"The Nara clan, huh? I don't see anyone from the Akimichi clan. Isn't the standard ANBU configuration supposed to include the Ino-Shika-Cho trio?" Daniel pondered aloud. The Ino-Shika-Cho combination from Konoha was renowned across the ninja world for their impeccable teamwork and contributions during the Three Great Ninja Wars. As a combat trio, it was hard to find a more formidable combination in the ninja world.
The Akimichi clan excelled in both offense and defense, the Nara clan specialized in control and strategy, and the Yamanaka clan provided sensory abilities and telepathic communication. This trio's cooperation was the perfect setup for a well-rounded ninja team.
Their teamwork allowed for a real-time communication system, where the Nara clan's tactical instructions could be shared instantly among teammates. On the battlefield, where situations shifted in an instant, most ninjas were left to make decisions on the fly. But with a communication network like the Ino-Shika-Cho trio had, it was a game-changer, allowing one person to control the entire battlefield.
Besides communication, the Yamanaka clan was also skilled in sensory perception. During the Fourth Great Ninja War, the Yamanaka clan played a crucial role in coordinating the joint forces of the Five Great Nations, with the Nara clan serving as the most respected tactical planners.
Konoha's success in the wars was undoubtedly due to its strong combat power, but the intelligence and strategies of the Nara clan were equally significant—except when faced with overwhelmingly superior strength. Moreover, the Nara clan's unique shadow techniques were practically cheat codes, capable of controlling even members of the Akatsuki for brief moments. If not for Hidan's immortality, he would have been restrained until his death by the Nara clan's techniques.
In one-on-one combat, the Nara clan's shadow techniques were less effective due to their limitations, but in a team battle, those brief seconds of control could mean the difference between life and death.
Just like now, the shadow-binding techniques around them had quickly immobilized everyone in Daniel's group, including Daniel himself. As they found their bodies unable to move, Zabuza's face twisted in frustration. Despite his best efforts to unleash chakra and break free from the shadow-bind, it was futile. Any ninja in the ANBU had to be of considerable skill—at least elite Chunin level, with many being special Jounin. The strength of the shadow-bind used by multiple Nara clan members was too much for even an elite Jounin like Zabuza to break in less than ten seconds.
Ten seconds might sound brief, but in a battle between ninjas, that was enough time to kill someone multiple times over. Moreover, this shadow-binding technique was being used by several Nara clan members in unison, making it even harder to escape.
From a tactical standpoint, Konoha's ANBU had executed their strategy flawlessly. As soon as Daniel and the others were bound by the shadow technique, the surrounding ANBU ninjas wasted no time in launching a second wave of attacks. A barrage of kunai and shuriken flew toward the immobilized targets, with the majority of the weapons aimed at Daniel's vital points.
Zabuza was the second-most targeted, while Haku and Karin were only attacked by a few kunai aimed at their critical areas. Interestingly, Sasuke wasn't targeted at all.
The ANBU weren't ones to waste time talking—they simply aimed to eliminate their targets as efficiently as possible.
"Your tactics are impressive. If you were up against anyone else, this would be enough. But unfortunately..." Daniel smirked. As he spoke, his right hand lifted slowly. The moment his hand rose, the entire environment seemed to lose its color and sound, as if the world had been drained of everything but black and white. The air itself stilled, and even the kunai and shuriken hung frozen in midair. The surrounding ANBU, who had been closing in, were paralyzed, able only to move their eyes.
With his current strength, Daniel's Heaven and Earth Discoloration could affect an area of nearly a hundred meters around him.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As Daniel clenched his right hand, the bodies of the immobilized ANBU began to explode one by one. Within seconds, the entire squad was decimated, leaving only one survivor—a member of the Nara clan, whom Daniel had intentionally spared. He walked over to the last remaining ANBU and gripped his head firmly.
"Just as I thought—a sealing technique implanted in your mind," Daniel muttered as the man's body slumped to the ground.
Without wasting a moment, Daniel flicked his left hand, and two kunai shot out from the ground, embedding themselves in a tree and a patch of earth. Moments later, blood began to seep from both the tree and the ground.
Though Zabuza, an S-ranked rogue ninja, hadn't detected the hidden ANBU, Daniel's observation haki had pinpointed their exact locations from the start. He hadn't known they were from the ANBU initially, but he was aware of their presence.
"A Yamanaka clan technique, huh? For a plan this well-executed, it seems they even had someone monitoring from afar. Ninjas really are cautious beyond measure," Daniel mused. After taking out the two hidden ANBU, he glanced at a small sparrow perched on a nearby branch. Its unnaturally intelligent eyes gave away that it wasn't an ordinary bird.
And it wasn't just the sparrow. Using his Devil Fruit abilities, Daniel had detected several chakra-infused insects nearby, confirming the presence of members from the Aburame clan.
"Konoha truly is a treasure trove of talent—Nara, Yamanaka, Aburame… a pity they weren't more of a challenge," Daniel said, letting out a sigh. He expanded his observation haki, sweeping a four-kilometer radius and locating three figures hidden in the distance.
For most ninjas, being four kilometers away was more than enough to guarantee safety. Even the Hyuga clan's Byakugan had a limited range, with only the strongest members being able to see beyond a kilometer.
In the ninja world, only a few had the innate ability to sense enemies from tens of kilometers away, like Karin's Kagura Mind's Eye. Of course, large villages like Konoha could use advanced techniques like barrier jutsu to enhance their sensing range, similar to how the Allied Shinobi Forces operated during the Fourth Great Ninja War.
Their ability to monitor and coordinate across vast distances was even more advanced than modern technology, which couldn't achieve the real-time telepathic communication that ninjas could.
"Why are you all staring at me? Get to work," Daniel said as he returned to the group, noticing the stunned expressions on their faces. They had always known Daniel was powerful, especially after witnessing his fight with Guy, but what he had just done was on another level entirely.
Sasuke, shaken but determined, quickly got to work cleaning up the battlefield, something he had grown more accustomed to after countless encounters. For a ninja, practical experience—especially involving bloodshed—was invaluable. Even Naruto, during his early missions, had to face similar trials to grow as a ninja.
After defecting from Konoha, Sasuke had received combat training from both Zabuza and Haku.
Cleaning up corpses was an essential skill for ninjas. Corpses often contained valuable information, and in the case of rogue ninjas like Zabuza, looting their enemies was a means of survival.
Unlike the random thugs they had encountered, the ANBU carried no valuables beyond basic ninja tools. ANBU adhered to strict protocols, ensuring they left nothing behind that could compromise Konoha's secrets.
"Letting Sasuke clean up the battlefield serves as a good training exercise," Daniel thought. It was a practical lesson in caution and observation—two traits essential for survival in the ninja world.
In fact, Daniel had learned quite a bit from watching Zabuza. Despite his strength, even Zabuza showed a meticulous attention to detail when dealing with corpses. For someone like Daniel, these insights were invaluable. They revealed the depth of brutality and survival instinct that had once defined the Bloody Mist Village, before Mei Terumi's reforms.
"Hey, don't you think it's time to stow away those headbands and that sword?" Daniel asked Zabuza after Sasuke finished his task.
As much as Konoha's intelligence-gathering had been impressive, Zabuza's unmistakable Kubikiribocho had been a major reason they had been tracked so easily. With a reluctant grunt, Zabuza sealed away his massive sword in a scroll and removed his Mist Village headband.
"See? No more pursuers now," Daniel remarked with a grin. Without the obvious markers of their identities, the group found that their journey became much smoother.
"Is Orochimaru's Sound Village really this unknown? No one in the Land of Rice Fields seems to know where it is," Daniel commented in surprise after they crossed into the country.
"You think this is one of the Five Great Nations? Smaller villages don't advertise their locations," Zabuza explained.
To high-ranking ninjas like Zabuza, the existence of Sound Village was no secret. However, ordinary civilians, even in the same country, had no idea about its whereabouts.
Unlike the larger villages, smaller hidden villages often kept their locations secret to avoid being attacked. For rogue ninjas, hidden villages were prime targets for plundering, especially since these villages couldn't defend themselves as well as the Five Great Villages.
Despite Orochimaru's immense power, he wouldn't risk exposing Sound Village to a direct assault from Konoha's ANBU
, let alone attracting the attention of the Akatsuki, who were hunting him down.
"Looks like we'll have to ask some local ninjas then," Daniel decided.
"Are you looking for Sound Village?" A soft voice interrupted them. The speaker was a young man with light purple hair.
"I want to meet Orochimaru," Daniel replied coolly. He had suspected this person was one of Orochimaru's subordinates.
"Orochimaru-sama isn't someone you can meet so easily," the man said with a sly smile.
"I've brought him a gift—Uchiha Sasuke, the last heir of the Uchiha clan. If you tell him that, I'm sure he'll want to see me," Daniel said, offering up Sasuke as the bait.
Sure enough, Orochimaru, who had once experienced the terror of Itachi's Sharingan, would be very interested in another Uchiha.
"I'll inform Orochimaru-sama immediately."
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