"Climbing trees and walking on water—why is it so difficult? Where are the basic training exercises I was promised? I need some tips, waiting online, urgent!"
This was Hanzo's exact sentiment at that moment, having fallen out of a tree three times in a row.
In the original story, Sakura easily completed the tree climbing training in one go, so Hanzo initially thought it would be a breeze. However, reality gave him a harsh beating.
Four times, five times, six times… Actually, this was normal. The original trio had just graduated from the ninja academy and had been exposed to chakra for five or six years. Their familiarity with it was not something a newcomer like him, who had just started using chakra, could compare to.
Meanwhile, when Shigenari saw his son's bruised face, he promptly retreated with a mischievous smile, claiming he had "official duties to attend to." However, Hanzo knew that most of the miscellaneous clan affairs were handled by the elders. As clan leader, Shigenari was more of a symbol of the Shimada clan; improving his strength was the most important task for clan leaders in the Warring States period. He only needed to make decisions when major events occurred.
And so, under Hanzo's expressionless gaze, Shigenari slipped away, leaving Hanzo to… keep falling. Fortunately, after acquiring chakra, his body was naturally protected. Otherwise, falling so many times would have kept him bedridden for days. Even so, Hanzo was still thoroughly disoriented from the falls.
"How could this be…"
After his seventh failure, Hanzo didn't rush to continue but instead began to ponder.
Although his physics grades in his previous life weren't great, he still had some memory of basic balance. So, using chakra to adhere to a tree should follow the same principle.
Hanzo stood up, first spreading chakra to the soles of his feet, then trying to evenly distribute the chakra attached to them.
This was not easy. For a rookie who had only refined chakra for a day, any application of chakra was unfamiliar.
However, Hanzo wasn't in a hurry. He adjusted little by little, and as he did, his control over chakra became increasingly proficient.
After a while, Hanzo felt he was ready, so he charged at the tree again.
His first foot landed.
It worked!
Hanzo's heart swelled with joy. The feeling of stepping on the tree this time was distinctly different from before; it wasn't like some parts of his foot were stuck fast while others felt like they wanted to push him away.
It seemed a bit too light.
Hanzo stroked his chin, then applied more chakra to the soles of his feet and began to step up, one foot after another.
A few seconds later, Hanzo was sprinting up the tree trunk.
After all, in his previous life, he was just an ordinary person. Now, suddenly being able to run on walls and ceilings felt truly exhilarating. However, the next second… "Thud!"
Trying to run before even mastering walking naturally resulted in this outcome.
"Hahahahaha…"
Although the fall hurt a bit, Hanzo was quite excited after successfully completing the tree climbing. The next step was a matter of practice… By the time the sun began to set in the west, Hanzo had thoroughly completed his tree climbing and water walking exercises.
He was currently walking back and forth on the stream.
Although walking on water was slightly more difficult than climbing trees, the principle was the same. After spending some time finding the trick, Hanzo could now move freely on the water's surface.
Having finished his water walking, Hanzo didn't delay any further and headed straight for the clan grounds. From morning until now, he had only eaten a little bento at noon and was starving.
"Young master, you're back?"
At the Shimada clan's compound, an uncle carrying water cheerfully greeted Hanzo.
"Yes, Uncle Wang," Hanzo replied, waving his hand.
Along the way, many men, women, and children in the compound greeted Hanzo.
A ninja clan, as it was called, was not entirely composed of warriors. After all, for a family to survive, it wasn't just military matters that needed to be considered.
Food, clothing, shelter, and transportation—all were crucial.
Within the clan, there were also ordinary clan members whose chakra talent was not outstanding, plus ordinary clan members from some smaller ninja clans who received protection from the Shimada clan. These people were the rivets in a ninja clan's war machine, responsible for the clan's myriad daily tasks, such as cooking, trading, and construction.
The actual number of fully non-producing ninja, even in a large clan like the Shimada, including their vassals, was only a few hundred. The two most powerful clans in the Land of Fire, the Senju and Uchiha, would not exceed a thousand at most.
Many smaller ninja clans, on the other hand, often numbered only a few dozen, which is why these smaller clans tended to band together for survival.
Hanzo was initially shocked when he learned this because, to his knowledge, during the Fourth Great Ninja War in later generations, the Five Great Nations, allied with the Land of Iron, deployed a total of eighty thousand troops.
Excluding the Land of Iron, which was essentially an auxiliary, each Great Nation deployed approximately fifteen thousand ninja.
Including the ninja guarding the villages and the large number of genin, theoretically, each Great Hidden Village had at least thirty thousand ninja.
Of course, specifically, the Hidden Sand and Hidden Mist, which focused on elite forces, might have slightly fewer, while the other three Great Hidden Villages, which pursued a balanced approach, might have slightly more.
But from Hanzo's understanding, even if all the ninja clans in the Land of Fire combined at present, they might not even reach ten thousand ninja.
"With the power of a nation as a backing, supporting tens of thousands of fully non-producing ninja allows both the nation's and the ninja clans' strengths to be fully realized."
Hanzo watched the busy clan members and let out a soft sigh.
"No wonder the First Hokage's One-Country, One-Village system was emulated and adopted by various countries."
Indeed, the fact was that if the Land of Fire adopted the One-Country, One-Village system and the other four Great Nations did not, then even without the two overpowered beings, Madara and Hashirama, the other four nations would be easily defeated by the Land of Fire.
Nothing else, just an absolute numerical superiority.
After adopting the One-Country, One-Village system, internal strife ceased, and the economy was far better than in the chaotic era, allowing them to support a far greater number of non-producing ninja than the other four Great Nations. More ninja would also produce more Jonin and stronger individuals.
In just one generation, the Land of Fire would far surpass the other four Great Nations.
The Daimyo of the other four Great Nations and the major ninja clans within them were not fools.
It's just a system, isn't it? It's just the nation and ninja clans uniting, isn't it? What one can achieve, others can too.
With both sides readily agreeing, the One-Country, One-Village system naturally quickly became prevalent.
In an era where overpowered beings suppressed everything, it wasn't apparent, but after Hashirama's death and Madara's feigned death, the consequences became evident.
Konoha was only slightly superior to the other four Great Hidden Villages. They were confident in a one-on-one fight, could manage a one-on-two, but a one-on-three would be their undoing.
During the Third Great Ninja War, Konoha fighting against four nations was actually due to a timing difference, and Konoha was strong enough at the time of the Third War to overcome the difficulties.
With various thoughts swirling in his mind, Hanzo finally arrived home.
Before him stood an unassuming house, which was the Shimada clan leader's residence.
Because ninja clans often needed to migrate, the houses in each new base were never too luxurious.
However, Hanzo liked it very much. Compared to having several empty houses in his previous life, this simple house with parents and siblings made him feel much warmer.
"Dad, Mom, I'm home." Hanzo smiled and pushed the door open, walking inside…