"So that's the reason behind the name 'Grass Village'—it's not because of the grasslands in the region," Daniel mused. In the world of Naruto, the names of ninja villages weren't arbitrary; they were closely tied to the environment and the types of jutsu their inhabitants practiced.
The names of the Five Great Villages were prime examples of this. Hidden Mist was named for the perpetual mist in the area; the Hidden Leaf was surrounded by vast forests, and Hidden Sand was, unsurprisingly, in a desert. Daniel had assumed Grass Village was named for its grassy plains, but Zabuza explained that it actually symbolized the villagers' resilience, like grass that survives in any environment.
Grass Village wasn't large and wasn't particularly strong. Its survival through the Three Great Ninja Wars, with relatively few casualties, wasn't due to strength. If it came down to pure power, Rain Village or Waterfall Village could have destroyed them. The real reason Grass Village persisted was their diplomatic prowess. Geographically, Grass Village wasn't much better off than Rain Village, being sandwiched between the Leaf and Stone Villages.
The famous Battle of Kannabi Bridge, which marked a pivotal turning point in the Third Great Ninja War and shaped the destinies of Obito, Kakashi, and Rin, took place within Grass Village's territory. During that war, Grass Village had aligned with Stone Village, and both were enemies of the Leaf.
But allegiances in the ninja world were fleeting. One day, allies; the next, enemies. It was a world where betrayals and alliances shifted with the wind. Even Orochimaru's "Konoha Crush" involved the Hidden Sand Village first betraying its alliance with the Leaf and then reuniting with it after defeat. In a world where even the greatest of betrayals—like killing friends, teachers, or parents—could be forgiven, nothing was truly impossible.
"The daimyos of this world wield a remarkable influence," Daniel commented as Zabuza continued his explanation. The resilience of Grass Village intrigued him, but something more interesting became clear: he had underestimated the political power of the daimyos, especially those of the Five Great Nations.
Despite the strength of the ninja villages, it was the daimyos who held the ultimate authority. They controlled the economy, and since ninjas didn't engage in production, their wealth came primarily from missions. In essence, the Five Great Ninja Villages were like large mercenary organizations. While wars like the Three Great Ninja Wars led to the destruction of many small ninja villages and clans, it wasn't necessarily the battles that wiped them out. The rise of the Five Great Ninja Villages caused many smaller villages to wither away as the daimyos redirected funding to the more powerful mercenary groups.
Even the Five Great Ninja Villages weren't immune to budget cuts. The reduction in mission funds was one of the many factors behind the conflicts. The attack on the Leaf by the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, in the "Konoha Crush" plot, stemmed from his dissatisfaction with the Wind Daimyo, who had drastically reduced the Sand Village's budget.
Compared to other villages, the Sand Village had the fewest missions due to its harsh desert environment. People preferred to hire Leaf ninjas, who were known for their professionalism, skill, and more favorable working conditions.
The importance of money in the Naruto world couldn't be overstated—it even led to the development of unique jutsu like the Gold Release. Even the infamous Akatsuki could be hired by anyone with enough money. One of the key disagreements between Uchiha Madara and Hashirama Senju was over the economy. Constant wars left the Leaf Village on the verge of bankruptcy, and with the Fire Daimyo cutting back on aid, the village could no longer sustain prolonged conflict.
Madara's ideals were grand, but his failure lay in his inability to grasp the practical realities of the situation. No matter how powerful Madara and Hashirama were, they couldn't unify the world alone.
"Traditional power structures," Daniel mused. The strange balance of power in the ninja world came from the combination of ninjas' lack of productive skills and the legacy of ancient political structures. It was reminiscent of the Spring and Autumn period in The Legend of Qin, where even weak kings held absolute authority.
This was especially evident in the Naruto world's Fourth Great Ninja War. Despite the dire situation, the Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi, was initially sent to protect a minor daimyo from the Frost Country. The ninja world was filled with tiny countries, many of which Daniel had never heard of. Some were so obscure that even people within the Naruto world weren't familiar with them.
"Looks like a 'farming village' approach would be the true path to power here." As Zabuza continued to explain the intricacies of the ninja world, Daniel couldn't help but shake his head at some of its absurdities.
"This is the Kannabi Bridge…" Daniel said quietly as they arrived at the remnants of the Kannabi Bridge in Grass Village. This bridge was a turning point in the Third Great Ninja War, not only changing the fates of Obito, Kakashi, and Rin but also shifting the momentum in the Leaf Village's favor against the Stone Village.
The destruction of the Kannabi Bridge had cut off the Stone Village's supply lines, forcing them to retreat in later battles.
In any war, logistics were crucial, and the ninja world was no exception. While sealing scrolls were useful, they couldn't replace traditional supply chains. Sealing scrolls had limited space and were expensive to produce, which made them impractical for large-scale military use. Even Zabuza and Haku, despite their strength, only carried three sealing scrolls between them.
This scarcity was primarily because Zabuza was a rogue ninja, making it difficult to obtain such supplies. After learning about the limitations of sealing scrolls, Daniel gained new respect for Tenten—another wealthy individual, whose large collection of scrolls was a testament to her affluence.
"The security to enter these villages is really tight. Looks like I won't be able to get in the usual way." Standing on a nearby hill, Daniel looked through binoculars at Grass Village's entrance checkpoint and shook his head.
"You all rest here. I'll be back soon," Daniel said. When watching Naruto, he had always thought the security at village entrances was a bit lax. Any skilled ninja could bypass such checks by sneaking in, whether by scaling mountains or swimming across rivers. But now, seeing it firsthand, he realized it wasn't that simple.
While Grass Village didn't have the wealth or power of the Leaf Village to install a large-scale security barrier, they had still placed traps and alarm systems in critical locations. Bell traps hidden in the forest would alert the village to intruders if triggered.
Such methods were simple yet effective. Similar tactics were widespread in the world of The Legend of Qin, and when combined with hidden sentries, they greatly reduced the risk of undetected infiltration.
Of course, these measures wouldn't stop a true elite like Itachi, but how many shinobi of his caliber existed?
"Being a smaller village has its advantages, I suppose." Using his Ope-Ope Fruit powers to scan the area, Daniel quickly identified the hidden traps. Grass Village had indeed set up decent defenses, but unfortunately for them, they hadn't considered the possibility of an aerial invasion.
It wasn't that they hadn't thought of it—it just wasn't practical. The sky was open and clear, making it difficult for anyone to sneak in unnoticed.
Thanks to his floating cloak, Daniel easily bypassed the village's entrance security.
"Time to pay the village leader a visit." Rather than gather intelligence slowly, like Jiraiya might by frequenting taverns and bathhouses, Daniel went straight for the source: Grass Village's leader's office.
"What a playboy…" Daniel muttered, rolling his eyes as he peered through the window and saw the village leader flirting with a female ninja. Despite the strength of many women in the ninja world, there were still cases where female ninjas used their looks for leverage, especially in smaller villages that didn't have the prestige or ethical standards of the Five Great Nations.
"Who's there?" The Grass Village leader wasn't completely incompetent. He reacted immediately as Daniel entered the room, but it was too late. Before he could make a move, Daniel had already subdued both him and the female ninja.
"Is this some kind of 'seductive strategy' gone wrong?" Daniel scoffed as he knocked out the female ninja. He was already irritated by what he saw, so he placed his hand on the village leader's head and used his Doppelgänger Hand technique to extract information from his mind.
"Ah, so Karin is in the medical ward." The village leader knew of Karin's abilities, though he was unaware of her name. To Grass Village, she was nothing more than a human healing tool.
In any of the Five Great Nations, someone with Karin's abilities would have been carefully nurtured and placed in a critical role. But in Grass Village, things were different. It was yet another example of how small villages lacked the foresight and ambition of larger ones.
"Grass Village is such a complacent place. Their only ambition is to survive in the shadow of the major powers and enjoy their little fiefdoms." After scanning the village leader's memories, Daniel shook his head in disappointment.
"Well, since I'm here, let's see if they have any kind of 'sealed scroll of forbidden jutsu' worth looking at."
Boom!
As Daniel was preparing to leave after locating Karin, the village leader's head suddenly exploded.
"A sealing technique? I almost forgot about those…" Looking down at the body, Daniel realized he had triggered a sealing jutsu. Many shinobi
, particularly in the Leaf Village, used seals to prevent classified information from being leaked.
"It must have activated when I tried to access the village's deepest secrets," Daniel thought, realizing he had crossed into forbidden territory.
"They've caught on to me." Moments after the village leader died, the village's alarm bells rang out, alerting the villagers to the intruder. Soon, a squad of Grass ninja rushed toward the leader's office.
"Big mistake." The first to enter was a large, burly man. When he saw the leader's headless corpse, he charged at Daniel in a fit of rage.
"Earth Release, huh?" Watching the man form hand seals and coat his fists in stone, Daniel immediately recognized the technique. It was a variation of the Earth Release techniques used by Stone Village ninjas to enhance their physical strength.
Grass Village had learned many techniques from other villages. Though they hadn't mastered the more secretive jutsu, they had managed to pick up several less-guarded ones.
But just because they could perform the jutsu didn't mean they were good at it.
"Get lost." Daniel met the charging man's fist with his own. The immense force of his punch shattered the man's right arm and sent him flying out of the room, leaving a gaping hole in his chest.
"Captain!" The other Grass ninjas cried out as they saw their leader's body hurtle through the air.
"I was hoping to keep things quiet and just rescue Karin…" Now that he'd been discovered, Daniel had no choice but to fight. A katana appeared in his hand, as a weapon would allow him to finish things more quickly.
With his katana in hand, Daniel showed no mercy to the Grass ninjas. From the leader's memories, he already knew the village's internal dynamics. Unlike the Five Great Nations, which protected their civilians, Grass Village's leaders oppressed them.
Although there were reformists within the village, they were too weak to enact any real change.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
"Fire Style: Fire Lantern Jutsu!"
"Water Style: Water Bullet Jutsu!"
"Earth Style!"
"Wind Style!"
"Lightning Style!"
Realizing that they couldn't win in close combat, the Grass ninjas began launching ninjutsu from a distance.
Grass Village's ninjutsu was a hodgepodge of different styles, with ninjas using techniques from all five elements.
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