"Hahahaha!"
Shimoku burst into laughter.
Hearing about the duel between Shinkawa and Zabuza was truly amusing!
He couldn't help but feel a brief moment of sympathy for Zabuza.
Being a melee fighter, insisting on challenging a long-range Hyūga archer like that—this battle outcome was entirely predictable.
After all, in any MOBA game like Honor of Kings, basic melee fighters often get toyed with and picked off by rangers. How much more so would that happen in real life?
If you're willing to play dirty, there's no limit to what you can throw at them—poisoned arrows, armor-piercing shots, even Explosive Tags attached to your arrows. Who could survive that kind of assault?
Especially when combined with the solid "hit-and-run strategy."
It could easily allow a genin to defeat a chunin, a chunin an jonin, and an jonin even an elite.
Real underdog slaying indeed.
A single archer could hold off or even wipe out an entire enemy squad—that alone made this capability a major tactical boon for Shimoku and Homura Hidden Village.
As for stronger foes like Kage-level or beyond-Kage-level warriors? That's precisely what entire battalions are meant for.
They wouldn't be forced to fight head-on alone anyway; Susano'o units would handle those.
Regular soldiers fight regular soldiers, and generals take on other generals.
Challenging a general as mere infantry? That would be sheer foolishness.
In short, forming such a long-range sniper unit was definitely an investment with only profit and great benefits!
...
"Whooshwhooshwhoosh—"
"Thudthudthud—"
Sharp whistling sounds and dull impacts caught Shimoku's attention.
He turned his head to look.
On the left side stood a boy approximately nine years old.
He held a custom-made child-sized bow, continuously drawing and firing arrows.
His hands remained steady, posture textbook-perfect, skill remarkably excellent...
Ten shots total.
Every single arrow hit the bullseye of the 300-meter target.
Among them, eight landed perfect tens!
This level of accuracy placed him among the top marksmen in the entire unit.
Shimoku: "Neji Hyuga?"
Shinkawa Hyuga: "Yes."
"Quite impressive skills!"
"That kid has immense talent; whether in taijutsu or archery, he improves at an astonishing speed..."
Shinkawa Hyuga praised sincerely.
Sometimes, one had to admit the existence of geniuses!
While he himself trained for a month painstakingly to reach certain proficiency levels,
Neji, at merely nine years old, surpassed him within just a week!
Truly admirable!
Of course, he didn't feel any jealousy.
Just escaping from Konoha, removing the cursed seal, and leading so many clansmen...
Shinkawa already felt content.
Besides, after going through so much hardship, his perspective broadened and vision widened.
He now knew exactly what needed to be done...
Only by having more geniuses and powerful experts emerging from the Hyūga Clan
could their value truly show, solidifying their position, and securing better treatment and living conditions for the clanspeople!
...
Right then,
on the right side, several Hyūga ninja followed Shinkawa's instructions,
carrying two large wooden crates over here.
Clearly, these contained the 'good stuff' shipped back this morning from the Land of Iron.
"Young Master, we've brought everything."
"But uh… how exactly do we use this thing?"
Shinkawa lifted the lid of the first wooden crate.
Looking at those pitch-black "fireplace pokers" inside, he felt somewhat confused.
He had already tried to study them this morning but hadn't figured out how to operate these devices at all.
Honestly speaking, even if used as "fireplace pokers," they felt too uncomfortable to hold!
"Don't worry. I'm here specifically to teach you guys how to use them."
"These are truly great treasures!"
Shimoku's eyes lit up as he grabbed an unusually designed rifle, beginning to enthusiastically explore its features.
This thing was the ultimate favorite of men back in their past life—the modern world!
It was precisely with these tools that men could win over women wearing black stockings...
These firearms were personally designed by Shimoku and specially crafted by master smiths from the [Land of Iron].
It took more than a month just to produce these dozen or so rifles.
Sometimes, one couldn't help but marvel at how strangely the technological tree had developed within the Ninja World.
The [Kumo] Hidden Village could build chakra cannons; the [Rain Hidden Village] could make various missiles and grenades; the [Land of Iron] could forge unbreakable katanas and sophisticated gas masks...
Yet none of these countries had developed something as simple as basic firearms first.
Not even early forms of firearms like matchlock guns, flintlocks, or percussion cap revolvers were present.
Nonetheless, this also proved one fact:
The [Land of Iron] indeed possessed such technical capabilities.
With blueprints provided, it was easy for the [Land of Iron], already leading in forging craftsmanship within the Ninja World, to manually craft a few guns.
Of course, without molds, presses, assembly lines, etc.,
Mass production remained practically impossible.
Ultimately though,
Even if firearms held significant usefulness within the Ninja World,
They still couldn't overpower ninjas completely.
Many ninja techniques could easily counter bullet attacks;
In fact, merely forming a Chakra Armor around the body was enough to deflect most bullets.
Still, firearms weren't useless either...
At least in Shimoku's opinion,
They worked remarkably well when assisting long-range shooters.
After all, arrows were large and bulky, difficult to carry in large numbers;
Besides, once you ran out of arrows, it became really inconvenient.
At moments like that, firearms clearly showed their advantages.
Just imagine this scene:
When enemies come charging at you from tens of meters away, thinking you've exhausted your arrows and victory is near,
You suddenly whip out a submachine gun—or better yet, a full-auto Gatling—and let loose a wall of lead. Rat-tat-tat! Hundreds—no, thousands—of rounds flying every minute, turning your enemies into human sieves with pure metal fury.
Wouldn't that surprise them greatly?
Isn't that satisfying?
...
Moreover,
Compared to ordinary firearms,
There's another advantage when used by ninjas:
They don't require explosive gunpowder-filled bullets.
Instead, ninjas can directly utilize explosive chakra to replace gunpowder explosions, propelling the bullets forward.
Additionally, by adjusting the amount of infused chakra, users can control blast strength, enhancing the bullets' damage potential.
If a high-level Jonin uses them,
You wouldn't even need bullets anymore.
Simply solidifying chakra and then launching it outward achieves the exact same effect!
As long as chakra doesn't run out, it's like wielding a divine firearm with infinite ammunition...
Even more so, at medium and short ranges, the speed of these bullets far surpasses that of a ninja making hand seals. It can take the opponent completely by surprise!
...
Shimoku raised a rifle, pulled back the safety, and chambered a round.
Then, aiming at a distant target, he began injecting chakra and quickly triggered an explosion.
"Bang—"
The bullet fired, accurately hitting the bullseye from a hundred meters away.
In terms of power, it was roughly equivalent to a regular arrow.
But it certainly couldn't compare to arrows enhanced with chakra or fitted with explosive tags...
Still, it was absolutely sufficient for piercing through an unguarded ninja's body.
Next, Shimoku switched the rifle to fully automatic mode.
He kept channeling chakra, firing round after round, each round detonating on impact.
"Bang! Bang! Bang—"
Within just a few seconds,
over twenty bullets had been fired, all striking the distant target without fail.
Such a strange phenomenon immediately drew the attention of nearby Hyūga ninjas.
They gathered around curiously.
Fascination lit up their expressions as they stared at Young Master Shimoku and his new weapon.
Even Neji Hyuga came over, equally intrigued.
Meanwhile, Shinkawa Hyūga, who had witnessed everything,
suddenly understood!
Lightweight, capable of rapid fire, and not lacking in power...
Since he wasn't foolish by any means,
he quickly recognized the many advantages this new firearm possessed.
Just as Young Master had said,
firearms could indeed greatly compensate for some of the shortcomings of traditional bows.
If he himself mastered this technique and faced Zabuza again in battle—
he wouldn't even need to retreat.
He could directly fire bullets from just thirty or forty meters away, turning Zabuza's body into a sieve.
"Here, you try it too!"
"Be careful with the amount of chakra input—not too much, nor too little—or the gun might suffer a chamber explosion, where the weapon explodes due to overloading."
Shimoku tossed the rifle toward Shinkawa,
letting him give it a go while offering specific instructions.
Shinkawa got the hang of the weapon before starting target practice.
However,
for the first few shots, he failed to control the chakra properly.
The explosive force was too weak.
The bullets only flew tens of meters before dropping to the ground.
Worse yet, on the final shot, excessive chakra injection caused the rifle to suffer a chamber explosion right in his hands.
Luckily, Shimoku was present.
With a wave of his hand, he suppressed the residual blast wave, preventing anyone from getting injured.
"Young Master, I..."
Looking at the shattered rifle in his hands, Shinkawa felt deeply guilty.
"It's okay. Malfunctions like this happen often. After practicing several times, you'll gradually understand the rhythm and proper chakra usage. Once you're used to it, similar accidents shouldn't occur again."
"Just remember to prepare some defense beforehand so you won't get hurt during explosions!"
"After you become proficient, you can start teaching others how to train with it. We must strive to become skilled as soon as possible..."
"Understood!"
Excitedly, Shinkawa gave a firm nod and took another rifle.
Amidst envious and curious gazes from the other Hyūga clan members, he resumed his training.
...
Seeing this, Shimoku smiled inwardly, nodding in satisfaction.
Then, he walked toward the second large wooden crate beside him.
"If I'm not mistaken... this must contain another fine item then?"
"Well then, might as well give it a try."
"Oh right, send someone to fetch Zabuza."
"Now that we've got this new weapon, he'll be the perfect test subject..."
Shimoku waved his hand and gave orders to a nearby Hyuga clan ninja.
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