Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe

"Strange, isn't it? I've never heard of enemies in the Shinobi World wearing full armor like this." Daniel Davis watched the photos and brief combat videos Gaara sent over, showing enemies fighting against the Sand Shinobi, looking at them in mild surprise.

The enemies clashing with the Sand Village shinobi were heavily armored, wielding large hammers. Although they were towering figures, their movements showed no sign of being slowed by the weight of their armor.

Ninja combat usually emphasizes light equipment. Wearing armor in battle was a warrior tradition from before ninjas appeared on the historical stage, similar to the samurai of the Land of Iron, who are known for their full-body armor.

"Holding heavy hammers, yet they don't look like samurai, and they all look practically identical. Are there even that many large, armored people in the Shinobi World? And this ship..."

Looking at the image of a very modern-looking ship in his hand, Daniel found himself wondering if this was the work of the now-defunct Air Ninja Village, though he had long taken care of them. Although the photo was grainy, taken in the wild, the outline of the ship was still clear enough.

Daniel was certain that such ships didn't exist in the Shinobi World. The shinobi mostly used wooden boats, and steel ships were unheard of. The only steel vessel known was the submarine Daniel seized from the Air Ninja Village.

Given the situation, the appearance of this steel ship and armored enemies was a complete surprise to Daniel, as he couldn't imagine where they had come from.

"I guess we'll have to wait for Sand Village to examine the corpses of these enemies and get more clues." Since he couldn't guess the enemy's origin, Daniel decided to temporarily set the matter aside.

Although these foes looked powerful, they were a threat mainly to low and mid-level ninja. The armor seemed to block the weapons of lower-ranked ninjas, and even jutsu attacks had limited effect on it.

People tend to underestimate armor, but when used well, it can withstand even Amaterasu.

"Who would have thought we'd encounter something like this in the Shinobi World?" Soon after, the Sand Village sent the remains of one enemy to Rain Village. Daniel inspected it in person and realized that the enemy was not simply wearing armor but was fused with it, similar to the concept of biological armor he'd envisioned.

"They're all children." Upon closer examination, he discovered that the beings inside were originally children around ten years old, evidently transformed into combat puppets through some modification process.

"Recently, several villages near Sand Village were destroyed, with all the adults killed and the children vanishing. It seems they were abducted and turned into these puppets," Orochimaru said, licking his lips in interest at the discovery.

"Mark the locations of these villages on the map."

"Understood." Chino immediately operated the computer, bringing up the locations on the holographic display. Currently, she was acting as Daniel's secretary, handling various related matters.

"The southern coast, huh?" Daniel took out his phone and contacted Sasuke, who was currently in the Leaf Village.

"Sasuke, could you investigate if any villages south of the Leaf Village were recently destroyed, with children missing?" Daniel quickly briefed him on the situation and instructed Sasuke to look into it.

He then reached out to the Land of Rivers, instructing them to investigate along the southern coast as well.

The investigations revealed a startling truth. Reports confirmed that over several dozen villages near the coast had been completely wiped out across Sand Village, the Land of Rivers, and Leaf Village, with all adults killed and hundreds of children missing. It was clear that this had been happening for quite some time.

"So, preoccupied with Rain Village, they overlooked this," Daniel thought, realizing why neither Sand nor Leaf had reacted sooner.

The reason was simple: they had been focused on the threat of the Akatsuki, and the deaths in remote villages didn't receive much attention. In fact, reports had been sent to the upper ranks of both villages. Sand's leadership dismissed it outright, and in Leaf, the report hadn't reached Tsunade.

"Launch a thorough investigation along the coastal areas. Don't overlook any trace," Daniel commanded Sasuke and Gaara after reviewing the compiled information, noting that the attacks seemed to follow a coastal pattern.

Leaf Village soon sent a response. Their investigations had uncovered some traces, and after a brief skirmish with the enemy, they gathered intelligence that immediately revealed to Daniel who these foes were.

"So it's the Grell Stone. I almost forgot about that."

"This is the butterfly effect in action. Naruto, the so-called Child of Prophecy, has deviated from his destined path, and now it's causing significant trouble." The Grell Stone wasn't supposed to be much of a problem since Naruto had handled it in the original timeline. But with Naruto busy spending time with his mother, the enemy had gained enough time to grow in power.

"The Grell Stone," Daniel murmured. Now that he knew the location of the enemy's stronghold, he immediately teleported there.

"Timsi, our Utopian dream is finally within reach."

"Master Haido, are we finally going to act?" Inside a modernized land-based ship in a canyon in the Molt Mountains, an elderly man with a kindly appearance spoke excitedly to the red-eyed, blond-haired youth before him about his utopian plan.

"Yes. Over these recent days, we've gathered all the intelligence we need, and the Grell Stone vein has been opened. First, we take Leaf Village, one of the five great ninja villages, then the Land of Fire, and ultimately the entire continent. Then, our utopia will be complete, and you won't need to fight anymore."

"Please rest assured, Master Haido, I'll seize Leaf Village immediately." The young man named Timsi displayed intense excitement at Haido's words.

"A utopia without war. How laughable. You've killed so many and experimented on children, all for a supposed utopia? That's the most absurd thing I've heard."

As Timsi finished speaking, Daniel stepped out of the shadows. After learning of the Grell Stone, he had come alone. Although Haido's guards were vigilant, they were helpless before his mirror-space abilities.

"Who are you? These sacrifices are necessary for establishing our utopia." Seeing the unexpected visitor, Timsi drew his sword, his body flaring with powerful chakra, his sword charged with Lightning Release.

"Necessary sacrifices? Then you can make one yourself." Daniel moved instantly, appearing beside Timsi and thrusting his sword through his chest, watching the shocked look on Timsi's face.

For those completely brainwashed, Daniel had no interest in talking. He wasn't about to waste his breath explaining the truth to someone like that. He came alone to secure the Grell Stone.

The Grell Stone was a powerful object containing life energy and could be converted into chakra. Timsi hadn't trained in chakra himself; his strength came entirely from the Grell Stone fused to his arm.

With just one stone, he could wield strength equal to that of an elite jounin. Such a resource was, of course, invaluable.

In the original story, Timsi and his allies were weak enough for Naruto, Shikamaru, and Gaara to handle, but now it was different. They had uncovered the Grell Stone vein and greatly increased their power by equipping themselves with these stones.

"Hmm, regenerating even after that? I underestimated the Grell Stone." Seeing Timsi swinging his sword despite a pierced heart, Daniel poured concentrated sword energy through the blade into Timsi's organs, instantly tearing his insides apart.

"Still alive, huh?" Daniel was genuinely surprised to see that Timsi still had some signs of life, even with his innards shredded.

"I won't let you destroy our utopia!"

"You talk too much."

Watching Timsi's resolute expression, Daniel sneered, and with a flash of his sword, decapitated Timsi, ensuring that no regeneration could bring him back.

"Always eager to redeem the enemy... as if the dead could just be forgotten." Daniel had no intention of showing mercy; only protagonists like Naruto or Luffy made friends out of enemies. He didn't have that luxury.

"Finally, that nuisance is dead. I've been meaning to kill him for ages," Haido said, his expression one of glee rather than concern over Timsi's death.

"Now it's your turn." Daniel shot Haido a cold smile.

"Kill me? Do you think you're capable?" Haido sneered, removing a monocle from his left eye.

"Master Haido, is this an intruder?" With Haido's gesture, three armored women entered, encircling Daniel.

"Good riddance to Timsi! I was planning to kill him myself soon," one of the women, wearing green armor, said with irritation. They all seemed annoyed by Timsi's endless talk of utopia and would have killed him if Haido hadn't needed his royal bloodline.

"Be careful; this guy killed Timsi," Haido warned, noticing his subordinates' indifference.

"Relax, Master Haido, I won't let him off easily." The woman in green armor transformed, sprouting bat wings as she flew up toward the ceiling.

"Pointless." Daniel slashed upward, a powerful crescent of sword energy cleaving her in two. Blood rained down, and his attack shattered the ceiling.

"I don't have time to play with you." Daniel then appeared next to Haido, cutting off his right arm, which held the Grell Stone.

The Grell Stone could indeed bestow great power, but only if activated, much like equipping gear. Without activating it, these users were as vulnerable as any ordinary person.

"Master Haido!" The two remaining armored

 women transformed—a wolf-like creature and an ape-like creature—and charged at Daniel.

"Out of my way." With another flash of his blade, Daniel cut them down, leaving them as two halves.

"And with strength like that, you wanted to conquer the continent? Were you still dreaming?" He scoffed at Haido, whose body shriveled and aged as he lost the Grell Stone.

Daniel launched a telepathic attack that shattered what remained of Haido's mind, throwing him against a wall, where he crumpled in pieces.

Using the Grell Stone was no simple matter. Only those with royal blood could avoid its side effects. Haido, lacking royal lineage, had gambled on luck to acquire its power. The armored puppets were byproducts, unable to withstand the Stone's effects.

The only successful fusions were the three women, but Haido's luck hadn't extended beyond that.

"The Grell Stone has life force akin to the cells of the First Hokage. It could harvest crops in a day and grow livestock in an instant. With this, food and resources would never be a problem."

But unfortunately, whenever someone acquired a powerful resource, their first thought was to weaponize it. The Grell Stone was no exception. Daniel gleaned from Haido's memories that the kingdom had been destroyed in war.

The royal family had been forced to seal the Grell Stone vein and flee, leaving only a book recording the Stone's properties. Haido found that book, killed Timsi, located the Grell Stone, and returned to the vein using Timsi's bloodline.

"With so many Grell Stones, I might be able to cultivate a Divine Tree." After dispatching Haido and his guards, Daniel ventured into the depths of the mine and summoned nine powerful chakra flows.

These nine chakras belonged to the Tailed Beasts. Nine-Tails chakra came from the Kin-Gin Brothers and Kuu, not Naruto or Minato; the others had been forcibly extracted from the Tailed Beasts themselves.

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