Group skills are definitely the way to go.
Up until around level 55-58, group skills give a bigger "* for your buck", shall we say. Try to get all your skills to level 20, at least; it will be a big help.
Next, your magatama should be at around lvl 3 for all of your ninja, not just your main.
Since you're a lightning main, initiative, and therefore refinement, is key. You should aim for at least lvl 4 refinement on your main and lvl 3 refinement on everything else.
At level 50, you should have already unlocked battle armor. Attempt to make friends around the same level as you and team up to finish Strong Approaching on Easy. There are plenty of guides on the forum, but to sum them up for easy:
Bring two healers and make 1 Sakura.
Make sure you have a combo of around 10. If you use Kabuto and have clones, you can have a little less.
Wait until Shizune heals once before you go ham. After the next round begins, go ham and finish her off before she heals.
Kill Karin and then kill Hanzo.
Good luck!