Chapter 120: Contacting the Village
After reflecting on the battle, Ishiro had a clearer understanding of his own strength. He then began analyzing how to improve himself in a targeted way.
First and foremost, Ishiro had to double down on his natural strengths. Otherwise, he would always remain mediocre among elite jōnin.
And from beginning to end, Ishiro had only one true talent—his immense mental strength.
With this superior mental energy, Ishiro possessed chakra control far beyond that of most shinobi.
The biggest benefit this brought him was his exceptional hand seal speed. Ishiro decided to further sharpen this advantage. It would become the central focus of his future training.
He also needed to accelerate his Earth Release training and begin practicing chakra fusion as soon as possible.
With that in mind, Ishiro revised his training schedule: basic physical conditioning in the morning and evening; hand seal practice in the late morning; and Earth Release training in the afternoon.
After setting his own goals, Ishiro turned his attention to the camp. He noticed that the mood among the troops had shifted somewhat compared to before.
Originally, the thousand or so border patrol shinobi he'd gathered had never experienced war firsthand. They'd only heard stories of its brutality, and thus, deep down, they were nervous and unsure about the looming conflict.
But after this first engagement, their anxiety had largely subsided.
There were two reasons for this. First, the Eastern Division had achieved a clear victory. While this may not have qualified as a real battle, it had greatly boosted morale.
Second, Ishiro had generously rewarded all participating jōnin and ANBU squads with A-rank mission credits.
Everyone knew the value of an A-rank mission. Ishiro's actions unintentionally created an illusion: that participating in the war would yield high returns.
Before, they fought for the village. Now, they had an additional reason—to fight for themselves.
Ishiro also noticed changes in his three disciples. After careful observation, he came to understand the complex emotions behind their expressions.
Like everyone else, they were no longer afraid of war. But at the same time, they were visibly disappointed in their own powerlessness. Despite the victory, all Ishiro had asked them to do was relay a command—a task anyone could've done.
This left them feeling somewhat disheartened. They realized how far they still had to go. Their teacher hadn't even considered bringing them to the battlefield.
Seeing this, Ishiro walked over to the three disciples, who were currently training hard, and said, "Alright, take a break. Come here—I'll tell you in detail how our mission went."
Ishiro had already summarized the battle for the whole camp, but that explanation had been designed to boost morale and promote the importance of combination ninjutsu. It had been light on details and mostly focused on the victory and the effectiveness of joint techniques.
Now, with his students, Ishiro went into far more depth. He started from the moment he discovered the enemy and explained his entire thought process, how he planned the strategy, and how the events unfolded.
He described the battle in vivid detail, even going so far as to break down every jutsu he saw. He spent special attention on explaining the impact of Hoshikawa's swordsmanship.
After hearing the full account, the trio's dejection finally faded, replaced by renewed motivation now that they had a clear goal.
Tomoe realized how important sensory techniques were.
Kajiyama Ri gained insight into the incredible versatility of ninjutsu through Ishiro's storytelling.
But the one most affected was Kawakita. After hearing about Hoshikawa slicing through B- and C-rank jutsu with his blade, he couldn't stop visualizing it in his head.
Seeing the kid so captivated, Ishiro felt a little speechless. He's not going to start idolizing Konoha ninja now, is he? Probably not. But if only Kawakita had witnessed Hoshikawa's swordsmanship with his own eyes, he might have learned even more.
That gave Ishiro an idea. In the next few days, he would be sending an ANBU squad back to the village to request some B-rank jutsu. These were jutsu that several of his jōnin and ANBU had asked to exchange for.
As the acting commander, part of Ishiro's job was to handle logistics for his troops. But the village only allowed frontline shinobi to exchange for B-rank or C-rank jutsu.
It wasn't that the village was being stingy—it was a security measure. Any jutsu A-rank or above had to be sealed with a memory-locking technique. Without it, there was a risk of secrets leaking.
Even for B-rank jutsu, approval from the village leadership was required. Every B-rank jutsu application had to be tied to a specific individual. Whether it was approved depended on the merit that person had accumulated.
Normally, the Eastern Division wouldn't qualify. But after killing a Konoha elite jōnin, if Ishiro sent the body back and the intel checked out, there was a good chance the village would greenlight some B-rank jutsu exchanges.
Ishiro planned to use this opportunity to get one for Kawakita. Specifically, he wanted to get a genjutsu that could help inspire him.
His idea was to borrow from the way Uchiha Itachi had used Tsukuyomi on Sasuke—placing Kawakita in a genjutsu scenario that would help him internalize the lesson.
Of course, with Ishiro's current genjutsu skill and Iwagakure's available techniques, he couldn't hope to replicate anything as extreme as Tsukuyomi.
But the biggest obstacle wouldn't be the technique—it would be the target's resistance. Luckily, Ishiro had Kawakita's trust. If it was for his benefit, Kawakita wouldn't resist. That made the whole plan quite feasible.
Ishiro didn't recall the village having a complete B-rank genjutsu of the kind he envisioned, but he did remember a classified scroll containing relevant information. That's what he intended to request. Ishiro had a decent genjutsu aptitude, and he planned to develop something useful out of it—if it wasn't too complicated.
But that was for later.
With the camp now stable, Ishiro needed to write a formal report to the village. Deploying nearly twenty jōnin was no small matter. He had to give the village a proper explanation.
Besides, the fact that Konoha had sent an elite jōnin to scout their camp was critical intel—especially since one of the enemy scouts had escaped.
Ishiro had no way of knowing how much that ninja had learned about the camp. That was something the village higher-ups would have to worry about.
The next day, after resting for the night, ANBU Captain Moto and his squad were sent back to the village to report.
They returned at top speed and were immediately granted an audience with Ōnoki.
With war on the horizon and Moto representing the frontline, the leadership couldn't afford to delay. Even if they had been in a meeting, they would have stopped to receive him.
In front of Ōnoki and the senior advisors, Moto submitted the scroll Ishiro had written and gave a verbal report of everything he knew.
Since Moto hadn't been in command and Ishiro's written report was extremely detailed, he was dismissed quickly so the leadership could resume their meeting.
Advisor Saka, being the official commander of the Eastern Division (though not yet deployed), was Ishiro's theoretical superior. Ōnoki first asked for his opinion.
Saka considered for a moment, then said, "Suna's war preparations are nearly complete. I was planning to send Owl and Kitsuchi to the Eastern Front soon. But given the situation, that may no longer be necessary. Ishiro has done well. Let him continue overseeing the Eastern Division."
Ōnoki nodded. "Agreed. Ishiro has shown great strategic awareness. We thought he might struggle with his first command over a thousand ninja, but clearly we underestimated him."
An elderly male advisor chimed in. "Indeed. What's more important is that he learns from his mistakes and corrects them. He's still young. Making a few errors now is fine. Once he matures a bit more, he'll be able to carry our burden."
Ōnoki blinked. "Are you suggesting...?"
The elder advisor smiled. "We're getting old. Our stamina's not what it used to be. After this war, we should step down and let the younger generation take over."
Another elder advisor nodded with a smile.
Ōnoki and the two middle-aged advisors looked like they wanted to protest, but in the end, they stayed quiet.
The two elders had indeed aged. While they had once offered immense guidance, they could no longer keep up physically. Perhaps it was time for them to retire and enjoy their remaining years in peace.
After some thought, Ōnoki said, "Ikura's progressing quickly. I'm thinking that after this war, I'll step down as Tsuchikage too. What do you all think?"
"...Huh?"
Everyone was stunned. They hadn't expected Ōnoki to say something like that.
Saka was the first to voice his concern. "Isn't it a bit too early to hand things over to someone that young?"
Ōnoki shook his head. "We were just as young when we stepped up. We had our seniors to guide us. We can do the same for Ikura."
His words took the advisors back to the harrowing days of the First Great Ninja War. Back then, the Second Tsuchikage, Mu, had died in battle. Iwagakure was left leaderless. Ōnoki, Mu's young disciple, had already reached Kage-level strength. So, in a time of crisis, he was chosen as the Third Tsuchikage.
The village had been filled with unease—worried that he was too young and inexperienced, and that he wouldn't be able to deter their enemies or lead the country to stability.
But those fears were unfounded. Under Ōnoki's leadership, the Land of Earth had weathered its most difficult era.
After a pause, Ōnoki said, "In the end, power is what matters for shinobi. I rose young and plan to step down when my body declines, handing the torch to the next generation of prodigies. That way, other nations will always view Iwagakure as strong and thriving. No one will dare look down on us."
The advisors mulled it over and ultimately agreed. While they weren't Tsuchikage themselves and didn't bear his burdens, they could now understand his reasoning.
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