Chapter 121: Support from the Village
The matter of who would become the next Tsuchikage wasn't something that needed to be decided immediately, so after a brief discussion, the village leadership moved on.
"Let's verify the list of B-rank jutsu Ishiro requested for exchange," Ōnoki said, shifting the conversation back to the present.
Because of their high regard for Ishiro—and the outstanding performance of the Eastern Division—the leadership approved all of his requested jutsu exchanges.
Even the B-rank classified scroll Ishiro personally wanted was approved without hesitation.
An additional ANBU team was assigned to escort the jutsu alongside Moto's returning squad. Furthermore, the village sent along a batch of frontline supplies that wasn't scheduled to be delivered for some time.
When Moto returned to the Eastern camp with the supplies, five days had passed. During that time, the ninja world had grown increasingly tense. Sunagakure had dispatched nearly ten thousand troops to the border, and an unyielding Konoha had sent five thousand shinobi in response.
With both villages now facing off across the Land of Rivers, war was on the verge of eruption.
The Eastern Front was no longer as peaceful as before. In recent days, more Konoha ninja had come to scout, and Kumogakure ninjas had also begun peeking across the sea.
In addition to those expected enemies, Ishiro even spotted occasional figures from Kirigakure and Sunagakure—countries that had nothing to do with the Eastern Front.
There were also traces of minor nations: shinobi from the Grass and Waterfall countries were seen skulking in the area.
Some patrols even reported seeing samurai from the Land of Iron passing through nearby towns.
Over these five days, Ishiro hadn't made any major moves. There were two reasons: first, the enemy scouts were few in number—too insignificant to waste his time and effort on; and second, he wasn't yet sure how the village leadership would view his previous operation.
After all, war hadn't officially begun. When it did, which nations were friend or foe would become clear. For now, Ishiro chose caution.
But now, that hesitation was gone—Moto had returned with Ishiro's answer. Although the higher-ups hadn't given any formal statements, they had approved every B-rank jutsu on Ishiro's list. That alone meant they endorsed how he had handled the situation.
With the village's backing, Ishiro could now act decisively.
He handed out the B-rank jutsu scrolls in front of everyone, placing them into the hands of the approved recipients. The others watched on with envy and awe.
Then, using the momentum, he began organizing a mission to eliminate the spies scattered around their territory.
This time, Ishiro wouldn't act personally. His sensory scans had detected no elite jōnin, so he decided to let his three disciples join the operation. He himself would watch from the shadows to ensure their safety.
His targets were Konoha, Grass, and Waterfall shinobi. His orders were clear: eliminate them.
As for the Kumogakure scouts, the orders were different—drive them away using overwhelming force, then supervise their retreat from the Land of Earth.
Once the mission was assigned, Ishiro watched as the selected ninja left the training grounds, excited for battle. He offered words of encouragement to those who weren't chosen and promised they would get their chance next time.
Then, quietly, he followed his three disciples from a distance.
Their mission was to eliminate a taijutsu-focused chūnin. Ishiro had only provided a rough location; everything else—reconnaissance, planning, and execution—was up to them.
This wasn't going to be easy. None of the three were officially at chūnin level yet. While they each had aspects of their strength that approached it, they were far from complete shinobi.
For example, Kawakita's physical conditioning was gradually syncing with kenjutsu—something that had taken Ishiro by surprise. Perhaps it was the boy's love for and obsession with swords that had brought out this potential.
Tomoe, the weakest among the three, had reached a standard chūnin-level hand seal speed. Although her newly-learned Wind Release jutsu hadn't been simplified yet, with proper teamwork she could still make a difference.
Kajiyama Ri, meanwhile, had surpassed the average chūnin in terms of the number of jutsu he knew. His hand seal speed was still slow, but if he successfully cast Water Pressure Line, its B-rank level power could definitely catch the enemy off guard.
In short, while they each had individual strengths, none of them had the comprehensive strength of a chūnin. More importantly, they had never faced true life-or-death battle—a trial of blood and fire.
Ishiro himself had faced such a trial as a child, when he was forced to confront a Kirigakure spy. Though it hadn't immediately made him stronger, the experience left a lasting impact.
That generation of shinobi—thanks to Ishiro's example—saw many students venture out into real battle early on. Ikura was one of them. Though he'd started later than Ishiro, he too had undergone his metamorphosis early.
Sometimes Ishiro wondered—maybe the reason Ikura had never appeared in the original story was because that version of him never experienced such a formative test. Without a ninja's will forged in childhood, perhaps he'd grown up as just another ordinary prodigy.
That was only a guess. Maybe the canon Ikura died young. No one could say for sure.
But regardless, Ishiro knew one thing: to become a real shinobi, this trial was unavoidable.
Until now, he hadn't let his three disciples take that step because he hadn't found a suitable mission. But now he had—this lone taijutsu chūnin was the perfect test.
Floating about seven or eight meters above the ground using the Light-Weight Boulder Technique and camouflage jutsu, Ishiro quietly followed the three.
Among his students, Tomoe's sensory skills were sharp. If he followed on foot, he'd risk being detected. But by staying in the air, his presence would likely go unnoticed. After all, most sensory types only monitored ground movement—something Ishiro, as one of Iwagakure's top sensory shinobi, knew all too well.
The three moved in battle formation, advancing at a steady pace toward their target's location.
At the front, Kawakita asked their temporary team leader, Kajiyama Ri, "How far now?"
Though he tried to keep his voice calm, both Kajiyama and Tomoe could hear the tension. But they didn't laugh—because they were just as nervous. After all, they were about to face a chūnin alone. That was a tall order for three recent graduates.
Tomoe in particular was deeply anxious. Her long-term goal had only ever been to reach chūnin. Now she had to kill one.
Kajiyama, thanks to his upbringing, was a bit more composed. But as team leader, the pressure on him was greater than the others.
He swallowed hard and replied as confidently as he could, "Around three kilometers. We'll move one more kilometer before beginning reconnaissance. Tomoe, we'll be counting on you then."
"Mm." Tomoe nodded firmly, unwilling to drag her teammates down.
Kawakita didn't ask anything else and pressed forward in silence. The atmosphere grew tense once again.
None of the three tried to break the silence. Kajiyama—normally the liveliest of the group—was fully focused on the upcoming fight.
Soon, they reached their designated position and took cover behind a large boulder to begin scouting.
The plan was simple: Kawakita and Kajiyama would guard, while Tomoe used sensory ninjutsu.
After a short while, she picked up something. But the news wasn't good.
"The enemy is moving. Ten o'clock direction, heading west. Not fast—looks like walking, not running."
That wasn't what they expected. Kawakita looked blankly at Kajiyama, unsure what to do.
Kajiyama didn't have a better answer either. But his father had taught him that being decisive—even if wrong—was better than being indecisive.
After a moment of thought, he said, "We'll follow. Let's try to close the distance as much as possible. But don't follow his path. Circle around and approach from another direction."
Tomoe nodded and recalibrated, choosing a concealed route that would bring them closer without alerting the target.
Meanwhile, about two kilometers away, beside a small river, a chūnin from Kirigakure was searching for a new hiding spot.
Coincidentally, the target Ishiro had chosen for his students was just like his own first opponent years ago—a Kirigakure chūnin. This one was named Yukizaburō, and he had come to this area simply to observe Iwagakure's layout.
Though the Land of Water was far from the Land of Earth, understanding its terrain would help in future strategy planning. While the chance of conflict between the two nations wasn't high, it was still a prudent move.
Kirigakure had sent small, low-strength squads and instructed them to act independently to avoid detection. Yukizaburō's job was simple: observe patrol activity in this region.
Because they couldn't get too close, the idea was to use indirect observation and inference to estimate the number and strength of Iwagakure forces.
He had been hiding behind a dirt mound along the river but was now relocating.
At that exact moment, Ishiro's three students were approaching.
If Yukizaburō had stayed put, Kajiyama might have been able to plan a detailed ambush and gain the upper hand immediately. But now that the target was moving, planning became much harder.
That said, moving had its drawbacks. The hiding place Yukizaburō was leaving had been carefully chosen—it was trapped and ideal for him. By moving, he gave up those advantages.
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