Chapter 469: Kawakita's Shortcomings
Ishiro lowered his altitude and scanned Pakura's condition several times with his Mind's Eye. He finally sighed in relief. It was over.
Ishiro said to Ōnoki, "Third, I need to rest. I'll leave the post-battle cleanup to you. Right, collect Pakura's body. I have a use for it. It's the payment for having someone tie down Orochimaru."
Ōnoki nodded, and the two of them landed.
Soon, a medical-nin, following orders, came over to treat Ishiro.
"Lord Tsuchikage, your internal injuries are severe. You need quiet recuperation. It's best if you don't move for a short while," the medic said.
Ishiro nodded silently and followed the medic to a newly erected tent.
After the medic finished, Ishiro lay on the cot for a long time. Soon, Ōnoki and Kawakita entered.
Ōnoki first asked about Ishiro's condition, then said, "The casualties and results have been tallied. Our losses in this battle were light; fewer than one hundred of our ninja were killed in action."
"After your initial attack, we killed about another one thousand three hundred."
"The Kazekage had prepared a lot of strategic supplies for this battlefield, mostly stored in their underground shelters."
"We've captured almost all of it, so this battle's spoils should satisfy Bella. But the supplies are buried deep; it will take some time to dig everything out."
"This time, Suna lost over half their forces and a Kage-level fighter. It's safe to say that in this war, Sunagakure is now out of the game."
"With such heavy losses, even if Suna had achieved victory on the Kirigakure front, it would still be a defeat. I don't think we should attack Sunagakure itself. Consolidating our current victory is more important."
Ishiro nodded. "I agree. But don't withdraw the army yet. First, contact the village and get a status report on the other fronts."
"If things are going well elsewhere, send someone directly to Sunagakure and have the Kazekage sign the reparations treaty."
Ōnoki nodded. "Then you get some rest. I'll go check on the other fronts."
After Ōnoki left, Ishiro asked Kawakita, "Kawakita, how are your injuries?"
Kawakita smiled. "Scorch Release is incredible. If it were a one-on-one duel, I don't think I'd be a match for Pakura. Luckily, you and Lord Third were providing support from the air."
"I got burned in a few places, but it's nothing serious. It didn't affect my combat ability too much."
Ishiro nodded. "Sit down and rest. Let's see what news the Third brings back."
"Okay." Kawakita waited by Ishiro's bedside.
While Ōnoki was away, Ishiro asked, "Kawakita, have you learned that S-rank ninjutsu yet?"
Kawakita shook his head. "No. I still can't comprehend that technique. And, although it looks like swordsmanship, its essence doesn't seem to be swordsmanship, but rather a very refined application of chakra."
Ishiro thought for a moment. "Kawakita, you're currently lacking a strong, long-range attack. Your old sword-ki is clearly useless in battles at this level."
"I don't need you to copy the technique exactly. I just hope you can use this S-rank jutsu to see a possible direction for improving your swordsmanship. You don't have to practice this specific technique; the choice is yours."
"In the past, when you were weaker, I could take you to learn from sword masters. But from now on, masters who can both crush you and guide you perfectly no longer exist. You have to walk your own path. You have to figure it out for yourself."
"The village is weak in swordsmanship. We only have this one S-rank jutsu to point you in a possible direction. If this jutsu isn't suitable, you'll have to research on your own. You'll have to find your own methods."
"For example, you could visit the village elders. Ask them how the great sword masters of the past few decades fought. I'm sure they faced the same problems you do now."
Kawakita fell into deep thought.
This was something Ishiro hadn't realized before. Kawakita's talent wasn't actually that outstanding. His journey to this point was largely due to chance. He just happened to have a knack for understanding other people's sword styles, which allowed him to successfully reach the Kage-level.
But Kawakita's ability to learn independently wasn't strong. That foolish boy loved swords since he was a child, but he always practiced blindly. The path he walked was planned by Ishiro, including finding masters like Hanzō and Mifune to guide him.
Kawakita himself didn't know how to think about finding the right path. He was a simple, single-minded kid who only knew how to charge ahead blindly. If someone planned the right path for him, he could walk it steadfastly. But when no one was there to plan for him, when he needed to chart his own course, he was completely lost.
So Ishiro could only help by thinking of more methods for him, telling him where to look for answers. After telling him, Ishiro didn't need to worry much more. The single-minded fool would push himself to complete the task.
Soon, a cheerful Ōnoki entered Ishiro's temporary medical tent.
"The battles on the other fronts are over. Aside from the Takigakure front, where we were outnumbered by Konoha's superior forces and lost one thousand three hundred, it's all good news."
"Even in the Takigakure battle, we didn't lose out. It was one thousand five hundred of ours against two thousand from Konoha, and casualties on both sides were around one thousand three hundred."
Ishiro raised an eyebrow, asking uncertainly, "Really?"
If the enemy had been any of the other three great villages, he would have believed it. But to achieve such a result against Konoha was surprising.
Ōnoki nodded. "Shiden's report says it was thanks to that Uzumaki Riori girl. She continuously used hundreds of shadow clones to cast wide-range ninjutsu, causing huge casualties for Konoha."
"Ah." Ishiro suddenly recalled the scene of Riori attacking the Kumo temporary camp in the Land of Moon and was no longer surprised.
Ōnoki continued, "Obito Uchiha did infiltrate the village, but he was scared off by Akino Atsumi and Kitsuchi."
"The combination of Akino's space-time barrier and the normal perception barrier made it so Obito's movements were no longer a secret."
"Having lost his stealth, Obito didn't dare to stay in our village for long. He didn't even fight Kitsuchi; he just left."
Ishiro sneered. Obito never learns. Looks like after I recover, I'll have to have another chat with him.
Ōnoki didn't notice Ishiro's expression and continued, "Our battle with Kumo was decided the earliest. Kumo failed to update their assessment of our strength and were still looking at us with their old perspective."
"So, on the coast of the Land of Earth, Saka commanded a brilliant victory. Five thousand against five thousand, and the battle was over in less than ten minutes."
"Saka's forces crushed Kumo. With five hundred casualties, we eliminated over three thousand two hundred Kumo ninja."
"Now, Kumo has completely retreated across the sea into the Land of Lightning. The eastern front is completely over."
"I heard the battle was unbelievably fast. The Kage-level fighters hadn't even properly started fighting before it was over."
"It's a shame I couldn't see the Raikage's face when he heard the news. It must have been priceless."
Ishiro nodded. Although the result was great, it was within his expectations. He knew the current state of Iwagakure better than anyone; he had been involved in every bit of its progress.
But he couldn't help but be happy. This victory proved that his years of hard work had not been in vain.
With light losses against Kumo and light losses on his own front, and with the thousands of ninja mobilized in the village remaining untouched, this battle would not have a major impact on Iwagakure's strength.
In this decisive war, Iwagakure had preserved its strength well, while the other great villages had all suffered significant losses. This meant Iwagakure would have enough manpower to establish the new post-war order.
Ōnoki continued, "The battle in Kirigakure is also over. Both sides suffered losses, but nothing crippling."
"Konoha lost eight hundred, Suna lost three hundred, Kumo lost four hundred. Kirigakure lost about two thousand three hundred in total."
"Of the people we sent, we lost five squads. Himeki and Fūka were seriously injured. Shinya must also be seriously injured. He and his ninken are returning to the village alone."
Ishiro was stunned. "He's not with Akio Wada and the others? He came back by himself?"
Ōnoki nodded.
Ishiro said, "Shinya might be lazy, but he's not someone who disregards the bigger picture. He was our person-in-charge there. There must be a reason he abandoned all his subordinates and returned alone."
Ōnoki thought for a moment and nodded. He had paid a lot of attention to Shinya Matsutani as well. Back when he first started traveling the world, Shinya was one of his bodyguards.
Kawakita, seeing this, said, "I'll contact the village now and have them send someone to meet Shinya."
"Okay." Ishiro nodded, somewhat distractedly.
After Kawakita left, Ōnoki said, "Alright, let's consider our next steps."
Ishiro collected his thoughts. "I'm surprised Konoha's losses weren't greater this time. Across both fronts, only about two thousand."
Ōnoki said, "Konoha wasn't deeply involved in this war. It feels like they were forced onto the battlefield by Kumo and Suna. Right, isn't Konoha still in a standoff with the Akatsuki's Nagato? Do you think Konoha's losses will be heavy there?"
Ishiro shook his head. "Nagato is only there to tie down two of Konoha's Kage. It's highly unlikely a real fight will break out there."
"Good thing Suna has been defeated. The Kazekage should have received the news by now. Even though Suna's losses in Kirigakure were light, a loss is a loss. Send someone to Sunagakure immediately."
"List all our demands and force the Kazekage to sign."
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