Chapter 478: Ning Mizunashi
A few days later, Ishiro once again invited Ning Mizunashi to his office. He put on a conflicted expression, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't bring himself to.
Ning Mizunashi frowned, thinking: What kind of scheme is the Tsuchikage trying to play now?
After a long, conflicted pause, Ishiro finally sighed. "There is a matter I wish to discuss with you, Senior Ning."
He deliberately chose his words carefully. "About the mission Senior Ning submitted last time... let's just consider it uncompleted."
"We won't take any payment for it. However, I still hope you will convey my previous sentiments to your village. Iwagakure still hopes to cooperate with Kirigakure."
"It's just that we failed this mission. I hope we can continue to work together in the future."
Ning Mizunashi's frown deepened. He thought for a moment. "Lord Tsuchikage, is it because the payment was insufficient?"
Ishiro quickly shook his head. "No, no. Although we lost quite a few men in this operation and suffered some setbacks, Iwagakure would never raise the price on the spot."
"It's just... sigh... we truly found nothing. Senior Ning, let's just forget about this matter."
Hearing Ishiro speak so evasively, Ning found it unbearable. "Lord Tsuchikage, the Land of Earth and the Land of Water are staunch allies."
"Kirigakure and Iwagakure have fought together many times and are allies who trust each other."
"If there is something on your mind, Lord Tsuchikage, please don't hide it. Please speak plainly."
Ishiro heaved a heavy sigh. "Since Senior Ning insists, then I will speak. We did indeed find the hiding place of that mysterious Uchiha."
"It's just... it's a place we cannot go, and your village cannot go either."
Ning urged him on. "Where? As long as the intelligence is accurate, I will pay the fee immediately."
This was the sentence Ishiro was waiting for. He feigned another sigh. "In the Land of Iron!"
"Unfortunately, ninja from our Six Great Villages are forbidden from entering the Land of Iron. So, regrettably, we could not determine his exact location within the country."
Ning Mizunashi frowned, considering this. The intelligence seemed plausible.
He said, "Lord Tsuchikage, rest assured, the promised payment will be sent. I only ask that you keep this matter confidential for now."
But Ishiro shook his head. "Our investigation was detected. I cannot be sure if he will leave the Land of Iron."
Hearing this, Ning said, "I will return to my village immediately. My apologies for troubling you during this time, Lord Tsuchikage."
Ishiro replied, "Senior Ning has urgent business. I won't keep you."
After tricking Ning Mizunashi into leaving, Ishiro began to carefully study the four scrolls the White Zetsu clone had given him.
"Wood Release. It's all Wood Release," Ishiro muttered to himself.
Wood Release was undoubtedly an extremely advanced technique, but Obito Uchiha was also certain that Ishiro could never learn it.
Ishiro could develop one Kekkei Genkai after another through a talent Obito didn't understand, but Obito was absolutely convinced he could not develop Wood Release.
As someone who had transplanted the First Hokage's cells and possessed Wood Release, Obito was undoubtedly the foremost authority on this matter. The miraculous nature of the First's cells was not on the level of ordinary people; it was practically on the level of a Sage.
Obito didn't know how Madara had managed to integrate the First's cells, but he was sure Ishiro couldn't do it.
So he had confidently handed over these useless notes as rent.
Obito even thought it would be for the best if Ishiro, out of greed, tried to research Wood Release and the First Hokage's cells. He might be bogged down for years, even decades, with no time to improve his own strength.
As Obito predicted, Ishiro could not learn Wood Release.
Wood Release was a special Kekkei Genkai that included the Yang nature. It could even be considered a Kekkei Tōta. And Ishiro's Yang Release was pathetic.
But Ishiro had never intended to learn Wood Release.
Can Wood Release notes only be used to learn Wood Release? That's the kind of thinking a ninja on Genius's level would have.
If Ishiro could find a way to improve his Porcelain Release from Madara's notes on Storm Release, then he naturally hoped to find a way to improve his Light Release from the Wood Release notes.
He remembered receiving a Wood Release scroll during a previous rent collection. He found that scroll, laid it out with the other four, and then, after some thought, flew back to Obito's base.
"Genius! Genius! Come out!" Ishiro shouted at the ground.
Soon, a White Zetsu clone emerged.
All the clones looked the same; Ishiro couldn't tell them apart. "Are you the one who told me where Genius was last time?"
The White Zetsu clone: ...
Who told you? You tricked it out of me! The clone thought, but it didn't explain. "Yes, it was me."
Ishiro said, "You all look the same. Do you have a name? If not, I'll give you one. You can use Earth Release, and I'm the Tsuchikage. We're so fated to meet. Why don't I call you Ah Tsuchi?"
The White Zetsu clone: ...
Ishiro continued, "Ah Tsuchi, I looked at the scroll you gave me. Genius already gave me this one last time. Give me a new one."
He threw a scroll he had already copied down to the ground.
Ah Tsuchi was still debating whether to reject the name. "The master said these scrolls are all new. It's impossible for there to be a duplicate."
Ishiro said, "Ah Tsuchi, you know what level Genius's intelligence is at, don't you? Do you really think he can understand something this profound? He was just pretending to know what he was talking about with you. Be good now and give me a new one."
Ah Tsuchi: I really want to refute him, but why does it feel like he's making so much sense?
In the end, after some consideration, Ah Tsuchi threw another scroll to Ishiro. It wasn't because he agreed with Ishiro's assessment of Obito, but because Obito had said that Wood Release was useless to Ishiro anyway.
Ishiro took the scroll, saw it was still Wood Release, and pretended to look disappointed. He said "see you next time" to Ah Tsuchi and flew away.
Seeing him leave, Ah Tsuchi sighed in relief and sank back into the ground.
After returning to Iwagakure, Ishiro laid out the new scroll with the previous five.
Hm, six. That's a lucky number. I like it. Of course, seven, eight, or nine would be even luckier. The more, the merrier.
Ishiro began to carefully study the Wood Release notes.
Compared to the other Kekkei Genkai notes, Wood Release was far more obscure and difficult to understand.
Madara had indeed recorded his understanding of it in detail: Wood Release, composed of Water, Earth, and Yang natures, was indeed similar to a Kekkei Tōta. However, due to the special nature of Yang Release, Wood Release was different from a traditionally understood Kekkei Tōta.
In Ōnoki's Dust Release and Ishiro's Light Release, the three natures were of roughly equal status. But in Wood Release, Yang Release held the dominant position. Water and Earth were merely auxiliary; to put it more bluntly, they were a form of expression for Yang Release. The "wood" formed by Water and Earth just happened to provide an outlet for the immense life force within Yang Release.
But this was not the focus of Ishiro's research. He focused his main efforts on the harmonization of the three natures.
"Incredible!" Ishiro exclaimed. "I wonder how many years Madara spent mastering Wood Release to be able to analyze it so thoroughly."
"With Madara's level of ninjutsu mastery, if he had gotten the training method for Dust Release, he probably could have mastered it quickly."
"But he probably looked down on it. At that time, he should have already had the Rinnegan. Even a Kekkei Tōta is difficult to absorb, so he wouldn't waste his time on Dust Release."
"It seems my understanding of the Rinnegan is still too superficial. It definitely represents more than just power."
"The Rinnegan also represents a higher state of being, a level beyond that of a regular ninja."
"I used to think that Nagato, having mastered Limbo: Border Jail, could be compared to Madara. Now I see I still underestimated Madara."
"No, no, that's wrong! I made a mistake!"
"At the time of the battle at the Valley of the End, Madara and Hashirama were definitely Super-Kage level."
"But Madara's peak shouldn't have been at that time. At least, the peak of his knowledge and power should have been just before his death."
"After Madara fused the Rinnegan, his physical strength might have declined due to his decaying body, but his understanding of chakra must have been constantly improving."
"Perhaps the notes I'm reading now are not the insights of a Super-Kage, but the insights of a ninja who was approaching the level of a Sage, or had even reached it in terms of understanding."
Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Ishiro once again focused on the six scrolls, deciding to read them several more times.
Studying the Wood Release notes was slower than expected. After several days, Ishiro was still at the theoretical stage.
And now, other matters required his attention.
Squad 6 was being disbanded. Sōkai, Ayumi, and Chiga had finally become Chunin in the exam Iwagakure had just held.
It was worth mentioning that Chiga had also passed based on her combat strength.
Because this was the first Chunin Exam after the war, and the village had lost some manpower while gaining a lot of territory, the requirements for promotion had been lowered considerably. Moreover, the upcoming graduating class was much larger than in previous years, and the village needed more chunin captains to lead them.
Chiga had taken the opportunity to pass. She was thrilled. She had been preparing to advance through the support-ninja track.
Ishiro had not participated in his disciples' Chunin Exam, but he still had to worry about their post-promotion assignments. Not just Squad 6, but many other talented new chunin required his personal arrangement.
Ishiro planned to send Chiga to the Land of Bears. It had just been incorporated into Iwa's territory, and there were many rogue and missing-nin that needed to be eliminated. It was a suitable place for Chiga to practice her sensory abilities.
So, Ishiro assigned Chiga to the Anbu and had her squad sent to the Land of Bears branch to carry out missions hunting down rogue ninja.
In Ishiro's post-war plan, Suna would lose all its influence over the small countries to its north. During this period of peace, Ishiro would clean out all the rogue ninja in this area. He wanted to bring all these territories under Iwagakure's sphere of influence. Even if they didn't build branches, Iwa would seize the mission quotas of the small villages in these countries, continuously squeezing their living space.
Not just Chiga, but even Sasagawa Ayumi, who had chosen to become a chunin captain, would be leading his squad on missions in this region. This was the choice of many new chunin; without a large-scale war, these actions were rare opportunities to hone their skills.
Sōkai's arrangement was more awkward. His skills were sufficient to lead a team, but his identity was a problem. If he openly carried out missions and his identity was exposed, he would be targeted by Konoha or Obito. Ishiro didn't want him to take that risk, so he had Sōkai hide his identity and join the Anbu. He planned to let him adapt to the Anbu's procedures as a team member first, and then promote him to squad leader later. Besides, Sōkai's intelligence was not yet sufficient to serve as an Anbu squad leader.
It took several days for Ishiro to finish the paperwork for the new Chunin.
And now, another new matter required his attention:
The next round of accepting apprentices, which had already generated great excitement throughout the Ninja Academy.
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