Chapter 483: Haku Learns the Truth
Haku Mizunashi's mind was indeed in turmoil. He looked at Ishiro, then at Fujii Kaoru and Kamizuru Tsuruhime, his mouth open, but he didn't know what to say.
Ishiro smiled. "Haku, don't be nervous. No matter what you choose in the end, you must not lose the composure a ninja should have."
"First, take a deep breath and compose yourself. Right now, even your chakra is fluctuating wildly. Such a state of mind is not suitable for making any judgments."
Hearing this, Haku closed his eyes and took several deep breaths.
After a long while, when he opened his eyes again, he was calmer. His chakra was no longer fluctuating, and his breathing was no longer ragged. But his heartbeat was still a little faster than normal.
Seeing this, Ishiro smiled internally. It was normal to be shocked, but to be able to regain his composure so quickly meant the impact wasn't that great. The psychological change shouldn't be too drastic.
Ishiro said, "Haku, you, Sōkai—oh, Sōkai is Chūkō—and Neji. You were all children with Kekkei Genkai that I brought back from other villages."
"You live with Sōkai and Neji. You must have heard them talk about their experiences in Konoha, right?"
Haku nodded. "Brother Chūkō talks about his past a lot, but Neji rarely mentions it."
Ishiro nodded. "Those two know where they came from. Think about how they feel about Iwagakure now."
Haku thought for a moment. "I remember at first, they were both a bit distant from me and Kurotsuchi. Their relationship with Father and Mother seemed even more distant."
"But I don't know when it started; that feeling of rejection disappeared."
Ishiro smiled. "I know when that started. It's because their clans were not treated well in their respective villages."
"Neji's father became a scapegoat for his uncle, a branch family member dying for the main family. So from the very beginning, Neji had no sense of belonging to Konoha."
"But Neji's branch family was still in Konoha, so he subconsciously felt that was his home."
"It wasn't until later, when he saw how much effort the village put into trying to remove the Caged Bird Seal on his forehead, that he truly accepted Iwagakure."
"His current thinking is probably: rescue his suffering branch family members from Konoha and bring them here to live."
"And, of course, to get revenge on the main family. As for how he plans to do that once he's strong enough, I don't know."
Haku nodded slightly, pondering Ishiro's words.
Ishiro just wanted him to empathize with Neji's experience, not to think he and Neji were the same.
So Ishiro continued, "As for Sōkai, he's just a blockhead."
He rubbed his brow.
Hearing this, Haku also smiled. He remembered some of the foolish things Sōkai did in daily life. Although Sōkai was a few years older, his intelligence was indeed worrying.
Thinking of Sōkai, he then thought of Riori Uzumaki, whose intelligence was on a similar level.
Thinking of Riori, Haku suddenly asked, "Teacher Ishiro, how did Sister Riori's clan join the village?"
He knew the Uzumaki clan were once the masters of the Land of Whirlpools; it was in the academy textbooks. But the books didn't mention why they joined Iwagakure, and the teachers never taught it.
Ishiro smiled. "That was just after the Second Great Shinobi War. Konoha had suffered heavy losses."
"So, Kumo, Kiri, and Suna launched a surprise attack on the Land of Whirlpools, Konoha's staunch ally."
"The three great villages joined forces and wiped out the Uzumaki clan. Our Lord Third led his troops and rescued many Uzumaki clan members from them. Among them were the elders of Riori and Karin. Since then, the Uzumaki have been members of our village."
"Out of consideration for their feelings, the village didn't record the event in too much detail."
"However, the Uzumaki's situation is different from yours. Many of them came to the village, and they have almost no clansmen left anywhere else. Plus, the village has been sincere in its treatment of them, so they quickly accepted Iwagakure."
Haku was thoughtful. "Teacher Ishiro, Kirigakure also participated in the destruction of the Uzumaki clan?"
Ishiro nodded. "Yes. Kiri and Kumo were the ringleaders. They killed every Uzumaki member they could find."
"But that has nothing to do with you, so don't overthink it. If we're bringing up old history, the Land of Earth also fought a war with the Land of Whirlpools in the early years."
"There's no need to get caught up in such old, trivial matters. If ninja were to remember every single grudge, no one would ever have peace."
"For example, us and Kirigakure. We've fought wars against each other, but aren't we allies now?"
Haku nodded with a glimmer of understanding.
Ishiro continued, "Let's go back to Sōkai. His clan, the Uchiha, is the number one clan in Konoha and one of its founders."
"But Konoha's leadership has always suppressed them, and now they're even thinking about how to exterminate the Uchiha with minimal cost."
"Sōkai understands this, which is why he wants to build a new home for the Uchiha clan here."
"But bringing the Uchiha out of Konoha is an incredibly difficult task. A great battle will be unavoidable, and his clansmen will likely suffer heavy casualties. It's even possible the entire clan will be wiped out. When that time comes, you'll have to comfort him."
Hearing this, Haku's face showed worry. He was worried for his simple-minded but tough big brother.
Seeing this, Ishiro finally sighed in relief. Haku's overall stance was still with Iwagakure. At least in terms of family and friendship, he was still habitually reliant on the village.
So, Ishiro began to play his final card. "Of course, Haku, your clan's situation in Kirigakure was much better."
"Back then, the Fourth Mizukage was controlled by that mysterious Uchiha we just talked about. He was constantly targeting Kiri's major clans."
"The Kaguya clan, Kiri's largest clan at the time, was wiped out."
"Later, the Mizunashi, Hōzuki, and other major clans united to fight the Fourth Mizukage. In the end, he was overthrown, but these clans also suffered heavy losses."
"Haku, I've looked into it. Your biological father also died in that battle."
"As for your biological mother, she died at the hands of that same mysterious Uchiha."
Haku's face turned pale. He couldn't say a word. Ishiro's sudden revelation was too much for him to take.
At that moment, Fujii Kaoru spoke up. "Teacher Ishiro, if Haku had stayed in Kirigakure, would he have been killed by that Uchiha too?"
Ishiro gave Kaoru a thumbs-up in his mind.
He had been planning to make that point subtly himself. Having it come from Kaoru's mouth was much more natural.
Ishiro deliberately thought for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Most likely, yes. That Uchiha killed all children over the age of seven."
"Given Haku's age at the time, he wouldn't have been on the battlefield with his clansmen. He would have been at home. That Uchiha probably wouldn't have spared him."
Haku looked blankly at Ishiro and Kaoru. He hadn't yet recovered from the news of his parents' deaths and couldn't follow their line of thought.
Ishiro and the others fell silent, waiting quietly.
After a long time, Haku said, "Teacher Ishiro, my mind is a mess right now."
Ishiro said, "Go home and rest. If you have something on your mind, talk to your family."
"Captain Kitsuchi, Captain Shiden, and Lord Third have all said that if you want to go to Kirigakure, they want me to support your decision."
"Father... Mother... Grandpa?" Haku murmured to himself.
After another moment of silence, he said, "Teacher Ishiro, I want to go home now."
Ishiro nodded and created a shadow clone to escort Haku back to Kitsuchi's house.
After Haku left, Ishiro turned his attention to Kamizuru Tsuruhime.
She was from a clan of bee users. Ishiro had no experience to teach her in that regard, but he could provide her with many conveniences.
From the first day he took her on as a disciple, Ishiro had been using his authority to help her train. For example, finding suitable places to raise bees, or environments that could help strengthen them.
In addition, he had given her a task: to continue reducing the size of her bees.
"Tsuruhime, how big are your bees now?" Ishiro asked, wanting to see the results of her efforts.
Kamizuru Tsuruhime held out her hand, and a dozen bees flew out from her sleeve.
Ishiro glanced at them and nodded. "Good, that's about right. The insects of Konoha's Aburame clan are this size."
"Although I don't understand insect control, since the Aburame defeated the Kamizuru clan back then, we must acknowledge their strengths."
"Absorb their good points, develop your own advantages, and then surpass them."
Tsuruhime's head drooped slightly. Because of that defeat, the Kamizuru clan's status in Iwagakure had plummeted, and their lives were difficult.
Ishiro ruffled her hair. "Past defeats are history. You have to look forward. In the future, you will defeat the Aburame and wash away your ancestors' shame."
"Your clan should still have methods for controlling bees in combat. You can practice those on your own; I won't interfere."
"First, let's create a training plan to cultivate various abilities in your bees. For example, water resistance, fire resistance, and poison resistance."
"At the same time, you must also pay attention to their natural mutations. If you find one that is particularly fast or strong, you must be sure to cultivate it and breed new generations."
With that, Ishiro took out a dozen bottles of poison. "These are poisons prepared by the Medical Division. Their toxicity ranges from low to high."
"Use these to practice. First, cultivate bees that are immune to poison."
"Once you've done that, you can practice controlling the bees to absorb toxins from a ninja's body. I will arrange for the Medical Division to assist you in this. Whenever a ninja is poisoned, you can help with the treatment."
Kamizuru Tsuruhime nodded excitedly. Her clan had declined. She had wanted to do these things, but she couldn't.
The little girl carefully took the dozen bottles of poison.
Ishiro added a word of caution, "Go slowly when testing the poisons. Don't rush. The most toxic of these can easily kill a genin. You must be careful yourself. Remember not to use too much poison in your experiments."
"I understand, Teacher Ishiro!" she replied quickly.
She then happily ran off to the side to begin her experiments.
Finally, Ishiro looked at Fujii Kaoru. The girl lowered her head, looking insecure.
Seeing the unconfident little girl, Ishiro smiled and ruffled her hair. "Little Kaoru, be more confident. You're a genius too."
"When I wrote to the Daimyo about taking you as my disciple, he was very happy. He is looking forward to seeing you grow."
This was the truth. After receiving Ishiro's letter, the Daimyo had immediately agreed and had allocated another large sum of funds to Iwagakure. He didn't understand much about ninja, but his guards had told him that this Fujii Kaoru had poor talent, yet she had been chosen by Ishiro. And Ishiro was famous for turning trash into treasure.
So the Daimyo had blind faith in Ishiro. He was waiting for Ishiro to train an outstanding Guardian Ninja for him. He had heard that the Daimyo of the Land of Fire had recruited many non-Konoha ninja as his guardians, and they were already on duty. The Land of Earth's Daimyo scoffed at this. How could such wild-born ninja be as good as those formally trained by a great village? And among those trained by a great village, a Kage's disciple was the most valued. And among all the Kage, his own Tsuchikage was the best teacher.
Once Fujii Kaoru grew up, she would surely be strong. He could arrange a spar with the Land of Fire Daimyo's guardians. The Daimyo was already fantasizing about the wonderful future.
So, the high command of Iwagakure was very happy about Ishiro taking on Fujii Kaoru as a disciple.
Hearing Ishiro mention the Daimyo, Kaoru looked up in surprise. She had never imagined that she, who everyone thought was a failure, could attract the attention of both the Daimyo and the Kage. The little girl was now both excited and nervous—excited to be noticed by these two great figures, and nervous that she might disappoint them.
Ishiro said, "Little Kaoru, for some reason, your Fire Release is especially weak, but there will be a way to solve this problem in the future."
"Even if it can't be solved, as you get stronger, your chakra will also increase. Your Fire Release will still be able to kill people then."
"Ninja are all glass cannons. Fire Release is already powerful. You don't need that much power to kill an enemy."
"If all else fails, you can use your talent to learn Fire-nature shape transformation before anyone else."
"Since your Great Fireball is weak, then compress it. Increase its power through shape transformation."
"And, the Great Fireball is only a C-rank jutsu. Its burning effect is average. Once you learn B-rank Fire Release, will you still be afraid of not being able to kill people?"
Of course, these words were all nonsense, just to deceive a naive little girl.
The main reason for this was that Ishiro himself still had no idea what was wrong with Fujii Kaoru's Fire Release.
But if a white lie could make the little girl more confident and more motivated in her training, that was also a good thing.
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