Chapter 112: Guiding the Three Juniors
Starting from the simplest fundamentals, Ishiro first instructed Tomoe on the Three Body Techniques. This was something Ishiro himself had once spent a lot of effort mastering. Back then, his chakra reserves were even less than Tomoe's current level—he could only use one jutsu a day, and just learning the Transformation Technique took him a long time.
Because of his solid foundation, teaching Tomoe came easily to him. In just half an hour, she felt like her previous understanding had been completely wrong.
Watching her excitedly run to a corner to practice, Ishiro nodded in satisfaction. Tomoe's physical condition was poor and her chakra quantity was low, plus she had no proper guidance growing up. No wonder her performance had been so lacking. But she had decent comprehension and an innate sensitivity to chakra.
Ishiro couldn't say for sure what long-term benefits chakra sensitivity might bring, but the immediate advantage was evident: chakra control. Unfortunately, her previous training methods had been completely off-track, resulting in her putting in a lot of effort with little to show for it.
On top of that, with the pressure of the graduation exam hanging over her, Tomoe had focused her meager chakra reserves on physical training—her results were predictably poor.
Now with Ishiro's guidance, her mindset and understanding had been corrected. Suddenly, everything that once seemed difficult felt easy.
Of the Three Body Techniques, Tomoe was most adept at the Transformation Technique, so she practiced that first.
After listening to Ishiro's explanation, she began her next attempt—this time, everything felt different. Her chakra was more obedient, and she even instinctively omitted a hand seal.
Poof! She successfully transformed into her younger sister, her face full of disbelief.
Realizing what had just happened, she let out a joyful cheer—this was her first time simplifying a jutsu. She never imagined that she too could do something she once believed only geniuses could.
At that moment, Ishiro had just called over Kawakita. The two glanced toward Tomoe's celebration, then began their session.
For Kawakita, theory wasn't as important—demonstration was key. Ishiro used the wooden dummy from his own training days, striking pressure points with his blade to teach how Kawakita could assess his own progress.
Then, one by one, he analyzed each basic movement of swordsmanship, breaking it down and explaining the logic behind it.
Kawakita listened intently. The academy didn't teach anything like this. Its curriculum focused on generalized fundamentals, not weapons. And with his parents being only low-ranking shinobi, they couldn't offer much help either. Until now, Kawakita had relied entirely on self-teaching.
Thanks to Ishiro's guidance, he corrected several training movements and habits. Then he went off to practice. But progress in swordsmanship required time—there was no quick path to mastery.
Last came Kajiyama Ri. His father knew some Water Release, but it wasn't his main specialty. Thus, Ri had barely any exposure to higher-level knowledge—there was no way he could develop new jutsu on his own.
So Ishiro's first goal was to broaden his horizons. He took Ri to the river and demonstrated all the Water Release jutsu he had learned.
After showing each technique, Ishiro briefly explained how they worked. The explanations weren't deep—just enough to give Ri a broader understanding of what Water Release could look like.
Then came the highlight—hand seal simplification. Ishiro broke down how he had simplified each jutsu's seals and shared the reasoning behind them.
Ri had already been trying to simplify Water Wall, so with this direction, he now had clarity and immediately resumed training.
All the content taught today was theoretical. Ishiro didn't dive into practical training like Kakashi did—because his students' level was far below Naruto and friends.
Sakura and Sasuke already had excellent theoretical knowledge. Naruto, on the other hand, was so weak in theory that it was better to skip it altogether and just throw him into practice.
But Ishiro's students weren't the same. Tomoe's theory was decent—for a regular class student. The other two weren't strong in theory either. So he had to start with foundation-building.
Once the three were fully engaged, Ishiro resumed developing his Water Pressure Line jutsu.
Maybe it was the good mood. Or maybe his students' progress brought him luck. For the first time, Ishiro managed to move the Water Pressure Line after casting it.
He held the line steady at 1.5 meters in length and nudged it a tiny bit to the right—about one degree of arc—before it collapsed. The entire process took him thirty seconds.
It was far too slow for actual combat, but it was a real breakthrough.
Encouraged, he tried again. This time, he moved the same-length Water Pressure Line about two degrees—and it took even less time.
Elated, Ishiro grinned. After all these years of grinding, he had long become adept at jutsu development.
Thanks to chakra's strange properties, getting past the initial hurdle was the hardest part. Once you crossed that, everything else came with practice. Chakra almost seemed to "remember" techniques on its own.
The rest of the day flew by. All four members of Team One made great progress.
Tomoe had the fastest growth—she'd now learned the third of the Three Body Techniques: Substitution Technique. The other two techniques also required fewer seals.
Honestly, Ishiro was surprised. He'd had high hopes, but this was beyond expectations. Tomoe was smart—aware that her chakra was limited, so she spent most of her time thinking. She only used jutsu when she was sure it would work.
This alone gave her an edge over Ishiro's younger self. Back then, his chakra sensitivity was poor. He relied purely on strong spiritual power and endless repetition to build mastery.
As for Ishiro's own progress, he had achieved the first major milestone in evolving Water Pressure Line. His short-term goal was now complete.
Kajiyama Ri gained the most in perspective. Seeing twelve different Water Release techniques—including the three C-rank jutsu Ishiro had recently acquired—gave him a deeper appreciation for how flexible and powerful the element could be.
Strengthened in basics, he now felt more confident about simplifying hand seals, and even had new ideas for reshaping Water Wall. While he hadn't succeeded yet, it felt within reach.
Kawakita, on the surface, had the least progress—but his was the most consistent and enduring. Swordsmanship had no shortcuts, but Ishiro's corrections helped him accelerate meaningfully. His improvements were subtle but steady.
By the end of the day, Team One was riding high. Ishiro waved his hand and declared, "Let's go eat some grilled meat!"
This had become their tradition—but the three kids groaned in unison.
"We're sick of grilled meat!"
Ishiro ignored their protests and led the way. The three disciples exchanged a resigned glance and followed.
Despite their complaints, they still ate like beasts. Training burned too much energy.
Watching them wolf down meat, Ishiro chuckled. Even if they were tired of it, grilled meat was one of the best recovery meals. Then he joined in the scramble for food.
Afterward, the three disciples rushed home to share their progress with their families. Ishiro, mentally drained from overusing Water Pressure Line, returned to his hut and went to bed early.
The next morning, he resumed the usual one D-rank mission per day routine.
Every few days, he'd hold another round of sparring and personalized instruction. And each time, his three students grew stronger and stronger.
But peaceful times can't last forever.
Roughly six months later, rumors began to spread through Sunagakure: the Third Kazekage had disappeared.
At the same time, Sasori of the Red Sand had also gone missing—but compared to a missing Kage, the loss of a young prodigy didn't make as many waves.
By the time Iwagakure received the news, the Kazekage had been gone for about a month.
Ōnoki convened a meeting with all active jōnin in the village. At that meeting, he announced the Kazekage's disappearance and issued a state of combat readiness.
Having lived through two ninja world wars, Ōnoki was extremely sensitive to signs of conflict. The disappearance of a sitting Kage was more than enough to trigger war. He was certain the other great nations were also gearing up.
Walking out of the meeting room, Ishiro felt heavy.
All these years of preparation—and now, the time had finally come.
From the moment he transmigrated, he had planned for two key periods: the Fourth Great Ninja War (as the ultimate goal), and the Third Great Ninja War (as the immediate challenge).
Based on what he knew, the Third War was less intense than the First, but still devastating. It claimed the lives of two Kage: the Third Raikage and the Third Mizukage. Including the Kazekage who was presumed dead before the war even began, that made three.
The First War had killed even more: at least three Kage had died, with the Second Hokage and Second Raikage also falling to internal conflicts. All told, five Kage were lost. It marked a complete generation shift in leadership.
The Third War was also deadly for ordinary shinobi. Even ten-year-old children from Konoha were sent to the battlefield. Konoha had essentially traded its future for victory.
Ishiro had no doubt the other villages had suffered just as much. Otherwise, Minato alone wouldn't have been enough to stop the war.
Unfortunately, canon hadn't revealed much about this period. That meant Ishiro had few references—but in the ninja world, personal strength was everything.
So all these years, his best preparation for war… was training.
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