Chapter 353: The Chaos in Kirigakure
After hearing Kiyoshi Ishizawa's analysis, Ishiro recalled the situation from the original story. At that time, Sasori of the Red Sand had used that scroll for a long time, and eventually, its energy was depleted, and the scroll automatically disappeared.
Now, listening to Kiyoshi's analysis, Ishiro felt it made a certain amount of sense.
But regardless of whether it was right or wrong, the fact that Kiyoshi Ishizawa had learned the Hydrification Technique from it was undeniable.
After some thought, Ishiro asked, "Kiyoshi, in your judgment, is it possible for others to learn this Hydrification Technique?"
Kiyoshi Ishizawa mastering this secret jutsu by himself was not of great use. His talent was what it was; if things went exceptionally well in the future, he might become an elite jonin, but the possibility of becoming Kage-level was not high. His help to Iwagakure wouldn't be that significant.
But if this secret jutsu could be taught to others, then its usefulness would be immense. Although Iwagakure didn't have many Water Release ninja, a secret jutsu that could greatly enhance a ninja's survivability would undoubtedly bring a huge boost to the overall strength of the village.
Bella and the others also looked at Kiyoshi Ishizawa with expressions of anticipation.
Kiyoshi did not hesitate; he had clearly considered this question before coming. He said directly, "It's possible, but it requires a very high level of proficiency with the water element."
Ishiro pressed further, "Are there any other special requirements?"
Only proficiency with the water element? Could that even be considered a requirement? Every high-level ninjutsu had such a prerequisite.
Kiyoshi Ishizawa said, "There shouldn't be any others. It's just that I haven't summarized the specific training method yet. I still need some time."
"Excellent, excellent. For mastering the Hōzuki clan's Hydrification Technique, I will credit you with one A-rank mission. If you can summarize a method for others to train in the Hydrification Technique, as long as one person succeeds, I will credit you with an S-rank mission."
Kiyoshi Ishizawa nodded eagerly. He was still just a genin, a genin who had graduated a year ago. And with a teacher like Ishiro who rarely took them on missions, his mission record was very sparse.
In contrast, the mission history of Akino Atsumi, who was in his cohort, was absurdly brilliant. She had one A-rank mission record from confronting Obito Uchiha, and even an S-rank mission record for finding the Monkey Clan's territory. In addition to that, she had also received an A-rank mission record during the research on the beyond-S-rank seal at Uzushiogakure.
Kiyoshi Ishizawa, on the other hand, had only basked in Akino's glow, receiving a B-rank mission record for helping to locate the Monkey Clan's settlement by performing the Summoning Jutsu. He couldn't help it; his chakra reserves were too small, and the number of times he could perform the Summoning Jutsu was far less than the chunin and jonin in the village.
Now, hearing that he might receive an S-rank mission record, Kiyoshi was instantly ecstatic. It's decided. I'm not sleeping for the next few days.
...
Following the conclusion of Iwagakure's joint Chunin Exams, the ninja world entered a brief period of absolute peace. Four of the five great hidden villages were focused on developing their strength, while Kirigakure was busy with internal strife. The ninja world was a picture of harmony.
Ishiro also stayed honestly in the village during this time, guiding his three disciples and occasionally taking them on some low-level missions.
Time passed. More than half a year later, within Kirigakure.
Ishiro, disguised as a Mist Anbu, stood in a building, frowning at the deserted street outside. The situation in Kirigakure was so tense that there was hardly anyone on the streets, which prevented even a person with ulterior motives like Ishiro from fishing in troubled waters.
Three days ago, Ishiro had received an urgent intelligence report from a field ninja, stating that the number of ninja entering and leaving Kirigakure recently was extremely high. Ishiro realized that a new round of chaos in Kirigakure was imminent. Considering that he had been in the Land of Earth for quite some time, he immediately rushed to Kirigakure at top speed.
Kirigakure was indeed as the intelligence described. Many ninja were coming and going, and most were not using the main gate, instead directly crossing the outermost protective walls and forcibly breaching the sensory barrier. So, Ishiro immediately followed local customs and snuck in with them. Sure enough, after entering, he caused no disturbance at all. Not even a single Anbu came to investigate.
After entering Kirigakure, Ishiro began to personally investigate various parts of the village.
Based on the information provided by the intelligence ninja, combined with his own findings and finally cross-referenced with the original story, Ishiro roughly analyzed that there were currently four main factions in Kirigakure.
The first faction was naturally the root of all the chaos: Yagura Karatachi, controlled by Obito. Yagura's individual combat power was unrivaled in Kirigakure, but due to Ishiro's butterfly effect, Yagura had few loyal subordinates in this timeline. Most had been forcibly roped onto his war chariot by virtue of his status as Mizukage.
The second faction was an alliance of various Kekkei Genkai ninja clans. This faction had a large number of people. Although they lacked a top-tier combatant, their average combat power was much stronger than the other factions. And because they were under the threat of death from Yagura, they were relatively united. After investigating, Ishiro discovered that this bloodline clan alliance not only included Kekkei Genkai clans but also many secret jutsu families, including the Hōzuki clan.
The third faction was an alliance of small and medium-sized ninja clans. These clans, with the elder Genshi at their core, had a huge number of ninja but were relatively loose, and the alliance was only an alliance in name. This clan alliance was a faction planning to reap the rewards as the fisherman in the proverb.
The fourth group of ninja couldn't even be considered a faction. These ninja were mainly civilian-born, represented by some jonin, and had publicly declared that they would not participate in any side's battles. Ishiro discovered that, like these civilian-born ninja, a considerable number of Mist Anbu also remained neutral. These civilian-born ninja and Anbu ninja belonged to a completely neutral party. They were also the main force currently maintaining the minimal operation of Kirigakure as a military institution. They still insisted on carrying out missions every day, and the Anbu were also trying their best to maintain order. It was just that they did not listen to the commands of the council of elders or even the Mizukage, instead taking missions directly from a temporary mission hall.
It was precisely because these Anbu were active throughout Kirigakure that Ishiro's appearance in his Anbu disguise in the relatively deserted village did not seem so out of place.
The existence of these four factions made the current situation in Kirigakure very peculiar.
During the day, everyone kept to themselves. The civilian-born ninja took on missions to leave the village as usual, and even some ninja from the smaller clans did the same. Kirigakure thus maintained a superficial peace.
At night, the civilian-born ninja would try to go out as little as possible. At this time, the sounds of ninja battles would occasionally ring out within the village. The fighting mainly occurred between Yagura's subordinates and the bloodline clan ninja, but sometimes it also involved ninja from the small and medium-sized clans. However, most of the battles were not very intense. Often, they would withdraw after a brief contact.
But there were exceptions. For example, right now, on a rooftop not far from Ishiro, there was a battle. Seven ninja were besieging four Anbu. Ishiro could see that all eleven of them were quite skilled. The side with the advantage had three jonin, and the other four were chunin. The leader of the besieged side was a jonin of considerable strength, and the other three, though only chunin, could fight a jonin together for a while without being at a disadvantage.
Not wanting to attract the attention of the fighting parties, Ishiro ducked back into the room, only keeping track of the movements over there with his Mind's Eye.
The side with the advantage was planning to wear down their opponents, only maintaining their attacks without fighting desperately. The besieged party tried to break out several times but was blocked each time.
If this continued, the four Mist Anbu were sure to die. Once their battle was over, Ishiro could continue to look for opportunities to stir up trouble.
But who would have known that the Anbu captain, seeing no hope of breaking through, would suddenly erupt with a violent surge of chakra? He then endured a kunai piercing through his abdomen to unleash a large-scale ninjutsu.
"Water Style: Water Formation Pillar!"
A water pillar over ten meters wide broke through the encirclement, creating an escape opportunity for the remaining three. Unfortunately, these three did not choose to escape on their own, but instead brought their heavily injured captain with them.
Whether these four could ultimately escape was originally none of Ishiro's business, but as luck would have it, the water pillar's attack was aimed directly at the house where Ishiro was hiding.
With his Mind's Eye, Ishiro naturally wouldn't be injured, having dodged the attack's path early on. But, looking at the wall in front of him that was now suddenly half-gone, Ishiro was speechless. It was impossible to find a new place to hide now. He could only move while the opponents were still fighting. He figured they probably wouldn't be too interested in a bystander who clearly had no intention of interfering. Of course, if these people wanted to court death, Ishiro wouldn't deny them their wish.
However, accidents often don't announce themselves before they arrive.
As the four fleeing Anbu passed by Ishiro's front, one of them was suddenly hit by a shuriken. He then fell sideways into the room where Ishiro was, along with the Anbu captain he was supporting.
Ishiro and the two of them stared blankly at each other.
Then, the other two also stopped fleeing and quickly followed them inside.
Ishiro blinked. Aren't you guys supposed to be from the Village of the Bloody Mist? Is it necessary to be this united?
Before Ishiro or any of the four Anbu could speak, the ninja from outside charged in.
Ishiro glanced over at them.
The two jonin who had just rushed over were simultaneously startled. How is there another Anbu in the room? And what's with this person's strength? His presence is so strong. Is this an ambush?
Out of caution, the two jonin retreated again. Then, along with the other ninja, they entered a standoff with Ishiro's group of five.
Seeing this, Ishiro, not wanting to reveal his identity, was about to run and leave this place of conflict. Who would have thought that the Anbu captain, who was now on his last breath, would suddenly speak up: "Senior, for the sake of us both being Anbu, I ask you to take care of my three subordinates."
After saying this, he breathed his last. Ishiro was stunned. You want me to take care of your Mist Anbu? Are you kidding me?
Who knew how, but the three of them seemed to have a sudden epiphany. Realizing the current situation was critical and no time for sentimentality, they actually bowed slightly to Ishiro in unison, signaling for him to give the command.
Ishiro looked at the three Anbu, then at the Mist ninja outside who were discussing whether to launch a full-scale assault. It seemed that perhaps, maybe, possibly... he didn't have to run anymore.
♧♧♧
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
♧♧♧
-> 35 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.patreon.com/c/Segais
(Just remove the hyphen to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you