Chapter 522: The Wood Release Insights Trade
Ishiro said, "We still have time. Tsuruhime, first, recover your chakra and properly cultivate these two little bees."
"After you've used them to breed a large number of new bees, we'll try putting them in the Dragon Vein again and see if there are any further effects."
As he spoke, he handed her a few military ration pills.
Kamizuru Tsuruhime nodded frantically, swallowed the pills, and began to cultivate her bees.
Ishiro then looked at Haku and Fujii Kaoru. "Since you're here, you two should try as well. Channel your own chakra into the Dragon Vein and see if it does anything."
Ishiro didn't have high hopes for Haku and Kaoru. His own Sage Mode hadn't triggered a reaction from the Dragon Vein, let alone these two.
The only reason Tsuruhime's bees had an effect was that bees themselves are things very close to nature.
And even then, only two of the dozen bees had survived. If that probability were applied to a person... Ishiro shook his head, not daring to think further.
Even if he knew this method could increase strength, as the Tsuchikage, Ishiro would never let his subordinates make such an attempt.
As expected, neither of their chakras piqued the Dragon Vein's interest, not even Haku's Ice Release Kekkei Genkai.
However, Ishiro, who had initially held no hope, suddenly sensed that the Dragon Vein Spirit seemed to have a slightly different feeling toward Fujii Kaoru's chakra.
This feeling flashed by, very vague. Ishiro himself wasn't even sure.
After thinking for a moment, Ishiro, deciding to give it a try, said to Fujii Kaoru, "Kaoru, try putting your special flames into the Dragon Vein. Go slowly, don't agitate it."
Fujii Kaoru nodded and did as she was told. She cast a C-rank fire jutsu, then split off a tiny wisp of it and sent it into the Dragon Vein.
Ishiro observed with his Mind's Eye, all while preparing for the Dragon Vein to attack them.
But he discovered that when Kaoru's flames entered the Dragon Vein, the Dragon Vein Spirit seemed... curious.
Ishiro carefully discerned the feeling. The Dragon Vein Spirit seemed to be... reminiscing. Perhaps it had seen this thing before, but something had happened afterward, causing problems with its memory.
The feeling of reminiscence from the Dragon Vein Spirit grew stronger and stronger, to the point that the entire Dragon Vein began to fluctuate.
Ishiro frowned. He used his Porcelain Release to shield his three disciples, ready to respond to any sudden situation.
Fortunately, while the Dragon Vein's fluctuations grew more intense, it never emitted any offensive emotions.
Only then did Ishiro refrain from stopping Kaoru.
After a while, the Dragon Vein stopped fluctuating. The feeling was as if... it couldn't remember, so it gave up.
However, the calmed Dragon Vein now showed an extraordinary interest in Fujii Kaoru's flames.
Ishiro sensed it carefully again and felt his judgment was correct. He turned to Kaoru and said, "Put more flames in. It seems to be saying... 'not enough.'"
Fujii Kaoru nodded and slowly channeled more and more flames into the Dragon Vein.
Ishiro sensed and relayed, "Not enough. Not enough. Still not enough."
At Ishiro's urging, Fujii Kaoru sent more and more flames into the Dragon Vein. First, it was wisp by wisp, then small streams.
After that, it was an entire fire jutsu. Then, she cast another, and another.
When she had cast seven fire jutsus—the limit of what she could control—she couldn't help but look at Ishiro.
Ishiro thought for a moment. "Release your control. Just cast as much fire jutsu as you can."
Fujii Kaoru nodded. She took a deep breath, and her hands flew through seals. A moment later, she shouted, "Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
This was the only A-rank fire jutsu that Fujii Kaoru had barely managed to master.
She struggled greatly to cast this A-rank jutsu.
Not only did it require a long time to form the seals, but the final jutsu wasn't as powerful as a true Great Fire Annihilation.
But to be able to do even this was extremely rare. It had to be said, Fujii Kaoru was also a gifted genius. Although her growth had been supported by the Daimyo and aided by Ishiro, her talent was still a major factor.
Excluding Haku, none of Ishiro's other disciples could cast an A-rank ninjutsu at this stage.
Ishiro felt a bit emotional. He was used to teaching disciples with mediocre talent. Suddenly encountering two geniuses like this, he was still getting used to it.
Fujii Kaoru exhausted all her chakra to cast a weakened A-rank fire jutsu, and then barely controlled the massive flame as it entered the Dragon Vein.
Kaoru actually couldn't control the Great Fire Annihilation at all; in the end, it was the Dragon Vein that actively pulled all the flames into itself.
Ishiro found this scene rather amusing.
But Fujii Kaoru's flames were truly different.
When she cast a fire jutsu, although all the steps were identical to a normal one, her flames could split and merge like the Shadow Imitation Technique. It felt like Yin Release wearing a cloak of Fire Release.
But Ishiro wasn't focused on this. Because very quickly, the entire Great Fire Annihilation was swallowed by the Dragon Vein.
Ishiro could clearly sense that after swallowing the flames, the Dragon Vein immediately broke the jutsu down into countless tiny pieces, far smaller than the single wisp Kaoru had first sent in.
If not for Ishiro's powerful perception, he might have even thought the Dragon Vein Spirit had decomposed and absorbed the flames.
The Dragon Vein scattered these flames to every part of its body. The feeling was as if it wanted to merge with the flames.
Ishiro thought for a moment and then understood what the Dragon Vein Spirit was doing. It was using its own chakra to make contact with the chakra in the flames. It was using chakra to sense.
It was perhaps hoping to use this chakra-sensing to help it remember.
Ishiro's eyes lit up. This Dragon Vein was definitely of extraordinary origin. Ishiro felt that perhaps only Madara Uchiha, in his later years after awakening the Rinnegan and achieving the Creation of All Things, would have this ability.
Ishiro stopped letting his mind wander and focused his full attention on sensing the Dragon Vein's condition.
The Dragon Vein Spirit was now like a teacher, conducting an experiment that Ishiro couldn't understand, let alone perform.
And Ishiro was doing his best to memorize the Dragon Vein's every move. Even if he couldn't do it now, it didn't mean he couldn't in the future.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but Ishiro was snapped back to reality when the Dragon Vein began to reassemble the flames.
The moment he refocused, Ishiro was stunned by the Dragon Vein's next move. It was reversing the process, reconstructing the Great Fire Annihilation.
This... Isn't this the Tenseigan's ability to absorb an enemy's ninjutsu and fire it back? Ishiro was shocked.
Could it be... that this Dragon Vein is on the level of a Sage?
It seems the Uchiha Gunbai (War Fan) also has this ability. I remember I took that fan from Obito... It should be in the village. Where did I put it?
From the Dragon Vein's process of reassembling the ninjutsu, Ishiro thought of the Tenseigan, and then he thought of the Uchiha Gunbai he had "stolen" from Obito Uchiha's base.
But his thoughts were quickly pulled back to the scene in front of him.
The situation now was that the Dragon Vein Spirit was controlling a massive sheet of flame, and it was... waiting for Fujii Kaoru to take her Great Fire Annihilation back.
From the Dragon Vein Spirit's emotions, Ishiro sensed that it was "confused" as to why Fujii Kaoru hadn't retrieved her jutsu.
The Dragon Vein was treating Kaoru's flames just like Tsuruhime's bees.
A thought struck Ishiro. He said to the bewildered Fujii Kaoru, "Reach your hand out. Try it."
Even as he said this, Ishiro was a bit nervous.
But he knew that Kaoru herself was immune to her own flames. Plus, the Dragon Vein was not emitting any malice, which was why he was willing to try.
Fujii Kaoru did as Ishiro said and reached out her hand to touch the massive flame.
But the flame didn't react. Kaoru looked at Ishiro in confusion.
Ishiro thought for a moment. "Wait. It should help you."
Sure enough, after another moment, the Dragon Vein actually took the initiative to break down the flame and channel it back into Fujii Kaoru's body.
Fujii Kaoru stared blankly as the flame got smaller and smaller, while the chakra in her own body grew more and more.
By the time the entire Great Fire Annihilation had returned to her body, she subconsciously pulled her hand back.
After waiting another moment, the underground space was completely quiet. Nothing had happened, and Fujii Kaoru was completely unharmed.
Ishiro let out a sigh of relief. "Kaoru, do you feel anything different?"
Fujii Kaoru sensed herself for a moment. "No, I don't feel anything. Same as before."
Ishiro thought, then said, "Try your fire jutsu. See if there are any changes."
Kaoru nodded. She formed the seals and said, "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."
When Kaoru cast the fire jutsu again, Ishiro's eyes immediately lit up. "The Yin Release in the flames is stronger!"
Fujii Kaoru didn't have Ishiro's powerful perception, so she couldn't detect the denser Yin Release aura in the flames.
But she said joyfully, "Ishiro-sensei, I feel like... it's easier to control the flames now!"
Ishiro nodded, equally happy. "Good. As long as you've gained something. We'll practice more when we get back."
The four of them rested a while longer. Then, as Ishiro had requested, Kamizuru Tsuruhime took a portion of her newly cultivated bees and sent them into the Dragon Vein again.
But this time, there was no effect. The Dragon Vein directly repelled the bees.
Seeing the somewhat disappointed Tsuruhime, Ishiro patted her head and smiled. "Alright, your harvest this time is already huge."
"Go back and organize your findings. Run a systematic test on the new bees' abilities, and then report the detailed data to me."
Kamizuru Tsuruhime nodded obediently. She was even more excited than Ishiro to find out what had changed about her bees.
Although she hadn't tested them yet, as their master, she could already feel the change.
Ishiro looked around. They had done everything they could. He sent a mental "goodbye" to the Dragon Vein Spirit, then flew his three disciples directly out of the underground space.
Ishiro was very satisfied with this trip to Loulan. All three of his disciples had made gains.
Even Ishiro himself felt he had learned something from watching the Dragon Vein break down and reassemble the flames.
...
Konoha Village. In a Root underground training hall, Sasuke Uchiha had come straight here after finishing at the Ninja Academy.
He skillfully picked up the ninja tools in the training yard and began his practice.
The Uchiha clan's shurikenjutsu and Fire Release ninjutsu were Sasuke Uchiha's main focus.
He had previously stopped training these two skills because, with his entire clan dead, there was no one to guide him.
But ever since Danzō had summoned him to Root, Sasuke Uchiha had begun practicing again, under Danzō's personal guidance.
Sasuke Uchiha's progress was rapid. Among his peers in Konoha, he was, without a doubt, a true genius.
Even though his classmates, like Shikamaru Nara and the others, were far stronger than their original-timeline counterparts due to the strict demands of their clan elders...
Compared to Sasuke Uchiha, who had Danzō's guidance, they were still nothing.
Compared to teaching the clueless Namikaze Naruto, guiding a genius like Sasuke was, without question, far easier.
But... Danzō was not at all happy about guiding this genius.
Because on Sasuke Uchiha, his Tongue-Cursing Seal had failed again.
It was identical to what had happened with Namikaze Naruto. The seal had weakened and vanished in the exact same amount of time.
This made Danzō feel extremely insecure. He always felt like he was nurturing a wolf that would turn on him. He always felt that Sasuke Uchiha would one day strike back at him.
After all, Danzō was perfectly clear on the truth of the Uchiha clan's destruction. He had played a major role in it.
So, every time he saw Sasuke Uchiha training desperately, driven by hatred, Danzō felt a chill run down his spine.
This was why Danzō did not teach Sasuke Uchiha how to develop his second chakra nature. He only gave him simple guidance in Fire Release and shurikenjutsu.
Standing in the shadows, Danzō quietly watched Sasuke practice for a while.
Watching Sasuke improve day by day, Danzō's hand, hidden in his wide sleeve, tightened its grip on the Wood Release insights scroll he had traded from Iwa.
Danzō had already finished reading this scroll. He had read it many times.
He had to admit, Madara Uchiha's understanding of ninjutsu was far beyond what an ordinary Kage could ever hope to glimpse.
From this scroll, Danzō had not only accelerated the development of the Wood Release contained in his right arm, but he also felt that transplanting the First Hokage's cells was now a possibility.
To transplant the First Hokage's cells, just having a Sharingan wasn't enough. He needed more Wood Release insights.
As long as I can master Wood Release like the First Hokage, what is a mere Sasuke Uchiha to be afraid of?
Thinking of Wood Release, the pressure Sasuke brought on him lightened considerably.
Danzō did not reveal himself. He melted back into the darkness.
Leaving the training hall, Danzō walked and spoke to a Root member. "Go and make a trade with the Tsuchikage. I... need more Wood Release insights."
"Yes, sir." A Root member in charge of liaising with Iwa quickly acknowledged the order and went to carry it out.
When Iwagakure received Danzō's message, Ishiro was still in Loulan. The moment Ishiro returned to the village, an assistant came to find him.
After Ishiro read the intelligence report from his assistant, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.
Giving that one Wood Release scroll to Danzō had been a calculated move. Ishiro had been waiting for this exact day.
Ishiro had never planned to make money on the first scroll. He was casting a long line to catch a big fish, waiting for Danzō to come to him for business.
Ishiro had many more of Madara Uchiha's Wood Release scrolls. If he didn't dig a chunk of flesh out of Danzō—out of Konoha—he wouldn't be able to live with himself.
Ishiro had no intention of being polite. He directly quoted an utterly ridiculous price and then quietly waited for Danzō to haggle.
Furthermore, Ishiro stated: One trade at a time. The process of obtaining these scrolls was incredibly arduous, a true life-and-death struggle.
However, to Ishiro's surprise, Danzō agreed to his trade. He didn't even try to bargain.
When Ishiro got his hands on the items from the trade, he felt like he was in a dream.
The price Ishiro had quoted this time was almost equivalent to the entire annual military tribute from a medium-sized country.
Like the Land of Snow, Land of Demons, Land of Bears, Land of Waterfalls, Land of Hot Water—these medium-sized countries, now controlled by Iwa and hosting its branch bases, all had to pay a huge military tribute to Iwagakure every year.
This tribute was the foundation of Ishiro's confidence in continuously expanding his army and building new bases.
When Ishiro brought this sum to the high-level meeting, all the senior officials went insane.
Bella, in particular, shrieked. She repeatedly confirmed with Ishiro, "Ishiro! You really only traded one scroll?"
Ishiro nodded. "I've said it many times. I just traded one scroll of Wood Release insights."
"Either Konoha's wealth exceeds our imagination, or Danzō's ambition exceeds our imagination."
"My original intention was to wait for Danzō to haggle. Who knew he'd agree without even thinking?"
Bella quickly asked, "Ishiro, how many more of these Wood Release scrolls do we have?"
Ishiro said, "A dozen or so. I haven't counted carefully."
Bella let out another gasp. She trembled, "So you're saying... we can get more than ten times this amount of wealth?"
Ishiro thought for a moment, then said seriously, "Logically, Danzō shouldn't need this many Wood Release scrolls. I estimate he'll buy seven or eight at most."
"Danzō probably wants to seriously study Wood Release and then transplant the First Hokage's cells."
"However, since Danzō didn't even bargain, it proves that the Wood Release insights are worth more than this price in his heart."
"My imagination was limited by poverty before. I can't let that happen next time. When it's time to raise the price, I must raise the price."
Bella's eyes shone. Her voice trembled, "Ishiro, what price are you planning to ask for?"
Ishiro said, "Let's just double it. Raising the price too much all at once would be... disrespectful to Danzō."
Everyone: ...
A few days later, Danzō, as expected, requested another trade.
But when he heard Ishiro's unilateral demand to double the price, he was so angry he slammed his desk.
Danzō put on a show of force, objecting and threatening to call off the trade.
But Ishiro had already guessed Danzō's mindset, so he flatly refused Danzō's request to lower the price.
Ishiro's hard-line stance made Danzō grit his teeth, but in the end, he agreed.
The second trade was successful. And then came the third.
Ishiro was a man of his word. Following the pattern of the first and second trades, Ishiro doubled the price again, reaching four times the original.
This time, Danzō truly couldn't take it. Who knew how many more trades there would be? Konoha's finances couldn't bear such a massive deficit.
The money he had saved by lowering the pay for village ninja missions and absorbing many shinobi into Root (where they received no mission pay) was still not enough.
"That brat Ishiro! He's gone too far!" In the Hokage's office, Danzō, learning from the Fourth Raikage, shattered his desk with a single palm strike.
Of course, he wasn't a taijutsu ninja, and he hadn't used his right arm transplanted with White Zetsu. So, although the desk was shattered, his left hand was still in quite a bit of pain.
The pain calmed Danzō down.
"I can't let the Tsuchikage do as he pleases. Didn't he want the Flying Thunder God and other secret jutsu? We'll trade those." Danzō thought.
Danzō ordered his subordinate to convey the request for a barter trade.
Just as the Root subordinate left, a toy kunai was thrown through the open window, landing in the pile of desk fragments. It was followed by a stumbling figure climbing through the window.
Namikaze Naruto, who had tripped while climbing in, shouted awkwardly, "Hokage Jiji! This time still counts as my loss, but next time..."
Naruto was halfway through his sentence when he finally saw the pile of splinters that used to be the desk. He stood up, put his hands on his hips, and burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha! Hokage Jiji! Have you felt the power of me, the Seventh Hokage, Namikaze Naruto?"
"My attack was off this time and only hit your desk! You won't be so lucky next time!"
Danzō: ...
Danzō's face was so red it looked like it was about to bleed.
Just then, Iruka's voice calling for Naruto echoed from downstairs.
Naruto's neck snapped back. This time, he didn't use the window. He bolted straight through the broken door.
All that was left in the Hokage's office was Danzō, teetering on the edge of rage.
A long, long time passed before Danzō finally regained his composure.
Just then, the Root contact with Iwa returned with a result. The loyal subordinate reported, "Lord Hokage, the Tsuchikage says... this time, we will trade at the price he set. For the next trade, he will accept other items."
Danzō raised his hand, and a seal-less Wind Release jutsu sent his loyal subordinate flying.
...
The Sixth Hokage was in a bad mood. The Fourth Kazekage's mood wasn't much better.
When Rasa received the report that Kiri-nin had attacked Loulan, he couldn't believe his ears.
Did Kiri have nothing better to do? Traveling this far, practically crossing the entire shinobi world, just to find trouble with him?
Besides the Tsuchikage, was there anyone else in the shinobi world capable of doing such a thing?
Sometimes, Rasa just couldn't figure it out. Did the Tsuchikage not have any official duties to attend to?
Look at himself: if he wasn't mining gold, he was processing documents. He didn't even have time to spend with his family.
His own youngest son was growing more and more distant from him.
Rasa was still doubting the truth of the first subordinate's report.
Then, the second and third Suna-nin who had escaped Loulan arrived. Their stories were identical: an Ice Release user from Kirigakure's Mizunashi clan had attacked them.
If this were the old days, Rasa would have, without a second word, led his men to Loulan to kill them.
After all, this was a major incident where dozens of Suna-nin had died. Suna's "elite-only" policy was becoming more and more severe; the loss of dozens of ninja was enough to make Rasa's heart ache for a long time.
But the current Rasa didn't dare take the risk. The entire Suna rested on his shoulders alone. He couldn't afford to be reckless.
It was already difficult enough for Suna to maintain its status as a major village. If something happened to him, Suna would be completely finished.
At that point, he was afraid Iwa, Konoha, and the Akatsuki would just carve up Suna for themselves.
After hesitating for a long time, Rasa only sent an ANBU squad to Loulan to investigate.
Fortunately, nothing happened to this ANBU squad. By the time they arrived in Loulan, Ishiro had already left. They brought back intelligence that Loulan was still standing, and the Dragon Vein was undisturbed.
It seemed that the Kiri powerhouse, who was possibly Kage-level, had truly just been there to train his three disciples.
(End of Chapter)
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