Chapter 539: Kotoamatsukami
After the meeting, Ishiro first took Sōkai to the medical department.
Ishiro had Nakata Hajime directly transplant Uchiha Shisui's eye into Sōkai's left socket.
After the surgery, Ishiro asked Sōkai, "How is it? Any rejection?"
Sōkai sensed it for a moment and said, "It's fine. There's a little rejection, but not much."
Ishiro nodded. As expected, there wasn't much of an issue when a Mangekyō Uchiha transplanted the eye of a fellow clansman.
Previously, Uchiha Shisui had used Uchiha Fugaku's Mangekyō very smoothly, even managing to use Susanoo.
Ishiro asked again, "Can you tell? Can you use Kotoamatsukami?"
Sōkai closed his eyes, sensed it carefully, and said, "I think so."
Ishiro nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Come with me to see A-Tsuchi. You're going to use Kotoamatsukami on him."
Sōkai thought for a moment. "Is that the White Zetsu clone guarding the body of the Ten-Tails?"
Sōkai had seen this A-Tsuchi before when he was with Ishiro, so he had an impression of him.
Ishiro nodded. He didn't explain further; with Sōkai's intelligence, he probably wouldn't ask, and even if he did, he probably wouldn't understand. Ishiro would just have to waste time explaining.
In the Tsuchikage Tower office, Ōnoki's position allowed him to see the sky from his window.
He happened to see Ishiro and Sōkai leaving the village. He rubbed his head and muttered, "He really can't stop for a moment."
Ishiro flew with Sōkai, following a familiar path until they arrived above the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path's underground base.
"A-Tsuchi! A-Tsuchi! Your old friend is here!" Ishiro yelled down from his porcelain platform.
A-Tsuchi quickly emerged from the ground.
He looked at Ishiro, who was peeking over the edge of the platform, and asked, "Tsuchikage, what are you doing here again?"
Ishiro laughed. "A-Tsuchi, that's so cold! I'm just here to catch up, of course."
A-Tsuchi didn't reply. He said flatly, "Lord Orochimaru has prepared your rent."
With that, he threw a scroll up to Ishiro.
Ishiro was curious about what Orochimaru would give him. He used his porcelain to catch it and then sent a clone to inspect it.
The clone opened the scroll and found it contained a complete set of data on the Byakugan and the Caged Bird seal.
Ishiro had received some of this data during his previous collaboration with Orochimaru, but he now knew that Orochimaru had held back on him.
After reading the scroll, Ishiro asked A-Tsuchi, "Is this for one month's rent?"
But this time, A-Tsuchi was very firm. "No. It's a one-time payment."
"Lord Orochimaru said that if Lord Tsuchikage is dissatisfied, you can do whatever you want. He doesn't mind."
Ishiro fell silent. Orochimaru was so much smarter than Obito Uchiha.
Obito had never understood one thing: the only reason Ishiro had come up with the "rent" scheme was that he had no way to deal with the Gedo Mazo himself.
If Ishiro could actually study the Demonic Statue, why would he have bothered trading with Obito? He would have just taken it by force.
Obito's mindset had always been about maintaining his own mystery. Black Zetsu was the same, terrified of others knowing of their existence. Even after the great villages knew about them, they still subconsciously wanted to hide.
This was especially true for Black Zetsu. With Obito exposed, he wanted to protect himself even more. Because of this mentality, Obito was terrified of Ishiro revealing the statue's location to the world.
The end result was that Ishiro had him cornered.
But Orochimaru saw right through Ishiro's bluff. He wasn't afraid of what Ishiro might do to the statue, nor did he care if its location was exposed.
Ishiro's smile vanished. He said to A-Tsuchi, "Wait a moment."
He then pulled his head back.
He gave a look to Sōkai, who was already on the platform transformed into Ishiro's appearance.
Sōkai nodded and peeked his head over the edge just as Ishiro had.
A-Tsuchi saw "Ishiro" peek out and instinctively looked up. Ishiro wasn't an Uchiha, so there was no danger in making eye contact. A-Tsuchi had no defenses up.
Furthermore, after so many transactions, A-Tsuchi's vigilance toward Ishiro had dropped.
A-Tsuchi looked into "Ishiro's" eyes, saw the crimson Sharingan, and was instantly captivated by the Mangekyō pattern in Sōkai's left eye.
He stared blankly at Sōkai's left eye.
It felt like an eternity and an instant. When A-Tsuchi returned to his senses, he was dazed.
He shook his head, looked up, and saw Ishiro and Sōkai were gone.
A-Tsuchi thought for a moment, sank back underground, and was soon approached by other White Zetsu clones asking about the situation.
A-Tsuchi told them Ishiro had agreed to Orochimaru's terms and would no longer come to collect rent.
The Zetsu clones discussed it briefly and then dispersed.
Naturally, other White Zetsu clones went to the Snake Pit Village to report to Black Zetsu. A-Tsuchi's only mission was to guard the Demonic Statue.
A-Tsuchi sat quietly on the Demonic Statue's head, thinking to himself, "Good, none of the other Zetsu clones noticed anything. I haven't compromised the infiltration plan Lord Tsuchikage personally set for me."
Right now, this White Zetsu's self-cognition was this: He was originally an Iwa-born ninja. A few days ago, he had been modified to look like a White Zetsu clone, replacing one called "A-Tsuchi."
He was under the Tsuchikage's orders to infiltrate the White Zetsu, to gather intel on Black Zetsu and Orochimaru.
To ensure his cover was not blown, Lord Tsuchikage had even erased his memories of Iwa and implanted the memories of the Zetsu "A-Tsuchi."
He would always remember: he was a secret disciple of Lord Tsuchikage and a steadfast inheritor of the Will of Stone.
Today was his first day of infiltration. He had just passed the first test. The other Zetsu clones believed he was one of them and suspected nothing.
With such a good start, A-Tsuchi's confidence grew. He was certain he would not disappoint Lord Tsuchikage.
On the way back to the village, Ishiro was worried about Sōkai's condition. "How do you feel after using Shisui's eye? Need me to apply a seal?"
Sōkai was still clutching his left eye, panting. Blood trickled from between his fingers.
After a long moment, Sōkai said, "Ishiro-sensei, I was afraid of failing, so I used my full power for Kotoamatsukami. That brief moment consumed a huge amount of dōjutsu, almost more than several long battles using Susanoo."
"I feel like that whole long Susanoo fight against Itachi didn't drain me as much as this."
Ishiro said in surprise, "Kotoamatsukami has different power levels based on dōjutsu?"
Sōkai nodded. "Yes. The more dōjutsu, the stronger the effect and the longer it lasts."
Ishiro was silent. So Kotoamatsukami is temporary.
"Right, can you use it again soon?" Ishiro remembered its weakness and quickly asked.
Sōkai shook his head. "No. I used my full power. Even if I recover the dōjutsu with nature energy, I can't use it again for a long time. I don't know when it will be available again."
Ishiro nodded, patted Sōkai's shoulder. "Dōjutsu loss is dōjutsu loss. Just go back to the Land of Snow and recover. It's fine."
Sōkai gave Ishiro a slightly mournful look, then closed his eyes to rest.
After they returned to Iwagakure, Ishiro handed Sōkai over to his Izumi-san.
Before leaving, Ishiro instructed Sōkai, "Recover your dōjutsu well. There's another mission."
Sōkai and Uchiha Izumi both nodded.
After leaving them, Ishiro found Neji, Katsumata, and Natsuki.
Ishiro gave them Orochimaru's data. "Take a good look at this. For now, drop everything else and focus on this research."
Katsumata took the data and looked it over. "Orochimaru's experimental data? It seems he really was holding back on us. Impressive. The data he provided before was enough to advance our technology significantly. To think he was hiding this much."
Natsuki asked curiously, "Bro, how did you get this scroll? Isn't Orochimaru just slapping you in the face with this?"
It was true. The implication was insulting. In their "fair collaboration," Orochimaru had tricked him, and Ishiro hadn't even known.
Ishiro gave her a light bop on the head. "Never mind that. Just study it."
"This research will be led by Neji. Whatever you two figure out, you must make sure Neji understands it."
The three were stunned. Neji, who had been silent, lit up. His voice trembled, "Ishiro-sensei, are we... breaking the Caged Bird seal?"
Ishiro didn't answer. "Don't get ahead of yourself. Just focus on learning the material first."
Neji nodded with extreme seriousness. "Ishiro-sensei, I understand. You can count on me."
Ishiro didn't join the research. He sent the three away and went to find Akino Atsumi.
Akino Atsumi was living a very comfortable life. Her main job every day was to go to the ANBU-assigned lab to make Flying Thunder God kunai, and then check the village's space-time barriers.
She was already extremely proficient at making the kunai, and her speed was very fast. Checking the barriers didn't take long either.
She spent the rest of her time studying space-time ninjutsu.
When Ishiro found her, she was reading a book in the Barrier Team's office. The Barrier Team had the most reference materials, so she always came here to read. They had even given her a dedicated office.
Ishiro flashed a hand sign to the ANBU guards and entered her office.
Akino Atsumi saw him and quickly said, "Ishiro-sensei, you're out of seclusion?"
Ishiro nodded. "Are you busy?"
She shook her head quickly. "No, no!"
Looking at her excited expression, Ishiro knew she had been cooped up in the village for too long and was eager to go out.
So Ishiro said, "Do you remember that space-time passage near Uzushiogakure in the Land of Whirlpools?"
Akino Atsumi thought. "The one connected to that high-gravity dimension?"
Ishiro nodded. "Yes."
Akino said, "Of course! That's where my space-time ninjutsu training began."
Ishiro asked, "Is there a way to close that passage?"
Akino thought. "Close it? Like that time in the Land of Fire?"
Ishiro nodded.
Akino looked down and pondered for a long time. "I'm not sure. I'd have to research it. It's a good project, very challenging. Ever since I learned the Flying Thunder God, I've felt a bit aimless."
Ishiro paused. "What about Obito Uchiha's dimension? How's the research on that?"
Speaking of the Kamui dimension, Akino Atsumi's eyes narrowed into a smile. "Finished."
"I can already enter that dimension. I just didn't dare go in alone."
Ishiro was overjoyed. "That's great! There's a lot of good stuff in there. What are we waiting for? Let's go now."
Akino Atsumi pulled her ninja pack from a desk drawer and put it on. "I've had my things ready. I was just waiting for you to come out of seclusion, Ishiro-sensei."
Ishiro smiled. This feeling of 'when there is work, the disciples do it' was wonderful.
If not for these disciples, he'd have to research the Caged Bird seal himself, use Kotoamatsukami on the Zetsu himself, and research how to restore the Mangekyō Sharingan himself. He'd even have to research space-time ninjutsu himself. He would have been worked to death.
And even if he worked himself to death, he wouldn't have accomplished much.
Thinking of this, Ishiro suddenly remembered that the new Academy class was about to graduate. He needed to find time to check it out.
Originally, as Naruto-kun and Sasuke grew up, Ishiro had gradually lost the desire to take on new disciples. He figured he would just train the geniuses he already had. Any new disciples now wouldn't have enough time to grow, like Kawakita did. And he didn't have as much energy as he used to.
But now, Ishiro had changed his mind. Having more disciples was truly a wonderful thing.
He could go into seclusion, and when he came out, his disciples would have solved all his problems. How nice.
With this in mind, Ishiro left the village with Akino Atsumi.
In Ōnoki's office in the Tsuchikage Tower, he glanced out the window at the departing figure, rolled his eyes, said nothing, and went back to his paperwork.
Ishiro and Akino Atsumi flew instead of teleporting. Along the way, Ishiro had Akino explain the basic theories of space-time ninjutsu.
After fusing his Light Release, Ishiro felt his intelligence had increased, so he wanted to see if he could learn the Flying Thunder God.
But after listening to Akino's earnest explanation the whole way, Ishiro still felt like he was listening to nonsense. He didn't understand a single thing.
He shook his head. It seemed he really wasn't suited for it. This wasn't an intelligence issue, but an aptitude issue.
After arriving at the location in the Land of Fire, Ishiro had given up on learning the Flying Thunder God.
He and Akino looked around.
Ishiro sighed. "The Land of Fire's environment is truly amazing. Look how fast this battlefield, which we ravaged, has already been reclaimed by nature."
Akino agreed. "Ishiro-sensei, is there any hope of the village cultivating a Wood Release user? It could change the Land of Earth's soil conditions, couldn't it?"
Ishiro thought. "There's hope, but it's risky. I have no plans for it right now."
He was, of course, thinking of Sōkai and Uchiha Izumi. The success rate of transplanting Hashirama cells into a Mangekyō Uchiha was certainly higher than in a normal person. But Ishiro only had two test subjects. He couldn't accept even one failure.
So, Ishiro would rather let the two of them slowly recover their dōjutsu using the nature energy in the Land of Snow than risk the transplant.
Akino nodded. She didn't ask further, instead closing her eyes to sense the Flying Thunder God coordinate left in the Kamui dimension.
Soon, she opened her eyes. "Found it."
She then took materials from her pack and began setting up a barrier, one of her own inventions, designed to enhance space-time perception.
She stood in the barrier. "Ishiro-sensei, I'm ready. We're teleporting."
Ishiro nodded, walked to her side, and placed his hand on her shoulder.
Akino's hands formed a series of seals, even more numerous and complex than any time before.
When she finished, she and Ishiro vanished from the real world.
Ishiro felt a sense of dislocation. It seemed to last longer than before, or maybe not.
When he came to, he was in the Kamui dimension.
At his feet was a metal plate inscribed with a fireball pattern. It was the Hiraishin marker Akino had thrown in last time.
Akino said, "Ishiro-sensei, we're in. Are you sure it's not dangerous?"
Ishiro said, "Relax. There's almost no one here, and they're not near this spot."
Ishiro had watched her throw the plate in, so using the fireball pattern as a reference, he knew the general direction of things in this dimension.
After getting his bearings, he took Akino and headed off in a certain direction.
The scenery in the Kamui dimension was monotonous. To avoid getting lost, Ishiro had Akino drop a marked kunai every so often. This was both to find their way back if they got lost and to serve as waypoints.
After a long time, Ishiro stopped. "Akino, try sensing for Hiraishin coordinates in the real world from here."
"Mm." Akino sat on the porcelain platform and began to sense.
She thought it would take a long time, but she had barely closed her eyes before she opened them.
She said in surprise, "Ishiro-sensei, I can sense them! I can sense my Hiraishin coordinates in the real world!"
Ishiro sighed in relief. It seemed he hadn't gone the wrong way. "That's the village. Let's head out from here."
"Mm." Akino left a few more Hiraishin kunai on the spot. Then, without even needing the sensory barrier, she teleported herself and Ishiro back to the real world.
Ishiro's vision first went dark, then brightened. The next moment, he was in a room.
Looking at the walls, which were covered in various items marked with Hiraishin seals, he recognized it as Akino's laboratory.
Hearing the noise, a team of ANBU burst in. This was ANBU territory, and Akino's lab was a high-level restricted area. A sound coming from an empty room had immediately triggered the nearby guards.
Ishiro flashed them a hand sign, confirmed his identity, and sent them away.
He then turned to Akino. "Are you tired? Want to rest for a day?"
Akino nodded. "Yes, please."
Although it was only two teleports, because they were cross-dimensional and she was carrying a passenger, the strain on her was still immense.
Leaving Akino's lab, Ishiro went alone to the Barrier Team, this time to find Yuran Kawasoe.
Yuran Kawasoe was now the second-in-command of the Barrier Team, with Yumi Uzumaki as the head. The former Barrier Team seniors had either retired or been transferred to the White Sphere project.
When Ishiro found Yuran, she and Yumi Uzumaki were discussing matters related to the White Sphere research, which they were both part of.
Ishiro was about to speak when he suddenly froze. He saw that Yumi Uzumaki had a large pregnant belly.
He blinked a few times. "Yumi-san, you're pregnant?"
Hearing his voice, the two looked up. Yumi Uzumaki nodded. "Lord Tsuchikage? Yes, about six months. Didn't Ikura-kun tell you?"
Ikura and Yumi Uzumaki's marriage was a political one. They had been considering having children back when Naruto-kun's generation was born, but it had been delayed until now. At their age, it was about time. After all, people like Ishiro, who were constantly buried in work, were the minority.
Yuran Kawasoe asked, "Ishiro-sensei, are you looking for Akino?"
Ishiro rarely came to the Barrier Team for fuinjutsu matters these days; he usually came to find Akino to discuss space-time ninjutsu.
Ishiro shook his head. "I already found her and gave her a mission. This time, I'm here for you."
Yumi Uzumaki stood to leave.
Ishiro waved his hand. "It's not a secret."
"Yuran, you previously researched a barrier that shields against the Byakugan's sight."
"Can you research a barrier with an even stronger shielding effect?"
Yuran Kawasoe was surprised. "To shield against a dōjutsu with better sight than the Byakugan? Does such a dōjutsu even exist in the shinobi world?"
Ishiro said, "I believe so. And it's many times stronger than the Byakugan."
(End of Chapter)
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