Chapter 199: Summoning Technique
After the battle ended, Ishiro again led his three disciples in cleaning up the battlefield, simultaneously teaching the three how to handle ninja corpses.
Ishiro's method for dealing with corpses was simple: seal them into scrolls. However, his three disciples didn't know sealing jutsu, nor did they have as many scrolls as Ishiro to squander. So, Ishiro had to teach them some professional handling methods.
Once finished, the group of four returned to where the official was located.
Because they had engaged in a battle, Ishiro proposed resting for the night. The official naturally had no objections, readily agreeing to Ishiro's request, and quickly arranged for his attendants to set up a temporary camp.
Sitting by the edge of the temporary camp, Ishiro began to guide his three disciples.
"Little Saki's overall performance was good, especially that final Wind Release, which saved Takumi's life."
Ogura Saki felt a bit embarrassed and quickly said, "I didn't do much. It was mainly Ishiro-sensei who moved those exploding tags far away. Otherwise, with just my Wind Release, it wouldn't have had that effect."
Ishiro shook his head and said, "No matter what, your final performance was excellent. Sensei is very satisfied."
Then Ishiro turned to Matsutani Shinya and said, "Shinya performed the best. Whether it was reconnaissance or the later choice of ninjutsu, there has been very clear progress. Keep it up."
Matsutani Shinya didn't say anything, just nodded. He actually wasn't satisfied with his own performance in this battle. Although he had served as the main force during the fight, his threat to that Chūnin was actually the lowest.
Ogura Saki had a powerful Wind Release that could be lethal in one hit, and Takumi's close combat also made that Chūnin very wary. Therefore, that Chūnin's attention was mostly focused on those two.
Matsutani Shinya could only use constantly changing ninjutsu to divert that Chūnin's attention and create opportunities for his two companions.
Ishiro understood his confusion very well and said with a smile, "You've already done very well. Ninjutsu-type ninjas often find themselves in such an awkward position during their Chūnin and Genin stages. Sensei also went through this back then. Your potential is still great; believe in yourself."
"Understood, Ishiro-sensei." Although Matsutani Shinya hadn't completely let go, his mood had improved somewhat.
Finally, Ishiro looked at Takumi.
Takumi immediately lowered his head; he was the only one among the three who had made a major mistake.
But Ishiro didn't see it that way. Ishiro felt that his calm performance at the critical moment indicated that his gains might have been the greatest among the three.
Undoubtedly, from now on, the three were truly qualified ninjas. But Takumi, having experienced a life-or-death trial, had clearly progressed further.
So Ishiro said, "Takumi, your gains should be the greatest. What you need to do now is not feel guilty, but to summarize your experiences and lessons, and at the same time, share your feelings from being on the brink of life and death with your companions."
Takumi nodded vigorously and said, "Ishiro-sensei, I understand."
Next, the three began to discuss the gains and losses from this battle. Ishiro didn't participate in their discussion, only interjecting a word or two when the three had questions.
The next day, the three little ones, their spirit and energy completely different from before, followed behind Ishiro once again, heading towards the capital.
Meanwhile, Ishiro found a way to contact an Anbu patrol and relayed a message to the village.
...
In Iwagakure, Ōnoki, after receiving Ishiro's intelligence, summoned the several advisors who were busy with their respective tasks.
After Ikura and the other two had circulated and read the intelligence report Ishiro sent back, Mei was the first to speak: "According to the intelligence Ishiro obtained through genjutsu interrogation, those eight ninjas should be Konoha Anbu. Is this judgment too hasty? Ishiro also said he didn't obtain this information from that Jōnin."
"Although Konoha's victory is already decided, they probably wouldn't risk breaking our alliance treaty at this time to send people deep into the Land of Earth, would they?"
Saka nodded and said, "This point is indeed unconventional. But if a giant summoning beast is truly involved, I think it's still possible. If we were the ones to discover news of a giant summoning beast within the Land of Fire, I think we would also risk sending people into the Land of Fire."
Ikura nodded and said, "I agree with Senior Saka's view. Moreover, judging from the personnel configuration, it aligns well with Konoha's style."
"Penetrating deep into enemy territory – if Elite Jōnin were dispatched, I'm afraid none of the Five Great Nations would dare to take such a risk. However, if three Jōnin were dispatched, it would still be worthwhile. And among the other four great nations, only Konoha would make such a grand move."
Mei, hearing Ikura's words, also felt it made sense and said, "Indeed, with Jōnin accounting for three out of eight, only Konoha possesses such terrifying combat power."
Jōnin were considered high-end combat power for any great nation. When an ordinary ninja became a Jōnin, the village would definitely arrange for them to become a captain and lead independently.
For example, Ishiro, who was originally in Shiden's Anbu squad, formed a new squad after becoming a Jōnin.
Only Konoha had such a configuration of placing two or even three Jōnin in the same squad. For no other reason than their overall strength was just that high.
Iwagakure, a major ninja village nominally on par with Konoha, would only temporarily make similar configurations when carrying out special missions.
After listening to the analysis of the three, Ōnoki nodded and said, "Konoha is the most likely possibility, but that's not the main point. Next, let's discuss how to find this giant summoning beast."
Ikura frowned and said, "Let's first have someone examine those corpses. The intelligence Ishiro obtained through genjutsu is too limited. We should first clarify the ins and outs of the matter."
Ōnoki nodded and said, "Hmm, I've already sent Anbu to deliver the corpses to the Interrogation Department. There should be results soon."
In a short while, the head of the Interrogation Department delivered a report.
Everyone was very surprised after reading it.
It turned out that Ishiro had obtained some fragments of information about a giant summoning beast through genjutsu interrogation of the only captured Jōnin, but that Jōnin's will was very firm, and Ishiro didn't get much intelligence.
Knowing he couldn't handle it alone, Ishiro had the scrolls sealing the corpses and the intelligence he had obtained brought back to the village via an Anbu patrol.
Now, the Interrogation Department, by probing the intelligence within the minds of these corpses, had obtained a general result. A merchant caravan that had entered Iwagakure had, by a stroke of luck, obtained a contract scroll for a giant summoning beast.
However, that merchant caravan probably didn't know the value of that scroll and was just thinking of trying their luck in the capital of the Land of Earth. After all, the current Land of Earth was the most prosperous nation for trade in the entire ninja world.
Especially now, with the war in the Land of Fire not yet subsided, the capital of the Land of Earth was even more so the economic center of the ninja world.
However, the intelligence obtained by the Interrogation Department was not extensive, and they didn't know which merchant caravan it was. There was no way around this; it was already difficult for Iwagakure to extract intelligence from corpses. Wanting to obtain complete intelligence was almost impossible.
One must know that in Konoha of the original story, only the head of the Yamanaka clan could conduct a directionless search, and only at the cost of consuming a large amount of mental energy.
This time, if Ishiro hadn't obtained six relatively complete corpses, it would still be very difficult to say whether the Interrogation Department could have pieced together this ambiguous piece of intelligence.
But it didn't matter. As long as it was within the Land of Earth, Iwagakure definitely held the absolute advantage.
Mei was very happy after reading the intelligence and immediately said, "We must obtain this scroll! The village currently doesn't have a single giant summoning beast."
Ikura also said, "That's right. Since Ishiro is going to the capital anyway, why not let him find the scroll?"
Ōnoki was also very excited and said, "Alright. I will dispatch three Anbu squads to cooperate with Ishiro."
Ōnoki was also determined to get this scroll. After speaking, he thought for a moment and added, "Have the intelligence personnel in the capital cooperate with Ishiro as well."
Saka nodded and said, "No problem."
...
The Anbu were highly efficient. Before Ishiro even reached the capital, four Anbu squads had caught up with him.
Among these Anbu squads that came, one person surprised Ishiro. This person was none other than Ishiro's former disciple, Kawakita.
Although Kawakita wore a mask, as his teacher, Ishiro recognized him at a glance.
After carefully observing Kawakita for a while, Ishiro nodded in satisfaction. Kawakita's current strength should be that of an Elite Chūnin. Although he hadn't yet crossed the threshold to Jōnin, his entire demeanor had undergone a significant change.
He appeared much sharper than when Team One was disbanded. It seemed the Anbu suited Kawakita well.
This made Ishiro can't help but have a thought: could it be that his own mild temperament had restricted Kawakita's growth?
Ishiro smiled and asked Kawakita, "What's your codename?"
Kawakita replied, "I am called Ganryū."
Ishiro was taken aback. Was he trying to establish an Iwagakure style of swordsmanship? Ishiro shook his head, didn't ask further, just nodded at Kawakita.
After arriving at the capital, everything went smoothly. Although Ōnoki had dispatched four Anbu squads to cooperate with Ishiro, in the end, Ishiro didn't use these Anbu.
Because Ishiro first went to see the Daimyō. The Daimyō had a very good impression of Ishiro and opened many convenient doors for him.
Not only did he agree to all of Ishiro's proposals for increasing funding for medical ninjutsu development and for hosting the Chūnin Exams, but he also dispatched people to cooperate with Ishiro in finding that summoning scroll.
With the Daimyō's help, the search process was very smooth. Ishiro didn't spend a single Ryo, and the Daimyō's men handed the scroll over to Ishiro.
After leaving the capital, Ishiro handed the scroll to the Anbu but kept Kawakita with him.
Ishiro still had to leave the Land of Earth to roam around, so Ishiro planned to bring Kawakita along as well.
How Ōnoki would handle the summoning scroll after receiving it didn't concern Ishiro much. Ishiro now had to make a trip to the Akatsuki Organization.
Intelligence indicated that Akatsuki's core members were currently active in the Land of Rivers area.
Akatsuki had originally been active in small countries without ninja villages. Those medium-sized countries didn't particularly buy into Akatsuki.
However, taking advantage of the Third Great Ninja War, Akatsuki's influence suddenly experienced a leap. Medium-sized countries like the Land of Bears and the Land of Birds also significantly eased their relations with the organization.
And in the Land of Rivers, the country's higher-ups, represented by the Daimyō, had even abandoned their original ninja village and directly invited Akatsuki to enter the Land of Rivers and establish a new ninja village.
The original ninja village within the Land of Rivers had failed to protect itself in the major battle between Sunagakure and Konoha. Most of its ninjas were killed or injured, and several of its leaders had died in succession.
So the place Ishiro was heading to now was precisely the Land of Rivers.
Currently, the location of the original Kawa no Kuni Ninja Village was undergoing reconstruction. The rebuilt ninja village was still called Kawa no Kuni Ninja Village.
However, the rebuilt Kawa no Kuni Ninja Village was different from the previous one. They were powerful, with a Kage-level figure in command. Both Konoha and Sunagakure had recently lost many elite personnel there.
♧♧♧
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
♧♧♧
-> 30 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