Chapter 116: Establishing the Camp
After parting with Ōnoki, Ishiro returned to the training ground. He wasn't sure if his three subordinates were still practicing.
When he arrived, sure enough, the three of them were still hard at work. Though still just genin, as Ishiro's students, they had access to certain intel—enough to know the ninja world was on the brink of war. So all three had silently increased their training intensity. Ishiro noticed this and, to ensure their health, increased their supply of nutritional supplements.
The sun was almost down, but the trio kept training. Watching from afar, Ishiro felt a wave of emotion.
Of the three, Kawakita's strength had improved to the point that, armed with a C-rank kenjutsu, he could spar with some experienced close-combat genin without being at a disadvantage.
Tomoe, as a support-type ninja, had developed excellent sensory skills that would be useful in the upcoming war. The Wind Release technique she was close to mastering would also become a valuable asset.
Ironically, the one who had once seemed the most promising—Kajiyama Ri—was now in a more awkward spot. Ninjutsu-type genin often had it rough in the early stages. Unlike Ishiro's freakish speed with hand seals, Kajiyama had no such advantage. One-on-one combat wasn't his strength, and his Water Release jutsu still weren't combat-ready. However, with good teamwork and clever use of Water Pressure Line, he could still work wonders.
Smiling, Ishiro finally stepped forward and said, "That's enough for today. I got promoted. I'm treating you all to barbecue."
"Noooo!"
"No more meat! Please!"
"I'm not going! I'll die before I eat more grilled meat!"
"Haha, come on. Don't ruin the celebration."
"Sensei! Let go of me! I'm not eating that again!"
"You got promoted? To what?"
With a mix of dragging and coaxing, Ishiro hauled Kawakita and Kajiyama Ri away. Tomoe, left behind, could only sigh and follow quietly.
---
The next day, Ishiro gave Team One a day off and went to report to Saka.
The Eastern, Western, and Southern Divisions hadn't yet mobilized. They were still just frameworks. The Eastern Division had one commander—Advisor Saka—and three vice commanders: Ishiro's former superiors Owl and Kitsuchi, and now Ishiro himself. Their ranks were first, second, and third vice commanders respectively.
The Eastern Division was mainly tasked with guarding against the Land of Lightning, which bordered the western shores of the Land of Earth. In the previous two wars, Kumogakure had sent small forces to harass the coastline.
At the same time, the Eastern Division served as a backup offensive unit against the Land of Fire. A full-scale war with Kumo was unlikely, so the Eastern Division could shift southward and open a second front against Konoha at any time.
The Southern Division was the main battlefield against Konoha.
As war hadn't formally begun, the Eastern Division was just an empty shell for now. Apart from the commander and the three vice commanders, there were no formal members.
Still, Ishiro and Kitsuchi's squads were automatically assigned. The border outposts and patrol ANBU also fell under Eastern command.
Beyond that, there wasn't much else. Most resources were being directed toward the Southern Division, the main front. Since the Southern Division hadn't finalized its personnel, the other two divisions had no chance to pick first.
Originally, Ishiro wasn't supposed to have much to do.
But Kitsuchi had made arrangements for him.
It turned out Ishiro had been recommended as vice commander by Kitsuchi himself. Having trained with him in recent days, Kitsuchi noticed Ishiro's unsettled heart. So he suggested the village give Ishiro a push—throw him into the war preparations to stop his indecisiveness.
The higher-ups agreed and arranged that recent mental trial. They hadn't expected both Ishiro and Ikura to break through as a result.
Because of Kitsuchi's suggestion, Saka had already assigned Ishiro a task. Even after hearing of Ishiro's promotion, Saka hadn't rescinded the order.
The task: head to the Eastern front, gather outpost and ANBU personnel, and select a suitable location to establish a military base.
In peacetime, outposts were scattered, covering large patrol ranges with sparse numbers. This was to detect small enemy units attempting stealth infiltration.
But in wartime, heightened alertness rendered small squads ineffective. The focus shifted to preventing large-scale enemy assaults.
So outposts would consolidate into centralized bases to counter full-scale invasions.
As a result, during war, nations lost tight control of their internal territories. Rogue ninja, bandits, and mercenaries became more active.
Ishiro's mission was clear: choose a base location and gather the outpost personnel.
He didn't need a large team—just his three students. Supply logistics would follow once the base location was confirmed.
Since war hadn't broken out and the Eastern front wasn't the main battlefield, Saka gave him three days to depart. But Ishiro had long since prepared and could leave anytime. Now that he was a commander—even if fourth in line—it was time to bring his full arsenal.
He brought all of his scrolls and personal notes. Some were spoils of war, some were obtained through official exchanges, and some were his own creations.
By village regulation, B-rank and higher jutsu obtained from official exchange couldn't be transferred privately (except through master-disciple transmission). So Ishiro only carried a few of those, including three of his own creations.
Two others were battle spoils: a B-rank Fire Release—Phoenix Sage Fire Technique—taken from a Sunagakure ninja, and a B-rank Wind Release technique from a Root agent in the Land of Rain.
C-rank jutsu, however, were more flexible. Ishiro already had about thirty, mostly Earth and Water Release. He used up the last of his contribution points to exchange for a dozen C-rank jutsu in other elements.
With this, and his three students, Ishiro officially set out for war.
---
The Land of Fire sat southeast of the Land of Earth. They weren't directly connected—three small nations lay between them: the Land of Iron, the Land of Waterfalls, and the Land of Rain. The Land of Rain was unique, located at the intersection of Fire, Wind, and Earth.
The Southern Division guarded the Land of Iron, Waterfalls, and Rain. Some unnamed minor nations existed between them, but most lacked ninja villages and didn't warrant attention.
The Western Division guarded against Sunagakure, watching the Lands of Birds and Bears.
The Eastern and Western Divisions dealt with Kumogakure, but the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning were separated by ocean—not land.
So Ishiro's defense location wasn't critical. Any coastal location was a potential landing site for Kumogakure.
Thanks to ninja techniques, they didn't need harbors to land.
Saka's requirement was simple: stay away from the coastline to prevent surprise attacks.
In the past two wars, the clashes between the Land of Lightning and Land of Earth weren't in their homelands, but in neighboring minor nations—odd, considering they could've allied against Konoha.
What could they gain from beating Kumogakure—seize land? That wasn't realistic.
But Ishiro couldn't dictate foreign policy. All he could do was grumble internally.
---
At the coast, Ishiro took a moment to enjoy the ninja world's version of a beach.
Then he began searching for a suitable site.
His criteria: don't provoke Kumogakure, and be positioned for quick reinforcement of the Southern front.
He selected a location southeast along the coast—a small hill. It offered decent terrain advantage and wouldn't hinder his own troops' movement.
Afterward, he contacted nearby ANBU squads and issued orders through them to all outposts and patrol teams to rendezvous at the chosen location.
Over the next few days, all patrol and outpost ninja along the Eastern front would gather.
---
Ishiro's first task: build the base.
For now, it would be a rough setup—supplies hadn't arrived. He also had to reassign patrols along the coastline.
If time allowed, he planned to train the assembled troops.
The Second Ninja War had cost Iwagakure heavily. Many veterans had died. Now, among the active lower ranks, many were young and inexperienced—just like Ishiro.
Saka's list showed plenty of ninja even younger than Ishiro stationed in the east.
None had seen war before. Ishiro had to prepare them—and the best way to ease fear was to boost their strength.
---
Three days later, at the newly established camp, all ninja had arrived.
Ishiro called an assembly.
"Everyone, I'm Ishiro, the Third Vice Commander of the Eastern Division. I'll be overseeing the camp for now."
Seeing no objections, he nodded with satisfaction. He had prepared a demonstration of hand seals in case someone challenged him, but clearly that wasn't needed—his reputation was already known.
"Next, I'll assign tasks. There are two main duties: patrol and camp construction.
Patrols will be handled by the original ANBU squads on rotation. Squad leaders, come see me afterward for the schedule.
Camp construction will be handled by the original outpost units. I've drawn up blueprints. Supplies haven't arrived yet, so let's lay the groundwork."
"Additionally, we'll form: an administration team, a medical unit, an intelligence unit, a logistics unit, a reconnaissance squad, and a sealing corps. Interested parties can apply at headquarters."
"To prepare for war, we'll also begin combined ninjutsu training. From now on, you may use mission rewards to exchange for discounted C-rank jutsu."
Then Ishiro turned to the ANBU.
"Those wanting B-rank jutsu can register with me. I'll submit requests to the village on your behalf."
For ANBU, C-rank jutsu weren't much; they aimed higher. But Ishiro couldn't satisfy that need—yet.
"Other than on-duty teams, all ninjutsu-type ninja must learn assigned jutsu. These will be distributed freely but are mandatory to learn."
This was Ishiro's idea. During the Fourth Great Ninja War in the original story, Allied Shinobi Forces had tried something similar. It hadn't succeeded, but the teamwork showed its potential. Ishiro wanted to take it further.
"Any questions?"
No one raised any, so the meeting ended.
---
The squad leaders came forward for their assignments. Ishiro kept ANBU relatively autonomous—just designated an entry/exit point and patrol range. He didn't micromanage them after that.
The real challenge was the hundreds of standard ninja.
There were 13 outposts in total, each with 10 to 20 squads. Ishiro was now responsible for nearly a thousand troops.
He didn't dismantle existing formations. The squads remained under their original Jōnin or Tokubetsu Jōnin leaders.
For example, he assigned two outposts to patrol and guard duty, one to construction. Internal assignments were up to the commanders—after all, they were more experienced in this than he was.
The rest of the troops were reassigned based on chakra nature to begin group jutsu training.
Each ninja was required to drop other training and focus on mastering:
Water Release: Water Bullet
Fire Release: Fireball
Lightning Release: Lightning Pulse
Earth Release: Earth Wall
Wind Release: Wind Breakthrough
Every day, five elite instructors—drawn from the available Jōnin and Tokubetsu Jōnin—were selected to train these groups.
These tasks were recorded as official missions—part of Ishiro's commander quota.
Aside from the leaders, most squads had one Chūnin leading several genin. For them, C-rank jutsu were perfectly suitable.
Had Ishiro more B-rank scrolls, he might've included the ANBU in this program too.
Unexpectedly, some ANBU approached him voluntarily. Some of them lacked the jutsu Ishiro was distributing and wanted to learn too.
Of course, Ishiro welcomed them.
Still, some ninja weren't suited to ninjutsu—lacking either talent or chakra reserves.
So on the second day, Ishiro added standardized training in taijutsu, kenjutsu, genjutsu, physical conditioning, medical ninjutsu, sealing, trap-setting, and even battlefield cleanup.
Unfortunately, upper-rank instructors were limited. Most of these courses were taught by Chūnin-level ninja.
Even so, the Eastern Division was rapidly taking shape—thanks to Ishiro's planning and determination.
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