Chapter 119: Reflection
Things went relatively smoothly on Ishiro's side. He had killed two people—including an elite jōnin—and although one had escaped, based on their speed, Ishiro was confident his subordinates would be able to catch and finish the job. However, things on the other front were less certain. After sealing away Hoshikawa's corpse, Ishiro used the Light-Weight Boulder Technique and flew in the direction Sarutobi Mei had fled.
From the air, Ishiro had a wide field of vision. Not far away, he spotted an area scorched by Fire Release jutsu. When he arrived, he found his subordinates cleaning up the battlefield.
He quickly counted their numbers—none had died. Good. After checking in on the injuries of two wounded shinobi, he asked for a rundown of what had happened.
As it turned out, Sarutobi Mei and his companions had not panicked during the pursuit by Matsuki and the others. Thanks to Aburame An'on's kikaichū, they had successfully evaded the ambush from the other four ANBU squads.
Failing to cut off the retreat, Moto had shifted his focus to direct pursuit. At that point, Sarutobi Mei and An'on—both recognizing their own limitations in speed—volunteered to stay behind and cover the retreat of Mura-ki, the taijutsu-focused jōnin.
As expected, both were eventually killed by Moto's team. But Mura-ki managed to escape.
Based on their clothing and dialogue, Ishiro's subordinates deduced that among the rear guard, one was from the Aburame clan and the other from the Sarutobi clan. The one who escaped—the taijutsu user—appeared to be a civilian-born ninja.
"Two elite clan members giving their lives for a civilian shinobi... Konoha really is something," Ishiro thought to himself. He didn't say it aloud though, not wanting to dampen morale.
Looking out over the distant forest, Ishiro chose not to pursue further.
Though he had the means—flight and sensory techniques—to do so and a good chance of success, he was not a lone wolf. As the commander of the Eastern Division, he couldn't afford to be away from camp too long.
Calling for his team to finish the battlefield cleanup, Ishiro used the Light-Weight Boulder Technique to return ahead of them.
As expected, the camp had entered the highest level of alert. Everyone was nervously guarding their assigned positions.
This was due to an order issued by Ishiro's three disciples, who had acted in his name.
For secrecy, no one in the camp had been informed of the mission in advance. From the moment Ishiro issued the order until all the jōnin and ANBU left, only a few seconds passed. Most hadn't even realized what had happened before Ishiro's group vanished.
Naturally, this had caused panic. Fortunately, Ishiro had prearranged with his three disciples to assume temporary command. While the others were still confused, they quickly stepped up and organized the camp's defenses.
By the time Ishiro flew back, only a short while had passed since they'd left. The camp was still on high alert, with people both maintaining vigilance and discussing the sudden departure of their commander.
Flying openly, Ishiro didn't bother concealing himself. The moment he returned, he was spotted by those in the camp.
Seeing their superior return, everyone's anxiety eased.
A few veteran chūnin, who had previously served as instructors, quickly approached to ask what had happened.
Understanding their concern, and realizing that this had been a major victory, Ishiro chose to stabilize morale by first announcing that the operation had been a success. He then asked them to wait until the rest of the team returned before sharing the full report.
Before long, the rest of the jōnin and ANBU returned.
Ishiro personally briefed everyone on the details of the mission, placing special emphasis on the devastating effect of the initial combined ninjutsu assault.
The results were inspiring. Everyone's interest in learning ninjutsu soared.
Especially after realizing that combined ninjutsu could threaten even elite jōnin, many taijutsu-focused shinobi who had previously given up on ninjutsu training decided to join the study sessions once more.
Ishiro was very pleased. In large-scale ninja warfare, genin who specialized only in taijutsu had minimal value. Their only long-range attacks were thrown weapons, and they had to survive enemy fire just to get close.
Essentially, they were cannon fodder.
But genin who knew ninjutsu could join the main force as long-range firepower. In some ways, their impact exceeded even that of chūnin who specialized in taijutsu.
Ishiro felt the same way about his fellow Iwagakure shinobi. Now that he was temporarily the highest-ranking commander of the division, he intended to do what he could for their survival.
A genin who could perform ninjutsu—and better yet, participate in combined ninjutsu—would be far more valuable than a standard genin.
He hoped his efforts would give them a better chance of making it home alive.
After boosting morale, Ishiro announced the rewards for those who had taken part in the operation.
Because the mission involved taking down an elite enemy jōnin, Ishiro received extra mission credit. Generously, he awarded each participating jōnin an A-rank mission entry, and each ANBU squad also received one A-rank mission.
In wartime, the value of an elite enemy jōnin was far greater than in peacetime.
So although Ishiro handed out twenty A-rank entries at once, it wasn't a huge loss.
If anything, having "defeated an elite jōnin" added to his resume was worth far more.
After lifting the alert status and rearranging camp defenses and training duties, Ishiro finally had time to reflect on the operation—its gains and its mistakes.
First off, he realized he'd made a major error in bringing every jōnin with him.
Looking back, he should have left at least one tokubetsu jōnin behind. That way, the thousand-strong camp wouldn't be left without any upper command if something went wrong.
It was a serious lapse in judgment. He shuddered at the thought of what could've happened had an emergency arisen with no clear leadership in place.
In retrospect, he knew he'd been swayed by the promise of glory.
He also recognized a tactical error in how he assigned ANBU Captain Moto's squad.
He hadn't accounted for the Aburame's ability to detect the ambush and avoid it entirely.
If Ishiro had considered the enemy's likelihood of splitting up and escaping—and the role the Aburame clan could play—he would've sent Tomoe instead. As a skilled sensory ninja, Tomoe could've locked onto the enemy's position, enabling Moto's squad to intercept them effectively.
If Moto's team could stall the enemy just a little longer, Matsuki and the others might've arrived in time to block the escape.
There had been a real chance to capture all of the enemy.
Aside from his mistakes as a commander, Ishiro realized he'd also misjudged his own capabilities.
The gap between a jōnin and an elite jōnin wasn't enormous. Ishiro knew this well after his breakthrough. He had gained balanced improvements across the board—but nothing game-changing.
Before his breakthrough, Ishiro had already been a top-tier jōnin. He'd covered his taijutsu weaknesses and possessed powerful A-rank jutsu. He even had more than one, including the self-developed Water Cutter, which he could use with far greater efficiency than anyone else.
His hand seal speed was also exceptional—putting him among the best of his rank.
But after his breakthrough, the improvements weren't dramatic. Within the elite jōnin tier, Ishiro was still on the lower end. Against a seasoned elite jōnin, unless he used his flight technique to retreat, Ishiro would've likely been killed.
Sadly, Ishiro hadn't realized this at the time. He naïvely believed he could take on Hoshikawa alone.
Worse still, he hadn't considered the existence of specialists among elite jōnin.
Hoshikawa was a swordsmanship specialist. His overall rank may not have been at the Kage level, but his kenjutsu was top-tier even among elite jōnin.
And Ishiro's original plan had been to engage him in close combat.
Looking back now, Ishiro realized how childish that had been.
If Hoshikawa had chosen to disengage and kite them, Ishiro's side didn't have anyone fast enough to keep up. The initiative would've been lost.
Moreover, if Hoshikawa hadn't been caught off-guard by the Water Cutter's lateral movement and taken a hit to the leg, there was no way they would've killed him so easily.
If he hadn't mistaken Ishiro's Water Pressure Line for another Water Cutter and chosen to block instead of dodge, things would've gone very differently.
Had Hoshikawa not revealed his terrifying kenjutsu so early, Ishiro might've foolishly charged into melee and died instantly.
His confidence in his B-rank kenjutsu and rapid hand seals would've meant nothing.
Had Ishiro been killed, his remaining forces—though not necessarily doomed—would've been far less coordinated. Hoshikawa might have escaped.
Thankfully, after being humbled by Hoshikawa's blade, Ishiro had finally recalibrated his self-assessment.
His current strength exceeded that of a standard jōnin, barely reaching the elite jōnin tier.
But among elite jōnin, aside from his seal speed, his advantages were gone.
In fact, what were once his patched weaknesses now showed again under the pressure of a close-combat specialist.
That was to be expected—after all, Ishiro's B-rank kenjutsu was only designed to counter other jōnin. Now that he regularly faced elite jōnin, it was becoming insufficient.
And it wasn't even fully mastered. Techniques like the blade winds Hoshikawa used to part the sea of fire—those were still beyond Ishiro's reach.
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