Chapter 223: The Future of Iwagakure Lies in Sage Jutsu
Ōnoki's talent for practicing Sage Jutsu might not have been strong, but his chakra amount was greater than Ishiro's, and his control over chakra was also stronger. In terms of fusing the three types of energy, Ōnoki was still the best in the entire ninja world.
So, although he didn't succeed in one go, according to Ōnoki's description, his process of absorbing natural energy was quite smooth. Achieving a small amount of natural energy fusion was just a matter of time.
Seeing Ōnoki's smooth progress, Ishiro couldn't help but wonder if practicing Sage Jutsu was actually difficult, or if there were just too few ninjas who had access to it.
Perhaps the practice of Sage Jutsu wasn't as difficult as he had imagined.
Not only did Ishiro have this thought, but Ōnoki, after one attempt, also felt the same way.
Because by training according to the steps designed by Ishiro, Ōnoki felt that practicing Sage Jutsu wasn't that difficult, and it wouldn't be hard to reach Ishiro's current level. All that was lacking was time.
In the end, it was Ikura, who had participated in Ishiro's training from start to finish, who thought of a possibility.
The Three Great Sage Regions were, in their entirety, huge natural energy sealing grounds. The natural energy within them was far more abundant than in the outside world, and also more than in the natural energy sealing area created by Iwagakure itself.
This led to a situation where any ninja training in Sage Jutsu in the Three Great Sage Regions would be immediately overwhelmed by an unimaginably vast amount of natural energy as soon as they came into contact with the liquid natural energy, rendering them completely defenseless.
The result was that ninjas whose chakra amount hadn't reached a certain level simply couldn't practice it.
Furthermore, Ishiro's current shortcut method was based on the ability to leave the natural energy sealing area at any time. The reason Ishiro succeeded in entering Sage Mode for the first time was precisely because he calculated the time and left the sealing area, interrupting the absorption of natural energy.
This was something that couldn't be done in the Three Great Sage Regions. It wasn't easy to enter the Sage Regions, and it was also difficult to get out. It was impossible to interrupt the connection with natural energy at a critical moment during training.
Therefore, Naruto and the others did not have the kind of transitional phase that Ishiro had during their Sage Jutsu training.
And if Ishiro hadn't had the experience of maintaining Sage Mode daily during his transitional phase, it would have been impossible for him to complete his training so quickly.
It still came down to the same thing: Ishiro believed that the miraculous chakra possessed a memory function.
Ishiro still couldn't enter Sage Mode outside the natural energy seal, and even within the seal, without the aid of liquid natural energy, Ishiro couldn't enter Sage Mode.
But Ishiro believed that as long as he persisted in maintaining Sage Mode every day, his body's adaptability to Sage Jutsu would definitely get higher and higher.
Ōnoki, while rubbing the back that had been struck by Ikura's black rod, said, "Ikura, my training progress shouldn't be much slower than Ishiro's. I estimate it won't be long before I can enter Sage Mode."
"You're next. You should start preparing with balance training as well."
Ikura nodded and said, "I started trying long ago, but my progress in balance training isn't fast. Perhaps I'm not suited for practicing Sage Jutsu."
Ishiro said, "No hurry, take your time. You have plenty of time. Anyway, in a while, after Dango recovers from childbirth, she can also try practicing Sage Jutsu. You can be in line after Dango."
Ikura nodded; he also felt very helpless. He was different from Ishiro and Ōnoki. Ishiro and his group had experience developing or training Kekkei Genkai; fusing chakra was not unfamiliar to Ishiro.
But even if Ikura completed the balance training, the time it would take for him to master Sage Jutsu would definitely be far longer than Ishiro's.
Not to mention, Ishiro's familiarity with and research into natural energy were also far beyond what Ikura could hope to match.
Whether it was the various developments and research on the natural energy seal or the derivation and attempts of the training steps, Ishiro, as the main designer, had an understanding of the Sage Jutsu training process that those who came after could not compare to.
And how much time had Ishiro spent on training Sage Jutsu? No matter how you calculated it, it was measured in years. Ikura, who was inferior to Ishiro in all aspects, felt that even if he were to master Sage Jutsu, the time required would probably be upwards of ten years.
This made Ikura not very confident about practicing Sage Jutsu.
Ikura didn't have this mentality before; it only emerged after he began training in S-rank ninjutsu.
Originally, Ikura's ability to learn ninjutsu was not inferior to Ishiro's, and he had developed a combat style suitable for himself early on.
But everything changed after he started learning S-rank ninjutsu. He had clearly started learning S-rank ninjutsu first, but Ishiro learned it first.
Not only did Ishiro learn it, but he also learned more than one. Ishiro learned three, one of which was even learned outside. This made Ikura feel that when it came to practicing these strange and unusual things, Ishiro's talent far surpassed his.
These past few years, Ikura had focused all his energy on learning S-rank ninjutsu, aiming to use S-rank ninjutsu in actual combat. For this, he had slowed down or even given up on many other areas of study.
But what about Ishiro? During his training, Ishiro had also developed a Kekkei Genkai and contributed at least five A-rank ninjutsu to the village. This guy had also taught three disciples who had already become Jonin.
He couldn't figure it out: where did Ishiro get so much time?
Ishiro didn't know that Ikura was marveling at his strong learning ability. He was currently thinking about how to explain the precautions for practicing Sage Jutsu to Dango in detail.
Dango was very smart, with an intelligence no less than that of a normal human, but communication between Ishiro and her was not that smooth after all. He was afraid it wouldn't be easy to guide her in practicing Sage Jutsu.
At this moment, Ōnoki finished sensing his body and said with a serious expression, "Alright, that's it for the discussion on Sage Jutsu. The few of you, follow me to the office. We have things to discuss."
Ishiro and Ikura exchanged a glance, both seeing confusion in each other's eyes. They didn't understand what had happened again in the ninja world that had just settled down.
After following Ōnoki to the Tsuchikage's office, Ōnoki called Saka and Mei over as well, then directly handed two intelligence reports to Ishiro and the other three.
After reading them, Ishiro understood why Ōnoki was so serious.
There were two reports. The first was about Konoha. After a round of post-war political maneuvering, the Uchiha clan had moved out of Konoha's core area.
This was several years earlier than in the original story, where they were driven out due to the Nine-Tails Rampage.
And shortly after relocating, the Uchiha clan announced a change in clan leadership: Fugaku Uchiha replaced Uchiha No as the head of the number one powerful clan in the ninja world.
Ishiro was very interested in this intelligence because being far from Konoha's core meant that communication between the outside world and the Uchiha clan would no longer be so difficult.
Ishiro was not the only one with this idea. Saka quickly proposed increasing contact with the Uchiha clan, and this suggestion was quickly approved.
Ishiro believed that other hidden villages would also make the same choice.
Because of Ishiro's influence, in this timeline, the four major powers had a clearer understanding of this internal conflict within Konoha. In the original story, no other hidden villages were seen until the Uchiha clan was annihilated, but Ishiro felt that such a thing was probably impossible in this timeline.
Ishiro himself really wanted to run to Konoha immediately and have a good chat with the Uchiha clan's radical faction.
This intelligence was good news for Iwagakure, but the other piece of intelligence was not necessarily so.
Mei frowned slightly and said, "The Cloud and Mist are also trying to form an alliance?"
That's right. The second intelligence report mentioned close communication between the Cloud and Mist ninjas. The two sides had communicated many times, and at a very high level. The intelligence personnel even mentioned that A and Yagura Karatachi had also participated in the exchanges.
Ishiro speculated, "It's probably because they were spurred on by our alliance with the Sand."
In fact, the alliance between Iwagakure and Sunagakure had more political significance than practical meaning.
The two countries had not reached any agreement to advance and retreat together; the main content was still the commercial trade that was already factually taking place.
The only one who probably took this alliance treaty very seriously was the Akatsuki organization in the Land of Rivers.
But only high-level officials like Ishiro were clear about this; the people below didn't know, and Konoha, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure naturally wouldn't know either.
So, while Konoha, the original hegemon, found this troublesome, Kumogakure, which considered itself the second strongest in the ninja world, also felt uncomfortable. The Land of Lightning, after all, was still just across the sea from the Land of Earth.
Ikura asked, "Should we sabotage it?"
This was a difficult question to answer. Because an alliance between the Cloud and Mist would certainly be disadvantageous to Iwagakure, but Konoha would feel even more uncomfortable. From the perspective of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," not only should Iwagakure not sabotage it, but they should do their utmost to facilitate it.
However, thinking about how they had spent so much effort holding the joint Chunin Exams, and had schemed to provoke a sense of crisis in the Sand ninjas, only to barely achieve an alliance that couldn't be more nominal.
And now, just because they succeeded, the Cloud and Mist were going to easily replicate it?
Everyone felt very unbalanced.
In the end, it was Ōnoki who said, "Forget about sabotaging it. Let them be. If they can successfully form an alliance, we won't make trouble either. Let Konoha have the headache."
Ikura said, "But why is the contact between the Cloud and Mist so high-profile?"
Ishiro was also puzzled. The alliance negotiations between Iwagakure and Sunagakure were kept secret. The itineraries of the important figures participating in the negotiations were even concealed under the cover of the joint Chunin Exams to get them together.
"It is indeed strange. The alliance between the Cloud and Mist this time is probably unusual. Even if we don't actively sabotage it, we can't skimp on intelligence gathering. Lord Tsuchikage, how about I take a trip to the Land of Water?" Ishiro said tentatively.
Originally busy with Sage Jutsu training and teaching disciples, Ishiro had been quite content, not feeling bored even while staying in the village. But hearing that there was so much excitement to join in on outside, Ishiro's mind couldn't stay still.
Ōnoki, Saka, Mei, and even Ikura all glared at Ishiro in unison.
Mei said, "Are you thinking of going out to play crazily again? Every time you go out, you never know to return to the village until you've had enough fun. Don't even think about going out this time. Train your Sage Jutsu properly, and don't leave the village until it can be used in actual combat."
Ishiro felt guilty and didn't dare to make a sound. His daily Sage Jutsu training was consuming a large amount of the village's funds.
It was Ōnoki who, after thinking for a moment, said, "It's fine if you want to go out. The alliance between the Cloud and Mist this time is too abnormal. Ordinary intelligence personnel might not be able to analyze any useful information and won't be able to make any effective response."
"I agree to you going to the Land of Water, but you have to wait a bit longer. After Konoha's actions are confirmed, you can set out and formulate a targeted action plan."
"But remember, no matter what, you cannot go deep into the Land of Water."
Ishiro's eyes lit up. He nodded desperately and said, "Understood. Please rest assured, Lord Tsuchikage."
Everyone was speechless. It would be a miracle if they could rest assured with you.
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