Chapter 224: A Name
As soon as the high-level meeting ended, Ishiro began preparing to leave the village. The first thing he had to do was make arrangements for his six disciples.
The six disciples each had different talents, and Ishiro hadn't trained them according to their talents before. His training focus for them had still been on the fundamentals.
Now, Ishiro felt it was time to create some training plans for the six that could bring out their strengths.
For the strongest, Takuhiro Uchiyama, Ishiro planned to use the Light/Heavy Rock Jutsu to take him flying a few times every day, to let him properly experience the changes of weightlessness and overweight.
Unfortunately, the Light/Heavy Rock Jutsu was a village ninjutsu, and Ishiro didn't have the authority to teach it to his disciples.
As an advisor, if Ishiro insisted on giving his disciples special tutoring, it wouldn't be impossible to find a reason to teach one or two B-rank ninjutsu belonging to the village. Back then, Ishiro had applied for the then-Genin Kawakita to learn B-rank sword techniques. The village, considering that Kawakita had miraculously learned to use blade energy at the time, agreed very readily.
But the Light/Heavy Rock Jutsu was A-rank, a ninjutsu that required a seal to be placed in his mind even after he learned it. So even though Ishiro was an advisor, he couldn't casually teach it to his disciples.
All Ishiro could do was give Takuhiro Uchiyama some more experience with gravity, but he couldn't directly teach him the related ninjutsu.
Kanako's origami talent was the most difficult to manage. Fortunately, Ishiro had Konan as an external aid. Ishiro had written to Konan right after taking on his disciples.
Konan was very excited to know that Ishiro had taken on a disciple with a talent for origami, wishing she could snatch Kanako away from Ishiro. So she wrote a notebook related to Paper Release overnight and had someone deliver it to Iwagakure.
Therefore, guiding Kanako was the easiest. Ishiro just had to give Konan's notes to Kanako, and that was it, at most answering some questions Kanako didn't understand based on his own experience.
Yuran Kawazoe's talent was related to sealing jutsu. Ishiro was an expert in this field. From C-rank to S-rank sealing jutsu, Ishiro had a rich foundation and could easily guide the little girl's introduction to it.
The arrangements for the three members of Squad Four were easy, but the three from Squad Three were more troublesome.
Although Himeki Suda had the ninja cat, Shiro, Shiro was still just a little kitten. Forget about fighting, it couldn't even take care of itself. And Ishiro was not very good at guiding ninja animals in training.
In the end, he had to ask White Cat and Dango for help, letting them provide guidance. It just so happened that Dango was still in her postpartum recovery period, so there was enough time.
Additionally, Ishiro also took Himeki Suda to see the Giant Panda. Himeki Suda was chosen by the Giant Panda, so the Giant Panda was relatively close to her and was willing to guide the little girl on some matters related to ninja animals.
Katsumata's talent for genjutsu surpassed that of ordinary people, but Iwagakure's collection of genjutsu was not large. Previously, Iwagakure had basically no B-rank genjutsu that could be used in actual combat; the ones they had were merely auxiliary.
After the Third War, Iwagakure obtained two B-rank genjutsu from Konoha: Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change, and the Temple of Nirvana Technique.
The former could barely be used in actual combat, but it had high requirements for the caster. Currently, no one in Iwagakure could use this genjutsu against an enemy.
The latter was practically only useful against civilians; learning it was completely useless.
The village had been organizing personnel to develop new genjutsu after the war, but the results were mediocre. Forget B-rank genjutsu, they couldn't even create a C-rank genjutsu that could be used in combat.
Developing a whole system of ninjutsu was too difficult. Iwagakure's foundation was too shallow; it would still take a lot of time to achieve any results.
Fortunately, although Katsumata's talent was good, his foundation was too poor. He hadn't been exposed to genjutsu before, so he needed to start from the most basic theoretical knowledge. Ishiro could still guide him for a short period.
In addition, besides teaching Katsumata theory, Ishiro also arranged his first genjutsu training plan for him: interrogation. Anyway, Ishiro was the advisor in charge of interrogation; arranging for Katsumata to interrogate enemy spies was a piece of cake.
With the opportunity for practical application, Ishiro believed it would be easy for Katsumata to get started.
Finally, there was Kazumasa Yoshimura. Ishiro himself was an expert skilled in hand seals, so guiding Kazumasa Yoshimura seemed very simple. But the main reason Ishiro's hand seals were fast was his strong chakra control, not his hand speed. Ishiro's hand speed was trained later.
So, in guiding Kazumasa Yoshimura, Ishiro was also "crossing the river by feeling the stones," formulating a training plan that suited him as much as possible. The primary goal of the plan was to increase the speed of hand seals when casting ninjutsu; the secondary goal was to simplify hand seals.
Considering Kazumasa Yoshimura's special situation, Ishiro also added another item: developing new hand signs.
There were many hand seals in the ninja world. Not to mention the common signs, there were also many strange and unusual hand seal methods, like Jiraiya's method of forming seals with his feet.
In terms of two-handed seals, Ishiro only knew the twelve basic ones. But for practicing one-handed seals, there weren't many existing signs to refer to; Ishiro had developed them entirely on his own back then.
So Ishiro had some experience in developing new hand signs and also had some hope for Kazumasa Yoshimura.
After arranging for the six disciples, Ishiro turned his focus to the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, Han. Ishiro had high expectations for Han and also spent a lot of time on him.
Before leaving the village this time, Ishiro wanted to have a good talk with Han.
Ever since taking on three disciples, Han's life had completely changed. Every day, he was either teaching the three rookie Genin or pondering how to teach.
When Ishiro came to find Han this time, his three disciples happened to be away. Otherwise, Ishiro seriously suspected he might not have been able to get a word in.
Even so, the rhythm of their conversation was still occasionally diverted by Han, eventually circling back to his three disciples.
Han would either ask Ishiro for some details on teaching disciples or describe the training progress of his three disciples to Ishiro.
Ishiro had originally thought of waiting for him to finish asking before chatting. But seeing this posture, he estimated that the topic wouldn't return to normal even by the time his disciples came back.
So Ishiro finally found an opportunity to bring up the topic of Tailed Beasts.
"Senior Han, how have you and the Five-Tails been getting along recently?"
Han was clearly stunned by this question, then as if waking from a long dream, his previous excited and agitated emotions cooled down considerably.
After hesitating for a moment, Han said, "I've almost forgotten my identity as a Jinchuriki during this time. I haven't had any conflicts with the Five-Tails recently."
As he spoke, Han scratched his head and said, "It's a bit strange. The Five-Tails used to frequently attack the seal, but now it seems to have calmed down a lot."
Ishiro smiled and said, "Senior Han, I've wanted to talk to you about the Tailed Beasts for a long time, but your state wasn't good before, so it wasn't suitable to bring up this topic."
"But since you took on three disciples, your mental state has changed greatly. And in my opinion, this change is very positive and very suitable for getting along with a Tailed Beast."
"So today, I plan to tell you something about the Tailed Beasts."
Han was somewhat surprised, looking at Ishiro, unable to speak.
Ishiro stood up and said, "Let's go to the top of the valley. The view is open there, and we can feel more at ease while chatting."
After speaking, Ishiro got up and went to the top of the valley without looking back. Han hesitated for a moment but still followed.
The two sat at the top of the valley, looking into the distance, neither speaking.
After a long while, Ishiro finally said, "Senior Han, do you know the Five-Tails' name?"
Han's body trembled. He turned his head towards Ishiro in astonishment and asked tentatively, "Tailed Beasts have names?"
And inside Han's body, within the seal that Ishiro couldn't see, the Five-Tails, which had been lying down asleep, instantly opened its eyes.
Ishiro did not turn to look at Han but continued to gaze into the distance, saying, "The people of the village see you as a monster, Senior Han, and don't dare to get close to you. But I know you are a hero, a hero who has made a sacrifice for the village."
"But, Senior Han, you see the Five-Tails as a monster. Have you ever thought that the Five-Tails is also a living being? It has its own thoughts and emotions. It also has its own name."
Han was stunned after hearing Ishiro's words. Ishiro ignored him and continued, "From the Five-Tails' perspective, it did nothing, yet it was sealed within a ninja's body by us. Not only did it lose its freedom, but it also has to be used by us as a weapon."
"So from the Five-Tails' perspective, we Iwa ninjas are the bad guys, and it is the victim."
Han had never heard anyone say such a thing. His understanding had always been how terrifying the Tailed Beasts were and what a great threat they posed to the village, but he had never thought about things this way.
Han subconsciously wanted to refute, but thinking of what Ishiro had just said about the village civilians treating him as a monster, Han wavered. Perhaps he had misunderstood the Five-Tails, just as the villagers had misunderstood him.
But was what Ishiro said true?
Ishiro didn't give Han much time to think, directly saying, "Han, try to become friends with the Five-Tails. It is just like you used to be, very lonely."
"You still have friends, you have Tajima, you have me, and now you have disciples. But what about the Five-Tails?"
"It still only has itself. Originally, you were like it, bearing the loneliness together. But now you are suddenly no longer lonely. What will it think?"
"So, Han, give the Five-Tails a friend."
Han lowered his head and remained silent for a long time before asking, "Advisor Ishiro, do you know what the Five-Tails' name is?"
Ishiro nodded and said, "Of course I know, but I won't tell you. You need to communicate with the Five-Tails yourself to find out. Let becoming friends start with knowing its name."
Han, with his head lowered, was stunned for a moment. After a long while, he slowly raised his head, looked at Ishiro, and then, like Ishiro, turned his gaze to the distance. Then he smiled and said, "I understand. I will become friends with the Five-Tails."
Ishiro didn't turn his head, but his Mind's Eye could feel Han's chakra fluctuate distinctly at that moment. The fluctuation was very brief and quickly returned to calm.
But Ishiro knew that Han's mentality had changed. Ishiro didn't know if today's conversation would be beneficial to Han, but Ishiro knew that at this moment, Han's mood was very good.
So Ishiro also put away his serious expression and smiled.
The two of them just looked into the distance like that, until the voices of Han's three disciples calling for him came from below, ending this brief but pleasant conversation.
Han nodded at Ishiro, then got up and returned to the valley.
Ishiro looked at Han's back, smiled again, stood up, and stretched. The biggest matter was finished; it was time to leave the village.
Five days later, news from Konoha also reached Ishiro. The spy reported that Konoha's Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya had disappeared together.
When the spy got the news, the two had not made a public appearance for at least three days. This would be normal for Orochimaru, but it was not normal for Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze.
Minato Namikaze was fine, as he often went out on missions. But if Jiraiya wasn't chased out of a women's bathhouse two or three times a day, his life would seem imperfect.
After paying a little attention, the spy discovered that besides these two, several other well-known Elite Jonin from the village had also disappeared.
Thus, Konoha's response was obvious: this time, Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze were leading the team again.
It was just that Ishiro wasn't quite sure who Hiruzen Sarutobi was specifically targeting this time.
After receiving the news, Ishiro entrusted his six disciples to Chiko Tomoe's care and then left the village.
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