Chapter 155: Simplifying Fire Release Ninjutsu
Sitting cross-legged atop the over-100-meter-tall stone spike, Ishiro resumed his balance training.
Just like the failed attempt earlier, despite trying his best to remain balanced, he lost it around the 20-dust mark and fell.
His shadow clone leapt up and caught him midair, and the two landed safely together.
Back on the ground, Ishiro closed his eyes to recall the sensations he just experienced, then ascended to the top again for another round.
This time, the result was nearly the same—he lost balance shortly after the 20-dust mark, the chaotic high-altitude winds disrupting him again.
But unlike the failures from before, the calm-minded Ishiro began to perceive a faint sense of rhythm from the disturbances.
On his third, fourth, and subsequent attempts, the duration he could maintain balance began to increase in leaps.
This leap in progress came from his growing ability to endure one gust, then two gusts of wind. Each time he braced through a gust, he bought himself more time.
Eventually, the high-altitude winds were no longer enough to topple him.
Though each gust still made him wobble for a while, Ishiro now regained his balance quickly before the next one came.
Watching him improve little by little, the mood among the camp members shifted—from initial shock, to envy, and finally to admiration.
Shironeko stared wide-eyed, astonished. How did he suddenly surpass us all like this?! She glanced down at Dan'go, who was also watching Ishiro silently in her arms. Her meaning was clear: Can you do that too?
"Meow~" Dan'go responded decisively.
Shironeko understood—Dan'go was admitting it couldn't.
"Damn it, lost to that guy again…"
In one afternoon, Ishiro went from being the camp's laughingstock to reaching an awe-inspiring level.
The reason was simple: mindset.
This kind of training was all about mental state. Ishiro had a slight edge thanks to his prior exposure to natural energy—that alone made him stronger than anyone else in camp… Dan'go excluded.
But before, Ishiro's impatient, overly purposeful mindset was totally incompatible with this training. He had been the only one approaching it with a clear goal, which ironically made his mentality the worst of all.
So his performance had also been the worst.
The others, including Dan'go, didn't understand the training's purpose. They approached it with a lighthearted, playful attitude—which happened to be the ideal mindset.
Now that Ishiro had adjusted, aligning his mindset with Sage training principles and aided by his prior contact with natural energy, success came easily.
Still, this wasn't enough. Ishiro's goal was to eventually reach a level where not even a breeze could disturb his body.
But it was dinnertime, and today's training ended. He would continue tomorrow—there was no rush now that his heart was at peace.
That evening, Ishiro sat with his three disciples in the middle of the training grounds, exuding a stoic, sage-like aura.
After dinner, he turned to Fire Release training—his main mission. However, this wasn't something that would improve his combat strength quickly.
Previously, he had rushed his development and ended up neglecting Fire Release. But with his mindset corrected, he now understood: chakra nature mastery required steady accumulation, just like how he built up his Water Release over time.
His mastery of Earth Release had come through a life-or-death situation and guidance from two Kage-level mentors. That was a one-time shortcut—not something he could replicate.
So Ishiro decided to go step by step, day by day, bit by bit.
Due to rank restrictions, he hadn't been allowed to learn A-rank Fire Release. He only knew one B-rank jutsu—Phoenix Sage Fire Technique—and two C-rank techniques—Great Fireball Technique and Fire Whip Technique.
Thanks to the original manga, Ishiro could cast Great Fireball in just six hand seals. He had also reduced Fire Whip to 14 seals after insights gained in the Evil God Cult's genjutsu illusion.
But Phoenix Sage Fire still required a whopping 24 seals.
Before coming to the Eastern Division, Ishiro had exchanged for over a dozen C-rank jutsu from the village, including three more Fire Release ones. But he hadn't touched them yet—he'd been too focused on his kekkei genkai training.
Now, his Fire Release training focused on two goals:
1. Learning the three unused C-rank Fire Release jutsu.
2. Simplifying all his Fire Release hand seals.
Although his understanding of Fire Release was limited, this time, training felt much easier compared to simplifying Water and Earth Release techniques back in the day.
Upon reflection, it was due to his improved experience and insight. Even if his Fire nature affinity was still low, his jutsu execution and chakra control skills had drastically improved.
In fact, in terms of chakra control alone, Ishiro was probably second only to Kage-tier shinobi in the entire ninja world.
So what he had expected to be a time-consuming project progressed rapidly.
Between dinner and bedtime, Ishiro not only mastered the three new C-rank Fire Release techniques, but also simplified each—cutting their hand seals from 20+ down to around 12 or 13.
Even Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, the B-rank jutsu, was reduced from 24 to 19 seals.
After wrapping up his training, Ishiro did a quick wash and went to bed feeling satisfied.
Meanwhile, in Kitsuchi's office, he and Shiden were still buried in paperwork. They, too, had heard about Ishiro's rapid progress.
"That little brat," Kitsuchi grumbled with a chuckle, "Didn't even think to report back from leave or help out with some of this damn paperwork."
Though not Ishiro's teacher, Kitsuchi had once been his squad leader and took pride in his growth. Still, it was hard not to gripe when Ishiro dumped all the work on him and Shiden.
Shiden smiled and said, "When I was helping Dan'go train, I did notice something interesting about Ishiro. His talents are… unusual. I remember when he became a jōnin—his mental shift was very strange."
"I only demonstrated an A-rank jutsu to him, Shironeko, and little Ishikawa, and boom—he broke through."
"He suddenly realized he was a ninja. It was like… he matured in an instant."
"He's always had a different way of thinking. I reviewed his records—he had a creative spark even when he was very young. He notices paths others ignore."
"So with that kind of mindset, it's not surprising he comes up with odd but effective methods."
Kitsuchi nodded thoughtfully. He had always thought Ishiro was simply mature. But Shiden's analysis revealed something else—his ideas really were unique.
After a moment, Kitsuchi added, "A while back, he developed the Porcelain Release bloodline limit. Now that it's done, he isn't digging deeper into it or refining his Water Release. Instead, he's spending time on Lightning and Fire. What's he trying to do?"
Shiden didn't have a definitive answer but thought aloud, "He once mentioned the Lightning Stimulation Method. From the way he talked about it, I could tell he was fascinated."
"I think he wants to develop Lightning Release so he can make that method usable."
"As for Fire Release… what if he's aiming to create a Kekkei Tōta, like the Tsuchikage?"
"No way! That's Kekkei Tōta!" Kitsuchi's first instinct was to reject the idea.
Understandably so—in Iwagakure, and even the entire ninja world, Dust Release was the only known Kekkei Tōta, the signature of the Tsuchikage.
In the eyes of the Iwa leadership, Ikura was the true heir to the Tsuchikage title. It was hard to associate Ishiro with something that grand.
But still… Ishiro had just developed a kekkei genkai.
Creating a kekkei genkai and a kekkei tōta were worlds apart in difficulty. But with Ishiro…
After Shiden's analysis, Kitsuchi began to wonder—maybe, just maybe, it wasn't impossible.
"Well, let's wait and see. Let's see just how big of a surprise this kid brings to us—and to the village."
After a solid night's sleep, Ishiro woke up ready to continue yesterday's training.
But after finishing his physical exercises, he was unceremoniously dragged away by Kitsuchi.
Kitsuchi dumped a stack of intel onto him and told him to review all recent events in the shinobi world. As an elite jōnin and deputy commander of a military division, Ishiro couldn't afford to be ignorant.
In addition to intelligence, he was also required to participate in internal affairs and logistics management.
Reluctantly, Ishiro cut into his Lightning Release and balance training time.
He'd hoped to get it over with quickly and return to his training—but clearly, he had underestimated the situation.
Kumo had been acting up recently—and Ishiro was the one who provoked them in the first place. So this mess? It was his to clean up.
Thus, Kitsuchi handed him all Kumo-related duties.
Ishiro's first reaction was: Let's go hit their camp hard. Kill a few jōnin and see if they still want to act up.
But then he reconsidered. If he really escalated things and triggered full-on war between the Land of Earth and Land of Lightning, he would be the one blamed.
Still, the intel said Kumo had been constantly provoking Iwa patrol squads along the coastline, sometimes even blatantly crossing the border.
If Iwa didn't respond with some firmness, those Kumo lunatics might think Iwa was afraid.
This was a delicate balance.
After reviewing the intel, Ishiro made a decision. He gathered seven or eight teams along with his three disciples and headed for the coast.
There would be a fight. But to avoid escalating the conflict, Iwa couldn't appear to bully with superior ranks.
If equally ranked teams—chūnin vs. chūnin, genin vs. genin—fought fairly under jōnin supervision and Iwa came out on top, it would be enough to make Kumo back off for a while.
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