Chapter 317: The Waterfall of Truth
Ishiro's original intention was to hope that Kiyoshi Ishizawa could draw some inspiration and then walk his own path.
For example, among Ishiro's first batch of disciples, there was Kajiyama Ri. The current Kajiyama is only a Jonin and has not yet become an Elite Jonin, but the hope is still great.
In fact, Kawakita and Chiko Tomoe from the same batch as Kajiyama were both accidents; their progress was completely coincidental. Only someone like Kajiyama is in a normal state. At this age, being at the top among Jonin is already considered a genius.
As a Jonin who develops his own ninjutsu, Kajiyama's promotion is inseparable from the development of ninjutsu, and this requires time to settle.
In terms of talent, Kiyoshi was actually a bit worse than Kajiyama. Ishiro had originally hoped that Kiyoshi could also walk Kajiyama's path, even though Kiyoshi had not yet shown any talent in developing ninjutsu.
But Ishiro felt that Kiyoshi's intelligence should not be low. He had clearly instructed him not to be greedy for too much, but he still chose to do so. Ishiro planned to ask him for his thoughts.
However, Kiyoshi seemed to know what Ishiro was thinking and spoke first, "Teacher Ishiro, I think I may have found my path, but it still feels very vague."
Sensing Ishiro's puzzled gaze, Kiyoshi explained, "Every time I train in Water Release, I have a feeling of being completely immersed in it. I think this should be what Teacher calls the feeling of being 'in tune' with oneself."
"Although I still don't know what the end of this path is, Teacher said that chakra is very magical and can help us learn and remember all kinds of knowledge. I believe that as long as I learn and practice more Water Release ninjutsu, this feeling will also become clearer and clearer."
Ishiro raised his eyebrows. "Yo, not bad." If what Kiyoshi said was all true, then doing so would certainly be no problem. His future, reaching Jonin or even Elite Jonin, was hopeful.
After thinking for a moment, Ishiro took out all the B-rank Water Release jutsu he could privately teach and the other C-rank Water Release jutsu he hadn't given to Kiyoshi, and gave them all to him, "These are all the B-rank and C-rank Water Release jutsu your teacher can give you. Since they are useful to you, they are yours. But in the future, if you want to learn more ninjutsu, you will need to accumulate contribution points yourself to exchange for them at the village's Contribution Office."
Kiyoshi accepted them with a look of joy. He was currently in great need of new Water Release ninjutsu. Although his chakra amount was not enough to cast B-rank jutsu, it was still possible to learn them first.
After understanding the training progress of Riori and Kiyoshi, Ishiro turned his gaze to Han's three disciples.
As for Akino Atsumi, because she was researching space-time ninjutsu, Ishiro, as the Hokage, was very clear about her progress, so there was no need to ask.
"Senior Han, how is your and Yui Toda's Boil Release practice going?" Ishiro first gave some guidance on the training of Han's three disciples, then asked about the Kekkei Genkai, Boil Release.
Han chuckled and said, "Although I haven't mastered Boil Release yet, with Kokuō's cooperation, I can already bring out some of its power."
"Oh?" Ishiro raised an eyebrow, not expecting the progress to be so smooth.
Han looked at his female disciple, Yui Toda, and said, "Yui's progress is even faster than mine. She is originally a ninja with dual water and fire attributes and is very compatible with Boil Release. Kokuō also likes her very much."
"Now Yui can already directly withstand Boil Release chakra. As long as she familiarizes herself with it for a while longer, once she can independently generate Boil Release chakra, her training will be considered complete."
Ishiro looked at Yui, then at Han, and said, "How enviable! I suffered a lot when I was developing Porcelain Release back then. Kokuō is so good!"
Ishiro truly meant these words from the bottom of his heart. He now very much hoped to go and find the Seven-Tails sooner.
It was just that Konoha had not yet returned the Seven-Tails (the situation had been unstable, so Konoha was naturally unwilling to return it). Otherwise, Ishiro would have gone to the Village Hidden by a Waterfall long ago.
Flying with Porcelain Release was slower than the Light/Heavy Rock Jutsu, but the speed was still far greater than traveling on the ground.
After Ishiro understood and guided everyone's training progress, the group arrived at the island designated by the Land of Lightning as agreed. A Cloud ninja squad was already waiting for them there.
Seeing this, Ishiro lowered his altitude and invited the several people onto the platform made of porcelain.
"Gentlemen, were you ordered by the Raikage to lead us to the Waterfall of Truth?" Ishiro asked.
The leader of the Cloud squad nodded and said, "Greetings, Tsuchikage. That's right, we are here to show the Tsuchikage the way."
Ishiro nodded, "You point the way, I'll fly you there."
The squad leader was somewhat envious of Ishiro's flying ability. While pointing the direction for Ishiro, he said, "Tsuchikage, may I ask which one is the Jinchuriki? I have some matters I need to confirm."
Ishiro pointed at Han and said, "This is our village's Five-Tails Jinchuriki, Han."
The Cloud squad leader sized up Han. Seeing that Han's mental state was good, he also breathed a sigh of relief. He had some understanding of Jinchuriki. If Han were in the same state as Gaara when he first appeared in the original story, then he would have persuaded Ishiro not to let Han go to his death, no matter what.
Although Han's state was still far from that of a perfect Jinchuriki, it was still possible to give the Waterfall of Truth a try.
"Han, in the Waterfall of Truth, you will face the real you, the dark you. Have you thought it through? If you fail, you might be completely replaced by your dark side."
"At that time, you might become a machine that only knows how to kill. Are you ready?"
Han began to panic a little and was rather hesitant. But finally, he looked at Ishiro, who was looking at him calmly, and then at the three disciples surrounding him. He then said firmly, "I am ready."
Hearing this, Ishiro smiled. He understood the Cloud ninja's intention. If a Jinchuriki had no confidence in themselves, then there was no need to go to the Waterfall of Truth; they would not succeed.
Only a ninja who dared to face their inner darkness could possibly overcome it.
Sure enough, after hearing Han's reply, the Cloud squad leader breathed a sigh of relief, then said to Ishiro, "Tsuchikage, I have finished my questions."
Ishiro nodded, and neither side spoke again. Only Riori was curiously sizing up the four Cloud ninjas all the way. She had never seen ninjas who were all black before and was very curious.
Until Ishiro's group thoroughly arrived at their destination for this trip: Turtle Island. Only then did Riori's attention shift from the Cloud ninjas.
Looking at the huge island below, Ishiro knew that this was actually a living giant turtle.
However, Ishiro couldn't help but frown because, in his Mind's Eye's perception, this Turtle Island itself did not have a life signature.
No wonder it was used to isolate the aura of the Nine-Tails and Eight-Tails during the Fourth War in the original story. This giant turtle still had some tricks up its sleeve.
The group entered Turtle Island.
There were still many animals living on Turtle Island. These animals lived harmoniously on the island, which made it look even more like a real island.
After entering Turtle Island, Riori immediately pulled herself out of her sorrow and despair and became cheerful. She ran around everywhere and immediately hit it off with the small animals.
The Cloud squad leader looked at Riori with some regret. "This is the best candidate for a Jinchuriki."
Carefree, what Waterfall of Truth, what dark side of the heart, none of it could affect her in any way.
Not long after, the group arrived in front of a waterfall. Ishiro patted Han's shoulder and said, "Rest assured. No matter what happens, the village is your backup. You are never fighting alone."
Han nodded firmly, then, under the gaze of everyone except Riori, he stepped into the Waterfall of Truth.
In the eyes of Ishiro and the others, Han had just very normally stood in the waterfall. But for Han, in that instant, an identical version of himself had already appeared before him.
Han looked at his dark side and subconsciously asked, "You are?"
The shadow directly interrupted Han. He said, as if disappointed in him for failing to meet expectations, "You waste! Why would you believe that kind of brainwashing from that Ishiro? They are all just using you as a weapon."
"Have you forgotten how Iwagakure has treated you all these years? They treat you as a weapon, yet they reject you, isolate you, make you live alone in a corner far from the village, and even send Anbu to monitor you."
"And once a war breaks out, they can't wait to send you to the front lines, disregarding your pain, making you fight enemies you can't possibly defeat."
"This Ishiro is the most detestable. He has been lying to you all along. He just wants to use you, use the Tailed Beast inside you. Look, isn't that disciple of yours using your relationship with Kokuō to learn Boil Release?"
"Don't hesitate anymore. Listen to me, release Kokuō, let's kill Ishiro together, and take revenge on Iwagakure together."
While the shadow chattered on, Han himself kept his head down and listened.
After the other had finished speaking, Han said faintly, "I'm sorry!"
The shadow paused, feeling that the development of events was different from what it had imagined. "Shouldn't you be as angry as I am? Even if you're not influenced by me, shouldn't you be shouting and wanting to duel me?"
Han continued, "I'm sorry for letting you suffer so many grievances all this time."
"It won't happen again. We are no longer alone. We have companions. Tajima and Ishiro are our companions."
"And we also have disciples. Whether it's Yui, Kimiyama, or Rizo, they all trust us and admire us immensely."
"When we returned to the village recently, we no longer saw those people looking at us with strange eyes. Many people even regarded us as heroes."
The shadow roared, "They are all lying to you!"
But Han just smiled faintly, "And you? Are you also lying to me?"
"What?" The shadow suddenly panicked a little.
Han's smile grew even brighter, "I can feel it. You are also very satisfied with our current life."
"No! You're talking nonsense! I hate Iwagakure! I want revenge!" the shadow shouted, but he magically found that his voice no longer had that dark feeling.
The shadow looked at Han blankly.
Han slowly approached, then hugged the shadow tightly and said, "Have you forgotten? The thought we had when we chose to become a Jinchuriki?"
The shadow was stunned, and then a distant voice suddenly rang out in its mind.
"I voluntarily became a Jinchuriki. I am a hero of the village. Even if everyone doesn't understand me, rejects me, I will not regret it. I am willing to bear the darkness for the village."
A smile slowly appeared on the shadow's dazed face, and then it began to slowly dissipate.
"Congratulations, Han!" At the last moment, the shadow only said three words.
And Han gently said, "Congratulations to you too, Han!"
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