Chapter 379: Son Gokū's Choice
Ishiro feigned surprise. "Son Gokū, you're not an Iwa-nin. How can you take on a mission? Are you short on money? Is there something you want to buy? Tell me, and I'll have someone arrange it for you."
Son Gokū was extremely frustrated. Without another word, he went straight back inside the Gedo Statue fragment. He felt that Ishiro was deliberately trying to anger him.
However, he came out again very quickly. Because just now, the two little ones had realized they had bought too much of something and had given him another item.
"Tsuchikage, how does one become an Iwa-nin?" Son Gokū asked sullenly. His face was blank, and he didn't look at Ishiro, instead staring down at the ground.
Ishiro took his measure and felt the time was right. He said, "Son Gokū, you've been in Iwagakure much longer than I have. You should know the answer to this question."
"For the past few decades, we haven't gotten along very well. To have the other ninja in the village accept you, you have to make us believe that you will no longer harm Iwagakure."
"I have no prejudice against Tailed Beasts, so when you promised me not to harm the villagers, I believed you. But others will not believe so easily. How do you expect me to convince them?"
Son Gokū hesitated for a long time before saying, "Since I was split into two parts, I have no connection to my main body. What he does has nothing to do with me, and what I do has nothing to do with him. Does the Tsuchikage agree to this?"
Ishiro forcefully suppressed a laugh, not exposing Son Gokū's transparent fig leaf. How could there be no connection? You're not an amnesiac fragment like Little Saiken and Little Chōmei. You were voluntarily split off from the complete Son Gokū.
However, Ishiro said nothing, just nodded with a serious expression and gave a sound of affirmation.
Although Son Gokū wasn't looking at Ishiro, he seemed to be able to guess what he was thinking. He immediately stood up and, while walking towards the Gedo Statue fragment, said in a muffled voice, "Let's do it."
To make the other Iwa-nin believe that this avatar of Son Gokū would not harm them, there was only one thing it could do: entrust its power to an Iwa-nin.
Right now, the only one he could choose was Ishiro.
A moment later, Ishiro emerged from the Gedo Statue fragment, cloaked in the chakra of the Four-Tails.
Very satisfied with this result, Ishiro said, "I'll take you to register tomorrow."
Son Gokū thought for a moment. "Let's go now."
"Alright, now it is," Ishiro was also decisive. He got up and took Son Gokū to the Tsuchikage's building.
Just as Ishiro and Son Gokū left the room, Little Saiken and Little Chōmei emerged from the Gedo Statue fragment. The two little ones were very happy, running around the room excitedly.
Ishiro and Son Gokū, who had just left, naturally sensed this. Although he was a Tailed Beast, Son Gokū only felt his face burn with embarrassment.
After receiving his ninja registration card, Son Gokū went to accept a mission without a moment's delay. The staff at the mission desk were surprised—a ninja beast accepting a mission on its own? But seeing that there was no problem with his registration card and forehead protector, and that he could communicate normally, they still let him accept the simplest D-rank mission.
Ishiro explained the matter of the three Tailed Beasts in detail at a high-level meeting. Everyone listened, looking at each other in dismay. So, getting a Tailed Beast on your side is this simple? Then what have the Iwa-nin—no, what has the entire ninja world been doing for the past few decades?
This topic did not last long. No one had anything to say about Ishiro's decision; they just grumbled to themselves.
Megumi asked, "Master Ishiro, how are Kawakita and Kajiyama Ri?"
Ishiro said, "Kawakita is doing very well, though his progress in learning the S-rank ninjutsu is not smooth. Kajiyama Ri is already an elite jonin. I'm thinking of swapping him back. Since Natsuki is back, we can pick two others to serve as the Third's guards."
"Oh, and Akio Wada has also become an elite jonin. We could swap him back too and send another."
"What?" Saka was shocked. "If I remember correctly, Akio Wada is four cohorts younger than Megumi, right?"
Ishiro nodded. "That's right. He was the top student of his class, with good talent. He became a Quasi-Jonin three years ago during the Chunin Exams."
Saka said, "Call him back. Another genius. We must cultivate him well."
Bella also nodded. "That's right. Looking at it this way, perhaps this Akio Wada's future achievements can go up another level?"
Ishiro shook his head. "That will depend on his future opportunities. To become a Quasi-Kage, one's Ninja Way is certainly important, but there's also an element of luck."
Megumi said, "Then why not call them all back? Just leave Takuhiro Uchiyama and add three more people. It would be best to add three with good talent."
Ishiro thought for a moment. "The first spot goes to Takumi. Although his talent is average, he can be considered a semi-research-type genius. The close-combat style he came up with is quite good; the feedback from other ninja who have learned it has been positive."
"The second spot goes to Hanpei Haraguchi. He seems to have been blaming himself ever since he lost the competition for the Fourth Tsuchikage title. Let him and Takumi go to the Third's side to broaden their horizons. They shouldn't always be staring at the minor matters in the village."
"It just so happens that both of them have been stuck at the jonin level for a long time. It's good for them to go out and look for an opportunity to advance. But as for the last spot, does anyone have a recommendation?"
Everyone thought for a long time but couldn't come up with a suitable candidate. Iwagakure was still too short on geniuses.
Bella said, "Why not wait until the Chunin Exams are over and send Deidara back? He was originally Ōnoki's student."
Ishiro thought for a moment. "Deidara's personality is too unstable. Let him stay in the Anbu for two years. Staying with the Third would not be a good thing for him."
"Since there are no other candidates, why not leave Akio Wada there for now? Let him be the captain," Megumi said. "He has a good relationship with Takuhiro Uchiyama, and it will be easier for them to cooperate." Megumi remembered the scene from the Chunin Exams three years ago when the two of them became Quasi-Jonin at the same time.
"Alright, it's settled," Ishiro decided.
"I hear Natsuki has also become a Quasi-Jonin?" Bella asked.
Ishiro nodded. "That girl has finally found where her talent lies. But her practical combat ability is still too weak. I've already asked Katsumata to teach her a few genjutsu."
Bella sighed with emotion. "You just went to see Ōnoki, and so many people got promoted?"
Ishiro scratched his head. "Kajiyama Ri was promoted a long time ago. But in the Anbu squad guarding Han, two chunin were indeed promoted. That squad will have to be replaced as well."
Everyone: "..."
Saka said, "Alright, you've been out playing for a while. It's time to focus. Because of your interference, Takigakure and the Land of Waterfalls have already agreed to sign an alliance treaty with us. All terms will be based on the one with Kirigakure and the Land of Water."
This was the first Ishiro had heard of this. He was a bit surprised. "Is that so? This leader of Takigakure has some decisiveness, to change his stance so quickly. Has there been any reaction from Konoha?"
Saka said, "When Takigakure announced their agreement to ally with us, they directly and publicly claimed that Konoha's people had ambushed their team escorting the Seven-Tails and intended to frame our Iwagakure."
"This can be considered Takigakure's pledge of allegiance; they have completely opposed Konoha. However, in the end, Takigakure also clearly informed the ninja world that the Seven-Tails had fallen into the hands of the Akatsuki. So, although Konoha lost a lot of face, they haven't caused trouble for Takigakure."
"Hehe, that was a good move by Takigakure. They gained our favor without fully attracting Konoha's wrath. Not a bad move. Let's ignore them. How much trouble can a small hidden village without a Tailed Beast cause?" Ishiro said with a laugh.
"If they're obedient, we'll let them exist for a few more years. If not, we'll use them as cannon fodder next time."
"With our alliance with Takigakure, have the other villages reacted strongly?"
Saka shook his head. "Takigakure was screwed over by Konoha this time and had no other choice but to seek refuge with us. So, the reactions from the other parties were not intense. Only the Fourth Raikage grumbled a few times."
Hearing this, Ishiro breathed a sigh of relief. He had been afraid of taking too big a step and provoking a joint response from the other major villages.
Ikura asked, "Ishiro, is it okay that you gave the Seven-Tails to the Akatsuki?"
Ishiro said, "Don't worry. The Seven-Tails is, after all, just a Tailed Beast. Even if it can increase a village's strength, there's also the danger of it backfiring."
"Even if we took the Seven-Tails, we wouldn't be able to increase our strength by much, and we'd just attract the suspicion of the other major villages for nothing. But if the Seven-Tails falls into the hands of the Akatsuki, Konoha's attention will be diverted."
"Takigakure's statement this time is almost equivalent to giving up all ownership of the Seven-Tails. If Konoha can get the Seven-Tails from the Akatsuki, then it will truly belong to Konoha."
"So, the Konoha leadership's attention is likely on the Akatsuki now. Moreover, the Akatsuki is now a neighboring country to Konoha. Their strength was not weak to begin with, and now they have a Tailed Beast. Who knows if Konoha can still sleep at night."
"It would be best if they start fighting, so we can pick up the spoils. We are in the spotlight now and absolutely cannot become the culprit that starts a war. Otherwise, we will be attacked by everyone, just like Konoha was before."
Saka and the others nodded. They also wanted stability now. Iwagakure was about to have three Quasi-Kage become true Kage. This was not a time to be hasty, not a good time to join a war.
Seeing this, Ishiro sighed. His thoughts were a bit different from theirs. Although he didn't want to be the one to stick his neck out, he did hope for a little more trouble in the ninja world. As long as he wasn't the first one, picking up some spoils from behind was still possible.
But now, it wasn't just Iwagakure seeking stability; all the major villages were. Everyone had talented juniors, and at this time, everyone wanted to give them some time to grow. If Ishiro were to stir up some trouble now, the various parties would actually exercise some restraint. But Ishiro knew that the village's high command would not agree; they didn't want to take the risk.
Since that was the case, he might as well just train honestly.
After the meeting, Ishiro pushed the upcoming Chunin Exams onto Megumi, while he himself took Little Chōmei and began his Wind Release practice.
He didn't need to worry about this batch of his disciples participating in the Chunin Exams.
Of the three, Akino Atsumi had no hope of advancing through normal channels; her practical combat skills were too poor. But she didn't need to go through the normal process. With her mastery of space-time ninjutsu, if not for her young age and the fear of attracting the attention of other villages, she would have been promoted to jonin long ago.
As for Riori Uzumaki, as long as she didn't run into Deidara, no one could withstand one round of her Multiple Shadow Clones. If they could, then two rounds.
Kiyoshi Ishizawa had the Hydrification Technique. Even if he lost, he could be promoted directly. What's more, he had now learned many Water Release ninjutsu and was by no means weak at the chunin level.
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