Chapter 381: The Instructor with a Unique Eye
"Shinsuke, 36 years old, of civilian origin, just promoted to jonin this year. Proficient in Earth Release, with lightning and earth chakra natures."
He was likely a ninja who originally had a talent for Lightning Release but, due to the village's scarce lightning ninjutsu, had been forced to walk the path of Earth Release.
Ishiro looked through Shinsuke's service record. His experience was not remarkable; compared to a genius like Ishiro, it could be said to be plain and unremarkable. But if one looked at it from another angle, for a civilian-born ninja with no teacher to guide him, to have reached this level step by step with mediocre talent was truly rare. This was a "fractured version" of Ishiro.
Ishiro summoned an Anbu. "Go and bring this Shinsuke here."
"Yes." The Anbu left upon hearing the command.
After a good while, the Anbu led Shinsuke to Ishiro's office.
Shinsuke, who had never been treated as a genius, was visiting the Tsuchikage's office for the first time. He couldn't help but feel a bit nervous upon seeing Ishiro. He had been preparing to formally accept his disciples tomorrow when he was suddenly notified by the Anbu, leaving him somewhat at a loss.
Ishiro sized up the middle-aged ninja. "Have a seat."
"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage," Shinsuke replied, then obediently sat down where Ishiro had indicated.
Through this brief observation, Ishiro knew that this Shinsuke was likely the type of ninja who was very honest and wouldn't try to take shortcuts. The fact that he could become a jonin at this age also had its merits: he was diligent and, once he had set his mind on something, was willing to spend a great deal of time grinding away to achieve it. It was admirable, but not dazzling.
Ishiro thought for a moment. "Senior Shinsuke, you are taking on disciples this year, is that right?"
Shinsuke hurriedly replied, "Yes, Lord Tsuchikage. I just happened to select three disciples yesterday."
Ishiro nodded and praised him, "Thank you for your contributions to the village. This time with the disciples is no exception. I have selected some students I believe are worth cultivating, but I can't teach them all myself. I happened to see that you chose three of them, and I feel that our thinking is very similar. That's why I asked you here for a chat."
A look of joy appeared on Shinsuke's face. "Lord Tsuchikage also thinks those three can be cultivated? That's wonderful!"
Shinsuke had great faith in Ishiro's judgment. Since Ishiro had said so, then those three would surely achieve something.
The two then chatted for a while about their thoughts on selecting disciples and found that they had much in common.
Finally, Ishiro said, "Senior Shinsuke, the three disciples you have chosen are all good. Here, I give you my promise: for any ninjutsu used to cultivate these three disciples, you can redeem it from the village at a thirty percent discount."
Shinsuke was overjoyed. "That's wonderful, Lord Tsuchikage!"
He had just been promoted to jonin, and the contribution points he had accumulated before had all been used to redeem the ninjutsu he needed. His own savings were not substantial.
Ishiro added, "Senior Shinsuke, thank you for your silent contributions to the village over the years. On behalf of the village, I am giving you one A-rank ninjutsu and its related training notes. You can go directly to the contribution office to choose."
This time, Shinsuke was truly surprised. He said with trepidation, "Lord Tsuchikage, this isn't right, is it? Wouldn't this be unfair to the others?"
Ishiro smiled. "Senior Shinsuke, do you know why those geniuses grow so quickly? Because they have the village's support. The resources they receive are far more than what you have received."
"Although you are not a genius, you have persisted in contributing to the village and are now cultivating the next generation who might otherwise be overlooked. As the Tsuchikage, I cannot show nothing. Please, do not refuse."
Shinsuke's lips trembled. He then nodded and said, "Thank you, Lord Tsuchikage."
After Ishiro finished speaking and was about to let him go, he suddenly sensed that Shinsuke seemed to have something to say. So he asked, "Senior Shinsuke, is there something you want to tell me?"
Shinsuke clenched his fists as if giving himself confidence, then said, "Lord Tsuchikage, I encountered a student when I was selecting disciples this time. I feel she is very strange. She might have some peculiar talent, but I can't figure it out and don't know how to cultivate her, so I wanted to recommend her to you."
Ishiro was taken aback. "Is that so? What's her name?"
Ishiro wasn't just humoring him. He took out the list he had recorded, wanting to check if this person was on his own shortlist. Judging from Shinsuke's way of thinking, this student might really be suitable for him.
"Her name is Chiga. She's a student from Regular Class 5..." Shinsuke explained everything he knew in detail.
"Thank you, Senior Shinsuke. I have seen this student's file before but didn't notice anything special about her. I will consider it carefully," Ishiro said.
Shinsuke scratched his head. "Lord Tsuchikage, then I'll take my leave."
Ishiro nodded.
After Shinsuke left, Ishiro convened a meeting with the advisors. There was only one item on the agenda.
"I want to compile statistics on the number of older-generation ninja in the village who are of civilian origin, have average talent, have never received special training from the village, and did not have a jonin captain after graduation."
"Is it possible to give each of them a ninjutsu as a reward? If they are a jonin, I propose giving a B-rank ninjutsu, as a way for the village to compensate for its debt to them over the years," Ishiro explained the purpose of the meeting.
Saka and Bella looked at each other, not understanding what Ishiro was up to this time.
Ishiro said, "Today I met a jonin named Shinsuke. Of civilian origin, average talent. After graduation, he performed missions under the leadership of a chunin teacher and then painstakingly became a chunin. After that, he led his own team on missions until, at the age of 36, he barely became a jonin. I've looked at his journey to becoming a jonin; it was very coincidental. Originally, his final destination was just chunin."
"After becoming a jonin, he prepared to take on a few disciples, and he still chose those with very average talent. This is a ninja who has spent his entire life contributing to the village."
"I think there should be many such jonin in the village. We should promote them as heroes. The village owes them. We didn't realize it before, but now that we know, I feel the village should do something."
"I have rewarded Shinsuke with an A-rank ninjutsu. As for the others, I think a B-rank ninjutsu for each jonin is not excessive, so I wanted to discuss it with you."
Megumi said, "I agree. If I hadn't met you, Master, even if I had become a ninja, I might have just been an unremarkable genin, with probably no hope of ever becoming a chunin in my life. I am willing to take out my contribution points to cover the cost of these B-rank ninjutsu."
Bella scolded with a laugh, "Little Megumi, even if the village is poor, it hasn't reached that point. Don't worry, I also agree. The village can still afford this bit of money."
Ishiro's proposal was quickly passed. The specific work would be well-handled by Saka and Bella. Ishiro once again became the hands-off boss.
After the meeting, Ishiro went directly to the Ninja Academy and summoned Sakai, the homeroom teacher of Graduating Class 5, to ask for details about the student, Chiga.
Sakai was very excited when he saw Ishiro. He knew that Ishiro must have taken a fancy to a student in his class to condescend to see him personally.
"Chiga?" Sakai was surprised to hear the name. He thought to himself: Indeed, Lord Tsuchikage's choice of disciples is always beyond the prediction of mortals like us.
When he had seen Ishiro, he had run through the few students he thought were most likely in his mind, but no matter how he ranked them, Chiga would not have been among them.
Sakai said, "Chiga has been feeling unwell these few days and hasn't come to class. She's really not well. I went to see her; she's resting at home, and her spirits aren't good. It's not like other students who, at this time, don't come to school because they are usually undergoing intensive training in their family."
However, now that everyone knew Ishiro was about to select disciples, not a single one was training with their family. But Sakai didn't say this.
Ishiro asked, "Do you know why Chiga is unwell?"
Sakai thought for a moment. "It should be from a combat class a few days ago. She accidentally stabbed a classmate with a kunai, and the classmate's blood splashed all over her face. She was probably frightened at that time. When I went to see her, she was a bit dazed. I was worried if she could even graduate normally."
Ishiro thought for a moment. "Can you take me to her home to have a look?"
Sakai nodded eagerly. "Of course. Let's go now." He couldn't wait for Ishiro to confirm this disciple.
Ishiro said, "Mm, let's go now."
Chiga was also of civilian origin. Her grades in Regular Class 5 were average. Apart from being slightly outstanding in sensory perception, she didn't have many strengths. Under normal circumstances, she should be able to graduate successfully, but she would be among the weaker batch of those who did. Of course, she was much better than some of the weirdo disciples Ishiro had taken on.
It was clear that Sakai was a very responsible homeroom teacher. This was not the first time he had visited Chiga. He familiarly introduced Chiga's family situation to Ishiro while leading him to her front door and knocking.
"Teacher Sakai, you're here? I'm much better now. I can go back to school tomorrow. Don't worry, teacher, I won't be delayed for the graduation exam," Chiga was quite happy to see her homeroom teacher. Knowing that he was worried about her, she quickly said.
Just as she was about to let Sakai in, she saw Ishiro standing behind him.
The Fourth Tsuchikage! Who in Iwagakure didn't know him? Especially the graduates of this year, who hadn't had their daydreams?
Instantly, the little girl's face flushed red with excitement. She quickly looked at her homeroom teacher and saw him give her an encouraging look. The little girl felt her heart was about to leap out of her throat.
"L-Lord... Tsuchi... Tsuchikage," the little girl stuttered. The more nervous she got, the more she couldn't speak properly, and she was on the verge of tears from anxiety.
Ishiro smiled, stepped forward to pat the little girl's head, and said, "Don't be nervous. Please invite us in to sit for a while."
"Mm, mm," the little girl relaxed a little and hurriedly invited Ishiro and Sakai inside.
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