Becoming the Tsuchikage in the Naruto World

Chapter 16: Mission Record

"Tsuchikage-sama, this is the detailed report on yesterday's battle. Ishiro's description matches the battle traces at the scene perfectly. It seems he unintentionally discovered the Mist ninja's movements and was forced into a fight."

The Anbu agent paused before continuing, "The Intelligence Division analysis suggests that Ishiro has decent battle intelligence. His responses during the battle were commendable for someone of his age. From his peers' evaluation of him, he was previously seen as a student with some talent, but after last night's encounter, he has undergone a transformation into a true ninja. His act of using the wooden shard he had embedded in his own body as a weapon to attack the Mist ninja clearly shows he is already a competent ninja."

Tsuchikage nodded. He had a deep impression of Ishiro – a clever boy. He had previously lacked the resilience expected of a ninja, which was why he had been placed in the Barrier Division. But now, he had grown unexpectedly. It seemed it was time to rethink his future role. Although the Barrier Division was important, it paled in comparison to an outstanding combat ninja.

However, Tsuchikage had no time to worry about Ishiro's future. The ongoing war was his primary concern. He turned to the Anbu and asked, "Did the Mist ninja have any valuable intelligence?"

---

After receiving Ishikawa-sensei's explanation, Ishiro now had some expectations regarding his current abilities. His chakra level was approximately 2.5D. Generally, using Substitution Jutsu required only 0.7D, while the Shadow Clone and Transformation Jutsu required about 0.9D. However, during the battle yesterday, due to the tension, he used much more chakra than usual. If he hadn't been actively drawing on his chakra throughout the fight, he would not have been able to use three ninjutsu in one go.

Curious, Ishiro wanted to test how much chakra he would need to use all three techniques now.

Without wasting time, he headed to a quiet corner. He took a deep breath and quickly formed the hand seals. After two seconds, another identical version of himself appeared beside him.

Surprised, Ishiro felt the energy in his body. The Clone Jutsu had only consumed about 0.6D of chakra, and the casting time had been reduced from the usual 3 seconds to 2 seconds. Yesterday, during the battle, it had taken more than 4 seconds. Reflecting on his performance, Ishiro shook his head. He still had much to improve.

Next, he released the Clone Jutsu and used the Transformation Jutsu, turning into the Mist ninja he had fought yesterday. It also only used 0.6D of chakra and took 2 seconds.

After dismissing the Transformation Jutsu, Ishiro eyed a small tree branch nearby and used the Substitution Jutsu. The chakra consumption was only between 0.4D and 0.5D, and it took just under 4 seconds to complete. Not satisfied yet, Ishiro picked up a tree branch, prepared it for the Substitution Jutsu, and threw it right before switching places with it.

This time, the chakra consumption was even lower – about 0.4D, and the time was reduced to around 1.5 seconds.

Ishiro was thrilled. To perform Substitution Jutsu in just 1.5 seconds was already enough to save his life in battle. The chakra consumption was so low that even if he needed to continue fighting with taijutsu, he could still perform the technique at least three or four more times.

This gave him a much-needed way to avoid attacks.

Not only that, during his next practical lesson, Ishiro realized that his taijutsu had also become much stronger thanks to chakra enhancement.

Now, he fully understood the true meaning of chakra: the combination of mental power and physical strength. This combination wasn't just influenced by the quantity of chakra but also its quality. No wonder Uchiha Madara's Fire Style could make even seasoned ninjas question their lives, while others merely used it as a beginner's tool.

After school, Ishiro went to the Barrier Division practice room and found Master Meisha, explaining the situation. He mentioned that the papers and knife he had taken the other day were lost.

Meisha wasn't bothered by this. The Anbu had already questioned him about Ishiro's situation the previous day. When he saw Ishiro now, he immediately noticed the change in his aura. "Good, good. You've made the most out of the unfortunate situation. Now you can start trying more advanced chakra control exercises."

Meisha paused, then asked, "Have you tried walking on vertical rock walls or across water surfaces?"

Ishiro responded, "I've practiced walking on rock walls, but not on water."

Meisha nodded. It was normal; in the Land of Earth, water was scarce, and there weren't many trees. Battle ninjas practiced chakra control on rocks instead of trees. Walking on water was even harder due to the lack of available water sources.

"No worries," Meisha added. "Those are techniques typically for combat ninjas who don't have many options. For us, those of us in technical fields, we practice chakra control as part of our work." He walked over to a bookshelf and grabbed a large blank scroll, then began demonstrating to Ishiro. "Watch me carefully. Control your chakra onto the pen and draw according to this template."

Ishiro watched intently as Meisha wrote the symbols. The script was simple, and for Ishiro's benefit, Meisha deliberately wrote it large so Ishiro could see clearly.

Ishiro could feel the continuous flow of chakra as Meisha wrote, and though the symbols weren't continuous, the chakra's path was clearly uninterrupted.

Meisha, as if sensing Ishiro's thoughts, said without looking up, "The symbols are just representations. These are special signs that can temporarily hold chakra. What makes the scroll function is the specific chakra flow path when drawing the symbols."

Ishiro understood. The sealing technique was like an invisible net, and the symbols were the nodes that kept the net from unraveling.

Soon, Meisha finished drawing and handed the completed scroll and template to Ishiro for practice.

Ishiro felt embarrassed. "Master Meisha, I've already used up most of my chakra this morning, so I don't think I have enough to complete the symbols."

Meisha laughed heartily, "Don't worry. Even if you had enough chakra, you couldn't finish it in one go. The goal right now is to practice finding the sensation of having chakra flow smoothly with your pen. You'll only be using leftover materials for now. Not having enough chakra just means you'll be practicing for less time, but it won't affect anything."

Ishiro realized he had been overthinking. After completing his paper cutting yesterday, he had mistakenly thought drawing the symbols would be equally simple.

Meisha gave him some additional advice and then went to attend to his other apprentices. There were several students, each progressing at different speeds.

Ishiro picked up the leftover materials and began practicing with the template.

As expected, Ishiro couldn't master it immediately. He couldn't even get the chakra to follow the pen smoothly. It was a continuous trial and error process, trying to find that correct feeling.

From a distance, Meisha watched Ishiro immerse himself in his practice and smiled. He knew that Ishiro wouldn't stay in the Barrier Division for long. A ninja with combat potential like him wouldn't stay sidelined for too long.

"Hopefully, Ishiro will learn enough in the Barrier Division to be useful when he heads into battle," Meisha thought.

---

Three days later, Ishiro received notice that the village had officially accepted his thoughts and insights on the Water Substitution Jutsu, and the village had assigned contribution points according to its importance.

Ishiro went to the contribution office, where he found the staff and inquired about his contribution points. He was surprised to learn that his Water Substitution Jutsu, which he thought was of little value, was worth 1000 points. A D-rank jutsu idea and insight had earned him the equivalent of a C-rank jutsu.

Ishiro asked why, and the staff explained that this Water Substitution technique could be learned by most ninjas who understood Earth-style chakra, and since the village had so many Earth-style ninjas, it was highly valuable.

Ishiro realized that while teaching one ninja the Water Substitution Jutsu was minor, the impact of teaching many ninjas was immeasurable.

"Well, it looks like the contribution office is quite objective," Ishiro thought, feeling pleased.

Additionally, he received another good piece of news: because he had personally killed a Mist ninja of the Chunin rank, the task was recorded as a C+ rank. Although the ninja didn't carry important information, the village still rewarded him with 100,000 ryo and 100 contribution points.

Battle missions awarded similar rewards to clerical tasks, though battle tasks yielded more contribution points. Typically, C-level clerical tasks provided 10 contribution points and 50,000 ryo, while battle tasks required 20 contribution points and 50,000 ryo. Since Ishiro's task was above a regular C-level, his reward was higher.

In total, Ishiro now had 1100 contribution points and a reward of 100,000 ryo. The contribution office had also recognized his actions as those of a qualified ninja. From now on, Ishiro would receive treatment similar to other lower-ranked ninjas in the Barrier Division, with the added benefit of having his tasks officially recorded.

This meant more money, more contribution points, and potential benefits for his ninja ranking in the future.