Becoming the Tsuchikage in the Naruto World

Chapter 23: Plan to Split the Tailed Beast

Meisha's suggestion was quickly adopted, and everyone discussed specific implementation details. Then they moved on to the second issue.

The high-level leaders were extremely cautious about selecting a new jinchūriki. While there were many talented ninjas in the village loyal enough to serve, the real challenge lay in how to seal the tailed beast so that the new host could harness its power. The Five-Elements Seal, though effective, was too strong; it excelled at locking away the beast but made it harder for the jinchūriki to actually use the tailed beast's chakra.

Therefore, they discussed ways to fine-tune the balance of the five elemental chakras used in the seal, based on the jinchūriki's own nature. For example, if the jinchūriki's affinity was Earth Release, then the other four elements in the seal could be empowered while the earth-nature portion was somewhat weakened. In this way, the "Five Elements" would become slightly imbalanced, allowing the beast's power to leak out. Then, if a dangerous situation arose, the jinchūriki could increase the earth portion in the seal, restoring balance and preventing a runaway.

After further debate on how best to adjust these ratios—and how to leave some room for improvements down the line—they reached a consensus. This meeting yielded great progress, and the advisors, having resolved the most pressing issues, were noticeably more relaxed.

Just as the discussion was wrapping up and Onoki was about to dismiss everyone, Ishiro suddenly voiced another idea:

"Lord Tsuchikage, is it possible to split a tailed beast into two and seal each half in a separate jinchūriki? That way, not only would the sealing pressure be reduced, but the damage caused if one half goes berserk would also be lessened."

All present were stunned. No one had ever posed such a question. But on reflection, it seemed plausible. After all, a jinchūriki rarely unleashed the full tailed beast at once; more often, they drew on a portion of its chakra for Kage-level or even higher combat. A halved beast was still practically infinite compared to an ordinary ninja's standard. Yet if it ever broke loose, it would do far less harm. If it truly worked, it might boost the village's top-level combat strength even further.

Note that Iwagakure had two tailed beasts, both in precarious states, requiring dedicated squads to watch the jinchūriki. If each large tailed beast were turned into two "smaller" beasts, presumably the burden on each jinchūriki would lighten, and the surveillance detail could be reduced. Sealing half a beast would also lie more comfortably within the village's capabilities.

Naturally, everyone was excited but had no clue how to actually split a tailed beast. In the end, Ishiro's proposal was like planting a seed in their minds—perhaps someone would figure out a method one day.

When the meeting adjourned, Ishiro and the others left. Several Jōnin remained behind to finalize details. Whether the tailed beast could be split or not, they still needed to plan a proper re-sealing for the Five-Tails. This time they intended to seal the beast entirely, which was more difficult than last time, and the leadership still needed to discuss specifics with the high-level Jōnin involved.

In the days that followed, Ishiro used up the remainder of his medicinal meals and then devoted his energy to his Barrier Division duties. He needed to save up a large number of contribution points to acquire a perception ninjutsu.

The last of his medicinal meals allowed Ishiro to practice the Water Thread Technique dozens more times, raising his proficiency somewhat. Still, he remained far from fully mastering it. Currently, his success rate was around fifty percent, and his seal-forming speed was still under two hand seals per second, to say nothing of simplified seals.

Nevertheless, the improvement was obvious—his understanding of Water Release had deepened noticeably. Now shifting his chakra into water-nature mode took hardly any conscious effort. That made performing the Water Thread at least a bit easier than before.

He also gained an unexpected benefit—possibly the effect of the medicinal food. Ishiro discovered that while learning both of these ninjutsu, his physical strength had gone up a notch, raising his total chakra reserves to roughly 2.1C. He wasn't sure if that was permanent or just residual. Immediately after finishing the medicinal meals, his chakra capacity had climbed to about 3C, but over the subsequent days it dropped again, settling at 2.1C.

Eager to measure his progress, Ishiro decided to spar with Ikura.

Recently, Ikura had taken a leave of absence for training outside. When he returned, he was noticeably different—though his voice was still gentle, he exuded a latent killing intent that kept everyone on edge. Ishikawa-sensei attributed this to harsh experiences during his time away, saying that Ikura just needed time to readjust.

Soon enough, he seemed to revert to his usual mild self. Then, as he'd promised, he challenged Ishiro to a match. Ishiro was soundly defeated—almost instantly. In fact, Ishiro suspected that Ikura had reached Chūnin level, because fighting him felt no different than facing that Mist ninja on that night.

Facing a Chūnin-level foe in close-quarters combat, Ishiro—who was relatively weaker in taijutsu—had no chance to fight back.

During his ninjutsu studies, Ishiro asked Ikura if he, too, had learned a C-rank technique. Ikura admitted he'd actually done so quite a while ago, but he only mastered it recently during his time away. Ishiro then joked that he'd come for a rematch once he himself learned a C-rank jutsu.

But the "Earth-Style Wall" Ishiro learned was purely defensive, and if he managed to catch Ikura off guard, it wouldn't make sense to erect a wall. With the situation having changed—he'd now learned a half-baked Water Thread technique—he wanted to spar again.

However, Ikura hadn't shown up for class in days. Being in the graduating year, many of them trained in specialized ways outside school—just like Ishiro, who practiced ninjutsu off-campus after requesting leave, or those who, following Ishiro's example, found departmental internships that gave them safe training grounds.

After more than half a month, the Barrier Division had finished its expansion tasks, and Ishiro, done with all the paperwork, found a bit of free time. That day, he happened to run into Ikura at school.

Hearing that Ishiro had learned a jutsu and wanted to spar, Ikura agreed right away. They notified Ishikawa-sensei, who then arranged a Jōnin on duty at the school to oversee them. They moved to a quieter area to fight.

Since the purpose was to test jutsu, Ikura didn't go all out. He matched Ishiro's speed and strength so they could see who best capitalized on an opening to cast ninjutsu. At the start, Ishiro made the first move. He enjoyed a major advantage in using the Substitution Technique, having simplified the normal four seals down to three, which he could complete in about one second. Dodge Ikura's attack with Substitution, then start an offensive ninjutsu.

Ishiro began forming the 18 seals of Water Thread. Yet at less than two seals per second, he took about ten seconds total to finish, whereas Ikura, startled by Ishiro's Substitution, simply used that same gap to cast Earth-Style Wall. He needed only nine seals at roughly 2.5 seals per second, completing it in under four seconds. By the time Ikura's wall was up, Ishiro still needed another five seconds to unleash his jutsu. Fortunately, Water Thread fired quickly, piercing a small hole in the Earth-Style Wall—and the match ended there.

Coming around the wall, Ikura studied the tiny hole and wasn't sure whether to continue.

In two words, Ikura's feelings were: That's it?

After a moment, he shook his head. "Your speed for the Substitution Technique is amazing—what, three seals a second? But then you cast a C-rank jutsu at under two seals a second? And that's all the damage it did?"

Standing nearby, the Jōnin observer sighed. Ishiro's Substitution had looked brilliant, and the Jōnin had braced to intervene if Ikura got in trouble. But in the blink of an eye, Ishiro's momentum completely vanished, replaced by a slow, clumsy casting of Water Thread.

Ishiro could only sheepishly admit there was no point in continuing. Ikura had even held back to let him cast ninjutsu undisturbed, only for him to blow it. "I guess I didn't think this through," he muttered. "My first C-rank technique was purely defensive—there's no point in setting up a wall in the middle of a surprise attack."

Such is the plight of a new ninja. Even someone like Ishiro—who had two different C-rank techniques—was already considered outstanding among Academy students. Most ninjas only learn their first C-rank technique around Chūnin. Sasuke, who pulled off a Great Fireball soon after graduating, had impressed Kakashi himself.

Hence, in the early stages of a ninja's career, battles largely come down to direct taijutsu exchanges.