Chapter 96: Planning for Earth Release
Chakra is a mysterious force that grants humans extraordinary power. This power can be broadly divided into two categories: external and internal.
The external is easy to understand—chakra can create immense destructive power.
The internal, simply put, is this: chakra can alter the essence of life itself. To describe it in layman's terms, chakra can modify a ninja's body at the genetic level.
That's why in the ninja world, the descendants of ninja are more likely to become ninja—not just due to better access to resources, but also due to innate talent. And powerful individuals tend to produce strong heirs—like Kakashi, the son of White Fang, or the Third and Fourth Raikage, who were father and son.
Even stronger proof lies in the existence of kekkei genkai clans. If an ancestor possessed a bloodline limit, there was a chance their descendants could awaken it too.
A kekkei genkai is simply a higher-tier application of chakra. Its modifications to the body are more profound and far easier to pass on through bloodline inheritance.
This characteristic was thoroughly explained in the secret archive, making it easy for Ishiro to understand.
The archive was clearly the result of contributions from numerous Iwagakure ninja. It was incredibly detailed and included not only theories and insights into chakra, but also speculation and practical training methods. It greatly increased a ninja's odds of successfully awakening a kekkei genkai. Especially helpful were its detailed methods for controlling and merging chakra natures—an extremely hands-on guide.
All signs pointed to one thing: this archive was priceless and filled with practical value. However, there was one thing that made Ishiro nearly cough up blood: according to the archive, he didn't yet meet the standard to begin training in chakra fusion.
The archive stated clearly that the minimum threshold for fusion was to have achieved mastery of both chakra attributes involved. Thankfully, it also provided a way to determine that mastery: the amount of chakra required to cast a particular jutsu.
After a moment's thought, Ishiro realized that his Water Release had likely reached this level—thanks to the development of his Water Pressure Line techniques.
But his Earth Release? Far from it. He'd only studied a few B- and C-rank Earth jutsu and had never developed or explored the nature deeply.
According to the archive, chakra fusion had to involve two dominant attributes. For Ishiro, that meant Water and Earth. Using other attributes would cause serious interference.
This was… awkward.
He had exchanged such a valuable reward just to access this archive, only to find he wasn't ready. Ishiro sat there in stunned silence. Just how much did I lose on this deal?
A staff member's reminder brought him back to reality. He stood up and slowly walked out of the Contribution Office. Turning to glance at the building behind him, he finally understood a saying: "The world is not worth it."
His reaction was understandable. After all, in his original plan, Earth Release was merely a support tool—Water Release was his true core path. He had never intended to develop Earth Release as deeply as he had with Water Pressure Line.
His goal had always been to further refine his water-based techniques, especially Water Pressure Line. In fact, he'd been quietly working on it for years, and although progress was slow, he had never given up.
But now, the archive was telling him: If you want chakra fusion, you must go all in on Earth Release too.
This put Ishiro in a tough spot.
Chakra fusion to achieve a kekkei genkai and the deep development of Water Pressure Line were two goals he had firmly committed to. He wasn't about to give either one up.
But deep development of Earth Release hadn't even been on the list—not because Ishiro didn't want to, but because he lacked the energy. His talent in ninjutsu was decent, but mostly due to his exceptional chakra control, not any innate affinity for elemental transformations.
In Ishiro's personal long-term plan, chakra fusion and the refinement of Water Pressure Line ranked even above training in Sage Mode—because Sage Mode required massive chakra reserves, which was exactly what Ishiro lacked and couldn't fix in the short term. Even if his natural energy affinity hit maximum, it wouldn't help much without chakra volume.
Feeling discouraged and doubting everything, Ishiro wandered over to the Barrier Corps to clear his head and check in on any updates they might have.
The Barrier Corps had been quite busy over the past few years, particularly working to decipher the two S-rank sealing fragments Ishiro had once submitted—the remnants of the Fire Domain Technique. One of them remained unresolved.
When Ishiro arrived, the Barrier Corps was as active as ever. Some were exploring new theoretical applications, while others were preparing tests and prototypes.
Seeing him arrive, most greeted him casually and returned to their tasks. Only Elder Myousha noticed something off about Ishiro.
Though technically retired, the old man couldn't stay idle. He loved sealing techniques and spent every day at the Barrier Corps, often appearing on the roster despite his retirement.
Seeing Ishiro's low spirits, he walked over and asked what was wrong.
Recognizing the man who had mentored him in sealing arts, Ishiro didn't hide anything. "I got promoted to jōnin and used my reward to access the chakra fusion archive."
"But... I'm not qualified to start training. I haven't developed Earth Release enough. I never planned to either. It feels like I've wasted the reward."
Myousha laughed heartily. "Ah, so that's what it was. I thought something serious happened."
"Listen, little Ishiro, a ninja's life has limited energy—we can't do everything. You know that better than anyone. If not, with your sealing talent, you'd have learned a lot more advanced techniques by now."
"We all make choices. Some are made for us. Some are obvious. And others—we hesitate, struggle, and finally decide. But once the choice is made, that's it."
"You're the one walking the path. Whether you succeed or fail depends on you. If you don't put in the work, then no matter what path you pick, it won't matter. But if you do, any path can lead to greatness."
"If you'd chosen to train Yin Release back then, maybe you'd have achieved even more. So what? Choose boldly and walk forward."
Ishiro didn't fully agree—after all, direction matters. The village couldn't support all paths equally. Some paths yielded more aid and opportunity than others.
Still, Myousha's example reminded him of his abandoned talents in genjutsu and Yin Release—skills he had neglected due to lack of village support.
But that realization helped him resolve the issue.
Back then, he'd made the right choice. And now, the same logic applied: the village could help him far more with chakra fusion than with other things. If it meant developing Earth Release more seriously, so be it.
With his mental block cleared, Ishiro felt significantly lighter. He even thought his chakra felt more active. Shaking his head, he thanked Myousha and eagerly asked about the progress on the Fire Domain fragments.
After spending half a day with the Barrier Corps, Ishiro returned to his house in Sealing Zone One. He found that not only was Dan'go still there, but Shironeko had moved in too.
Shironeko had decided that as long as she wasn't on a mission, she'd stay inside the sealing barrier with Dan'go. After all, Ōnoki had given her full clearance. The village had even granted her a month-long leave, so she just moved in with Ishiro.
As for Dan'go, he continued to live at Ishiro's because the village hadn't arranged a separate room for him. Ishiro's sensory ninjutsu allowed him to monitor Dan'go's absorption of natural energy. If anything went wrong, he could intervene immediately.
—
The next day, after his regular physical training and kenjutsu practice, Ishiro headed to the training field.
Back when he first transmigrated, he dreamed of casually becoming a Kage-level powerhouse and unlocking all kinds of kekkei genkai.
But reality had been harsh. His current body had only average talent.
Still, Ishiro had a long-standing dream—to slowly merge chakra natures: two, then three, then four, five… until he achieved the power of someone like Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
So despite the difficulty, he was still young. The final war was still far away. He could afford to wait.
But dreams were dreams. Reality was reality. Ishiro had to work hard, starting with developing his Earth Release understanding.
After thinking things through the night before, he had a plan.
Just yesterday, he had received the A-rank Earth Release jutsu—Light-Weight Boulder Technique. After studying it, Ishiro decided to reduce the time spent on other jutsu and focus entirely on mastering it.
Once that was done, he intended to develop Heavy-Weight Boulder Technique from it. He believed mastering Light-Weight Boulder Technique would boost his comprehension of Earth-nature chakra—maybe not dramatically, but enough to make a difference.
And if he could personally develop Heavy-Weight Boulder from that base, that would mean his understanding of Earth Release had finally reached the level needed to begin chakra fusion training.
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