Chapter 86: Promotion
After the initial shock subsided, Ishiro began his report: "Nagato had always kept his long hair covering his eyes, so I didn't think much of it at first, but now I've basically confirmed it. To prevent more factions from discovering this, I also suggested Nagato wear goggles to hide his Rinnegan."
Ōnoki exchanged a glance with his advisors, then nodded. "You did well. As for the Rinnegan, we'll keep it to ourselves for now. We'll reveal it when the time is right—to those we want to reveal it to."
Ishiro understood. Ōnoki wanted to keep the Rinnegan as a card to play against Konoha at the right moment.
"Also," Ishiro continued, "I learned from my conversations with Yahiko and the others that Konoha's Jiraiya had taught them during the tail end of the Second Shinobi War. Later, he was seriously injured in the incident with the Uzumaki Clan, but after recovering, he resumed training them for quite a while. He's essentially their teacher."
"Judging from their skills, though, it seems Jiraiya didn't teach them many ninjutsu—more like the basics and helped them plan their future as ninja."
"Judging by his chakra volume and red hair, Nagato should be from the Uzumaki clan. I don't know why he was born in the Rain Country, but his chakra reserves are unmistakable, and his hair is just like Uzumaki Yumiko's. With the help of the Rinnegan, he's able to use all five nature transformations. However, the Akatsuki lacks advanced jutsu, so most of Nagato's repertoire consists of C-rank techniques. The Rinnegan likely holds unique abilities, but I'm still unclear on the specifics."
At that, one of the advisors interjected, "Ishiro, be cautious around the Rinnegan. That's the legendary eye of the Sage of Six Paths. Without knowing its powers, you'd have a hard time avoiding a surprise attack."
Ishiro nodded. "Thank you, advisor. I'll be careful." Though in his heart, he thought: If Nagato really wanted to attack me, it wouldn't matter how careful I was.
He went on to report on Yahiko and Konan, though their information didn't spark much interest among the higher-ups. Two jōnin, even with a Kekkei Genkai among them, weren't particularly noteworthy in the eyes of a major village.
Then Ishiro continued, "This time, Yahiko persuaded the Daimyō of the Rain Country. The large caravan that came to Earth Country was sent directly by him. I suspect the Daimyō is dissatisfied with Hanzō and may be considering supporting Akatsuki instead—or using this move to pressure Hanzō."
"Hanzō is already on alert. Perhaps he's aware that Akatsuki has gained the Daimyō's backing and is now close to us, which he sees as a threat. He's already dispatched Anbu to investigate the trade."
"But I didn't detect any movement from Root this time, so I can't confirm whether Hanzō has contacted Danzō to plot against Akatsuki."
Once Ishiro finished, he stayed quiet, letting the upper ranks digest everything.
After a while, the elder male advisor said, "Ōnoki, if the Rain Daimyō is showing signs of supporting Akatsuki, then we might be able to guide things so that Akatsuki replaces Amegakure."
He turned to Ishiro. "Does Akatsuki know about this? What's their reaction?"
Ishiro replied, "I mentioned it to them, but they didn't seem to understand the implications. Akatsuki is a group of idealists. To them, Hanzō is still a hero. As long as he doesn't strike first, they won't believe he's targeting them."
The advisor sighed. "If Akatsuki doesn't act and doesn't contact us directly, we have no reason to intervene in Rain Country's internal affairs. Major nations still need to save face. Otherwise, if Konoha intervenes too, the Third Shinobi War could start early."
Ōnoki then spoke: "Ishiro, from this moment, you are appointed as the head of the trade route development initiative. Your Squad 7 will remain under your command, transitioning from covert to official duty. In addition, I'll assign ten chūnin squads to support your operations."
"Your official task is developing trade routes. Your real job is maintaining contact with Akatsuki and gathering intelligence in the Rain Country. I'll have someone hand over our intel network in the Rain Country to you soon."
Ishiro was surprised. With so many ninja under his command, why wasn't he being promoted to jōnin? A position like this typically required jōnin-level authority, and he had the strength to qualify. Still, this was a promotion. Excited, he quickly accepted.
Ōnoki continued, "Any other intelligence?"
Ishiro thought for a moment. "There's one more thing. I'm not sure if it's important."
He then shared his theory about chakra nature transformation, which he had formed after talking to Nagato. Ōnoki and the advisors frowned—what Ishiro described sounded strange. Traditionally, chakra nature transformation depended on talent, and there had never been such a systematic approach.
But upon closer analysis, what Ishiro said actually made sense.
The middle-aged female advisor finally spoke. "No need to speculate—just test it. We have plenty of ninja developing second or third attributes."
Ōnoki nodded. "Do it. This intel won't be counted toward your mission quota. I'll have someone send you one of the village's Fire-nature scrolls for insight."
"Yes, sir," Ishiro replied.
Ōnoki said, "You and Squad 7 have done well. This mission is marked as A-rank. The Rinnegan intel is critical, so that's an S-rank mission for you alone. Also, you'll get one opportunity to exchange for a B-rank ninjutsu."
Ishiro was ecstatic. His swordsmanship foundation training was complete, and thanks to the manual from Inoue, practicing kenjutsu now took much less time.
He could now focus more on ninjutsu. Although developing Fire Release would take some time, it was also time to start planning which B-rank techniques to specialize in.
He already had one opportunity to exchange for a B-rank jutsu, and now with this reward, that made two. But his contribution points probably weren't enough—last time, they had only covered one. Though the mission rewards were generous, he still needed a few more missions to get enough points.
Speaking of which, he needed to visit the contribution office and submit his upgraded jutsu: Group Water Line Technique and Group Water Pressure Line Technique. Maybe they'd bring in more points.
Excited, Ishiro headed straight to the contribution department after leaving the Tsuchikage's office.
When the staff saw Ishiro demonstrate the two group jutsu, they were stunned. The Group Water Line Technique was a bit niche—plenty of wide-range Water Release techniques were more practical. But the Group Water Pressure Line Technique, descended from the original Water Pressure Line, was a powerhouse in its tier.
Its value was much higher. Due to the technique's level, the staff couldn't authorize anything on their own and told Ishiro to wait—they'd report it, and he'd be notified later.
Ishiro was satisfied. He didn't know the final outcome, but judging by their reaction, the reward wouldn't be small.
Since the review would take time, Ishiro decided not to select a B-rank jutsu just yet. He'd wait until the results were out and make all his picks at once.
Back at his residence, an Anbu was already waiting. He handed Ishiro a scroll—likely the Fire-nature insight document. He also informed Ishiro to report to the Intelligence Division within three days for a handover. This would be for the Rain Country intel.
Lastly, the Anbu told Ishiro to visit the consultant's office at the Tsuchikage Building the next day to select his ten chūnin squads.
Ishiro was surprised. So he could actually choose them himself? That was great news. He started thinking that night about how to configure his new team.
The next morning, Ishiro arrived at the consultant's office. There, the middle-aged male advisor—Saka—was waiting. Ishiro knew of him; he was a top-tier elite jōnin and responsible for assigning missions.
Saka handed Ishiro a list. "Take a look. These are the chūnin squads the village has pre-selected. You can choose ten."
"Thank you, sir." Ishiro scanned the documents. They weren't very detailed—ninja info had to be kept confidential. For example, one entry read: "Chūnin Squad led by Shouhara, age 12, taijutsu ninja. Specializes in close-range assault."
Ishiro chuckled. Shouhara's here? You're not getting away! He immediately picked that squad.
Then he saw a few more familiar names: Mokukaze, Tatsuya, Fujino, Meiko. Without hesitation, he marked them all. But these were all young like him—lacking experience and sometimes impulsive. He needed some steady, older ninjas too.
He browsed the descriptions and selected five more squads, then handed the list back to Saka.
Saka glanced at the names and wasn't surprised. The higher-ups had deliberately included Ishiro's classmates to foster a fresh image for the new department.
"In seven days, their break ends. They'll meet you at the village gate. From then on, your unit will be stationed long-term at the Rain Country border. Rotation within the team is up to you."
"This is the authority of a team-level commander. Take it and study it."
Ishiro nodded and accepted the documents.
Afterward, he went back to the contribution office. This time, the staff greeted him warmly.
"Your two jutsu have been evaluated. Both are classified as B-rank. For the Group Water Line Technique, you get 2,000 contribution points. As for the Group Water Pressure Line Technique, you can exchange it directly for one B-rank jutsu of your choice."
Ishiro's eyes lit up—this reward was far better than he had expected. He had assumed he'd just get some points, since B-rank exchanges required upper-level approval.
Now, he could practically redeem three B-rank jutsu. He was drooling at the thought.
Excited, he opened the ninjutsu catalog, ready to make his picks.
But the staff stopped him. "Wait—first, name your two jutsu properly."
Ishiro froze. He hadn't thought of that. These were just upgraded versions of Water Line and Water Pressure Line, so he'd always treated them as variations of the same jutsu.
Still, a proper name wasn't a bad idea.
"The Group Water Line Technique… let's call it Drizzle Technique. And the Group Water Pressure Line Technique... how about Torrential Rain Technique?"
The staff nodded. The names matched their traits. With that, they let Ishiro continue browsing uninterrupted.
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