Chapter 228: Land of Water (BOUNS CHAPTER)
After breaking through the Konoha Anbu's interception, Ishiro had been traveling at full speed using the Light/Heavy Rock Jutsu.
The speed of the Light/Heavy Rock Jutsu couldn't compare to the Body Flicker Technique, let alone the Lightning Release Stimulation Method, but its advantage was its stealth. Flying at a low altitude, it wasn't easy to leave a trail.
If Fugaku Uchiha had chased him directly, Ishiro wasn't sure if he could have escaped. But for the later Konoha Anbu, it wouldn't be easy to find Ishiro's trail after he had been gone for some time.
So, after pursuing for a while, the Konoha Anbu completely lost Ishiro's track. Helplessly, they could only return to Konoha.
Ishiro wasn't sure what actions Hiruzen Sarutobi would take after the news reached Konoha. Nor did he know what methods Fugaku Uchiha would use to deal with the Konoha higher-ups afterward.
Ishiro was somewhat relieved that Fugaku hadn't pursued him. Few in the ninja world would dare to face a Mangekyo Sharingan with unknown abilities.
In the original story, Fugaku never made a single move until the day he died. The abilities of his pair of Mangekyo Sharingan and their whereabouts became a mystery.
After confirming his safety, Ishiro went to a village not far from Konoha. This was a base Ishiro had set up before entering Konoha. His personal belongings were all stored here.
Although a ninja's greatest reliance in battle is themselves and their chakra, a handy weapon is also part of a ninja's strength. Ishiro was not yet strong enough to dominate the ninja world without relying on external aids.
Temporarily safe and with his equipment back in his hands, Ishiro finally woke up Uchiha Sakai, whom he had knocked out and carried away.
Uchiha Sakai was still a bit dazed. He hadn't officially entered the Ninja Academy yet, after all, and had only received enlightenment education within the Uchiha clan.
Although the educational requirements of a large ninja clan were high, his age and experience were what they were. Uchiha Sakai hadn't yet realized he had been abducted.
His memory was still stuck at the moment he was helping Ishiro pick up things.
Ishiro didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "Uchiha Sakai, congratulations on being captured by me."
"Huh?" The little boy was stunned for a moment. He was captured? How was he captured just like that? Was this a new way of playing the ninja game?
It took him a while to react. Uchiha Sakai then struck a defensive posture and said, "You're not a village ninja? Who are you?"
Ishiro didn't laugh at Uchiha Sakai's slowness, saying, "My name is Ishiro. I am an advisor from Iwagakure, the Village Hidden in the Stones, in the Land of Earth."
"Land of Earth?" Uchiha Sakai hadn't systematically studied the history and geography of the ninja world. He had only occasionally heard some things about the ninja world from the elders in his clan.
But because the Uchiha clan had been directly facing the Land of Water, Uchiha Sakai was still aware of Kirigakure, the Village Hidden in the Mist.
However, Uchiha Sakai knew very little about Iwagakure from the Land of Earth, which had withdrawn from the war early on.
Ishiro was not surprised; this was a simple-minded kid like Obito. The intelligence report stated very clearly that this Uchiha Sakai was not high in either intelligence or training talent.
Ishiro reached out, ignoring Uchiha Sakai's resistance, pressed down on his head, and made him sit down. Then he said, "It's still early. Let me tell you about the situation in the ninja world and your own predicament."
"There are many countries in the ninja world. Among them, there are only five great nations: the Land of Fire, the Land of Earth, the Land of Water, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Lightning. Among them, your Land of Fire is powerful."
Hearing Ishiro say this, a proud expression appeared on Uchiha Sakai's face.
Ishiro continued, "Do you know how the five great nations came to be?"
Uchiha Sakai knew a little about this and immediately said, "It was established by Lord First Hokage and the ancestor of our Uchiha clan, Lord Madara Uchiha, together."
Ishiro nodded and said, "That's right. Konoha Village was indeed established by those two you mentioned. They secured the now prosperous lands of the Land of Fire."
"But they only established Konoha Village. Other hidden villages also have their own heroes. For example, our Iwagakure was established by our Lord First Tsuchikage."
Uchiha Sakai seemed to have forgotten that Ishiro was still an enemy and nodded with a look of partial understanding.
Ishiro continued, "The First Hokage was Hashirama Senju, the Second Hokage was his younger brother Tobirama Senju, and the Third Hokage is the Second Hokage's disciple, Hiruzen Sarutobi."
"Why did the position of Hokage not go to Madara Uchiha, whose contributions were no less than Hashirama Senju's? Why did it not go to your Uchiha clan?"
Uchiha Sakai immediately retorted, "The Fourth Hokage will definitely be an Uchiha! Our clan head, Lord Fugaku, will definitely become the Fourth Hokage!"
Ishiro glanced at the agitated Uchiha Sakai and said, "Then do you know why your clan's territory was suddenly moved from the center of Konoha Village to the remote corner where it is now?"
Uchiha Sakai fell silent. Being in the Uchiha clan, how could he not have heard the complaints of the clan elders?
After a while, he continued, "The village has a misunderstanding about our Uchiha clan right now, but this misunderstanding will be cleared up sooner or later."
Ishiro smiled and said, "Then do you dare to make a bet with me? I bet your misunderstanding will not be cleared up, and I bet the Fourth Hokage will not be an Uchiha."
"Impossible! Don't try to sow discord! I won't fall for it!" Uchiha Sakai shouted excitedly at Ishiro.
Ishiro scanned the surroundings with his Mind's Eye and, finding no movement, continued, "How about this: you go to school at our Iwagakure's Ninja Academy. After you graduate and become a Genin, if the Fourth Hokage is an Uchiha, or if your Uchiha clan moves back to the center of Konoha, then I promise to let you return to Konoha."
"But you have to promise me that you will study hard at the Ninja Academy and not reveal your identity as a member of the Uchiha clan."
Originally, Ishiro had wanted to say that if, by that time, the Fourth Hokage was not an Uchiha and the Uchiha clan had not returned to the center of Konoha, then Uchiha Sakai would have to join Iwagakure. But after hesitating, he didn't say it.
Uchiha Sakai's face lit up upon hearing this. "Really? You'll keep your word?"
Ishiro nodded and said, "Of course. I wouldn't go so far as to lie to a child like you. Besides, my only request is for you to study. I'm not asking for intelligence on Konoha or the Uchiha clan, nor am I asking you to do anything for Iwagakure. You're not losing out."
Uchiha Sakai hesitated for a moment, then said, "Alright, I promise you."
Ishiro smiled to himself. "Good that you agree. In a few years, when you graduate, it's hard to say if the Uchiha clan will even still exist in the ninja world."
Ishiro created a Water Clone, which went out to get some food.
After it got dark, Ishiro cast the Light/Heavy Rock Jutsu on both himself and Uchiha Sakai, and also used the Camouflage Jutsu on himself. Then Ishiro took Uchiha Sakai and left the Land of Fire, flying back to Iwagakure.
When Ōnoki heard that Ishiro had returned, he was somewhat puzzled. But when he heard that Ishiro had brought back an Uchiha child, Ōnoki's puzzlement turned into ecstasy.
Ōnoki immediately arranged for the Anbu to create a new identity for Uchiha Sakai. Of course, his name couldn't be Uchiha Sakai anymore. Ōnoki gave him a name on the spot.
He would be called Ryōtenbin Chūkō.
Ōnoki giving Uchiha Sakai his own surname was in the hope that the ninjas and civilians of Iwagakure would be friendlier towards him after hearing his name, so he would feel a sense of belonging to Iwagakure.
The name Chūkō (Resurgence) was because, influenced by Ishiro over the years, Ōnoki also felt that the Uchiha clan's days in Konoha would not be easy. They might even decline. So he hoped the boy could rebuild the Uchiha clan's glory in Iwagakure.
Uchiha Sakai—no, he should be called Ryōtenbin Chūkō now—was not fond of this name, but it didn't matter. He would change it back sooner or later anyway.
Ryōtenbin Chūkō would be raised by Ōnoki from now on. Ishiro guessed that Ōnoki would probably brainwash him.
However, none of this concerned Ishiro for the time being. Fearing that Ōnoki would take the opportunity to keep him in the village, Ishiro ran off after explaining the matter.
Ōnoki's entire attention was now on the child, Ryōtenbin Chūkō, and he didn't care about Ishiro's departure.
After chatting with Chūkō for a bit and readily agreeing to the bet between him and Ishiro, Ōnoki summoned his three advisors again to explain the situation.
After leaving the Tsuchikage's office, Ishiro rushed straight to the Land of Water without a moment's rest.
Among the Five Great Shinobi Countries, the Land of Water was the only island nation, composed of more than a dozen medium to large islands and countless small islets.
The abundant water vapor in the Land of Water gave the Mist ninjas a very suitable environment for practicing Water Release.
This was Ishiro's first time in the Land of Water. As a ninja whose primary attribute was water, Ishiro was very fond of the environment here.
After entering the Land of Water, Ishiro changed into a Mist Anbu uniform.
Ishiro did not rashly contact the Iwagakure spies in the Land of Water because, judging from the news sent back by the spies, they were not yet aware that Konoha had made a move.
Ishiro was both afraid that rashly contacting the spies would expose them and felt that the information they had gathered was not comprehensive enough. So Ishiro decided to conduct his own reconnaissance first.
Ishiro was not concerned about the progress of the negotiations between the Land of Water and the Land of Lightning right now. The Iwagakure higher-ups, having experience negotiating with Sunagakure, knew that if two countries intended to ally, it was very difficult for others to interfere. What Ishiro was concerned about was Konoha, which wanted to hide in the shadows during this incident.
Before understanding Konoha's movements, Ishiro didn't want to enter the eye of the storm too early.
The meeting point for the two countries was on a medium-sized island belonging to the Land of Water. Because intelligence showed that the level of contact between the two sides was relatively high, there might be powerful ninjas or those skilled in reconnaissance. So Ishiro didn't go directly to that island but first scouted the surrounding large and small islands.
After scouting only four or five small islands, Ishiro noticed something was amiss.
Ishiro's original goal was to find traces of Konoha ninjas. Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya would not leave any tracks for Ishiro to follow, but it was impossible for the subordinates they brought to leave no trace at all.
So Ishiro wanted to find some signs of Konoha ninjas on the outer islands of the Land of Water.
But he didn't encounter any Konoha ninjas. Instead, Ishiro encountered Mist ninjas.
This was the Land of Water, so encountering Mist ninjas was not a problem. But encountering a large contingent of Mist ninjas was not normal.
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