Chapter 73: Rest and Recovery

Chapter 73: Rest and Recovery

Not long after Squad 7 withdrew, Konoha's border patrol ninjas arrived at the scene of the Anbu confrontation.

The Jōnin commander of the outpost stared grimly at the area filled with traps. He knew the Anbu squad wouldn't have walked straight into Seiten's trap if he hadn't mistakenly informed them that the enemy had already entered the Land of Iron.

Though there were no bodies, the extensive bloodstains indicated that the Anbu squad was most likely wiped out.

Observing the frightened faces of his subordinates, the Jōnin commander hesitated for a moment before deciding against pursuing.

"Clean up the battlefield. We're returning to the outpost."

The outpost had already suffered heavy losses—seven squads lost, including ten Chūnin-level ninjas. They'd lost half of their Chūnin and over a third of their Genin.

The worst blow to morale was losing an entire Anbu squad led by a Jōnin, without a single survivor.

If he, the commander, hadn't still been there, deserters might have appeared.

"Hopefully, the village resolves the issue with White Fang soon and sends reinforcements."

As a Jōnin, he'd previously felt resentment over White Fang's treatment. If given a chance, he'd even vote for the Third Hokage's resignation.

But now, as a rational Jōnin leader, he prioritized stability. He wished for the Third to stabilize the situation quickly because, at this moment, choosing a new Hokage might cause internal instability, delaying vital reinforcements.

Fortunately, his hopes were fulfilled. Three newly assembled Anbu squads arrived at the outpost two days later.

Ishiro was unaware of these subsequent events. Without clear intel, Squad 7 had no choice but to hurry forward, constantly wary of potential pursuit.

Only when they finally reached the border of the Land of Earth and made contact with the local outpost did they feel safe enough to rest.

Though the outpost didn't have a particularly strong combat capability, they had numbers on their side. If the seven squads they'd defeated had attacked simultaneously, Squad 7 would've been overwhelmed.

Facing ten Chūnin and seventeen Genin at once, Ishiro's squad might have inflicted casualties, but victory would have been impossible. However, the enemy would also find it hard to catch them, given their speed advantage.

Ishiro decided to rest at the border for a day before returning to the village.

After distributing food and replenishing their energy, they began counting their spoils from the mission.

From the battle, they'd obtained 31 forehead protectors (mission evidence), 13 Chūnin corpses, and one Jōnin corpse. Given that four corpses belonged to Anbu (including the Anbu captain), their rewards would undoubtedly be generous.

Additionally, the supplies seized from the 31 defeated ninjas—especially various scrolls—were valuable resources for improvement.

Most of these scrolls were personal notes, valuable to the Intelligence Division for potential intel extraction.

Three scrolls, however, stood out clearly as ninjutsu scrolls, immediately exciting Ishiro.

He hadn't expected such a bounty of ninjutsu scrolls at once. Perhaps, due to White Fang's sudden downfall, border ninjas hadn't strictly followed wartime regulations, resulting in some individuals still carrying valuable ninjutsu scrolls.

Konoha had abundant jutsu collections—what would these three scrolls contain?

With anticipation, Ishiro opened the scrolls:

One Fire Release, one Wind Release, and one Water Release—all three were C-ranked ninjutsu.

Mixed feelings emerged: he was pleased two matched his squad's affinities—Wind Release suited Jun, and Water Release suited himself. But, unfortunately, Ishiro had seen these techniques recorded in his village already. Therefore, there'd be no extra rewards upon submission.

The Water Release scroll contained the Water Surge Wave technique, delighting Ishiro. He lacked variety in offensive jutsu; excluding Mind Disturbance and Body Paralysis genjutsu, he had only Water Line, Pressurized Water Line, Earth Flow Spears, and the melee-based Frigid Wave.

This Water Surge Wave would increase his offensive repertoire significantly, as it was an area-of-effect attack, despite its moderate power. Previously, facing clustered enemies, Ishiro lacked efficient crowd-control attacks. Now he had a better solution.

The mission concluded more smoothly and quicker than anticipated, and within a month, Squad 7 returned to the village.

After submitting their mission report and spoils, Ishiro announced seven days' leave for the team. He planned a rigorous month-long training afterward to raise everyone's strength.

Meanwhile, Ishiro sought out Captain Owl to discuss insights from their recent battle—essentially hoping for some free expert advice, especially regarding boosting Squad 7's combat capabilities.

Owl was already accustomed to Ishiro's habit of extracting knowledge. He calmly assessed Squad 7's performance, then advised Ishiro about future training directions.

Satisfied, Ishiro left the Anbu headquarters.

The current ninja world's situation had gradually stabilized. Most foreign forces attacking Konoha had retreated before the village's counterattack commenced, except for a few isolated squads.

Cloud Ninja benefited most significantly from this turbulence. They swiftly attacked Konoha's border posts, devastating several outposts and looting their supplies.

In just one month, Konoha lost thousands of ninjas, including seven to eight Anbu squads. Konoha plunged into a severe manpower shortage. Fortunately, Konoha had significantly recovered after the war; otherwise, they might be vulnerable to the four great nations' joint assault.

Three days later, Owl informed Ishiro of these developments. As an Anbu captain, Ishiro now belonged to the village's mid-level ranks, privy to such intel promptly.

After deep consideration, Ishiro composed a strategic analysis targeting Konoha and submitted it to Owl.

After reviewing it, Owl's expression turned complex. After dismissing Ishiro, Owl analyzed the report again thoroughly before heading directly to Tsuchikage Tower.

Being an Anbu Captain, Owl entered through a special passageway, requiring no announcement. When Owl entered the Tsuchikage's office, Ōnoki was discussing the ninja world's situation with advisors.

Seeing Owl arrive, they halted discussions and looked at him curiously. Without wasting time, Owl placed Ishiro's report directly onto Ōnoki's desk.

Ōnoki and the advisors read it carefully and soon exchanged astonished glances.

Ōnoki asked finally, "Owl, who wrote this report?"

He knew Owl's character very well and doubted Owl could produce such an insightful analysis.

Owl didn't hide the truth, saying directly, "It's Ishiro."

Among the advisors, the youngest female advisor couldn't help but ask her senior colleagues, "Elders, is what Ishiro writes true?"

Though she knew the facts, she couldn't help voicing it.

The two older advisors nodded helplessly.

The gist of Ishiro's report was as follows:

You exhausted yourselves fighting two Great Ninja Wars against Konoha, achieving minimal gains. Yet Konoha's internal conflicts—like Madara vs. Hashirama and White Fang's forced suicide—caused far greater damage.

Ishiro listed known losses from both wars and Konoha's internal incidents, speculating about Danzo's possible roles in the Uzumaki and White Fang incidents. He anticipated similar turmoil during Konoha's Fourth Hokage succession struggle, also correctly identifying that Konoha's leadership was now directing blame toward the Uchiha clan.

Though Ishiro lacked precise numbers, he encouraged the higher-ups to fill them in themselves. He also pointed out the astonishing fact that no Kage-level ninja from Konoha, except the Second Hokage, died in external combat, while other villages frequently lost such powerful figures on battlefields.

Ishiro concluded clearly: Instead of clashing head-on with Konoha, leveraging Konoha's internal conflicts would yield better results.

This report left the Iwa high command feeling somewhat foolish for their previous efforts.

After a long silence, Ōnoki stated decisively, "Classify this report as top secret, restricted to us five. Shift village strategies immediately. Focus on infiltrating Konoha's internal divisions, especially observing Root, Danzo, and the Uchiha."

Then, addressing Owl, Ōnoki commanded, "From today, regard Ishiro as a key talent. Train him according to the standard of future advisors or even a Tsuchikage!"

"Understood!" Before Owl could leave, an elderly advisor added, "Since we've decided on his potential, award him an S-ranked mission credit and authorize him to exchange for one B-ranked ninjutsu."

Ōnoki nodded approval, dismissing Owl.

…

The following day, when Ishiro visited the Contribution Hall to claim his previous mission rewards, he was surprised to find an additional S-ranked mission recorded.

When he asked about it, the staff explained it was a direct order from the higher-ups without specifics.

Since it was arranged by higher-ups, Ishiro decided not to dwell on it. Perhaps the Barrier Division was planning something again. He would ask Captain Mizuhara next time.

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