Chapter 140: Reunion
The jutsu Kajiyama Ri used to bind Mikami Aya at the end of their battle was actually a self-developed C-rank technique. It wasn't fully refined yet and came with many limitations.
First, it required a water-rich environment. Second, it had an excessive number of hand seals. And third, it was relatively easy to detect.
But during today's match, everything Kajiyama did was to set up this one jutsu.
He used Water Shockwave to change the terrain and create a water base.
Then, protected by his Water Wall, he had enough time to complete the lengthy sequence of hand seals.
Finally, when his wall collapsed under Mikami's combination technique, he allowed the wall to disperse—creating mist and droplets that obscured Mikami's vision.
Only then was Kajiyama's water thread able to slither, undetected, from his own feet toward Mikami, hidden beneath the water's surface.
It struck at the perfect moment.
The nearby chunin proctors hadn't caught on—but Ikura had.
He clearly saw the jutsu's weaknesses—and Kajiyama's ingenious planning around them.
This raised Ikura's opinion of him greatly.
To manipulate the battlefield to one's advantage, utilize every available condition, and secure victory—this was exactly the mindset of a chunin.
Among Ishiro's three students, Kajiyama Ri was the most mentally mature.
It proved Ishiro had chosen the right person to act as team leader.
After the third day of matches, Kajiyama's promotion to chunin was finally confirmed.
Surprisingly, Ikura also promoted Mikami Aya, after some hesitation.
Mikami's strength had long since reached the required level, but her mindset had been lacking.
Originally, Ikura hadn't planned to promote her.
But her behavior after losing to Kajiyama changed his mind.
She didn't complain or protest. Instead, she grew noticeably calmer.
After a long look at Kajiyama, she simply said, "Next time, I'll win," before walking off.
With that, all three of Ishiro's disciples were officially chunin.
As part of their promotion, they would each receive a dose of chakra-enhancing medicinal food and undergo intense short-term training.
During this period, they'd be exempt from missions.
That's why Ishiro felt at ease leaving them.
Back when the chunin exams began, Ishiro had already set out to meet with Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan.
The three of them now had more resolve in their eyes—and less naïve innocence.
They had seen the darkness of the world, but their desire to bring hope remained unchanged.
Their reunion wasn't Ishiro finding them—it was Nagato who spotted Ishiro first.
Ishiro was flying low with a camouflage technique and Light-Weight Boulder Jutsu, scanning for their trail—when Nagato, soaring through the sky, intercepted him.
At first, Ishiro was startled. Then he relaxed.
A Rinnegan user being able to fly—what's so strange about that?
After all, his own Light-Weight Boulder Jutsu was likely derived from the Rinnegan's or Tenseigan's gravitational powers.
So naturally, the Rinnegan should possess such capabilities.
Still—a flying Rinnegan user, in a timeline where the protagonists aren't even embryos yet—who could possibly fight that?
But that didn't matter.
The Akatsuki now had good relations with Iwagakure.
Ishiro had done them many favors. Even if Yahiko were to die in the future, and Nagato fell into darkness, he likely wouldn't become an enemy of the Stone Village.
When the four reunited—Yahiko, Nagato, Konan, and Ishiro—they each shared their stories.
Ishiro's was simple. He didn't talk much about his war preparations—that was something he knew the three wouldn't like.
Instead, he focused on his disciples.
When they learned Ishiro had already taken on three genin as students, the trio was stunned.
Ishiro was younger than them—so they couldn't quite imagine him teaching.
But after hearing that all three students were now participating in the chunin exams, they were shocked.
They had just begun training recruits for Akatsuki's next generation.
They understood how hard it was to raise a capable shinobi.
Most of their recruits were civilians.
But among civilians, prodigies like Yahiko or Konan were exceedingly rare.
By Nagato's estimate, most of their children would only become genin. A few might become chunin.
And that was when comparing them to Rain Ninja standards.
Compared to major villages—like Konoha—they might not even reach genin level.
But Ishiro had brought a civilian-born girl—Chiko Tomoe—to chunin level in just one year.
The three were fascinated—and eager to learn.
Of course, Ishiro didn't admit that Chiko's progress was due to her rare talents.
Instead, he offered advice:
"Every shinobi has different strengths. As mentors, we must identify their specialties and guide them down the right path."
"We can't expect everyone to become balanced in ninjutsu and taijutsu. That's unrealistic."
"Shinobi teams exist for a reason. Weaknesses can be covered by teammates."
"This is especially important during the genin and chunin stages. There's no need to force people into becoming jack-of-all-trades."
"For example, one of my students—Kawakita—only cares about swordsmanship.
So I did everything I could to help him unlock blade aura."
"I never taught him a single ninjutsu—not even basic Three Body Techniques. Because for him, they're not helpful."
"He has teammates. They can cover his blind spots."
Konan listened intently. She was the one responsible for training Akatsuki's children.
After a long conversation, Yahiko handed Ishiro three scrolls.
"One for each of your students—Water, Wind, and a sword technique."
Ishiro opened them—and gasped.
"B-rank?!"
He knew the Akatsuki's old inventory.
Aside from a few C-rank techniques, their B-rank jutsu were extremely limited.
Even Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan rarely used B-rank techniques in battle.
Yet here they were—scrolls of matching B-rank ninjutsu.
Straight-up rich kid behavior.
Ishiro scanned the scrolls.
The Water and Wind techniques were decent.
But the sword art—though only B-rank—was top-tier within its class.
Suspicious, Ishiro looked at Yahiko.
Yahiko laughed and explained:
"These were acquired by trading land with Hanzo."
Konan, embarrassed, lowered her head.
As it turned out, when they left the Rain Village and sought to expand into nearby small countries, Konan had the idea.
Rather than risk a fight, they struck a deal.
Hanzo was happy to take land back and offered a wide range of B-rank jutsu in return.
Each scroll came from that exchange.
Ishiro nodded in understanding.
After the battle, Hanzo had realized Nagato was stronger than him.
He didn't want to provoke them further.
Since they were leaving anyway, trading jutsu for peace made sense.
After chatting, Ishiro got to the point.
"Nagato, I'm here to train in gravity-style techniques."
Nagato looked shocked—not unwilling, just confused.
So Ishiro explained:
"There's a gravity technique recorded in the Earth Country. But I haven't fully grasped it. I want to use your power to improve my understanding."
Nagato relaxed.
"How do you want to train?"
Ishiro grinned.
"Simple. Treat me like a toy. Use Shinra Tensei and Banshō Ten'in on me nonstop. Push and pull. Over and over."
Nagato blinked—then nodded. "Okay."
And so, training began immediately.
Nagato launched him with Shinra Tensei.
Before Ishiro could hit anything, he was yanked back with Banshō Ten'in.
Back and forth.
Rinse and repeat.
Because Nagato was still using his own body—not a proxy like in canon—his chakra drain was much lower.
These basic Rinnegan techniques cost him almost nothing.
He could do this all day.
All Ishiro had to do was meditate during flight and analyze the shifting gravitational forces.
Thanks to his prior foundation, his progress was rapid.
Soon, Ishiro began to deconstruct gravity's application through chakra.
Within days, he could partially resist Banshō Ten'in.
His progress outpaced what he achieved under Onoki's training.
After all, Onoki's techniques—Light-Weight and Heavy-Weight Boulder—were merely gravity-adjacent.
Nagato's abilities, however, used gravity directly.
It was a more straightforward and effective training method.
After two weeks, Ishiro could actively resist Banshō Ten'in—but still had no counter to Shinra Tensei.
Still, this was likely his limit for now.
He had adapted to the forces. Further gains would diminish.
Though he hadn't mastered gravity-style ninjutsu yet, Ishiro was satisfied.
These two weeks were equal to a year of Earth chakra training.
Even if he didn't learn an S-rank technique here, he was confident his chakra fusion practice would now go much smoother.
---
During this time, Ishiro also helped out at Akatsuki's base—specifically with Konan's work teaching children.
He didn't get involved in leadership decisions.
Instead, he helped Konan categorize their recruits.
Those with taijutsu or ninjutsu talent were easy to sort.
But Ishiro focused on more easily overlooked traits:
Genjutsu potential
Sealing aptitude
Medical ninjutsu affinity
Tactical planning capability
Traps and tracking skills
He also reminded Yahiko to emphasize mental and emotional development.
Personality was easy to shape—Yahiko's charisma made that part simple.
But developing mental fortitude was far more complex.
Drawing from his own and his friends' experiences, Ishiro offered plenty of practical suggestions.
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