Chapter 145: Cooperation
At this point, Minato Namikaze finally understood Ishiro's true intent—was he trying to recruit him? Trying to bring him into some sort of alliance to change the shinobi world?
Realizing this, Minato stood straight, locking eyes with Ishiro. Slowly, he said, "If I become Hokage, I will eliminate distrust between the villages and build relationships of mutual trust between nations."
Before he could finish, Ishiro sneered and interrupted, "Heh, I thought Minato Namikaze would be something more—but you're just another idealistic hot-blooded youth with naïve dreams."
"The chaos in the shinobi world is rooted in human desire. People want profit. Nations want profit. As long as strength exists, someone will always start wars for gain."
"The Land of Fire controls the best territory in the world and doesn't want to give it up. But the other four great nations covet that prosperity. They all want a piece of the pie."
"Under such circumstances, what makes you think mutual trust is even possible? You think you can 'talk no jutsu' your way through that?"
Minato paused, not knowing what "talk no jutsu" meant, but he grasped the implication.
"So you created trade routes," Minato replied thoughtfully. "You want to pull everyone onto the same path, to let every village benefit from the same system. You believe that when everyone profits, no one will want war anymore. Right?"
"But a mere trade route isn't enough to satisfy every nation. Once they get used to that profit, they'll feel it's not enough."
"When that time comes, what will you do?"
Ishiro smiled—deeply and triumphantly. As long as Minato kept thinking along the path he'd laid out, his purpose was achieved. The outcome didn't matter—Minato would likely still die to Obito anyway.
What mattered was that Minato now saw him as someone who shared the same goal: changing the ninja world.
So Ishiro continued, deliberately persuasive, "When I created the trade route, I was just a special jōnin—my abilities were limited. But if I one day become one of Iwagakure's top leaders, I'll find more ways to weave everyone together through shared interests."
"You're right about one thing—one trade route alone can't erase the urge for war. But what if there are countless trade routes, countless mutual benefits tying everyone together?"
"What if the web of benefits we build becomes so vast that those who oppose war are no longer the minority? What if their voices grow loud enough to drown out the war hawks?"
Minato was stunned. Could such a thing actually work?
Maybe… Maybe it could. Even if Ishiro's approach couldn't succeed alone, combining it with his own ideals might improve the odds.
Minato's gaze toward Ishiro shifted slightly. Though this man wasn't stronger than him, it was clear—he had taken the first step. He was ahead.
"You've convinced me," Minato said. "If I become Hokage, I'll do as you say. While striving to foster trust, I'll also build a network of mutual benefits between the nations, to align interests and prevent war."
Ishiro gave a modest smile. "Excellent. Too bad our two villages are about to go to war. Otherwise, we could've used our border camps as a trial zone—open a trade route between us."
Minato's heart stirred at that. Konoha didn't want war—or at least wanted to delay it. If the trade route could be used as a reason to postpone conflict, the higher-ups might actually agree.
So he responded, "Konoha would likely agree to opening a trade route."
Ishiro was surprised, but quickly collected himself. After some thought, he said, "If we make a promise that, even in the event of war, the trade route won't be destroyed, I might be able to convince Iwa's leadership."
Minato weighed the pros and cons and nodded. "I'll try as well." But his promise wasn't as certain as Ishiro's. After all, Ishiro held much more influence in Iwa than Minato did in Konoha.
Especially when it came to trade routes—Ishiro had far more credibility.
But Ishiro had another idea. "Regardless of whether Iwa and Konoha succeed in opening a route, I suggest you try contacting the Akatsuki."
"Because of Danzo, the Akatsuki don't trust Konoha. But you're different. You're also Jiraiya's student. That should give you some credibility."
"You could take the lead in building a trade route between the Land of Fire and the Akatsuki."
"Right now, they're active in the Bear and Bird countries. You're already clashing with the Sand in that area, so whether it's possible or not—I don't know."
Minato's eyes lit up briefly, then dimmed. He understood well—Suna would never let Konoha profit freely.
With that, Ishiro's goal for this trip was complete. Whether Minato would spare him on the battlefield, Ishiro didn't know. But he felt confident Minato wouldn't deliberately target him.
So Ishiro bid farewell.
He formed four hand seals and soared into the sky. Ever since learning Banshō Ten'in, his understanding of gravity and Earth Release had deepened. His mastery over the Light-Weight Boulder Technique had also improved significantly.
Minato watched Ishiro leave, then turned and quietly returned to camp.
Once back, he wrote a letter to his teacher, Jiraiya.
In it, he mentioned the Akatsuki, the concept of suppressing war through shared interests, and asked Jiraiya to help convince Hiruzen Sarutobi to support opening two trade routes.
As for Ishiro, he returned to camp and reported the trade route idea to Kitsuchi—then washed his hands of the matter. Though he was the initiator, the final decision wasn't his to make.
Whether the village agreed or not, that was for the higher-ups to stress over. He had other things to deal with.
His three students had just been promoted. Thanks to medicinal meals and intensive training, they'd all grown stronger. Ishiro now needed to help them adjust to their new strength.
Especially Chiko Tomoe—her power was rising fast, and she still had three B-rank Wind Release jutsu to learn. There was a lot to do.
And Ishiro had his own training to worry about.
He couldn't stop his chakra fusion training—it was his main goal.
He also needed to start working on Lightning Release. Having another element could be a game-changer in a critical moment.
Of the three B-rank jutsu Yahiko gave him, he still needed to practice the water technique and the kenjutsu one. Especially the sword technique—it was likely a creation of Hanzō, the famed swordmaster, making it well worth Ishiro's time.
Fortunately, Ishiro wasn't planning to develop Water Cutting any deeper for now, and Earth Release didn't need much work either. That freed up plenty of time.
Kitsuchi wasn't thrilled about the problem Ishiro dumped on him, but after some thought, he did the same—wrote a report, entrusted it to a squad of ANBU to deliver back to the village, and left it to the elders.
With Minato pacified, Ishiro also stopped paying attention to the Land of Waterfalls and threw himself into training.
But things didn't go smoothly.
Chakra fusion took persistent effort. Ishiro had mentally prepared himself for that. The slow progress didn't discourage him.
Kenjutsu wasn't his strong suit. His inability to get started didn't surprise him.
But Lightning Release—that frustrated him.
His talent for Lightning Release was abysmal. His training speed lagged far behind the other elements. Plus, Iwagakure had very few records on Lightning Release—almost no experience to draw from.
Trying to learn it felt like groping in the dark. During peacetime, he might've endured it, but now? Ishiro couldn't stay calm.
After a few days helping his students, Ishiro decided to head out again.
Kitsuchi was already used to Ishiro's restlessness. The guy always came back with something useful anyway. Let him go.
With Kitsuchi's grumbling in the background, Ishiro left camp and flew toward the Land of Hot Springs.
The Land of Hot Springs was famed for its onsens. The industry brought countless ancillary businesses, making it one of the wealthiest countries in the ninja world. Its per capita wealth possibly even exceeded that of large nations like the Land of Earth.
Its prosperity was well known. Because the people lived comfortably, religion thrived too. After all, rich believers meant more donations to the temples.
But that was history. Iwa's own prosperity had risen thanks to trade, and now, the Land of Hot Springs was suffering.
With Kumo and Konoha skirmishing in its territory, its prosperity had begun to wither.
Though both sides exercised restraint and avoided cities, fewer and fewer travelers dared visit.
Using camouflage and Light-Weight Boulder Techniques, Ishiro flew into a small village in the Land of Hot Springs.
He had little intel on the Kumo-Konoha clashes. In such a vast country, tracking down small-scale skirmishes was difficult.
This was already the fifth village he'd visited.
He never showed himself openly or asked questions. But if a battle had happened nearby, the locals were bound to talk about it.
Unfortunately, not a single village had mentioned anything about fights between Kumo and Konoha.
"Maybe they're clashing in remote areas," Ishiro muttered.
The village wasn't large. Flying from one end to the other took little time. Along the way, none of the villagers spoke of war. What he heard most was about rituals and festivals related to the Evil God cult.
Just when Ishiro thought this trip would be another bust, he came to a stop near the edge of the village.
About ten meters away, he saw several adults dragging a young girl away from two fresh corpses.
This wasn't a peaceful world. Ishiro had seen such scenes many times before during missions. He usually didn't intervene.
But this time, the adults' clothing caught his attention.
They wore matching symbols—simple red circles with equilateral triangles inside. Their faces were painted with strange markings.
"The Evil God cult?"
He vaguely recalled intel that said Danzo had collaborated with this group. Perhaps through them, he could locate the real Kumo-Konoha battlegrounds.
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