Chapter 148 – Settlement
While recovering from his injuries, Ishiro tried once again to talk to the little girl, but she still wouldn't open her mouth no matter what he asked. At one point, he even suspected she might be mute or deaf.
However, she clung tightly to Ishiro and refused to be separated from him. Both Kitsuchi and Shiden attempted to take her elsewhere so Ishiro could rest, but she simply wouldn't let go of his clothing.
This made Ishiro think the girl had suffered psychological trauma, leaving her withdrawn and emotionally dependent on him. It likely wasn't a physical condition.
Fortunately, the girl didn't reject everyone. She was willing to accept the kindness shown by Tomoe Chiko. Although she still refused to stay far from Ishiro, she would at least follow Chiko's lead for daily activities.
Perhaps it was because they were close in age.
Ishiro's overexertion was temporary. With the help of medical-nin, he recovered within a few days.
But once recovered, Ishiro faced a dilemma: the girl relied on him too much for him to feel comfortable leaving her alone in the village. However, taking her along on missions was clearly inappropriate, and he couldn't stay with her full-time either.
In the end, Chiko, the only other person the girl trusted, came up with a solution—she would return to the village with Ishiro to see if the girl was willing to stay with her family.
Chiko's family were civilians and didn't serve on the front lines. She also had a younger sister, Kotake, who was still in the Academy—someone the girl could befriend.
Plus, given her age, the girl was eligible to enroll in the Ninja Academy, where she could meet more children.
Ishiro thought this was worth trying. He used Lightweight Boulder Technique to bring both girls back to the village at high speed.
Once back, he first went to see Ōnoki and explained the situation, especially highlighting the girl's unusual talent. As the Tsuchikage, Ōnoki understood how valuable such talent could be. After meeting the girl himself, he quickly approved Ishiro's request to become her guardian.
There was one unexpected twist: while the girl was willing to interact with Chiko's family, she insisted on sleeping in Ishiro's cabin at night.
In fact, she even spoke for the first time to express this desire.
It was a strange request, but since she was willing to remain in the village, that was good enough. Ishiro arranged for her to stay in his small home and asked Chiko's sister, Kotake, to escort her to and from school each day.
As for her name, no matter what he asked, she wouldn't say. So when it came time to register her, Ishiro gave her a name himself. Since it was summer when they met and he had just experienced a powerful genjutsu, he named her Natsuki (Summer Moon).
With Natsuki properly settled, Ishiro finally relaxed and returned with Chiko to the Eastern Division camp. This time, he decided not to head straight back to the Land of Hot Springs.
It didn't seem like the right time for another outing—better to stay put for now.
His three disciples were being assigned increasingly frequent missions. Kitsuchi was deliberately putting pressure on them, especially Chiko. Though she had broken past her previous limits, her mindset still hadn't fully adjusted to the strength she now possessed.
Kitsuchi used this method to help her gradually realize she was no longer just a normal ninja.
Meanwhile, Ishiro occasionally challenged Kitsuchi and Shiden in sparring matches—partly to practice using Universal Pull, his new S-rank technique, and partly to internalize the gains he'd made in the illusion realm—particularly his reduced hand seal counts, which required adjustment.
His lightning training had also progressed well. Ishiro now felt confident enough to learn a C-rank Lightning Release jutsu. The first one he chose was Lightning Conduction, a technique he had previously arranged for others to learn as part of a combined formation jutsu.
Although the process was slow, he managed to succeed after a few days. However, it still required 31 hand seals and consumed 8C chakra.
If he were just a genin, it'd be nearly unusable. But Ishiro was still pleased—he had officially mastered his fourth nature transformation (not counting Yin Release).
The most surprising breakthrough came in chakra fusion. His gains in the illusion space far exceeded expectations.
His fusion speed now greatly surpassed his consumption rate. If he used all his chakra solely for fusion, Ishiro could now produce about 100C worth of Porcelain Release chakra.
This signaled the beginning of Stage Two of his training—developing Porcelain Release ninjutsu.
Though it sounded complex, it was relatively straightforward. The goal wasn't to defeat enemies but to refine his affinity with the element by casting it.
Even creating a useless jutsu would suffice.
At this point, it was fair to say he had "developed" his Kekkei Genkai. The only step remaining—the most critical—was altering his own body using the fused chakra.
That could wait. First, he needed a proper Porcelain Release technique.
Though the purpose was affinity cultivation, it wouldn't hurt to make something potentially useful in combat.
After some thought, Ishiro devised a jutsu that could combine with sealing techniques.
He began by capturing a rabbit and tying it up with rope.
Next, he carefully fused his Porcelain chakra—consuming about one-tenth of his reserves—then shaped it into a mud-like substance and coated the struggling rabbit.
The mud hardened into ceramic, trapping the rabbit completely inside a stone-like shell.
Clearly, this jutsu was still far from battlefield-ready. Fusion speed was painfully slow, and the offensive power was too low for serious threats.
Its only merit was its high malleability and resistance to dispersion.
Still, Ishiro wasn't discouraged. The clan records had been clear—this phase was meant to lay the foundation for fusing the chakra into the body. Combat utility would come later.
Once that final stage was completed—true bodily transformation—all the technique's current weaknesses would vanish.
Thus, he was quite satisfied with his progress.
His next steps were twofold:
Use Porcelain chakra to nourish and gradually alter his body from the outside in.
Continue developing techniques to deepen internal comprehension.
Together, the external and internal approaches would eventually trigger full evolution.
Of course, Iwagakure hadn't made bloodline development a village tradition without reason. They had support tools.
There was a secret medicine specifically formulated to assist with the final phase.
While the formula was restricted, obtaining the medicine itself was easy with Ishiro's status.
Unwilling to wait, Ishiro returned to the village and reported his progress to Ōnoki. The Tsuchikage already knew he was working on chakra fusion, having approved the A-rank training scroll himself.
He hadn't expected Ishiro to reach the final phase so quickly, considering Ishiro's known talent lay in chakra control, not fusion. But thinking back on his accomplishments in both Water and Earth Release, Ōnoki realized Ishiro was truly among the elite.
So he signed off on a supply requisition and sent him on his way.
Ishiro dropped by to check on Natsuki and found that she was fitting in well with her classmates. Pleased, he didn't bother her and returned to the Eastern Division camp with his materials.
There, he personally began brewing the secret medicine.
"Man, it's good to have village backing," Ishiro sighed days later while standing on the training field.
For years, Iwagakure's limited resources had held him back—his Yin Release talent remained wasted. But this time, the village truly came through.
In just a few days, he had already begun to feel signs of metamorphosis.
His constitution had subtly improved, his chakra reserves were increasing, and his fusion speed was rising rapidly.
Though the changes were minor, Ishiro couldn't shake the sense that he was growing stronger—like everything was gradually coming under his control.
He imagined this must be how Sasuke felt each time he powered up. "The world's mine," kind of vibe.
Thankfully, as a reincarnated soul, Ishiro knew better. He'd seen the god-tier battles of the Fourth Shinobi War. Even if his instincts whispered power, his reason stayed grounded.
For now, he halted Lightning Release training and poured all his energy into chakra fusion. He noticed the faster he refined Porcelain chakra, the faster his transformation advanced.
Several days later, an intense itching overtook his entire body—originating from the cellular level. It was the unmistakable sign of genetic change.
The sensation grew stronger over ten days, completely overwhelming all other senses. He couldn't sleep, and his only relief came from using sensory ninjutsu to distract his focus outward.
Then the itching gave way to pain—which at first was welcome, until it became worse.
Eventually, even sensory jutsu couldn't help.
It was Shiden who had an idea: they brought in a captured enemy and had Ishiro use genjutsu on him, forcing his mind to focus on interrogation to distract from the agony.
Using this trick, Ishiro managed to endure another ten days.
At the end of it—
The pain vanished.
And Ishiro… was reborn.
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