Chapter 149: Full-Scale Eruption
Although Ishiro ultimately chose Fire Release over Lightning Release as the second element for his chakra fusion, that didn't mean he was giving up on Lightning Release.
Fire Release was difficult to grasp and would take a long time—likely not achievable during the Third Great Ninja War. But Lightning Release had the potential to improve his combat effectiveness in the short term.
Therefore, Ishiro still planned to learn Lightning Chakra Stimulus Techniques.
Unfortunately, Iwagakure didn't have any complete or systematic Lightning Release stimulation methods available for training.
That left Ishiro no choice but to find a way to extract such techniques from the minds of his enemies.
Sadly, in the original story, while Naruto's training for summoning and Rasengan was well-detailed, Sasuke's training for lightning manipulation and Chidori wasn't described thoroughly.
He wanted to freeload some knowledge, but there was no easy way.
In recent days, Ishiro had been experimenting with strengthening the Guided Lightning jutsu—not through evolution or upgrades, but simply by increasing chakra output to boost its power.
This method wasn't cost-effective. In the past, when Ishiro had limited chakra reserves, he never even considered wasting chakra this way.
But his recent development of Porcelain Release had drastically evolved his body. His chakra capacity had exploded and was still growing, so Ishiro figured it was time to indulge a little.
The first practice target was Guided Lightning, not because of any special preference, but because mastering Lightning Release was now the most urgent among all his side objectives.
Reinforcing the technique was easy—thanks to his superior chakra control, he quickly succeeded.
With Kitsuchi's help, Ishiro developed new chakra manipulation methods that suited him. For example, the optimal thickness of Earth Flow Wall to follow it up with Rock Fragment Jutsu, or the ideal water-to-lightning ratio when combining Water Surge Wave with Guided Lightning.
These were things Ishiro had never thought about before. But with Kitsuchi's experienced guidance, he progressed smoothly in this area of training.
As for obtaining the Lightning Stimulus Method, that still required careful planning. Previously, he had rushed off to the Land of Hot Springs, hoping to catch some Cloud ninja in action—but found nothing, not even traces of battle.
He realized he had to wait until the fighting between Kumo and Konoha intensified before making his move.
Unfortunately, reality had its own plans. Iwagakure and Konohagakure had just gone to war.
The exact cause was unclear. Both sides had been probing each other under high tension. Despite top-level efforts to avoid escalation, a misfire eventually occurred.
By the time Ishiro received word, the main southern force was already engaged in intensified battle. Recon squads had turned into full-on clashes between larger teams.
Iwagakure had deployed at least 500–600 ninja into the Land of Grass. Adding the small squads already infiltrating the Land of Grass and Land of Fire, the total force approached 1,000.
Konoha wasn't far behind. According to intelligence received by Commander Ban, the total number of Konoha shinobi in the Land of Grass was about 700.
On that same day, the Land of Wind officially declared war on the Land of Fire.
Within hours, the Lands of Lightning and Earth followed suit.
In a single day, three great nations declared war on the Land of Fire. The fragile balance that had barely held together crumbled instantly, and Hiruzen Sarutobi's authority as Hokage took a massive hit.
But Sarutobi reacted quickly, mobilizing all of Konoha's ninja—including every major clan—with a strong, unyielding stance.
The Uchiha clan, however, didn't respond to Sarutobi's summons. Some even publicly declared they would not follow the Hokage's orders.
Seeing this, the Hyuga clan also began to stall.
The current Hyuga clan head, Hyuga Tokuhiro, found excuses at every meeting, delaying mobilization efforts.
Fortunately, other clans dared not defy Sarutobi's will. He deployed many mid- and small-scale clan members to support the frontlines against the Lightning, Wind, and Earth countries—with Earth being the top priority.
What Sarutobi didn't expect was that the inaction of the Uchiha and Hyuga gave the other nations hope.
Even when Konoha went all-out, it couldn't match the other four great powers. Now, with its two most powerful clans no longer aligned with the central authority, the other nations sensed an opportunity.
Soon, Kirigakure also mobilized, sending large forces via sea routes to the Land of Whirlpools. Although they didn't declare war, their intentions were clear: if there was a chance to profit, they'd take it—if not, they'd pull out.
With this, the barely-held situation crumbled. Sarutobi had no choice but to make three promises to win back the Uchiha and Hyuga:
1. He would publicly promise to step down after the war.
2. The next Hokage would be chosen based on who contributed the most during the war.
3. All accomplishments by clan members would be credited to their clan leader.
This immediately stirred both clans into action. They lacked a Kage-level powerhouse to compete for the title directly. Under normal rules, there was no way their leaders could outmatch Jiraiya, Orochimaru, or Danzo.
But if merit was aggregated by clan, then who could challenge them?
After all, Jiraiya and Orochimaru were both civilians. Danzo's family had nearly perished in the previous wars. When it came to personal power, they couldn't compete—but in terms of clan foundation, Uchiha and Hyuga feared no one.
Both clans sprang into unprecedented action, mobilizing their forces and outright refusing Sarutobi's proposal to disperse their members.
Who would trust the Hokage's faction with their own children when they had already fallen out? What if he sent them to die?
In the end, both clans agreed to jointly handle the Kiri front, commanding large numbers of civilian ninja.
They also made it clear—if the Mizukage personally entered the battlefield, Konoha must send a Kage-level to counter.
At this point, even though the early stages of the Third Great Ninja War were supposed to be filled with probing and restraint, it had quickly escalated—dragging all five major powers into full-blown war faster than in canon.
What made this war different from canon was the breakneck pace, leaving no room for internal politicking—except in Konoha, where things had already started spiraling.
What Sarutobi failed to realize was that his actions had thrown Konoha into a worse state than in canon.
In the original timeline, even children were sent to fight. In this world, Ishiro genuinely didn't know whether Konoha could hold on.
Events were unfolding too quickly. Ishiro, reliant on the original story, suddenly felt the drawbacks of that approach.
Despite his precautions, he couldn't predict what Minato Namikaze might do upon seeing Konoha in danger. Would he take the initiative and come after them?
Facing a potential Kage-level opponent like Minato—especially one as broken as him—Ishiro had no good answer.
After much thought, he decided: launch a preemptive strike.
Of course, he wouldn't be targeting Minato's camp directly.
Ishiro had his sights set on a 700-man Konoha unit fighting against Iwa's southern division in the Land of Grass. Isolated from the main forces and relatively weak, they were perfect targets.
He approached Kitsuchi to share his plan.
To his surprise, Kitsuchi firmly rejected it.
> "Ishiro, our objective is to defend against Kumo. Konoha is only a hypothetical threat. If we leave this post, Kumo might make a move."
"Even if we succeed, wiping out 700 men won't change the tide of war."
"Besides, if that Konoha unit needs to be dealt with, the southern forces can do it themselves."
"Don't stir up trouble. Our division is a backup force. Unless the southern front fails, we aren't supposed to be deployed."
Kitsuchi's reasoning was solid, calm, and objective—leaving Ishiro speechless.
He had been too impulsive. Thinking of Kumo as an ally was just wishful thinking.
If his rash actions caused Kumo to view Iwa as a better target than Konoha, and they turned around and attacked—Ishiro would bear full responsibility.
Calming himself, Ishiro reanalyzed the situation.
Now that the war had begun, Minato would definitely want to join the fight. He wouldn't stand idly by while comrades died.
But Ishiro's division was a threat, and Minato was cautious about leaving them unchecked.
Regret began to bubble up—why had he set the camp so close to the Land of Fire? If they had built it farther from the border, Konoha wouldn't be this wary.
Then, an idea struck him—if Konoha stopped seeing Iwa's eastern division as a threat, maybe Minato would be reassigned.
Minato, an extremely powerful asset, was essentially on hold. Konoha's leadership must hate that.
So how could Ishiro make Konoha drop their guard?
> "Heh… Easy. The breakthrough lies with Kumo."
If he stirred up conflict with Kumo, Konoha might ease up—perhaps even offer goodwill.
If Konoha feared a full-scale clash between Iwa and Kumo, they might even withdraw Minato's unit entirely.
Ishiro was quite pleased with this plan.
Then he froze.
> "Wait… Isn't this the same internal chaos I've been trying to avoid all along?"
> "Is this how the chaotic wars in the original timeline started?"
> "Am I becoming the kind of short-sighted fool I always mocked?"
His confidence wavered.
In the end, Ishiro decided to let Kitsuchi make the final decision.
Previously, Ishiro hadn't told Kitsuchi about his concerns regarding Minato. To Kitsuchi and others, Minato was still a "near-Kage," and even if he reached Kage-level, the eastern camp was well fortified—one person couldn't threaten them.
After all, no Kage in history had ever acted alone in the middle of war—it was too risky.
Even the Third Raikage learned that lesson the hard way.
It wasn't that Kage-level ninja couldn't fight alone. It was just that the risk was too high, and no nation would accept that.
But Ishiro knew—Minato Namikaze was the exception. His ideals would drive him to take that risk.
And if Minato had mastered Flying Thunder God, then the risk didn't even exist.
So when Ishiro approached Kitsuchi again, he began by analyzing Minato's character—arguing why he might solo the eastern camp.
After all, Ishiro had met Minato twice. Among the Iwa shinobi, he knew Minato best—and he could say anything he wanted about Minato's personality…
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