Chapter 588: Haku's Troubles
A moment later, Aono Shinichi, the deputy commander of the camp, rushed over.
Aono Shinichi, Shizuka Minamoto, and Rion were all deputy commanders. When Haku had called for help, it was Aono who dispatched Riori Uzumaki, who was closest, to rescue them.
But Aono wasn't just here to check on Haku's team.
"Kaoru-senpai," Aono said, "Ishiro-sensei wants you back in the village."
Kaoru thought about it. She had been on the front line for a while; it was probably time for Ishiro to absorb the second Reaper. She nodded.
She was about to say goodbye to Haku and Tsuruhime, but Haku spoke up. "Kaoru, I'll go back with you."
Kaoru and Tsuruhime were surprised.
Haku explained, "This group of Kumo ninja was likely the strongest remnant force. With them scattered, the rest won't be able to make much trouble."
"Besides, I have some questions I want to ask Ishiro-sensei."
Tsuruhime added, "I'll go back too. I've been out for a while; I need to continue breeding my bees."
Kaoru and Haku nodded. Haku's expression was complicated, lost in thought.
Kaoru's injuries weren't critical, and thanks to Karin, she healed quickly.
The day after returning to the village, she helped Ishiro absorb the second Reaper.
With the first experience under their belts, this time was much smoother.
Ishiro called not only Neji but also Uchiha Izumi to help.
He wanted Izumi to learn from Neji how to manipulate the Giant Sharingan, especially since Neji would be using the Giant Tenseigan's soul-related abilities. It was a perfect chance for Izumi to practice.
With Neji and Izumi's assistance, Kaoru processed the Reaper very quickly.
This time, Ishiro absorbed two Reapers at once.
This doubled his already doubled soul power, making it four times his original strength.
This massive surge left Ishiro feeling "stuffed."
But he wasn't worried. He had a mountain of data to process.
This mental labor would help him adapt to the sudden increase in soul power.
He needed to synthesize a viable plan for the seventh layer of the five-nature fusion from the raw data.
The workload was immense, enough to completely stabilize his bloated soul.
With his enhanced soul power, Ishiro processed the data much faster than the White Sphere team could collect it.
After about a month, he finished.
He checked his soul. It still felt full, but the unstable, floating sensation was gone.
Satisfied, Ishiro decided to help Sōkai awaken his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
However, when he emerged from seclusion, he found Haku had been waiting for him for a long time.
Haku hadn't left the village for a month. He came to Ishiro's house every day, only to be told Ishiro was still in seclusion.
When Ishiro saw Haku, he was shocked by his appearance.
Haku's eyes were sunken, with deep dark circles. His gaze was listless, his posture slumped. He clearly hadn't been sleeping well.
Even his chakra felt chaotic.
"Haku, were you injured too?" Ishiro blurted out.
Ishiro knew from Kaoru about the danger Haku's team had faced. He knew Kaoru and Tsuruhime were injured, but Haku had only suffered from exhaustion.
After a month of rest, Haku should have recovered. Why did he look like this?
Haku shook his head. "Ishiro-sensei, I'm not injured. I just... feel terrible inside."
Ishiro blinked. He invited Haku inside, poured him a glass of water, and said, "Take your time. Tell me what's wrong."
Haku drank the water. After a moment, he said, "This time, because of my misjudgment, the village suffered losses."
"My three subordinates died in battle. Ishiro-sensei... am I a bad captain?"
Ishiro paused, immediately understanding Haku's turmoil.
To save the two Iwa squads, Haku had chosen to ambush the Kumo ninja before Riori arrived.
It was a risky tactic, and the result proved it was a mistake.
Of the eight ninja in the two squads, only one Jonin escaped.
More importantly, Haku's three subordinates died because of it.
And if Riori had been any later, Haku, Tsuruhime, and Kaoru might have died too.
Ishiro thought about Haku's life. Although his origins were tragic, his life in Iwa had been smooth.
He grew up surrounded by geniuses, taught by Ōnoki and Kitsuchi. Kitsuchi and Shiden treated him like a son.
After graduating, he became the Fourth Tsuchikage's disciple.
He rose from Genin to Chunin, then Jonin and Elite Jonin, with smooth sailing all the way.
He grew up amidst envy and praise.
He even reunited with his sister. Although the rescue was tricky, the outcome was perfect.
He didn't have to worry about Kiri-Iwa relations because the Mizukage had personally given him to the Tsuchikage.
He had never experienced true loss. Iwa had been winning constantly; few ninja died.
His seniors were famous. He carried high expectations and longed for recognition.
But this time, the blow was heavy. His three subordinates had been with him since shortly after he left Ishiro's team.
They had been together for a long time.
Haku had taught them a lot, and they hadn't disappointed him. They were on track to become Special Jonin or Jonin in a year or two.
But suddenly, they were all dead. He felt guilt, and the pain of wasted effort.
These days, whenever Haku closed his eyes, he saw their faces.
Their memories haunted him.
He felt incredibly guilty and wanted to talk to someone. He knew his state was wrong, but he couldn't find the right person.
His elders were busy. With little Ii graduated, Kitsuchi and Shiden paid less attention to the "kids," believing they were grown ninja who had to walk their own paths.
Ōnoki, though retired, was still busy.
His peers were no help either. Deidara was an Advisor, working hard to become the Fifth Tsuchikage.
Sōkai wasn't smart enough, and he was too busy being in love with Izumi.
Most importantly, none of them noticed Haku's mental state.
So Haku wandered the village like a zombie, finding no answers.
Ishiro took a deep breath, cursing his negligence. Luckily, Haku's mind wasn't completely broken; he still knew to come to his teacher.
Otherwise, if he had continued to spiral, Ishiro might not have noticed until it was too late.
I've been too focused on my training. I forgot the Tsuchikage's most important job: brainwashing.
Tomorrow, I need to check on all the disciples.
But for now, he had to help Haku.
Haku was struggling with two things: his error in judgment causing greater losses, and the death of his subordinates.
Originally, the village would have lost at most eight people. If they had scattered from the start, maybe fewer. Once Riori arrived, the Kumo ninja wouldn't have had a chance to kill anyone else.
But because of Haku's decision, ten people died.
The first problem was easy. Ishiro patted Haku's shoulder. "Haku, what do you think is the most important thing for a ninja?"
Haku shook his head, too numb to think.
Ishiro wasn't annoyed. "The most important thing is will. Iwagakure possesses the Will of Stone!"
"Haku, do you know what the Will of Stone is?"
Haku focused slightly. "Unity?"
Ishiro nodded, then shook his head. "Unity is part of it, but not all."
"The Will of Stone is a code of conduct! It is our Ninja Way!"
"Iwagakure is the number one village. For decades, we haven't lost a war."
"This environment makes Iwa special."
"Our villagers are confident. Our wills are generally firmer than those of other villages."
"Did you know? This invisible confidence makes all our ninja train faster than others."
"So we get stronger. And as the village gets stronger, our confidence grows."
"Like this, even without war, Konoha and Kiri will eventually be worn down by us."
"But did you know? Before our rise, Konoha had this confidence. That's why they were number one."
"It took me over ten years to shatter that belief in the hearts of Konoha ninja."
"It's hard to imagine how powerful this invisible force is when applied to tens of thousands of ninja."
"This confidence cannot be bought with the lives of one or two ninja."
"You made a tactical error, but your actions were in line with the Will of Stone, with the confidence a ninja of a Great Village should have."
"Imagine if you hadn't acted. If you had watched your comrades die. Would the survivors be scarred? Would they regret it?"
"Imagine if that story spread. Would other ninja lose confidence?"
"Now, in everyone's eyes, you are heroes who risked everything for your comrades. Your subordinates are heroes who died for the village."
"Hearing this, people will feel their confidence is justified. The Will of Stone didn't lie to them."
"In the future, if others face the same situation, they will make the same choice. They will be proud of you!"
"Compare them. Which consequence is worse: acting and failing, or standing by and watching?"
Haku was stunned, completely led astray by Ishiro's logic.
He thought for a long time. "Standing by would damage the confidence of the village. That is worse."
Ishiro smiled. "Exactly! Your choice wasn't wrong!"
"As for your three subordinates... they are heroes now. But if you had chosen to hide, would they have lived with the guilt forever?"
"Think about yourself. If you hadn't acted, could you live with yourself?"
Haku shook his head. He couldn't imagine it. He would have denied himself until he fell apart.
"Right. You would blame yourself. They would blame themselves."
"So choosing to save your comrades wasn't just your idea. It was theirs too. It is the shared idea of all Iwa ninja."
"I believe that even in death, they thought their choice was right!"
Light returned to Haku's eyes. Ishiro struck while the iron was hot. "Of course, they also had regrets!"
Haku looked up sharply. "Ishiro-sensei, what did they regret?"
"They regretted their weakness. They regretted being unable to help you fight off the enemy."
Haku fell silent, his fists clenching unconsciously.
Ishiro glanced at him. "Your previous decision wasn't wrong. But your despair this past month was."
"You failed to inherit their will. You let their sacrifice go to waste!"
"What was their will?" Haku asked urgently.
"They blamed themselves for their weakness. So you must inherit their wish and strive to become stronger."
"Only by becoming stronger can you avoid such regrets in the future."
"Their will is for you to live on for them, to become stronger. So that in the future, you won't have to blame yourself for your weakness again."
Haku nodded thoughtfully, his slumped back straightening unconsciously.
Ishiro continued, "Think about it. If Kawakita, Shinya, or Sōkai were in your place, would they have struggled?"
"With their strength, would they need to blame themselves?"
"Or even Riori, who saved you. If she were in your place, would the Kumo ninja have had a chance to counter-attack?"
Haku bowed his head deeply. After a long time, he whispered, "Ishiro-sensei, I understand. I shouldn't wallow in despair. I should train harder."
Ishiro patted his shoulder. "Good. Go home, get a good sleep, then go visit their families. See if they need help."
"Their families will need your care in the future."
Haku nodded heavily. He stood, bowed to Ishiro, and left.
Ishiro then visited each of his disciples, chatting with them one by one.
At their level, he couldn't teach them much more technically.
He just observed their mental states, correcting issues where he found them, and chatting where he didn't.
Then he sought out the village's Elite Jonin and young geniuses for talks.
Iwa was growing; it needed more leaders capable of standing on their own.
Most of his disciples weren't suited for leadership, so Ishiro relied on these geniuses to help manage the village.
Finally, he went to the Academy and gave a vivid lecture on the Will of Stone.
The students weren't entirely happy, because Ishiro announced he likely wouldn't have time to take new disciples.
But he added that he had urged his students to take on more apprentices.
So, while they couldn't be Ishiro's disciples, being his grand-disciples wasn't bad.
What Ishiro didn't expect was that after his rounds, Haku found him again.
Haku had returned to his usual calm, gentle self. The haggard look was gone.
Most importantly, his aura... he was now a Quasi-Kage.
Ishiro patted Haku's shoulder, speechless.
Just like that? Advancing is this easy for geniuses?
Haku said, "Ishiro-sensei, I want to be a Jounin-sensei."
"I want to pass on the Will of Stone you taught me."
He was responding to Ishiro's call. Ishiro was happy to see it.
He patted his successfully brainwashed disciple's shoulder with satisfaction and enthusiastically shared some teaching tips.
"Haku, with new graduates, use reverse psychology. Brag about how awesome you were as a kid."
"Once they admire you, they'll listen."
"If they don't want to train? Simple. Tell them you had average talent and only succeeded through hard work."
"Never say you relied on talent or trained casually. That hurts their confidence."
"Teaching can be tiring, so find some fun in it. Like... messing with them occasionally. Seeing them frustrated is quite entertaining."
Haku: "..."
After dispensing his "golden advice," Ishiro informed the high command.
Iwa wasn't surprised by a new Kage-level ninja anymore.
They congratulated Ishiro and let Haku pick an S-rank jutsu.
On an island far from the mainland, a group of children were practicing taijutsu.
They were serious. Despite their age, there was no chatter, none of the liveliness children should have.
Nearby were rows of newly built houses, not many.
On the shore, a burly figure stood gazing out at the sea.
It was Kumo's Killer B.
He had fled the battlefield, abandoning the army and the village, to come here.
This was the Genbu (Island Turtle). It moved, making it hard for Iwa to locate.
Before the final battle, fearing defeat, Darui had moved talented children here.
He had also moved Kumo's jutsu scrolls and wealth.
The destruction of the village had been a smokescreen to hide the transfer of assets.
After a while, a woman with light grey hair and dark skin approached.
Killer B turned. "Mabui."
Mabui nodded. She wasn't surprised he was speaking normally.
Since the fall of Kumo, he hadn't rapped once.
"Samui isn't back yet?" B asked.
"She's a day late," Mabui said. "Something might have happened."
Killer B was silent.
Mabui looked worriedly at the children. "Killer B, do you think we have any hope of returning to the Land of Lightning?"
B shook his head. "I don't know. On our own, no. It depends on Konoha."
"Konoha?" Mabui asked. "They're weaker than Kiri now. Can they defeat Iwa?"
"Kiri lacks potential," B said. "Konoha... might produce a genius who surpasses Kage level. Kiri and us... we don't have that."
"Brother told me... the four villages always ganged up on Konoha because we were afraid. Afraid they'd produce another Hashirama or Madara."
"We never expected... Konoha would be suppressed, but Iwa would produce an Ishiro."
"And even less expected... Ishiro would train so many Kage-level ninja."
"He's trained more Kage than Kumo has had in its entire history."
Mabui was silent. She wondered: Against such a dominant Iwa... does Konoha even have a chance to rise?
Or rather... with Iwa's current strength, even if Konoha produced another Hashirama... would it matter?
And... does that Hashirama even have time to grow?
(End of Chapter)
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