Chapter 454: River Village
After extorting Obito Uchiha, Ishiro took his four disciples and cheerfully flew on toward the Land of Rivers.
Passing over the Dark Akatsuki base in the Land of Rain, Ishiro glanced down. He saw that the Dark Akatsuki had already finished rebuilding their base. It seemed this group of homeless missing-nin was living a relatively stable life here.
Ishiro also spotted Nagato's Deva Path Pain, but he didn't descend, merely waving from the sky. The Deva Path nodded back at Ishiro, saying nothing.
After a while, Ishiro and his group finally arrived at the River Village.
Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato, having received news in advance, were already waiting at the village gate.
Yahiko immediately pulled Ishiro into a hug. "Ishiro, you're finally here! It's been way too long since you last visited the Land of Rivers."
Ishiro laughed, "It really has. I stopped by the Land of Rain during the Konoha invasion, but I guess I haven't had time to come here."
Then Ishiro turned to Konan, saying a bit sheepishly, "Konan, we meet again."
"Hmph." Konan just snorted and didn't reply.
Seeing he wasn't immediately attacked, Ishiro got a little bolder. "Nagato, come on, let's hug too."
Nagato wasn't as enthusiastic as Yahiko. Being embraced by Ishiro, his body was somewhat stiff.
After hugging Nagato, Ishiro looked back at Konan.
Konan finally exploded in anger, unable to hold back. With a wave of her hand, a sky full of paper sheets shot toward Ishiro.
Seeing that the papers were all exploding tags, Ishiro yelped and hurriedly dodged.
The paper tags chased him relentlessly, letting off an explosion or two every few seconds.
Ishiro broke out in a cold sweat. Careless, I got careless.
Once the tags chasing Ishiro were spent, Konan didn't use any more. Instead, she grabbed Kanako and pulled her aside, the two of them whispering about something.
Sōkai and the other two students watched as this woman—who started out so gentle and quiet—suddenly chased their incredibly powerful sensei all over the place. They all swallowed hard.
Sōkai whispered, "Ayumi, was that person just now using the same ability as Senior Kanako?"
"An ocean of exploding tags just by waving her hand... that's too insane."
Sasagawa Ayumi whispered back, "It should be. And that older sister's Paper Release seems even more skilled than Senior Kanako's."
Chiga also whispered, "She feels incredibly strong. Especially when she got angry, the aura that erupted... that must be Kage-level."
"Whoa!" Sōkai and Ayumi gasped. Kage-level, the same rank as Teacher Ishiro. A pinnacle existence in the shinobi world.
The three looked at Konan with a mix of awe.
Yahiko noticed the three whispering kids. "Ishiro, are these your new disciples?"
Ishiro nodded. "That's right. The three of them are also here to participate in the joint Chunin Exam."
"The girl is Chiga, a sensory ninja. The tall one is Sasagawa Ayumi. The one who looks goofy is Tenbin Chūkō, originally named Uchiha Sōkai."
Sōkai looked speechless at his teacher, then turned to his teammates. "Chiga, Ayumi, do I look goofy?"
Sasagawa Ayumi lied against his conscience: "Not goofy at all. Teacher Ishiro is just joking."
Chiga thought for a moment and said, "You look fine, I guess. Your appearance is somewhat deceptive."
Sōkai said, "See? I told you I don't look goofy."
Sasagawa Ayumi: ...
He thought: Is it too late to take back what I just said?
Everyone else heard the kids' conversation. Yahiko and Nagato found it amusing.
Konan, meanwhile, remarked, "He's just like Yahiko when he was young."
Yahiko: ...
Nagato smiled bashfully, but Ishiro laughed loudly.
"Hahahaha, haha, ha." Ishiro's laughter died instantly under Konan's glare.
Yahiko quickly changed the subject, asking Ishiro: "An Uchiha? Ishiro, how does your Iwagakure have a member of the Uchiha clan?"
Ishiro smiled. "I kidnapped Sōkai from Konoha at first, but it's an open secret now. The Uchiha Clan Head has since acknowledged the situation."
Yahiko nodded, finding the whole thing miraculous.
Nagato said, "Yahiko, let's head into the village. Let's walk around and let Ishiro see how our village has developed."
"Right, right!" Yahiko quickly agreed. "Ishiro, please take a good look. Our first attempt at building a village was a failure. Tell me what you think of this attempt."
The eight of them entered the River Village in three groups.
Konan, Kanako, and Chiga—the three women—walked at the front. Under Konan's lead, Kanako and Chiga looked around happily.
Sasagawa Ayumi and Sōkai followed boringly behind them.
Ishiro, Yahiko, and Nagato chatted as they casually followed at the rear.
Ishiro looked at the River Village's main street and said to Yahiko, "Yahiko, your village lacks vitality. It's also missing character."
Yahiko looked confused and glanced at Nagato, who also looked at Ishiro.
Ishiro continued: "Your streets only have shops for daily necessities. For a closed-off, self-sufficient village, that's enough."
"Compared to your previous village, you've made great progress. I can see the villagers are living stable lives."
"But for a village about to host the joint Chunin Exams, this isn't enough. This won't attract the wealthy."
"Think about it. While you don't lack food, clothing, or shelter..."
"...for rich people, they already have those things. Why would they travel all the way to the River Village?"
"Think about it: your village isn't the number one great village, and you don't have a Hokage Rock carved with the God of Shinobi, the First Hokage."
"Without famous, well-known attractions, why would anyone want to come?"
Yahiko asked, "Ishiro, what should we do then?"
Ishiro smiled. "First, you can build some entertainment facilities. Things like ninja games that civilians can participate in."
"Or amazing ninjutsu performances. You could even open some gambling dens related to the Chunin Exams. Or, if you're unwilling to run them yourselves, you can leave the storefronts empty and let the merchants who arrive later open them."
"As for your food street, it can't just serve daily life; it needs to focus on making the wealthy spend money."
"Second, it needs character. You've been the leader of the Land of Rivers for a while now. Think about what makes the Land of Rivers unique that you can bring to the River Village."
"What special foods, what unique customs or activities—all of these can be used to attract the gaze of tourists. Then make small sculptures, little toys, and souvenirs that they can take back as gifts. This will also increase your village's reputation."
"In short, you need to make visitors feel that the River Village is special, so that after they leave, they want to come back, and maybe even bring their friends and family with them."
"You need to make wealthy people want to spend money, and make them feel happy and prestigious for having spent it."
Nagato asked, "Ishiro, is that what Iwagakure does?"
Ishiro shook his head. "No. Iwagakure is already the number one great village in the shinobi world. We don't need those tricks to attract a steady stream of people."
"What we show outsiders is the privilege of living in Iwagakure. We want them to envy those who get to live there."
Yahiko and Nagato nodded thoughtfully.
Yahiko was a man of action. After hearing Ishiro's words, he immediately went to implement the changes.
While Ishiro and Nagato were still strolling behind Konan and the others, Yahiko was already mobilizing people to change the street layout. He began constructing entertainment facilities and renovating the shops according to Ishiro's advice.
Ishiro said to Nagato, "This is what I admire most about Yahiko. He looks like a blockhead, but he thinks of it and he does it. That's the prerequisite for success."
Nagato also nodded. "Me too. Yahiko is the true Child of Prophecy. His actions easily inspire empathy in everyone around him."
Ishiro glanced at Nagato. That statement clearly came from the heart, which meant someone had probably told Nagato that he was the Child of Prophecy.
If there were no surprises, it had to be Black and White Zetsu, and Obito Uchiha.
But Ishiro didn't plan to pursue it; that was Nagato's own choice. Besides, Ishiro believed the Nagato of this life wasn't so easily fooled. And given their relationship, Nagato wouldn't move against Ishiro or Iwagakure.
Ishiro called out loudly to Konan ahead: "Konan, take us to your Ninja Academy!"
Konan replied without turning her head: "Alright."
Soon, the group arrived at the River Village Ninja Academy.
The scale of this academy was much smaller than Iwagakure's, but it wasn't missing any of the necessary facilities. This was normal; the academy was originally built imitating Iwagakure's, and Ishiro had helped with the planning.
Ishiro flipped through the River Village academy textbooks and roughly understood why the ninja raised here were so different from those of a major village.
"Nagato, these textbooks in your academy have a problem," Ishiro said, patting the stack of books.
Nagato asked curiously, "What's the problem?"
Nearby, Konan also cast a concerned look.
Ishiro said, "The student training content and curriculum are fine, but the guiding philosophy for the students is flawed."
"A shinobi without a clear Nindo—a ninja way—can never become truly strong."
"And your academy is failing in that regard."
"Does Yahiko give frequent speeches? That's what those speeches are for: to help your village's ninja form a proper Nindo."
"But that's not enough. You need to organize these concepts and write them into the textbooks, then teach it as a formal class."
"Take our Iwagakure's Will of Stone, for example. That isn't simple brainwashing. It is a tool to help us find the correct ninja way."
"Long-term study of the Will of Stone helps children form a Nindo based on fighting for the peace of the village and the protection of its people."
"A Nindo rooted in 'protection' is exceptionally powerful. This fundamentally changes a shinobi's strength, and it changes the overall strength of the village."
"As for taijutsu and ninjutsu, those are just methods to express strength. They are the means, not the foundation."
Nagato was deep in thought. He looked up and said, "Ishiro, I think I know what to do. I'll go discuss this with Yahiko right now."
Ishiro nodded, saying nothing.
After the academy tour, Konan gathered many River Village genin, having them spar with Sōkai, Ayumi, and Chiga.
Ishiro wasn't interested in that. He planned to spar with Nagato once he finished handling the academy affairs.
Nagato's strength was currently number one in the shinobi world; this was indisputable.
Nagato should be the only shinobi in the entire world right now capable of fighting at least three Kage-level opponents simultaneously without losing ground, and likely winning.
Sometimes, Ishiro felt classifying Nagato as "Kage-level" was detrimental to true power scaling.
He should be categorized as 'Super-Kage' for now.
Ishiro wanted to see, by fighting Nagato, just how big the gap was between himself and a shinobi of that caliber.
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