Chapter 157: Duel Agreement
Upon hearing Ishiro's words, the Kumo-nin hesitated briefly before asking, "How can I be sure your intel is actually worth anything?"
"Heh… judge for yourself," Ishiro replied calmly.
"Fine. For each round we lose, we'll stay out of the Land of Earth for a day. But if we win, you give us one intel," the Kumo-nin countered.
"You're underestimating my intel if you think it's that cheap," Ishiro replied with a smirk.
The Kumo-nin frowned slightly and thought it over. "Then what are your terms?"
"If you win thirty rounds, I'll hand over the intel."
Boom—
"You mocking me?" The Kumo-nin stomped, splitting the earth beneath him with a thunderous crack.
"Calm down, calm down. Don't worry, the intel I'm offering is definitely worth your effort. You'll know when you hear it," Ishiro said unhurriedly.
The Kumo-nin narrowed his eyes. "Thirty rounds is too much. A three-on-three match means you'll run out of genin before we even get there."
"Heh, seems you've done your homework on our camp. How about this—genin fights count as one round each. Chunin fights count as five rounds. Sound fair?"
"That's doable," the Kumo-nin nodded. "Then what if a jōnin fights?"
Ishiro's gaze sharpened. "If you agree, that'll count for all thirty rounds."
At those words, both of them launched forward, charging into battle.
As Ishiro advanced, he activated Porcelain Release. Large swathes of mud rose and layered upon each other, surging toward the Kumo-nin like waves.
The Kumo-nin's eyes narrowed. So it really is mud… Just like Black Moya's intel described—this is the one who developed a new kekkei genkai.
A flicker of killing intent flashed in the Kumo-nin's eyes before he picked up speed, charging faster.
Ishiro didn't recognize this man from canon, so he figured the guy was a standard elite jōnin. Speed-focused opponents could be tricky, but Ishiro wasn't worried.
This was the perfect chance to test Porcelain Release.
Layer after layer of mud rushed to entangle the Kumo-nin, only to be torn through by his rapid assault. The lightning-enhanced chakra infused into his body caused portions of the mud to lose cohesion upon impact.
Mud didn't do much to slow him. After breaking through three layers, Ishiro shifted tactics.
On the fourth clash, the mud transformed into solid rock. Boom! Though still blasted open, the impact significantly slowed the Kumo-nin.
The fifth and sixth layers followed the same pattern. By now, the Kumo-nin's speed had dropped below Ishiro's.
The mud he had outrun earlier now caught up—surrounding him.
The Kumo-nin refused to be restrained. He attempted to escape, changing directions frequently.
But under Ishiro's control, the mud could alternate between soft and hard states—becoming rock when charged at, then mud again to close the encirclement.
After several attempts, the Kumo-nin's advantage in speed was completely nullified.
Ishiro felt victory nearing… until the Kumo-nin roared, "Storm Release—Azure Flash Dance!"
In an instant, countless blue streaks of light burst forth, engulfing the mud barrier.
The mud instantly lost connection with Ishiro, crumbling into stone and falling apart. The remaining light beams surged toward Ishiro.
Fortunately, he reacted swiftly—canceling his jutsu, using Body Flicker to escape, and immediately beginning the hand seals for the Light-Weight Boulder Technique.
Thanks to the mud having delayed the blue light slightly, Ishiro had already taken to the air when the lights struck.
"Whew… I let my guard down. I knew Kumo had intel on Porcelain Release and still assumed it would work. I underestimated a great nation."
Big ninja villages were powerful not just because of raw strength—but because they had counters for everything.
Storm Release, a fusion of Lightning and Water Release, countered Porcelain Release, which was Earth and Water-based. The type advantage was clear.
Floating in the air, Ishiro sensed no connection with the disrupted mud—completely neutralized by the Storm Release.
Not only had he failed to secure a win, he'd exposed intel. He felt annoyed.
Still, he did gain some practical experience in how to use Porcelain Release more flexibly.
Soon, the blue light faded and the Kumo-nin reappeared. Seeing Ishiro hovering in midair, he frowned. Flying?
Storm Release was powerful, yes—but its range was limited. It wasn't suited for high-altitude combat. That gave Ishiro the upper hand now.
But Ishiro wasn't comfortable either.
When he first learned Light-Weight Boulder Technique, it gave him a major strategic edge. But these days, most high-level enemies had ranged options. If he wasn't flying high enough, he was still in danger. And if he flew too high, he couldn't attack.
Light-Weight Boulder had become more of a defensive retreat option than a battlefield advantage.
Against close-combat types, Ishiro used to engage up close with blade techniques and high-speed seals. Against ranged types, he used instant movement and ninjutsu.
With Porcelain Release, he finally had an efficient way to counter melee threats.
But now, his opponent was a close-range fighter with a kekkei genkai that countered his.
For the first time, Ishiro tasted what it meant to be on the losing end of a matchup.
Considering the current political situation—Iwa wasn't ready for war with Kumo—he couldn't afford to kill this man, even if he could.
After weighing the situation, Ishiro decided not to escalate.
This guy isn't Minato. Not worth risking information just to test him.
After a moment of tense standoff, Ishiro spoke: "Senior, how about we call this one a draw?"
The Kumo-nin's eyes flashed. Then he nodded. "Agreed."
Ishiro clapped his hands with a grin. "Wonderful! Then shall we discuss the terms of the duels?"
"Hmph. As you wish," the man replied and returned to the Kumo ranks.
Shortly after, about fifty Kumo-nin arrived—presumably the reinforcements that had been summoned.
Though outnumbered, Ishiro didn't panic. Both sides were in a state of mutual restraint—they wanted leverage, not an all-out war.
So he didn't care how many came. Both sides knew that.
Even when he had first arrived, the Kumo teams hadn't fled.
Once everyone was assembled, Ishiro asked, "Senior, ah… forgive me. May I have your name?"
The injured jōnin from earlier answered, "This is Commander Naoto Tanimoto, captain of the diplomatic escort unit to the Land of Iron."
Ishiro twitched slightly. He knew Kumo had used the 'diplomatic escort' excuse, but hearing it said so openly still irked him.
Taking a deep breath, Ishiro asked, "Commander Tanimoto, shall we begin the matches?"
Tanimoto replied, "Yes. Let the genin begin."
"No, no. This is the second match. We already won the first before you arrived. You can ask your subordinates if you doubt it."
The three defeated genin looked down, terrified Tanimoto would ask.
Of course, he already knew—they had reported it. But he didn't want to admit it.
Seeing this, Ishiro cut him off first. "Surely you wouldn't deny a loss, would you, Commander? Otherwise, there's no point in continuing."
"Hmph. Fine. Match two—start immediately." He gestured to a newly arrived jōnin.
That jōnin nodded and spoke to three of his genin.
Soon, three fresh Kumo genin entered the field.
Tanimoto didn't want to play along with Ishiro's pacing, but he did want to see this new Iwa "strategy" firsthand.
The second Iwa team wasn't as conveniently structured—two of the three knew Earth Release, which was the most common element in Iwa.
But many Earth Release users lacked ninjutsu talent and only now began studying jutsu under Ishiro's guidance.
This trio wasn't particularly strong. Ishiro brought them because they were extremely well-coordinated.
That synergy became even more effective after they learned ninjutsu.
The match went smoothly. At first, the two Earth users didn't use ninjutsu, opting to feint and maneuver.
Then, one blocked an attack with Earth Style: Mud Wall, while the other immediately followed up with Rock Shatter Technique on the same wall.
Kumo hadn't expected that.
Seeing the wall, the genin rushed forward—only to be caught off-guard by the sudden counterattack. One was injured immediately.
Now it was 3v2. After a hard-fought scuffle, Iwa's genin narrowly secured victory—losing two in the process.
"Hehe… second match is ours too," Ishiro said cheerfully.
He was in a very good mood.
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