Chapter 279: The Will of Stone of Iwagakure
Following the Second Hokage's earlier guidance, Tsunade and her team arrived at the site of an ancient battlefield in the eastern part of the Land of Fire, near the Land of Whirlpools. This area was once the territory of the Uzumaki clan, and numerous sealing jutsu formulas were left underground. Back then, the Second Hokage buried Madara Uchiha's body underground, hoping no one would find it.
Entering the tomb and opening the coffin, they found it empty.
Judging by the accumulated dust, the coffin had been empty for at least several decades.
They found no clues related to Madara Uchiha at the scene. They could only use a messenger hawk to inform the village and have them send more professional personnel to investigate.
A message arrived from Kitsuchi, the son of the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, saying that his father was willing to meet Tsunade. Tsunade's team left the underground tomb and headed towards the Land of Earth.
First, they had to pass through the border. Kurotsuchi had already returned to the village. The ninjas at the Iwagakure border post didn't dare to obstruct the famous Sannin. They were treated to good food and drink. A day later, Tsunade and her team smoothly entered the Land of Earth.
Iwagakure was located amidst the mountains of the Land of Earth, with range upon range of peaks. After climbing one mountain, there was another behind it. Even though ninjas could traverse mountains as if they were flat ground, they were starting to feel a bit frustrated; there were simply too many mountains!
Tonton's excitement had long since vanished. Even being held by Shizune, it felt very tired.
Ino observed along the way. Unlike Konoha, which was situated on a plain, Iwagakure definitely deserved the evaluation of being easy to defend but hard to attack. The three of them were a bit tired just from running all the way, let alone ordinary chunin or genin. If it were a long-distance raid, they might have exhausted more than half their stamina before even reaching Iwagakure. What kind of fight would that be?
For so many years, Iwagakure had never been breached by foreign enemies. It had to be said that geographical advantage was indeed a factor.
Everything has its pros and cons. Being in such a remote location, ordinary people wouldn't come here to commission missions. Iwagakure had relatively fewer missions, but they had mines here! The village's ninjas were also proficient in Earth Release, making them all skilled miners. In reality, they weren't poor.
At the entrance of Iwagakure stood a giant rock. The three of them stopped to look. The Iwagakure ninja guarding the gate looked proud and didn't try to stop them at all.
On the stone, as expected and perfectly reasonable, several lines of large characters were carved.
The vigorous and powerful calligraphy detailed the will of the First Tsuchikage, something similar to Konoha's Will of Fire. Here, it was called the Will of Stone.
Unwavering perseverance and steadfastness were the core of the Will of Stone. In essence, there was nothing wrong with this will, but in Ino's view, it seemed too rigid.
You don't move when outdated customs need to be abolished, and you don't move when reform and progress are needed?
If it were a chaotic situation where those in power couldn't see the changes in circumstances, then responding to all changes by remaining unchanged would be a wise choice. But in a relatively peaceful era in the ninja world, if one still remained steadfastly unmoving, that wouldn't do.
Poverty leads to change, change leads to solutions, and solutions lead to longevity.
In Ino's opinion, Iwagakure's future would increasingly fall behind the times, and eventually, it would be kicked aside like a stone.
It would be kicked aside in the future, but not now.
An unchanging policy naturally had its unchanging benefits. People desired stability, and Iwagakure's environment was the most stable. This was much better than Konoha, which was living in dire straits.
Ino carefully read the Will of Stone. It was like how one must read Buddhist scriptures to learn Shaolin's ultimate skills. Now that she had learned a bit of Iwagakure's ninjutsu, she read it very seriously.
The First Tsuchikage, Ishikawa, was the grandfather of the current Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, and Kurotsuchi's great-great-grandfather. Through this Will of Stone, Ino could understand the thoughts of this ninja world senior. One could disagree with his path, but the merits within it were worth learning.
Walking through the gates of Iwagakure, the Third Tsuchikage had already come to greet them with several high-ranking members of the village.
The most conspicuous was his son, the 2.17-meter-tall giant, Kitsuchi.
The Third Tsuchikage, however, was floating in mid-air.
This was Iwagakure's famous Light-Weight Rock Technique and Added-Weight Rock Technique.
The Light-Weight Rock Technique and Added-Weight Rock Technique involved a series of abilities such as flight, which were extremely rare in the ninja world.
However, there were also some speculations in the ninja world that not only was this technique extremely difficult to learn, but one also had to practice it moderately.
If one practiced too intensely, they might end up like the current Third Tuschikage and the deceased First Tsuchikage.
The First Tsuchikage, Ishikawa, was 1.45 meters tall, and the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, was 1.30 meters tall.
Looking at Kitsuchi's 2.17-meter height, it was clear their family's genes weren't bad. How could the son be 2.17 meters and the father 1.30 meters? This wasn't a case of "the kid next door"; it was due to practicing the Light-Weight Rock Technique and Added-Weight Rock Technique too frequently, putting long-term strain on the body, leading to spinal deformation, literally crushing them shorter.
Look at Kitsuchi; he didn't practice it, so Kitsuchi was fine!
Seeing the Third Tsuchikage floating in mid-air like a small potato, Ino felt a shiver down her spine. Even if this technique were given to her for free, she wouldn't practice it!
Strength is temporary, but looking good is for a lifetime. If she were really crushed down to 1.30 meters, no amount of natural beauty or graceful figure would matter.
Having a giant clay bird for transportation was enough; she no longer coveted their Light-Weight Rock Technique!
"Tsunade! What are you doing in my Iwagakure?" The Third Tsuchikage floated to a position slightly higher than them, looking down at the three of them.
The older one gets, the more they care about these matters of seniority. No matter how dissatisfied the Third Tsuchikage was, he couldn't lose his manners. Tsunade, as the First Hokage's granddaughter, had come to Iwagakure. He, as the First Tsuchikage's grandson, had to come out and meet her, even if he had to crawl.
Hearing the little old man's unfriendly question, Tsunade said loudly, "My disciple, In-"
Before she could finish, Shizune coughed incessantly from behind. She suddenly realized, oh no, it seems I'm not here to challenge them, I have some kind of mission, right?
Shizune knew she had forgotten and quickly reminded her in a low voice, "To inquire about Iwagakure's stance on the Eastern Sea War."
"Right!" Tsunade's voice was sonorous. "The Land of Water is now trying to reoccupy the Eastern Sea. Konoha, Kirigakure, and Kumogakure have already exchanged opinions. We believe that not interfering in the wars of ordinary people is the optimal choice. We want to know Iwagakure's opinion."
After all, she was a character who had been Hokage in the original timeline. Tsunade possessed political talent. At this moment, she was pulling the tiger's skin to wave a big flag. In her words, Konoha, Kirigakure, and Kumogakure seemed like the closest of allies. She spoke entirely off-script, expounding on the importance of the five great ninja villages not participating in the war, speaking for a full ten minutes.
The Third Tsuchikage found it very noisy but couldn't tell her to shut up, so he could only listen patiently.
After listening, he refused without even thinking.
"Finished? You can leave."
Tsunade's face was stern: "So, you're unwilling to cooperate!"
The little old man's eyes also bulged like copper bells: "I have nothing to say! What do you want me to say?"
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