Chapter 83: Attribute Development
Based on Nagato's description, Ishiro speculated that while Nagato was attempting to manipulate other chakra natures, the Rinnegan activated and intensified the wind nature, which was his original attribute. This increased the activity of wind chakra within Nagato's body, freeing it from the task of maintaining internal balance. As a result, the remaining four chakra natures became surplus relative to the wind element and thus could be harnessed.
Ishiro then recalled that the ninja world wasn't devoid of those capable of wielding all five elements, like the master-student duo of Hiruzen Sarutobi and Orochimaru.
So, Ishiro deduced that when a ninja reached a certain level of strength and could fully develop their primary nature, it opened the possibility of utilizing new attributes.
The idea excited Ishiro. Although he possessed dual chakra attributes, they were both innate—he had never actively developed new ones.
But now, Ishiro's strength had reached the jōnin level. At this rank, according to the current state of the ninja world, he should have the qualifications to begin developing new attributes.
The problem was that the ninja world lacked a clear, systematic theory on how to develop new chakra attributes—it was mostly up to talent and intuition.
And Ishiro clearly didn't have great talent in this area. But now things were different: he understood the underlying principle. What came next was putting it into practice.
Still, now wasn't the time for training. Ishiro's initial reason for asking Nagato wasn't to learn how to develop new attributes, but to gauge Nagato's limits and how much he had mastered the Rinnegan.
So Ishiro returned to the original topic: "Nagato, your talent with all five elements is really impressive. You should try to learn more B-rank and even A-rank jutsu. That would massively enhance your combat options. At the Kage level, relying on C-rank jutsu is practically useless."
This was true. Even at the jōnin level, A-rank jutsu were typically reserved as trump cards. B-rank jutsu were often the deciding factor in battles between jōnin, and C-rank jutsu had limited utility.
Ishiro's current strength placed him on the lower end of the jōnin tier. His pride—his high-speed hand seals—could only be paired with C-rank jutsu, which made them useful for taking out weaker foes like chūnin. Against his peers or stronger jōnin, it only served as a mild disruption.
Ishiro understood this well. His original plan had been to first patch up his major weakness—close-quarters combat—and then work on strengthening his advantages.
However, his power had progressed too quickly. The weaknesses remained unaddressed, and the strengths had yet to be reinforced. Only his rank had risen. There simply wasn't enough time.
Fortunately, Ishiro had his Body Bind Technique and Mind-Body Disturbance Technique as backup surprise attacks. Against jōnin of the same level, he still had a decent chance.
If Nagato didn't pursue advanced ninjutsu, then his talent for five elements would be wasted.
Nagato thought for a moment and said, "I don't want to learn five-element ninjutsu anymore. I plan to focus on developing the Rinnegan. I can faintly sense that the Rinnegan has many mysterious abilities. If I can unlock them one by one, I can form a unique fighting style of my own."
Ishiro nodded. He now had a rough idea of Nagato's Rinnegan development. It seemed like Nagato was beginning to unlock the abilities tied to the Six Paths of Reincarnation. He wondered if it would eventually lead to puppet creation like in the original story.
From this, Ishiro formed a clearer judgment of Nagato's current power: his chakra reserves were vast and difficult to quantify; his taijutsu skills were unknown; while his ninjutsu talent was high, his repertoire was still low-level. As for the Rinnegan, he was actively developing its various path-based applications.
Overall, Nagato's current strength sat somewhere between jōnin and elite jōnin. In a short while, he'd likely ascend directly to Kage-level. And because his methods were unique, he wouldn't be among the weaker Kage.
At that moment, Konan smiled and said, "Ishiro, what about you? You can't even beat the three of us right now."
Of course, Konan knew that Ishiro had been helping them all along. Their biggest disadvantage was coming from a small nation—one without even a proper ninja village. They lacked a strong foundation and institutional support. Ishiro couldn't offer them resources or ninjutsu but could provide guidance.
Konan was just trying to lighten the mood.
"Haha," Ishiro scratched his head and said, "What I'm best at is actually mental power. But outside of Konoha, none of the other villages have developed good paths for training it. So I've been following the path of a ninjutsu user."
"In fact, my genjutsu and Yin Release are quite strong. It's just that you can fly, Konan, and I'm not confident I can hit you." As he said this, he wore a genuinely envious expression. He wasn't faking—flying ninja were exceedingly rare. A long-range fighter with flight could increase their battle potential by a wide margin.
Konan squinted and smiled happily. Though her overall strength was the weakest of the trio, her Paper Release's versatility had elevated her practical combat level.
Nagato, meanwhile, seemed to be mulling over something Ishiro had said.
The four of them chatted for a while longer before parting ways. The caravan's break was over, and Ishiro had to resume his journey. Yahiko and the others also had to return to prepare for the next caravan run and begin organizing a new supply station.
At the same time, Ishiro proposed that the Rain Country could start organizing their own trade caravans into the Earth Country. That alone would keep Yahiko busy for a while.
Back with the caravan, Ishiro explained his disheveled appearance to his three subordinates and joined the return trip.
This time, the destination wasn't Iwagakure but a small town near the border. Old man Hirosho divided the caravan into smaller teams, each heading to a different town.
Their mission was to trade the specialties brought from the Rain Country for Earth Country goods and promote the newly opened trade routes.
Ishiro's group stayed with Hirosho in the largest town near the border.
During this waiting period, Ishiro chose not to stay in the town but instead set up camp nearby in the wilderness.
One reason was that towns were too crowded and complicated—security was a concern. Another was that it wasn't convenient for Squad 7 to train in town.
According to Hirosho, this shipment from Rain Country was large, and the trade would take around ten days.
Ten days would be just enough for Squad 7 to make a round trip to Iwagakure, but Ishiro didn't want to waste time traveling. He had ideas he wanted to test out in his training.
At the temporary campsite outside the town, his three subordinates were engaged in their own practice. Among them, Seiten and Jun were sparring—Jun was focusing on her Earth and Wind Release. Ishiro had just handed her two Wind Release jutsu, which he had acquired from Sasori.
Jun had recently completed her Earth Release training and could now use Earth Flow Wall in actual combat. So Ishiro gave her two Wind jutsu to encourage her to focus on Wind Release development.
Fu, on the other hand, was training alone, struggling with the Body Flicker Technique. He wasn't naturally gifted in ninjutsu, and although the Body Flicker was more beneficial for taijutsu users, it was still a ninjutsu, and Fu was finding it difficult. While he could perform it now, it required too many hand signs to be practical.
Fortunately, his chakra reserves were decent, so he could keep trying without worry.
At that moment, Ishiro was reflecting on what Nagato had said about five-element ninjutsu.
He analyzed it carefully, then acted on his theory by converting all his chakra within his body. This process wasn't particularly difficult—it happened often during jutsu casting—but normally, one only converted as much chakra as needed for the jutsu, to avoid waste.
But this time, Ishiro converted all his chakra, and did it as fast as he could.
Before long, he had transformed it all into Water Release. Then, ignoring that chakra, he used chakra extraction techniques to draw out new chakra.
Sure enough, Ishiro immediately noticed something different—his theory had worked.
In theory, newly extracted chakra was always of the same nature as the ninja's original attribute. That wouldn't change without intervention.
But this time, after saturating his body with water-nature chakra, the water attribute's activity increased dramatically, temporarily loosening the grip of the other four attributes that maintained internal balance. Though most of them still performed their original function, a small portion had been freed.
That subtle shift was enough. Ishiro sensed something new. Unfortunately, he didn't have any chakra paper with him, or he could've tested what element the new chakra belonged to.
But Ishiro had his own method. He activated a sensory jutsu and examined his own chakra—and sure enough, it felt different from before.
Only… was that Earth Release?
Ishiro was a little dumbfounded. What happened to a third attribute?
After thinking it through, he realized this was normal. By activating Water Release, he stirred the balance, but among the remaining elements, Earth Release had the greatest presence.
That made things awkward. If he had chakra paper, he could've tested whether this method actually worked. Did he awaken a new attribute or not? And if so, which one? It wasn't practical to test Wind, Fire, and Lightning one by one.
Even if he did confirm a new affinity, achieving nature transformation wasn't easy—and now he didn't even have a clear direction. It was even harder.
Gritting his teeth, Ishiro decided to go for it.
He summoned his three subordinates and said, "We're heading to the nearby outpost. I need to train there for a while."
The three looked at each other, not sure why they had to go to the outpost, but none of them objected.
That was one of the perks of being team leader—he could decide their movements as long as it didn't interfere with the mission.
But it was also a burden. If Ishiro were still under Captain Shiden, he wouldn't have to seek out a secure location. Shiden would've handled their safety.
That was exactly why Ishiro was going to the outpost—to seek protection. He planned to deplete all his chakra and attempt another experiment. But as the strongest member of Squad 7, he couldn't leave his team vulnerable.
So, he chose the outpost.
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