Collective Training

What followed was a remarkable scene: while other fronts were busy preparing for battle, Yichen's side began large-scale training.

There were over a thousand ordinary junior Genin and lower, plus some Anbu ninjas. The difference in talent among them was also very large. The fast ones learned to perform C-rank Ninjutsu in four or five days, while the slow ones hadn't even reached the beginner level after seven or eight days.

Although most ninjas have only average talent for learning Ninjutsu, most still choose to learn Ninjutsu. This is because, for ninjas, the allure of Ninjutsu far outweighs that of Taijutsu and swordsmanship. Putting aside everything else, the sheer spectacle of ninjutsu is enough to drive most people crazy.

Seven days later, the first batch of supplies brought to the village arrived. These supplies mainly consisted of living necessities for the ninjas on the eastern front, as well as a small amount of supplies for building camps.

It seems the village didn't plan to build the camp immediately. Probably because the war hasn't officially started yet.

However, this is also good, because there aren't many supplies for building the camp, so Yichen doesn't need to arrange too many people to build the camp. One outpost's manpower is enough for one day.

Yichen had thought the training would continue peacefully, but people kept coming to him with different opinions. For example, the head of a sentry Yichen approached him and made a request.

It turns out that the most numerous ninjas in the team are Earth Release ninjas. Yichen's task for the Earth Release ninjas is to learn Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall. However, this Jonin said that there are too many people learning Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall, and asked if they could choose an offensive Ninjutsu instead.

This surprised Yichen, as he hadn't thought about it that much before. Combining Earth Release with other attributes was rare for ninjas; Water Style: Water Wave combined with Lightning Conduction could inflict double damage on the enemy. With the enhancement of Wind Release: Breakthrough, the Great Fireball, when performed by Genin and lower, could rival the power of B-rank Ninjutsu.

However, combining Earth Release is quite difficult, and Yichen didn't have a particularly good solution. So he decided to allow ninjas who learned the first Ninjutsu to exchange for the second Ninjutsu with a lower contribution level.

Yichen offered everyone one free Ninjutsu for tactical purposes; a second one was unnecessary. Since some people already knew or had learned Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall: Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall, Yichen's tactical objective had already been achieved. There was no need to give away a second Ninjutsu for free.

Since they still want to learn, there will definitely be many people coming to exchange. Furthermore, if this situation exists for Earth Release ninjas, it's certain that other elemental ninjas will also experience this situation.

Sure enough, as soon as Yichen made the announcement, many ninjas came to exchange for the new Ninjutsu. Most of them were indeed Earth Release ninjas. Without hesitation, Yichen directly taught the C-rank Rock-Scattering Jutsu to everyone.

Everyone had expected Yichen to give them Ninjutsu like Earth Style: Earth Rising Spear, but instead it was Rock-Scattering Jutsu. However, Rock-Scattering Jutsu could be used in conjunction with Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall, so they weren't disappointed. They spent about half of their Contribution Points to exchange for this Rock-Scattering Jutsu.

However, they had only been with the Eastern Army for a short time, and basically none of them had that many Contribution Points. But that was alright, Yichen said he would accept the advance. These Contribution Points would be deducted after completing the missions later.

Although it wasn't free like learning the first Ninjutsu, they were happy to exchange it for C-rank Ninjutsu at half the price.

Besides Earth Release, many people also came to exchange for other attributes. However, unlike Earth Release, Yichen did not specify which attributes to exchange for; instead, he exchanged for any Yichen that he possessed. But the price discount was smaller, basically reaching 60% of the original Ninjutsu price.

Logically speaking, all countries are currently preparing for war, and although Yichen's side is considered the front line, there will be no fighting in the short term.

However, Yichen's choice of camp location made the Konoha ninjas uneasy. The location Yichen chose was clearly not to deal with the Cloud ninja, but to target Konoha, so Konoha began to send small groups of ninjas to gather intelligence.

Yichen is Sensory Ninja, so these ninjas gathering intelligence naturally cannot escape his daily surveillance. Even if the people who come are from the Aburame Clan, Yichen can still detect the traces of the Kikaichū.

In fact, Yichen not only discovered traces of the Kikaichū, but also traces of the White Zetsu.

The appearance of White Zetsu raised Yichen's vigilance, leading him to increase the number of patrolling ninjas and intensify his own training. After all, no amount of preparation was as useful as improving his own strength.

Yichen recently achieved a small Wind Release: Breakthrough, but to transform this Wind Release: Breakthrough in willpower into actual strength, he needs a period of adaptation and training. Therefore, these days, Yichen has slowed down his Ninjutsu practice, reduced the time spent comprehending Lightning Release, and increased his physical training.

This is the fastest way Yichen could come up with to improve his willpower. By taking physical fitness tests, he could gain a fuller understanding of himself and thus better control his own strength.

Now, more than ten days have passed, Yichen has basically adapted to the period of unstable strength brought about by the Wind Release: Breakthrough. It is only at this point that Yichen can truly be considered an Elite Jonin.

So what changes did the Elite Jonin bring to Yichen? In short, control. Yichen's control over his body and Chakra improved significantly.

In terms of data, in Taijutsu and swordsmanship, speed and reaction are faster. In Ninjutsu, the Hand Seals for several Ninjutsu that were difficult to simplify have been reduced. For example, Earth Release: Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall has been reduced from 4 seals to 3 seals, Water Style: Water Pressure Line Jutsu from 5 seals to 4 seals, Water Style: Raging Waves from 9 seals to 8 seals, and Rain Style: Heavy Rain Jutsu from 8 seals to 7 seals. Other Ninjutsu have also been reduced in some ways, which will not be listed here.

Besides the reduction in the number of Hand Seals, the Hand Seals speed has slightly improved, from 5.0-5.5 seals/second to 5.3-5.8 seals/second. Yichen believes this improvement is more important than the reduction in the number of Hand Seals.

Then, Yichen's Body Flicker Technique also improved, increasing from three consecutive times to five consecutive times. However, since Yichen can perform Body Flicker Technique without hand seals, this improvement is not very useful for Yichen now.

Finally, Yichen's Body Bind Technique and Mind Disturbance Jutsu became significantly more powerful.

Upon closer analysis, Yichen's overall strength has indeed improved by one level. Thinking about it this way, it is indeed necessary to separate Elite Jonin from the Jonin rank.

Having consolidated his strength, Yichen restless and decided to take action against the Konoha ninja were gathering intelligence in the surrounding area.

After several days of careful probing using his Sensory Ninjutsu, Yichen discovered that there were six Konoha ninja had come this time, all of them Jonin, one of whom was likely Elite Jonin. It was precisely because of the presence of this Elite Jonin that Yichen had not dared to make any rash moves.

Yichen clearly remembered that two years ago at the Supply Station, in order to deal with an Elite Jonin, he had gathered several Yichen Anbu Squad and finally launched a combined attack to capture the Elite Jonin. And most importantly, one of the Anbu Squad he had gathered was also an Elite Jonin. If it weren't for that Elite Jonin desperately holding off the opponent, Yichen felt that if the opponent wanted to escape, he wouldn't have been able to stop him.

Now Konoha has sent another Elite Jonin, and this Elite Jonin is accompanied by five subordinates. This makes Yichen feel that things are a bit difficult.

Currently, Yichen is the strongest fighter in the Eastern Army, having just reached the level of Elite Jonin. In addition, by bringing together the Anbu Squad and outpost leaders, Yichen can also gather around thirty Jonin or Special Jonin. Originally, their strength was sufficient.

However, in order not to alert the enemy, Yichen could not stop the Anbu Squad's patrol mission, so at the same time, there were actually fewer than twenty Jonin in the camp. Although this number far exceeded the enemy's, Yichen could not guarantee that he could take them down without taking any damage with just these twenty people.

Furthermore, Konoha has members of the Aburame Clan who are skilled in reconnaissance. It would be difficult enough for us to even discover them, let alone try to surround them without their knowledge.

Yichen gathered the remaining Jonin at the camp and reported on the situation of the Konoha reconnaissance ninja. The group became somewhat serious; after all, the strength of Elite Jonin was undeniable, and capturing them would be extremely difficult. A direct confrontation might result in the deaths of several Jonin, and even then, none of them were confident.

However, everyone relaxed a bit after Yichen said he could stop them. Then, an Anbu codenamed Jonin said, "We only have twenty Jonin our camp. It's not safe to face them like this. I suggest we wait for more people."

"Tomorrow morning I will lead four Anbu Squad out of the camp. We will circle around and reach the back of the Konoha ninja. By noon, two or three more Anbu Squad should return to the camp. At that time, we will attack from both sides simultaneously. The Anbu will still operate in squads. Each Anbu Squad knows each other well, and their cooperation will be more effective than that of a single Jonin."

Yichen hesitated. His original plan was to gather Jonin together and send them out together, without including the Chunin. But the Anbu made a good point. If the ninjas on his side were not familiar with each other, it would be easy for them to take advantage of the situation.

After thinking for a moment, Yichen said, "Alright, since the Anbu is deploying in small teams, let's change our tactics."

The next morning, the squad led by the Anbu Squad Leader and three other Anbu Squad left the camp one after another. This was normal; Anbu frequently came and went like this these days, and Konoha shouldn't suspect anything.

As expected, Yichen sensed no movement from Konoha.

Around noon, three more Anbu Squad from Yichen's group returned to camp. Yichen summoned these three Anbu Squad who were preparing to rest and told them about the upcoming operation plan.

After a while, the agreed time arrived. Yichen walked out of the Command Center, and the Anbu and the leaders of the thirteen outposts, who had been scattered around and training as usual, quickly gathered around Yichen.

Then Yichen led five Anbu Squad, along with thirteen Jonin and Special Jonin, and rushed towards the direction of the Konoha ninja at top speed.

At the same time, behind a small hill ten kilometers away, four Anbu Squad also launched an attack on the rear of the Konoha ninja.