The Village's Support

The matter of the future Fourth Earth Shadow is not something that needs to be rushed right now, so after a brief discussion among the high-ranking officials, they decided not to delve into it further.

"Yichen, please provide a list of those who wish to exchange for B-rank Ninjutsu. Let's check it." Ōnoki changed the subject of the higher-ups.

Because of the high regard the higher-ups have for Yichen, and because of his outstanding performance on the eastern front, all of Yichen's exchange requests have been approved.

The village didn't hesitate to grant Yichen's request for the Secret Scroll, along with the other treasures he wanted to exchange for.

In addition to arranging another special Anbu Squad to escort Ninjutsu to the front line, the village also handed over supplies that would have taken some time to be delivered to the front line to the two Anbu Squad.

When Ben returned to the camp with the supplies, it was already five days later. During these five days, the situation in the Ninja World had become increasingly tense. The Sunagakure had dispatched nearly 10,000 ninjas to the border, and the Konoha, not to be outdone, had also sent 5,000 ninjas in response.

Sunagakure and Konoha, as the two villages most likely to become the flashpoint of war, are currently facing off across the Land of Rivers with their respective armies.

War is imminent.

Affected by the atmosphere of war, Yichen are not as peaceful as before in Yichen. Recently, not only have Konoha ninjas come to scout, but Cloud ninja also come from the sea to spy on them from time to time.

Besides the two opponents that Yichen had anticipated, he would also occasionally see figures from the Mist ninja and Sunagakure, who were completely unrelated to him.

Besides these large countries, ninjas from smaller countries like the Land of Grass and the Land of the Falls were also active far around the camp.

The patrolling ninjas even reported that samurai from the Land of Iron were entering and leaving towns near the camp.

For the past five days Yichen did not launch a direct attack as before. Firstly, there were too few ninjas who came to spy, and Yichen did not care about them. Even if he attacked, he would not gain much merit. Secondly, Yichen was still unclear about the village's attitude after the last attack.

After all, the Ninja World hasn't officially started fighting yet. Once the fighting begins, Yichen now has a way to determine who the Land of Earth is an enemy of and who is an ally of.

However, Yichen no longer needs to endure this, because Ben has brought back the information he wanted. Although the higher-ups have not given any explicit instructions, all the B-rank Ninjutsu that Yichen reported have been approved by the village, which means that the village approves of his approach.

With the village's backing, Yichen could go all out.

In front of everyone, Yichen handed the B-rank Ninjutsu sent by the Anbu to the applicant. Then, amidst the envious and jealous gazes of the crowd, he began to assign the task of clearing out the spies around them.

This time, Yichen didn't take action himself because his reconnaissance revealed no Elite Jonin. Since he had no mission of his own, Yichen planned to send his three disciples out for some real combat experience, while he would remain hidden to protect them.

Yichen's main targets this time were Konoha, the Land of the Falls, and the Land of Grass. His approach to dealing with the ninjas from these three countries was very direct: kill them. However, for the Cloud ninja, Yichen's order was to expel them, defeat them with overwhelming force, and then supervise their departure from the Land of Earth.

After assigning the tasks, Yichen watched as the ninjas who had received their missions left the Training Ground in high spirits to prepare for battle. He then comforted the remaining ninjas, who looked disappointed, and told them to give them another chance. After that, he secretly followed his three disciples away.

The three boys' mission was to kill one Chunin and one Taijutsu- type Chunin. Yichen gave them very little information, only the general location; the rest they had to scout out themselves.

This mission was not easy for the three of them, as none of them had yet reached the Chunin level. Although they had barely reached the Chunin level in some aspects, they were still far from being at the top overall.

For example, Kawakita's physical condition gradually became more and more compatible with swordsmanship, which was Yichen had not expected. Perhaps this was also caused by Kawakita's love and focus on swordsmanship.

As the weakest of the three, Tomoko's Hand Seals speed was at the level of an average Chunin. Although the number of hand seals she had just learned for Wind Release Hand Seals was not yet simplified, with the cooperation of her teammates, she was not without a chance to make a contribution.

Kajiyamari's skill is even more evident; he now knows more Ninjutsu than most Chunin. Although his Hand Seals are slow, if he successfully executes the Water Style: Water Pressure Line Jutsu, its power, comparable to B-rank Ninjutsu, is enough to catch an enemy off guard and cause them to suffer a great loss.

However, although the three of them had reached the level of Chunin some aspects, their overall strength was still far from that of Chunin. Most importantly, the three of them lacked a trial, a test of blood and fire.

When Yichen was just a kid, he completed this test under the pressure of a Mist ninja spy. Although the reward he received wasn't an immediate increase in strength, the benefits were long-lasting.

As for the students of Yichen's Ninja Academy, under Yichen's leadership, many geniuses took the initiative to go out and engage in real battles while still in school. For example, Ikura, who was a little later than Yichen, also completed his transformation early.

Sometimes Yichen wondered if the reason why the name Ikura wasn't mentioned in the original work was because the Ikura in the original work didn't undergo this test in advance. As a child, he didn't have the true will of a ninja and ended up just growing up like an ordinary genius.

This is just Yichen's guess. It's also possible that Ikura died unexpectedly in the original story. No one can say for sure what the truth is.

But no matter what, this is a hurdle that must be overcome to become a qualified ninja. Yichen hadn't sent the three little ones out to take this test before because there wasn't a suitable mission. Now, this Taijutsu Chunin is just right.

Using the Light-Weight Rock Technique and Camouflage Jutsu, Yichen slowly followed behind the three little ones, about seven or eight meters above the ground.

Of the three disciples, Tomoko's Sensory Ninjutsu is quite good. If Yichen is walking on the ground, he is easily detected, but if Yichen is seven or eight meters in the air, the chance of being detected is much lower. After all, Sensory Ninja usually only sense the ground, and Yichen, as one of the top Sensory Ninja in Iwagakure, has a lot to say about this.

The three disciples, in battle formation, were advancing towards their target location at a moderate pace.

The one at the front, Kawakita, asked the temporary team leader in Kajiyamari, "How far is Kajiyamari?"

Although he tried his best to keep his voice calm, Kajiyamari and Tomoko could still hear the tension in his voice. However, neither of them laughed, because they were nervous themselves, after all, they were going to face a Chunin alone. This was indeed a bit of a challenge for the three of them who had graduated less than a year ago.

Especially for Tomoko, whose original life plan was to Chunin, she was the most nervous about being asked to carry out a mission to kill a Chunin.

Because of his background, Kajiyamari was more Chunin about killing Chunin than his two teammates, but as the captain, he was under more pressure than his two teammates.

Swallowing unconsciously, Kajiyamari said with as much confidence as possible, "About three kilometers left. We'll advance another kilometer, then begin reconnaissance and formulate a battle plan. Tomoko, it'll be up to you then."

"Yes." Tomoko nodded with an unwavering expression, not wanting to burden her two teammates.

After receiving the reply, Kawakita stopped asking questions and continued forward with his head down, and his teammates fell into a tense silence once again.

Although they sensed the tense atmosphere, none of the three stepped forward to ease it. This was because Kajiyamari, who had been relatively active in the group, was now also contemplating the upcoming battle.

Soon, the three arrived at the designated location and began reconnaissance behind a boulder. The reconnaissance process was simple: Kawakita and Kajiyamari provided cover, while Tomoko conducted the sensing.

Soon, Tomoko's perception yielded a result, but the result was not very good.

"The other party is moving, about 10 o'clock ahead of us, moving westward. They're not moving fast; they're probably walking, not running."

This was not what the three had expected. Kawakita, with his simple mind, didn't know what to do, so he looked to Kajiyamari.

Although Kajiyamari didn't know what to do, as the team leader, his father had taught him to be decisive, even if it was a wrong decision, it was better than no decision at all.

So Kajiyamari thought for a moment and said, "Follow him, and try to close the distance as much as possible." After thinking for a moment, she added, "Don't follow the path he's taken; approach him from other directions."

Tomoko nodded, then sensed the other party's speed of movement before finding a relatively concealed route and slowly approaching the target.

At this moment, about 2 kilometers away from the three children, a Mist ninja Chunin from the Mist Village was searching for a suitable hiding place along the riverbank.

Coincidentally, the training partner that Yichen found for his three disciples was a Mist ninja Chunin, just like himself back then. This Chunin was named Kozaburo, and he came here simply to learn about the layout of Iwagakure. This was to be expected, as although the Land of Water and the Land of Earth were far apart, understanding the layout of the Land of Earth could provide some reference for future wars and peace.

Because the possibility of conflict between the two countries is not as high as that between neighboring countries, the Mist ninja only sent a small force that was not very strong.

After the small Mist ninja force entered the Land of Earth, they adopted a strategy of dispersal to avoid detection. Kozaburo's assigned task was relatively simple: to scout the activity frequency of Iwa ninja Patrol Unit in the area.

Because the small force sent by the Mist ninja was not very strong, they dared not approach. They could only try to figure out the number and strength of the Iwa ninja in the camp by guessing and inferring.

Kozaburo had been hiding in a small mound by the river, but now he was going to find a new hiding place.

The three little ones happened to approach at this moment. If Kozaburo hadn't moved, Kajiyamari could have devised a relatively meticulous plan to launch a sneak attack, putting Kozaburo on the defensive from the start. Now that Kozaburo's position has changed, Kajiyamari can no longer formulate a very specific plan.

However, Kozaburo's move was not without its drawbacks. The location he had chosen earlier was well-prepared, with traps all around that he could use, and it was a battlefield he had personally selected that suited him. Now, all of these advantages were gone.