Harvest

Yichen no longer cared what Minato Namikaze would do after returning to the Konoha Camp with his subordinates; now he needed to return to the camp and sort out the gains from his battle with Minato Namikaze.

Yichen's most direct gain from this First Shinobi War was the improvement of his combat experience. Fighting against an Elite Jonin from an enemy country was an invaluable experience for Yichen.

Especially since Minato Namikaze was an exceptionally skilled close-combat ninja. During this First Shinobi War, Yichen Yichen discovered significant shortcomings in both his B-rank Okatana and his mastery of Sword Qi. He needs to carefully consider these two aspects and strive to develop a tactical approach that suits him best.

In addition to clarifying the direction for improving his close combat abilities, Yichen also experienced firsthand the threat posed by a powerful enemy who harbored genuine killing intent towards him.

This is very important. Yichen had a feeling that a ninja's growth might be a transformation achieved through repeated trials and tribulations against powerful enemies.

However, the First Shinobi War did not last long, Yichen felt that he had not gained much.

Another gain was Minato Namikaze's Rasengan Seal-less Ninjutsu Minato Namikaze seals. The Rasengan's training method is the only Ninjutsu in the original work with a detailed description.

The biggest obstacle in training the Rasengan is Chakra Control. Yichen believes that with his Chakra Control abilities, it won't be difficult for him to successfully train the Rasengan.

Previously, he just lacked a reasonable excuse, but now that he had the reason of fighting Minato Namikaze, Yichen believed that no one would doubt that he had transmigrated. They would only think that he was a genius who had stolen the enemy's ultimate move after just one look.

After learning the Rasengan, Yichen traded some good things with the village.

Upon returning to camp, Yichen first gave Kitsuchi a detailed report on the battle.

Now Kitsuchi is in charge of the camp, Yichen's whereabouts need to be reported to Kitsuchi.

After hearing Yichen's description, Kitsuchi was very surprised and repeatedly confirmed Yichen's evaluation of Minato Namikaze.

Quasi-Kage level!

Like Ikura, Minato Namikaze has already Wind Release: Breakthrough that barrier, but he still needs some time to mature before he can truly become Kage Level. Moreover, judging from Minato Namikaze's age, he probably Wind Release: Breakthrough before Ikura.

Regardless of what happened before or after, this was crucial intelligence, intelligence powerful enough to change the village's strategic layout. Kitsuchi wasted no time and immediately sent Yichen, the person involved, back to the village to report Minato Namikaze's information to Ōnoki.

Yichen's Light-Weight Rock Technique made him the fastest traveler in the entire camp. In addition, Yichen was the person involved and knew the situation of Minato Namikaze the best, so it was most appropriate for Yichen to deliver this message.

Having received the mission, Yichen had no choice but to first find his three disciples, give them a few instructions, and then return to the village alone.

Yichen had previously First Shinobi War against Minato Namikaze, in First Shinobi War he used a high-consumption A-rank Ninjutsu. After traveling a long distance, his Chakra was almost completely depleted by the time he returned to the village. In fact, if Yichen hadn't been able to extract Chakra while fighting, it's questionable whether he would have been able to return to the village safely.

Yichen arrived at the Tsuchikage's Office looking exhausted. At that time, only Ōnoki and three commanders Tsuchikage's Office. Saka, the former commander of the Eastern Army, had been transferred to the Southern Army and had already gone to the front.

The village made adjustments for a simple reason: the Cloud ninja and Konoha had begun a standoff, and under these circumstances, the Iwa ninja no longer needed to be too wary of the Cloud ninja. Therefore, Saka, who was originally prepared to be stationed on the eastern front, could now leave to go to the Southern Front.

Sakago's position on the Southern Front was First Deputy Commander, while the nominal commander of the Southern Army was none other than Ōnoki himself.

This is also a common practice among the Four Great Nations; when facing Konoha, the Kage of a village usually takes on the role of commander.

When Ōnoki saw Yichen enter the office looking exhausted, he immediately knew that something had happened on the Eastern Front, something that even Kitsuchi couldn't control.

Thinking of this, Ōnoki felt a little nervous. After all, Kitsuchi was his son, and it was normal for a father to care about his son's safety. In addition, although the eastern front was not the main battlefield, if something unexpected happened, it would also affect the strategic deployment of the entire village.

The other three advisors had the same thought. The young female advisor was the most anxious and was the first to ask, "Yichen, why are you in such a hurry to return to the village? Is there some problem on the eastern front?"

Yichen didn't dare delay and said directly, "There's no problem for now. I've returned to deliver important intelligence: the commander of the force that Konoha is facing off against our Eastern Army, Minato Namikaze, Wind Release: Breakthrough to the Kage Level, just like Ikura."

"What?"

"How is that possible?"

It's not that people doubt Yichen, nor that they think Minato Namikaze can't reach the Kage Level; the emotions expressed in these questions are actually surprise and envy.

It's astonishing that Konoha is about to have another Kage Level fighter. I envy Konoha's abundance of talent; are Kage Level fighters mass-produced?

Yichen understood everyone's feelings and didn't keep them in suspense. He simply explained how he had been completely overwhelmed by Minato Namikaze.

Upon hearing that Yichen had been completely suppressed by Minato Namikaze, Ōnoki and the others reluctantly accepted this reality.

However, before continuing the discussion about Minato Namikaze, Ōnoki first gave an order to the Anbu, instructing them to deliver this message to Saka, who was stationed on the Southern Front, and to tell Saka not to rush into provoking a war.

Besides the current Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Konoha also has four other Kage-level experts: Shimura Danzō, the leader Root, and three of Hiruzen Sarutobi's disciples.

Of the five Kage-level experts in Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi would, as usual, stay in the village to command, while Legendary Sannin Tsunade, had been missing for several years. Therefore, Konoha could theoretically only send three Kage Level shinobi to the front lines: Danzo, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru.

Three Kage-level facing four great nations—this is an opportunity. Initially, everyone was hesitant, since there was only a one in four chance of avoiding facing Konoha's Kage Level, and no one wanted to gamble with the village's future.

But now that the Sunagakure has taken the initiative to provoke trouble, the Konoha will definitely send a Kage Level to the front line. That means the probability of the Earth, Water, and Lightning ninjas avoiding Konoha -Kage Level from the Leaf Village has increased from one in four to one in three.

Given this premise, the Kage of the three kingdoms all had one thought: what if there wasn't Kage Level ninja among the Konoha ninja confronting us?

But if Konoha produces another Kage Level, then things will get really serious. Konoha's four Kage Level could easily each hold down a territory.

Therefore, unless the Four Great Nations are determined to fight this war like the Sunagakure, none of them can guarantee that they can withstand the losses.

Ōnoki's original plan was to first create some friction with Konoha, stir up the atmosphere of war, then confirm the whereabouts of the three Kage of Konoha, and then decide whether to immediately take drastic measures.

I guess the Raikage and Mizukage think the same way.

Ōnoki was well aware of one thing: being targeted by three Kage Level from Konoha at the start of the war wasn't necessarily a bad thing. On the contrary, the side that was left out would be in an awkward position. First of all, none of the Four Great Nations could resist the temptation of defeating Konoha.

Secondly, Konoha isn't without other Kage-level Combatant. For example, Hiruzen Sarutobi himself, and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. If Konoha is pushed too far, none of them will fare well. Therefore, even if any of the Four Great Nations is lucky enough to encounter a force without Kage Level commander, they won't go too far. They will only utilize their own high-end fighter advantage to slowly expand their gains.

Ultimately, regardless of whether the lucky country goes too far, it will provoke Konoha's retaliation. This was the case during Second Shinobi War; the countries that gained the most advantage in the early stages were also the ones that suffered the most from Konoha's attacks in the end.

The Konoha leadership isn't stupid. They won't stand idly by while any country excessively conserves its strength during a war. Often, in the later stages of a war, Konoha only has one or two enemies. Why? Because these one or two countries suffered the least losses in the early stages of the war. In order to maintain Konoha's position as the leading military force, it is necessary to strike these one or two countries.

At this time, even the four nations that had cooperated well in the early stages would start to have dirty tricks. In the original work, this was the reason why Ōnoki killed the Third Raikage in the later stages of the Third Shinobi War.

Based on the current situation in the ninja world and some fragments of the original work, Yi Chen speculated that the battles between Iwagakure and Konoha, and between Sunagakure and Konoha, were likely to be more intense in the early stages. Kirigakure, on the other hand, was expected to gain strength later on, a fact that can be inferred from the mission of Minato Namikaze's team.

Battle of Kannabi Bridge, the Iwa ninja were considered defeated, but the Mist ninja continued to cause trouble. Judging from the recovery time of Obito Uchiha's injuries, the Mist ninja's defeat came much later than that of the Iwa ninja.

The Cloud ninja was the only one of the four nations that did not admit defeat. It wasn't until the Hinata incident that the War State Konoha and the Cloud ninja truly ended.

Therefore, Yichen speculates that Third Shinobi War, the Sunagakure attacked first and were the first to lose, while the Iwa ninja lost after the Sunagakure. After the Iwa ninja's defeat, Ōnoki betrayed the Third Raikage. The Mist ninja were only truly defeated around the time of the Third Raikage's death.

Although the Land of Lightning lost its Raikage, its overall strength suffered the least loss, making it the second largest country after Konoha after the Third Shinobi War.

The title of the second largest country in the Ninja World is currently unclaimed. Before the Third Kazekage disappeared, this title should have belonged to the Land of Wind. This is because the Third Kazekage's ability to manipulate metal using Magnet Release is virtually unbeatable among ninjas, a group that uses metal as weapons.

In that generation, Sunagakure had two renowned Kage Level: the Third Kazekage and Chiyo. Iwa ninja, Mist ninja, and Cloud ninja, excluding Jinchuriki, each only had one Kage Level.

At this point, Sunagakure has lost its greatest asset, and its title as the second largest Ninja World has naturally been relinquished.

Nobody knows which of the next generation in each country have already Wind Release: Breakthrough the Kage Level.

For example, regarding Minato Namikaze's situation, if it weren't for Yichen's one-on-one duel, the Iwa ninja wouldn't be aware of it now. And as for Ikura's Wind Release: Breakthrough, other countries' spies haven't received any news yet.

Similarly, Yichen couldn't say for sure whether the future Fourth Mizukage Yagura, Fourth Kazekage Rasa, and Fourth Raikage Yotsuki A had all achieved their Wind Release: Breakthrough.

Therefore, there is no such thing as a second great power in the current Ninja World.

After sending the Anbu to deliver a message to Saka, Ōnoki inquired about Yichen's detailed opinion on Minato Namikaze.

Yichen thought for a moment and said, "Minato Namikaze has very fast reflexes; he's a natural close-combat ninja."

"But he's not just a close-combat ninja; he's very well-rounded. When I fought him, he used B-rank Wind Release, and his Hand Seals were already incredibly fast."

"As Jiraiya's disciple, he also inherited the Summoning Contract with Mount Myōboku, allowing him to summon giant Summoning Beast with strength comparable to Kage Level."

"In addition, he also used a Seal-less Ninjutsu. Judging from the words of the Konoha ninja, this Seal-less Ninjutsu was likely created by Minato Namikaze, and its level should be A."

At this point, the consultants who had been quietly listening to Yichen's analysis finally couldn't help but interject.

"Seal-less Ninjutsu?"

"Is it really Seal-less Ninjutsu?"

"Are you sure it's an A-rank, Seal-less Ninjutsu?"

It's no wonder everyone is so surprised; everyone knows how highly Seal-less Ninjutsu is in the Ninja World.

Take Yichen himself as an example. Ever since he was able to use the Body Flicker Technique without using any seals, his combat ability has increased dramatically.

The reason he was able to Hand Seal Body Flicker against Minato Namikaze for so long was thanks to his rapid Hand Seals and One-handed Hand Seals.

The Body Flicker Technique is only a C-rank Ninjutsu. Although the Body Flicker Technique has a wide range of applications, its basic level is still what it is. Unless someone like Minato Namikaze or even Body Flicker Shisui later mastered the Body Flicker Technique and made it incredibly versatile, the Body Flicker Technique is just a Ninjutsu for quick movement.

But the Rasengan is an A-rank ninjutsu. Ōnoki and the others are certain Ninja World, to this day, there has never been a single A-rank Ninjutsu without a hand seal.

Of course, this excludes Hashirama Senju, who could effortlessly unleash any Ninjutsu with a simple clap of his Hashirama Senju, and also the Uchiha Clan's bizarre Dōjutsu. The matter of Kekkei Genkai is also difficult to explain within the major ninja nations of the Ninja World.

Seeing everyone's surprised expressions, Yichen weakly added, "Lord Tsuchikage, my Water Clone was hit by a Rasengan at close range. My main body was right there watching. I have some ideas about that Rasengan. Give me some time, and I should be able to imitate it."

"What?" Ōnoki, who had been sitting in his seat with a frown, could no longer remain seated.

The surprise Yichen gave us was truly enormous. Adding a new, unmarked A-rank Ninjutsu to the Iwa ninja's collection... wow, I can hardly believe it.

Without any hesitation, Ōnoki said to the other three advisors, "If Yichen develops this Rasengan, and others are also able to learn it, I suggest rewarding him with an S-rank Ninjutsu."

The three advisors were shocked. S-rank Ninjutsu— in Iwagakure, this was something that only those who Wind Release: Breakthrough to the Iwagakure Kage Level could learn.

For example, Ikura is currently learning S-rank Ninjutsu under Ōnoki's tutelage, which Yichen knows. He and Ikura already had a good relationship, and after helping Ikura comprehend the Five-Attribute, their relationship became even closer. They had occasionally exchanged messages afterward, and Yichen knew that Ikura had been in seclusion learning ultimate techniques.

As for what S-rank Ninjutsu Ikura learned, Yichen had no idea.

The older male advisor was the first to agree, and the other two, after considering it, also agreed.

Yichen had actually thought about developing this Rasengan a long time ago, with the aim of exchanging Rasengan for an A-rank Ninjutsu. However, he never expected to be able to exchange it for an S-rank Ninjutsu, and he was truly stunned.