The Fighting Begins

The situation in the Ninja World is like a taut spring, and each event in the early stages is compressing that spring. So, one moment the Ninja World may seem calm and peaceful, but the next moment it could be a raging storm.

Sure enough, the Cloud ninja's restless actions seemed to embolden the Sunagakure, and the conflict between the Sunagakure and Konoha in the Land of Rivers escalated multiple times in a single day.

In the morning, there were only one or two patrol squads engaging in tentative skirmishes, but by nightfall, both sides had gathered nearly a hundred ninjas each, resulting in a large-scale attack.

As the war in the Land of Rivers escalated, the conflict between the Cloud ninja and the Konoha also expanded immediately.

The Cloud ninja abandoned the practice of ordinary ninjas probing each other and instead adopted a strategy of surprise attacks and annihilation by a small number of elite ninjas.

This tactic is clearly more effective than the mindless actions of the Sunagakure.

Second Shinobi War, Konoha Anbu has never been at peace, and what they lack most now is elites.

Therefore, although the Cloud ninja launched their attack later than the Sunagakure, their results were better.

Faced with this situation, Danzo had no good solution. If it were Danzo before his trip to the Land of Rain, he would have already dispatched Root. But now, Root ninjas are precious and cannot be sacrificed.

Do you think Danzo would just passively take a beating like that? Think again.

Although Root didn't deal with the elite Cloud ninja, they weren't idle either.

The Root ninjas lobbied the daimyo of the Land of Hot Water and the leader of the Yugakure. However, these two efforts did not make much progress. Although the Land of Hot Water was unhappy that the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning were waging war on their own territory, they dared not say anything.

They're not stupid; don't bother trying to get them to join the war.

However, Danzo is Danzo; the fact that these two forces cannot be reasoned with does not mean he is helpless.

Root approached the Jashin Cult of the Land of Hot Water, persuading Jashin Cult to side with them in exchange for Konoha's Jashin Cult in seizing control of the Yugakure.

Although the Jashin Cult is not strong, it has a large number of followers and considerable influence among the common people of the Land of Hot Water. It can pass on intelligence, cause trouble for the Cloud ninja, and do some sabotage.

Thus, with the cooperation of the Jashin Cult, Danzo fought to a standstill against the elite tactics of the Cloud ninja.

Danzo the Jashin Cult matter discreetly, and no one else noticed. The Cloud ninja had previously disregarded this organization. Instead, the Cloud ninja were questioning the stance of the Yugakure or the Daimyo of the Land of Hot Water.

Yichen Iwa ninja got the information.

As the fighting escalated on Two Battlefields, the peaceful times for Yichen's troops on the Eastern Army also disappeared.

According to intelligence, the situation in the Land of the Falls is also somewhat unsettling, but the Takigakure are not siding with either the Iwa ninja or the Konoha. They are likely expressing their dissatisfaction with the possibility of war breaking out in their own country.

Some young people even clamored that whoever sent a large army into Land of the Falls would be the one Takigakure fought against.

This matter may seem fair to both Iwa ninja and Konoha, but it is actually more beneficial to Konoha.

Because the Iwa ninja were the attackers, the ones who started the war, the Konoha ninja didn't want to fight, at least not right now.

Therefore, Yichen strongly suspects that Konoha is behind this, and Danzo should be Danzo for it.

But ever since Yichen learned that the person in charge on the other side was Minato Namikaze, he had no intention of provoking trouble. Kitsuchi was only an Elite Jonin, so who would be so foolish as to go head-to-head with Minato Namikaze?

With that in mind, Yichen no longer cared whether Konoha was up to anything in the Land of the Falls.

However, with the battle escalating in the Sunagakure and the Cloud ninja Minato Namikaze doing now?

If I don't take action, will Minato Namikaze just keep obediently confronting me?

What if one day Minato Namikaze Wind Release: Breakthrough to Kage Level, then single-handedly Iwa ninja in and wipes out the entire East Front Camp?

"Hiss~~" Yichen shivered.

What should we do? Should we talk to Minato Namikaze?

I think I mentioned the Child of Prophecy after my last challenge against Minato Namikaze. Since I just met with Yahiko and the others, why don't I use that as an excuse to go and have a chat with Minato Namikaze?

After reporting to Kitsuchi, Yichen returned to the patrol area of Konoha Camp.

This time, Yichen didn't ambush the patrol team. Last time, he needed to establish his authority, but this time he didn't. He believed that the entire Konoha Camp should know that he existed.

Finding a patrol squad, Yichen appeared before them without any attempt to conceal himself, and introduced himself, "I am Yichen, the deputy commander of the eastern front of Iwa ninja. I'm looking for your Minato Namikaze. Go and inform him immediately."

The opposing squad paused for a moment upon seeing someone approaching, about to take action. However, they stopped upon hearing Yichen's words, immediately recalling the recent battle that had been reported in the camp.

That First Shinobi War, with its amazing techniques such as One-handed Hand Seals, Seal-less Ninjutsu, Flying Ninjutsu, and giant Summoning Beast, has spread throughout the Konoha Camp.

This was a powerful figure who could fight against Minato Namikaze. Although he eventually conceded defeat, he still managed to escape unscathed.

The Chunin Captain of the patrol team didn't dare to delay. After Yichen nodded, he immediately led his three subordinates back to the camp.

Yichen waited a short while before Minato Namikaze arrived. This time, he came alone. It was unclear whether he trusted Yichen or thought that since Yichen could fly, it wouldn't matter how many people came.

Yichen observed Minato Namikaze, who was stopped a hundred meters away from him. Judging from his aura, he couldn't tell whether the other party had Wind Release: Breakthrough to the Kage Level.

However, Yichen noticed the Special Kunai hanging from Minato Namikaze's waist. It seemed that Minato Namikaze was training the Flying Thunder God, but he didn't know if he had mastered it yet.

Because he was prepared, Yichen was surprised, but he did not show it on his face.

Minato Namikaze was also observing Yichen. This time, Yichen gave Minato Namikaze a rather different impression. He was much more composed, and his aura was more restrained.

Minato Namikaze, having been through it all, understood that Yichen was gradually adapting to the Elite Jonin level.

After sizing each other up for a while, Minato Namikaze spoke first, "Yichen, what do you want with me? And who is this other Child of Prophecy you mentioned last time?"

Very well, Minato Namikaze brought the topic here himself.

"Didn't your teacher Jiraiya tell you that?" Yichen asked, feigning surprise.

After thinking for a moment, Minato Namikaze said, "Jiraiya- sensei did indeed take on three disciples from the Land of Rain, but they haven't been in contact for a long time."

"Hehe. Your teacher Jiraiya once spread rumors throughout the Ninja World that he received a prophecy from the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku that he would take the Child of Prophecy as his disciple."

"Although this claim continues to circulate, virtually no one believes it."

"I didn't believe it at first either, thinking it was Jiraiya or Mount Myōboku bragging."

"But later I met Jiraiya's three disciples in the Land of Rain."

At this point, Yichen deliberately paused, and sure enough, Minato Namikaze looked somewhat anxious.

However, he reacted quickly, immediately suppressing his curiosity and quietly watching Yichen.

With a slight smirk, Yichen continued, "I discovered that one of Jiraiya's three disciples actually possesses the Rinnegan, which is said to be possessed only by the Sage of Six Paths."

This Minato Namikaze didn't react much, Yichen couldn't tell whether he knew about it beforehand or simply had a stable mindset.

"From that moment on, I was convinced that Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan, was the prophesied Child of Prophecy."

"But the more I got to know them, the more I realized that the one among the three named Yahiko was more in line with the concept of the Child of Prophecy."

"He has a special kind of charisma that makes people believe in him and feel close to him without even realizing it."

"Compared to this, the owner of the Rinnegan seems more like a foil."

"This idea once made me believe it to be the truth, but then something happened that made me change my mind again."

"Yahiko almost died at the hands of Advisor Danzō of your Konoha."

"What? How is that possible?" This was the first time Minato Namikaze had spoken after Yichen's explanation, and it was entirely subconscious.

Seeing Minato Namikaze's surprised expression, Yichen was quite pleased. "Serves you right for putting on that act!"

"Later, I got involved and disrupted Danzo's plans, which saved Yahiko's life."

"But it was precisely because of this that I began to have doubts. Was my act of saving Yahiko also preordained? Or were my previous guesses incorrect?"

"At that moment, as I began my search for the Child of Prophecy from the beginning, I discovered that Jiraiya actually had another disciple, and that was you, Minato Namikaze."

"I looked up your information, and one thing caught my attention. Do you know what it is?"

At this point, Yichen kept everyone in suspense.

Minato Namikaze analyzed Yichen's words and, considering his own characteristics, quickly came to his conclusion. "It's my personality!"

He spoke with great certainty.

Yichen was somewhat surprised. Impressive! No wonder he was the Fourth Hokage. His reaction speed and judgment were top-notch. No wonder he was able to discover the flaw in Obito Kamui quickly in the original story.

Gathering his scattered thoughts, Yichen continued, "That's right, the intelligence indicates that you are very approachable and have a great charisma."

"These words immediately reminded me of Yahiko."

Then a thought popped into my head: Could it be that the Child of Prophecy isn't Yahiko, or perhaps he's not the only one?

"Perhaps you, Yahiko, Nagato are all Child of Prophecy?"

"To get to know you better, I came here last time and issued you a challenge."

"While your strength may not be comparable to Nagato's, who possessed the Rinnegan, you've already become a quasi-Kage at a young age, so you won't have any weaknesses in terms of strength in the future."

"While I didn't directly discover anything about your personality, the way your subordinates look at you confirms the accuracy of the information."

"However, as potential Child of Prophecy, you or Nagato are still lacking compared to Yahiko —in taking concrete actions to change the Ninja World."

"Yahiko founded the Akatsuki Organization a long time ago, dedicated to changing the Land of Rain, and has been practicing what he preaches ever since."

"Later, at my suggestion, Yahiko expanded his goal from changing the lives of ordinary people in the Land of Rain to changing the entire Ninja World."

"Later, the Akatsuki Organization was persecuted by Danzo and Hanzo, and was nearly wiped out. I was worried that Yahiko's personality would change."

"Fortunately, he is still himself. That experience did not change his ideals, but rather made him more down-to-earth after understanding the wickedness of human nature."

"Now Yahiko is starting from a small country and slowly changing everyone's lives. Although the Akatsuki Organization's influence has diminished, I feel that the possibility of Yahiko's dream coming true is greater."

At this point, Yichen seemed to see Minato Namikaze's eyes light up slightly.

With a smile, Yichen continued, "The intelligence indicates that your dream when you entered the Ninja Academy was to become Hokage. Given the talent you've shown so far, I'd like to ask you, do you still want to be Hokage?"

Minato Namikaze pondered for a moment. His dream remained unchanged, but he wasn't sure if Yichen was there to gather intelligence. What if he wanted to use his dream to sow discord?

How could someone who becomes Hokage be so naive and innocent?

However, Minato Namikaze ultimately gave an affirmative answer, "My dream has never changed!"

From Minato Namikaze's calm tone, Yichen sensed a firm resolve. This was probably the belief of a strong person. He wondered whether Minato Namikaze had instilled this belief, or whether this belief had made Minato Namikaze was today.

"Very good. Your dream is to become Hokage. So, could you tell me how you would change the Ninja World and stop this endless cycle of war once you become Hokage?"

"Hashirama Senju believed that establishing a ninja village would end the Warring States Period and bring peace. However, his naiveté caused the ninja to engage in a brutal war every now and then."

"May I ask, future Lord Hokage, how do you plan to change this Ninja World filled with hatred and fierce competition for power?"