Battle Against the Cloud Ninja

Yichen led about 20 people to the vicinity of the Coastline. With his Sensory Ninjutsu, Yichen easily found the trail of the Cloud ninja.

The Cloud ninja's actions were indeed blatant; within Yichen's perception range alone, there were three fully staffed four-person squads. Two of these squads were Jonin.

Yichen guessed that such a high proportion of Jonin was definitely not the normal force of the Cloud ninja in the Land of Land of Iron. Rather, it was a deliberate provocation, a kind of demonstration.

Although the three Cloud Ninja squad had already set foot on the Land of Land of Earth's territory, none of them ventured deep into it. They maintained a distance from each other, ensuring they could provide support or cover their comrades' retreat at any time.

"Hmph!" Yichen snorted coldly after sensing the situation. The Cloud ninja were simply trying to cause trouble.

Entering the Land of Earth but not going deep was probably intentional, considering there's not much intelligence to be scouted at the border. Moreover, the border is the main area of activity for Iwa ninja patrolling ninjas.

From this perspective, the Cloud ninja's intention was to annoy the Iwa ninja.

Judging from the strength and configuration of the Cloud ninja, they are already prepared for a conflict to break out.

Perhaps there were orders from higher-ups to restrain the Cloud ninja from launching an attack on the Iwa ninja. That's why the Cloud ninja provoked the Iwa ninja, hoping that Yichen and his group would get restless and cause trouble.

If the Iwa ninja cause trouble and are ultimately killed by the Cloud ninja, and if the Cloud ninja manage to keep the battle within a certain range, then the higher-ups will not blame them.

"A sting operation!"

When Yichen and his men arrived at the area where the Cloud ninja were located, the number and location of the Cloud ninja had changed.

Yichen glanced at it. "Hmm, that Chunin squad is missing one person. It should be the Chunin Captain."

According to Yichen's perception just now, that Chunin was a Lightning Release ninja, who should be skilled in speed. He's probably gone back to report.

In addition, the three teams that were previously relatively far apart are now closer together. However, although they are closer to each other, they are not completely clustered together.

Yichen glanced to the left again, where four people were rushing towards them at an extremely fast speed. Sure enough, there were other teams beyond Yichen's perception.

Ignoring the approaching squad from afar, and disregarding the two squads led by Jonin, Yichen glanced at the remaining Cloud Ninja squad.

The Chunin Captain of this squad left, leaving only three Genin.

Yichen said to the captain of one of the Chunin squad he had brought, "Captain Akino, let your subordinates spar with those three Genin."

Akino nodded, then turned and gave orders to her three subordinates.

The teams that Yichen chose were all elites among the many teams in the camp, and each team had its own specialties.

Akino's three subordinates were named Iida, Eio, and Kosugi Eriko. Upon hearing the order, the three of them did not hesitate and ran directly towards the three Cloud Ninja genin.

On the Cloud ninja's side, the two Jonin exchanged a glance and tacitly reached a consensus.

Since the Iwa ninja ninjas came with such a large force but didn't start a battle immediately, instead wanting the Genin to test their skills, and their messengers are still on their way back, time is on their side, and the Cloud ninja can afford to wait.

The two Jonin then stopped their subordinates from attempting to rescue them and decided to wait and see.

The three Iwa ninja were centered around Eriko Kosugi. Eriko had family lineage, and although limited by her talent, her strength wasn't top-tier among her peers, and she didn't even make it into the Advanced Class. However, compared to ordinary Genin, her strength was still quite formidable.

As a ninja skilled in Fire Release techniques, Eriko began Hand Seals while still some distance from the Cloud ninja.

Iida started Hand Seals even earlier than Eriko.

Iida and Etsuo were both originally Taijutsu -type ninjas. However, after the establishment of the East Front Camp, they were both forced to learn ninjutsu.

Initially, the two were reluctant, but after witnessing the power of the Combination Ninjutsu, their opinions changed somewhat.

Especially after Yichen led his team to kill an Elite Jonin of Konoha and deliberately promoted the effects of Combination Ninjutsu, the two became even more enthusiastic.

After that, news spread throughout the camp that all three of Yichen's disciples had been promoted Chunin more than a year after graduation, with the example of Tomoko being particularly stimulating to everyone.

As ninjas who were active in the East Front Camp Tenten, Iida and Etsuo could feel the rapid progress of Yichen's three disciples more clearly than the ninjas in the village.

Then, Yichen's reputation for being a skilled teacher spread throughout all the Iwa ninja overnight.

Now, the two of them became even more interested in Yichen's suggestion to learn ninjutsu.

However, due to his lack of talent, Etsuo has not yet fully mastered the C-rank Ninjutsu he has learned. But Iida has successfully learned a Wind Release.

As a result, their squad became one of the few squads in the East Front Camp that could perform Combination Ninjutsu without the captain's involvement.

Because of his lack of proficiency, Iida started Hand Seals before Eriko.

The three Cloud ninja on the other side were now ready to fight.

The three Cloud ninja of average strength. One of them knew Lightning Release, while the other two were skilled in swordsmanship and Taijutsu Ninja, respectively.

Instead of passively defending themselves, the three of them slightly dispersed after seeing Iida and Eriko Hand Seals.

In response, the Lightning Release ninja began Hand Seals, while the Taijutsu Ninja simultaneously used hidden weapons to harass Iida and Eriko.

Meanwhile, on the Iwa ninja's side, Etsuo stepped forward and blocked all the projectiles aimed at Iida. Iida's mastery of ninjutsu was not as good as Eriko's; Eriko could dodge and perform ninjutsu at the same time, but Iida could not, so Etsuo needed to provide cover.

A dozen seconds later, Iida, Eriko, and Cloud ninja had all completed their Hand Seals.

"Fire Release - Fire Net Technique"

"Wind Release - Wind Release: Breakthrough".

"Lightning Release - Lightning Strike"

After both sides unleashed their ninjutsu, they caught their opponent off guard.

On the Cloud ninja's side, although they were prepared to dodge the two ninjutsu, they didn't expect the wind to fuel the fire. The combination of the two C-rank Ninjutsu had a power that approached that of a B-rank ninjutsu, and it was B-rank Ninjutsu with a particularly large range.

This was also Eriko's tactic. Originally, Yichen had arranged for everyone in the camp to use the Great Fireball Jutsu, but Eriko changed it to the Fire Net Technique, which had a larger range.

While the Fire Net Technique is far less powerful than the Great Fireball Jutsu, its destructive power is sufficient with the addition of Wind Release. Furthermore, it increases the attack range while maintaining its destructive power, making the Fire Net Technique more practical than the Great Fireball Jutsu in this situation.

Although the Cloud ninja slightly increased the distance between themselves, this distance was insufficient against a wide-range Combination Ninjutsu.

All three of them were trying their best to dodge, but it was clearly too late.

Upon seeing this, the two Cloud ninja Jonin forces and used the Body Flicker Technique to rescue the three Genin.

Although they were rescued, one of them was slower because he had to carry two Genin away from the fire. As a result, the two Genin and the Jonin were all burned to varying degrees.

The Iwa ninja didn't fare any better. The Cloud ninja used the technique didn't use the area-of-effect ninjutsu the three had expected, but rather a single-target attack ninjutsu, aimed directly at Etsuo.

Moreover, this single-target ninjutsu has extremely strong penetrating power, easily piercing through Combination Ninjutsu and almost directly piercing through Etsuo.

Finally, another Jonin beside Yichen sensed something was wrong and stepped forward to push Etsuo and Iida away before the Lightning Strike struck Etsuo.

Although neither side gained an advantage in this exchange of fire, if the Jonin both sides hadn't intervened, one Iwa ninja would have been killed and another injured, but the three Cloud ninja would have been wiped out.

Therefore, it can be said that the Iwa ninja won decisively.

This scene was quite a shock to the Cloud ninja. Cloud ninja were defeated in just one exchange, which was hard for the other Cloud ninja watching to accept.

It's important to know that the individual combat strength of the Iwa ninja is the lowest among the Five Great Nations, basically tied for fourth place with the Mist ninja, who haven't yet implemented the Blood Mist Policy.

Konoha is the strongest, but both Sunagakure and Cloud ninja consider themselves second. No, that's not quite right; Cloud ninja considers themselves first.

Now, the Cloud ninja have been completely defeated by the Iwa ninja in a three-on-three battle.

Upon further reflection, the number of Iwa ninja is second only to Konoha, which is considered an enemy of the world.

Doesn't that mean the Iwa ninja are already stronger than the Cloud ninja?

Of course, it's also possible that these three Iwa ninja were elite among the Iwa genin.

The Cloud ninja's Genin could only console themselves with this thought, but the Cloud ninja's Jonin didn't think so; they had clearly seen the Iwa ninja's performance just now.

These three Iwa ninja aren't particularly strong; their only redeeming quality is their Combination Ninjutsu. In terms of individual strength, the Cloud ninja are definitely superior.

But precisely because of this, their expressions became even more grim, for it meant that the Iwa ninja had found a way to compensate for their shortcomings.

Iwa ninja are already known for their large numbers, and they can master Earth Release Transformation more easily than other Iwa ninja villages. Now, with a new method to leverage their ninjutsu advantage, are Iwa ninja about to rise to prominence?

"Fortunately, neither of them used Earth Release. There aren't many Fire Release Kazekaze Release ninjas among the Iwa ninja." The two Jonin could only console themselves with this thought.

The Iwa ninja's reaction was exactly the opposite. "As expected, training according to Yichen's method was the right thing to do. In a three-on-three battle, the Cloud ninja couldn't even last a single round."

Thinking of this, everyone looked at Yichen with admiration.

The match was stopped, and Eriko and her two teammates returned to the group. Although they had won, Etsuo, who had just narrowly escaped death, was still shaken. His two teammates were comforting him.

Yichen glanced at the three who had returned to the group, nodded to them, and said, "Good job. You'll each get a B-rank Mission."

After hearing this, the three of them felt some of the lingering fear from their near-death experience.

Once both the Cloud ninja and the Iwa ninja had calmed down from their chaotic thoughts, Yichen began to speak to the Cloud ninja.

"Esteemed seniors of the Cloud ninja, I am Yichen, the deputy commander of the Iwa ninja 'East Front Camp. The Iwa ninja has no intention of being enemies with the Cloud ninja. Please leave the territory of the Land of Earth."

"If you are not satisfied, we can have a friendly spar. How about a three-on-three Genin battle, like before? For every victory we have, the Cloud ninja will guarantee not to enter the Land of Earth for one day. What do you say?"

As soon as Yichen finished speaking, the Cloud ninja on the opposite side had not yet made a move, but a loud voice came from a distance behind them. "No problem, but what about the Iwa ninja if we win?"

A figure was rapidly approaching from the direction of the sea. The person had dark skin and a strong physique, exactly the image of Cloud ninja in Yichen's mind.

Yichen's eyes flashed, knowing that he was not in a position to make any promises, because his expulsion of the Cloud ninja was to uphold the sovereignty of the Land of Earth.

The Cloud ninja were the invading party, and it was impossible for them to promise conditions that would allow the other side to freely enter and Land of Earth.

However, Yichen has a problem.

The newcomer moved quickly, clearly possessing the Lightning Release Stimulation Method. Once the newcomer reached the Cloud ninja, Yichen said, "The Iwa ninja and the Cloud ninja share a common enemy: Konoha."

"If we lose, I can provide information about Konoha."

"What intelligence?" The loud voice of the Cloud ninja rang out again.

"Haha, do you think you can get information so easily, senior?"