Arranging a Live Combat Exercise

Yichen was certain of only one thing: this group of ninjas of unknown origin was probably not targeting him. But that didn't mean Yichen would just let it go.

As an advisor to Iwagakure, if Yichen could simply let foreign ninjas or wandering ninjas cause trouble in his country, Yichen could forget about becoming a Kage.

While this group of ninjas is considered quite formidable by conventional standards, they are not difficult to deal with for a ninja of Yichen's caliber.

The reason Yichen didn't use drastic measures to eliminate this group was that he wanted to use them to give his three disciples some combat experience.

However, the three disciples were too weak.

If it were Tomoko's three disciples instead, it would be simple. Yichen would only need to hold off most of the enemies, leaving a few of Tomoko and the others to escape.

However, the strength of Ogura Saki and the others was far inferior; the individual combat power of the three of them was far from reaching the level of Chunin.

Yichen felt that having the three of them team up to deal with a Chunin was about the limit.

The question is, how can we subtly get this group to split up?

The enemy team has three Jonin Yichen, he has a high chance of annihilating them all. But if he brings along Ogura Saki and the other two, Yichen is not really confident that the three of them will survive.

After thinking it over, Yichen decided to wait and see. These people must have something in mind to hide here; they couldn't just stay put forever.

In any case, routine reconnaissance and patrols are always necessary. Even if there are Sensory Ninja like Yichen among them, they cannot avoid conducting other reconnaissance.

Because this is the heart of the Land of Earth, what if some Iwa ninja discovers them first and then gathers ninjas to surround them? Yichen didn't believe that this group would dare to take such a risk.

Yichen personally approached the employer of this mission, briefly explained his plans, and the official immediately agreed.

If it were any other ninja, this official probably wouldn't have agreed so easily, mainly because of Yichen's identity.

Yichen is already an advisor officially appointed by the daimyo. In terms of status, he is much higher than this official.

At the same time, as a member of the Land of Earth, he had heard of Yichen and believed that Yichen's strength was enough to protect him.

Otherwise, if another Jonin had told him that there were three Jonin in ambush ahead, the official would probably have turned and run away immediately.

Yichen arranged for the official and his entourage to rest in a relatively secluded place, while he himself led three disciples closer to the hiding place.

About a kilometer from where the ninjas were hiding, Yichen, Ogura Saki, and the other two stopped. Yichen used his Sensory Ninjutsu to observe while giving Matsutani Shinya a hand gesture.

Matsutani Shinya understood and resumed reconnaissance.

After a while, Matsutani Shinya learned from the animals that the group of ninjas had not made any unusual moves for the time being.

Yichen nodded. He knew this outcome, of course. His purpose in doing this was simply to train Matsutani Shinya.

Matsutani Shinya did not disappoint Yichen. Although this was the first time he had used his special ability for reconnaissance, he did not rashly order the small animals to observe the ninjas.

Instead, they let the small animals pretend to be active and normal near their hiding place.

All of this was naturally within Yichen's perception, and Yichen nodded in approval of Matsutani Shinya's performance. Then the four of them silently waited for the enemy's changes.

As Yichen expected, about half an hour later, things changed at the hideout. A Jonin led three Chunin out of the hideout and carefully began to scout the surrounding area.

Yichen didn't move, but continued to wait for Matsutani Shinya's feedback.

A few minutes later, Matsutani Shinya also received the message.

"Teacher Yichen, those people have split up. Four of them have left their original positions. But I can't pinpoint their exact location in time," Matsutani Shinya Yichen said.

Yichen nodded, unsurprised. Using animals for reconnaissance has a drawback: it's not timely enough.

If the enemy were traveling a long distance and had a fixed route, everything would be fine. But in the current situation, the enemy is scouting around and has no fixed route. Matsutani Shinya is also afraid to let the small animals have too much contact with the enemy.

Therefore, Matsutani Shinya could only obtain information about the enemy's division of forces, but not more detailed information.

Yichen nodded, indicating that Matsutani Shinya should not act rashly and that he could handle the rest.

Matsutani Shinya's performance was sufficient.

After a while, the four enemy scout ninjas entered the perception range of Yichen's Mind's Eye, which was about two hundred meters away.

After confirming that there were no unusual movements from the other enemies a kilometer away, Yichen began to use hand gestures to assign tasks to Ogura Saki other two.

Yichen's plan was simple: three people would deal with one Chunin, and he would take care of the rest.

After waiting a while, the four-person team, which was originally 200 meters away, approached to about 100 meters. Yichen immediately issued the order to move out.

Ninjas are not like ordinary people; ambushing them is extremely difficult and can easily backfire. As the party with the advantage, Yichen didn't want to take the risk.

The first to make a move was naturally Yichen Yichen, who used the A-rank area-of-effect Ninjutsu, Great Raging Waves.

The purpose of using the Great Raging Waves was twofold. The main purpose was to disrupt the enemy's formation, giving his three disciples a chance to face a Chunin.

The secondary objective was to confirm whether these people were indeed enemies. Yichen's Sensory Ninjutsu could only detect Chakra; he had obtained their identities from the small animals he communicated with Matsutani Shinya. If he were to harm his own people, Yichen would be in grave danger.

Yichen and his companions were clearly dressed Iwa ninja. As soon as they showed themselves, Yichen could easily distinguish friend from foe from their expressions.

Yichen, who rushed out of their hiding place, immediately confirmed that these people were not Iwa ninja. Not only because they didn't even have the most basic disguise, but also because they were dressed in the usual attire of wandering ninjas. It was also because of their horrified expressions, the guilty look of someone whose plot had been discovered.

The Chakra fluctuations caused by Yichen's Great Raging Waves were considerable, and the four of them were clearly aware of it. As soon as Yichen appeared, the four of them formed a battle formation.

However, the opponent did not expect Yichen to use an enhanced version of an A-rank Area of Effect Ninjutsu right off the bat. So, although they were on guard, their preparations were still insufficient, and their formation was immediately broken.

At this moment, Ogura Saki and the other two appeared behind Yichen. After the three of them quickly identified the others, Matsutani Shinya made the judgment and Chunin towards one of the Chunin.

Seeing that his three disciples had made their choices, Yichen held nothing back. Taking advantage of the distance between the four opponents, he activated the Lightning Release Stimulation Method, rushed to the side of a Chunin, and with a single Sword Qi strike, severely injured the Chunin had not yet recovered from the A-rank Ninjutsu.

Yichen frowned; the Chunin's reaction was somewhat unexpected.

"His reaction speed is really fast." If it were a Chunin Yichen Chen's attack. The fact that this person could still dodge Yichen's attack even under the influence of A-rank Ninjutsu means he must be an elite Chunin.

This level of skill is quite impressive even among the Iwa Ninja Anbu. He definitely couldn't be a rogue ninja.

In a flash, Yichen had this series of thoughts, and then he delivered another blow.

This time, the Chunin could no longer dodge Yichen's attack. Already severely injured by Yichen's previous strike, he merely tilted his head slightly in the face of Yichen's next blow.

Yichen's decapitating strike only severed half of the man's head. Although he had still successfully Chunin the Chunin, Yichen felt uneasy.

This person is definitely an elite Anbu from Great Ninja Village. You can tell just by looking at his resolute expression when he faced a desperate situation and by his efforts to survive.

Thinking of this, Yichen did not immediately kill the other two as originally planned, but instead turned to look in the direction where the three disciples were.

The three players performed adequately, avoiding close-quarters combat and instead employing ranged offense and defense.

Yichen hesitated for a moment, then created an Earth Style Clone to monitor the Chunin fighting his three disciples. Only then did he turn his attention back to the two enemies on the other side.

Due to the earlier delay, the two have reunited, and the Chunin has already sent out a distress signal.

In fact, he didn't need to give a signal; Yichen's A-rank Ninjutsu, Great Raging Waves, immediately caught the attention of the people in the hiding place.

Recalling the Chunin's face, Yichen decided to attack with all his might instead of waiting any longer.

While using the Lightning Release Stimulation Method to accelerate, Yichen also used the Porcelain Release.

With reinforcements arriving, the remaining two chose to engage in hit-and-run tactics. Their objective was clear: to do their best to hold off Yichen while waiting for reinforcements.

Yichen had anticipated that his opponent might make this choice before launching the surprise attack, which is why he charged at the opponent with all his might from the very beginning.

The two ninjas' strategy was correct. When Chunin ambushed the first Yichen, he demonstrated strength beyond their ability to cope, so choosing a delaying tactic was the right decision.

However, Yichen's all-out attack was something they hadn't anticipated, especially when the Porcelain Mud enveloped them on a large scale. The Jonin immediately cried out in alarm, "It's mud! This person is Yi Chen, the Iwa ninja Bloodline Ninja Yichen!"

After saying that, the Jonin shouted again, "Signal for retreat! I'll hold him off!"

Yichen was taken aback for a moment before realizing that the retreat he was referring to meant the retreat of the reinforcements that were on their way.

This won't do; we haven't even figured out why these people are hiding here.

Yichen dodged the Jonin who was trying to entangle him, and then focused all his efforts on controlling the mud to surge towards the Chunin from all directions.

Having received the Jonin's order, the Chunin was about to take out Signal Flare, had no choice but to dodge as best he could.

But as he dodged with all his might, he soon realized something was wrong. The mud that was pressing down on him with such force seemed to have lost its flexibility. After one missed attack, it lost momentum and seemed to be moving forward solely by inertia.

"This mud seems to be out of control?" The Chunin thought flashed through his mind, and then he realized something was wrong.

Just as the Chunin realized something was wrong, the Jonin's urgent voice rang out. "Be careful."

But it was too late. Yichen, who had just dispelled the Porcelain Release, used the Water Style: Water Pressure Line Jutsu instead.