The Land of Rain's Choice

While Yichen was learning Shinra Tensei from Nagato, his four disciples were accepting challenges from the ninjas of River Ninja Village.

The number of ninjas in River Ninja Village is not large at present. Although the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers has allocated a lot of funds and provided great support to River Ninja Village, the development of the village still needs time.

River Ninja Village is currently in the stage of vigorously recruiting and training new generations. Half of the ninjas in River Ninja Village are still from the original Akatsuki Organization. The students recruited after Yahiko took over River Ninja Village are still studying at the school.

Even the most advanced generation takes three to five years to become Genin.

Yichen's four disciples were not top-tier among their peers, but they still had a clear advantage in dealing with the River ninja.

The Genin among the River ninja were no match for any of the Ogura Saki, while the Chunin defeated by Kawakita River ninja.

This left the River ninja feeling somewhat defeated; they realized then that the gap between themselves and the Great Ninja Village was not something a Kage Level shinobi could bridge.

These things are none of Yichen's business. It's good that the four disciples have a chance to practice and broaden their horizons.

Therefore, Yichen later suggested that Ogura Saki and the other two fight against the Chunin the River ninja, while Kawakita Jonin with the River ninja.

This incident infuriated the entire River ninja community, who felt that the Iwa ninja had underestimated them. They all expressed their determination to teach the Iwa ninja a lesson.

However, the final result was somewhat disappointing for them, because although Ogura Saki and her two companions lost more often than they won in their matches Chunin the River ninja, the gap between the two sides was not that large.

The River ninja's morale was completely shattered, especially after they learned that Ogura Saki and the other two weren't even among the most outstanding genin in Iwa ninja Genin. Their confidence was severely shaken.

Fortunately, the River ninja had Yahiko used his River ninja skills to successfully motivate them to train.

The Jonin match between Kawakita and the River ninja was even more River ninja, because even if Kawakita was not defeated, he could still maintain an undefeated record, fully demonstrating the strength of Great Ninja Village.

Seeing that his training in S-rank Ninjutsu was effective and that his four disciples had also gained a lot from challenging opponents of higher ranks, Yichen completely forgot about the instructions Ōnoki had given him before he left.

Yichen stayed in River Ninja Village for a full month before leisurely leaving with his four disciples.

Before leaving, Yichen asked Nagato for a Black Rod, which was one of the purposes of Yichen's trip. Yichen had always suspected that the Black Rod used by Mount Myōboku to help with the cultivation of Senjutsu was the same kind of thing as the Black Rod used by Nagato.

After leaving the Land of Rivers, Yichen made a detour to Amegakure.

Yichen met with Hanzo and conveyed the message that the Iwa ninja were holding the Chunin Ninja Exams.

Hanzo wasn't a hothead like Yahiko; he knew this was essentially a matter of choosing sides—whether to stand with Konoha or Iwa ninja.

Before the Third Shinobi War, Hanzo might not have made up his mind so easily, but now, Konoha suffered heavy losses in the Third Shinobi War, while Iwa ninja amassed a great fortune.

Most importantly, Iwa ninja produced Ikura, making them two Kage (Ōnoki Ikura), plus Yichen, a prospective Kage personally confirmed by Hanzo.

Although Konoha's strength is still above that of Iwa ninja, Konoha has many enemies, and its previous cooperation with Danzo was very unpleasant.

After hesitating for three days, Hanzo finally agreed to the Iwa ninja's proposal and hinted that the Yichen Rain Village could formally ally with the Iwa ninja.

Yichen was not surprised by this result. Although Hanzo had sent the Akatsuki Organization away, his control over the Land of Rain had not improved much.

On the contrary, due to the spread of the Akatsuki Organization incident and the heavy losses of Hanzo's confidants, Hanzo's control over the Land of Rain and even the Amegakure was far less than before.

Hanzo didn't have many options. If Danzo's Root elites were still around, Yichen wouldn't dare come to Amegakure, but Danzo was still licking his wounds in Konoha, Yichen believed Hanzo would be pragmatic.

After Hanzo agreed, Yichen then asked Hanzo to give some guidance to Kawakita.

This request is extremely rude. Given Hanzo's status Chunin the Ninja World, Kawakita, an elite Chunin, is far from qualified to make such a request.

Moreover, Hanzo is not Iwa ninja, so asking Hanzo to instruct Iwa ninja is indeed going too far.

However, Yichen didn't care about Hanzo's feelings. Hanzo was a man of principle, as evidenced by his giving the Legendary Sannin titles and his retreat in the face of Nagato.

As expected, Hanzo initially appeared very angry, but after seeing that Yichen remained unmoved, he eventually gave in.

It wasn't because they were succumbing to Yichen's strength; Yichen was only a Quasi-Kage, and was far from being a match for Hanzo.

Hanzo yielded to Yichen's identity; Yichen's status as an advisor to Iwagakure was enough to subdue Hanzo, whose power had been greatly Hanzo.

Taking a deep breath, Hanzo looked at Kawakita, and after a moment said, "Draw your sword."

Kawakita knew about Yichen's plan before he arrived, so he wasn't surprised. After hearing Hanzo's words, he immediately unleashed a full-force Sword Qi strike at Hanzo, while simultaneously charging towards the motionless Hanzo like a sharp sword.

Next, Yichen witnessed the true strength of Swordsmanship Master in the Ninja World.

Hanzo also used a longsword, but he never drew it. He defended against Kawakita's continuous attacks without even getting up from his seat.

About ten minutes later, when Hanzo saw that Kawakita's attacks were no longer novel, he jumped up from his seat.

Then, with a flash of light, Hanzo returned to his original position. Kawakita, on the other hand, stood motionless, his longsword now broken in two, but he himself was unharmed.

Even with Yichen's keen eyesight, he could only barely make out the speed at which Hanzo attacked. Yichen estimated that if he faced Hanzo, unless he flew into the air from the very beginning, he would have no chance of escaping from Hanzo's fierce offensive.

"Phew~~" Yichen knew that Hanzo was trying to establish his authority, but Yichen admitted that Hanzo had done a very good job. Yichen, a ninja who relied on Ninjutsu, hated encountering close-combat swordsmen the most.

"Thank you for your guidance, Hanzo. With Senior Hanzo here, the Iwa ninja will not be able to enter the Land of Rain," Yichen expressed his attitude.

Of course, Yichen Hanzo, as an advisor, doesn't have the final say on such matters, but he can cast his vote at High-Level Meeting, which is enough for Yichen.

Hanzo needs most right now is the recognition of his personal allies, not the recognition of Amegakure. If his allies only recognize him, Hanzo, then the threat posed by all opposing forces to him will be reduced significantly.

Yichen saw this out, which is why he deliberately gave Hanzo a worthless guarantee.

Hanzo's strength is undeniable, but Hanzo heart has grown old. Yichen is still no match for Hanzo, but Hanzo has long been removed from Yichen's list of people he is paying special attention to.

Ignoring Hanzo, Yichen turned his gaze to Kawakita, who had been brought into a daze by Hanzo's sword strike.

Yichen was familiar with Kawakita's condition; it was a sign that he was about to become Jonin. Yichen had spent more than a month summoning Kawakita from the Anbu, all for this moment.

Hanzo and Yichen both fell silent, waiting quietly for Kawakita to come to his senses.

About an hour later, Kawakita finally snapped out of his daze, looked at the broken sword in his hand, and felt as if something had changed in his heart, yet nothing had changed at all.

This occasion was not suitable for Kawakita to savor the experience, Yichen directly bid farewell to Hanzo.

Hanzo didn't see Yichen, and Yichen didn't mind. He led Kawakita away from Hanzo's reception room and met up with Ogura Saki other two outside the door. Then the group of five embarked on their journey back to the village.

With everything done, Yichen finally remembered Ōnoki's warning before he left, and then Yichen started to panic. Now Yichen didn't want to stay outside for even a moment longer.

After glancing at his four disciples, Yichen had them hold hands, then used the Light-Weight Rock Technique on them. The five of them then took off directly from the entrance of Amegakure and flew at full speed towards Iwagakure.

Upon returning to the village, Yichen anticipated that Ōnoki would be furious, but Ōnoki was busy searching for a suitable successor to his Summoning Jutsu.

After learning of Ōnoki's whereabouts from the Anbu of the Tsuchikage's Office Building, Yichen went alone to a Kajiyamari outside the village.

This place was originally empty, but now Ōnoki has arranged for someone to set up a Natural Energy Seal Barrier here, and Ōnoki is currently inside the barrier.

After entering the barrier, Yichen stood still in place.

Because what appeared in Yichen's line of sight at that moment was a Giant Panda that was as tall as a two-story building.

At this moment, Ōnoki was floating in mid-air in front of the Giant Panda, seemingly communicating with Giant Panda.

Ōnoki Giant Panda; if Yichen hadn't had excellent eyesight, he might not have been able to spot Ōnoki at all.

Encountering a national treasure here was somewhat unexpected for Yichen.

Yichen didn't know what kind of temperament this Giant Panda had, so he didn't dare to approach it rashly.

So Yichen walked over to Zero, the captain of the Shadow Guard, and asked him about the giant Giant Panda.

While Zero was still chatting with the Ōnoki Giant Panda, he recounted the entire sequence of events in detail.

It turns out that after the Summoning Scroll was delivered to the village, Ōnoki arranged for a Jonin to write his name on the Summoning Scroll, and then the Jonin summoned the Giant Panda in front of them as instructed.

However, the Giant Panda didn't like the Jonin. Although he didn't release the summoning, he didn't cooperate with the Jonin's commands.

Later, Ikura came up with a solution: he took the Giant Panda to the place where the Natural Energy Seal, allowing him to experience the intensity of the Natural Energy inside.

The Giant Panda only agreed to move their home here after being tempted by the Natural Energy.

Then, following the Giant Panda's description, Ohno and Ikura worked together to bring the Giant Panda back from some corner of the Ninja World.

Although the Giant Panda agreed to settle in the Natural Energy Seal, it was unwilling to accept the summons of the ninjas it did not approve of.

This gave Ōnoki a real headache. He had brought almost all the Jonin the past few days to try them out, but none of them could win the Giant Panda's approval.

Yichen was both amused and exasperated by what the Anbu said. Had he really brought back a national treasure that was only good for looking at but not for doing anything?

After thinking for a moment, Yichen stepped forward and said to Ōnoki, "Lord Tsuchikage, one of my disciples is quite fond of small animals. Why don't we let him give it a try?"

Ōnoki thought for a moment and said, "You mean Matsutani Shinya, right? Then let's give it a try. But he's only Genin. Even if he gets approval, he doesn't have enough Chakra to complete the summoning Ninjutsu."

This Giant Panda is different from the Toad of Mount Myōboku. Although he is quite strong, he does not live in groups and has no companions.

Unlike Mount Myōboku, it's okay if you can't summon Gamabunta; you can summon other small Toad, and even tadpoles.

So, as Ōnoki said, even if Matsutani Shinya gains recognition, he won't need this Giant Panda in the short term.