Cloud Ninja Contestants

As planned by Yichen, Cloud ninja took the bait successfully, but Yichen did not rush to cause trouble for Tanimoto Naoto.

Tanimoto Naoto is representing the Cloud ninja in the competition, which is very beneficial to increasing the influence of the Iwa ninja. Yichen doesn't want to ruin the Joint Chunin Exams because of his Lightning Release training.

However, it's not advisable for Yichen to directly confront Tanimoto Naoto, but it's still feasible to let the younger generation spar.

Yichen, along with his six disciples including Ikura, went straight to the residence of the Cloud ninja.

Before he even arrived, Yichen started shouting, "Tanimoto Naoto- senpai, an old friend is here to visit, come out and have a chat!"

Soon, Tanimoto Naoto led the Cloud ninja participants out of their accommodations. When he saw that it was Yichen, his expression turned sour.

It was Yichen who killed a small squad of Cloud ninja, and then Tanimoto Naoto was sent by the Third Raikage to target Yichen.

However, at that time, neither of them could gain the upper hand in the battle. Not only did they needlessly disperse the Cloud Yichen's forces, but they were also misled for a long time by Cloud ninja's information, the existence of which was unknown.

If Konoha hadn't later revealed a weakness, and if the Cloud ninja hadn't hoped that Iwa ninja and Konoha would both suffer heavy losses, thus actively reducing friction with Iwa ninja, Tanimoto Naoto certainly wouldn't have let Yichen go.

Upon seeing Yichen, he didn't give him a friendly look. He coldly asked, "What? Are you Iwa ninja planning to take this opportunity to attack us Cloud ninja?"

Yichen shook his head and said with a smile, "Senior is too kind. The Cloud ninja and the Iwa ninja have always had a good relationship. In this war, we are also working together against Konoha. Although we are not allies, our relationship is almost that of allies."

"The Lord Raikage's willingness to participate in the Joint Chunin Exams organized by Iwa ninja is a gesture of goodwill towards Iwa ninja. How could we, the Iwa ninja, possibly damage our friendship?"

Hearing Yichen talk about the Third Shinobi War, Tanimoto Naoto became even angrier. The overall rhythm of the Third Shinobi War was that four countries besieged the Land of Fire. However, the Land of Earth was the first to sign a peace treaty with the Land of Fire. In the eyes of the other ninja villages, the Iwa ninja were traitors.

Furthermore, the Third Raikage had no intention of participating in the Joint Chunin Exams, which would only needlessly boost the reputation of the Iwa ninja.

The Fourth Kazekage didn't want to either, but he couldn't resist the Daimyo of the Land of Wind. In order to maintain the village's operating expenses, the Fourth Kazekage reluctantly agreed to the daimyo's request.

Therefore, Yichen's words hit Tanimoto Naoto's sore spot perfectly.

Tanimoto Naoto said, "Yichen, right? If you want to provoke me, just say so."

Yichen quickly said, "Senior, you misunderstand. As an envoy of the Cloud ninja, you are here to participate in the Joint Chunin Exams. You are our honored guest. How could I dare to provoke you?"

"However, the Cloud ninja agreed to participate in the Joint Chunin Exams a bit late, and the people around you probably don't know much about the contestants who will be participating this time."

"I happen to have brought a few of our Iwa ninja contestants with me, so this will be a good opportunity for the kids to interact and exchange ideas."

Tanimoto Naoto was somewhat unsure of Yichen's intentions, but it wouldn't hurt to take the opportunity to assess the strength of the new generation of Iwa ninja. So he changed his tone, saying, "If the Iwa ninja want a match, we'll naturally accept."

Naoto Tanimoto agreed too readily, which puzzled Yi Chen. However, since this was what he had hoped for, Yi Chen didn't dwell on it. Yi Chen led everyone to a training ground and then arranged for his disciples to fight against the Cloud Ninja's lower-ranking ninja.

After several matches, Yichen's face darkened. No wonder Tanimoto Naoto didn't care about sparring; it turned out that the Genin he brought were just ordinary Genin. These ninjas weren't bad in terms of strength among the village's Genin, but they were far from being good enough to represent the village in fighting for benefits and prestige.

Although the Cloud ninja used participating in the Joint Chunin Exams as an excuse, their perfunctory attitude was far too obvious.

Fortunately, Yichen wasn't worried about how much information Ogura Saki and the others would leak. Cloud ninja of this level of strength couldn't uncover much useful information. However, it wouldn't be easy for Yichen to obtain some training insights on Lightning Release from the Cloud ninja.

Yichen felt bad for not achieving his goal, but Tanimoto Naoto felt even worse. Although the Cloud ninja hadn't taken this Joint Chunin Exams seriously, it was still embarrassing to see their team members lose one after another.

The Training Ground wasn't hidden at all; there were quite a few civilians watching the spectacle around it.

After yet another failure, Tanimoto Naoto gritted his teeth and said to a dark-skinned young man standing beside him, "Yanagihara, go and test the strength of the Iwa ninja."

The boy responded softly, and then walked ahead of Yichen into the battlefield.

Seeing the man's demeanor, Yichen's eyes lit up; this guy's strength is impressive. Focusing his attention on the Mind's Eye, Yichen was even more delighted; this ninja should be of the Lightning Release. He hoped the ninja wouldn't disappoint him.

With his hands behind his back, Yichen secretly Hand Seals and used his Sensory Ninjutsu while the two combatants were forming Seal of Opposition.

The Cloud ninja who was fighting this man named Yanagihara was none other than Matsutani Shinya, a disciple of Yichen.

Matsutani Shinya inwardly groaned. This Yanagihara was clearly different from the Cloud ninja who had been easily defeated by Ogura Saki and the others. Just from his aura, he was much stronger than the other Cloud ninja.

Moreover, this Yanagihara with a long sword at his waist is probably a close-combat ninja. That would be a perfect counter to me.

Matsutani Shinya's approach is more general than specialized; he doesn't excel in Hand Seals speed. However, he has made some progress in the number of Hand Seals he can form under Yichen's supervision. It's just unknown whether he can withstand the swordsmanship of these Cloud ninja.

As soon as Yichen spoke, the two immediately chose the response that was most advantageous to them.

Yanagihara charged forward quickly, gripping the hilt of his sword as he did so, poised to draw it at any moment.

Meanwhile, Matsutani Shinya continued to retreat, forming hand Hand Seals at top speed as he did so.

Finally, before Yanagihara could get close, Matsutani Shinya successfully unleashed a C-rank area-of-effect attack, Water Release: Water Style: Water Wave. Furthermore, under Matsutani Shinya's deliberate control, the range of the Water Style: Water Wave was significantly larger than normal. This wide-range Ninjutsu directly blocked all of Yanagihara's advance.

Yanagihara was briefly forced back by Yichen.

Meanwhile, Matsutani Shinya continued to use his Ninjutsu. This time it was C-rank Wind Release: Wind Release: Breakthrough, still an area-of-effect Ninjutsu.

After two rounds of Ninjutsu, the distance between the two not only didn't decrease, but actually increased as Matsutani Shinya kept retreating.

After estimating the distance between the two, Matsutani Shinya used his third Ninjutsu, Earth Style: Earth Clone Jutsu.

Then, the Earth Style Clone and the main body cooperated to prepare to unleash Combination Ninjutsu. This was precisely the method Matsutani Shinya had devised to leverage the advantages of his multiple attributes.

This move was quite effective. When the Earth Style Clone's Rock-Scattering Jutsu was combined with the Wind Release acceleration, this move, which originally relied on Ninjutsu, actually produced power close to that of B-rank Ninjutsu.

Yichen admitted that even when he was still Genin, he wouldn't have been able to handle this Combination Ninjutsu. Of course, with Yichen's Hand Seals speed, he wouldn't give others that opportunity.

However, Yanagihara was no ordinary Genin. Seeing that he couldn't dodge this wide-range Combination Ninjutsu, he decisively chose to defend head-on.

Yanagihara formed three hand seals, and then a layer of lightning rapidly spread from his sword-wielding hand to the entire blade.

Then, Yanagihara swiftly shattered the rocks flying towards him. Powered by Lightning Release, Yanagihara's strikes were incredibly fast, turning most of the rocks to Lightning Release. Any rocks that slipped through were easily dodged.

Even the invisible Wind Blade mixed in with the Combination Ninjutsu were all cut down by Yanagihara.

Matsutani Shinya's face was pale. He didn't have much Chakra left. That last move was his last resort, and now his Chakra was completely depleted.

However, Yichen, the teacher, was very excited. Yanagihara's actions gave Yichen a sudden sense of enlightenment.

Yichen used his naked eye, Sensory Ninjutsu, and Mind's Eye —three methods—to carefully observe Yanagihara's Chakra circulation from different angles.

Sensory Ninjutsu, which probes life force, primarily focuses on physical energy; Mind's Eye, an S-rank Ninjutsu, mainly probes Mental Energy; combined with visual observation, Yichen has a special feeling for Yanagihara's Chakra circulation.

So that's how Lightning Release is used, Yichen couldn't help but exclaim.

Unfortunately, time was too short. After Yanagihara blocked the Combination Ninjutsu, he immediately dispelled the previous Lightning Release.

Taijutsu Ninja are truly a perfect match for Lightning Release. Looks like we need to intensify Takuya's training. Pure Taijutsu, no matter how fast, can it outrun Lightning Release Stimulation Method? He's not like the thick eyebrows of Konoha.

Takuya still needs to learn Ninjutsu, especially Lightning Release Ninjutsu; he absolutely cannot give up on that.

On the field, seeing that Yanagihara had successfully defended against the Combination Ninjutsu, Chakra Matsutani Shinya, having exhausted his chakra, directly chose to concede defeat.

Seeing this, Yichen could only sigh inwardly. Ninjutsu Ninja in the early stages were at a great disadvantage. Not only were Ninjutsu troublesome to use, but they also consumed a lot of Chakra. Moreover, Ninjutsu that consumed a lot of chakra could often be easily dodged by the opponent after being used.

Ninjutsu Ninja only have an advantage in multi-player battles; various Combination Ninjutsu can leave Taijutsu Ninja with nowhere to escape.

Tanimoto Naoto, thankfully he hadn't lost face completely. However, his original plan was to investigate the Iwa ninja players and their information, but he ended up exposing the Trump Card of his own seeded player.

Fortunately, Yanagihara also gained something from this First Shinobi War. According to the intelligence, the guy named Matsutani Shinya should be Yichen's new disciple. When he first graduated, his strength and talent were both terrible, but now he can actually perform Combination Ninjutsu on his own.

The skill of Yichen in teaching his disciple is truly astonishing. Thinking of this, Tanimoto Naoto looked at the others around Yichen. They had all already participated, but hadn't obtained any useful information.

Tanimoto Naoya thought: Since Yanagihara's biggest Trump Card has already been exposed in the First Shinobi War, why not let him compete with others again and find out more information about them?

Then Tanimoto Naoto spoke up, "Yichen, how is the swordsmanship of our Cloud ninja? Do you dare send someone else to try it?"

Tanimoto Naoto, fearing that Yichen would not agree, even tried to provoke him, little did he know that Yichen was more than willing after hearing his words.