Karatachi Yagura
"Lightning Release - Lightning Explosion"
With ten days left until the third round of exams, at the secluded residence of Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, Yichen, along with his three disciples Ogura Saki, Takuya, and Matsutani Shinya as Nakada Tatsunori, Haraguchi Hampei, and Shimoyama Tamaki Dai, are training.
Yichen chose to train here for two reasons: to enlighten Han and to protect him. As the third round of the Joint Chunin Exams approached, the number of people coming to Iwagakure (Iwagakure) was also increasing.
Many of them were ninjas from other villages who came under the guise of escorting important officials to watch the match.
There are definitely many spies among them, and the Tailed Beast are certainly their top priority for reconnaissance, which makes Yichen somewhat uneasy.
Han was under his supervision, while Roshi personally oversaw Ōnoki's training. Han was very welcoming to Yichen and Ikura's disciples, and the more he watched them train, the more eager he became to take them on as disciples.
Yichen told him that the next graduating class would graduate in a few months, at which time he could select one to three people from them, preferably three, to form a normal team.
Of course, after the selection, Yichen would personally inform the three of Han's special identity and ask for their opinions. Only with the students' consent could Han truly accept them as disciples.
Ogura Saki and the other two don't really need Yichen's guidance anymore, Yichen spends most of his time practicing Lightning Release on his own.
These past few days, Yichen has finished learning the Lightning Release he obtained from the Cloud ninja, including five C-rank techniques plus a novel method he learned from Yanagihara where Lightning Release condenses and doesn't dissipate.
The Lightning Release Lightning Explosion that Yichen just practiced is one of the five C-rank Ninjutsu. This Ninjutsu gathers Lightning Release Chakra together and then explodes like a bomb.
This explosion doesn't produce a shockwave or blast wave; its destructive power relies entirely on the Lightning Release itself. However, its advantage is also obvious: it can unleash the speed of Lightning Release.
The Lightning Release after the explosion travels extremely fast when it scatters. After several attempts, Yichen discovered that as long as the Lightning Release is compressed to a certain extent at the beginning, the burst could reach a speed that even Elite Jonin or Kage Level ninjas couldn't react to.
This reminded Yichen of Sasuke's Lightning Release: Kirin. When Sasuke fought Itachi, he proudly claimed that it was an attack that could not be dodged.
Yichen felt that after the successful development of Chidori Flow, this method could be incorporated to achieve a further upgrade of Ninjutsu.
Just as Yichen was about to continue his practice of Lightning Release, a team of Anbu entered the valley. After their identities were checked, they quickly came to Yichen's side.
"Advisor, Lord Tsuchikage requests your immediate presence in his office."
Yichen was startled. The person who came was actually Zero. It seemed that something serious had happened, otherwise Ōnoki would not have been in such a hurry to send Zero to summon him.
Yichen nodded, handed the six students over to Han's care, and then left with Ling.
When they arrived at the Tsuchikage's Office, the other advisors were already there. Ōnoki didn't waste any words and pointed to a piece of information next to Yichen's seat, indicating that he should take a look first.
Yichen quickly skimmed through the entire intelligence report, then chuckled, "Poor Konoha."
Hearing Yichen's laughter, Ōnoki glared at him, but didn't say anything; he was in a good mood too.
According to intelligence, after Minato Namikaze provided support to the front lines of the Land of Whirlpools, the Mist ninja also made a major move.
The future Fourth Mizukage Karatachi Yagura, also joined the battle. Not only did he participate, but he also brought a Tailed Beast with him.
Originally, the Mist ninja had no intention of using the Tailed Beast when facing the Uchiha, as it would be bad if the Tailed Beast were controlled.
However, Karatachi Yagura may have secretly reached an agreement with the Uchiha, as the Three-Tails Jinchuriki's target this time was precisely the elite force brought by Minato Namikaze.
Those elite members of the great ninja clans, whom the Third Hokage had initially hinted would have a gilded journey, ended up being coated in a bloody mist by the Three-Tails.
In the end, it was Minato Namikaze managed to break free from Karatachi Yagura and save the day with the Flying Thunder God.
However, apart from his giant Summoning Beast technique, Minato Namikaze didn't have many other good ways to deal with the Tailed Beast.
The battle ended abruptly with Konoha's defeat.
Throughout the entire incident, the Uchiha clan was arbitrarily fighting the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist of the Mist on a battlefield not far away.
It was at that moment that Minato Namikaze gained a profound understanding of the rift between the current High-ranking officials and the Uchiha. It turned out that the two sides had long been irreconcilable enemies.
Minato Namikaze strongly suspected that if the elderly and weak members of the Uchiha Clan hadn't been still in Konoha, the entire Uchiha Clan might have already defected.
Perhaps he will deliver a ruthless blow to Konoha before his defection.
When the news reached Konoha, the Third Hokage finally snapped out of his illusion that he could easily control the Uchiha Clan.
Unbeknownst to them, he had already driven the Uchiha Clan to this point.
At this moment, the Third Hokage felt some regret, but then a thought suddenly popped into his mind that even he found terrifying: Don't leave the Uchiha, this hidden danger, to future generations.
Just then, with a bang, the door to the Hokage's Office was pushed open.
Danzo Earth Flow in first, followed by two other advisors Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura.
Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi his eyes, his mind racing: Danzo, are you trying to force me to abdicate?
Danzo had no intention of forcing Danzo to abdicate; his power was far from being restored, and the reconstruction of Root had only just begun.
He simply found hope for his resurgence.
Danzo was convinced by the Uchiha clan's indifferent observation of the battlefield in the Land of Whirlpools that Hiruzen Sarutobi definitely harbored murderous intentions towards the Uchiha Clan.
Danzo knew very well what kind of person Hiruzen Sarutobi was, and he would definitely dump these dirty and tiring jobs on him, which was his opportunity.
As for whether Hiruzen Sarutobi will say a few high-sounding words in the process, let him be.
As Danzo predicted, things unfolded exactly as he, Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura expressed their dissatisfaction with the Uchiha Clan. Hiruzen Sarutobi continued to try and smooth things over, playing the good guy.
In the end, Danzo received more funding to expand Root, and Hiruzen Sarutobi even allowed Danzo to select geniuses from various ninja clans.
This would have been impossible before. Although Hiruzen Sarutobi limited the development of these ninja clans to some extent, they were, after all, his supporters, and Hiruzen Sarutobi also played a role in protecting them.
Danzo occasionally managed to gain the loyalty of one or two offspring from collateral branches who were not valued by the other ninja clans, but he never received the loyalty of a true genius.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was actually due to the fact that the Uchiha had not only angered these high-ranking members, but also other ninja clans.
By subtly implying to these ninja clans that their talented descendants joined Root in order to target the Uchiha Clan.
The clan leaders, considering the possibility of potentially dividing up the Uchiha Clan's vast legacy in the future, would certainly be tempted.
Meanwhile, Minato Namikaze paid his respects to the current Uchiha Clan leader Uchiha No, and the future clan leader Fugaku Uchiha.
Minato Namikaze thought the Uchiha Clan would cover up their actions, but during the conversation, he discovered that the Uchiha Clan seemed quite confident, and Uchiha No didn't seem to care much about the High-ranking officials' reaction.
Minato Namikaze was unaware that Fugaku had already successfully awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Although Uchiha No was the clan head, he had only seen the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan in the clan's documents, so he had high expectations for these eyes, which were the same eyes that helped the Uchiha achieve the reputation of the Asura of the Ninja World.
Moreover, during his sparring session with Fugaku Uchiha, he gained some understanding of the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan, a power that even his top-tier Elite Jonin strength couldn't shake in the slightest.
Uchiha No had decided to abdicate after the war, believing that Fugaku Uchiha would surely become the Zhongxing Lord of the Uchiha Clan.
Although Minato Namikaze didn't understand where Uchiha No's confidence came from, he also saw the importance Uchiha No on Fugaku Uchiha. So after the exchange, he privately visited Fugaku Uchiha.
Uchiha No seemed unconcerned about their meeting.
Minato Namikaze started the conversation by discussing the close friendship between his girlfriend Kushina Uzumaki and Fugaku Uchiha's wife Mikoto Uchiha.
Minato Namikaze noticed that Fugaku Uchiha lacked the confidence of Uchiha No; Fugaku Uchiha appeared much more reserved compared to Uchiha No.
In the end Minato Namikaze and Fugaku Uchiha reached a relatively vague agreement on an alliance.
The gist is that the two of them should do their best to bridge the rift between the Konoha High-ranking officials and the Uchiha.
Minato Namikaze could never have imagined that while he was trying his best to mend the conflict between the two sides, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already decided to kill the Uchiha Clan.
Regardless of whether the Konoha High-ranking officials was trying to win over or suppress the Uchiha Clan, the atmosphere in Iwa ninja was very cheerful.
Everyone was eager to chat.
Ming said, "This Karatachi Yagura is quite politically astute. He must have seen the conflict between the Uchiha Clan and the Konoha High-ranking officials, and he took advantage of it."
Ikura nodded and said, "I agree with what Senior Mei said. It's unlikely that the Mist ninja reached any agreement with the Uchiha. Karatachi Yagura probably just took advantage of the resentment the Uchiha Clan suffered from the Konoha High-ranking officials during this war."
After listening to what Yichen and Ikura said, Yichen deeply agreed. Karatachi Yagura must have had some skills to become the Fourth Mizukage.
"Alright, let's talk about Konoha's possible responses." Ōnoki started a new topic.
After meditating for a moment, he said, "I estimate that the Konoha High-ranking officials will Uchiha Clan. After all, the Uchiha Clan is recognized as the strongest clan in the Ninja World, with strength comparable to a mid-tier ninja village. Compared to Amegakure, they only lack one Kage Level."
Upon hearing this, Yichen's eyes flashed, wondering if Fugaku Uchiha had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan yet.
If they awaken, the overall strength of the Uchiha Clan might actually surpass that of Amegakure with the potential to join the ranks of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
However, Fugaku Uchiha's personality was really... Yichen shook his head inwardly. If Fugaku Uchiha had been a bit more stubborn, it would have been questionable whether Konoha in the original story could have even lasted until the Fourth Shinobi War.
Thinking of this, Yichen also thought of the method used by the Uchiha Clan to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.
There are two main explanations: one is that he killed his own loved one, and the other is that he suffered severe emotional trauma.
Yichen leans towards the latter. The Sharingan is the eye that reflects the soul, the ultimate manifestation of Yin Release, so it's normal for it to be related to emotional stimulation.
However, Yichen felt that there was another condition for Awakening Eyes the Mangekyō Sharingan: having an extremely kind heart.