Alliance

The Land of Rivers, mindful of its small size, arrived early, even though the final competition was still three days away.

Yichen led Yahiko and the others to the accommodations that the Iwa ninja had carefully prepared for them, and then took the three of them to explore the Iwagakure.

Iwagakure is indeed quite prosperous now, and the three of Yahiko were incredibly envious as they strolled around.

While treating the three to Iwagakure, Yichen also explained the layout of the Iwa ninja village to them.

Yahiko knew that Yichen was teaching him how to build his River Ninja Village, so he listened very attentively.

Of course, Yichen only briefly mentioned matters involving confidentiality.

After dinner, Yichen escorted Yahiko and the other two back to their lodgings and arranged to bring his disciple to meet them the next Nagato Yahiko that the three of them were also planning to take on disciples, but the child they had their eye on was still in school and hadn't formally become their apprentice yet. He naturally didn't come along this time.

Upon hearing this, Yichen immediately began to think about what gift to give. The best gift for a ninja is, of course, Ninjutsu. When he took on his disciples, Yahiko and the others gave him two B-rank Ninjutsu and a set of B-rank Sword Technique.

However, Yichen had already given all his own Ninjutsu to Yahiko to serve as the foundation of River Ninja Village. Now, the only thing he could give away was Lightning Release: Chidori and Lightning Release: Chidori Flow.

Although Yichen stole the other five C-rank Lightning Release Ninjutsu from the Cloud ninja, Hu had contributed to them, so Yichen could not give them to ninjas other than the Iwa ninja.

Both Chidori and Chidori Flow are A-rank Ninjutsu, not suitable for giving to Genin.

So, Yichen spent a whole night writing down his cultivation experience. Yichen believed that this cultivation experience was still of some value, especially the mental journey of developing Ninjutsu, which should be helpful to beginners.

While Yichen was writing his reflections at home, Yahiko, back at his lodgings, was bombarded with questions by several high-ranking officials from the Land of Rivers. When they learned that Yichen was an advisor to the Iwagakure, they were both surprised by Yahiko's wide circle of friends and gained more confidence in their trip.

In fact, they still lack understanding of ninjas and do not understand the current strength of Nagato and Yahiko. Otherwise, Yichen thinks they might have the same ambition as Hanzo back then, and think about pushing the Land of Rivers into the ranks of great powers.

Currently, the strength of all nations in the Ninja World is generally at its strongest point in history. The number of Kage Level Mist ninja has reached two, comparable to their peak period.

The Cloud ninja, including Killer B, numbered three and were at their peak.

Including Yichen, the Iwa ninja also have three members, surpassing the strongest point in history.

Only the Sunagakure worse, consistently maintaining only two Kage Level. But if the Third Kazekage hadn't died and Sasori hadn't defected, the Land of Wind, with its four Kage Level ninjas, would still be the Second Ninja World.

As for Konoha, including Kushina Uzumaki and Fugaku Uchiha, there are a total of eight Kage Level, the most since the village's founding. This doesn't even include Might Duy, who reached Kage Level in half a minute.

In this situation, two Kage Level emerged from River Ninja Village, which doesn't seem like many.

But if we go back ten years, the total number of Kage Level in the Five Great Nations would be at least seven fewer. If the Land of Rivers had two Kage Level shinobi back then, the Hokage of Konoha would be losing sleep.

It's worth noting that the Land of Rain only had one Kage Level fighter who dared to challenge the status of the Five Great Nations.

However, these are all just assumptions. The high-ranking officials of the Land of Rivers were unaware of the significance of Yahiko and Nagato. They were simply pleased that Yahiko had such a good relationship with the advisors of Iwagakure.

The next day, Yichen summoned his six disciples and went to see Yahiko and the other two. Yichen also handed over his cultivation notes, which he had written overnight, to Nagato.

Nagato did not refuse; he genuinely considered Yichen one of his own. Yes, one of his own on the path to their ideals.

On this day, Yichen took Yahiko and the other two on a tour of Iwagakure, and the four of them even went to the Training Ground of Iwagakure for a sparring session.

The result of the sparring left Yichen somewhat frustrated. Losing to Nagato was one thing, but now he couldn't even beat Yahiko.

Although Yichen became a Yichen -Kage first, Yahiko progressed faster Yahiko is now almost officially Kage Level.

Yichen understood the reason: his physical condition was too poor, and this transformation process would be quite long.

For example, among Yichen's first batch of disciples, it was clearly Tomoko began her transformation first, but Kajiyamari became Jonin first. This was simply because their foundations were too different.

Yichen remembered that it only took Nagato a few months to go from a near-Kage to Kage Level, or maybe even less, since Yichen wasn't always by Nagato's side.

There's no way to compare him to a monster like Nagato, but losing to Yahiko still left Yichen feeling a bit awkward. Even though it was just a friendly spar and he didn't use many of his Trump Card, Yichen still felt somewhat frustrated.

The changes brought about by the Porcelain Release were too slow; otherwise, my constitution would have been fundamentally adjusted long ago.

"Fortunately, I can still bully Konan." Yichen felt a little better after defeating Konan.

At this time, Konan was only Elite Jonin. Her Paper Style Jutsu was blocked by Yichen's Porcelain Release, and she couldn't get close to Yichen, so she was completely countered by Yichen. In the end Yichen won easily.

Then Konan replaced Yichen and became the only one of the four who was in a bad mood.

On the final day, the third round of the Joint Chunin Exams officially began. Rasa arrived just before the exam started, looking quite impressive.

The seating arrangement in the venue took into full account the differences in status among the dignitaries. Ōnoki and Rasa sat at the very top, each with two guards standing behind them. A slightly lower seat on Rasa's other side was reserved for Hanzo.

Although Hanzo was not invited, Ōnoki still showed him the respect he deserved.

Ōnoki sat in a lower position on the other side of Yahiko, with Nagato and Konan standing behind Yahiko. The four seats were neither too far nor too close, allowing them to talk to each other while maintaining a safe distance.

After discussion, the High-ranking officials decided not to reserve a place for the Third Raikage, because one of the reasons for the alliance with the Sunagakure was to jointly fight against the Cloud ninja.

This was the first time Ōnoki, Rasa, and Yahiko had met each other. Unlike Ōnoki, who was prepared, Rasa was very surprised to find that this small River Ninja Village actually had two Kage Level ninja, and he suppressed his dissatisfaction with the original seating arrangement.

Both the Sunagakure and Konoha had guessed that the Akatsuki Organization, which had taken over the Land of Rivers, must have had Kage Level, but Rasa never expected there to be two.

This was hard for Rasa to accept, considering that there were only two Kage Level ninjas in both Sunagakure and Iwa ninja. Rasa also didn't know that Yichen was a quasi-Kage.

Yichen didn't openly appear at the venue today, his purpose being to Sunagakure. In any case, as long as he doesn't appear in the sight of ninjas of the same or higher rank, it's difficult for other ninjas to detect the aura of a quasi-Kage.

Only during Yichen's first close encounter with Minato Namikaze did he vaguely sense Minato Namikaze's strength. However, Yichen's main basis for his judgment at that time was the original work.

Yahiko was somewhat interested in the match, but Rasa and Ōnoki had absolutely no interest.

Then Rasa started the conversation, and the three of them discussed the alliance. Although the details would take time to be finalized, many rough ideas could be agreed upon in advance.

Because all three parties were interested in forming an alliance, the talks between the three leaders went relatively smoothly.

Some minor incidents occurred during this time. For example, when Rasa and Yahiko could not reach a consensus on a certain matter, Ōnoki suggested that the outcome of the competition offstage should decide the matter. Whoever made the correct judgment would be listened to.

This really tests a ninja's eyesight, and both Rasa and Yahiko agreed.

In the first two matches designated by Ōnoki, Rasa and Yahiko both chose the same winner, so the match naturally ended. However, in the third match, when Yichen's disciple Ogura Saki, faced a Puppet Master from the Sunagakure, the two had different opinions.

Yahiko supported Ogura Saki, Rasa supported the Puppet Master from his own village. Although their choices were influenced by emotional biases, their confidence in the ninjas they had chosen was more important.

The result of the battle left Rasa with a grim expression beneath his mask; their Sunagakure's puppet had suffered a complete defeat.

The Puppet Master's strength lies in tactical concealment, and although the battle environment of the exam venue was arranged by the Iwa ninja and was not as open as the one held in Konoha in the original story, it was still not easy to hide puppets.

Ogura Saki is skilled in Wind Release, and Wind Release ninjas have relatively strong sensory abilities. Although they can't compare to specialized Sensory Ninjutsu, they can still find some clues.

After Ogura Saki used her Wind Release technique to destroy two puppets that had lost their cover, the Puppet Master reluctantly chose to concede defeat.

Ogura Saki's Wind Style: Wind Tornado are a huge counter to Puppet Master; even if the Wind Style: Wind Tornado doesn't hit the puppet, it can destroy the Chakra Control lines along its path.

Such fair and square competition is disadvantageous for Puppet Master; unless they have exceptional puppetry skills, it's difficult for them to gain the upper hand.

In the afternoon, the first day's 21 matches concluded, and all of Yichen and Ikura's disciples advanced.

That's enough for Yichen. The Iwa ninja aren't as Konoha as the Konoha ninja. According to Ōnoki's plan, as long as he wins one match in the third round, he can be promoted to Chunin.

Furthermore, ninjas who fail in the first round can also advance if they perform relatively well. Therefore, there are approximately 30 spots available for advancement in this Joint Chunin Exams.

Yichen, who had been secretly learning Ninjutsu from Hu in the shadows, smiled slightly when he saw that all three of his disciples had advanced. Their location was carefully designed during the construction of the venue, allowing them to effectively sense the competitors within.

After sensing with his using Mind's Eye that the three leaders on the high platform had left, Yichen said goodbye to Hu and then left as well.

During the competition, Yichen had no specific tasks, Yichen idle either, as he needed to personally patrol the entire village to look for potential enemies.

If anything were to happen at this time, it would be Iwagakure who would lose face. Ōnoki had to negotiate an alliance with Yahiko and Rasa, Ikura was in charge of the Joint Chunin Exams. Only Yichen had free time, and he needed to pay more attention to the safety of the village.

After touring the village, Yichen visited several secret departments, such as Han and Roshi's residence, as well as the Prison and medical facilities. By the time he had thoroughly inspected everything, it was already dark.

Influenced by the original work, Yichen knew that holding the Joint Chunin Exams would definitely benefit Iwagakure, but Yichen was still not entirely at ease.

After leaving the Intelligence Department, Yichen looked at the sky and breathed a sigh of relief; the first day had passed peacefully.

On the second day of the competition, the Yakumi between the players increased considerably, but the atmosphere among Ōnoki and his two companions was much more harmonious, clearly indicating that the three parties had reached several agreements the previous night.