Land of Water

After breaking through the interception of Konoha Anbu, Yichen had been using the Light-Weight Rock Technique to travel at full speed.

The Light-Weight Rock Technique is not as fast as the Body Flicker Technique, nor as fast as the Lightning Release Stimulation Method, but it excels in concealment. Flying at low altitudes makes it difficult to leave a trace.

If Fugaku Uchiha had followed directly, it's uncertain whether Yichen could have escaped. However, it wouldn't have been easy for the Konoha Anbu to find Yichen's whereabouts after Yichen had disappeared for some time.

So after following Yichen for a while, the Yichen Konoha Anbu completely lost track of him and had no choice but to return to Konoha.

When the news reached Konoha, Yichen had no idea what action Hiruzen Sarutobi would take. He also didn't know what methods Fugaku Uchiha would use to deal with the Yichen Konoha High-ranking officials.

Yichen was somewhat relieved that Fugaku hadn't caught up. Few in the Ninja World dared to face the Mangekyō Sharingan, whose abilities were unknown.

In the original story, Fugaku survived until his death without firing a single shot, and the abilities and whereabouts of his Mangekyō Sharingan remain a mystery.

After confirming it was safe, Yichen went to a village not far from Konoha. This was a base that Yichen had set up before entering Konoha. All of Yichen's personal belongings were kept here.

While a ninja's greatest strength in battle lies in their Chakra, a suitable weapon is also an important part of their power. Yichen is not yet strong enough to dominate the Ninja World without external assistance.

With everything temporarily safe and all the equipment back in his hands, Yichen Sokai Uchiha, whom he had knocked unconscious and brought out.

Sokai Uchiha was still a little confused, after all, he had not formally entered the Ninja Academy, but had only received introductory education within the Uchiha clan.

Although the education requirements of the great ninja clan are very high, given his age and experience, Sokai Uchiha was still unaware that he had been kidnapped.

His memory was still stuck when he helped Yichen pick up his things.

Yichen didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "Sokai Uchiha, congratulations on being captured by me."

"Huh?" The little boy was stunned for a moment. He'd been captured? How did he end up being captured? Was this a new way to play ninja games?

It took him a moment to react. He saw Sokai Uchiha assume a defensive stance and ask, "You're not a village ninja? Who are you?"

Yichen didn't laugh at Sokai Uchiha temper, and said, "My name is Yichen, and I am an advisor to Iwagakure in the Land of Earth."

"The Land of Earth?" Sokai Uchiha had not systematically studied the history and geography of the Ninja World; he had only occasionally heard about it from his elders in the clan.

However, since the Uchiha Clan had always been facing the Land of Water directly, the Sokai Uchiha were aware of the Kirigakure in the Land of Water even in their most cautious state.

However, Sokai Uchiha knew very little about Iwagakure, the Iwagakure in the Land of Earth, which withdrew from the war early on.

Yichen wasn't surprised; this was just a simple-minded kid like Obito. The intelligence report clearly stated that this Sokai Uchiha wasn't particularly intelligent or talented in training.

Yichen reached out and, ignoring Sokai Uchiha's resistance, pressed his head down, making him sit. Then he said, "It's still early, let me tell you about the situation in the Ninja World and your predicament."

"The Ninja World has many countries, but only five are truly powerful: the Land of Fire, the Land of Earth, the Land of Water, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Lightning. Among them, your Land of Fire is the strongest."

Upon hearing Yichen's words, Sokai Uchiha's face revealed a proud expression.

Yichen continued, "Do you know how the Five Great Nations came to be?"

Sokai Uchiha knew something about this and immediately said, "It was established by the First Hokage and our Uchiha Clan's ancestor Madara Uchiha."

Yichen nodded and said, "That's right, Konoha was indeed founded by those two people you mentioned. They conquered the rich land that is now the Land of Fire."

"But those two only established Konoha. Other ninja villages also have their own heroes. For example, our Iwagakure was founded by our First Earth Shadow."

Sokai Uchiha seemed to have forgotten that Yichen was still an enemy, and nodded as if he understood but not quite.

Yichen continued, "The First Hokage was Hashirama Senju, the Second Hokage was his younger brother Senju Tobirama, and the Third Hokage was Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Second Hokage's disciple."

"Why isn't the Hokage position given to Madara Uchiha, whose contributions were no less than Hashirama Senju's, but to your Uchiha Clan?"

Sokai Uchiha retorted, "The Fourth Hokage will definitely be our Uchiha! Our clan leader, Fugaku Uchiha, will definitely become the Fourth Hokage!"

Yichen glanced at the agitated Sokai Uchiha and said, "Do you know why your clan's territory suddenly moved from the center of Konoha to this remote corner?"

Sokai Uchiha quiet. As an Uchiha Clan, how could he not have heard the complaints of his elders?

After a while, he continued, "The village currently has a misunderstanding about our Uchiha Clan, but that misunderstanding will be cleared up sooner or later."

Yichen smiled and said, "Then how about we make a bet? I bet your misunderstanding won't be cleared up, and I bet the Fourth Hokage isn't Uchiha."

"Impossible! Don't try to sow discord! I won't fall for it!" Sokai Uchiha shouted excitedly at Yichen.

Yichen using Mind's Eye to survey the surroundings, finding no movement, and continued, "How about this, you go to our Iwagakure Ninja Academy. After you graduate and become Genin, if the Fourth Hokage is from your Uchiha, or if your Uchiha moves back to the center of Konoha, then I promise you, I'll let you return to Konoha."

"But you have to promise me that you'll study hard at the Ninja Academy and won't reveal your Uchiha Clan identity."

Yichen originally wanted to say that if the Fourth Uchiha and the Uchiha Clan hadn't returned to the center of Konoha, then the Sokai Uchiha joined Iwa ninja. But after hesitating for a moment, he didn't say it.

Sokai Uchiha was delighted to hear this. "Really? You mean it?"

Yichen nodded and said, "Of course, I wouldn't lie to a child like you. Besides, my only request is for you to study. I didn't gather intelligence on Konoha or the Uchiha Clan, nor did I ask you to do anything for Iwa ninja. You're not at a loss."

Sokai Uchiha, then said, "Okay, I agree."

Yichen smiled inwardly. "Good that you agreed. In a few years, when you graduate, it's hard to say whether the Uchiha Clan will even exist in the Ninja World anymore."

Yichen separated a Water Clone and went out to get some food.

After nightfall, Yichen used the Light-Weight Rock Technique on himself and Sokai Uchiha, and then used the Camouflage Jutsu on himself. Afterwards, Yichen took Sokai Uchiha and left the Land of Fire, flying back to Iwagakure.

When Ōnoki heard that Yichen had returned, he was somewhat puzzled, but when he heard that Yichen had brought back a child from the Uchiha Clan, Ōnoki's puzzlement turned into ecstasy.

Ōnoki immediately arranged for the Anbu to give Sokai Uchiha a new identity. Naturally, he couldn't call him Sokai Uchiha, so Ōnoki gave him a name on the spot.

Let's call it Libra Zhongxing.

Ōnoki gave Sokai Uchiha his own surname in the hope that the ninjas and civilians of Iwagakure would be more friendly to him after hearing his name, so that he would feel a sense of belonging to Iwagakure.

The name "Zhongxing" (meaning "restoration") comes from the fact that, Yichen, Ōnoki also felt that the Uchiha Clan's days in Konoha would not be easy. They might even decline, so he hoped that Onoki could rebuild the Uchiha Clan's glory in Iwagakure.

Sokai Uchiha —no, now he should be called the Libra Zhongxing —didn't like the name, but it didn't matter; he'd change it back sooner or later anyway.

Yichen guessed that Ōnoki would likely brainwash him after Ōnoki was taken in by the Libra Zhongxing.

However, none of this mattered to Yichen for the time being. Fearing that Ōnoki might take the opportunity to keep him in the village, Yichen left after explaining his situation.

Ōnoki's attention was now entirely Libra Zhongxing, and he didn't care about Yichen's departure.

After chatting with Zhongxing for a while and agreeing to the bet between Yichen and ZTE, Ōnoki summoned his three advisors and explained the matter.

After leaving the Tsuchikage's Office, Yichen headed straight for the Land of Water.

Of the Five Great Nations, the Land of Water is the only island nation, consisting of a dozen or so medium-sized islands and countless smaller islands.

The Land of Water's abundant moisture provides the Mist ninja with an ideal environment for practicing Water Release techniques.

This is Yichen's first time visiting the Land of Water. As a ninja whose primary Water Release, Yichen really likes the environment here.

After entering the Land of Water, Yichen changed into the attire of a Mist Ninja Anbu.

Yichen did not rashly contact the Iwa ninja spies in the Land of Water, because according to the messages sent back by the spies, they were unaware that Konoha had already taken action.

Yichen was afraid that his rash contact would expose the spies, and he also felt that the information they had gathered was not comprehensive enough. Therefore, Yichen decided to conduct his own reconnaissance first.

Yichen is not currently concerned about the progress of the negotiations between the Water and Lightning Kingdoms. The Iwa ninja leaders, who have experience negotiating with the Sunagakure, know that if the two countries intend to form an alliance, it is difficult for others to interfere. Yichen is concerned about is Konoha, which wants to hide in the shadows during this incident.

Before understanding Konoha's movements, Yichen did not want to enter the center of the Uzumaki too early.

The rendezvous point between the Land of Water and the Land of Lightning is located on a medium-sized island belonging to the Land of Water. Because intelligence indicates that the level of contact between the two sides is relatively high, and there may be highly skilled individuals or ninjas adept at reconnaissance, Yichen did not go directly to that island, but instead first conducted reconnaissance on the surrounding islands of various sizes.

After visiting only four or five small islands, Yichen noticed something was amiss.

Yichen's original goal was to find traces of the Konoha ninja. Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya would not leave any tracking traces for Yichen, but it was impossible for their subordinates to leave no trace at all.

Therefore, Yichen wanted to search for the movements of Konoha ninja on a small island on the edge of the Land of Water.

However, Yichen didn't encounter any Konoha ninja, but he did encounter Mist ninja.

This is the Land of Water, so encountering Mist ninja is fine, but encountering a large Mist ninja force is not normal.