Reason

Although the two were not speaking loudly, Yichen was paying attention and naturally heard what they were saying clearly.

"So this Wada Akio still harbors some resentment about me not taking him as a disciple two years ago!" Yichen thought to himself.

As a high-ranking member of the village, Yichen naturally paid attention to the younger generation who had the potential to grow into Elite Jonin. Wada Akio was on their list of potential candidates. This attention was similar to that of Ōnoki and Saka and others had previously been optimistic about Yichen and Ikura.

At the time, their performance gave the higher-ups the impression that they had the potential to become Kage Level, although the possibility was slim, it was enough to attract the attention of the higher-ups.

Like Wada Akio back then, Yichen has also been listed as a key target of attention by the higher-ups. The difference is that Yichen was the one who was being watched back then, and now he is the one who is watching others.

Yichen had originally thought that Wada Akio would participate in the Chunin Assessment last year, but he didn't expect him to wait until this year. And judging from his demeanor, was the reason he waited until this year still because of him?

Ideological problems must be corrected; this is the responsibility of those in higher positions. To be honest, since becoming a high-ranking official, I've only used the Will of Stone to brainwash Han Five-Tails Jinchuriki; I haven't tried it on anyone else yet.

Yichen's thoughts were naturally imperceptible to the two people in Zone 5. The two classmates, whose strengths were vastly different during their time at the Ninja Academy, had begun a formal contest.

The two had a good understanding and didn't start with all sorts of strange and unusual moves, but instead began sparring with the simplest Taijutsu.

From Taijutsu to throwing hidden weapons, and then to Ninjutsu, the two took turns using all the common fighting methods used by ninjas.

Wada Akio is indeed formidable. He completely suppressed Uchiyama Takuhiro, who was exceptionally strong in Team Three and Team Four, from beginning to end.

It was clear that Uchiyama Takuhiro had used all his strength, but Wada Akio still had some energy left. Whether it was Taijutsu, hidden weapons, or Ninjutsu, Uchiyama Takuhiro was no match for him. Whenever he felt he couldn't hold on any longer, he would change his tactics.

However, Wada Akio changed his fighting style to match Uchiyama Takuhiro's rhythm. If you use Taijutsu, I'll use Taijutsu; if you use hidden weapons, I'll use hidden weapons; if you use Ninjutsu, I'll use Ninjutsu. He wanted to defeat Uchiyama Takuhiro from every angle and make Yichen see the gap between him and Uchiyama Takuhiro.

As the match progressed, beads of sweat began to appear on Uchiyama Takuhiro. He was too strong; Wada Akio had almost completely overwhelmed him. He had only ever experienced this feeling with his teacher, Yichen. Apart from that, Chunin or Jonin he encountered on missions on the front lines had ever put him under such pressure.

Because Yichen didn't provide much directional guidance to Uchiyama Takuhiro the first two years, focusing instead on the fundamentals, Uchiyama Takuhiro is one of the few all-around ninjas among Yichen's disciples.

Therefore, Uchiyama Takuhiro is often able to find his opponent's weaknesses and attack them effectively during battle. But today, Uchiyama Takuhiro has encountered a hexagonal warrior just like him, and this hexagonal warrior is superior to him in every aspect.

Suddenly, Uchiyama Takuhiro realized that his old style of fighting against overwhelming odds was no longer viable. All he could do was passively defend himself.

In fact, Uchiyama Takuhiro felt that he had to thank Yichen for his guidance over the past month or so. During this time, he not only learned the Light-Weight Rock Technique, an A-rank Ninjutsu, but his greatest gain was actually an understanding of gravity.

It was precisely because of his mastery of gravity that he was able to barely hold on in battles involving Taijutsu, hidden weapons, and Ninjutsu, giving himself a brief respite and the ability to change tactics to persevere.

However, under duress, Uchiyama Takuhiro eventually used the Light-Weight Rock Technique to fly into the air.

Looking at Uchiyama Takuhiro, who was panting heavily in mid-air, Wada Akio frowned. He could defeat Uchiyama Takuhiro on the ground, but he didn't have any good ways to deal with aerial targets. If Uchiyama Takuhiro was determined not to come down, then the two of them could only be considered to have reached a draw, which was not something Wada Akio could accept.

Wada Akio then began to unleash a wide-range B-rank Ninjutsu, but Uchiyama Takuhiro, who was prepared, had already escaped to a higher altitude before the Ninjutsu could reach him.

Therefore, the match had to end.

However, upon landing, Uchiyama Takuhiro said, "I lost. If you hadn't given me the opportunity to use other methods from the beginning, I would have lost long ago."

This is the truth. During the Taijutsu phase, the use of gravity allowed Uchiyama Takuhiro to dodge Wada Akio's attacks several times. However, in the clash of Ninjutsu, Wada Akio held back, waiting for Uchiyama Takuhiro 'Wada Akio Trump Card. But Wada Akio didn't expect to be met with a Flying Ninjutsu.

Taking a deep breath, Wada Akio accepted reality and said, "A draw is a draw. I don't need charity." After saying that, he glanced unwillingly at Yichen on the high platform in the distance, then turned around and walked towards the stands.

Uchiyama Takuhiro didn't know what to say, so he could only silently follow behind him. It wasn't that he hadn't considered keeping the Light-Weight Rock Technique his Trump Card, but that would only be an insult to Wada Akio. As a classmate, Uchiyama Takuhiro understood Wada Akio's arrogance.

Before the two could return to the stands, Tomoko appeared in front of them.

She first smiled at Uchiyama Takuhiro, then said to Tomoko Wada Akio, "Your name is Wada Akio, right? Teacher Yichen heard your conversation with Takuhiro just now, and he has something to say to you. If you want to hear it, come with me now." After saying that, Tomoko turned and walked towards the examiners' platform.

Wada Akio was taken aback, then immediately nodded and followed Tomoko. Uchiyama Takuhiro also very curious and followed. Not only was Wada Akio curious about Yichen's method of selecting disciples, Uchiyama Takuhiro was just as puzzled and eager to know the answer.

Soon, Wada Akio and Uchiyama Takuhiro followed Tomoko to the high platform where Yichen was. However, Tomoko did not go up, but simply gestured for Wada Akio to go up the platform alone.

Wada Akio swallowed hard. He had originally thought that Yichen would come down or send a clone to explain to him. But Yichen directly told him to go to the high platform to talk. You should know that Yichen's current position is the most conspicuous position in the entire venue. This is the best position for the Chief Examiner to control the situation, and naturally, it is also the focus of the entire venue.

But Wada Akio did not back down. With a few leaps, he reached the high platform and came behind Yichen.

Just as Wada Akio was about to speak after walking behind Yichen cut him off with his words before he could even utter a sound.

"Come here, stand next to me, let's watch the other candidates' competitions together first."

Although he didn't understand Yichen's reasons for doing so, Wada Akio did as he was told. The two stood side by side on the high platform, looking down at the candidates' competition below.

Instead of directly telling Wada Akio the reason, Yichen began to comment on the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate.

Wada Akio's strength far surpassed that of the candidates competing below. Although he didn't see things as clearly as Yichen, he could still make a general judgment. So after the initial shock, he caught up with Yichen's pace and listened carefully.

Wada Akio's ascent to the platform naturally attracted the attention of others, and soon, both examinees and spectators turned their gazes toward him.

Everyone started whispering about Yichen and Wada Akio, wondering what the two were doing.

During this process, Yichen's disciple Katsuya also participated in a round of competition.

Katsuya's performance was not good. Although he won, it was a close call. He was constantly dodging his opponent's attacks, and the way he won in the end was not exactly honorable.

Seizing the opportunity Katsuya used Genjutsu to disrupt his opponent's judgment, and then threw a Kunai passed through the opponent's obstruction and successfully struck him.

Of course, in the end, the Kunai deflected by Yichen's move, Myriad Banshō Ten'in, and failed to injure its opponent.

After the two went down, Yichen said to Wada Akio, "I just found out that you've been trying to figure out my criteria for accepting disciples."

Yichen Wada Akio immediately perked up and listened attentively.

"My disciple just now was named Katsuya. He was in the same class as you. You should know how talented he is. Of course, his strength is still far inferior to yours, but he has already made great progress."

"What I want to say is not how great my students are; I just want to tell you that the path they've taken is unique."

"Katsuya is a ninja who specializes in Genjutsu, but there are very few Genjutsu to learn in Iwagakure, so there's nothing for him to learn from. If he's left to develop unchecked, his future will only be that of a Genin, provided, of course, that he successfully graduated from the Ninja Academy two years ago."

"But as you saw from what he just did, his opponent wasn't weak among this year's examinees, yet he still fell for Katsuya's Genjutsu. Did you know that he developed this Genjutsu himself? He was walking a path that no one in the village had ever walked before."

"He can't go far on this road alone; he'll need someone to help him. But if he succeeds, the entire village will ultimately benefit."

"I'm the one who helped him. But I'm not just helping Katsuya; I'm helping the village's future ninja."

At this point, Yichen paused, allowing Wada Akio to process what he had just said, before continuing his explanation.

"You're a genius. Even without my guidance, you can become an excellent ninja. But Katsuya won't do," Yichen turned and pointed to Tomoko watching them below, "She won't do it either."

"Besides them, many of my disciples are in the same situation. Without me, most of them would only be Chunin in the future, and some might even be Genin. My choice is not to make a Jonin even better, but to give Genin the opportunity to become Jonin."

Upon hearing this, Wada Akio understood somewhat about Yichen's criteria for choosing disciples, but he was still somewhat unconvinced. He believed that if he had also received guidance from an excellent teacher like Yichen, his achievements would have been even greater.

Yichen didn't look at him and continued, "Today, we're watching these people's competition together. How do you feel if you're in your own position? How do you feel if you look at it from the village's perspective? Watch these competitions carefully and think about it."

Wada Akio seemed lost in thought, gazing absently at the competition below.

Just then, another disciple of Yichen, Yoshimura Kazumasa, entered the arena. Yoshimura Kazumasa's performance was far more impressive than Sheng's Katsuya. For no other reason than his mastery of One-handed Hand Seals and various fancy Hand Seals, which completely stumped his opponent as soon as he appeared.

"You weren't cheating, were you?" Yichen guessed that this was probably what Yoshimura Kazumasa's opponents were thinking right now.

Although Yoshimura Kazumasa didn't have much Chakra, he easily won thanks to the huge advantage he gained from quickly Hand Seals and One-handed Hand Seals.

This kind of competition is limited by the venue, and ninjas are not easy to dodge Ninjutsu attacks. Yoshimura Kazumasa's ability to unleash a burst of Ninjutsu in a short time is too terrifying. Among the Genin who participated in the competition this year, very few could withstand it.

"Um?"

"Huh?"

Yichen and Tomoko both exclaimed in surprise almost simultaneously.

Yichen looked at Wada Akio beside him, while Tomoko looked at Uchiyama Takuhiro was listening to Yichen's explanation with her.

Almost simultaneously, the two classmates completed their transformation into Jonin.

Yichen was somewhat surprised, both by Wada Akio and by Uchiyama Takuhiro. He thought to himself, "I'm transmitting the Will of Stone to someone else, what are you meddling in for?"

Tomoko was speechless. As Yichen's earliest student, she knew him best and was familiar with his Yichen. What she found speechless was that Uchiyama Takuhiro, who was also Yichen's disciple, had actually listened to Yichen 'Yichen pretentious words.

Yichen and Tomoko exchanged a glance and began to take care of the person beside them in perfect unison.