Peace

A year later, the new class of the Ninja Academy students will graduate, and Yichen, who has rested for a year, plans to take on apprentices again.

However, there is still one thing facing Yichen now, and that is the competition for the Fourth Tsuchikage.

To discuss the competition for the Fourth Tsuchikage, we must first look at the current situation in the Ninja World.

Throughout the year, since no further conflicts broke out, the Ninja Army that had been stationed at the border had long since been disbanded.

After many years, the Ninja World has returned to peace, and all nations are making every effort to restore their strength.

Because of peace, many powerful ninjas who previously had no time to take care of their families decided to take this opportunity to leave their bloodlines, resulting in a large number of pregnant women in the Ninja World.

Guang Yichen knew of Yodo's wife Purple Lightning; Minato Namikaze's wife, Kushina Uzumaki; Fugaku Uchiha's wife Mikoto Uchiha; Fourth Kazekage Rasa's wife Karura.

In the original story, these female ninjas, who did not become pregnant at the same time, seem to have made a pact to take advantage of this rare period of peace to become pregnant.

Even Ikura and Uzumaki Yumi were considering taking this opportunity to get married and have children. However, considering that Iwa ninja was facing the transition from the third to the fourth Hokage, they were afraid that something might happen at this time, so they put it aside.

It was precisely because of this rare peace in the Ninja World that Ōnoki decided to take the opportunity to pass the leadership to the Fourth Hokage. He had been busy with political affairs for years and had not had time to train. Now that Iwa ninja successor, Ōnoki also wanted to retire behind the scenes and properly sort out his insights over the years.

At the very least, Ōnoki felt that his Dust Release and Senjutsu still had room for improvement. As for Dust Release, Ōnoki had not yet completely integrated the Dust Release Chakra into himself. As for Senjutsu, Ōnoki felt that it should at least be able to be used in battle, like Yichen, even if it took more preparation time beforehand.

The only concern was the selection of the fourth generation; neither Ōnoki nor the Two Advisors, Mei and Saka, could make up their minds.

In fact, when it comes to contributions to the village and long-term vision, Yichen is naturally the first choice.

Now that Yichen has mastered Senjutsu and even the Bloodline Limit Release: Light Release, choosing Yichen should have been the most suitable option.

However, Yichen has a fatal flaw: he is too reckless. As the Kage of a village, strength and seniority are important, but he should also have the ability to protect himself. Yichen's most embarrassing point is that he is always seriously injured, which makes the higher-ups very worried.

When Yichen was still an advisor, his death in battle would be a blow to the village, but not fatal. However, if the Fourth Tsuchikage died mysteriously shortly after taking office, like the Third Kazekage, it would be a huge blow to the village's morale.

Even a single injury to the Kage of a village is a major incident.

Therefore, the biggest obstacle for Yichen to succeed as the Fourth Tsuchikage was actually his own way of doing things.

The hesitant executives ultimately handed the decision-making power over to Yichen and Ikura, the two individuals involved.

When Yichen and Ikura were simultaneously informed of the higher-ups' decision, they both exchanged bewildered glances. Ikura, in particular, had gradually lost interest in competing for the position of Tsuchikage over the years. Yichen's rise to prominence, even surpassing his own strength, had rendered Ikura's only advantage obsolete.

However, Ōnoki and the others' concerns were not unfounded. So, after exchanging a glance, Ikura and Yichen both remembered a promise they made years ago.

So Yichen spoke up, "Lord Tsuchikage, Ikura and I made a promise back then that if we ever had the chance to compete for the position of the Fourth Tsuchikage, then we would have our disciples have a contest."

Ōnoki was taken aback and asked, "Your disciples? Which of your disciples?"

Ikura only accepted three disciples, so Ōnoki had no questions. But Yichen had too many disciples, which is why Ōnoki asked such a question.

"Of course, it's the three who were in the same cohort as the disciples of Ikura," Yichen said.

Saka said, "So, you're saying that Matsutani Shinya, Ogura Saki, Ikura Takuya represent you, and Nakada Tatsunori, Haraguchi Hampei, Shimoyama Tamaki represent Yichen? You're having the six of them compete?"

Yichen and Ikura nodded simultaneously.

Ōnoki thought for a moment and said, "That's also an option. If the two of you were to fight, and something unexpected happened, the village would suffer a great loss. But it seems that all six of you disciples are already Jonin, right?"

Yichen nodded and said, "Yes, Matsutani Shinya and the other two have been Jonin for several years now."

Ikura also said, "Shimoyama Tamaki Dai followed the Barrier Team's promotion route and is also Jonin. The other two have already advanced."

Ōnoki hesitated for a moment before saying, "A battle of six Jonin? Okay, it's settled then. The competition will be held in ten days, three against three, First Shinobi War to determine the winner."

Ōnoki didn't really approve of the battle Jonin. Jonin weren't cheap commodities, and any injury to any of them would be a loss for Iwagakure. But compared to the two Kage Level, Yichen and Ikura, these were minor issues.

Soon, news spread rapidly throughout Iwagakure: in ten days, Yichen's disciple and Ikura's disciple would compete in a contest to determine who would succeed as the Fourth Tsuchikage.

Suddenly, the entire Iwagakure, and indeed the entire Land of Earth, became bustling with activity.

Everyone started asking where they could buy tickets for the match.

After confirming the identities of Yichen's three disciples participating in the competition, everyone immediately began a detailed analysis of the six individuals' strengths.

Among the onlookers were no shortage of capable individuals, and soon enough that the news spread, fresh information about the six individuals was quickly released. This included their mission records, areas of expertise, graduation dates, when they became Chunin or Jonin, their family backgrounds, personalities, and preferences.

Even in places out of Yichen and the others' sight, gambling dens of all sizes had opened, and people were placing bets in droves.

Many wealthy merchants and high-ranking officials who did not live in Iwagakure began to set off one after another, preparing to come to Iwagakure to participate in this rare event. Even the Tsuchikage said that he would come to watch the battle in person.

The Iwagakure became as lively as if it were New Year's Day. With the increase in visitors, the Iwagakure's income skyrocketed, making Mei, who was in charge of the finances, grin from ear to ear every day.

After the news spread to other countries in the Ninja World, although no one went to Iwa ninja to watch the battle, everyone was speculating about who would be the final victor. The Four Great Nations had all entered the era of the Fourth Hokage, leaving only Iwagakure. Everyone was very curious about who the last Fourth Hokage would be.

While the outside world was in turmoil, in a barbecue restaurant in Iwagakure, Yichen and Ikura were having barbecue with six disciples in a private room.

Yichen and Ikura seemed more relaxed, while the six people who were going to participate in the competition were somewhat nervous.

Matsutani Shinya felt utterly innocent, having inexplicably become the center of everyone's attention.

Now the whole village knows that Matsutani Shinya a lazy and gluttonous ninja. The fact that Matsutani Shinya could become Jonin adds a brilliant chapter to the already illustrious reputation of Master Yichen.

After all, Yichen truly deserves the title of the Fox of Stone for managing to raise such a disobedient child. Everyone automatically imagined countless scenes of Yichen outwitting Matsutani Shinya Matsutani Shinya he didn't want to study.

Nowadays, everyone has a common saying when educating their children, "Never be like Matsutani Shinya, you don't have a master teacher like Master Yichen to guide you."

Seeing Matsutani Shinya's sullen expression, Ogura Saki couldn't help but chuckle. She took a piece of grilled meat and handed it to Matsutani Shinya's ninja cat Little Flower.

Little Flower has now been raised into a ball by Matsutani Shinya, her whole body is round and chubby, and her lazy expression is exactly the same Matsutani Shinya's.

Seeing Little Flower like this, the word that naturally popped into Yichen's mind was: Fat Orange.

"I wonder if Little Flower has seen Dango in the past two years. I wonder what Dango felt when he saw Little Flower, who is even bigger than him," Yichen thought to himself as he ate his barbecue.

However, although Little Flower is huge and looks like just a fat cat, Yichen can sense that the Chakra within its body is very pure. In the past two years, Little Flower has been greatly affected by Natural Energy, and Yichen estimates that in a few more years, Little Flower should be able to try to cultivate Senjutsu.

It's infuriating! Yichen thought about how much effort he had put into cultivating Senjutsu, and yet this fat cat, following its master around, just ate and drank every day, and actually grew up?

Yichen then turned his gaze to Ogura Saki. He hadn't paid attention to this disciple for a long time. It was only when Yichen discussed the fusion of Fenghuo bloodline with Ogura Saki a while ago that he discovered that both of Ogura Saki's attributes had reached the level required for cultivating bloodline.

Ogura Saki's development of the Wind Release far exceeded the minimum standard for fusion bloodline limit.

Yichen still remembers that not long after graduation, Ogura Saki, who hadn't even learned many C-rank Ninjutsu, had incredibly completed the development of her first C-rank Wind Release Ninjutsu.

Over the past year, under Yichen's guidance, Ogura Saki has even been attempting to fuse the attributes of Fenghuo.

As for Takuya, Yichen was the one he trusted the most. Perhaps it was because Takuya hadn't learned much from Yichen in the first place; his growth was mainly based on his own understanding. So, even after leaving Yichen, his growth rate never slowed down.

Yichen had a feeling that Takuya had already reached the limit of the Jonin level. If he were given another opportunity, he could step into the level of Elite Jonin.

Of all Yichen's disciples, it seems that only Kawakita has reached the level of Elite Jonin. The others, including Tomoko and Kajiyamari, are still just Jonin.

Although Yichen didn't know much about Ikura's three disciples, he was generally aware of their situation.

Haraguchi Hampei is the strongest, and his combat power is no weaker than Takuya's. Moreover, because he is skilled in Ninjutsu, and also uses Ninjutsu of multiple attributes, his style is versatile, and his overall strength is even greater than Takuya's.

Haraguchi Hampei inherited Ikura's style, being a disciple Ikura had been training since Genin. His relationship with Ikura was somewhat similar to that of Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya.

However, compared to the others, the other two are much weaker. Nakada Tatsunori is skilled in Earth Release and has a good grasp of it, but Ikura spent far Haraguchi Hampei.

Their relationship was somewhat like that of Yichen and his disciples, much closer than the relationship Squad Leader Jonin and his subordinates, but far less than the master-disciple relationship.

Nakada Tatsunori's talent is not particularly outstanding, so his current strength at the Jonin level is only average and not particularly remarkable.

Finally, there's Shimoyama Tamaki. Yichen knows Shimoyama Tamaki's situation very well. Shimoyama Tamaki has almost abandoned her combat abilities, focusing on researching Sealing Jutsu. Although she has the title of Jonin, her combat strength is not Jonin.

Therefore, the comparison of the two sides is as follows: in terms of overall strength, Yichen's side is stronger; in terms of individual strength, Ikura's side has the advantage.