Konoha's Joint Chunin Exams

The least surprised by Akatsuki Organization's actions were their neighbors Sunagakure. The Fourth Kazekage Rasa, had long known Nagato and Yahiko's strength. Putting himself in their shoes, he realized that if he were the leader of Akatsuki Organization, he would eventually return to the Land of Rain.

However, Rasa was still worried about the close relationship between the Akatsuki Organization and the Iwa ninja. The Iwa ninja were indeed powerful enough to make people wary.

But to say he was afraid wouldn't be an exaggeration; the living conditions in the Land of Wind were too harsh. Precisely because of these harsh conditions, Rasa didn't believe the Akatsuki Organization would take action against the Land of Wind.

It's worth noting that the Land of Rivers, where the Akatsuki Organization is based, is an ally of the Land of Wind, although Rasa has never taken this alliance seriously.

As for the invitation from Konoha to participate in the Joint Chunin Exams, Rasa scoffed at it. Rasa's perspective on the Ninja World was completely different from Konoha's. Konoha saw the rise of Iwa ninja had the best chance of challenging its dominant position.

But Rasa didn't see it that way. What Rasa saw was that the Iwa ninja were drawing Konoha's attention and acting as the scapegoats, while the Sunagakure were developing their strength in the shadows.

Although the Sunagakure may seem weak now, a closer look reveals that they have Three Kage-level Sunagakure, making them no less powerful than the Iwa ninja. Moreover, Ryosuke, the Puppet Master who participated in the Chunin Ninja Exams Iwagakure and defeated Ryosuke Iwa ninja to take first place, has now become Elite Jonin under Rasa's intensive training.

Such a young Elite Jonin, his future is limitless. Moreover, Rasa also handed over the Third Kazekage Puppet to Ryosuke. Although Ryosuke cannot fully utilize the puppet's power yet, Rasa said there's no rush. In a few years, when the conflict between Konoha and Iwa ninja breaks out, Ryosuke's strength will probably improve even further.

Moreover, although the Sunagakure were tricked by Danzo's poisonous insects, it also helped Rasa eliminate his rivals. Now, Rasa is a true Kazekage has the final say.

Besides, his descendants seem to be quite talented as well. Karura's first child with him was his daughter Temari, Temari already quite gifted.

Although the second son Kankuro, is less talented, he could become Puppet Master and Ryosuke; there's no doubt he could achieve something great.

His third son, Gaara, who had just been born, was exceptionally talented. Rasa was considering whether to make this son the One-Tail Jinchuriki.

Indeed, having more children can improve the village's strength. It's a pity that Karura died in childbirth while giving birth to Gaara. Otherwise, she could have had a few more.

Rasa is now emulating the Iwa ninja of yesteryear, watching the Ninja World fight amongst themselves while reaping the benefits.

However, they still had to participate in the Joint Chunin Exams held by Konoha, making Konoha feel that it wasn't a big deal that they had fallen into their trap, which would only lull the enemy into a false sense of security.

The Akatsuki Organization from the Land of Rivers conquered the Land of Rain, which made the Fourth Raikage itchy to get involved, but unfortunately, his own country was too far away.

If the Yugakure were to conquer the ninja villages of the Land of the Moon, then the Fourth Raikage could openly launch an invasion under the pretext of restoring the Land of the Moon.

"What a pity." The Fourth Raikage sighed, cursing Rasa inwardly for being useless and not knowing how to seize such an opportunity.

As for Konoha also holding Joint Chunin Exams?

The Fourth Raikage didn't even glance at the wording of the invitation, completely ignoring it. Whether to attend or not was entirely up to him; why bother replying to something like this, why give Konoha time to prepare?

The Akatsuki Organization originated from the Land of Rain, so when they returned to the Land of Rain this time, the other countries didn't say much. Because of mutual fear, no one stood up to seek justice for the dead Hanzo.

Konoha didn't receive a reply from the Cloud ninja, but unexpectedly received a letter from the Iwa ninja, who expressed their desire to participate in the Joint Chunin Exams held by Konoha.

Konoha was caught in a dilemma: refusing the Iwa ninja's actions was bad, but agreeing to them was equally problematic.

Strictly speaking, Iwa ninja and Konoha are still in a state of peace as established during the Third Shinobi War. Iwa ninja did not formally engage in combat with Konoha during the Fourth Shinobi War, and therefore did not break the peace treaty.

Therefore, Konoha couldn't refuse Iwa ninja's request to participate Chunin Ninja Exams the Chunin Exams. At the same time, another village in the Land of Rivers, Konoha, also proposed to participate in the Chunin Exams. That's right, Yahiko established a new village in the Land of Rivers, and the village was named Akatsuki.

Yahiko directly revoked the ninja qualifications of the original ninjas of River Ninja Village and sent them back to farming. Yahiko planned to search for children throughout the Land of Rivers and educate and train them to become true members of Dawn Ninja Village.

As for Nagato, after disbanding Amegakure, he did not establish a new ninja village. He felt that one Dawn Ninja Village was enough. He established the Dark Akatsuki Organization and began recruiting missing-nin like Juzo Biwa.

Some of the former River Ninja Village members who were dismissed by Yahiko, as well as some of the former Amegakure members, were recruited into the Dark Akatsuki Organization by Nagato, serving as peripheral members of the organization.

In Yichen's view, the situation in the Ninja World is now different from when he first transmigrated here.

When I first transmigrated here, the Ninja World One Superpower, Many Strong, with Konoha's strength far surpassing that of any major country.

Now it's a battle among multiple powers, and no single country, including Konoha, can completely overwhelm any other major power.

However, among these vying powers, the Land of Fire still possesses the strongest overall strength, and Konoha also has the greatest potential.

Following the Land of Fire are the three great nations home to the Three Great Ninja Villages of Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kumogakure. These three nations are in the second tier; they are not fundamentally different from the Land of Fire, but their overall strength is considerably weaker.

Next are the Land of Water, where Kirigakure is located, and the Land of Rivers, where Dawn Ninja Village is located, plus the Land of Rain. The former lacks top-tier strength, while the latter only has top-tier strength to offer.

These are the major powers that can be considered among the top forces in the Ninja World.

One awkward aspect of a multi-power rivalry is that each side is wary of the others and dares not risk everything to fight one side to the death.

Therefore, although Konoha's strength has declined significantly, the situation in the Ninja World has actually become more peaceful. This was the situation in the Ninja World after the First Ninja World War, and a considerable period of peace was maintained at that time.

It was under these calm circumstances that the Konoha High-ranking officials decided to resort to political means in an attempt to buy time for themselves to recover their strength.

Yichen finally returned to Iwagakure with his disciples. This trip to Amegakure didn't yield much for Yichen himself; he only managed to use Sage Mode once and Light Release once in actual combat.

However, Yichen's disciples all gained a lot. Most importantly, they all witnessed a battle between the top ninjas in the Ninja World.

With such a clear goal, Yichen believed that everyone's enthusiasm for cultivation would increase significantly, and they would also have a more concrete plan for their future.

Kanako, Uchiyama Takuhiro, and Kawakita all benefited directly from the experience, making progress in their respective areas of expertise. However, the most significant improvement was not seen in Kanako or Uchiyama Takuhiro, who received hands-on guidance from their teacher, but rather in Kawakita.

Yichen could tell that the Kawakita had gained a lot and urgently needed time to digest their insights.

Next up are the six kids who just graduated. Whether it's the three from Team Five Yichen the three from Deidara, they have all successfully changed their mindset and, at least in terms of mentality, have truly become ninjas.

After returning to Iwagakure, Yichen first sent a letter to Konoha, indicating that the Iwa ninja would also participate in the Joint Chunin Exams.

Yichen simply didn't want the Konoha High-ranking officials to be comfortable, even if it meant causing them trouble, he still sent a few Genin squads to join in the fun.

However, the matter of writing a letter to Konoha reminded Yichen of Sokai Uchiha.

So, with the letter that Fugaku asked him to deliver to Sokai Uchiha, Yichen found Uchiha Sakae, who had just finished school at the Ninja Academy and was on his way home (to Ōnoki's house) to play with Sokai Uchiha Yuki Haku.

"Liangtiancheng Zhongxing!" Yichen shouted to Sokai Uchiha from afar.

Upon hearing Yichen's call, Sokai subconsciously turned his head. When he saw that it was Yichen, the Fourth Tsuchikage, he snorted but didn't stop, continuing to run towards home.

Yichen didn't care and Body Flicker Technique caught up with him. "Liangtiancheng Zhongxing, what are you doing running so fast?"

"Hmph, my name is Sokai Uchiha." Sokai didn't answer, but emphasized his real name.

Not many people know his name, and he had promised not to reveal it, which made him feel somewhat uncomfortable. What bothered him even more was that he seemed to have come to accept the name Liangtiancheng Zhongxing, because it was under that name that he made many friends.

Yichen followed Sokai's footsteps while chatting with him casually.

Soon, the two arrived at Ōnoki's house.

Yichen doesn't come here often, but everyone here knows him. When Yichen arrived, Ōnoki's family members all bowed to Yichen. Although they were curious as to why Yichen was returning with Young Master Zhongxing, they wisely refrained from asking.

Yichen waved his hand and asked, "Is Captain Purple Lightning home?"

A housekeeper came over and told Yichen that Purple Lightning wasn't there; she had gone out for postpartum recovery training.

Yichen asked again, "Where's Xiao Kurotsuchi?"

Kurotsuchi is the daughter of Kitsuchi and Purple Lightning. It's quite a surprise that a little girl was named Ōnoki by Kurotsuchi. Yichen was speechless.

No sooner had Yichen finished speaking than a little boy ran out carrying a baby girl.

The person who arrived was Yuki Haku, or as he's called now for Tensai White. The baby girl he was holding was Kurotsuchi.

Behind the two followed Deidara, who looked displeased. He had also come to see Ōnoki, hoping to learn some powerful techniques, but Ōnoki was working at Tsuchikage.

Yichen glanced at Yuki Haku a few more times; she did indeed look like a girl.

"Deidara, you go play with Haku and Kurotsuchi for a while. I'm going to chat with Zhongxing for a bit," Yichen instructed Deidara.

"Hmph." Deidara was a little unhappy. He wasn't there to take care of children, but he dared not disobey Yichen. He still remembered how Yichen looked when he was angry.

Whether it was the unstoppable Light Release or the dazzling Five-Attribute Sage Jutsu, both were extremely terrifying to Deidara. So Deidara's body obediently took Haku and Kurotsuchi with him, leaving behind Sokai, who was equally displeased.

Yichen led Sokai to a relatively open space. The two sat down, and after a while, Yichen said, "Sokai Uchiha, do you still remember the promise we made back then?"

"Hmph." Sokai remained silent. Of course he remembered the agreement, but now it seemed he was going to lose the bet.

Back then, Yichen and Sokai made a deal: if the Fourth Hokage was from the Uchiha Clan, or if the Uchiha Clan moved back to the center of Konoha before Sokai graduated, then Yichen would lose.

However, the Fourth Hokage was the Yellow Flash, and the Fifth Hokage was Tsunade, neither of whom had anything to do with the Uchiha. And the Uchiha Clan is still relegated to the fringes of Konoha.

Seeing that Yichen remained silent, Sokai assumed that Yichen was mocking him, so he stubbornly said, "I haven't graduated yet, and our bet hasn't expired."