Promotion

Yichen felt a little guilty and gave Ikura a wink. However, Ikura remained unmoved.

Seeing this, Yichen knew that the Advisor Group wouldn't speak up, so he said, "Third Hokage, I received a message from the Akatsuki Organization. They plan to recruit Konoha, an S-rank missing-nin Orochimaru from Konoha. Nagato hopes I can cooperate with them."

Ōnoki and the others exchanged glances, held back, and remained silent, just staring at Yichen.

They've said what they needed to say, and I believe Yichen understands. Since Yichen still wants to go, Yichen needs to give a sufficiently convincing reason.

"Ahem, I also want to find Orochimaru. Before his defection, Orochimaru was the strongest contender for Hokage in Konoha, and he was also a student of the Third Hokage."

"For a long time, Orochimaru was Hiruzen Sarutobi's designated successor. His status was similar to mine and Ikura's before, well, maybe even higher."

"Orochimaru has a high chance of having come into contact with Konoha's Scroll of Seals. Given Orochimaru's greed and Hiruzen Sarutobi's selfishness, Orochimaru might have even read the entire Scroll of Seals."

"I want to make a deal with Orochimaru."

Yichen did not disclose the details of the transaction, but Ōnoki and the others believed that Yichen would not harm the village's interests.

Finally, Ōnoki sighed and said, "Go, go, but be Mind's Eye. Every Kage Level is not to be underestimated. Don't think that just because you participated in the killing of Jiraiya and Hanzo, you can look down on the strong ninjas of the Ninja World."

Yichen nodded quickly, surprised that he had obtained Ōnoki's agreement so easily. Then Yichen turned his attention to the others.

Saka, Mei, Ikura all nodded helplessly.

In fact, Ōnoki and the others were quite conflicted. Every time Yichen went out, he gained something, and it could be said that the Iwa ninja grew stronger through these gains.

Although Yichen is often injured, Ōnoki and the others hope that Yichen can bring back more benefits for the village.

However, Yichen, the Tsuchikage, is not very proactive in handling official duties. What used to be the work of five people now has to be done by the four of them.

Although Yichen increased the number of Tsuchikage Assistant, this did not reduce their workload.

Thinking of this, Ikura Yichen said, who was eager to end the meeting, "Yichen, have you considered expanding the size of the Advisor Group?"

Yichen was taken aback. He glanced around and saw that no one else seemed surprised, so he knew they must have discussed it beforehand.

If the Third Hokage had reached a consensus with the Advisor Group before the Kage, he would have been on high alert immediately. But Yichen didn't care; in fact, this situation was one that Yichen himself had created.

After Yichen took over, the Third Tsuchikage's Aide still made most of the decisions on major village affairs. The Advisor Group was responsible for making the decisions on minor village affairs.

Yichen, the Tsuchikage, is less effective than a puppet leader. However, Yichen's ambition lies not in power, so he has been trying to delegate authority.

After thinking for a moment, Yichen said, "That's a good idea. It's just that choosing the right person is difficult. Originally, I should have chosen a ninja of our generation, but even Kawakita has grown up. Choosing an advisor at this point seems inappropriate."

That's the truth. Many people don't care about seniority, thinking that considering seniority is too old-fashioned. But seniority implicitly represents authority.

If Kawakita hadn't suddenly become a quasi-Kage, it wouldn't have been bad to Elite Jonin from among Yichen's contemporaries.

For example, Yichen's classmates from back then, Tana and Mubuki, are now Elite Jonin. Their self-confidence and the recognition they receive from others are quite high.

Because those stronger than them are not as young, the village needs to consider the future when selecting advisors, so those veteran powerhouses have no objections.

Those younger than them are not as strong, so there's not much to say about them.

However, now that Kawakita's strength has surpassed that of these predecessors, in the eyes of the other villagers, Tana and Mubuki are no longer qualified. As a result, Tana and Mubuki's orders may not be carried out seriously.

Yichen Ikura talking about, and he said, "Then let's choose from the younger ones."

"Huh?" Yichen was somewhat surprised, then tentatively asked, "You mean to make ninjas from Kawakita or even younger than Kawakita serve as advisors?"

Yichen hesitated. As a transmigrator, he was precocious and had nothing wrong with being an advisor at such a young age.

In addition, the village's traditions had been somewhat interrupted at the time, Ōnoki was grooming him and Ikura as his successors. Therefore, the two entered the Advisor Group at a young age, and at that time, Ōnoki and others believed that promoting the two was mainly for their training.

However, Yichen is still young. Under normal circumstances, Kawakita would not be the successor. Kawakita and Yichen are only a few years apart in age. If Yichen gets old, Kawakita will be close to retiring. Therefore, it would be inappropriate to have Kawakita join the Advisor Group.

This is similar to the White Fang of Konoha back then. The White Fang White Fang was too old, and in the eyes of Hiruzen Sarutobi and others, he was not considered a successor.

However, Yichen was unaware that Ōnoki and the others were worried that Yichen might wander off one day and never return.

If Kawakita, as Yichen's disciple, performs well, he might be a more suitable successor to Yichen than Ikura, and would be better able to stabilize morale.

Seeing the calm expressions on Ōnoki's and the others' faces, Yichen, though puzzled, still asked, "Alright then, who are your specific choices?"

Ikura said, "Kawakita and Tomoko."

"Tomoko?" Yichen asked, puzzled.

It's normal for Kawakita to be selected. Kawakita has already been approved for filming, and Yichen can imagine that he should be given a suitable position and treatment.

But there are Tomoko in the village who are younger, more talented, and stronger than Tomoko.

For example, Wada Akio Wada Akio became Elite Jonin earlier than Tomoko, and was two years younger than Tomoko. In addition, Wada Akio's combat ability far exceeded that of Tomoko; Wada Akio was a well-rounded fighter with almost no weaknesses.

Yichen directly voiced his doubts.

Mei explained, "Tomoko has three advantages. First, she's famous, influential, and has a very positive image. Despite her average talent, she can serve as a role model for the large number of Civilian Ninja in the village. Furthermore, she's taking on apprentices; while she may not be as skilled as you in training them, she's just as popular."

Yichen nodded; he knew this, and it was Tomoko's greatest advantage.

"Second," Ming An continued, "Tomoko is your disciple."

The status of a Kage's disciple is naturally one level higher than that of others; this is an unspoken rule in the Ninja World that applies everywhere.

Furthermore, having a disciple of the Shadow as an advisor would enhance the Shadow's authority. Also, the Shadow's disciples are more familiar with the Shadow, making cooperation easier. Not to mention, Tomoko had previously served as Yichen's assistant.

Ming didn't give Yichen much time to think, and continued, "Third, Tomoko is a woman."

Yichen was still thinking of the second reason when he heard this. He was suddenly stunned, and then quickly realized, "Yes, Tomoko is a woman. That is indeed very important."

First, since female ninjas make up at least a third of the village, we must show everyone female ninjas who can serve as role models.

The role model was Ming before, and will be Tomoko in the future.

Then, ninjas are also human, and there are many things that women do need to handle. From a humanitarian perspective, it is indeed necessary to have women in the Advisor Group.

Yichen acted decisively, saying, "Then it's settled. There's no time like the present, so let's call them over now and have them advance."

Ōnoki and the others exchanged glances but did not object. It was clear that Yichen wanted to finish things before leaving the village to go on his adventures, and they were willing to cooperate.

Both Kawakita and Tomoko had just been promoted to the next level and hadn't even left the village yet. After receiving the notification, they quickly arrived at the Tsuchikage's Office.

Yichen had seats arranged for them and then announced the decision to appoint them as advisors.

Of course, this appointment still needs to be officially stamped, but that's just a formality.

Both Kawakita felt somewhat uncomfortable with the appointment, but Yichen offered no explanation and left Iwagakure immediately after the appointment was made.

Orochimaru has not established a ninja village in the Land of Whirlpools, at least not publicly yet, so Yichen and the others are unsure of Orochimaru's whereabouts.

Finding Orochimaru's whereabouts is not easy, and Yichen is not sure how long it will take to leave the village, so he also brought Uzumaki Riori and the other two along.

Yichen led the three of them on a journey to the Land of Whirlpools while cultivating. This time, Yichen didn't even bother looking for a mission outside the village; he directly took a mission from the Intelligence Department to deliver intelligence to the Land of Whirlpools.

The mission is simple: retrieve the intelligence information left by the intelligence ninja at a designated location in the Land of Whirlpools.

Therefore, the four of them were not burdened by caravans along the way, and could concentrate on their cultivation.

Yichen simply changed everyone's daytime physical training to long-distance marches, thus solving the problem of getting there.

And so, traveling by day and practicing and resting by night, Yichen and the others left the Land of Earth at a leisurely pace, passing through the Land of the Falls, the Land of Iron, and the Land of Sound, finally arriving at the Land of Hot Water.

Besides these medium-sized countries, the journey also passed through many small countries that were not even marked on the Ninja World map.

The three disciples, following Yichen, experienced the customs and cultures of many other countries, and also had some friendly and unfriendly exchanges with ninjas from other ninja villages.

Since one of the main purposes of this trip was to train his three disciples, Yichen did not shy away from conflicts with Yichen from other countries. In particular, he would often encourage his three young disciples to cause trouble when dealing with teams like his Yichen that brought along newly graduated Genin on missions.

Anyway, with Uzumaki Riori being so thick-skinned, Yichen's provocations always managed to achieve the desired effect.

Of course, Yichen used the Transformation Jutsu; otherwise, it wouldn't be good if people knew that the Fourth Tsuchikage had suddenly appeared on another country's territory and were seen as a provocation.

As the number of battles the three engaged in with other peers gradually increased, Yichen noticed that their potential was finally beginning to emerge.

Ishinose Kiyoshi's Water Release Ninjutsu became more and more proficient, and the timing of his attacks became increasingly accurate.

Uzumaki Riori gradually learned how to utilize the unique physical advantages of the Uzumaki Clan. As long as they weren't killed or crippled, members of the Uzumaki Clan could always stand up again.

After each battle, Uzumaki Riori's control over Chakra improved more and more.

Atsumi Akino's progress hasn't been very noticeable; she's barely won so far, with her best result being a draw. However, her mindset is gradually adjusting.

A smart person knows to adapt to changes in the environment, and she kept forcing herself to fit the identity of a ninja, even though her skills were not yet those of a qualified ninja.

That evening, Uzumaki Riori, who had just been in a battle, was having Atsumi Akino apply medicine to her wounds. As a close-combat ninja with few fighting skills, she was, as usual, beaten black and blue.

Although the physique of the Uzumaki Clan allows her to recover quickly, the pain will not be insignificant.

Looking at the grimacing Uzumaki Riori, Yichen asked, "Riori, try the Shadow Clone Jutsu. You've improved a bit today; maybe you'll succeed this time."

"Hmm," Uzumaki Riori stood up nimbly, Hand Seals while shouting, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

The little girl loathed Chakra Control training and Ninjutsu practice. The reason she was so quick this time was because she felt she was almost there and could finally end these painful days.

As for why she shouted it out loud, it was because she always felt that shouting it out would increase her chances of success and also allow her to vent her upset emotions. So Yichen didn't stop her.

"Bang!" A Shadow Clone that looked exactly like Uzumaki Riori appeared. The two looked at each other, and then, without any regard for the presence of Yichen and the other two, they started chatting happily.

After a long while, finally remembering that Yichen and the other two were still waiting for her, Uzumaki Riori turned around stupidly and awkwardly scratched her head and smiled at them.

"Sigh, Riori," Yichen said, "You did well, so I'll give you a gift as a reward." He then took out a scroll he had prepared beforehand from his Ninja Tool Bag and said softly, "This is my and your senior brothers' and sisters' insights on Water Walking training. Water Walking training can improve Chakra control, so study it well."

Uzumaki Riori's smile gradually faded, and then she silently walked to Atsumi Akino's side, holding the scroll, and sat down without saying a word.