It Begins
Yichen is very worried. Kakashi has Ninja Dog, and if they track him down by scent, he will definitely be exposed. One Kakashi isn't scary, but if it attracts a large number of Konoha ninja, then Yichen will have to run away.
Using the Light Rock Jutsu would mean exposing his identity. He wouldn't gain any real benefits, and would only be branded as someone who had trespassed into another country's ninja village. Yichen felt it was a terrible loss.
"I was careless. In my emotional state, I actually started eating ramen." Yichen regretted it a little. The smell of ramen couldn't be masked in a short time.
Fortunately, Kakashi is only Jonin at the moment. If it were a more vigilant Elite Jonin who could hold off Yichen and allow other Konoha ninjas to join in, Yichen would really have no choice but to run away.
However, although he wasn't fully exposed yet, Yichen was still in a rather uncomfortable situation. It was daytime, and Konoha was so lively that he couldn't use the Light-Weight Rock Technique to fly.
Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, Yichen ran several streets to a corner, and then, taking advantage of the fact that no one was watching him, quickly changed into a uniform of the Uchiha Police Force.
When Yichen reappeared, no one was surprised by his rapid travel.
Yichen looked at the sky and wondered why Kakashi hadn't given a warning signal.
In reality, Yichen and Kakashi were caught in a dilemma: Yichen was afraid of being exposed and surrounded, leading to a fruitless attack, while Kakashi was afraid that Yichen would go berserk in Konoha and cause too many casualties.
A few minutes later, Yichen finally got away from Ichiraku Ramen. Yichen changed into civilian clothes again, and then, seemingly slowly but actually quickly, moved to a different location.
What if Konoha notices something's wrong and follows the clues from the Police Force he was impersonating?
Meanwhile, Kakashi had just finished giving a report at the Hokage Building. After listening to Kakashi's experience and analysis, Tsunade did not act rashly, but instead summoned the Third Hokage and Two Advisors.
The Third Hokage, with his vast experience, immediately regretted it upon hearing the story; Kakashi was still too young. He only considered the damage Yichen would cause the village if he risked his life. He hadn't considered that Ninja World of Yichen's strength wouldn't easily go all out.
They live not only for themselves, but also for the village. As the Fourth Tsuchikage, Yichen's risky infiltration of Konoha was already quite daring; once his location was exposed, he would definitely choose to retreat immediately.
Therefore, if Kakashi makes a big fuss, Yichen's most likely reaction would be to immediately fly away from Konoha.
However, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't say these things; he couldn't let Kakashi risk the safety of the Konoha to gamble on Yichen's courage. Besides, Kakashi's actions also showed that he was the true inheritor of the Will of Fire.
Thinking of this, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt somewhat gratified.
It's a pity we didn't scare Yichen away. No one knows how much damage such a Kage Level ninja could cause to Konoha if he were Konoha.
Utatane Koharu said, "We need to find a way to let Yichen know that we've guessed his identity. He's now the Kage of a village, after all. He shouldn't act recklessly after knowing his identity has been exposed. After all, he's not alone; he also has a village he needs to protect."
Tsunade nodded; that was the only way.
"Teacher, is it possible to talk to the Tsuchikage and see what he wants?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi actually wanted to kill Yichen more. Iwagakure was developing too fast, and the source of Iwagakure's changes in recent years was Yichen. If he could kill Yichen when he was alone, he could curb Iwa ninja's development momentum.
Incidentally, it would Jiraiya. After Minato Namikaze's death, Hiruzen Sarutobi missed Jiraiya even more.
However, firstly, Yichen's location is currently uncertain; secondly, there are not enough people; and thirdly, there are other hidden dangers in the village. There is really no way to deal with Yichen right now.
Mitokado Homura shared similar thoughts with Tsunade, saying, "With the Tsuchikage's strength, dealing with Kakashi wouldn't be difficult. Besides, Kakashi wasn't in good condition at the time. If he had launched a sneak attack, Kakashi would have been dead."
"But he didn't do that, probably because he was considering the relationship between the two villages. The Fourth Tsuchikage is never reckless; negotiation and trade could indeed solve the problem."
Tsunade and immediately said, "Senior Homura, you arrange this. If you contact the Tsuchikage, as long as his conditions aren't unreasonable, you can agree to them directly."
"Okay, I know what to do," Mitokado Homura said.
After thinking for a moment, Tsunade said to Hiruzen Sarutobi, "Teacher, we've confirmed with the Barrier Team that today's sudden Chakra fluctuation was from the same person as yesterday. Kakashi, through intelligence analysis, guessed that the person was the Tsuchikage."
"So, do you think Orochimaru infiltrated the village?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered for a moment but couldn't reach a conclusion. He could only guess, "Perhaps the Tsuchikage got information through some channel that Orochimaru was coming to Konoha, so he came to join in the fun."
Mitokado Homura thought for a moment and said, "Indeed, this Fourth Tsuchikage has always acted this way. Last time, when the Nine-Tails went berserk, he must have received advance warning, so he threw the Seven-Tails into our village as well."
"Going back further, when we joined forces with the Mist ninja to fight the Third Raikage, he played a similar role."
If Yichen heard these words, he would definitely be very surprised, because it was through this method that he gradually increased the strength and foundation of Iwagakure.
Indeed, your enemy is always the one who understands you best. Just as Yi Chen was familiar with Konoha's plans, Konoha also spent a lot of resources and energy analyzing intelligence about Yi Chen.
That afternoon, when Yichen was strolling around disguised as Konoha again, he heard the news.
"Have you heard? The Fourth Tsuchikage wants to negotiate with us and conduct some secret transactions. He's also sent an envoy."
"Weren't they the Cloud Ninja envoy? Why are Iwa ninja?"
"The Cloud Ninja envoy is the Cloud Ninja envoy; they've been in Konoha for quite some time. The Iwa ninja delegation is still on their way; they're said to have already entered the Land of Fire."
Throughout the afternoon, Yichen heard this discussion more than once, and sometimes he even pretended to be curious and joined in the discussion himself.
From these messages, Yichen knew that his identity had been exposed.
"This is troublesome. If our identities are exposed, it won't be worth it to kill Hyuga Hiashi."
As Yichen strolled around, he pondered a solution. He didn't want to give up Neji Hyuga, but it wasn't worth turning against Konoha for the sake of Neji Hyuga; the village advisors wouldn't agree to it either.
"Sigh, let's see what the Cloud ninja and Orochimaru can do first."
Yichen ignored Konoha's goodwill. They were unsure of his position, so they wanted to make a deal with him. Once they were certain and confident in dealing with him, Yichen felt that Konoha High-ranking officials wouldn't hesitate.
"Let's wait and see, and wait for Orochimaru and the others to make the first move. Anyway, my goals are different from theirs, and whether they succeed or not, it won't affect Neji." Yichen made up his mind.
Having made his decision, Yichen continued his aimless wandering.
"The confidence of the Konoha has always influenced the Konoha ninja, making them more determined, which has inadvertently improved their strength. The fact that Konoha ninja are generally slightly stronger than those from other Great Ninja Village may be partly due to this."
"Conversely, the powerful Konoha ninja bring a sense of security and pride to the Konoha. This is a two-way positive feedback loop; the two complement and promote each other, together creating the atmosphere of Konoha today."
Now Yichen somewhat understands why Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tsunade took the Joint Chunin Exams so seriously. Their willingness to cheat in the preliminary Preliminaries of the final round to eliminate all the Iwa ninja was probably due to this consideration.
While this may not seem to offer any tangible benefits, the hidden advantages are substantial.
The fact that the Iwa ninja players didn't even make it to the finals will greatly boost the confidence of the Konoha.
Yichen remembered that Third Shinobi War, the Land of Earth gained many benefits in exchange for recognizing the Land of Fire as the victor. Now that he thought about it, it was hard to say whether the Iwa ninja were the ones who actually benefited.
However, what Iwagakure needed at that time was not something potential like self-confidence, but tangible benefits; it needed something that could genuinely improve the strength of the Iwa ninja.
Yichen continued his comprehension, while on the other side, the Cloud ninja and Konoha were also engaged in battle.
Faced with the Cloud ninja's assertiveness, Konoha responded with even greater assertiveness. Hiruzen Sarutobi knew the art of negotiation between the two countries: one cannot back down at the negotiating table. The more unfavorable the situation on the front lines, the louder one must shout at the negotiating table.
However, Tawara Ayumi was also a professional. Konoha's strength revealed their insecurity to Tawara Ayumi. This further solidified her determination to carry out her plan; a Konoha with a guilty conscience could be threatened.
However, her main purpose was not negotiation, but to Byakugan. So, at Tawara Ayumi's suggestion, Hashiryu demanded that Konoha withdraw the Anbu surrounding them, otherwise they would immediately stop negotiations and return to Kumogakure.
Furthermore, Hashiryu stated that once they returned to Kumogakure, Konoha would inevitably face war.
Although Konoha knew that the Cloud ninja were threatening them, their actions were certainly not the polite way to treat foreign guests.
So Konoha withdrew most of its Anbu, leaving only two small teams, ostensibly for communication purposes.
Having achieved their goal, the Cloud ninja did not press the matter further. After another day of pointless arguments, the Cloud ninja began their operation.
Hashiryu took out a specially made set of clothes and put them on. The clothes covered Hashiryu's entire body, including his eyes, hands and feet, with nothing exposed. This set of equipment was decorated with Sealing Jutsu that could block the Byakugan's detection, which he had obtained from the Iwa ninja.
Although all of Hashiryu's sensory organs, including his eyes, were sealed off by the Sealing Jutsu, it did not affect his movements. He was a professional Sensory Ninja, specially selected by the Cloud ninja.
Hashiryu can clearly sense nearby life forms without emitting Chakra fluctuations, somewhat similar to Yichen's Mind's Eye. This type of ninja is the kind of ninja with special Perception Talent recorded in the Iwa ninja scrolls. Unfortunately, there are none in Iwagakure.
With the help of Tawara Ayumi and the others, Hashiryu easily evaded the two Anbu Squad monitoring them. There was no other way; the Konoha Anbu had too few people, only eight, making it easy for the Cloud ninja to find a weakness.
With practiced ease, Hashiryu quickly approached the Hyuga Clan's territory following the predetermined route.
At this time, most of the Hyuga Clan ninjas had gone home to rest after the day's tedious rituals. Very few ninjas had activated their Byakugan.
Hashiryu thus infiltrated the Hyuga Clan silently.
What Hashiryu didn't know was that on a tree not far from the Hyuga Clan, a small snake, the exact same color as the tree, was cautiously flicking its tongue.