Inertia

Next, Yichen reported a series of data to the villagers, which recorded comparisons Iwa ninja and Konoha, and between the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire, in various fields.

Through these data comparisons, everyone truly felt the changes in the village. From the vast gap between the two sides a few years ago, they are now evenly matched, and the Iwa ninja has even surpassed them in some aspects.

All of this data clearly shows that the village is making progress and is constantly narrowing the gap with Konoha, the Ruler of the Ninja World.

Most of the data was fabricated, since even the Tsuchikage, Yichen, didn't know the true situation in Konoha. However, once the data was fabricated, it sounded believable.

"So it's all true! The village has really become powerful enough to rival Konoha on its own!" The Lord Tsuchikage himself assured them, so how could it be false? Everyone was overjoyed.

Previously, Konoha was always able to fight four opponents at once (of course, Yichen won't mention the past conflicts between the Four Great Ninja Villages), but now the Iwa ninja clan can rival Konoha. This shows how much progress the Iwagakure has made.

Finally Yichen concluded. "The village still has many top-secret research projects, but to prevent Konoha from obtaining this information, I won't mention them. In short: we are constantly improving, and I believe that with everyone's joint efforts, we will eventually surpass Konoha and become the Great Ninja Village in the Ninja World."

As soon as he finished speaking, the whole village erupted in a frenzy of celebration.

The ninjas responsible for protecting and maintaining order were also filled with excitement upon seeing this. Many of them had only vaguely sensed that the village's strength was increasing before, but never as clearly as they were now.

Suddenly, in that instant, many ninjas realized that their efforts had not been in vain. They saw the villagers' approving looks, and thus they found their own Ninja Way.

Yichen clearly sensed that at least three Chunin had taken the crucial step towards Jonin near him; many more had made progress but hadn't directly advanced. And in the distance, beyond Yichen's reach, who knew how many more ninjas had actually advanced.

Thinking about this, Yichen's mindset changed once again. It was all worth it; I did the right thing.

Ōnoki suddenly turned to look at Yichen, and in that instant, Ōnoki felt that Yichen had become stronger. Although there was no qualitative change and everyone's strength was still at the same level, Yichen's Chakra was indeed more condensed.

Ōnoki chuckled, "That kid!"

This time, Yichen himself didn't realize that he was also immersed in this sea of joy, shouting loudly and venting his excitement just like everyone else.

After the speech, Yichen, regaining his composure, quickly asked Ōnoki to check how many people had improved their strength.

Ōnoki replied, "I don't know how many people have improved, but I do know that your strength has improved as well."

"Me?" Yichen was genuinely taken aback, then carefully sensed his own Chakra. Sure enough, he felt that his Chakra was stronger than before.

"Great! This will greatly speed up the development of Flame Release."

After everyone left, Yichen was about to experience the changes brought about by this progress when he suddenly received a letter from the Fourth Raikage.

Yichen opened it and burst out laughing.

The Fourth Raikage invited Yichen to put pressure on Konoha and asked the Iwa ninja to help him obtain the Byakugan.

Yichen immediately replied with a letter stating that the Iwa ninja was willing to lend a hand, and he would send Ikura with 2,000 elite ninjas to the border Lands of Fire and Earth. However, the Cloud ninja needed to give the Iwagakure's Jinchuriki a chance to experience True Waterfall. If the mission was successful, Yichen indicated that he would also personally go to the front lines to pressure Konoha.

It turns out that while the Iwa ninja were cultivating their cultural confidence behind closed doors, the Cloud ninja, just like in the original story, put pressure on Konoha. The Fourth Raikage threatened war, demanding that Konoha hand over the murderer of the Cloud Ninja envoy: the head of the Hyuga Clan.

Unlike the original story, this time Konoha is in charge in Tsunade, Tsunade no intention of compromising. Although Hiruzen Sarutobi and others tried to persuade her, it was to no avail.

If it weren't for other ninja villages eyeing the conflict, the Fourth Raikage might have actually started a war. However, with an ocean separating them and the presence of the Iwa ninja, a monster that was no weaker than Konoha, the Fourth Raikage remained relatively rational.

Instead of directly retaliating against Konoha, he chose to win over the Iwa ninja.

Yichen was regretting his failure to abduct Neji Hyuga when the Yichen Cloud ninja presented him with a perfect opportunity, which he was not about to miss.

Even if the Cloud ninja didn't invite him, he would still want to lend a hand. Only if Hizashi Hyuga died like in the original story would Neji have a chance to turn evil and possibly join his ranks as the main villain.

After quickly replying, Yichen convened another meeting with the higher-ups. This meeting was simple, involving Tailed Beast, and didn't require any contribution from the Iwa ninja. The higher-ups quickly reached a consensus.

Although no one knew where Yichen had learned about the True Waterfall in Cloud ninja, everyone tacitly refrained from asking.

No one even asked what the actual function of True Waterfall is.

Yichen could only awkwardly explain, "This is the result of research on Jinchuriki in Cloud ninja. This True Waterfall allows Jinchuriki to confront their own hearts. And a Jinchuriki who is open and honest, without any darkness, is more likely to gain the approval of the Tailed Beast."

Everyone nodded expressionlessly, adopting an attitude of "we won't ask unless you tell us, and we'll listen if you do."

"Hehe, hehe, haha." Yichen laughed awkwardly.

The Cloud ninja responded quickly. The Fourth Raikage agreed to Yichen's request, but stated that the True Waterfall was dangerous and that the Cloud ninja would not be responsible if Iwa ninja's Tailed Beast were to encounter problems.

Yichen naturally didn't care about such things and arranged for Ikura to lead a group of elite ninjas directly to the border Lands of Fire and Earth.

He then took Han and their six disciples with him to the Land of Lightning.

Yichen has been quite busy lately, with both Konoha affairs and village matters keeping him very occupied. As a result, Yichen three disciples have been focusing on their own cultivation during this time.

This time, Yichen was in a hurry and was afraid that the Fourth Raikage would regret it, so he didn't walk the whole way like he did when he went to the Land of Whirlpools before.

Yichen used the Porcelain Release, carrying the seven people as they flew towards a small island near the Land of Lightning at top speed.

On the way, Uzumaki Riori excitedly told Yichen that she had finally learned to Water Walking. More important than completing the Water Walking practice was that her close combat ability had improved significantly.

"Teacher Yichen, I can now take on the previous five by myself!" Uzumaki Riori said excitedly, gesturing with her hands in the air.

She'd been cooped up these past few days with no missions, only training, which had been incredibly frustrating. Finally, she could leave the village—it was wonderful!

Yichen believed this. Even disregarding the enhancement from Shadow Clone Uzumaki Riori, Chakra control resulted in a significant boost to her combat abilities.

Yichen rubbed her head. It seemed it was time to learn the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu. However, the little girl was in a good mood, so he decided not to upset her.

Yichen asked, "Little Riori, when you use the Shadow Clone Jutsu, what does it feel like when the Shadow Clone dissipate?"

Uzumaki Riori looked confused, blinked, and asked, "What does it feel like? Do I need to feel anything?"

Yichen remained silent. Shadow Clone were not Forbidden Technique. With the will of a ninja, dispersing a Shadow Clone would not cause injury, but fatigue and mental shock would still occur.

Yichen was like that, except that he was already Kage Level ninja when he learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and Yichen was originally a ninja whose advantage lay in his strong mental strength, so he could ignore this impact.

However, it's unacceptable that Uzumaki Riori, a Genin, felt absolutely nothing.

Yichen turned his gaze to Atsumi Akino and Ishinose Kiyoshi, these two disciples had also learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Uzumaki Riori quickly looked at the two of them, trying to figure out if there was a problem with her training.

Atsumi Akino said, "When you release the Shadow Clone, your mind will be impacted, but it's alright. As long as the Shadow Clone isn't maintained for too long, it won't affect your combat."

Ishinose Kiyoshi was somewhat embarrassed. He said, "I was more affected. When I released the Shadow Clone, my memories were a bit confused. My main body experienced a moment of disorientation, which could be very dangerous in battle."

Yichen nodded. That made sense. If Shadow Clone only consumed a lot of Chakra, why didn't Sasuke and Naruto use them in their battle?

Fighting a ninja like Naruto with such terrible combat skills, using Shadow Clone, Naruto would probably have to exert a lot of effort even to deal with Sasuke's Shadow Clone.

When Uzumaki Riori heard that others had the same feeling, she panicked. Had she been practicing incorrectly?

Atsumi Akino couldn't bear it, so she said, "Riori, don't be afraid, this is a good thing, this is your advantage."

In truth, Atsumi Akino was also devastated. There were only two possibilities for why she didn't feel any impact when the Shadow Clone dissipated: either she had a special constitution or she was heartless.

She estimated that Uzumaki Riori had both traits, especially the latter. Uzumaki Riori's Shadow Clone definitely didn't have any extraneous thoughts.

"Really? That's good." Uzumaki Riori breathed a sigh of relief. She still trusted Atsumi Akino; the other woman's intelligence was probably infinitely greater than her own.

Seeing this, Yichen's lips twitched, and he suddenly didn't feel like saying anything. After a while, Yichen gently said to Uzumaki Riori, "Little Riori, come, let me teach you a new Ninjutsu called the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu."

Upon hearing this, Uzumaki Riori stiffened, then mechanically turned her head to look at Yichen incredulously. Her good mood about leaving the village vanished instantly.

Seeing Uzumaki Riori's discomfiture, Yichen's mood improved considerably.

Then Yichen asked Ishinose Kiyoshi, "Kiyoshi, how is your progress in learning Water Release?"

Ishinose Kiyoshi nodded confidently and said, "Teacher, I've learned all the C-rank Ninjutsu you gave me before."

Yichen frowned. This might not be a good thing. Because he had something to do and couldn't get away, he had entrusted Ishinose Kiyoshi with many C-rank Water Style Jutsu.