Top Secret

Han's vow to become Jinchuriki allowed the Shadow to recognize its true self, and in turn, it also allowed Han to recognize its true self.

In fact, he had already found his Ninja Way when he was a child. However, the path he had taken had not given him much positive feedback, which made him waver.

This trip to the True Waterfall reaffirmed Han's commitment to his Ninja Way.

Yichen and the others stood outside the True Waterfall, watching Han, but Han remained motionless, neither speaking nor moving, as if he had become a statue.

After a long time, Han made no move.

Yichen wanted to using Mind's Eye to observe Han's condition, but there was something in the waterfall water that Yichen couldn't sense at all.

Yichen turned to look at the Cloud Ninja squad and asked, "Does the training at the True Waterfall really take this long?"

The squad leader wasn't sure either. He wiped the sweat from his brow, hesitated for a moment, and said, "I'm not entirely sure either, but it shouldn't be necessary."

Yichen frowned upon hearing the unreliable words of the Cloud Ninja squad. He glanced at the True Waterfall again, then decided against intervening.

This kind of mental test is something outsiders can't help with; you can only rely on yourself. Rushing to interfere is likely to have the opposite effect.

I believe that Han's mindset has changed after these years of adjustment. Yichen's judgment is based on the cooperation of the Five-Tails Kokuō.

Tailed Beast are more sensitive in this regard than ninjas; their perception is very accurate, and they can clearly sense whether a ninja is good or evil.

After a long time, Han, who had been like a statue, suddenly moved. Then, as if he had just woken from a dream, he looked around in a daze, and it took him a long time to come back to his senses before turning around and walking out of the True Waterfall.

In that instant, Yichen's gaze sharpened, and he immediately turned to look at the four Cloud ninja. Seeing that they only breathed a sigh of relief and did not show any other expression, Yichen felt relieved.

Because the moment Han stepped out of the True Waterfall, Yichen sensed a change in Han's aura. Yichen was now very familiar with this; he had felt it in Konan and in Kawakita before.

It turns out that Han completed his transformation from Elite Jonin to a near-Kage right there in the True Waterfall. No wonder it took so long; the Iwa ninja really got a huge advantage this time!

This was an unexpected and delightful surprise for Yichen; this matter was extremely significant. Han, as Jinchuriki, had become a Quasi-Kage, and his influence far surpassed that of Quasi-Kage like those from Kawakita and Kitsuchi.

For example, in the original work, Killer B was a Kage Level Jinchuriki. His combat power was such that he was able to participate in the battles against Obito Uchiha and Madara Uchiha, and become one of the main forces.

Even if Han's strength is not as good as Killer B's, and the Five-Tails is not as good as the Eight-Tails, Han will still be able to surpass Kage Level like Ikura, Kawakita, Kitsuchi in the future.

Only ninjas of the same or higher rank could perceive this change in Han, and these Cloud ninja clearly lacked that ability, failing to notice anything. Otherwise, Yichen might have considered silencing them.

Not wanting to linger on Turtle Island, Yichen, seeing Han emerge, immediately said to the Cloud Ninja squad, "Now that we've entered the True Waterfall, let's return to the Land of Earth."

"I have an agreement with your Fourth Raikage: as long as Han emerges safely from the True Waterfall, I must personally go to the front lines to put pressure on Konoha. Without further ado, let's set off now."

The Cloud Ninja squad naturally wouldn't stop them; he quickly said, "Then we'll escort the Tsuchikage away."

"Hmm." Yichen responded, then went to the side and picked up Uzumaki Riori, who was playing with the small animals.

Yichen brought this group of Cloud ninja with him when they arrived, but when they left, Yichen ignored Cloud ninja and simply abandoned them on Turtle Island.

Just like when they set off from Iwagakure, Yichen led the seven people through the air. Once they were far from Turtle Island, Yichen turned to Han and asked, "Senior Han, how are you feeling now?"

Han had finally realized what was happening, and he said somewhat uncertainly, "It seems, I mean it seems, I seem to have become a Quasi-Shadow."

Yichen nodded; his intuition was correct.

Upon hearing Han's words, Han's three disciples and Yichen's two disciples were all taken aback.

The only one who wasn't surprised was Uzumaki Riori; she was still angry because she had left in such a hurry that she hadn't even had a chance to say goodbye to the little animals.

However, the other five people were all intelligent.

Not only were the five of them very surprised, but Han himself was also very surprised.

In their minds, Iwagakure currently only has Three Kage-level, and Han, as Jinchuriki, needs the cooperation of Kokuō to briefly contend with Kage Level.

But now Han has suddenly become a quasi-shadow, which everyone finds unbelievable.

Yichen thought for a moment and said, "After becoming a Quasi-Kage, did you have any special feelings? For example, when I and Ikura became Quasi-Kage, we both mastered the fifth Chakra nature transformation."

Han assessed the situation and said, "I don't feel anything in that regard, but my compatibility with Boil Release seems to have improved somewhat."

Yichen nodded and said, "Alright, this matter is no longer to be discussed. This is classified as Top Secret Intelligence in the village, and no one is allowed to leak it without permission from higher-ups."

"Yes," Han and the five younger men all replied in unison.

Then everyone looked at Uzumaki Riori. Seeing everyone staring at her intently, the little girl panicked, subtly shifting back a little before cautiously asking, "What's wrong?"

Yichen rubbed his temples and said, "Never mind her."

"Senior Han, what did you experience at the True Waterfall?" Yichen finally had a chance to ask Han about his experience at the True Waterfall.

"I met another version of myself. We talked for a long time, and in the end, he gave me the chance to experience the beauty of the world," Han said after thinking for a moment.

Yichen nodded. He also really wanted to experience the True Waterfall, but he didn't dare. Yichen felt that his heart was too dirty, and no one could say for sure what he would see if he entered the True Waterfall.

After a day's journey, the group arrived at the border between the Lands of Fire and Earth. Ikura had also just arrived at the border. He needed to gather ninjas, but lacking Flying Ninjutsu, his speed was much slower than Yichen's.

If he hadn't gathered elite ninjas, the weakest of whom were at least top -Chunin, they would probably still be on their way.

After touring the temporary camp, Yichen arranged accommodations for Han and the others, and instructed Han to communicate well with Kokuō. Having experienced the True Waterfall, Yichen believed that Han and Kokuō would be able to get along better.

Then Yichen took Ikura and flew into the air.

This was both to show Konoha that they were fulfilling their promise to the Fourth Raikage and to create a space for conversation where no ninja could monitor them.

In fact, Yichen had already been discovered by Konoha's reconnaissance ninjas as soon as he entered the camp.

"Han went to the True Waterfall in Cloud ninja and is now a Quasi-Kage," Yichen whispered to Ikura.

Ikura was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed. "Great! Counting Kawakita and Senior Kitsuchi, plus Han, our village will have six Kage Level!"

After speaking, Ikura turned his gaze to the Land of Fire across the border, his chest heaving as if he were trying his best to suppress something. And his eyes seemed to say that he was about to rush across the border and fight at any moment.

Yichen was taken aback, then he understood. According to Ikura's calculations, in two years, when Han and the other two had all become true Kage Level, the number of Kage Level in Iwa ninja would be twice that of Konoha. Two against one, it felt like destroying Konoha would be a piece of cake.

Indeed, if it weren't for the existence of other ninja villages, Yichen would definitely have initiated a war against Konoha.

Yichen didn't try to calm Ikura down; there was no need. Ikura wasn't stupid; she knew now wasn't the time to act impulsively. Iwa ninja was still in a phase of rapid development, and it wasn't the right time for them to be the first to step forward.

Sure enough, after a while, Ikura withdrew his gaze from the Land of Fire and Yichen said, "Let's go down. You've shown your face now, so I'm sure the Konoha intelligence ninjas have received news of your arrival at the front lines."

Yichen nodded, and the two quickly returned to the temporary camp.

Things went as Yichen had predicted.

Konoha, which was originally engaged in a verbal battle with the Cloud ninja, had no intention of backing down.

But suddenly, Ikura led several thousand elite Iwa ninja towards the border. Clearly, the Iwa ninja and Cloud ninja had reached some kind of agreement. The Iwa ninja were cooperating with the Cloud ninja's actions.

Before Ikura and his party even reached the front lines, Tsunade, who Konoha, received intelligence through special channels.

At this point, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally began to openly persuade Tsunade to sacrifice the interests of the Hyuga Clan in exchange for peace.

Tsunade, however, was still not giving up. She stated that given Yichen's cunning Fox of Stone, his plan was definitely to watch the Cloud ninja fight against their Konoha. Ikura's purpose was most likely just to contain them, and he wouldn't take the initiative to attack.

With Danzo still at the front lines, even if Ikura were to actually make a move, he probably wouldn't come out on top.

However, their plan was quickly thwarted when Danzo sent them shocking intelligence: the Tsuchikage, Yichen, had personally arrived at the front lines, and the intelligence ninja indicated that Yichen had brought along Jinchuriki.

Even uncontrollable Jinchuriki were mobilized, causing Tsunade to begin to doubt her own judgment.

With the addition of Yichen and the Jinchuriki, the Iwa ninja front line now has three ninjas capable of displaying Kage Level strength, which Danzo certainly cannot withstand.

Given Danzo's personality, if the village were to leave him to face the challenge alone at this point, he might do something astonishing.

Iwa ninja gritted her Tsunade and said, "Isn't there an Iwagakure delegation in the village? Did Shikaku learn of the Iwa ninja's intentions?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled wryly and said, "Shikaku's assessment is that this Iwa ninja knows nothing. Their arrival is likely related to the Tsuchikage's infiltration of the village last time. He speculates that this delegation is the Tsuchikage who came to meet them."

"However, on their way here, an Iwa Ninja Anbu Iwa ninja them and spoke to their leader about something."

"Shikaku suspects that the Iwa Ninja Anbu was actually the Tsuchikage in disguise. I've calculated the timeline, and the time the Iwa Ninja Anbu appeared matches the time the Tsuchikage left Konoha."

Tsunade said doubtfully, "So, the Tsuchikage should have told the leader of this mission some plans. Did they make any changes?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi his head. "They're very honest. Apart from going out every day to gather information, they haven't done anything else. They haven't contacted any suspicious people either. What's even more amazing is that every time they go out, they voluntarily ask the Anbu to accompany them. It's as if each of them is trying to prove their innocence."