Sparring

"How's the copying of Hu's ninjutsu going?" Yichen asked again.

Hearing this, Ikura became even happier, saying, "Hehe, you know what, the effect is quite good."

"Although it would be much slower for Hu to copy ninjutsu alone without your Mind's Eye, there are only a dozen or so Sunagakure Ninjas coming. Our ninjas have repeatedly challenged them, and the opponents are only good at a few ninjutsu."

"In just over ten days, I've gotten to know a fair bit about the Wind Release those Sunagakure repeatedly used. I've already copied at least two of the B-rank Wind Release; they just need some final editing."

Yichen was overjoyed. "Excellent, excellent! It seems we need to have more of these sparring sessions. After the first round of written exams, it will take the candidates quite a while to complete the second round of assessments. Let's not waste any time; hurry up and get someone to challenge the Konoha ninja."

"Don't let Kakashi Hatake get away either. Jonin, Elite Jonin, even talented Chunin can be sent up to experience it."

"Chunin? That's too much. The opponent is Elite Jonin after all. Sending a Jonin might allow Jonin for a few moves, but Chunin wouldn't be effective at all." Ikura thought Yichen was joking.

"Let's give it a try. How will we know if it will work if we don't try? Forget it, I'll do it," Yichen said earnestly.

After parting ways with Ikura, Yichen went to see Suda Himezuki first. Yichen needed to check on Suda Himezuki's Ninja Cat; the little guy was only four years old.

Yichen remembered that the little guy, like Suda Himezuki, used to learn ninjutsu very slowly. How did he suddenly learn ninjutsu? It's not so easy for Ninja Beast to learn ninjutsu. Not to mention that Iwagakure has never specifically researched ninjutsu for Ninja Beast.

Because she had just advanced in rank, Suda Himezuki was currently practicing ninjutsu in the village and hadn't left. Upon seeing Yichen's arrival, Suda Himezuki was very happy and rushed up to Yichen, chattering away and telling Yichen everything he wanted to ask.

It turns out that Suda Himezuki joined Shironeko and Dango's team after Team Three disbanded.

Thus, Little Fenghuo became the only Ninja Cat who frequently received guidance from its mother.

Perhaps because she hadn't experienced a long period of reunion with her child since becoming a mother, Dango was very happy to be able to be with her child.

Dango gave all the good things she had to Little Fenghuo, including her cultivation experience, her understanding of Natural Energy, delicious food, ninja tools, and so on.

During her two years with the White Cat Squad, Suda Himezuki gained the most experience, combat skills, and adaptability—a process of transforming her learning into strength. Essentially, she remained the same newly Chunin, with very limited improvement in her raw power.

If it weren't for this unexpected promotion, she doesn't know how long she would have remained at the Chunin level, and might never have made any progress in her entire life.

However, Fenghuo was different. Under the guidance of his mother, Dango, Fenghuo avoided many detours. Especially in terms of Chakra Control, Dango used her own experience as a teaching material to guide Fenghuo on how to train.

So, although Fenghuo's physique didn't change significantly in the past two years, it Yichen learned its first ninjutsu.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere".

Seeing Fenghuo unleash a wind Wind Blade from his mouth after only a slight preparation, Yichen was somewhat incredulous. The first ninjutsu Fenghuo had learned was actually a Seal-less Ninjutsu?

That's not the most important thing. The most important thing is that, because of mastering Nature Transformation Wind Release, the speed of Fenghuo has also increased significantly.

The Ninja Cat, already known for its agility, became even faster after gaining insight into Wind Release. Its straight-line sprint speed is now faster than that of a normal Jonin.

Yichen suddenly looked at Suda Himezuki and asked, "Himezuki, who has a better chance of winning in your Kazekaze right now?"

Suda Himezuki stuck out her tongue and said guiltily, "The Fenghuo are too fast; I can't keep up. It always finds my weakness and defeats me."

Seeing Suda Himezuki's expression, Yichen suddenly understood why Suda Himezuki had become Quasi-Jonin so quickly.

Given Suda Himezuki's talent and strength, she was still a long way from becoming Jonin at this stage. However, she was probably provoked by her Ninja Cat.

Perhaps while Suda Himezuki was happy for Fenghuo's progress, she was also feeling sorry for herself, feeling that she was holding Fenghuo back.

Perhaps it was Suda Himezuki's strong desire to catch up with and surpass Fenghuo that enabled her to transform so quickly.

Yichen didn't know if this was a good thing or not. If Fenghuo could continue to grow, perhaps Suda Himezuki would still have motivation, but if Fenghuo's growth slowed down, then Suda Himezuki might not make any more progress.

However, Yichen didn't tell Suda Himezuki these things. Every ninja should have their own Ninja Way. Suda Himezuki's Ninja Way was clearly related to the bond between her Kazekaze.

Yichen shouldn't interfere too much.

"The ninjutsu the Fenghuo School learned is Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere, which doesn't seem to be able to be combined with Fire Release. Aren't you upset?" Yichen asked.

"It's a bit of a shame, but the Fenghuo Hand Seals: Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere doesn't require Hand Seals, so it chose to learn this ninjutsu."

Yichen nodded and then said, "Actually, you can go to Yi Zheng. Isn't he researching Hand Seals? Ask him to think of a way to help Fenghuo learn Hand Seals as well."

"Oh! How could I not have thought of that? I'll go find him right now." With that, Suda Himezuki left Yichen aside and ran off to find Yoshimura Kazumasa.

Yichen rubbed his head. He'd been in the Anbu for two years, how come he hadn't made any progress?

Yichen sighed, then left the Training Ground to find Katsuya.

As the only ninja among Yichen's senior disciples who did not become Quasi-Jonin, Katsuya was quite worried about Yichen's mentality.

As a Genjutsu ninja, Katsuya is very intelligent, and after two years of experience Chunin squad, he has grown a lot.

Actually, considering the pitiful foundation of Iwagakure Genjutsu, Katsuya's current strength already qualifies him as a genius.

However, comparisons are inevitable. Of the five who were in the same class as Katsuya, only Uchiyama Takuhiro talent; the other four were just average, like Katsuya.

However, all four of them had their own unique experiences, and one by one they unexpectedly became Quasi-Jonin, leaving only Katsuya, which made him seem somewhat mediocre.

If you do the math, the disciples that Yichen recruited basically all completed their transformation from Chunin to Quasi-Jonin within two to four years.

The fastest ones, like Tomoko, Ogura Saki, Uchiyama Takuhiro, all took two years, completing their transformations around the time of the Chunin Ninja Exams. Tomoko probably took even less than two years.

Those who progressed slowly, like Kajiyamari Takuya, were among the slower ones of their generation. Takuya only completed his transformation after receiving Yichen.

Katsuya is now just like Takuya back then; he needs Yichen to give him individual guidance, at least to prevent him from developing a mental problem.

Yichen didn't want a Hiruko Iwagakure to emerge. He didn't need to achieve much, but he couldn't afford to go astray.

However, Katsuya's mindset was much better than Yichen's. In fact, Katsuya and Yichen were similar in that their talents lay in Yin Release. The two also had similar personalities, both enjoying contemplation.

Back then, Yichen wasn't bothered by the fact that he was far inferior to Ikura; he was only concerned with which path to take.

Katsuya was the same; he was intelligent and didn't care about short-term gains or losses. Because developing Genjutsu was very difficult and required a high level of mental fortitude from a ninja, Katsuya remained calm throughout.

The biggest change in Katsuya in the past two years has been his mindset. Having left Yichen's protection, he faces the cruel Ninja World alone. His own strength is not outstanding among Chunin. It is not easy for Katsuya to survive one dangerous mission after another with his three Genin.

He relied on his wisdom and composure; as for Genjutsu techniques, they became merely supplementary in battle.

Katsuki knew about Suda Himezuki's advancement even earlier Katsuya Yichen, but he didn't feel any negative emotions because his companions had all advanced.

Katsuya knew his path would never be as smooth as theirs. He was even prepared to remain Chunin for the rest of his life.

Yichen led Katsuya to a secluded Training Ground and said, "Good mentality, very calm, a qualified ninja. But too calm, lacking passion, will make it much harder for you to advance like Suda Himezuki and the others."

"However, since this is the path you chose, the Ninja Way you've chosen, then I support you. You can continue on your path of Genjutsu research."

"Since you have the right mindset, then I won't say any more. I'll give you something."

As he spoke, Yichen handed Katsuya scroll.

"This is an S-rank Yin Release Ninjutsu, Spirit Transformation Jutsu, that I obtained from Orochimaru. You definitely can't learn it at your level, so just consider it a reference."

Katsuya was taken aback, then took the scroll and confirmed, "S-rank?"

Yichen knew what he was thinking and said, "Don't worry, this was something Master exchanged with Orochimaru using his own possessions. Master has the authority to dispose of it."

"But I can't just give you something of this caliber for free. You'll have to contribute an A-rank Genjutsu that you developed to the village later."

Katsuya and said, "Teacher Yichen, I understand. I won't let you down."

When he said this, Katsuya was slightly flustered, but he quickly calmed down.

Yichen noticed it, but didn't care. Although Katsuya's path was an exception among Yichen's disciples, there were many ninjas like him in the Ninja World.

Many ninjas with mediocre talent choose to do this, not for any other reason than that this path seems the most convenient. For non-genius ninjas, this path is at least visible and tangible.

After teaching Katsuya the Spirit Transformation Jutsu, Yichen stopped paying Katsuya.

Yichen need not worry too much about Shengyou's mindset.