Shinohara's Frustration

The next day, Yichen did not go to the Barrier Team again. Instead, he returned to Team Five.

The group gathered once more in the Mission Hall. This time, Yichen noticed that Tana's entire demeanor had changed.

Tana came from a Ninja clan, where the younger generation was trained very strictly. The clan provided excellent meals to help them grow, but it did not supply Ninjutsu without limit.

The children had to exchange for Ninjutsu themselves. However, once they had done so, the clan elders would provide targeted guidance.

There was no shortage of experience being passed down.

So after returning from this break, Tana had completed her training in the Body Flicker Technique and had initially gained the ability to use it in actual combat.

The original story described the Body Flicker Technique as though it could do anything. Danzo's final desperate strike before death had been easily evaded by Sasuke with a Body Flicker Technique.

In truth, the Body Flicker Technique was not that practical. Although it was widely spread throughout the ninja world, most Ninja who had mastered it still needed to form hand seals before using it.

Only a small number of elites could use it without hand seals.

So the Body Flicker Technique was not that miraculous.

It was like the Substitution Technique Yichen had mastered. There were too many restrictions, too much preparation was needed, and it required advance prediction.

It was difficult to make it work in intense combat.

Under the guidance of her clan elders, Tana had successfully mastered the Body Flicker Technique. After twenty days of practice, she was already able to use it in actual combat.

If this progress had happened to Yichen, it would merely mean gaining another life-saving Ninjutsu similar to the Substitution Technique. But for Tana, it was entirely different.

With the Body Flicker Technique supporting her, many moves and tactics that she previously could not attempt could now be used in actual combat.

Tana was now brimming with confidence.

What Yichen did not know was that, in the eyes of the other three, his change was the greatest.

Previously, if Yichen wanted to use Ninjutsu in actual combat, he either needed his companions' cooperation or had to put a great deal of thought into planning and buying time to cast his Ninjutsu.

But now, that was no longer necessary. This special training had greatly improved Yichen's Hand Seal Speed. Even without companions, he could easily cast Ninjutsu to attack before an enemy reached him.

Moreover, the upgraded Water Style: Water Line Jutsu had already surpassed Earth Style: Earth Rising Spear in single-target attack power. It could be said that he now had a powerful offensive method.

It showed in the fact that he was bursting with energy, desperately eager to prove himself.

Of the three, Shinohara was the most uncomfortable. He had originally been the team's main damage dealer. Whether in one-on-one fights or team battles, he had always been the strongest among the three.

But after returning from this break, he sensed a dangerous aura from both Yichen and Tana.

Shinohara felt the disappointment of being surpassed by his companions.

After carrying out missions for two days, Team Five successfully completed a C-rank mission. Kitsuchi, who had noticed the changes in Shinohara and Tana's mindsets, decided to teach the three of them a lesson.

He brought them to the Training Ground and said, "Some time ago, Yichen underwent special training after being promoted to Chunin, and Tana learned the Body Flicker Technique."

"Everyone's strength has changed significantly. We need to promptly understand our companions' circumstances. So now, I will test your abilities."

After saying that, Kitsuchi looked at the three. Yichen and Tana both wore eager expressions, while Shinohara's face was solemn. Kitsuchi continued, "The first round will be Yichen against Shinohara."

When Shinohara heard this, his spirits rose, and he thought, I can't lose this fight. I have to defeat Yichen.

If I, a Taijutsu Ninja, lose to Yichen now, the gap between us will only grow larger in the future. How will I keep up with Yichen then? Won't I become the one holding the team back?

Yichen, however, did not think much of it. During the training before the Chunin Assessment, Kitsuchi had not avoided Shinohara while teaching Yichen, so Shinohara knew everything Yichen had learned. As a result, their sparring matches never had the element of surprise.

The outcome was obvious. Yichen had lost every battle and had not won a single one.

Over these twenty days of special training, he had improved rapidly. Yichen was therefore full of confidence in this fight.

Once the battle began, Yichen retreated while forming hand seals to cast the original Water Style: Water Line Jutsu.

This was the fastest Ninjutsu Yichen could cast. He did not expect to defeat Shinohara with it; he only wanted to widen the distance.

But the Water Style: Water Line Jutsu was far less effective than Yichen had expected.

Given Shinohara's understanding of Yichen, along with the fact that he had witnessed Yichen's entire battle against Kenbon—

Shinohara did not dare let Yichen act freely at all.

Enduring Yichen's Water Style: Water Line Jutsu, Shinohara neither dodged nor evaded. He rapidly closed the distance between them while raising a kunai in front of Yichen's Water Style: Water Line Jutsu.

The Water Style: Water Line Jutsu struck the kunai, leaving a small dent in it. It also drove the kunai into Shinohara's body, slowing him for an instant.

But that was all. After pausing for an instant, Shinohara accelerated again.

This caught Yichen off guard. Shinohara was about to entangle him, yet Yichen was in the middle of casting Earth Style: Earth Rising Spear.

That was right—the Earth Style: Earth Rising Spear, the least familiar of Yichen's three Attack Ninjutsu.

In Yichen's original estimation, he was certain to win this battle. That confidence came from defeating Kenbon.

So aside from testing his own strength, Yichen had also wanted to practice his two Earth Style Ninjutsu.

But it was precisely this carelessness that put Yichen in the same predicament Kenbon had once faced.

His battle rhythm was completely disrupted. Under Shinohara's fierce assault, his Earth Style: Earth Rising Spear was first interrupted, then his Substitution Technique was seen through, and finally, even the Taijutsu attacks Kitsuchi had taught him had no effect on Shinohara.

Thus, Yichen lost even more thoroughly and more quickly than Kenbon had.

Only two words could describe Yichen's entire performance: utterly miserable.

Seeing that the two had determined a winner, Kitsuchi was not surprised. He immediately turned to Tana and said, "The second round will be you against Shinohara, Tana."

Tana took a deep breath. Her rapid increase in strength had also given her immense confidence.

But having just watched Yichen lose so quickly, she would not underestimate Shinohara no matter what.

After Yichen stepped down, Shinohara and Tana began their fight.

Shinohara's tactics were as direct as ever. Without a word, he charged straight at Tana. Tana did not dare be careless and immediately relied on her speed to evade.

Afterward, Tana repeatedly used her speed advantage and the Body Flicker Technique to approach Shinohara, attempting to launch surprise attacks.

But Shinohara understood Tana even better than she understood herself. Every time Tana was about to launch a surprise attack, Shinohara noticed it in advance.

Every attack was successfully avoided by Shinohara. Once, he even seized an opportunity to counterattack, nearly luring Tana into a trap.

In the end, their fight was still just like it had been at the Ninja Academy, ending in a stalemate.

After the second round ended, Kitsuchi said nothing more and directly announced their dismissal.

He believed that Yichen and the others could understand what he meant.

Yichen knew that Kitsuchi was telling him not to get complacent. It was not wrong for a Ninja to possess the heart of the strong, but he could not be arrogant or look down on any opponent.

Tana also understood Kitsuchi's meaning. She should not think she was exceptional just because she had learned one Ninjutsu. She still had a long road ahead.

As for Shinohara, Kitsuchi had used two battles to rebuild his confidence.

Whether Shinohara understood Kitsuchi's meaning or not, seeing that fool grinning so stupidly made it clear that Kitsuchi had achieved his goal.

Three days later, Team Five, having readjusted their mindsets, assembled again.

This time, Kitsuchi saw three team members who satisfied him. He personally applied for a B-rank Mission.

The mission was to hunt down a Chunin-level rogue Ninja.

This rogue Ninja was named Aoyen. During the war, he had been the captain of a squad.

While carrying out a dangerous mission, he had shrunk back in fear, causing the mission to fail.

After the failure, Aoyen feared being punished by the village. He did not dare return to his team and directly became a rogue Ninja.

There would be many such missions in the village over the next two years. This war had been a war of attrition, and there were many Ninja who could not bear the pressure of war—Jonin, Genin, and most of all, Chunin.

Most of these rogue Ninja chose to leave the Land of Earth and avoid the village's pursuit as much as possible.

For the past two years, the village's intelligence network had closely monitored the movements of these rogue Ninja. The moment there was news, it would be sent back to the village.

The village would then secretly issue B-rank or even higher-ranked missions for suitable teams to carry out the hunt.

This Chunin named Aoyen was not particularly strong. He was much weaker than veteran Chunin like Kenbon. At the very least, intelligence indicated that he only knew two Ninjutsu, and his Taijutsu was quite ordinary.

For more than a year since the war ended, he had spent most of his time hiding in the corners of the ninja world. He had likely emerged now because of financial necessity, intending to take on missions from the black market.

Yet he had been recognized by the village's intelligence personnel near the black market.

The intelligence showed that Aoyen had accepted a mission from an underground black market in the Land of Fields, but even the intelligence personnel did not know what mission he had accepted.

Therefore, the difficulty of this mission lay in finding Aoyen's trail.

Someone like Aoyen, who knew the village would hunt him down, would rather hide for years until the war ended and only dare emerge to accept missions after he could no longer survive, was clearly extremely cautious.

He might already have left the Land of Fields by now. Thus, these hunting missions were extremely time-consuming and usually ended in failed tracking.

The village would not hold anyone responsible even if the mission failed.

After everyone took turns reading the intelligence, Kitsuchi gave the three half an hour to prepare. They would gather at the village gate in half an hour.

Since this mission required traveling to another country and would take a long time, everyone needed to prepare sufficient supplies.

Half an hour later, Team Five filled out the registration for leaving the village at the gate, then set out on the road to the Land of Fields.

Sound

The Land of Fields bordered the Land of Fire. To reach the Land of Earth, one had to pass through the Land of Iron and the Land of the Falls.

To reach the Land of Lightning, one had to pass through the Land of Hot Water and the Land of the Moon. To reach the Land of Water, one had to pass through the Land of Hot Water before taking a sea vessel.

The Land of Fields was not geographically advantageous for Ninja from the Land of Earth.

During wartime, with this area close to the Land of Fire, Ninja from Iwagakure generally did not dare come here.

That was also why Aoyen had chosen this place to hide.

Iwa ninja carrying out missions in the Land of Fields were often rather low-key. As long as rogue Ninja like Aoyen were careful, they still had a high chance of avoiding pursuit.

Moreover, rogue Ninja had their own ways of surviving. When facing pursuit from their villages, as long as they moved closer to large groups of Ninja from enemy countries, they could usually avoid being hunted down.

It was not hard to understand after thinking it through. If every rogue Ninja from a country was killed by their village, who would dare defect in the future?

Even if only to undermine the enemy's morale, they had to help rogue Ninja from enemy countries escape pursuit.