Flames That Burn the Soul

Kamizuru Tsuruhime and Fujii Kusaka suddenly came to Yichen to ask him questions about cultivation.

Yichen was curious about what the two had in common, because usually, even if the two had problems, they wouldn't rush to find Yichen, since Yichen would definitely fulfill his duties as their instructor in a few days.

The fact that the two of them went directly to the Tsuchikage's Office Building suggests either that the problem was urgent or that it was very serious.

"Teacher Yichen, today I suddenly thought of using the flames of the Kusaka to nurture my Little Bee," said Kamizuru Tsuruhime.

"The flame of Kusaka is weaker than a normal flame; it can't even ignite dry grass, making it much safer. I thought it could help train Little Bee to be more fire-resistant."

Yichen's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he said, "That's a great idea! Once it succeeds, your Little Bee will have its first powerful ability."

However, Kamizuru Tsuruhime said with a bitter expression, "But it failed. Although Kusaka's flames weren't very hot, they killed the Little Bee very quickly."

Yichen was stunned and said, "How is that possible?"

Yichen tested it and found that the flame temperature of Fujii Kusaka was even lower than that of boiling water, meaning it was less than 100 degrees Celsius.

When Fujii Kusaka uses Fire Release to attack someone, the person only feels the heat but doesn't suffer much damage.

That kind of flame couldn't possibly kill Little Bee quickly enough.

Fujii Kusaka secretly glanced at Kamizuru Tsuruhime, then said with a grin, "Teacher Yichen, I don't know why, but a large number of Tsuruhime's Little Bee died even though they weren't even burned."

Yichen thought for a moment, then said, "Let me try again."

"Yes." The two nodded in unison.

Kamizuru Tsuruhime released dozens of Little Bee, letting them fly into the air.

Yichen glanced at it and nodded in approval. The Little Bee had shrunk a bit more. It seemed that Kamizuru Tsuruhime had been working hard to reduce the size of the Little Bee.

Then, Fujii Kusaka Kaoru quickly Hand Seals and unleashed the Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu.

Yichen sighed after observing the speed and number of Hand Seals by Fujii Kusaka.

Fujii Kusaka's progress is quite obvious. If her flames are working properly, based on her performance just now, she is already on par with many Fire Release Chunin.

Unfortunately, Yichen never found out where the problem with Fujii Kusaka's flames lay.

Pulling his thoughts back, Yichen focused his gaze on the dozens of Little Bee, while simultaneously maximizing his Mind's Eye perception.

The next moment, the flames touched the Little Bee, and under the watchful eyes of Yichen and the other two, the Little Bee suddenly struggled violently a few times, and then all fell to the ground, dead.

Yichen was somewhat stunned. He couldn't see anything wrong, but this scene felt so familiar.

Yichen thought for a moment and remembered, "That's right, it's Ghost Fire!"

Yichen once conducted an experiment with Ghost Fire. He remembered that when the Ghost Fire devoured the souls of small animals, those animals looked like these Little Bee before they died.

"Could it be? Fujii Kusaka's flames can attack the soul?" Yichen thought excitedly.

This discovery was quite unexpected.

Under the expectant gazes of the two children, Yichen thought for a moment and said, "Come on, I'll take you to do an experiment."

Soon, Yichen brought Fujii Kusaka and Kamizuru Tsuruhime to Katsuya and Natsuki's laboratory.

Considering the dangers posed by both the Ghost Fire and the sealed artifacts in the temple, this laboratory was isolated, with no other buildings nearby, and only a few Anbu Squad guarding it.

Yichen led his two disciples into the laboratory, where they entered a large hall.

Yichen first saw Natsuki lying on the sofa in the corner of the hall, reading a book.

Yichen glanced at her and realized that she was looking at the secret technique of the Yamanaka Clan.

It seems this girl has indeed been working harder than before.

Upon seeing Yichen, Natsuki didn't get up. She simply greeted him and asked, "Brother, what brings you here?"

Yichen said, "I need to talk to you two. Where's Katsuya?"

"Are they conducting experiments inside?" Natsuki asked.

Yichen nodded, telling Kamizuru Tsuruhime and Fujii Kusaka to wait in the hall for a while, and then went to the laboratory to find Katsuya.

Yichen had slightly different expectations for Katsuya and Natsuki. Considering Natsuki's talent, Yichen hoped that she would eventually become a combat ninja.

A combat ninja skilled in Yin Release.

As for Katsuya, Yichen hoped that he would become a research-oriented ninja, a theoretical ninja who could research how to cultivate Yin Release for Iwagakure.

Of course, there are also soul-type seals, which is also a research area for Katsuya.

Yichen walked from the hall into the experimental area, and then found Katsuya in the temple, who was repairing the seal on the stone statue.

This is a method that Katsuya with to assess the effectiveness of the Soul Seal.

If the strange sensations within the temple lessen after the gap in the statue is filled, it indicates the seal is working well. Conversely, if the seal becomes more effective, it means the seal is not working.

Yichen summoned Katsuya and the three people in the hall to the laboratory where they were researching Ghost Fire.

Then, take out the Ghost Fire and have Fujii Kusaka cast Fire Release on Ghost Fire.

As expected, after being struck by Fujii Kusaka's flames, the Ghost Fire immediately began to flee as if it had been strongly stimulated.

After thinking for a moment, Yichen also used a Fire Release. When Yichen's Fire Release attacked the Ghost Fire, it dodged it, but its reaction was far less intense than when it encountered Fujii Kusaka.

"As I thought, Kusaka, your flames are not attacking the body, but the soul," Yichen concluded.

"Soul?" Fujii Kusaka asked, puzzled. This clearly touched on a blind spot in her knowledge.

"Don't understand? It's simple. Let your Senior Brother Katsuya and Sister Natsuki teach you." Yichen turned to Katsuya and Natsuki and said, "Katsuya, Natsuki, I'm entrusting this junior sister to you."

After saying that, Yichen took Kamizuru Tsuruhime and prepared to leave, leaving Fujii Kusaka completely bewildered.

Natsuki immediately protested loudly, "Brother, how could you do this? We still have a lot of research work to do! How can you be so lazy as to push the task of teaching your apprentices onto us?"

Yichen waved his hand and said, "It's a younger sister's duty. If you don't believe me, go and ask around; every younger sister goes through this."

Natsuki shouted, "Nonsense! I've never heard of anyone leaving their apprentice with their sister!"

Yichen then said, "Do you remember your Tomoko? Didn't she leave you with her younger sister to take care of back then? Today it's your turn to take care of someone else."

Natsuki was stunned. She remembered that when she first arrived, it was indeed Tomoko's sister who took care of her, and she was immediately furious.

Seeing Natsuki's discomfiture, Yichen laughed heartily and said, "Take good care of Kusaka, help her understand the properties of her flames, and then teach her some basic Yin Release techniques."

"Maybe she can even help you with your research in the future."

After saying that, Yichen vigorously ruffled Natsuki's hair, then strode away.

Natsuki was left behind, shouting and cursing at her unreliable older brother.

Fujii Kusaka's problem suddenly made progress, Yichen was in a great mood. After sending Kamizuru Tsuruhime back to the village, he also began his own cultivation.

Taking advantage of the fact that Fujii Kusaka was going to practice Yin Release and that Team Seven was unable to carry out their mission, Yichen decided to go into seclusion for training.

Since discussing Light Release with Ōnoki last time, Yichen has not practiced Light Release again.

While in Konoha, Yichen used Light Release like a regular Ninjutsu, and the effect was surprisingly good, which increased his emphasis on Yichen Light Release.

With Yichen gone into seclusion, the Ninja World has temporarily quieted down.

Everyone needs time to properly sort out what has happened in the Ninja World recently.

Take Kirigakure for example; ever since the night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre in Konoha, Kirigakure has been holding meetings.

However, Kirigakure did not participate in the Uchiha Clan Massacre from beginning to end, so they could not see the situation in Konoha clearly.

I don't even know how many meetings this is.

Kisame first had an intelligence ninja brief everyone on the situation. "Based on intelligence from all sides, we can now confirm that there were Two Battlefields on the Konoha Massacre Night."

"The First Shinobi War that night took place inside Konoha, resulting in the Uchiha Clan Annihilated. The Second Shinobi War took place in the latter half of the night and the following morning, and this First Shinobi War resulted in the direct fall of Sunagakure to Iwa ninja."

"What is certain is that, apart from a few who escaped from the Uchiha Clan, Itachi Uchiha Konoha Sasuke Uchiha remain in Iwagakure."

"Furthermore, Fugaku Uchiha is likely dead, but the whereabouts of Shisui Uchiha and Izumi Uchiha, who also awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, are unknown."

"We also inquired with the Iwa ninja, but their attitude towards us was rather ambiguous. While they didn't refuse, they also didn't immediately provide the information we wanted."

"Itachi Uchiha was pushed out by Konoha on the second day to become the scapegoat for this incident, and has now been listed as S-rank Rogue Ninja."

"The situation is clearer with the Sunagakure. Their army of several thousand Sunagakure Iwa ninja soldiers was completely wiped out when they fought against the Iwa Village, including Ryosuke."

"That Third Kazekage Puppet, capable of manipulating metal, should have fallen into the hands of the Iwa ninja. However, it seems the One-Tail Jinchuriki is still in the Sunagakure."

"Furthermore, during this attack on the Sunagakure, intelligence indicates that the Iwagakure has produced another Kage-level Combatant."

"It was Matsutani Shinya who once supported us; he was also a disciple of the Tsuchikage. He used Senjutsu in that First Shinobi War."

"It is said that the Kazekage and Raikage were both in Konoha that night, and the Tsuchikage took advantage of the Kazekage's absence and Konoha's inability to spare any resources to launch a surprise attack on Sunagakure."

"This is everything that happened on the Night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre. This information has basically been confirmed."

After a pause, the intelligence ninja continued, "The chaos in Konoha has never stopped since then. Intelligence indicates that the Iwa ninja have been supporting Danzo."

"Danzō's Ascension was inseparable from the cooperation of the Iwa ninja. The direct cause of Tsunade's Stepping Down was Kakashi Hatake Anbu."

"The true details of this matter are still unclear, and there aren't many people in Konoha who know the truth. However, this matter is no longer important. With Tsunade's Stepping Down and Danzo over, Kakashi Hatake has been exonerated."

"There's another piece of reliable information: After Tsunade Resigned as Hokage left Konoha immediately after stepping down as Hokage."

"The above summarizes a series of major events that have recently occurred in the Ninja World."

Kisame waved his hand and said, "You can go now."

After the intelligence ninja left, Kisame turned to the high-ranking officials and said, "The chaos of the past few days has finally been resolved. Now let's analyze the intelligence."

Mei Terumi said, "Let's first analyze the changes in the number of Kage Level in each village: Iwagakure has gained Matsutani Shinya, and with Uchiha Hayakawa who has awakened the Mangekyo Sokai Uchiha, they've reached a terrifying nine."

"This number is terrifying. Since the founding of the ninja villages, no village has ever reached this number. At certain times, even the entire Ninja World didn't have this many Kage Level."

"Then there's the Sunagakure. Ryosuke of the Sunagakure is most likely dead, leaving only Rasa. In this period of sudden increase in the number of Kage Level, Rasa can only hide in hiding."

"Next is Konoha. Currently, Konoha only has three confirmed Kage Level: the Sixth Hokage Danzō, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Kakashi Hatake."

"However, considering the missing Shisui Uchiha and the scapegoat Itachi Uchiha, there are a total of five people. The Uchiha must have their hearts set on Konoha."

"On the contrary, I don't think it's necessary to include the Fifth Hokage Tsunade. After this incident, given Tsunade's proud personality, she probably won't work hard for Konoha anymore."

"Finally, there are the Kumogakure and the Akatsuki Organization; neither of them has changed."

Everyone nodded, Kisame said, "I agree with this analysis."

Mei Terumi added, "Then there's the overall strength, excluding Kage Level opponents."

"We don't have specific figures on how many Iwa ninja Sunagakure, but it was at most a thousand. Iwa ninja's losses weren't significant."

"Iwagakure has been expanding its military in recent years, and the number of ninjas will only increase. Besides the Land of Earth, they are supported by many small and medium-sized countries, and they can certainly afford to support so many ninjas."

"On the other hand, the Sunagakure has lost its main force after this First Shinobi War. It will be impossible for them to recover for the next few years. They can ignore the Sunagakure in the battle for Ninja World."

"Then there's Konoha. The losses from this internal strife in Konoha must be considerable. Not only was the entire Uchiha Clan wiped out, but the casualties among the ninjas who participated in the siege of the Uchiha Clan must also be significant."

"Although there's no data, it's certain that Konoha suffered a severe blow; otherwise, Konoha wouldn't have signed that reparations treaty with Iwagakure for no reason."

"Based on this data analysis, Iwa ninja can completely sever ties with us now. As long as Akatsuki Organization and Iwagakure First Shinobi War front, those two organizations can easily overwhelm all four of us."

"Fortunately, the Akatsuki Organization's demands have always been strange; they weren't particularly interested in participating in the Ninja World War."

"If the Iwa ninja really go to war with us, they might not necessarily participate. So let's not consider the Akatsuki Organization for now."

"Furthermore, given the current situation, Rasa is already extremely nervous, and he will definitely choose to focus on developing his own power in isolation. Therefore, he won't consider Sunagakure."

"In this way, Iwagakure is now fully capable of taking on three opponents at once. Even if we form an alliance with Konoha and Kumogakure, we will no longer be able to completely suppress Iwagakure."

Kisame and the others nodded and said, "Alright, Mei Terumi's analysis is very thorough. Next, let's discuss the issue of choosing sides."

"The Iwa ninja have captured the Sunagakure, demonstrating their ambition to Unifying the Ninja World, and they have begun to take action. Should we continue to follow the Iwagakure?"

After a moment of silence, Hozuki Mangetsu said, "I think we should change our stance. It's not too late to start suppressing the development of Iwagakure."

"Given the momentum shown by Iwagakure, in a few years, they could really wipe out all three of our ninja villages single-handedly. By then, even if we change our stance, it will be too late."

Mei Terumi nodded in agreement, agreeing with Hozuki Mangetsu's assessment.

Yuki Koru considered things more carefully, asking, "If we choose to suppress Iwagakure, how should we do it?"

Mei Terumi and Hozuki Mangetsu didn't understand what Yuki Koru meant, and both looked at each other with puzzled expressions.

At this moment, Genji spoke up, "Yuki Koru is right. We need a clear direction when formulating Strategic Direction."

"The Tsuchikage did a great job in this regard. Previously, the Iwa ninja had been suppressing the Sunagakure, and before this battle, the entire Sunagakure, including retired ninja, could only muster so few ninja."

"Why? Because every attack from the Iwa ninja hit the Sunagakure's Achilles' heel."

"What's the weakest point of the Sunagakure? It's its funding. The Sunagakure is notoriously short of money."

"All of the Tsuchikage's techniques are aimed at this point. The Tsuchikage even tried to win over the Daimyo of the Land of Wind, asking him to cut the Sunagakure Daimyo of the Land of Wind's military budget."

"It was only after such precise suppression that the Sunagakure was defeated and crushed by the Iwagakure in one blow."

"If we were to join forces with Konoha and Cloud ninja to suppress Konoha, what specific methods would we use?"

"It's about directly waging war, just like we've done against Konoha in the past few decades."

"Still economic sanctions, like the Iwa ninja used against the Sunagakure."

"Or does anyone have another solution?"

Mei Terumi and Hozuki Mangetsu thought for a long time, but couldn't come up with a feasible solution.

An immediate war is basically impossible. The reason Iwa ninja cause trouble several times is because they did not suffer significant losses in the past Fifth Ninja World War and their strength has not been diminished.

Of the other factions, only the Cloud ninja is in a slightly better position; a fight between them is definitely unlikely.

Economic sanctions are out of the question; Iwagakure now controls a significant portion of the Ninja World's trade, so who can suppress whom?

After a long silence, Mei Terumi still asked, unwilling to give up, "Then what do we do? Are we just going to watch Iwagakure grow stronger and stronger?"

"Watching him wipe out the Sunagakure today, the Cloud ninja tomorrow, and the Konoha the day after? Will we end up being wiped out too?"

When faced with Mei Terumi's question, Yuki Koru was speechless. He looked at Genji, hoping that Genji could have a good solution.

However, before Genji could speak, Hozuki Mangetsu spoke first, saying, "Has anyone analyzed the age composition of these Kage Level Iwagakure?"

"Ōnoki is from the older generation, Tsuchikage, Ikura, Kitsuchi are from the middle generation, Kawakita, Matsutani Shinya, and Sokai are from the next generation, and Han and Roshi are not considered Jinchuriki."

"The number of Kage Level in Iwagakure has been increasing with each generation. I wonder if, in a few years, the next generation of Kage -Kage Level Iwagakure will have even more?"

"If we simply choose to suppress Iwagakure instead of weakening it by force, the number of Kage Level in Iwagakure might increase faster than all four of our villages combined."

Yuki Koru taken aback; he hadn't expected this. After a pause, he asked, "Among the younger generation in the village, are there any who are worthy of special attention and training?"

Hozuki Mangetsu said with a grim expression, "My younger brother Suigetsu has great talent, but it was stolen by that Uchiha. We couldn't save him last time."

Kisame said, "There's a guy named Zabuza Momochi's quite strong. I plan to give him a Ninja Blade. With proper training, he could definitely Kage Level."

"There's another one named Ringo Ameyuri, who's also quite talented and uses Lightning Release very well. However, unless she has a stroke of luck, I don't think she has much of a chance to reach Kage Level."

"There's another one named Jūgo, who has good talent, but he's still young."

Everyone fell silent. The Kirigakure originally had a very deep foundation, but it was all Obito Uchiha.

Otherwise, with the Fourth Mizukage Karatachi Yagura still alive, the Kaguya Clan still alive, and both Tailed Beast still alive, Kirigakure's strength wouldn't be much weaker than Iwa ninja's.

Genji asked, "How is the retrieval of the Three-Tails and Six-Tails progressing?"

Kisame said, "The exact location of the Six-Tails hasn't been found yet, but it's coming soon. It's just that the Three-Tails is still missing."

Mei Terumi immediately asked, "The Six-Tails has been found? Where is it?"

Kisame said, "It hasn't been confirmed yet, but we do know that the Six-Tails has appeared in several places, Anbu is still investigating."

"The Three-Tails may have revived in the water, but I haven't received any reports about its Three-Tails yet."

Genji sighed and said, "The Three-Tails is too lazy. If it stays in one body of water all the time, it will be very difficult to find."

"Alright, after we retrieve the Six-Tails, let's mobilize the entire village to thoroughly search all the large lakes and the waters surrounding all the islands within the Land of Water."

Yuki Koru startled and said, "Mobilize the whole village? Isn't that too much of a commotion and too high a price to pay?"

Genji said helplessly, "The Ninja World is changing too fast; we can't afford to wait. There aren't many geniuses among the younger generation of ninjas worth nurturing; we can only rely on the Tailed Beast."

"Once we retrieve the Six-Tails, Yuki Koru, you will become its Six-Tails Jinchuriki. The village desperately needs top-tier fighters; there's no time to train Jinchuriki from a young age."

Yuki Koru. He had planned to become Jinchuriki even before he fought against Karatachi Yagura.

Genji continued, "The same goes for the Three-Tails; find a suitable Elite Jonin to become its Jinchuriki."

Kisame nodded and said, "I will make the arrangements."

Then, glancing at everyone, he said, "I heard everyone's discussion just now. Both sides have their advantages and disadvantages."

"I've decided to stick with Iwagakure. Even if I were to change my stance, I'd have to wait until we've recovered the two Tailed Beasts."

"If we change our stance now, we'll have no way out. Neither Iwagakure nor the Tsuchikage will accept us anymore."

"But if we don't change our stance now, we can adjust our strategy at any time. Konoha and Cloud ninja are waiting for us to switch sides."

"Furthermore, before the Tailed Beast were retrieved, our strength was inferior to that of Konoha and Cloud ninja. Even if we formed an alliance, we would only be subordinates."

"But if we recover the two Tailed Beasts and form an alliance with Konoha and Cloud ninja, then we'll be the boss and have more say."

After thinking it over, Genji and the others agreed with Kisame's decision.

Then Kisame said, "The attitude of Iwagakure towards us is very subtle right now. They didn't share the spoils with us this time, so they're probably waiting for our decision."

"Now that we've decided to continue siding with Iwagakure, we need to make some gesture. Does anyone have any good suggestions?"

Mei Terumi frowned and said, "Iwagakure violated the alliance and went to war with Sunagakure, one of the Six Great Ninja Villages, without the consent of its allies. They should give us an explanation."

"Why should we have to make concessions? The Tsuchikage is too domineering."

Hozuki Mangetsu retorted, "The relationship between nations and ninja villages cannot be bound by alliances; it depends solely on strength."

"Hmph." Mei Terumi snorted coldly in dissatisfaction, but still agreed with Hozuki Mangetsu's words and did not refute them.

Hozuki Mangetsu continued, "Making concessions or strengthening the alliance won't help. I do have a unique idea, though."

"Didn't the Tsuchikage divide the Land of Wind into three parts? The entire Land of Wind is still under the rule of a daimyo. However, the military territories are divided and managed by the Sunagakure, the Iwa ninja, and the Akatsuki Organization."

"We can emulate the Land of Wind model and divide the Land of Hot Water Iwagakure into separate administrative regions."

Yuki Koru suddenly realized and said, "Full Moon, you mean, to change the current chaotic situation in the Land of Hot Water, where three parties are intertwined, and directly divide up the territory so that each party can manage its own affairs, demand military expenses from the Daimyo of the Land of Hot Water, and not interfere with each other?"

Kisame said, "This is a good idea. Since the Iwa ninja are implementing it in the Land of Wind, they must like this model. If we propose to take charge of the Land of Hot Water, the Iwa ninja will definitely agree."

"At the same time, they can understand that we have no intention of changing our stance."

"Most importantly, doing this will not only not harm our interests, but will also improve the situation of our troops stationed in the Land of Hot Water, achieving multiple benefits in one fell swoop."

After thinking about it, Genji also thought it was a good idea and nodded in agreement.

Therefore, Kisame dispatched a sizable Negotiation Team to Iwagakure, ostensibly to discuss the division of responsibilities for managing the Land of Hot Water, but secretly to express his stance.