Yichen Emerges from Seclusion

Danzo in the forest and wouldn't come out. Kakashi was at a loss, so he turned to Hiruzen Sarutobi to ask for his opinion.

But at that moment, a sudden change occurred. One by one, the Root member suddenly dropped their weapons, covered their heads with their hands, and let out shrill cries of pain.

Kakashi, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the Konoha ninja who were confronting the Root member were all shocked and rushed forward to check on them.

But it was no use. In no time, all the Root member present were killed by the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal.

Hiruzen Sarutobi put down a Root member, looked up, and roared at the sea of trees, "Danzo, what are you doing? These are all your subordinates, they are all members of Konoha!"

From within the sea of trees came Danzo's hoarse voice. "My subordinates?! You all watched me being toyed with, yet not a single one of you did anything!"

"They are all traitors! They all deserve to die!"

That's right, the Root member were able to block most of the combo attacks that Kakashi and the others just used.

In that case, Danzo might still die once or twice, but at least he would have a chance to fight back.

But none of them moved; they were all waiting for Danzo to be killed.

Once Danzo dies, the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal on them will naturally be removed, and they will be free.

Although these Root member did not attack Danzo, they watched Danzo being killed time and time again, which can be considered a betrayal.

Of course, this is not their fault; Danzo's loyal subordinates had already been eliminated in the previous battles.

The rest were mostly ninja clan members who were completely hostile to Danzo, or neutral individuals from commoner backgrounds with no allegiances.

Even the neutral faction knew they shouldn't follow Danzo into their doom anymore, so, quite tacitly, no one intervened.

They just didn't expect Danzo to be so decisive, or rather, crazy.

In this situation, Danzo actually chose to kill all the Root member present.

Keep in mind that these people were practically Danzo's last Danzo. With them all dead, Root would probably only have a few intelligence ninjas hiding in other ninja villages left.

"Hahahaha, hahahaha, all traitors deserve to die! I am the Hokage! I am the Sixth Hokage! I am the best Hokage ever!"

"I did everything right, you all deserve to die."

Danzo's voice grew fainter and fainter, clearly fading into the distance.

However, the other ninjas present felt a chill run down their spines. Some of the less courageous ones even subconsciously took a step closer to Kakashi, the Hokage, as if that would give them a sense of security.

Kakashi realized what was happening and said in a low voice, "Danzo is trying to escape."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression also turned grim; he had thought of that too.

However, this forest was too vast, and they couldn't predict where Danzo would run from.

Unable to pinpoint Danzo's location, and unable to divide their forces to intercept him, they could only watch helplessly as Danzo departed.

After a long while, Kakashi put his Forehead Protector back on his left eye and said, "Third Hokage, Shibi, arrange for some people to stay behind at the branch and clean up the battlefield. The rest of you, prepare to come back with me."

Hiruzen Sarutobi. He was badly injured, but he felt no pain at all.

Danzo's actions filled him with deep regret and caused him indescribable heartache.

If he hadn't protected Danzo time and time again, and hadn't indulged Danzo time and time again, he wouldn't have ended up like this.

Iwagakure)

After a year-long period, Yichen's seclusion finally came to an end.

During his seclusion, except for two separate outings when there were unexpected events in the Land of Wind and Konoha, Yichen almost never left the Little White Ball Laboratory.

He spends every day in the archives processing data.

In this year, Yichen accomplished two things. The first was that he finally completed the fusion of the Light Release technique.

Previously, like Yichen, Ōnoki was able to use the Kekkei Tōta Ninjutsu. However, Kekkei Tōta also caused harm to Yichen and his companions.

The reason for this is that they have not fully integrated the Kekkei Tōta they possessed into themselves.

Previously, Yichen was only at the Life level of Kekkei Genkai, just like the Yuki Clan.

Of course, he possesses three Kekkei Genkai, making his Life level higher than that of Ice Release ninjas or those with Dual Bloodline Limit Mei Terumi.

But in essence, there is no difference.

However, from this moment on, Yichen's life form has entered the level of Kekkei Tōta.

The moment the fusion was completely completed, Yichen felt an indescribable sense of comfort.

This feeling, perhaps, is a leap in Life level.

Yichen experienced this when he first achieved Porcelain Release. However, the feeling was much stronger this time.

Yichen could sense that all of his attributes had improved.

Chakra levels, physical strength, control over Chakra, and control over the body have all improved.

Even perception and neural reaction abilities, which are very difficult to improve, have been enhanced.

Yichen had a misconception that his IQ might have increased, and that Yichen would be more efficient at learning various theoretical knowledge now than before.

Yichen closed his eyes and sat quietly in the archives, carefully experiencing the various changes in his body.

If Yichen's ultimate goal is to use the Light Release, then Yichen should be out having fun right now.

However, for Yichen, fully integrating with the Light Release was merely the end of one phase and the beginning of another.

Based on Yichen's current knowledge and his research on the Five Elements Fusion over the past year.

Yichen knew that this feeling in his body would be of great help to his future research.

Therefore, Yichen was both somewhat obsessed with the feeling of becoming stronger in all aspects of his body, and at the same time, he was learning from his own body.

Yichen's archives room is off-limits to unauthorized personnel, and no one is allowed to enter without his permission.

Throughout the entire year, Yichen was only disturbed twice.

Therefore, no one came to disturb Yichen as he sat there reflecting on the Body changes.

After a long while, Yichen slowly came to his senses. He Awakening Eyes, looking around with his eyes while using Mind's Eye perception.

I don't know why, but suddenly I feel like the world is a little different.

Yichen stood up from his seat and slowly walked out of the archives.

As Yichen walked out of the archives, he still felt a little out of sorts.

Another gain for Yichen this year was his introduction to the theory of the Five Elements Fusion.

The Little White Ball is the template for the fusion of five attributes, as Yichen has studied throughout the year.

We not only learned what the Five Elements Fusion is all about, but also summarized a method for fusing the five attributes.

Yichen calls this the Refinement Method.

Yichen's research revealed that the true nature of the Five Elements Fusion is extremely complex. Achieving it in one go is virtually impossible.

Only Sage could do that.

Therefore, Yichen plans to divide the entire Little White Ball's structure into layers. Instead of the previously used method of cutting and splitting, he will forcibly separate the main shaft and branches according to the framework.

The general idea is to maintain the five main poles. There's no need to fuse the five main poles; they just need to be connected without collapsing.

Then, first-level branches extend from the five main branches, which intertwine with each other, making the five attributes even more intertwined.

Because in this step, the original five main stems will become thinner, and the repulsive force between them will be less.

Of course, the newly generated branches will produce many new repulsive forces during the contact process.

Once this structure can be maintained, new branches will emerge, which are the second-level branches. This time, the degree of entanglement will be many times more complex than that of the first-level branches.

He continued to break it down layer by layer, and Yichen was unsure how many layers there would be in the end.

However, Yichen estimated that if he could reach around the seventh level, he could then attempt to forcibly fuse the five attributes.

Because at this point, the entire structure is filled with repulsive forces, but the repulsive forces at each point are extremely subtle.

The wondrous Chakra can gradually adapt to various environments, including this repulsive force.

Yichen estimated that the repulsive force around the seventh layer wouldn't require him to actively find a way to overcome it; his Chakra could handle it on its own.

Whether this path is feasible is still unknown; Yichen has only designed a framework.

Most importantly, the Little White Ball Research Group needs to provide a lot of data before this step can be carried out.

The data we have obtained so far is far from enough; Yichen estimates that the current data is only enough for him to proceed to the fourth level.

Soon, news of Yichen's emergence from seclusion alarmed Ōnoki and other high-ranking officials.

So Yichen was immediately pulled away to a High-Level Meeting.

The attendees at this High-Level Meeting were all present; all senior executives were there.

The seven advisors are Ōnoki, Saka, Mei, Ikura, Kawakita, Tomoko, Deidara.

Kitsuchi, the Head of the Tsuchikage Assistant Squad.

Han, Matsutani Shinya, Sokai, Izumi Uchiha the four Honorary Advisor.

Including Yichen, the Tsuchikage, there were thirteen people in total. Kitsuchi Tu's assistants did not participate.

Today, Yichen has emerged from seclusion, and many of the matters to be discussed are too confidential, so they will not be allowed to participate.

It's worth mentioning that Deidara officially became an advisor. Izumi Uchiha, like Sokai, became Honorary Advisor.

As soon as everyone arrived, Ōnoki asked, "Yichen, you succeeded?"

As a ninja who also possesses Kekkei Genkai, Ōnoki is very concerned about whether Yichen can successfully fuse with the Light Release technique.

He learned Dust Release many years earlier than Yichen, but he still has no way of fully integrating Dust Release.

Yichen's method can be a useful reference for Ōnoki, but it cannot be copied verbatim. Yichen's Chakra control has long been the best in the entire Ninja World, Ōnoki cannot match.

Yichen's path is one that Ōnoki cannot traverse.

Yichen smiled at Ōnoki and said, "I did succeed. It feels so good to completely fuse with the Kekkei Tōta."

"I feel like my Life level has undergone a leap. All my attributes have improved, even the weakest trait of a ninja, my physical fitness, has been greatly enhanced."

Everyone was somewhat envious upon hearing this. Among them, Ming, seemingly lost in thought, asked Yichen, "Yichen, has your lifespan increased? Has your aging process slowed down?"

Yichen nodded very clearly and replied, "Yes, I can clearly feel my body is full of vitality."

"It feels like going back to that period more than a decade ago when my strength was rapidly increasing."

Yichen is now around thirty years old. Although he hasn't reached his peak as a ninja, his period of rapid growth has long passed.

Upon hearing this, Mei, Tomoko, and Izumi Uchiha all cast envious glances at each other.

Deidara pursed his lips, expressing his speechlessness at the focus of the three members of the Underworld.

He asked, "Lord Tsuchikage, how much has your strength improved?"

Yichen smiled and said, "It's hard to say. There's no reference point, and we'll only know after we've tried it."

"I'll test it out the next time the Ninja World clashes. Or, when I have time, I'll spar with Nagato."

Deidara rolled his eyes; Yichen's words were essentially meaningless.

At this moment, Tomoko said, "Teacher Yichen, speaking of the Ninja World War, let me tell you about the current situation in the Ninja World."

"Some time ago, First Shinobi War Konoha's internal purge, Mei Terumi of Kirigakure led her men to kill Kakuzu of the Dark Akatsuki Organization."

Yichen was somewhat taken aback. He said, "Kakuzu dead? I was the one who arranged for him to help Danzo. I never expected him to die like this. It's my fault. Sigh."

Tomoko was taken aback by Yichen's words.

She didn't want to see Yichen pretending, so she quickly said, "When the Seventh Hokage, Kakashi Hatake, and others fought Danzo, it's said that Danzo directly used the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal to kill all of his own subordinates."

"Then Danzo ran away. We think Danzo might have gone mad."

Yichen thought for a moment and said, "If he had really gone mad, Danzo should have been found by everyone by now. Do you have any information about his whereabouts?"

Tomoko shook her head and said, "No one, including those in Konoha, knows Danzo's whereabouts."

Yichen said, "Let's also be careful not to give Danzo an opportunity to attack us. Whether he's insane or not, Danzo's emotions are definitely not normal."

"Be careful, he's like a mad dog, biting anyone he sees."

Saka nodded and said, "Indeed, Danzo has mastered Wood Release, and his strength has greatly improved compared to before."

"If he launches an attack on one of our bases, or even one of our branches, without any regard for the consequences, we will be in a very passive position."

Yichen thought for a moment and said, "Let's find a way to get Danzo to contact us on his own initiative."

Tomoko asked curiously, "Teacher Yichen, are you going to kill Danzo?"

Yichen shook his head and said, "Danzo hates Konoha the most. Keeping him alive is more beneficial than harmful. Why would I kill him?"

"I want to sponsor him, give him a little money, so that Danzo won't cause trouble, at least not towards our Iwa ninja."

Everyone nodded; this was a good idea.

After a moment of silence, Yichen continued, "Danzo still has Shisui Uchiha Mangekyō Sharingan in his right eye."

"Shisui Uchiha's Dōjutsu is Kotoamatsukami. Everyone must be careful. Whether Danzo approaches us first or we contact him first, we must not make eye contact with him."

Everyone responded in unison, "Understood."

Yichen paused for a moment and then said, "There's one more thing. Danzo killed so many Konoha ninja; that's definitely a grave crime against Konoha."

"Although Danzo has escaped, someone has to take the blame, Hiruzen Sarutobi is the most suitable."

"Danzo's position over the past few decades has been supported by Hiruzen Sarutobi, and his escape from Konoha last time was also due to Hiruzen Sarutobi's indulgence."

"Let's try launching a propaganda offensive in Konoha. Objective: To force Hiruzen Sarutobi suicide!"

Everyone swallowed hard, nodding as they thought to themselves, "Fox of Stone, the village's major policies still need you to take charge. We're all too clean."

Then, Tomoko continued, "The Mist ninja, the Konoha, and the Cloud ninja have officially formed an alliance."

"This time, the Mist ninja, taking advantage of Mei Terumi's victory over Kakuzu, gained the recognition of Konoha and Cloud ninja, and officially became the leader of the Three-Party Alliance."

"The three companies have already cooperated in many areas. We've analyzed it, and they probably want to establish a business environment similar to our Land of Earth Trade Circle to compete with us."

Yichen thought for a moment and said, "How about this, after contacting Danzo, have Danzo disrupt their three-way trade alliance."

"Robbing the caravans of the three families would also raise funds, and these are all businesses run by guys who betrayed him, the Hokage. I believe Danzo wouldn't refuse."

Everyone:...

After a pause, Tomoko seemed to remember something and said, "However, intelligence indicates that the three parties also invited Orochimaru's Snake Pit Village to join, but it seems that Orochimaru directly refused."

Yichen thought to himself, "Orochimaru?"

"As expected, after hooking up with Black Zetsu, Orochimaru's behavior has become increasingly unpredictable."

"I wonder if Orochimaru has figured out something new with Black Zetsu's help."

"Speaking of which, it's been a while since I went to collect rent from the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. I should find some time to go again. I wonder what I'll get this time?"

"Okay, let's go see A-Tu after the meeting."

Although Yichen was worried about Orochimaru's growing power, Orochimaru was not Obito Uchiha and would not be so easy to control.

Therefore, Yichen did not intend to directly cause trouble for Orochimaru.

Besides, Yichen now has his own things to do.

Thinking of this, Yichen looked at Matsutani Shinya, Sokai, Izumi Uchiha sitting on the outer edge and asked, "Shinya, did your trip to the Land of Snow go smoothly?"

Matsutani Shinya yawned, nodded, but didn't bother to speak, giving Sokai a look.

Despite Yichen's Byakugan, Sokai said, "Teacher Yichen, it went smoothly, my eye power has recovered."

"The Natural Energy there is so warm, it's as if... as if it naturally complements our Mangekyō Sharingan."

"Under Senior Brother Shinya's guidance, we absorbed Natural Energy and then suppressed it using the Mangekyō Sharingan."

"In the end, a balance was indeed achieved. Then, the Natural Energy began to slowly nourish my Mangekyō Sharingan."

"My pupil power is slowly recovering, and it finally recovered successfully a few days ago."

Yichen nodded, and was about to ask Izumi Uchiha felt when Sokai spoke for her.

"Sister Izumi's eye power has also recovered, and she absorbed more Natural Energy than me, so her eye power seems to have improved."

Yichen's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked, "What happened? Tell me in detail."

When it came to the specific principles, Sokai's brain couldn't keep up. He awkwardly scratched his head and looked at Izumi Uchiha.

Izumi Uchiha glared at him and said, "Lord Tsuchikage, I've thought about this carefully, and I suspect it's because I absorbed the eye power of Clan Leader Fugaku and his son Itachi Uchiha."

"It's possible that the fusion of two different eye powers caused a slight change."

"However, I didn't absorb many of the two types of eye power, so the changes weren't significant. My eye power has improved, but not by much."

Yichen nodded slowly and said, "Didn't we obtain Fugaku Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan when we captured Shisui Uchiha last time?"

"Let's find a way to absorb it." As he spoke, Yichen's gaze turned to Sokai.

Sokai wore a bitter expression and said, "Teacher Yichen, don't always think of me about these things."

"This time in the Land of Snow, Sister Izumi has already absorbed my eye power."

Yichen raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

Sokai said, "Isn't that Natural Energy able to restore eye power?"

"So we thought, let Sister Izumi absorb my eye power to strengthen herself, and then I will use Natural Energy to recover."

"In this way, Sister Izumi's eye power will become stronger and stronger."

Yichen's eyes lit up, and he asked eagerly, "Is it feasible?"

Sokai said with a bitter face, "It's feasible, but the Natural Energy there is too slow for the recovery of eye power."

"Moreover, this means my eye power will always be in a state of depletion. From now on, I won't have to do anything but use Natural Energy to restore my eye power."

Yichen was taken aback, then waved his hand dismissively and said, "It's alright, it's fine if you work a little harder. It's always a good thing if it helps your Sister Izumi become stronger."

"Anyway, besides the Mangekyō Sharingan, you don't have any other skills to show for it."

Sokai:...

"Teacher Yichen, that's not how it is. I don't know why, but my strength has improved very quickly recently."

"I have made great progress in all aspects of Taijutsu, Genjutsu, and Ninjutsu."

"I've sparred with Senior Brother Shinya, and even without the Mangekyō Sharingan, I'm quite strong now."

Listening to Sokai's anxious explanation, Yichen suddenly remembered that during the previous First Shinobi War with Konoha, Sokai's eye power increased after seeing Izumi Uchiha danger.

It seems that the increased eye power of the Mangekyo Uchiha is almost equivalent to a normal ninja becoming Kage Level.

However, this also makes Itachi Uchiha stronger.

Yichen looked at Matsutani Shinya, Matsutani Shinya nodded, confirming Sokai's words.

Yichen thought for a moment and said, "You Sokai. The village already has eleven Kage Level experts, including you. We won't miss one more."

"But if we can help your Sister Izumi improve her eye power further, then the village might have another strong person like me who surpasses the normal Kage Level."

"I hope you understand the difference between these two."

"So, I'll have to make do with you for a few more years. Just be my Sister Izumi's eye power bank for the next few years."

Before Sokai could continue speaking, Yichen made the decision, saying, "It's settled then!"

"By the way, during this time, you can transplant the Mangekyou Sharingan from Shisui Uchiha and Fugaku Uchiha."

"Let Quan Luo absorb more different kinds of pupil power."

"And by the way, help me figure out exactly what the Mangekyō Sharingan of Fugaku Uchiha is for."

"Let alone time-based Dōjutsu, time-based Ninjutsu are rare even."

As far as Yichen knew, the only power in the Ninja World related to time was the Dragon Vein.

Fugaku Uchiha's Dōjutsu could be used to research time-based Ninjutsu, filling a gap in this area.

Sokai wanted to resist, but it was no use. It was both an order from Yichen, the unreasonable teacher, and for the sake of her beloved Sister Izumi, so Sokai finally gave in.