Konoha Hosts the Joint Chunin Exams

After looking at the list, Uzumaki Riori immediately forgot about being abandoned.

She ignored Neji other two, and left the Tsuchikage's Office in a hurry without saying goodbye to Yichen.

Without a doubt, the four people present knew that Uzumaki Riori had gone to the Ninja Academy to find her three new disciples.

Kurotsuchi rolled her eyes Yichen said, "Lord Tsuchikage, Yakumo and the other two haven't graduated yet, have they?"

Yichen said, "Sigh, even you, Kurotsuchi, graduated early, let alone Sakura and the other two."

"Sakura became my disciple even earlier than Karin."

Kurotsuchi:...

Kurotsuchi glared at Yichen, gritted his teeth, and said, "I'm going to cultivate."

After saying that, she left without looking back, just like Uzumaki Riori.

Neji asked with some concern, "Teacher Yichen, Yakumo's constitution is much weaker than normal. Is it really okay to let her follow Sister Riori?"

Yichen waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, didn't the three of you survive Riori's attacks unscathed?"

Neji:...

Karin:...

Neji got his wish and joined the Anbu.

Kurotsuchi chose to serve as the Conventional Squad Captain. After all, she had become accustomed to choosing missions and arranging schedules after a year of following Uzumaki Riori on missions.

Moreover, as the team leader, she has more freedom in her schedule, allowing her to better manage her training.

Karin wanted to go to the hospital, but Yichen forced her to go to the Anbu.

Although Karin's strength is not quite at the Jonin, her Medical Ninjutsu and Sensory Ninjutsu are enough for her to serve as a member of an Anbu squad.

Yichen didn't want Karin to end up just being a researcher in the Medical Department.

Less than an hour after Uzumaki Riori's Team One disbanded, the Team Two was already formed.

Sakura, Shion, and Yakumo Kurama were dragged out of the Ninja Academy by Uzumaki Riori, looking completely bewildered.

Before the three of them even understood what was going on, Uzumaki Riori began teaching them the legendary Great Fireball Ninjutsu.

About a month after Sakura and her two friends graduated early, Yichen received news that Sasuke Uchiha, the last surviving Uchiha Clan in Konoha, had also graduated early from the Ninja Academy.

The news of Sasuke Uchiha's graduation was considered important information by the intelligence ninjas from Iwa ninja stationed in Konoha, so it was immediately relayed back to Iwagakure.

Sasuke's graduation means that Naruto also graduates at the same time.

In the original story, Naruto attended the Ninja Academy for six years because Konoha had enjoyed more than ten years of peace at that time, and the village had no shortage of ninjas.

However, in this life, Konoha's situation is much worse, with a clear shortage of ninjas.

Therefore, the Ninja Academy in Konoha, like that in Iwagakure, only has a five-year program.

If we factor in graduating a year early, Naruto and Sasuke are actually two years younger than they were in the original story when they graduated.

In any case, with the early graduation of these two saviors, the Ninja World is destined to never be peaceful again.

Several days later, in the Land of Fire, in Short-Length Street.

The place where Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru met in the original story.

In this lifetime, Yichen and Danzo meet here.

Upon meeting, Yichen first beckoned his three disciples, Aono Shinichi, Minamoto Shizuka, Rion, to his side.

Yichen carefully examined the three of them, confirming that they had no Cursed Seal on them, before saying, "Alright, after following the Hokage for more than half a year, I believe the three of you have learned a lot. Today, come back to the village with me."

Upon hearing this, the three cheered in unison.

Although the three were more mature than their peers, they were still young. Not long after graduating from the Ninja Academy, they were thrown into the service of the Darkness of the Ninja World by their unreliable teacher.

Moreover, the three of them stayed there for more than half a year. Not to mention going home, just being able to leave Danzo was enough to excite and thrill them.

Danzo, unusually patient, waited on the sidelines until Yichen Aono Shinichi, and the other two finished their conversation before speaking, "Tsuchikage, I'm about to launch my plan. Are you Iwa ninja sure you won't participate?"

Yichen waved his hand, creating a Porcelain Barrier between the two as usual, and closed his eyes at the same time.

Then Yichen said, "Hokage, as I've said before, Iwagakure loves peace. This is Konoha's internal affair, and I won't interfere."

"But I assure you, no matter what the situation is after the war, I will not wage war against Konoha."

"This is my solemn promise to you, the Tsuchikage."

Yichen said this, of course, to dispel Danzo's last remaining concerns.

Danzo feels that Yichen, the mantis, is behind him, then even if his coup succeeds, it will be useless, and he might abandon the Konoha Collapse Plan, which would be bad.

Although the possibility was slim, Yichen was still unwilling to take the risk.

As expected, after hearing Yichen's words, Danzo was somewhat disappointed, but he remained determined to carry out the plan.

At this point, Yichen changed the subject, saying, "If the Hokage chooses the right time, I can help you hold off the Mist ninja."

Danzo narrowed his eyes and asked, "What is the timing the Tsuchikage is referring to?"

Yichen smiled and said, "For example, let Konoha hold a Joint Chunin Exams."

"How about we launch a direct attack in front of so many celebrities and wealthy businessmen in the Ninja World during the third round of the Joint Chunin Exams?"

"At that time, I can be there directly as the Tsuchikage. That way, even if I don't take action, Kakashi won't be able to let me off the hook."

"I think I can at least hold off one Kage Level for you, most likely the Mizukage."

Danzo pondered for a moment, then asked, "Do you have a way to get Kakashi to organize the Joint Chunin Exams?"

Yichen smiled and said, "Of course I can't. I'll say it again, I won't interfere in Konoha's internal affairs."

"While I may not be able to do it, I believe the Lord Hokage is capable of it."

"If he can't even handle this simple matter, I don't think the Hokage has any point in restoring order. Going to Konoha would just be suicide."

Danzo coldly, feeling that he had been underestimated.

Danzo then stated directly, "I will have Konoha hold Joint Chunin Exams, but no one will invite you Iwa ninja."

Yichen waved his hand and said, "It's okay, it doesn't matter if no one invites me, I'll just shamelessly go."

Aono Shinichi and the others:...

I thought Danzo had been shameless enough in the past six months, but I never expected my own teacher to be even more shameless.

He could talk about being shameless so naturally, even with a hint of pride.

Danzo didn't think much of it; for someone who plays politics, this was just basic stuff.

However, Danzo 'Danzo with Yichen today was not simply to confirm the timing of the operation.

He said, "Tsuchikage, the Iwa ninja can choose not to participate in this operation, but they must make a gesture."

Danzo spoke with absolute certainty, his tone leaving no room for negotiation.

Yichen remained silent, Danzo stood there quietly as well.

The two faced off for a long time through the Porcelain Barrier, releasing their Kage Level Super Kage-level auras, causing the Porcelain Barrier between them to sway slightly.

Sensing the aura emanating from the two, Aono Shinichi and the other two couldn't help but swallow hard and took a few steps behind Yichen.

Hearing the commotion from his three disciples, Yichen glanced back at them, then suppressed his aura, closed his eyes again, and said to Danzo on the other side of the Porcelain Barrier, "Alright."

"I can provide you with a batch of Exploding Tag for this operation."

Danzo frowned, simultaneously suppressing his aura. He felt there was something wrong with this situation. However, Exploding Tag a valuable commodity in the Ninja World, and obtaining a batch of them would be a good thing.

However, just to be on the safe side, Danzo still asked, "Why does the Tsuchikage always use Exploding Tag?"

Yichen smiled and said, "Our Iwagakure has seen rapid technological development in recent years, including an improvement in the craftsmanship of Exploding Tag."

"We can now produce Exploding Tag much faster, while significantly reducing costs."

"However, the sales volume of Exploding Tag on the black market is not high, so the village has stockpiled a large number of Exploding Tag."

"If I were to support the Hokage's military expenses, the rest of the village wouldn't agree, and some advisors might even impeach me, the Tsuchikage."

"But if it's just Exploding Tag, then basically no one will object."

Danzo frowned and thought about it for a moment, then, finding no flaws, he finally accepted Yichen's explanation.

The main reason is that Yichen had given him a batch of Exploding Tag before, and he didn't find any problems with them and thought they were quite good.

Furthermore, Danzo deeply agreed with Yichen's point about the internal discord within the Iwagakure leadership, believing that such mutual sabotage was exactly what a High-ranking officials should be doing.

Therefore, Danzo believed some of Yichen's plausible explanation.

However, Danzo later expressed dissatisfaction with the number of Exploding Tag proposed by Yichen.

Although Danzo was already surprised by Yichen's generosity, he still made exorbitant demands and tried to bargain.

After arguing with reason to no avail, Yichen yielded.

In the end, Danzo received twice the number of Exploding Tag that Yichen had initially given him.

After discussing the Exploding Tag, Yichen asked, "Hokage, I wonder if you've already won over Orochimaru?"

"I'd like to give the Hokage a piece of advice: if Orochimaru doesn't agree, he'll definitely take action in secret."

Danzo said calmly, "Orochimaru has already agreed."

Yichen nodded and said, "That's good. However, the Hokage may not know that more than half a year ago, I fought Orochimaru. At that time, he used the Impure World Reincarnation to summon six Kage Level."

Danzo's gaze sharpened, and he asked, "Six?"

He was somewhat skeptical, mainly because he felt that the more Edo Impure World Reincarnation) a thing was, the better.

Controlling the Reanimated Body is still quite troublesome; he can only control two at a time, and it becomes inflexible with any more.

For ninjas at the Kage Level, lack of agility is a fatal weakness.

Rather than letting the enemy seize an opening and deliver a fatal blow, it's better to reduce the number of Reanimated Body from the start.

Take Danzo, for example. In his last battle with Kakashi and the others, he only summoned two Kage Level.

After being distracted by his battle with Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo's control over the two Reanimated Body immediately decreased.

Orochimaru, however, was able to summon six Kage Level, clearly demonstrating that his understanding of the Orochimaru Impure World Reincarnation far surpassed his own.

Sensing Danzo's surprised tone, Yichen said, "Therefore, I think that if there's an opportunity, using Kotoamatsukami on Orochimaru would be a very good idea."

Danzo narrowed his eyes. He had indeed had that thought when he heard about six Kage Level. However, the fact that Yichen could guess his thoughts made Danzo very unhappy.

Danzo coldly, then, as if he had thought of something, asked, "Who won?"

Yichen snorted, did not answer, and then turned and left with his three disciples.

He left only one sentence. "Orochimaru likely knows information about Kotoamatsukami."

After a long while, the Porcelain Barrier fell down, and Danzo was still standing in the same spot, frowning as if he were thinking about something.

On the way back to the village, Rion asked Yichen, "Teacher Yichen, did you lose that battle?"

Yichen shook his head and said, "No, I won."

Rion was taken aback, then subconsciously asked, "So what you meant just now?"

Yichen's behavior just now seemed like he was angry and embarrassed.

Yichen didn't answer, but instead asked, "What do you think?"

The three of them were all intelligent and hadn't thought much of it at first, but after hearing Yichen's question, they immediately realized something.

Minamoto Shizuka reacted the fastest, saying, "Teacher Yichen, are you trying to get Danzo to target Kotoamatsukami Orochimaru?"

Yichen nodded and said, "That's right, but the three of you reacted too slowly."

"It's normal that I fooled the Danzo of the scheme, but the performance of the three of you outsiders was utterly inadequate."

All three lowered their heads, involuntarily thinking: Teacher Yichen, your heart is still dirty.

Yichen then asked, "So, tell me what you've gained from following Danzo for the past six months."

Aono Shinichi spoke first, "Danzo has already won over quite a few Konoha ninja; he always chooses his targets very accurately."

"Once he sets his sights on someone, very few would be unwilling to follow him."

Rion said, "Although Danzo is extremely ruthless, the arguments he used to persuade those ninjas from commoner backgrounds were quite practical."

"He seems to negotiate casually every time, and it seems like he always uses force to threaten people, but he must have done his homework before negotiating."

Minamoto Shizuka stated, "Every negotiation that Danzo took us on ultimately succeeded."

"But he didn't actually take us with him every time; he wouldn't invite us to negotiations he felt he wasn't confident about."

"He's probably giving us the illusion that he's highly respected in Konoha and can command a large following."

"I think he's trying to increase his leverage in negotiations with us."

As Yichen flew, he listened to the three people's analysis point by point.

The three of them, along with Danzo, analyzed their personalities and how they were trying to win over more people.

Finally, the three also compared Danzo's power with Kakashi's.

After a long while, Yichen nodded in satisfaction and said, "Very good, you've made some progress."

"As the commander of a Ninja Army, negotiation and scheming are essential skills."

"There's not much I can teach you in this regard, but the fact that you've learned from Danzo shows that these past six months haven't been wasted."

"Alright, now you can continue with the previous lessons. After we get back to the village, I will demonstrate all the Ninjutsu I know to you one by one."

"Your mission is to use these Ninjutsu to create unconventional fighting methods that allow the weak to defeat the strong."

"Everyone has to submit... twenty proposals."

"I will then arrange for the village's ninjas to fight using your plan."

"If more than 80% of the weaker ninjas win after using your strategy, then you'll pass."

Aono Shinichi other two pondered Yichen expressions.

At this point, Yichen added, "As for the time limit, let's say three days. The deadline is three days after I finish demonstrating the Ninjutsu."

"Huh? Only three days?" The three of them exclaimed in surprise.

However, the three knew that resistance was futile, so they stopped wasting time and immediately began a discussion.

Although Yichen hasn't demonstrated it yet, they've read all the recorded descriptions of Ninjutsu from Iwagakure.

Therefore, the three of them can now begin planning based on the description.

After discussing for a while, Minamoto Shizuka asked, "Teacher Yichen, is any form of battle acceptable? Can we have multiplayer battles?"

Yichen smiled and said, "Of course, whether it's multiplayer battles or one-on-one duels, you can set the scenarios yourself, as long as the goal is for the weak to defeat the strong."

Rion asked, "Teacher Yichen, are there any requirements regarding the comparison of strength between the strong and weak sides?"

Yichen gave a friendly smile and said, "No requirements, as long as I'm satisfied."

"As for what kind of contrasting strengths would satisfy me, you can guess!"

Rion:...

The three of them stopped paying attention to Yichen, feeling that talking to Yichen was a waste of time.

Soon, the group of four returned to Iwagakure. Yichen led the three to a Training Ground and demonstrated various Ninjutsu to them.

Yichen did a thorough job, demonstrating not only the Five-Attribute Ninjutsu, but also the Kekkei Genkai and Kekkei Tōta Ninjutsu he knew to the three of them.

Yichen even let the three of them personally experience the power of some special Ninjutsu, such as Genjutsu and Mental Power Secret Technique.

After finishing, Yichen arranged a laboratory for the three of them. Although they returned to the village, they had no intention of going home and planned to make do in the laboratory for a few days.

It was Ikura who arranged the laboratory for the three of them. After learning about Yichen's ideas, Ikura couldn't help but Yichen said in private, "The three of them have been away from the village for so long. Asking them to come up with these solutions now is too much to ask of them, isn't it?"

Yichen then said, "I did it on purpose. My goal is to train the three of them to become commanders."

"As a battlefield commander, one must remain completely calm and not be distracted by anything else while on command."

"Even when the village was under invasion and their homes were in danger, as commanders, they had to remain focused."

"If they can't do that, I won't give them important responsibilities to take on independently in the future."

Ikura thought for a moment and said, "I understand your good intentions, but they only graduated from the Ninja Academy a year ago and are still just three Genin."

"Isn't it too early to be so strict with them at this point?"

Yichen glanced at the gradually darkening sky and said, "Time is running out. If they were disciples I took in ten years ago, then it wouldn't matter."

"But now, the peaceful times in the Ninja World won't last much longer."

Ikura rolled her eyes at Yichen and said, "Are you plotting something again?"

Yichen smiled but didn't answer. Instead, he said, "Konoha is about to hold a Joint Chunin Exams. Make some arrangements and find a few Genin teams; I might need them."

Ikura was taken aback and said, "That's not right. Konoha's Chunin Ninja Exams this year have already ended, around the same time as ours."

"Why is there another Joint Chunin Exams being held recently?"

Yichen replied, "Not this year, probably early next year, but the exact date is hard to say."

Ikura took a deep breath and said, "Something bad is going to happen in this Joint Chunin Exams Konoha, isn't it?"

"Judging from your words, it seems you might have orchestrated this Joint Chunin Exams?"

"You're going to personally lead the team to Konoha?"

Yichen didn't answer, but said, "It's still too early to say, things might change."

"You just need to make preparations in all aspects."

Seeing that Yichen was unwilling to explain, Ikura said no more.

Yichen changed the subject, saying, "Ikura, I still need to practice the Five Elements Fusion. You can arrange for someone to test the research plans of the three of them."

"Try to make the difficulty level as high as possible, and be more stringent in the evaluation."

Ikura was somewhat speechless, but still nodded.

After a while, Ikura said, "The Five Elements Fusion is too dangerous. Don't be too eager for quick results when you cultivate."

"Although I don't know where your sense of urgency comes from, you should still be careful not to do things beyond your capabilities."

Yichen patted Ikura on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I wasn't feeling well for a while, but I'm fine now."

"I'm just a little worried about whether the path of Five Elements Fusion can proceed as expected."

"But I don't have that worry anymore. Every time Neji moves his fetus, my Yin Release improves a little, so I don't need to worry about it for the time being."

Ikura glanced at Yichen, then said nothing more.

Not long after, through some unknown manipulation by Danzo, the Konoha High-ranking officials actually decided to hold a Joint Chunin Exams a month later.

Invitations to the Joint Chunin Exams held by Konoha were successively sent to Kirigakure, Kumogakure, Snake Pit Village, and some small and medium-sized ninja villages that had not been annexed by Iwagakure.

Although the Mist ninja and Cloud ninja found it strange that Konoha was holding a Joint Chunin Exams at this time, as allies, they quickly replied that they would definitely attend on time.

Orochimaru, to everyone's surprise, immediately indicated that he would send someone to participate.

While the small and medium-sized countries like the Land of Birds, the Land of Grass, and the Land of Fields hesitated, they readily agreed to send representatives after receiving a hint from the Iwagakure.

Even the Sunagakure, which has already been downgraded, has indicated that it will accept the invitation to participate.

In fact, not only did the parties involved not understand why Konoha was holding the Joint Chunin Exams, but even Konoha itself was unclear about it.

It's normal that Kakashi, who was busy training, didn't know what had happened. Even the powerful ninja clan leaders Shikaku Nara actually controlled Konoha, were completely bewildered.

They only learned that their own village had sent them an invitation after receiving replies from other ninja villages.

Aside from Kakashi, the Hokage, the other Konoha High-ranking officials gathered together, exchanging bewildered glances for a long time before Kurenai Yūhi finally spoke up, "It's Genjutsu. Some of us have been controlled by Genjutsu before."

Inoichi Yamanaka added, "I'm afraid it's more than that. There should be people from the other side in the village, and quite a few of them. I'm afraid many organizations have been infiltrated."

Actually, everyone had already guessed this before they came, but when Kurenai Yūhi and Inoichi Yamanaka brought it up, everyone still felt a chill down their spines.