Uchiha Shingen's Goodwill / The Heirs of Ryūchi Cave

Amidst the complex gazes of the crowd, Uchiha Shingen appeared behind the two children, picked them up one in each hand, and placed them in the arms of their "guardians."

Chapter 44 Uchiha Shingen's Goodwill

The scorpion left quietly, just as quietly as it had come.

Without the scorpion causing trouble, the joint Chunin continued.

There are just a few fewer people.

Uchiha Shingen was wrong about one thing: Sasori's target was not only bloodline ninjas, but also secret technique ninjas.

Bloodline limit ninjas are most numerous in Hidden Mist Village.

Leaf Village has the most secret ninja techniques.

Afterwards, the villages and Sand Village investigated and tallied the results, finding that in the first round of the exam, about forty or fifty people had died or gone missing. Kirigakure had the most missing persons, who were probably captured by Sasori.

The fate of these people is self-evident.

But Terumi Mei is concerned, as long as Kimimaro is alright, everything is fine.

It wasn't that she didn't care about the candidates from her village, but rather that she chose the lesser of two evils and saved Kimimaro, which was already a very good result. After all, there are many bloodlines in Hidden Mist Village, but not many that are extremely powerful, and Shikotsumyaku is the only one left.

On another note, none of the Amegakure were captured by Sasori; they were indeed killed during the exam.

This made the leader of Amegakure feel very embarrassed and he began to hate Kusagakure.

He felt that he wouldn't be in such an awkward situation if the ninjas from Kusagakure hadn't spread the word.

Leaf Village's examinees also suffered losses, but because Leaf Village's examinees were mainly commoner ninjas, none of them had bloodline limits, and there were only two or three secret technique ninjas, they did not become Sasori's priority targets. Instead, they eliminated some opponents for Sasori, so the overall situation was good, and all four promising candidates passed the test smoothly.

In any case, the first round of exams is over.

The surviving candidates from each village, regardless of whether they passed or not, were taken back to rest by their respective team leaders.

The second round of exams will be held in one month.

Before the new round of exams begins, those who have passed can take good care of themselves and prepare well.

As for those who didn't pass, especially those who were missing an arm or a leg, there's nothing that can be done. The former can just sit back and watch the show, while the latter will have to stay in the hospital. Fortunately, the hospitals in Sand Village are quite good, and as long as the disability isn't too severe, they can still provide treatment.

Those with severe disabilities may have no choice but to live and retire to become ordinary people.

No one will complain about this; the Joint Chunin Exams are inherently a mix of risk and opportunity.

Everyone's aim is to take a life; crippling someone but not killing them is considered a mercy.

Few people would say, "My ninja way is over, I might as well die."

If you can't be a ninja anymore, just change professions. After all, it's easy for someone who can use Chakra to find a relatively respectable job.

During this time, Uchiha Shingen continued to "protect" the examinees from his village as usual.

The Joint Chunin Exams generate revenue, primarily from nobles from various countries.

To put it simply, the Joint Chunin Exams have a lot of implications.

For test takers, it's all about getting promoted.

For the ninja village, it was an open and aboveboard way to gather intelligence, coordinate, and settle accounts.

For the nobles, this test was a way to judge the strength of each ninja village.

For businessmen, this is a chance to make a fortune, especially those in the gambling industry.

The location of Sunagakure is not conducive to commerce, but gambling still exists, as the majority of the funds come from nobles.

In the original Leaf Village, gambling was rampant in Konoha, to the point that two ninjas from Kusagakure went to threaten Gaara, and their fate was predictable.

In conclusion, although the Joint Chunin Exams are called Chunin Ninja Exams, most of the interests involved have little to do with the examinees themselves.

Merchants who dare to run gambling operations on platforms like the Chunin Ninja Exams must have powerful backgrounds. Harassing examinees is common practice in order to manipulate the betting, and they often hire ninjas from small countries to do these things.

The ninja village wouldn't use administrative means to stop these things. On one hand, the village also needs to make money, and on the other hand, this is also part of assessing the candidates' abilities.

Otherwise, once you become Chunin, there will be far more complicated and difficult things to handle than this.

Uchiha Shingen's attitude towards gambling was unconventional; he kept a close eye on it—if he was outmatched and killed, that was one thing, but playing around with techniques outside the examination hall was unacceptable.

The gambling syndicate owners certainly didn't dare to mess with the infamous White Ghost of Leaf Village, especially after the first round of exams.

No ninja from any small country would dare to try and make money in front of the White Ghost of Leaf Village.

Therefore, the examinees in Leaf Village were able to enjoy a rare moment of peace and quiet.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Shingen, Pakura, and Hatake Kakashi also began to provide targeted training to these Genin.

This work is mainly done by Hatake Kakashi.

However, Uchiha Shingen chose Mitarashi Anko.

After Orochimaru left the village, Mitarashi Anko became the second person in Konoha, besides him, to hold a contract with Ryūchi Cave.

Even considering only this point, Uchiha Shingen was willing to offer this little girl some help.

After all, Mitarashi Anko doesn't even have the qualifications to enter Ryūchi Cave. The fact that she was able to sign the contract was entirely due to Orochimaru for her.

Getting the White Snake Sage to give you this face won't be easy.

Uchiha Shingen's training of Mitarashi Anko mainly focused on Taijutsu and the Clone Technique.

His escape technique is not suitable for Anko.

In this timeline, Mitarashi Anko Cursed Seal wasn't placed under the Orochimaru, probably because she left too early, before the technology was fully developed.

Conversely, this proves that Mitarashi Anko has the potential to cultivate the Dragon Cave Sage Technique, though it's only potential.

However, Uchiha Shingen was willing to give her a chance. Mitarashi Anko was probably the only one among the Special Jōnin of the original timeline who was not strong enough due to external factors.

Physical fitness is fundamental; the Dragon Cave Sage Technique place high demands on the body.

Therefore, every day, Uchiha Shingen would take Mitarashi Anko to the desert outside Sunagakure for training.

On the one hand, it was to train her Taijutsu, and on the other hand, the large area made it easier to teach her how to use the snakes in Ryūchi Cave Medium Clone.

Medium Clone have an advantage that other clones don't: they can utilize the properties of the "medium." For example, in the original timeline Deidara's clay clone could use the stickiness of clay to trap people.

Mitarashi Anko can summon the snakes of Ryūchi Cave, and can use these snakes as a medium to create clones. If the opponent attacks her clones with Taijutsu, then things will get really interesting.

Uchiha Shingen deeply cherished Mitarashi Anko's kindness.

Orochimaru's departure made this little girl grow up a lot overnight.

She harbored no resentment towards Uchiha Shingen, for a simple reason: she hated Orochimaru.

Because Orochimaru trained her to be a ninja who loved the village, but then she betrayed the village.

In a sense, Orochimaru protected Mitarashi Anko through this action, although it's hard to say whether this was Orochimaru's true intention.

After all, he's a boss who does it out of interest.

Time flies, and a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

The Sunagakure announced the content of the second round of exams, which was nothing new: one-on-one duels, the same as the third round of the Leaf Village Chunin Ninja Exams in the original timeline.

In order to give the nobles of various countries enough time, Sunagakure postponed the exam by two months, but held an elimination round in advance, ultimately limiting the number of people in the third round of exams to less than twenty.

Mitarashi Anko is among them.

Chapter 45 The Successors of Ryūchi Cave

It has to be said that ever since Uchiha Shingen started using Ice Release to create Gundams, he has had less emotional contact with the giant snakes of Ryūchi Cave.

After Susanoo was unlocked, it was almost never used again.

The main issue is that, for him, the psychic serpent has become increasingly useless in many situations.

Training Anko is also intended to help her inherit this position; otherwise, it would be a waste if such a large group of giant snakes couldn't serve Leaf Village relatively frequently.

Was the contract signed for nothing?

After confirming his selection in the second exam, Uchiha Shingen continued his training with Mitarashi Anko.

Two months is plenty of time.

On this day, as usual, he used the Flying Thunder God Mitarashi Anko outside Sunagakure to begin her training.

The desert climate is harsh, a major enemy of skincare for girls, but the ninjas' unpredictable Chakra means they don't really need to worry about that.

At Uchiha Shingen's request, Mitarashi Anko spends most of her time Taijutsu every day.

Under the blazing sun, Mitarashi Anko Uchiha Shingen, relentlessly pressing the scorching sun overhead.

In the words of Uchiha Shingen, he couldn't guide Anko without her full strength.

How can I help you bounce back if I don't clearly demonstrate how low you've hit rock bottom?

The words may be harsh, but they are honest.

"The speed is good, but there are too many unnecessary movements." Uchiha Shingen repeatedly corrected Mitarashi Anko's movements.

Her foundation is good, but she still lacks experience.

"Unnecessary movements will waste your Chakra." Besides correcting Mitarashi Anko's movements, Uchiha Shingen also taught her how to better control her Chakra. "Don't refine too much at once. Your chakra storage ability isn't outstanding, so your Chakra consumption will be greater than others. These are all unnecessary losses."

"Yes, teacher." Mitarashi Anko diligently absorbed the knowledge that Uchiha Shingen was teaching her, not daring to slack off.

Uchiha Shingen didn't mind the way Mitarashi Anko addressed him.

Mitarashi Anko is a decent person, which is why he was willing to teach her.

After the fight, Uchiha Shingen barely broke a sweat, while Mitarashi Anko was panting heavily.

"Take a break." Uchiha Shingen handed the water bottle to Mitarashi Anko. "Your stamina is much better than it was a month ago; you've improved."

That's the truth.

Mitarashi Anko is indeed talented in Taijutsu.

To reiterate, someone who can get Orochimaru to take on a disciple must be exceptional.

"Master, may I learn your escape techniques?" Mitarashi Anko asked expectantly.

"It's not that you can't learn it," Uchiha Shingen thought for a moment and said, "It's just that your Chakra is still too low."

To be honest, ninjutsu is a real Chakra- consuming thing. Don't be fooled by the Eight Gates of ninjutsu in the Ninja World; most of them are Jonin who use ninjutsu as their primary means of attack.

The main reason is that it consumes a lot of chakra; Chakra, you'll be out of energy after just a couple of uses.

The Uchiha Clan made a fortune selling Explosive Tag because there was one crucial condition: at least 90% of their ninjas simply couldn't afford to use ninjutsu.

Explosive Tag and Taijutsu are the primary means of killing for the vast majority of ninjas.

"Oh..." Mitarashi Anko was aware of her current deficiency in this area and was immediately disappointed.

"However, given your current situation, you can still use Genjutsu." Uchiha Shingen suddenly realized this.

Those with the potential to cultivate immortal Senjutsu will have a high "essence" value.

" At the Genin stage, physical strength is generally not strong. I will teach you two Genjutsu. One can be used to wear down the enemy's physical strength, and the other can be used to attack the enemy's mind," Uchiha Shingen said.

Then, he began to explain to Mitarashi Anko the usage of the Illusionary Technique: Hell Viewing Technique and the Fox Mind Technique. These two Genjutsu were not high-level, one C and the other D. Since Mitarashi Anko could learn the Summoning Technique and master the Hidden Shadow Snake Hands, learning these two techniques should not be difficult for her.

Snake charmers can't function without scaring people.

Although Mitarashi Anko was already very tired, she still concentrated and listened attentively to the lecture.

Uchiha Shingen greatly appreciated her attitude towards learning.

In this respect, Mitarashi Anko and Shiro are similar; they are both the type who never let go of any learning opportunity.

"Just understand it for now. I'll give you the scroll later; the key points will be written on it." Uchiha Shingen gestured for Mitarashi Anko to relax. "But right now, the main thing is to train your physical strength. Only with sufficient physical strength can your Chakra increase, which is a basic requirement for you to become the true successor of Ryūchi Cave."

"Yes, teacher."

"Before you finish your training, I will take you to Ryūchi Cave. If you don't want to be looked down upon by the true master of Ryūchi Cave, then you should train diligently."

"Really!?" Mitarashi Anko exclaimed in surprise, "Would you like to take me, sir?"

"Hmm." Uchiha Shingen nodded.

Summoning Technique are a very mysterious field within Space-Time Ninjutsu.

It ignores distance.