After returning to his tent, Yechen soon received his Jonin uniform. He smiled knowingly at the sight. Orochimaru certainly worked fast.
The night passed without incident.
The next day.
Morning.
Inside the meeting room at the Command Center.
Yechen glanced around at the Jonin present and could tell at once which belonged to clans and which were Civilian Ninjas.
Their strength and the people they chose to speak with made the distinction clear.
Well over half of those present were clan shinobi, while Civilian Ninjas made up less than thirty percent.
Yechen found nothing surprising about this. Civilian Ninjas had neither inherited teachings nor resources. Advancing from Genin to Jonin was incredibly difficult for them. Who knew how much effort and luck it had taken for them to reach this point?
Clan shinobi, on the other hand, were different. They started ahead of ordinary Civilian Ninjas, and the treatment and resources they enjoyed were beyond anything their counterparts could hope for.
Given that disparity, the situation today was hardly surprising.
Still, none of that had anything to do with him. He set those thoughts aside and waited for the meeting to begin.
While he had been sizing up the others, they had also been studying him, this newly risen Uchiha prodigy.
Some gazes were indifferent, some curious, some appreciative, and others wary. Yechen's reputation spoke for itself, after all.
Yechen could not be bothered with their scrutiny and simply sat there quietly.
Before long, a figure entered from outside. It was Orochimaru, the commander of Konoha's Main Camp in the Land of Rain.
Upon entering, he let his gaze linger briefly on Yechen without revealing much.
He walked to the head of the table, sat down, cleared his throat, and announced the start of the meeting.
"We have only two