The average strength of the Land of Lightning is only second to that of Konoha. Therefore, the war on the Cloud Ninjas' battlefield is extremely fierce. And since the battlefield has a mountainous and wooded terrain, which is very convenient for ninjas to hide, as long as it's not a large - scale battle, both Konoha and the Cloud Ninjas basically choose to form elite squads for raiding front - line camps and intercepting supplies.
As a result, not many people died on the frontal battlefield between Konoha and the Cloud Ninjas. Instead, the greatest losses were incurred during these raiding and intercepting missions.
Konoha, in order to deal with the Cloud Ninjas' elites, also had to send their own elites. For example, elite Jonin such as Minato Namikaze, Chōza Akimichi, Inoichi Yamanaka, and Shibi Aburame were dispatched.
During the Jonin meeting, Jiraiya recommended Yue Yan, who also has the strength of an elite Jonin, to be on the list for this mission to the Cloud Ninjas' battlefield.
"So... was it Jiraiya - sensei who specifically recommended me?"
Hearing this, Minato flashed a sunny smile.
"Yes, Jiraiya - sensei guaranteed your strength at the meeting."
Saying this, Minato also felt a bit curious.
"By the way, Yue Yan, I once heard Jiraiya - sensei say that you seemed to have rejected two opportunities for promotion to Jonin. Do you have any plans?"
Hearing the question, Yue Yan rolled his eyes speechlessly. Could he tell them he refused 'cause he didn't wanna be targeted by other villages? A Jonin in his early teens. He could just imagine how many ninjas from other villages would target him on the battlefield.
Noticing Yue Yan's expression, Minato guessed what he was thinking. Although Minato had never heard the Chinese saying 'A tree that stands out in the forest will be toppled by the wind' (meaning those who are too outstanding may face more difficulties), he understood the principle. However, that situation was completely different from Yue Yan's. One was about potential, while the other was about actual strength that had reached this level.
"I understand your thoughts, but the rights and interests of a Jonin are much better than those of a Chunin. You already have the corresponding strength, so you must strive for the rights and interests you deserve."
"Alright." Yue Yan nodded helplessly. "After this mission, even if I refuse the promotion again, the Third kage probably won't agree."
Minato came here just for this. After finishing speaking, he was about to leave.
"I just came to inform you. A ninja hawk will notify you before the mission assembly."
Watching Minato's departing back, Yue Yan tried to persuade him to stay.
"Senior Brother Minato, are you in such a hurry to leave? Stay a little longer."
Hearing this, Minato waved his hand with a smile. And you could clearly see Minato's face was a bit flushed.
"Kushina and I just moved in yesterday. She's already cooked dinner at home and is waiting for me. I have to go back quickly."
The moment he finished speaking, Minato disappeared with a whoosh, teleporting away using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
In response, Yue Yan complained speechlessly.
"Humph, I knew there was this sickly sweet smell of love in the air."
Yue Yan would never admit he was jealous, having been single since his past life.
At this moment, Xiaolan, who had just come back from training, was a bit puzzled by the envious, jealous, and hateful look on Yue Yan's face. But it didn't give it much thought. After all, Yue Yan's mind would act up from time to time, and it was used to it.
Just as Xiaolan was about to take a sip of water, Yue Yan suddenly pulled it into his embrace.
"My dear Xiaolan is the best. You'll always stay with me. I'm not envious of Minato having a girlfriend at all," Yue Yan said.
Yue Yan released the somewhat stunned Xiaolan, rubbed his chest, stared at the spike on Xiaolan's chest resentfully, and muttered with a chuckle.
"Why is there a spike? Every time I want to hug Xiaolan, I get poked."
Shaking his head, Yue Yan quickly stopped thinking about these things and began to think about the future mission to the Cloud Ninjas.
Yue Yan was the kind of person with high speed, great strength, and strong recovery ability. Moreover, he had the Thunder Beast Mode, which was far more powerful than the Lightning Release Suit and comparable to the Tailed Beast Cloak. Undoubtedly, he was a tough and capable warrior, standing out in this world where everyone seemed like a glass cannon.
However, there was one thing that Yue Yan felt was lacking, which was that when using the Thunder Beast Mode, he relied on the stored Lightning Bolt in his body.
The efficiency of converting chakra into Lightning Bolt was extremely slow. He couldn't just use Lightning Release, or else it would be no different from the Lightning Release Suit, which was far inferior to the Thunder Beast Mode.
As for the problem of slow conversion, it mainly stemmed from the Pikachu Template. After all, the template Yue Yan mastered was just an ordinary Pikachu, not the Pikachu by Ash's side. If he could unlock a powerful Electric-type Pokémon template, this problem would be solved.
Thinking of this, Yue Yan started to worry. He thought that if he had known earlier, when Chiyo was escaping, he should have gathered all the remaining Lightning Bolt and fired a full-powered Thunder Spear. At that time, Chiyo would have either been dead or seriously injured. Then, after detoxifying Hizashi Hyuga and the others, he could have chased after her.
Alas~~~ It's all just hindsight. It's better to think about how to kill a kage-level ninja after arriving at the battlefield in the Land of Lightning.
Well, Yue Yan wasn't being greedy. When he encountered a lone kage-level ninja, he and Minato would work together. Then he would steal a kill, and the first golden treasure chest would be his.
By then, if he got really lucky and directly unlocked a Zapdos Template, Yue Yan could point at the moon in the sky and say that there was no one on the ground who could match him.
When saying this, he had to let Guy jump up first. Well, as long as his feet didn't touch the ground, he wouldn't be considered "on the ground." After all, with the Night Guy kicking at the head, even with Yue Yan's strong recovery ability, he would probably die.
"Ehehehe..."
Xiaolan, who was beside him, was originally a bit stunned by what Yue Yan said when he hugged it earlier. Then Xiaolan kept thinking about those words about accompanying him for a lifetime, and a strange look flashed across its eyes. As for what Xiaolan was thinking, only it knew.
Then Xiaolan heard Yue Yan's lewd laugh. It couldn't help slapping its forehead. Well, Yue Yan was being a fool again.
Soon, it was the time for the assembly. After receiving the notice from the ninja hawk, Yue Yan came to the training ground to find Minato Namikaze.
At the training ground, not only was Minato Namikaze there, but Obito Uchiha and the others were also there.
Although Obito Uchiha and the others were not weak, they weren't qualified to carry out the mission in the Land of Lightning with Minato Namikaze. They were on a break, and Minato Namikaze was guiding them here.
After Minato Namikaze finished discussing some cultivation-related matters, he noticed Yue Yan walking towards them and waved hello.
"Morning, Yue Yan."
"Yeah, morning, Minato-senpai."
"Yue Yan, why are you here?"
Seeing his good friend Yue Yan, Obito Uchiha was also very happy and waved with a smile.
"I'm here to assemble with Minato-senpai. We're going to the battlefield in the Land of Lightning later."
Hearing this, Obito Uchiha blinked in confusion. Minato Namikaze had also told them about this before, but the problem was, wasn't that mission only open to Jonin?
Hearing Obito Uchiha's question, Yue Yan showed a funny and mocking smile.
"Heh, unlike certain people, although I'm a Chunin now, it's because I've refused two promotion opportunities to Jonin."
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Obito Uchiha was a bit shocked. After all, he thought he had become much stronger during this period, but he wasn't arrogant enough to think he could be promoted to Jonin. However, his good brother Yue Yan had already refused two such opportunities.
There was a look of disbelief and grief on Obito Uchiha's face, and his mood could be described by the saying "Happy for a friend's success, yet a bit envious".