Konoha Notes

Chapter 106 Guardian Ninja

The relationship between the daimyo and the shadow is more like that between an employer and a sole military contractor.

Moreover, it's not that the daimyo only wanted one ninja village; it's that powerful ninja villages monopolized the military power within their own territories.

Therefore, wars between the five great ninja villages generally do not target the opposing daimyo.

However, considering the enemy's potential reckless actions and the occasional rogue ninja, the ninja villages will regularly send people to protect their daimyo. These missions are assigned by the village on a long-term basis, typically consisting of a Jonin leading a team supplemented by two to three Chunin squads.

The ninjas dispatched by Konoha are only responsible for protection; they will not obey the daimyo's orders or interfere in the daimyo's internal affairs. In addition, the daimyo's residence always has some private matters that are inconvenient to entrust to the village. Konoha has always turned a blind eye to the daimyo's private recruitment of ninjas.

This time was different; the Third Hokage specifically instructed Shuji to keep an eye on the Twelve Guardian Ninja for two reasons:

First, a group of twelve people exceeds the village's capacity to accommodate them.
Second, last month, the Daimyo Prefecture refused Konoha's offer to rotate and send a new guard squad.

Unable to glean further information from Asuma, Shuji refrained from wandering around and simply rested in his guest room.

As night deepened, a few faint footsteps could be heard in the corridor outside the guest rooms.

He opened his eyes and stood up silently.

The ninja world is not small, but ninjas are fast-moving, and it is common for them to travel between the Fire Capital and Konoha in a day.

The reason they deliberately kept him at the Daming Mansion to rest is probably because there were some things they couldn't say during the day.

The door was pushed open silently. The daimyo of the Land of Fire, wrapped in a dark cloak, entered quietly, escorted by four ninja guards with "fire" characters tied around their waists.

"I apologize for disturbing you so late, Jonin Shuji." The Daimyo maintained his usual calm demeanor, but his tone betrayed a hint of tension. "The matter is urgent, please forgive me."

"You flatter me. Coming here in person so late at night, you must have something urgent that cannot be delayed."

The daimyo sighed softly, waved to signal one of the guard ninjas to stand watch outside the door, and the remaining three silently dispersed to guard the key positions inside the room.

"Now that things have come to this, I can no longer hide it. My worries are because of the Twelve Guardian Ninjas." He lowered his voice, "The situation here has developed far beyond what I originally envisioned when I established the Twelve Guardians."

"Initially, we recruited Guardian Ninjas simply to bolster our guard and handle trivial matters that were inconvenient to delegate to Konoha."

“My younger brother, Masamune, has been assisting me in handling domestic affairs, so I have assigned some personnel to him.”

Shuji nodded, indicating that he had heard and even guessed what would happen next.

The daimyo's brow furrowed with worry: "At first, everything was as usual. Masamune was conscientious in his duties and diligently protected Shinobu."

"It's just recently. My brother has been interacting too closely with some members of the Guardian Ninja, and his behavior is suspicious."

"What worries me even more is that some of the guardian ninjas under my command have begun to go missing and are often late in carrying out my orders."

"Last month, I noticed that Konoha had not sent any new guard squads to stand guard. I originally wanted to send a letter to inquire, but unexpectedly, Masamune suggested that the Twelve Warriors were already strong enough and there was no need for Konoha to send any more people."

"Kazuma, who guards the ninja, also pleaded with me, asking me to trust their abilities and loyalty."

"Kazuma is highly respected among the Guardian Shinobi, and most of them are very close to him, so I can only agree."

Sure enough, the next step was a coup.

Thinking of this, Shuji looked at the three guardian ninjas inside the house. Those who could serve him tonight must be people the daimyo had confirmed to be trustworthy.

"Why don't you send people to Konoha privately?"

The daimyo hesitated and did not answer immediately. Among the guardian ninja, a man with a mohawk said, "Because of Asuma."

"As the son of the Third Hokage, he also has a close relationship with Kazuma, but his attitude is ambiguous. Even Jiraiya, who is friendly with Asuma, cannot be trusted."

"The Daimyo cannot ascertain Konoha's attitude, and dares not rashly dispatch any of us under these circumstances."

Another female ninja added, "Our four techniques are precisely why Kazuma and the others dare not act rashly."

Shuji remained silent for a moment. Asuma's stance had shaken the Daimyo's trust in Konoha.

At this moment, the Daimyo said, "I believe Asuma is not a traitor. He fought hard for my safety before."

"But this matter is of great importance, and we must be cautious."

His gaze was fixed on Shuji: "Shuji is an elite ninja of Konoha. The Third Hokage also instructed in his letter that you can represent Konoha."

"Therefore, I want to know whether Konoha still maintains the same stance as before, ensuring my safety and the stability of the nation."

"What is Konoha's attitude toward the actions of Yu's younger brother, Masamune, and Kazuma?"

The power shifts within the Daimyo's household in the Land of Fire are unrelated to Konoha. Just like the succession of the Kage position in Konoha, theoretically it requires the Daimyo's consent, but in reality, whoever Konoha nominates is recognized by the Daimyo.

What's truly relevant to Konoha is the power structure of the Twelve Guardian Ninja and their refusal to allow Konoha to send a squad.

It's fine for the daimyo's younger brother to want to take over, but it won't work if you rely on a powerful ninja group to seize power through a coup, especially if it's not a Konoha ninja group.

If they even show an attitude of rejecting Konoha, that would be even worse.

Shuji said firmly, "You are the rightful monarch of the Land of Fire and the leader that Konoha upholds. Konoha's attitude has never changed!" Upon hearing this, the Daimyo smiled and said, "If that's the case, then I'm relieved. Please, Jonin Shuji, return to Konoha immediately and report this situation to the Third Hokage."

"I need Konoha to send people to the Fire Capital as soon as possible, in case of any unforeseen circumstances."

"I entrust everything to you, and please be careful."

Xiu Si said no more. He knew what he needed to know, and there was no point in staying any longer. He bowed and took his leave.

As for Asuma's problem... that's a family matter for the Third Hokage to handle.

Not far from the border, when passing through a dense forest, Xiu Si stopped.

Two figures slowly emerged from the shadows of the trees.

They were also people with the insignia of guardian ninjas on their waists, but I hadn't seen them in the daimyo's mansion during the day.

One was masked, the other had long hair; the two blocked Xiu Si's path.

"A kid in his teens." The long-haired guardian ninja looked at Shuuji with disdain. "To be promoted to Jonin for the mere merit of an envoy, the Land of Fire has fallen to this state because of people like Konoha."

"That Jonin-sama, the Daimyo's orders are for you to wait in the manor until you receive a receipt tomorrow before you can leave," the masked ninja said in a deep voice. "To leave like this would be far too impolite. Please return."
-
Inside the private residence, Masamune paced back and forth, the hem of his magnificent robes trailing on the ground with a soft rustling sound, which only served to accentuate the deathly silence of the room.

"What should we do? What should we do? The envoy from Konoha has arrived. My brother sent me away during the day, and now the envoy is staying at the mansion... What should we do now?"

Masamune's gaze swept over the four people in the room, some standing and some sitting, and finally settled on the young man at the head of the group.

Kazuma met Masamune's gaze: "Things have come to this point, hesitation means defeat, Lord Masamune, you must make a decision."

"I have already dispatched Tiebing and Yanshi to lie in wait outside the city to prevent Konoha's envoy from escaping."

"The four of us will immediately take action to subdue the daimyo, and then you will succeed him and take charge of the greater good. Konoha will then be powerless to stop him."

"Tonight?" Zongzheng's face paled slightly, and he subconsciously shook his head. "There are only four of you now. Asuma and Jiriku's attitudes are still unclear. If they side with our brother, then we're completely finished."

"Asuma...Jitaru..."

Asuma pondered the two names, he didn't want to make a move so soon, but the Konoha envoy arrived at an inopportune time. Asuma hesitated, but he was almost convinced by himself.

By dealing with Asuma, Jiraiya was dealt with. As for the remaining four, Raimon's Thunderous Technique was indeed powerful, but he already had a plan.

However, even though the timing isn't ideal, we have no choice but to launch it ahead of schedule.

"They won't be a problem."

Kazuma's tone was icy.

"You've already convinced them?!"

"No, it's that our side has absolute power. Although it's uncontrollable, we still have the ability to keep Asuma and Jiraiya busy."

Masamune was puzzled; how could he not know that his side possessed an even stronger force?

A hint of fanaticism flashed in Kazuma's eyes: "Do you know about the Nine-Tails?"

"certainly……"

"That's a power powerful enough to destroy Konoha. A few years ago, the Fourth Hokage died because of it. At that time, I happened to be in Konoha..."

"Amid the chaos, I managed to gather some of the Nine-Tails' chakra."

Masamune stared at Kazuma in disbelief, even taking a half-step back.

“I sealed it away and preserved it. Now, the container that sealed the Nine-Tails’ chakra is in the Fire Temple.”

“I also have companions in the temple. As long as I release that power and create chaos, Jiraiya will surely return to the Temple of Fire. Asuma is close to him, so he will definitely follow.”

The color drained from Masamune's face, and he murmured, "That's the power of the Nine-Tails. Once it's completely out of control..."

"I can seal it away!" Kazuma stared intently at Masamune. "This is the only chance, Lord Masamune!"

"If Konoha sends reinforcements and the Daimyo regains control of the situation, he will surely execute you!"

"Please make a decision, Lord Masamune!"

"This is for the future of the Land of Fire! Only you can lead the Land of Fire to its peak!"

With that, he led the other three guardian ninjas to kneel before Munemasa.

"Please! Only by getting rid of the incompetent Daimyo and Hokage can the Land of Fire stop being mired in war year after year!"

"Everything is counting on you!"

Masamune's chest heaved violently, his inner shirt soaked with cold sweat. Finally, he nodded emphatically: "Do it this way!"

(End of this chapter)