Konoha Notes

Chapter 120 In Progress

Kotetsu and Izumo arrived at Konoha Village in the early hours of the next day, and the information quickly reached Tsunade's hands.

The matter was serious, so she gave the report to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"The Hidden Grass Village isn't peaceful either," Tsunade thought, feeling a bit overwhelmed. "Old man, what trouble is there with the Hidden Grass Village?"

The pungent smoke swirled in his lungs and was slowly exhaled as Hiruzen Sarutobi gave the order.

"Go and invite Danzo over."

A member of the secret service emerged from the shadows and left in response.

Tsunade frowned slightly. Because of Danzo's previous private contact with Itachi Uchiha, she confronted the Third Hokage, and advisors Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado also unusually expressed their dissatisfaction.

Since Fugaku Uchiha has shown a cooperative attitude and has begun to take substantive actions, it means that things are far from needing to resort to the most extreme measures.

Ultimately, Danzo and his Root organization were temporarily restricted in their actions, and many affairs were transferred to the Anbu, who were directly under the Hokage.

Footsteps broke the silence of the office as Shimura Danzo, leaning on his cane, walked in unhurriedly.

"Hiruzen..." He was about to speak when he saw Tsunade beside him and stopped himself.

Hiruzen Sarutobi pushed the reports submitted by Tetsuo Kotetsu and Izumo Kamizuki across the table.

"You take a look at this first."

Danzo picked up the report, quickly scanned it, and then looked at it several times before putting it down.

“The Root has intercepted some intelligence before,” Danzo said. “Regarding Kusagakure, they may be secretly keeping a ninja tool that is said to be related to the era of the Sage of Six Paths.”

Tsunade sternly questioned, "Why wasn't this reported in advance? Kusagakure is right next to Konoha; the Hokage's office should have known everything."

Danzo remained unmoved: "It's just an ancient legend without any evidence. If it were truly useful, why is Kusagakure still huddled between major powers to this day?"

"As for the Hokage's office, Hiruzen and I have long had a division of labor. You are not the Hokage yet, Tsunade."

Tsunade's temple throbbed slightly, her fists clenched so tightly they cracked, and then she calmed down and asked, "What is that ninja tool?"

Danzo's gaze shifted back to Hiruzen Sarutobi: "That ninja tool is called the Box of Bliss, and it is said to grant the wish of the one who opens it."

"However, it's just a rumor."

The Third Hokage closed his eyes, the firelight in his pipe flickering.

After a moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally spoke: "Does the Root have any members in Kusagakure?"

Danzo replied, "No, limited manpower should naturally be focused on more valuable objectives." Originally, there were people, but after Danzo assessed that the matter of the Box of Bliss was nothing but nonsense, he withdrew them and devoted them to other directions.

Hearing this answer, Hiruzen Sarutobi also felt somewhat troubled. The village's biggest concern right now is the Chunin Exams; it's not so much about promoting a few genin, but about demonstrating Konoha's strength through this event.

Furthermore, both Sunagakure and Kumogakure have confirmed their participation—Konoha considers the Raikage's request acceptable and has already sent a letter expressing their agreement.

At this critical juncture, we must not hastily provoke trouble because of some unusual mobilization by Kusagakure. Their actions are nothing more than arresting rogue ninja and guilty wandering ninja. Konoha cannot use this as an excuse to launch a major attack on friendly ninja villages.

This reasoning failed to convince the ninjas within the village, nor did it convince the other ninja villages in the surrounding area.

Even the weakest small ninja villages can cause significant trouble if they completely distance themselves from Konoha. Without these neutral buffer zones, Konoha will face direct pressure from the four great nations.

"Spread the roots out," Hiruzen Sarutobi said finally.

Years of tacit understanding allowed Danzo Shimura to understand the Third Hokage's intentions. Kusagakure wanted to collect living ninjas in a legitimate way, so they sent Root to sabotage Kusagakure's operations.

As for how to sabotage it? There are countless ways.

Watching Danzo leave, Tsunade frowned and released him again.

There was nothing they could do; all the Anbu members were busy with their own affairs. Besides, Danzo had already proven that he knew more about Kusagakure than anyone else.

The Third Hokage said gently, "Tsunade, focus on the Chunin Exams first. Shuji hasn't returned yet; he's investigating this matter as well. Let's wait for his news."

"I have clearly discussed the Uchiha matter with Danzo."

His gaze drifted through the window to the distant Fire Shadow Rock.

"Once you become Hokage, you'll understand that some darkness is necessary for the village. If you don't like Danzo, you can remove Root."

"But the things that the root causes need to be done by others."

"If there's no one else to choose from right now, let Kakashi take over for the time being."
-
The setting sun bathed Kusagakure in an orange-red hue. Inside the wooden house, Hagi Uzumaki watched as wave after wave of Kusagakure ninja returned, many of them wounded, yet strangely, they didn't knock on her door as usual.

In fact, starting yesterday, the food delivered has become more refined, and some rare medicinal herbs have been added.

This preferential treatment did not make Hagi feel at ease; on the contrary, it made her even more uneasy.

Just then, her daughter let out a low, suppressed gasp. Hagi turned around abruptly, her heart nearly stopping—a strange man wearing a grass-covered headband had appeared silently in the room without her noticing.

Have they arrived? Why didn't they knock?
The man had no injuries. Was he there to deliver orders?
How many people are there this time?
She didn't even notice that Karin's eyes didn't hold fear, but rather a mixture of anticipation and nervousness.

"Could you...please step outside for a moment?" Hagi pleaded. "I...I'll be right there." "Are you ready?" the man asked.

Hagi Uzumaki nodded hastily, "Okay, okay! I can leave anytime, please, don't..."

Hagi suddenly realized that the man wasn't talking to her; his gaze was fixed on Karin.

"Who...who are you?!"

The woman immediately rushed to Karin's side and shielded her behind her.

"Karin, Karin is still very young, she can't even refine chakra properly yet, don't..."

"Don't resist later, it will be troublesome." The man ignored Hagi's actions and continued to explain the precautions to be taken.

Just as Hagi Uzumaki was about to scream or do something recklessly, everything suddenly went black before her eyes, and her consciousness instantly sank into the abyss.

Karin watched her mother collapse, her shock about to burst into a scream, when she saw those calm, almost indifferent eyes.

He meant no harm and harbored no hostility.

Her intuition told her to cover her mouth tightly, swallowing back the scream.

Seeing that Karin had regained her composure, Shuji said, "Persuading your mother is a waste of time, and getting her to cooperate while she is conscious will be even more troublesome."

He bent down, cradling the unconscious Hagi Uzumaki in one hand, and then reached out to Karin.

"Come."

Karin looked at the hand, hesitated for only a moment, and then used all her strength to tightly grasp the finger that was offered to her.

The next moment, the world was spinning.

The surrounding scenery changed abruptly, like shattered glass. Karin stared wide-eyed, completely unable to comprehend what had happened. The familiar wooden cabin vanished, replaced by a completely unfamiliar, dimly lit forest.

Before she could adjust, the intense dizziness struck again, and the world twisted and reformed once more...

Even Shuji was drained of a lot of chakra by repeatedly and rapidly activating the Flying Thunder God Technique, but for Karin, who was completely unprepared, the experience was even worse.

When she finally stopped, she could no longer hold on. She suddenly let go of Xiu Si's hand, collapsed to the ground, and began to retch violently. Her face was as pale as paper, and she felt dizzy, as if the whole world was spinning wildly.

Shuji's calm voice came from above her head: "If you really can't take it, I can knock you out. That will make you feel better."

Karin struggled to lift her little head, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked at him, but stubbornly shook her head, insisting in a barely audible, tearful voice, "No, no need, I, I can do it..."

Shuji estimated the location and found that it was quite a distance from Kusagakure, so it wouldn't hurt to rest for a while.

He gently placed the unconscious Uzumaki Hagi under a tree nearby, and at the same time put away the Flying Thunder God mark he had left there earlier.

He chose to act at this time because he noticed several high-ranking wounded Kusagakure soldiers arriving in the village while he was lying in wait.

Based on what he had overheard, he deduced that Uzumaki Hagi would soon be used to treat these critically wounded soldiers, and might even be overused until it was exhausted. Therefore, Shuji moved up the operation plan.

The investigation is almost complete. One problem with the people of Kusagakure is that they rarely engage in open conspiracy. If they do talk about something in a relatively public setting, the information obtained is too limited.

Karin, having recovered slightly, struggled to crawl to her mother's side.

"Where...where is this?" she asked timidly.

“Outside the Hidden Grass Village,” Xiu Si said succinctly.

"who are you?"

"Ninja."

Karin pursed her lips slightly and asked the question that concerned her most: "Where are Mom and I going next?"

"Konoha."

Konoha?

Just as Karin was about to ask something else, her vision went black, and she collapsed onto her mother.

My last thought before falling into a coma was: I clearly said I could hold on, so why... If you were going to knock me out no matter what, why did you even ask?

Shuji stared expressionlessly at the unconscious girl. If there was still time to rest, it wouldn't matter if Karin stayed awake, but right now, there was movement in the forest.

The ninjas of Kusagakure discovered that Karin and her daughter had disappeared quite quickly.

Is it because you urgently need a blood pack?
Lifting one person in each hand, Shuji activated the Flying Thunder God Technique again, and the three figures instantly vanished from the forest without a trace.

Shortly after they left, several figures of Kusagakure ninja landed in the spot where they had just been.

"There's a smell in the air, but no one's here..."

"Expand the search area!"

(End of this chapter)