Konoha Notes

Chapter 123 Extreme
"Oh? Still pretending to be young, you little slug-playing girl." Chiyo's first words upon arriving at the Hokage's office infuriated Tsunade.

"You're the one who's playing with puppets, you can still move, huh?"

Faced with Tsunade's retort, Chiyo turned her attention to the Third Hokage.

"Sarutobi, it seems that in the ninja world today, only you and that old stubborn Onoki are left, still clinging to the position of Kage and refusing to let go."

The Third Hokage, who was mentioned, simply smiled kindly, seemingly oblivious to the barb in her words: "I'm about to retire too, Elder Chiyo. But you, I didn't expect you to be willing to personally lead the team to participate in this Chunin Exam."

Chiyo said, "There's no other way. Of course, I'd like to live a comfortable life in the sandstorms, instead of having to put up with other people's attitudes at my age. But my good-for-nothing brother and younger generation are begging me, so I have no choice but to keep moving around a bit more."

"How is Ebizo's health?"

“He’s certainly more energetic than some old chain smoker.” Chiyo sat down without paying any attention to the pleasantries. “Let’s skip the formalities. I’ve brought the person. Can we start talking about what needs to be said?”

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed not to have heard her last sentence, and cheerfully changed the subject, asking about the local customs and conditions of Sunagakure in recent years, and inquiring about whether the journey had been smooth.

After two or three such repetitions, Chiyo's patience was about to run out.

Someone knocked on the Hokage's office door, requesting entry. Judging from the voice, it was a young man, and Chiyo's expression darkened slightly.

It seems likely that he will be the one attending this event...

That's a troublesome guy. Despite his young age, he always manages to find the Sand Village's weak points and strike them hard, without caring at all whether it will cause conflict.

Ebizo believed that compared to old rivals like Hiruzen Sarutobi, he was a troublesome figure who was both sharp and calm, unlike Danzo Shimura who left no room for maneuver. Turning against him would be inappropriate, but not turning against him would be unpleasant.

Although she had never been in contact with him before, Chiyo concluded that he would be difficult to handle based on her younger brother's assessment.

Now, Hiruzen Sarutobi deliberately delayed his arrival, the meaning of which is self-evident—the Konoha leadership is already inclined to let this young man lead the negotiations with Sunagakure, and this may even become the norm in the future.

"Come in." Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice remained calm.

Chiyo sized up the boy who entered, but his appearance didn't suggest he was a troublesome person.

Shuji, as was customary, bowed and greeted the Third Hokage and Tsunade.

Tsunade introduced them with a forced smile: "Shuji, this is the advisor elder of Sunagakure, Lady Chiyo. Elder Chiyo, this is our Konoha Jonin, Shuji."

She paused for a moment before continuing, "This time, you will be in charge of accompanying Elder Chiyo on a tour of the village."

“Last time you went to Sunagakure, didn’t you trouble Ebizo a lot? Elder Chiyo is his own sister, you should repay her properly.”

Shuji turned to Chiyo, bowed slightly, and said politely, "Elder Chiyo. I am truly grateful for the care and assistance of Advisor Ebizo during my two visits to Sunagakure. It is a pleasure to serve you."

Chiyo ignored him: "Third Hokage, is there no one left in Konoha? Even a brat like this can represent Konoha?"

“We’re getting old, so of course we should let the younger generation do the work.” Hiruzen Sarutobi said slowly, still with that calm and collected demeanor. “Shuji may be young, but he’s very reliable.”

"Hmph." Chiyo stood up. "Let's go, kid."

She walked straight towards the door, and Xiu Si quietly followed, always keeping a distance of about half a step behind her.

The two walked one after the other into Konoha's bustling main street. The afternoon sun shone through the gaps in the leaves, the street was teeming with people, lined with shops, children were laughing and chasing each other, and the air was filled with the aroma of food and daily life.

Chiyo appeared to be looking straight ahead, but the corner of her eye revealed the bustling prosperity of Konoha.

Even after the Nine-Tails' rampage and years of war, it has been able to maintain this state of affairs.

The soil of the Land of Fire is truly fertile.

“Konoha is well nourished.” Chiyo seemed to be talking to herself. “This land is always so rich.”

Shuji followed a little behind her: "This is the result of the joint efforts of the previous generation and everyone in the present."

"Strive?" The Sand Village elder's voice was very low, barely audible to the two of them. "People born in the Land of Wind struggle for survival from the moment they open their eyes. Every breath, every drop of water, requires them to fight with all their might."

"This was true in the past, and it is true now."

"The resilience forged in such harsh conditions is truly admirable," Shuuji replied politely.

Chiyo paused for a moment.

"If you feel tired, I can take you back to your quarters to rest immediately."

"Hmph, a brat raised in a greenhouse will never know the feeling of sandstorms whistling through his throat, nor will he understand what a person driven to the brink of despair can do."

After leaving that comment, Chiyo lost interest in continuing to read.

Back in the guesthouse's reception room, Chiyo sat down and, without beating around the bush, looked directly at Shuji: "Hiruzen Sarutobi is waiting for you to speak. Now it's your turn to tell us what Konoha really wants."

Shuji poured her a cup of hot tea, his expression obscured by the rising steam. "Lady Tsunade only instructed me to make sure you were well taken care of and to let you feel Konoha's sincerity. As for any other specific matters, she didn't give me any instructions."

"If you have any specific thoughts or needs, I can convey them to the Hokage and Tsunade."

"Food and supplies," Chiyo stated bluntly, "We need a stable and inexpensive supply."

“If it’s for trade purposes, Konoha might be able to introduce you to some reputable chambers of commerce,” Shuji replied.

Chiyo said impatiently, "Sunagakure doesn't have enough money to fill their stomachs, but they do have kunai and shuriken."

“Boy, Sunagakure doesn’t want to disrupt the order of the ninja world. I know better than you how different the current situation is from before.”

"I have long seen what the world will become once ninjas become unrestrained."

"But if the order of this ninja world comes at the cost of the suffering of Sunagakure, then we will no longer hold back."

"Didn't you tell Ebizo before that Konoha only needed a few teams of ninja to intercept the caravans heading to Kumogakure?"

"Then let me tell you this: when Sunagakure no longer cares about its bottom line, the Land of Fire will not have any peace either."

"Send a few ninjas across the border every day, and if one succeeds, it can destroy a town."

"You are welcome to retaliate. Come to the Land of Wind and see what is left on this land that has already been destroyed!"
-
In the hermitage of grass.

After a fruitless search, the leaders of Kusagakure had no choice but to temporarily abandon the search for the mysteriously missing mother and daughter, and they put their energy back into a more urgent plan—however, progress was extremely slow.

Their efforts to capture rogue and wandering ninjas became increasingly difficult.

An unidentified and highly trained force appeared like a ghost, employing ruthless and decisive methods. Unlike Kusagakure, which needed to capture prisoners, they mercilessly eliminated their targets, greatly reducing Kusagakure's "supply."

In several brief but intense skirmishes, Kusagakure even suffered losses, losing a significant number of men. The enemy's objective was clear—pure destruction for the sake of destruction.

Kusagakure leader Tsutaka quickly came up with an answer: "It's Konoha."

"The timing is too coincidental. Trouble has been piling up ever since that Konoha envoy left."

"And the disappearance of that mother and daughter was also swift and clean, leaving no trace. This is something that ordinary people cannot do."

One elder still had doubts: "But... we have no evidence pointing to Konoha."

“What more evidence do we need!” Tsutaka interrupted him. “All the anomalies started with the arrival of people from Konoha.”

"Only Konoha has the ability and the motivation to do this."

He took a deep breath, suppressing his surging anxiety: "We can't wait any longer. Konoha's interference will only get stronger. Once they truly realize the existence of the Box of Bliss, all our efforts will be in vain."

Tsutaka's gaze swept over every elder present: "There's no point in covering it up now. We must open the Box of Bliss immediately before Konoha intervenes with all its might."

"But the current offerings are not enough..."

“Enough!” Tsutakawa said decisively. “It’s definitely enough.”

He repeated it twice more.

The other elders of Kusagakure immediately realized something.

In an instant, the elders understood his unspoken meaning—he intended to use the ninjas of Kusagakure to fill the final vacancy.

“This, how can this be! That’s our own…” An elder from the “Flower of Grass” faction tried to object in shock.

“Yes, the war has ended now. Even if we can’t find an opportunity for the time being, as long as we keep the existence of the Box of Bliss hidden, Konoha won’t be able to do anything.” Another person chimed in.

Tsutakawa said coldly, "Of course we can wait until we catch that thing."

"That Kazuma, and the child he was with, is probably one of the reasons why he was wanted and hunted down."

"Now that we've killed him, we don't know how long we can keep this a secret."

"Konoha is already aware of our actions. Once they discover what happened with Kazuma, they will also find out that the child is in our hands."

"At that time, we could no longer keep him."

He spread his arms wide, his eyes burning with a desperate flame: "Look at the ninja world now. Iwagakure has turned to the west, Kumogakure has withdrawn its claws, Sunagakure is preoccupied with its own problems, and Konoha is exhausted from a long war... This is a once-in-a-millennium opportunity bestowed upon our Kusagakure by the gods!"

"Now is the best opportunity."

Tsutakawa exclaimed fervently, "Now! Now is the time for our Kusagakure to break free of its shackles and dominate the ninja world! What are mere sacrifices compared to realizing this great dream!"

(End of this chapter)