Konoha Notes

Chapter 126 Abominable
A remote island overseas, the City of Ghost Lamps.

The salty sea breeze could not dispel the oppressive atmosphere that permeated the rocky cliffs.

Wuwei stood on the high place, looking down at the newly arrived group of people in the courtyard below.

Most of them were wounded and looked dejected, supposedly from recent operations to hunt down rogue ninja.

The explanation given in Kusagakure is that they are allowed to recuperate here while assisting in strengthening the defenses of Hozuki Castle.

Wuwei made arrangements for the ninjas from the same village. His face showed no other expression, but he felt a little uneasy.

Ever since that child was sent to this prison, the child with ominous chakra within him was secretly brought here, and everything seems to be quietly going off track.

The orders from the village's upper echelons, especially from the leader of Tsutakawa, became increasingly urgent, and the number of Kusagakure ninjas sent in far exceeded the usual requirements.

What are Tsutakawa and the others thinking?
He cast Fire Release: Heavenly Prison on all the prisoners in Hozuki Castle. Not only was their chakra restricted, but if they were too far away from him, they would also be burned to death by the heavenly fire.

As long as Wuwei is still alive and Fire Release: Heavenly Prison remains effective, Ghost Lantern Castle doesn't need so many guards.

"Father," a handsome young man stood beside Wuwei, "are they really here to serve as guards?"

Looking at those people, Wugou thought of the child who had replaced her and become the one who would initiate the awakening.

He remembered the promise his father had made to him about the Box of Bliss and a bright future. The scene before him was different from what the village had described.

“That is indeed the village’s instruction.” Wuwei’s voice remained as calm and gentle as he could, as if he were persuading his son, or as if he were persuading himself. “Wugou, there is no need to worry too much. In any case, I am the one who will ultimately open the door.”

"I will be the one to make the wish."

No matter what happens in the village, no matter what Tsutakawa is planning, in the end, they can't get around him.

He can steer everything back on the right track.

Meanwhile, within the Ghost Lantern Castle, several pairs of eyes were fixed on Wuwei and Wugou.

Several seemingly listless prisoners, scattered in different places, were communicating in a very secretive manner.

"Wuwei is the core of Ghost Lantern Castle, and the Heavenly Prison Technique is the key to maintaining this place."

"Judging from the situation, the Paradise Box of Kusagakure is about to open."

"Operation orders: Xu and Wu, follow me to carry out the decapitation and eliminate the key node Wuwei. Shen, take advantage of the chaos to escape and deliver the intelligence to Lord Danzo."

They are members of Root, and even though they voluntarily had the Fire Release: Heavenly Prison sealed to restrict their chakra usage in order to infiltrate this place, it did not affect their ability to complete their mission.

As a ninja specially selected for this mission, specializing in taijutsu and assassination, they possess sufficient combat power even without using ninjutsu.

The opportunity arose during the brief interval of the evening shift change.

Wuwei walked alone along a relatively secluded stone corridor, his footsteps echoing in the empty passage.

In that instant, three figures suddenly sprang up from the shadows and launched an attack.

As an elite Jonin, and at this particular juncture, Wuwei maintained his vigilance at its peak.

Kusagakure Style: Hair-Breaking Palm!

With a whooshing sound, he parried and countered precisely, and the dull thuds of the blows echoed one after another. Three Root ninjas were forced back, and one of them even staggered and fell to the ground.

"Take them down!" Wuwei shouted, preparing to summon the guards.

The Root ninja who had fallen to the ground suddenly raised his head and spat out a senbon needle.

Wuwei narrowly avoided the attack by turning his head, while the other two, with curse marks different from those in the Heavenly Prison, appeared on their bodies and charged towards Wuwei.

The Lord of Hozuki Castle made a fist with his right hand, and the blazing fire chakra instantly condensed into a longsword burning with flames.

As the flaming blades swept across, their meridians were also burned by the flames, rendering the unactivated curses on their bodies ineffective.

Just as Wuwei was dealing with the two, the Root ninja on the ground successfully activated his technique, his body expanding violently like an inflating balloon before exploding instantly.

A violent explosion swept through the narrow corridor, filling the air with rubble and dust.

As the smoke and dust cleared, Wuwei's figure came into view. He was slightly out of breath, his robe sleeves were torn, and there was a bloody gash on his arm from a shrapnel wound. He frowned as he looked at the mess on the ground and the Kusagakure guards who had rushed over after hearing the commotion.

Wuwei commanded in a deep voice, "Clean it up. Conduct another inspection of all prisoners who recently entered Ghost Lantern City."

Meanwhile, a Root ninja codenamed "Shin" took advantage of the chaos caused by the explosion and the gap in the guards' movements to successfully sneak to a secluded cliff on the edge of Hozuki Castle. Below lay the dark, turbulent sea.

Without the slightest hesitation, he jumped.

His Fire Release: Heavenly Prison was suppressed and subsided upon contact with a large amount of seawater.

He struggled against the turbulent undercurrent, swimming towards the designated rendezvous point based on his memory. All he needed was to find the disguised fishing boat and send out the intelligence… Just as he was about to surface for air, a hand ripped through the water, grabbed his neck, and lifted him off the surface.

The icy seawater slid down his body, and Shen's pupils suddenly contracted. He instinctively struggled, trying to attack the person behind him with his hands and feet.

However, the moment he escaped the seawater's reach, he was already far from Ghost Lantern City and had lost the seawater, so the power of the Heavenly Prison was activated.

"Ugh!"

Intense flames erupted from his body without warning, burning wildly from the inside out! He couldn't even see the attacker's face clearly. All his struggles turned into futile convulsions in an instant. His skin, muscles, and bones were burned to a charred black in a very short time.

Obito Uchiha stood on the seawater, coldly looking at the body in his hands that had instantly lost its life, yet was still emitting blue smoke and a burnt smell.

He casually tossed the charred corpse back into the surging waves like trash, watching it quickly disappear into the darkness.

"Now is not the time for you to cause trouble."
-
"...That's roughly the situation. In the end, Elder Chiyo agreed to the additional clause that Sunagakure must send a team to participate in the joint Chunin Selection Exams held by Konoha for the next three years."

"In exchange, we need to provide Sunagakure with a batch of emergency food and fresh water supplies this year, with the price settled according to the previously agreed preferential plan. Sunagakure will pay for the goods with specialty spices, medicinal herbs, and some handicrafts."

Shuji stood in front of his desk and reported the results of the negotiations to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Chiyo finally gave in, and Shuji didn't push her too far. In terms of product value alone, Sunagakure made a small profit, while Konoha didn't lose out.

It's not that Sunagakure is poor; the Land of Wind also has many rare items. However, if they're used for large-scale trade of food and other necessities, they'll suffer a great loss.

As for the additional clause, Chiyo didn't pay too much attention to it. Normally, the joint Chunin Exams are held every three years, and Konoha was just asking Sunagakure to participate next time.

Of course, there is no explicit rule as to how many years it will take. In any case, Shuuji felt that there was no need to be so strict. For a genin to be promoted to chunin, once a year is not excessive, and twice a year is also acceptable. It just depends on how well Sunagakure accepts it.

We can consider the specifics later.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was satisfied with the result; he hadn't lost out and had achieved his goal. He agreed with Shuji's plan of advancing step by step each day.

Some things simply cannot be accomplished overnight.

“Regular and institutionalized communication...may really be able to cultivate trust and eliminate barriers from generation to generation through this method.”

"Thank you for your hard work, Shuji."

"Go and rest. We'll need your help with the details of coordinating with Sunagakure later."

After leaving the Hokage's office, Shuji stretched. He had finished something and it was time to treat himself. It was time to apply for a vacation.

Chunin Exams? What does that have to do with him? He wasn't even in the lineup. And what's so interesting about this exam anyway?

Want to see how Itachi Uchiha dominates the entire field? The only one who might be able to put up a fight with him is probably that guy from Kumogakure.

Ten years later, he was an elite Jonin, specializing in medical ninjutsu and lightning genjutsu. His ability to use strong light to create illusions might be enough to deal with ordinary Uchiha, but against Uchiha Itachi... one can only hope he doesn't lose too badly.

Going out of the village for a stroll might be a bit difficult, but if we're just staying within the village, we can think of something to do for entertainment.

Should we go to a hot spring to relax, or simply stay home and sleep until we're completely exhausted?

The door next to the Hokage's office opened, and a hand reached out and pulled Shuji inside.

"Have you forgotten how to speak, Lady Tsunade?"

Shuji staggered a step and complained irritably. What came into view was a desk piled high with documents, leaving almost no room to step, and Tsunade buried in them, her golden hair seemingly losing its luster.

"Stop talking nonsense and come help!" Tsunade didn't even look up, pointing irritably at a small table she had just cleared out next to her and the mountain of files piled on it. "I can't keep up! Shizune is also in charge of the hospital's preparations, and there's still a ton of the Chunin Exam procedures that haven't been finalized!"

Shuji was filled with resistance, feeling that everything in front of him was hateful.

"The Chunin Exams have always had a set procedure, how could it not have been handled properly?"

"Who do you think caused this?!" Tsunade finally raised her head, her eyes practically spitting fire. "Originally, the second exam was just about throwing people into the Forest of Death to steal the Heavenly Scroll! Which guy suggested adding teamwork and a comprehensive assessment?!"

"The old man thought it was interesting and insisted on adding a new assessment item! Now the entire second round of rules, venue setup, passing standards, and scoring details all need to be redesigned!"

"We also need to hold a meeting with the Jonin leaders from the other ninja villages to discuss and gain their understanding!"

"There's also the paperwork for all the ninja tools needed for the new assessments, the allocation of examiners, and the safety plans!"

She slammed her hand on the table, making the documents rattle: "Don't even think about getting away! I'm not leaving until I've dealt with all this damn stuff, and you're not stepping out of this door either!"

Shuji looked at the roaring Princess Senju and the seemingly endless stream of messy Kumonzan, and sighed.

When will we get a holiday...?

(End of this chapter)