Konoha Notes

Chapter 141 Eagerness
The setting sun cast a long shadow over the Konoha Police Department building. Fugaku Uchiha finished his day's work, rubbed his temples, and headed home.

During the Chunin Exams, the police force was already busy with many tasks, and with Orochimaru's incident yesterday, even he felt somewhat tired.

However, this anticipated tranquility vanished as they approached their own home.

He could see a group of people gathered in front of his house from afar, mostly women from his clan.

His wife, Uchiha Mikoto, was surrounded in the middle, a gentle but slightly awkward smile on her face as she answered a barrage of questions.

His second son, Sasuke, was like an annoyed kitten, puffing out his cheeks and glaring angrily at the usually kind aunties and grandmothers. He tried to squeeze into the crowd, grab his mother's hand, and rescue her, but he was too small and weak to break through the adults' encirclement.

Sasuke looked around anxiously and happened to see Fugaku Uchiha. His eyes lit up and he called out, "Father..."

This shout caused all eyes, which had been focused on Mikoto Uchiha, to turn towards Fugaku Uchiha.

The Uchiha clan leader, confident in his powerful eye abilities and ability to calmly deal with formidable enemies, found himself breaking out in a cold sweat when faced with these eyes filled with eagerness, anticipation, and even a hint of anxiety.

"Clan chief! Is it true that the village is opening up ninja academy positions to us?"

"Captain Fugaku, what exactly is his position? Are there any strict requirements regarding ninja rank and seniority?"

"I heard it's mainly clerical work? What are the salaries and benefits like? How do they compare to the police force?"

"Approximately how many spots are available? Is there any prior assessment or preparation required?"

"Are there any special requirements regarding work experience? What if the required years of experience are insufficient...?"

"..."

Problems came from all directions, instantly overwhelming Fugaku. It was the first time he had ever seen his clansmen be so enthusiastic, aside from demanding a coup.

Taking advantage of everyone's attention being drawn to her husband, Uchiha Mikoto secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She grabbed Sasuke's hand and whispered, "Let's go home first, Sasuke."

“But, Father…”

"It's okay, Dad will be home soon. Mom will take you home to cook first."

Fugaku Uchiha watched as his wife and son fled for their lives, facing the increasingly close faces of his clansmen, who were usually reserved or even somewhat distant.

He instinctively took a half step back, only to find that his escape route seemed to be blocked invisibly as well.

Why are so many clansmen interested in just a few ninja academy positions...?

Even though the idea of ​​sending clansmen into the Dark Division, a department with more real power and influence, had been mentioned before, the clansmen still had many concerns and resistance...

Fugaku Uchiha didn't understand. The only thing he was sure of was that he probably wouldn't be able to get away for the time being.
-
Outside Konoha Village, in an underground base.

The damp air was filled with a faint smell of mildew and medicine. A figure dressed in a Root uniform appeared silently and knelt on one knee in front of Orochimaru, who was fiddling with the equipment.

"Lord Orochimaru."

"Oh? You're... Earth Nine, you've actually survived until now." Orochimaru didn't stop what he was doing. "What, does Danzo have any instructions?"

A Root ninja named Chiku reported in a deep voice: "Lord Danzo and the main force of Root have been temporarily placed under house arrest in the village's designated area by the Third Hokage under the pretext of carrying out an emergency mission, and their movements are restricted."

Orochimaru paused slightly: "Tsunade is quick. It seems she's really annoyed."

The decision to place Danzo under house arrest was probably not made voluntarily by his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi. It was unlikely that it was even made by the other two advisors in the village.

After all, Danzo hasn't had time to do anything yet. As for the possibility of colluding with rogue ninjas? Given Root's history of shady dealings, having connections with a rogue ninja is hardly a big deal, even if that rogue ninja is Orochimaru.

This could only be the result of Tsunade's strong push, leveraging her status as a candidate for Hokage and her determination.

She cared more about the old house in the western suburbs and the boy than expected, to the point that she went so far as to force the old man to take action.

"Lord Danzo instructed me to convey," Chiku repeated the order, "that he still has an elite squad not on this monitoring list, which has now been transferred to the nearby area and is ready to be at your command at any time." "Lord Danzo's only request is: to eliminate that Uchiha Anbu squad that is on a mission outside as quickly and cleanly as possible."

Orochimaru finally put down what he was holding and chuckled, "At a time like this, you're still fixated on this petty elimination operation, hoping to cause Tsunade trouble."

"It was precisely because of this narrow-mindedness that Danzo could only hide underground and would never be able to take the position of Hokage."

"You!" Di Jiu suddenly looked up, his eyes flashing with anger beneath the mask.

However, when his gaze met those inhuman pupils, a chill instantly ran down his spine, all his anger was extinguished, and he lowered his head, daring not to show any further disrespect.

"Heh..." Orochimaru slowly leaned down, approaching Chiku, his tone gentle, "Your useless wailing on behalf of your imprisoned master ends here."

"As for that squad..." He straightened up, his tone returning to its usual indifference, "I'll just accept them for now. Tell Danzo to stay in his cage and watch the show."
-
The eastern part of the Land of Fire, near the coastline.

Shuji's figure darted through the trees at high speed, leaving only faint afterimages in the air. After leaving Konoha, he rushed towards the designated location without stopping.

There were two teams carrying out the long-term mission to Kirigakure: one was Uchiha Shisui's own team, and the other was a newly joined Uchiha Anbu team.

Shuji briefly reviewed the intelligence regarding this mission. Since the beginning of this year, Kirigakure has been sending reconnaissance teams and ANBU across the sea to infiltrate the Land of Fire.

While similar actions occurred last year, the internal situation in Konoha was more complex then. Now that the situation in Konoha has stabilized somewhat, Kirigakure has intensified these actions, which are of unclear meaning and clearly provocative, leaving Konoha's leadership puzzled and wary.

Of course, the Konoha higher-ups were the most perplexed. Shuji, on the other hand, had some vague guesses about it.

In the original storyline, it was confirmed that the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, was under the long-term control of Obito Uchiha. However, the exact duration of this control was never clearly defined.

There are theories that Itachi Uchiha severely injured Yagura with Amaterasu after joining Akatsuki, and that Obito then took the opportunity to control him. There are also scenes where Obito Uchiha, along with Konan and Pain, confronted Yagura.

Aside from the certainty that Yagura was eventually brought under control, the specific timeline has always been quite confusing.

If we were to discuss the recent unusual developments in Kirigakure, aside from the fact that they are probing actions spearheaded by Yagura himself...

Another likely possibility is that, since the incident involving the Kumogakure delegation last year, Obito Uchiha, who has been lurking in the shadows, may have strengthened or accelerated his control over Yagura and begun to continuously cause trouble for Konoha.

It's unclear which scenario it is at this time. However, it's certain that the scale of the Mist Village's operations appears to be within a controllable range.

Even next year, according to the original storyline, Uchiha Shisui should have already finished his long-term mission on this front and returned to the village to report for duty.

Therefore, while maintaining necessary vigilance and guarding against possible interception, Xiu Si traveled at almost full speed all the way.

Things seemed to be going more smoothly than expected. Perhaps it was because he acted quickly enough that Shuji did not encounter any enemies until he reached the coastal region of the Land of Waves.

Based on the coordinates marked on the scroll, Shuji found a secluded camp where the team was scheduled to rest.

However, the camp was completely deserted at this time.

The campfire in the center had long since gone out, leaving only cold, pale ashes and a piece of charred charcoal.

The trees and ground around the camp bore numerous scratches from sharp weapons, points of impact from kunai and shuriken, and subtle chakra fluctuations left after ninjutsu was performed—clearly, a battle had taken place here not long ago.

Shuji carefully examined the scene and found no bodies, nor did he see any large amounts of splattered or congealed blood.

There were no obvious signs of immediate death or serious injury... which is fortunate amidst misfortune.

Did the Hidden Mist ninja discover the camp's location? How could they have found such a well-hidden rest spot...?

Shuji became more vigilant and followed the subtle traces left by the battle.

　Book Recommendation: "I'm an Innocent Trainer, What the Heck is the Villain System?" (A slice-of-life Pokémon story. He's already pouting, so I have no choice but to recommend it.)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)