Konoha Notes

Chapter 143

The fact that Konoha easily suppressed the Box of Paradise was somewhat different from what Obito had expected.

When Satoru took the Box of Elysium to the Land of Fire, Obito originally thought he could cause a great deal of chaos, but he didn't expect that he would disappear so quickly.

We need to find something more to do in Konoha; their recovery speed is beyond our expectations.

So he went to Kirigakure, took control of Yagura, and ordered more Kirigakure squads to launch an attack on Konoha during the Chunin Exams.

However, there was no news.

Wearing a Mizukage hat, the upper half of his face hidden in shadow, Yagura's voice was flat and devoid of any emotion: "The harassment operation against Konoha is progressing far too slowly. What is the reason?"

When the summoned mastermind was questioned by the Mizukage, he replied, "The Hidden Mist Village is far overseas, and it is not easy for them to mobilize troops for infiltration. The Hidden Leaf Village also has a very good defense system on the east coast, so it is only natural that the operation is difficult to achieve results."

Having defended Ao on the front lines, the Kirigakure elder looked up at the Mizukage: "The Daimyo hopes that the Mizukage will personally go to the Land of Water to provide a detailed explanation of this year's additional military operation budget and subsequent funding applications."

After listening to Master Yuan's words, Yagura replied after a long pause, "This matter is entrusted to you. Master Yuan, you may go."

Although he had expected this answer, Master Yuan still left with a slight sense of disappointment.

Why did the Fourth Generation become like this?

After the elders of Kirigakure left, Obito Uchiha walked out from behind Yagura.

"Zetsu, has the strength of Kirigakure declined to this extent?"

The floor in a corner of the office creaked slightly, and a figure in black and white emerged.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it, isn't there?"

"The Blood Mist policy has lasted for so long that families with bloodline limits in the Land of Water have been purged time and time again."

"The loss of combat power is indeed severe."

Then Zetsu said, "Kakuzu is currently hunting in the Land of Waves. Should we send him a request in the name of Kirigakure?"

Obito pondered for a moment. Akatsuki was indeed not suitable to openly provoke the five great nations at this stage, but if they were just mercenaries, with the Mizukage's endorsement, they wouldn't stand out.

“Okay.” He made the decision. “Take the commission to Kakuzu.”

Controlling Yagura to sign an employment contract, Obito tossed the scroll to Zetsu and placed a hand on his shoulder. Space distorted, and the two figures were quickly sucked into the Kamui dimension.

He decided to go to the front lines himself to see what was really going on.
-
Having noticed the unusual activity in Kirigakure, Shuji decided to stay and observe the situation firsthand.

At a time like this, he really didn't want to see Kirigakure show any presence.

After a few hours of rest, Shisui's two squads set out again to carry out patrol and defensive line guard duties. Shuuji followed behind them on the flanks, mainly to observe the situation in Kirigakure and provide support if necessary.

Over the next half day, they encountered two groups of Fog Shadow Squads attempting to infiltrate.

The battle broke out suddenly and ended abruptly.

The first instance occurred when twelve Hidden Mist ninja attempted to cross a valley but were discovered by the Uchiha clan's Anbu. The moment they engaged in battle, upon realizing their opponents were Uchiha and unable to gain the upper hand, they immediately threw smoke bombs, activated the Hidden Mist Technique, and retreated, showing no intention of prolonging the fight.

The second time, there were more people, sixteen in total, divided into four teams. The leader was a ninja wearing an eyepatch who looked familiar. Shuuji thought for a moment and remembered that the other person seemed to be a ninja named Ao, who had a Byakugan.

His team was even more cautious. As soon as Shisui used illusion magic to take down two people, Ao immediately led his men away from the battle.

After observing two consecutive skirmishes, Shuji had to admit that Shisui's assessment was quite accurate.

These Hidden Mist ninjas have a perfunctory attitude towards combat. They attempt infiltration, and once they've succeeded and found no opportunity, they immediately retreat.

The main focus is on going through the process.

Shuji initially guessed that this was some kind of strategic intention of the Kirigakure leadership, but after actual observation, he felt that it was not quite like it.

What is the point of this level of harassment, other than wasting resources?
Or is it that this isn't actually the will of the higher-ups, but rather that Kirigakure is poor and owes these ninjas their wages?

Not so much...

Although he was completely confused, Shuji felt there was no need to watch any further.

After returning to the village, Tsunade might have other information that could explain Kirigakure's actions.

He decided to reveal himself to bid farewell to Shisui and then immediately return to Konoha. However, just as Shuji was about to emerge from his hiding place, a sudden change occurred.

The surrounding air suddenly became humid, and a thick fog spread out without warning at an alarming speed, quickly enveloping the entire forest and drastically reducing visibility.

In the thick fog, blurry figures silently emerged, their numbers exceeding those of the previous two rounds.

"Enemy attack! All personnel on alert!" Shisui's voice rang out.

The two squads from Konoha reacted extremely quickly, instantly closing in back to back to form a tight defensive circle.

It's the Hidden Mist Technique, and its range and the amount of chakra it supports are extraordinary... Shuuji made the judgment instantly.

This technique cannot be easily dispelled by ordinary wind jutsu. As far as I can remember, Yagura seems to have used wind jutsu: typhoon to deal with it.

As for him, although he won't be able to handle the typhoon once it's over, he does have similar techniques for dealing with large-scale environmental ninjutsu.

"Wind Release: Clear Skies!"

A powerful gust of air generated in front of him and blew violently forward. Wherever the air passed, the dense fog was stirred, pulled, and finally forcibly dispersed, opening up a clear passage and revealing the original appearance of the forest.

At this moment, the Konoha members finally saw the situation around them—more than twenty Kirigakure ninjas had somehow taken up positions on the branches of the surrounding trees.

Is this a serious move, given the scale of the operation?
Shuji, who had just used Wind Release to dispel part of the dense fog, remained hidden in his original position and did not immediately reveal himself, but continued to observe the situation in the field.

The enemy consisted of seven standard squads, totaling twenty-eight people. On Konoha's side, Shisui led two squads totaling seven people, plus Shuji, making it nine against twenty-eight.

Facing an enemy several times their size, Shisui remained remarkably calm. He raised his hand and made a few simple hand gestures, and the three members of his team immediately and in perfect unison spread out, forming a triangular formation on the left; the Uchiha Anbu team on the other side formed a similar triangular formation on the right.

Uchiha Shisui drew the short sword from his back and stood alone at the front of the group, while the captain of the ANBU squad retreated to the back, his crimson Sharingan swirling, alert to any possible sneak attack from any direction.

Among the Hidden Mist ninja, Ao activated his Byakugan and spotted Shuji's figure behind him.

"Such a powerful Wind Release technique! It can dispel the Hidden Mist Technique so easily... Are they reinforcements from Konoha?"

In this way, this operation can be carried out after only a brief engagement.

Thinking of the mercenary who came with the orders of the Water Shadow, Qing felt even more annoyed.

How could the Fourth Hokage be so determined to attack Konoha that he would allow a rogue ninja to participate in their operation?
If that's the case, why not tell them the meaning and purpose of this attack?

With Kirigakure far overseas and without the support and cooperation of other major ninja villages, what practical significance could such an operation, even if it occasionally achieved some minor victories, possibly have?
It's simply impossible for it to harm the very foundation of Konoha.

Just as Qing was about to give the order to launch a probing attack and then retreat when the opportunity arose.

From the flank of the battlefield, deep within a dense fog that had not been fully affected by "Qingkuo".

A bizarrely shaped black monster wearing two masks with different expressions appeared without warning.

It aimed at the Konoha team, which was on high alert, and simultaneously gathered chakra of completely different natures from the mouths of the two masks.

Composite Ninja Technique: Strange Face Explosion!

The raging flames mixed with the compressed wind, forming a vast and destructive firestorm that swept towards the Konoha team.

"Not good!" Uchiha Shisui's pupils suddenly contracted.

This level of ninjutsu is impossible to resist with conventional methods. With Kirigakure ninjas around, if the team scatters to avoid it, they can easily be divided, surrounded, and defeated one by one!
In a flash, the three crimson tomoe in Shisui's eyes swirled and connected. Just as he was about to activate Susanoo to block the attack.

"Earth Escape: Earth Current City Wall!"

A massive, thick earthen wall, far exceeding the size of an ordinary earthwork wall, rose from the ground and stood majestically in front of the firestorm!

The blazing flames crashed against the thick earthen wall, were blocked and diverted, and the explosion was deafening.

The high temperature caused the surface of the earthen wall to quickly turn red and crack, and countless debris flew everywhere under the impact, but it still stood firm and firmly kept the destructive flames out, protecting all the Konoha people behind it.

A figure quietly appeared at the top as the earthen wall rose, then landed lightly, blocking the direction of the flames from the Konoha team, and also blocking the figure in a black robe with red clouds that emerged from the edge of the thick fog.

Kakuzu looked at Shuji, who had suddenly appeared and blocked his ninjutsu.

His gaze lingered for a moment on Shuji's Konoha headband and his calm face. After a moment of recollection, he said, "You are... ten million ryo."

(End of this chapter)