Konoha Notes

Chapter 146 Encounter
When Shisui arrived with his men, the sight that greeted them all took them by surprise.

The area looked as if it had just experienced a small-scale natural disaster. The ground looked as if it had been plowed, and the air was filled with a strong smell of burning.

Such extensive destruction was caused by just two people fighting.

Shisui immediately searched for Shuji's figure, his Sharingan quickly scanning the battlefield, and soon he found Shuji in a relatively intact open area.

He didn't seem to be injured, which reassured Shisui. But Shisui was also surprised; Itachi had said that his captain was exceptionally strong, but he hadn't expected him to be this powerful.

"Are you alright?" Although he could tell, Shisui still asked, "Where's that ninja from earlier?"

"I'm fine, he's been rescued."

"They've been rescued?" Shisui was slightly taken aback. There were still people?
Although he knew that Obito Uchiha probably wouldn't cause trouble for Shisui, Shuji still gave him a heads-up: "The person who came to rescue him was a man wearing a tiger-skin mask with one eye. He possessed space-time ninjutsu and could activate it extremely quickly, almost without any warning."

Shuji briefly described Obito's current appearance, emphasizing the strangeness and speed of the opponent's space-time ninjutsu. He didn't specifically mention that Obito was an Uchiha, since there were four other Uchiha ninjas present.

On the one hand, these Uchiha clan members might see a powerful Uchiha of unknown identity as a potential ally or an object of sympathy; on the other hand, they might be driven by righteous indignation and want to investigate or even eliminate this traitor who has tarnished the name of the Uchiha.

Whether it's good or bad, the outcome won't be very good.

The appearance of the Uchiha without the Mangekyou Sharingan in front of Obito Uchiha was merely to provide him with backup materials for Izanagi.

Shisui solemnly stated that he had noted it down: a space-time ninjutsu with an extremely fast activation speed, which meant that conventional ninjutsu and taijutsu attacks would likely be ineffective, or even unable to reach the opponent's body.

Even if the opponent has no other powerful means, they will still be a very troublesome enemy.

Even he might only be able to try to control the situation immediately using illusion magic, otherwise he wouldn't have any other countermeasures.

The expressions of the others were similar.

They had been in the eastern region for quite some time, but this was the first time they had realized that such a powerful enemy was lurking in this area.

"Zhishui, I need to go back to the village immediately."

His gaze swept over the traces of battle around him: "The defensive pressure on the eastern coastline may increase. I will explain the situation here to the Third Hokage and suggest sending more personnel to provide support."

"As for those two, it's hard to say whether they will reappear. The one who is skilled in ninjutsu is called Kakuzu. He has a kind of immortality. To kill him, you need to destroy his five masks."

Shuji explained to Shisui and the others as clearly as possible what he knew about Kakuzu before saying, "Be careful, Shisui."

He emphasized his words, and Shisui understood what Shuuji meant: it wasn't just these people who needed to be careful, but also Orochimaru.

In this situation, the existing teams are indeed insufficient.

After admonishing Shisui, Shuji didn't linger any longer. With a flash, he embarked on his journey back to Konoha.

The appearances of Kakuzu and Obito Uchiha were both unexpected, and this discrepancy may be due to the fact that Konoha's current situation is better than the original storyline.

At this point in the original story, the conflict between the Uchiha clan and Konoha Village had become completely undeniable.

Fugaku Uchiha's last effort was to send Itachi Uchiha into the Anbu.

In that situation, Obito Uchiha would likely focus more on the Uchiha clan and might relax his control over Kirigakure (Hidden Mist Village) overseas.

He now seems to intend to exert pressure on Konoha from the outside and create chaos through the Hidden Mist.

This is actually a good thing. Obito Uchiha may have great power, but he didn't have the ability or patience to truly control a major ninja village. His actions after manipulating the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, with genjutsu show that his desire for revenge and tormenting Kirigakure far outweighed his desire to properly manage and control the village.

For a Kage to effectively govern a ninja village, they must not only possess strength but also be able to represent the village's interests. Otherwise, the passivity of the lower ranks, the doubts of the middle ranks, and the covert resistance of the upper ranks will all cause the Kage to lose their power.

No matter how good Ying is at fighting, he can't control the people below him who are just lazing around.

Especially for those who haven't reached the level of Hashirama Senju, dealing with a Kage-level powerhouse isn't actually impossible.

The Kirigakure frontline troops are already showing signs of wavering morale. If Obito becomes dissatisfied with this and continues to exert even stronger pressure on Kirigakure, it will only accelerate the escalation of internal conflicts and cause more and more doubts and resistance against the Mizukage to accumulate.

Ultimately, Kirigakure will be mired in deeper internal strife and will no longer be able to exert influence on the outside world.

The strategic pressure surrounding Konoha may actually be alleviated to some extent as a result.

As Shuji sorted through these thoughts and assessed the possible future developments, a sudden, chilling wind swept in from the side without warning.

Just as Shuji was using a branch to propel himself up into the air, a giant snake of unusually large size with dark brown scales suddenly burst out from the dense canopy, opened its mouth wide, and swallowed Shuji whole.

The next instant, the giant snake froze halfway between its upper and lower jaws, then let out an extremely painful hiss, and its abdomen suddenly exploded open with a huge bloody hole.

Shuji expressionlessly withdrew his slime-covered fist, stepped out of the giant snake's shattered abdomen, and stood on the snake's back, which was writhing wildly in agony.

Almost simultaneously, from inside the giant snake's massive body, countless sharp wooden branches pierced through its eyes, mouth, and even the gaps in its scales.

In just a few breaths, the once ferocious giant snake completely lost its life, collapsing limply and crushing the bushes below.

“Mr. Orochimaru,” Shuji said, shaking the foul-smelling slime off his hands, “could you buy me a new set of clothes?”

"Hehehehe..."

A deep, uniquely magnetic laugh came from the tree trunk beside them.

Orochimaru's figure slowly emerged from the tree trunk beside him.

"If Shuji-kun is willing to cooperate with my research, I can have as many outfits as I want, you know?"

"I thought I wouldn't see you for a while, Shuuji-kun."

He looked at Shuuji standing on the back of the dead snake.

"It seems you've been on vacation all this time, as far as I know."

Shuji calmly replied, "That's right. I worked overtime because of you, Mr. Orochimaru. You'll need to settle the overtime pay for this."

"Danzo's little tricks really didn't fool you at all." From the location and timing of Shuji's appearance, Orochimaru immediately figured out what he had done before. "He really is... completely out of touch with this era."

"Time is truly a sharp blade that no one can escape. That once sharp and decisive dark figure of Konoha now seems to be becoming a stepping stone for young people to rise to prominence."

At this point, Orochimaru's smile grew increasingly dangerous: "It is precisely in order to transcend this relentless flow of time that I so desperately crave eternity, to understand all the truths of the world, and to become an existence free from all constraints."

"Whether it's Wood Release or your body that can hold Hashirama's cells..."

"Shuji-kun, it's rare for you to leave Konoha alone, I don't want to miss this opportunity..."

(End of this chapter)