Konoha Notes

Chapter 154 Gap
"You're planning to hire...me?"

Orochimaru examined the strangely shaped pitcher plant in front of him with great interest, as well as the yin-yang-faced humanoid creature emerging from it.

Even for him, this was the first time he had ever seen something like this.

“That’s right, that’s right~” White Zetsu replied cheerfully, “The Mizukage is recruiting powerful helpers! The rewards are very generous!”

Black Zetsu said, "For someone who has already parted ways with Konoha, it's not easy to gain the protection of Kirigakure."

Orochimaru chuckled. The creature who called himself "Zetsu" completely failed to understand that he chose to break free of his constraints, not because he couldn't find a ninja village to take him in. However, this misunderstanding was irrelevant.

What truly interested him was the creature "Zetsu" itself, as well as the mysteriously behaving Kirigakure village. Accepting the employment would also make it easier for him to operate in the Land of Water in the future.

Perhaps, this opportunity might lead to some unexpected material.

"Sounds...interesting." Orochimaru sized up Zetsu. "I'll accept this request."

His gaze swept over the long robe on Jue's body.

This outfit seems to be related to Akatsuki, who have recently gained some fame in the ninja world. If I remember correctly, they should be an organization operating in the western region of the Land of Fire.

Their members actually appeared in the East, and even served the Mizukage of Kirigakure?

"Then, take your subordinates and wait here for the Mizukage's further orders." Zetsu left behind a letter of authorization, then his body disappeared underground.

Orochimaru bent down, his pale fingers gently touching the patch of ground where Zetsu had disappeared.

"This Earth Release technique—no, it's not Earth Release, it's a special secret technique." He didn't sense any signs that the land had been softened by chakra, nor were there any gaps underground caused by movement. Even the residual chakra fluctuations were unusually weak and dissipated quickly.

This was completely different from his usual escape techniques, and it was very fast. Almost the instant it entered the ground, it disappeared from his perception range.

After leaving the village, more and more interesting things happened.
-
Konoha Village, Hokage's office.

The sky outside the window was dim, but the office was brightly lit.

Silently, she had just moved out a stack of processed documents, and in the blink of an eye, she brought in a new stack.

Shuji hadn't left yet; the amount of documents on his desk seemed to be growing, and it looked like this shift was going to continue working overtime until Tsunade officially took office.

Rejecting the secretarial job is only beneficial for the future; for now, I still can't escape paperwork.

At times like these, he would doubt his choice; if at least three generations had been in power, he could still sleep at home.

instead of...

His gaze fell on the person across the desk. Tsunade was holding a file in front of her face, and had been in that position for quite a while, even the rise and fall of her shoulders had become unusually steady.

Shuji picked up a crumpled piece of paper and flicked his wrist. The paper traced a slight arc and struck Tsunade precisely on the forehead.

Tsunade jolted awake, the file slipped from her grasp, revealing her sleepy and bewildered face. Upon recognizing Shuuji, her confusion instantly vanished, replaced by annoyance.

"what are you doing!"

"You seem to be asleep."

"no!"

"Really? Then why didn't you dodge just now?"

"That's because I was too engrossed in thinking!"

When Nara Shikaku and the current captain of the Anbu walked in, this was the scene that greeted them: the Fifth Hokage, who was to take office the next day, was glaring angrily at a young Jonin who was gradually gaining fame in the village.

"Ahem, Lady Tsunade." Shikaku spoke up at the right moment, breaking the delicate atmosphere.

Tsunade looked away and gestured for Shikaku and the Anbu Captain-Commander to sit down.

"Any new developments in the direction of the Land of Water?"

"The headquarters of Kirigakure remains closed, with no signs of large-scale mobilization," the Anbu Captain-Commander replied. "Recently, unidentified wandering ninjas and rogue ninjas have been active in the Land of Forests and the Land of Frost."

"The Land of Forests and the Land of Frost." Tsuna tapped his fingertips lightly on the table. "And their purpose?"

"Preliminary investigations suggest that there appears to be a very lucrative commission." Shuji slightly raised his eyes. The reward was substantial, and the client was a rogue ninja, indicating that the target of the commission was not a legitimate entity.

The only thing the Country of Forest and the Country of Frost have in common is that they both have access to the sea, so if we have to connect them to the movements of Kirigakure (Hidden Mist Village), that's one thing.

Obito is going to use a lot of rogue ninja?
Nara Shikaku then spoke up, "Although the locations are in two different countries, the timing is so similar that the client is likely from the same organization."

"Given the current situation, the only possible target is Kirigakure."

Actually, the class leader of this Jonin class was not very willing to speculate in this direction.

Because it's too outrageous.

The Hidden Mist Village and the Hidden Leaf Village have already had direct clashes, so why go to the trouble of hiring these unreliable external forces?

Kirigakure cannot gain any benefit from this incident. Even if it embarrasses Konoha and triggers a new round of ninja war, Kirigakure, far away overseas, will be driven out immediately.

Afterwards, other ninja villages might benefit from this, but as for Kirigakure, all that's left is dead bodies and money.

So Nara Shikaku couldn't understand what their purpose was. Could it be that they really wanted to cause trouble for Konoha? Was it really necessary? They didn't have that much of a grudge.

However, speculating about the opponent's motives is pointless now. Since we can confirm what move Kirigakure is using, Konoha simply needs to react accordingly.

"The Anbu will continue to monitor those rogue ninjas and may eliminate them as needed," Tsunade ordered.

The priority now is tomorrow's inauguration ceremony; we need to create some disruption and affect the other side's gathering.

The time to prepare for a counterattack will come after tomorrow's inauguration ceremony.

"Shikaku, strengthen the deployment of border patrol teams, especially in the Forest Kingdom. The Hannya Clan has been restless all along; don't let them cause trouble at this time."

Nara Shikaku and the Anbu Captain-Commander acknowledged the order and left the Hokage's office.

Watching the two figures leave, Tsunade was plunged into a new dilemma.

Logically speaking, after the new Hokage takes office, several members of the Anbu should also be replaced.

She was still hesitant about who to appoint, especially for the position of Captain of the Dark Division.

He glanced at Xiu Si, who was buried in documents, and thought for a moment. He wouldn't even be a secretary, let alone the much busier captain of the Dark Guard.

Thinking of this, Tsunade couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. How come she hadn't noticed before that this guy was actually a lazy person?

Her gaze fell on the crumpled piece of paper on the table that had hit her forehead earlier. On a whim, she grabbed it and threw it at Xiu Si's head.

Shuji tilted his head to avoid it.

Tsunade crumpled up another piece of waste paper and threw it away.

Xiu Si hid again.

"Don't move!" This time, Tsunade simply grabbed a handful of scrap paper, crumpled it into a large ball, and said, "Your offense just now is not over!"

Just then, the office door was pushed open again, and this time it was Jingyin who came in.

She looked at Tsunade's stance, then at Shuuji.

"Tsunade-sama..."

"Wait a minute, mute, let me finish what I'm doing first."

"Um, Shuuji-kun, the Third Hokage said he'd like you to come to his place if it's convenient..."

Before Shizune could finish speaking, Shuuji had already stood up from his seat, instantly passing by Shizune and disappearing into the office doorway.

“…Huh?” Shizune blinked as she looked at the empty seat.

"Hey! You! Come back here!" Tsunade shouted at the empty doorway, holding up a paper ball, but could only throw it back on the table in frustration. "...You ran pretty fast."

(End of this chapter)