Konoha Notes

Chapter 169 Undercurrents in the Sandstorm
The news of Kumogakure's high-profile preparations for the Chunin Exams reached not only the distant Sunagakure but also the Iwagakure nestled in the mountains.

The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, and Ebizo met a new guest—Zasu, an envoy from Iwagakure.

The new messenger did not flinch because his predecessor had died here, and continued to convey the "goodwill" from the Tsuchikage.

"The relationship between Konoha and Kumogakure has eased, and they have even reached a peace agreement with Kirigakure."

"Can Sunagakure still obtain cheap supplies and food from Konoha as before?"

"Once they have completely stabilized the situation in the east and no longer need the frontline barrier, the investment and support for Sunagakure will probably be seen as an unnecessary burden."

Due to the impact of last year's war, Sunagakure is still under immense pressure this year.

Iwagakure is the instigator of Sunagakure's current predicament, but as the Kazekage, Rasa still has to personally face this envoy from the Land of Earth and listen to these provocative words.

He didn't argue, he just listened in silence.

Last year, Elder Chiyo discussed a plan that was somewhat favorable to Sunagakure, but it was still not as good as the plan from the previous year.

Although they are allies, Sunagakure sincerely hopes that Konoha will not manage its relations with the surrounding ninja villages well, as this would be most beneficial to them.

Ebizo broke the silence: "Does Onoki think we Sunagakure are fools? The one who brought such a great disaster to Sunagakure now expects us to abandon our current allies?"

Zasuke turned to the elder: "It was because Sunagakure betrayed its tacit agreement with Iwagakure two years ago and killed our messenger that the Tsuchikage had no choice but to take necessary action to uphold the dignity of Iwagakure."

“All of this, when traced back to its source, is due to the choices made by Sunagakure.”

"If Sunagakure had stood on the side of Iwagakure two years ago, instead of shortsightedly accepting Konoha's conditions, they wouldn't be in their current predicament."

"Lord Kazekage, Lord Ebizo, as far as we know, the man named Muwei, whom Konoha supports, has already taken actual control of Kusagakure. The east has also been stabilized, and what they will do next is predictable."

"Now, the ones who truly face similar situations and whose interests are more aligned are Iwagakure and Sunagakure. As for the unpleasant things of the past, they are just some dust and sand."

Rasa did not respond to these remarks, but simply dismissed the Iwagakure messenger.

Then he spoke: "We've received news from Konoha that they plan to hold a joint Chunin Exam in September."

Ebizo frowned: "They've already confirmed their participation in the Cloud Village's exams this year, yet they're holding another joint Chunin Exams in such a short time?"

Rasa said coldly, "It's to humiliate us, after all, they certainly can't win on the home turf of Kumogakure."

"Just like last year, the Hidden Cloud Village was destined to fail in the Konoha Exams."

"So they're planning to save face by taking advantage of us."

The people of the Sandstorm don't care about saving face; they only care about survival. But since Konoha finds face useful, it means it's valuable. And if it's valuable, they should exchange it for something in return.

As for Iwagakure's provocation, Rasa planned to wait and see. Taking rash action would only bring greater losses to Sunagakure.
-
In the Hokage's office, Tsunade finished her bottle of sake and, feeling slightly tipsy, went to the adjacent lounge for a short rest.

She really did leave the office and the piles of paperwork to Xiu Si.

When Shizune walked in carrying the documents, she saw Shuuji working on another desk.

She first sighed helplessly, then gave Xiu Si an apologetic and awkward smile.

Although her smile was a little awkward, it didn't stop her from skillfully and gently placing a new stack of documents on the desk in front of Shuji, where some space had already been cleared.

"Um... I'll go and call Lady Tsunade back right now," Shizune said softly, then hurriedly turned and left.

Shuji casually flipped to the top of the list. It was Itachi Uchiha's regular report.

Aside from the daily patrol reports and guard duties, the most noteworthy aspect is Uchiha Enjin's situation. After being manipulated by Shuuji, he behaved himself for a while and was transferred to Itachi's team. Apart from requesting to participate in the investigation of the stolen Sharingan, he made no other moves.

This continued until the second Hyuga branch family unit joined the police force.

Flame Blade's attention seemed to have shifted back to the Hokage's office. He began consciously gathering intelligence on the movements of the village's higher-ups that he thought might be useful to the Uchiha clan.

Furthermore, he would regularly submit a summary of information he had compiled to Itachi, who was the squad leader.

Then these summaries will fall to Tsunade.

Tsunade's attitude towards this was quite open-minded; she simply regarded it as adding a unique perspective to the Dark Side's observation points.

After all, the perspective of a guard and the perspective of someone spying with a certain purpose are often very different.

Next came the annual report submitted by the Barrier Team regarding the maintenance and reinforcement of various barrier nodes throughout the village this year, along with a briefing compiled by the Anbu on the recent activities of the major ninja clans within the village…

The focus is naturally on the two powerful clans, the Uchiha and Hyuga.

Since the Hyuga branch family joined the police force, there have been more conflicts between the two families.

Even though Fugaku Uchiha knew that this was an arrangement made by the village's higher-ups, he could not completely suppress the instinctive sense of rejection and competition towards the Hyuga clan that arose among the clan members. The conflict began to spread from within the police force to other public places.

In addition, the Hyuga clan seems to have recently strengthened its vigilance and protection around its territory.

The reason is... that Hiashi's wife is about to give birth?

Huh? Hyuga Hanabi is about to be born? Her due date coincides with the Chunin Exams held in Kumogakure, both in March.

However, there's nothing to regret, since Shuji and Hinata don't have much contact, and he was clearly not a guest at his sister-in-law's birthday banquet.

So whether you're in the village or not, you probably won't get to join in the fun.

Browsing through these reports detailing the dynamics of various parties in the village was far more interesting than dealing with those tedious budget approvals and resource allocation documents. As Xiu Si read on, he gradually became engrossed in them.

Until Tsunade was pulled in by Shizune.

"Ugh, this is so annoying. I need to mute it so I can finally get some rest."

"It's you who's been too harsh on Shuuji, Lady Tsunade."

Shuuji glanced at the documents Shizune had placed on his desk. She seemed like a nice person, and she hadn't hesitated to add to his burden.

Now that Tsunade was back, Shuji felt it was time for him to leave work.

He still had to go back and make some preparations for his upcoming trip to Kumogakure.

"and many more."

Before Shuuji could respond, Tsunade raised her voice and called out to the office door, "Uzuki Yugao, Gekko Hayate."

At her call, two ninjas dressed in standard ANBU uniforms but without masks entered.

One had long purple hair, and the other had a face that looked like she had kidney deficiency.

"Starting today, the two of you will be under Shuji's command until the Chunin Exams are over."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)