Konoha Notes

Chapter 170 People Will Die
For this joint Chunin Exam with Kumogakure, Konoha sent a total of 27 people, including Uzuki Yugao and Gekko Hayate, who were added by Tsunade, so the team needed to be rearranged.

This is not really a problem. It is rare for a team to maintain the same members after graduation, especially given the frequent conflicts between ninja villages in the past few years.

Tsunade only added two people, precisely because adding them made it enough to form nine teams. As for how to form them, Shuuji thought for a moment and found someone he recognized, so he simply put Umino Iruka, Gekko Hayate, and Uzuki Yugao together as a new team.

The three of them are close in age and basically from the same year, so there shouldn't be too much of a barrier between them, and it should be relatively easy for them to get along.

With the basic grouping plan confirmed, the remaining specific communication work can be left to Gekko Hayate and Uzuki Yugao to explain the situation to Iruka themselves.

These things naturally don't require his personal involvement.

Leading the team to Kumogakure this time indirectly fulfilled one of Shuji's needs. He was planning to take advantage of the mission to search for tree species with research value or special characteristics along the way.

This trip is expected to take him nearly two months in and around the Land of Lightning, and the ample schedule will allow him to conduct research and collect samples along the way.

When Shuji returned to the old house to tidy up his things, Itachi came to visit.

"senior."

Shuji temporarily put aside what he was doing.

"Regarding Uchiha Enjin," Itachi explained his purpose. "Today, he submitted another request to me, hoping to be temporarily transferred out of the team to independently investigate the follow-up clues of the Sharingan disappearance incident involving Fuwa and the others."

"So much time has passed that an investigation is no longer possible."

Itachi nodded, indicating his understanding. Even the Uchiha clan, who prided themselves on their Sharingan, understood how difficult it would be to solve such a long-standing unsolved case; this was a basic logical judgment.

"Besides submitting the application, has he had any unusual contact with anyone recently?" Shuji considered another possibility.

Itachi replied, "Because of the previous failure to guard the body properly, which resulted in the loss of the Sharingan from our comrade's body, Uchiha Enjin has become much less vocal in clan gatherings and other occasions since he was transferred to my team."

“Daily contact and communication with my clansmen has also decreased significantly compared to the past.”

The main issue was that Shuuji's suspicions about him had spread within the Uchiha clan. Even if most clan members didn't believe him, just a few rumors were a significant blow to someone like Enjin, who considered the honor of the Uchiha clan his highest principle.

Whether it was due to a lack of ability leading to dereliction of duty, or being suspected of having ulterior motives, it was enough to make him lose his original weight and voice in the hearts of some people in the clan.

So, is he planning to salvage his damaged reputation and status by going on missions to find clues...?
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The village's financial accounts, spanning decades, require one person to independently verify them, while also having to deal with inquiries from the Hokage's office regarding certain funds from time to time.

Danzo Shimura was completely unaware that Tsunade possessed such torturous methods, and instead of directly declaring his intention to place him under house arrest, he simply filled his time with these seemingly reasonable but actually incredibly tedious paperwork tasks.

Relying on the confidentiality of the materials, it was perfectly logical to keep him under constant surveillance in the shadows.

This was a method that even Koharu Utatane and Erokazu Mito couldn't find fault with. As a high-level advisor to the village and someone who had personally experienced or was aware of many past decisions and fund flows, it was procedurally reasonable for him to review these old accounts.

The only possible criticism is that he is not allowed to seek help from assistants, which seems a bit harsh, but can be excused by the need for "secrecy".

If Danzo didn't understand what Tsunade wanted to do at first, he naturally did later.

She began to seriously work on the roots.

After his initial anger subsided, Danzo did not feel particularly anxious, as he had already made the necessary preparations.

After he finally finished checking another batch of accounts and submitted the compiled documents, Danzo thought to himself that Tsunade should no longer have any grounds to use this reason to restrict his actions.

As he pondered this, the next day, he was greeted again by several members of the Anbu, along with several large crates they brought. "What's this now?" Danzo asked in a low voice, struggling to suppress his anger. "Fifth Hokage, is there some other 'issue' that I need to clarify?"

The leader of the Dark Guard responded calmly: "Lady Tsunade instructed that this is a compilation of case files from the past twenty years concerning cases where some intelligence sources were unclear, records were incomplete, or conclusions were questionable."

"Given your familiarity with past intelligence matters, I would like you to re-examine and review these materials, clarify the context, and then submit a written report to the Hokage's office."

Of course, since this intelligence involved village secrets, the secret agents who delivered the documents once again stood guard beside Danzo.

Danzo Shimura snapped the pen in his hand, his face ashen. First the account books, then the intelligence—what was left after dealing with all that?
The Konoha team participating in the Chunin Exams, including Shuji, totaled twenty-eight people, and quietly set off one morning.

According to the planned itinerary, the participating teams camped in the Land of Fire on the first day, and on the second day, Shuuji chose to stay in Yugakure Village.

The last time I came to Yugakure was last year when I went out to find Tsunade and bring her back to the village to become Hokage.

When I visited again this year, Yugakure Village seemed much more prosperous and lively than last year.

It has been two years since Konoha and Kumogakure officially ceased hostilities. Since Kumogakure sent people to participate in the Chunin Exams last year, the outposts and personnel of the two villages on the border have completely retreated to within the border lines of both countries.

Located near a major transportation route between the two countries, Yugakure Village is considered one of the biggest beneficiaries of this peaceful route.

As a result, Yugakure, which was already actively transforming into a tourism and health resort town, has accelerated its pace this year, shrinking and relocating all core facilities and areas related to ninja training and missions back to the innermost core area of ​​the village.

Most of the outer area has been planned and developed as a sightseeing and leisure area open to ordinary tourists and business people.

Therefore, even if a Jonin from Konoha led more than twenty Genin into Yugakure, it only attracted a little attention and did not draw any questions.

Unlike participating in the Chunin Exams within their own village, participating in these inter-village joint exams is considered to be on a mission. Therefore, the village will reimburse a portion of the travel expenses—this usually refers to the basic food and lodging expenses for the genin.

As the team leader, Shuji was naturally entitled to full reimbursement.

The same treatment was given to Gekko Hayate, Uzuki Yugao, and their accessory Umino Iruka.

When he settled into the hot spring inn, Shuji felt somewhat grateful to Kumogakure.

A business trip on official business, beautiful surroundings, all expenses covered... this is simply the ultimate experience of carrying out a mission.

Is this really the ninja world where people suffer, and teenagers are either fighting each other on the battlefield or working overtime in the office to process documents?

After settling everyone's accommodations, Shuji planned to experience the inn's famous open-air hot spring, but encountered Gekko Hayate and Umino Iruka, who were also carrying wooden tubs, in the corridor.

So the three of them decided to go together.

Shuji casually asked, "Speaking of which, Hayate, you seem to have a bloodline limit?"

"Transparent Escape, right?"

Iruka Umino stared at Hayate Gekko in disbelief.

The boy with dark circles under his eyes coughed: "Cough cough cough, Captain... cough, Xiyan, she can sense it."

"Please don't... people will die."

(End of this chapter)