Konoha Notes

Chapter 175 Suspicious Clues
The guests from Kumogakure arrived one after another the day after the written test results were released.

They were not qualified to enter Kumogakure, but the surrounding villages were large enough to accommodate these merchants and travelers from afar.

As for the wealthy and powerful, they received similar treatment to the participating ninjas and were placed near the competition venue.

As the number of unauthorized personnel increased, the Cloud Village inevitably weakened its surveillance of the area surrounding the venue, concentrating its main forces on guarding the key entrances into the Cloud Village itself.

The noise of the crowds and the gaps in management provided cover.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Shuji created a wooden clone. The clone silently merged into the surging crowd, then changed direction, broke away from the main path, and stepped into the towering mountains surrounding the Land of Lightning.

His physical body remained inside the venue. Today was the draw ceremony, and also the first day of the official team competition.

Based on the previous conversation with the Raikage, it can be basically confirmed that the possibility of the Moonlight Hayate team encountering Darui in the first round has been reduced to the lowest possible level.

Of course, what if they avoid Darui but still lose to other teams? What can they do but accept it?

Conversely, if Darui, whom the Hidden Cloud Village had meticulously prepared, were to unexpectedly lose to an unknown opponent, the Hidden Cloud Village would also have to swallow the bitter pill.

Pre-competition maneuvers are within the bounds of tacit agreement; once the competition begins, excessive intervention becomes meaningless and will completely ruin the reputation of the joint examination.

In the center of the venue, the matchups for the team competition were being revealed one by one on a huge screen.

The atmosphere fluctuated with each announcement of the draw results. When they saw that Team 1 from Kumogakure, the team containing Darui and Hii, would face Team 4 from Konoha...

Shuji turned his gaze away from the field.

Konoha's seed team is Team 9, and since Kumogakure doesn't intend to break the unspoken agreement between the two sides, he doesn't need to devote too much energy to the venue for the time being.
-
In Konoha Village, the Uchiha clan had just finished an internal gathering.

The discussion is no longer about a coup d'état, but about more practical issues. The village now has a new attitude towards the Uchiha, and no longer forces the Uchiha clan to live within the designated clan territory.

Those Uchiha members who entered the Ninja Academy as instructors were allowed to rent ninja apartments allocated by the village for their convenience in commuting to and from get off work.

Needless to say, the Uchiha who joined the Anbu had to live in areas closer to the Hokage Building and mission meeting places most of the time in order to be ready to respond to the Hokage's summons at any time.

With the restrictions relaxed, most Uchiha clan members still lived in the clan's territory out of habit, but their mindset was different from when they were confined and excluded.

After all, "where I choose to live" and "where I can only live" are two completely different states of mind.

The main topic of this gathering was the work arrangements for the Hyuga clan members who had already joined the police force.

The Eighth Hokage of Uchiha made a suggestion: that the eight members of the Hyuga branch family be only responsible for security and investigation work near the village gate.

In theory, this is a form of disguised exile. The police force wields the greatest influence in daily security patrols within the village, making it an easier area to build connections and prestige.

But Yashiro's reasoning sounded quite convincing: "It is common knowledge that the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan possesses the ability to see through objects."

“If we let them continue to patrol the village, it will probably cause unease and criticism from other villagers and ninjas. They will suspect that the Hyuga might take the opportunity to spy on their privacy or even their clan’s secret techniques.”

"This is to maintain the overall reputation of the police force and the trust of the villagers."

Fugaku Uchiha tacitly approved of this. As long as it did not explicitly violate the agreement reached with the village and attempt to completely expel the Hyuga members from the police force, he believed that making some adjustments in specific work arrangements that were conducive to maintaining the influence of the Uchiha was justifiable.

The next topic of discussion was about selecting new members from the Uchiha clan to join the Anbu.

Many people spoke at the clan meeting, but Fugaku did not agree to anyone's request. In this matter, Itachi was the most influential person.

However, he did not inform the clansmen present of this situation, simply brushing it off by saying, "This matter requires the village's review and approval." Itachi's attention was not on the clan meeting.

He noticed that Uchiha Enjin had once again failed to attend this clan gathering.

For an elite ninja with a three-tomoe Sharingan who should have a certain voice within the clan, this is an unusual event that deserves attention.

Although this anomaly had persisted for some time since its return from the eastern defense line, combined with the previous discovery, Itachi had to pay even more attention.

He provided Shuji with incorrect information.

He was outside Yanren's house when he vaguely heard voices inside, but when he went in, he found only Yanren there.

Subsequent surveillance and investigations showed that there were no records of outsiders visiting during that period.

Did I mishear? Or...?

Uchiha Flame Blade might have a problem.

He needs to confirm what the problem is.

Despite using aerial surveillance by ninja crows, shadow clones to stake out the area at different times, and even some of the Anbu's conventional investigative methods, Itachi found no trace of any recent interpersonal interactions at Flame Blade's residence.

This aligns with previous conclusions.

So, is communication done through animals or spirit beasts?
According to Itachi's investigation, Flame Blade does not have a summoning beast. As for the communications between the ninja cats, Itachi also managed to indirectly confirm through Granny Cat that there were no unusual communication records related to Flame Blade recently.

Therefore, there are only two possibilities: either he was indeed too sensitive at the time and misheard, or Yanren was in contact with someone who had more secretive and unconventional investigative methods.

Given Itachi Uchiha's personal abilities and resources, it seems he has reached a dead end without alerting the enemy.

But as a squad leader in the dark unit, the resources he can mobilize are far more than that.

He can apply to the village to access the village's recent detection records of the sensing barrier.

While this barrier is primarily designed to counter large-scale chakra reactions from external intrusions, it also records abnormal chakra reactions in certain areas within the village.

Of course, this must be approved by the Hokage.
-
"Barrier detection records?" Tsunade frowned slightly. "The barrier team has recently been readjusting and strengthening the village's overall barrier system."

"Therefore, the recent barrier detection data may contain many false alarms and the results are not accurate."

This is a necessary security measure update that Kakashi had to make after taking over Root.

Tsunade asked, "However, the reason you were able to submit this application... is to confirm that Uchiha Enjin is exhibiting abnormal behavior, right?"

Itachi paused for a moment before replying, "There has only been one accidental discovery so far, which cannot be confirmed and lacks supporting evidence."

Tsunade pondered for a moment, then said, "Since it cannot be confirmed..."

"Then let's test the waters."

"Let's see what he wants to do after he leaves the village."

(End of this chapter)