Konoha Notes

Chapter 179 Arrogance
“Sure,” A readily agreed. “The Konoha genin are allowed to observe.”

This battle is advantageous to Darui. Regardless of victory or defeat, it will allow him to see some things more clearly.

As for the impact on Kumogakure... Regardless of his age, Shuji's current status is that of a formal Jonin leading the Konoha expedition, so winning is only to be expected.

"Yes, I'll make arrangements right away."

"Wait," Raikage called to her. "Tell Darui about this and have him come over."

"……Yes."

Not long after, Darui arrived at the Raikage's office. The languid expression on his face had faded considerably, replaced by a calm demeanor.

"BOSS."

The Raikage cut to the chase: "Samui should have already told you. What are your thoughts on this sparring match?"

Darui raised his head, his eyes sharp: "Boss, are there any restrictions on the spells I can use?"

The Fourth Raikage walked up to Darui, stared into his eyes, and said, "Darui, although this is nominally a training battle, the nature of it is different since the other side has proposed that genin be allowed to observe."

"This concerns the reputation of Yunyin, and it's also an explanation to yourself."

His hand rested on Darui's shoulder.

"If you think you can win by using Black Lightning, then use Black Lightning."

"If you believe you need to use Storm Release to defeat your opponent, then go for it!"

"You may use all the spells; this is my permission."

"Hold nothing back. Let the people of Konoha see clearly just how much potential the next generation, on whom Kumogakure places such high hopes, truly possesses!"

Darui nodded vigorously, his eyes filled with unwavering determination.

"I understand, Boss!"
-
Danzo Shimura slowed down the process of handling documents.

Tsunade clearly intended to torment him with these messy accounts. Since he wasn't allowed to use any assistants, the slow processing speed couldn't be entirely blamed on him.

As he pondered how to continue his original plan during the lull in the covert surveillance,

A familiar sound of footsteps approached from afar and stopped outside the door.

The two guards outside the door exchanged a few words with the newcomer. Then, the door was gently pushed open.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded to the two ANBU members in the room, signaling them to leave as well.

When only the two of them remained, Danzo put down his pen and looked up at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was no longer wearing the Hokage hat.

"Are you satisfied now, Hiruzen? You let your disciple humiliate me like this."

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced around the room. The lighting was decent, and although the files were well-preserved, they had been stored for many years, and the air inevitably carried a faint smell of old paper and ink.

However, apart from that, there are no other more stringent requirements.

He walked to the chair opposite Danzo, sat down, and looked calmly at his old friend.

“Danzo,” Hiruzen Sarutobi began, “has he ever considered truly retiring?”

The room fell into silence.

"Retire? Hiruzen, are you joking?" Danzo sneered. "Right now, it's Tsunade who's preventing me from retiring."

“I’ve already handed over the root. Now I’m just a nobody sorting through old files.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi met his gaze and slowly said, "I already spoke with Tsunade before I came here."

"Let it go, Danzo, she won't make things difficult for you anymore." "Tsunade handled the village affairs very well, Fugaku is very well-behaved now, and so is the Uchiha."

"Content?" Danzo repeated the word, his tone rising slightly. "What do you mean by 'content'? Do you mean allowing Uchiha clansmen to infiltrate the Anbu, expanding the guard forces to absorb outsiders, and gradually infiltrating key positions in the village?"

"They now have more power and freedom than they have in the past few decades, so naturally they have no objections for the time being."

"But that's just the surface, Hiruzen. Once their greedy appetite is insatiable, they won't be satisfied easily. In just five or ten years, once they've firmly established themselves in these key departments and built up their power, those Uchiha will demand even more!"

He said sarcastically, "What will the village have left to satisfy them then?"

"Are we just going to hand over the Hokage position like that?"

"What you are doing now is nothing more than temporary peace bought with weak compromises. You are sowing the seeds of greater disaster for Konoha."

Danzo's tone became agitated, but he quickly regained his composure and returned to his usual calm demeanor.

"However, it's no use saying these things now."

"Tsunade has already taken Root. I am now trapped here and there, and I am powerless to do anything else."

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at his old friend's stubborn and gloomy profile and sighed silently.

“If you change your mind,” Hiruzen stood up, “you can inform the Anbu outside the door at any time. They will relay the message to me, or to Tsunade.”

Danzo didn't look at him again, but picked up his pen again and focused his attention back on the files on the table, as if they contained something extremely important.

Hiruzen Sarutobi gave him one last look before turning and leaving the room.

The soft sound of the door closing and the faint sound of Hiruzen giving instructions to the Anbu outside the door gradually faded away.

Danzo's hand holding the pen froze in mid-air, the ink from the pen tip spreading into a small smudge on the rough paper.

He slowly put down his pen.

Hiruzen is here. Is Tsunade getting impatient? Or has something new happened in the village...?
-
For the first time, the Konoha genin who came to participate in the competition were allowed to enter the interior of Kumogakure. They followed behind Shuji, observing this ninja village with a style so different from Konoha.

The Hidden Cloud Village did not choose to arrange a venue outside the village. After all, it is a different matter if only the Konoha genin can see the sparring, and it is a different matter if the other participating ninja villages, or the wealthy merchants and envoys from various countries who come to watch the match, also know about it.

Finally, the Konoha ninjas were taken to a training ground surrounded by mountain walls. The ground was very spacious, paved with hard stone slabs, and observation seats were set up around it.

On the observation deck, the Fourth Raikage, Ai, sat imposingly in the center, flanked by Xi and Jie. Their gazes were fixed on the center of the arena.

There, Darui had been waiting for a long time. He watched as the Konoha genin, guided by Samui, sat down in the designated observation area.

Then, his gaze swept past the crowd and landed on the Konoha team leader who was walking alone towards the center of the field.

Shuji walked steadily and stopped a few meters in front of Darui.

He looked at Darui, whose eyes were sharp and whose muscles were slightly tense, and said:
"There's no need to be too nervous, nor to worry about the ninjutsu and combat techniques that have already been exposed."

"Since this is a training exercise, I will not take the initiative to attack."

"You can use any method to test my fighting style."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Fourth Raikage frowned.

Xi and Jie, who were standing behind him, suddenly changed their expressions.

Even the usually calm Samui slightly widened his blue-green eyes, looking at the composed Konoha ninja in the arena.

This person... is so arrogant.

(End of this chapter)