Konoha Notes

Chapter 191 Innate Nature

After submitting his proposal for reforming the Chunin Exams, Shuji turned his attention back to his tree breeding program.

He cleared a small area for experiments in the woods behind his old house in the western suburbs. The newly collected tree species samples from the Land of Lightning were neatly categorized and placed.

The data and inspiration obtained from Orochimaru's abandoned laboratory have not yet been put into practice; only theoretical deductions have been made.

The trees in the Land of Lightning are mostly black pines, which can take root in rock crevices, as well as large areas of cold-resistant Japanese cedar and hemlock. While these are not common in the Land of Fire, they do exist.

What really took Shuji a lot of effort to collect were the trees that grew in areas prone to thunderstorms.

According to ancient local legends in the Land of Lightning, these trees embody the 'root nature' of that land and contain special power. However, based on actual investigations, they are merely exceptionally resilient and have not been designated as strategic resources requiring strict control by the Hidden Cloud Village.

Shuji squatted in front of a newly sprouted sapling, a new tree cultivated with Wood Release. Once it grew a bit more, he could try using Tailed Beast Chakra.
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Meanwhile, Iwagakure's actions were faster than expected.

Onoki, the founder of the Two Scales, has officially sent invitations to several ninja villages bordering or adjacent to the Land of Earth for the joint Chunin Exams.

The list includes the Tent Village of the Land of Silence, the Stone Village of the Land of Stone, and even the Amegakure, Kusagakure, and Takigakure villages, which are traditional participants in the Chunin Exams of Konoha.

Even more noteworthy is that the invitation was also sent to Sunagakure in the Land of Wind.

For a moment, the ninja world seemed to fall into an eerie silence. Among the five great ninja villages, Konoha and Iwagakure simultaneously announced that they would hold a joint Chunin Exam this September, with a significant overlap in the invitation pool.

In the past, even if the five great ninja villages competed in the joint exam, it was always on the field. This year's event seems to indicate that they intend to start a new round of competition for the right to host the exam.

This was undoubtedly a sudden test of which side many small ninja villages had to choose. Villages like Takigakure, whose relationship with both sides was delicate, were particularly caught in a dilemma.

Shortly after receiving the invitation, Amegakure publicly announced that it would send representatives to participate in the exams held by both Konoha and Iwagakure.

Takigakure Village remained silent, seemingly observing the situation.

The Grass Village's leader, Wuwei, made it clear that since Konoha had extended the invitation earlier, Grass Village would only participate in the Chunin Exams held by Konoha.

However, he also sent a secret messenger to Konoha to explain.

“That’s what Wuwei publicly claimed,” Tsunade placed a report on the table and looked at Shuji, who had been summoned, “but he still secretly sent two teams of genin away from the village under the pretext of carrying out a long-term mission.”

"He sent someone to explain that this was pressure from some elders within Kusagakure, and even as the leader, he could only take this compromise approach at the moment, hoping that we could understand."

"To the outside world, Kusagakure continues to claim that it will only participate in Konoha's exams, maintaining a superficial stance."

"The old man's opinion is that we shouldn't make things difficult for Wuwei because of this. He has only been in office for a year and his foundation is not yet stable. It is already not easy for him to do this much."

She tapped her finger on the table, her gaze sharpening.

"The problem now is Sunagakure."

It was precisely because Sunagakure had also received an invitation from Iwagakure, and their attitude was still unclear, that Tsunade summoned Shuji.

“Sunagakure will not participate in Iwagakure’s exam.” Shuji’s tone was certain. “Even if Onoki were willing to pay a high reward, they would most likely not accept it.” “Sunagakure’s core problem has never been a lack of currency, but a lack of resources for survival. Food, medicine… these are their lifeblood.”

These are precisely the things that only Konoha, the Land of Fire, with its abundant resources, can provide stably and in large quantities.

Even if Iwagakure were willing to offer money, Sunagakure would be extremely cautious about accepting the invitation, and might not even consider it at all.

Because money cannot be immediately converted into the survival resources they desperately need, it may instead offend their most important suppliers.

“The competition in the Joint Chunin Exams is different from war in the conventional sense,” Shuji further explained. “It is a game based on the influence of ninja villages, their future development potential, and long-term economic benefits. Its effects are not immediate, nor can it directly solve the fundamental problem of survival.”

"If Onoki is trying to use this method to create a 'card' for Sunagakure to use to bargain with Konoha, thereby sowing discord between Sunagakure and Konoha... then he has probably used the wrong method."

Based on Shuji's understanding of Ebizo, that very pragmatic old man was able to see the problem clearly.

“It’s only natural that Sunagakure might try to use this opportunity to extract more benefits from us,” Shuji said. “But my advice is to ignore it for now and stick to our established strategy.”

"If they fail to see the situation clearly and make unreasonable demands,"

"So even if Sunagakure doesn't participate in this Chunin Exam, we can't give in here so easily."

“A successful extortion attempt only fuels their expectation of success next time. When this expectation is not met, they are more likely to harbor resentment and ultimately destroy the existing, relatively stable cooperative relationship.”

Tsunade nodded. Shuuji had been in charge of negotiations with Sunagakure on numerous occasions, and had always managed to maintain stability while protecting Konoha's interests. His judgment was naturally an extremely important reference.

“On the contrary,” Shuuji changed the subject, “we can try to have deeper communication with Kumogakure. Last time in Kumogakure, they took the initiative to express their intention to discuss with us the frequency of holding joint exams.”

"This means that the Hidden Cloud Village actually had some foresight and was psychologically prepared for the possibility that we might increase the commercialization of the Chunin Exams in the future."

"Under such circumstances, further strengthening exchanges and cooperation with Kumogakure will not only demonstrate Konoha's continued stable situation on the eastern front to the entire ninja world and consolidate this emerging alliance," Shuji added, "but also serve as a warning to Sunagakure's long-standing wait-and-see attitude."

"Let them understand that Konoha has more than one option for cooperation. A stable alliance requires both sides to maintain it and to respect each other, rather than one-sided demands and tests."

All that can be said is that the change in the attitude of the Hidden Cloud Village was an unexpected surprise.

If it weren't for this shift in their stance, dealing with Onoki's clearly targeted actions would have been quite a hassle.

Tsunade leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms in front of her, and pondered for a moment.

"We'll do as you say."

"We have extended an invitation to Kumogakure to visit and discuss matters related to the upcoming Chunin Exams."

She made a decision: "Let's put the Sand Village on hold for now."

(End of this chapter)