Konoha Notes

Chapter 201 Taking Tricks
The pale blue glow of the preservation solution illuminated the inside of the transparent container.

The empty body floated within, its body bound by sealing strips. Konoha's preservation techniques were excellent; even after a year, the body remained exactly as it was.

Unlike the physical signs of life that have disappeared, the cellular data displayed by the instrument presents a completely different picture.

Deep within the cells, some abnormal activity still remains—a trace of the Nine-Tails' chakra.

Shuji's gaze lingered on the data screen, pondering what it represented.

"Regarding the Tailed Beasts," Tsunade's voice rang out from the side. She stared at the waveform on the screen and suddenly asked, "How much do you know about them?"

"According to common understanding, tailed beasts are chakra life forms. Although they have physical bodies and flesh, they are not products of natural origin, but rather created by chakra."

"Therefore, the physical body of a Tailed Beast can be destroyed, but as long as its chakra information cannot be erased, the Tailed Beast will never be destroyed, but will only be resurrected after its physical body disappears."

From this perspective, the "immortality" of the Tailed Beasts shares a similar underlying logic with the Impure World Reincarnation technique, which relies on soul information. As long as the root remains intact, the destruction of the physical body is not the end.

Tsunade nodded slightly: "That's a standard understanding. The countermeasures derived from this, which are actually adopted by various ninja villages, are sealing techniques."

"Conventional sealing techniques mostly reduce chakra from active to dormant. Sealing techniques targeting tailed beasts were initially done in the same way. Later, by combining them with the sealing techniques of the Uzumaki clan, more effective approaches were developed."

"At its core, it is no longer a simple suppression, but a 'form reversal'—forcibly dismantling the chakra-constructed entity of the tailed beast and returning it to a pure, non-physical chakra state."

"Whether it is sealed into a specific magical artifact or sealed into a human body to become a human jinchūriki, it essentially follows this logic."

"But the Tailed Beasts are not mindless chakra blocks; they are massive energy aggregates with clear self-awareness. Therefore, the vessel for sealing them must be powerful enough."

"Suitable magical artifacts are rare and difficult to manufacture. In comparison, ninjas with excellent chakra reserves and spiritual power have become a more 'practical' choice of vessel."

Her gaze fell on the boy's pale face inside the container, even though it was mostly covered by a cloth strip.

"And the method that Kazuma used..." Tsunade closed her eyes, "was a kind of trickery on another level."

She turned to Shuuji and said, "He doesn't need to face a complete, fully conscious Tailed Beast entity and forcibly transform it."

"What Kazuma obtained was the dissipated Nine-Tails chakra."

"His method was to implant this chakra into the body of the empty one, using the host's self-awareness, along with sealing techniques, to cultivate and suppress this power."

"However, the powerful activity and corrosiveness of the Nine-Tails' chakra will gradually transform the host's body over time, causing it to mutate in a way that can accommodate or even manifest this power."

"If all goes well, it may eventually create another entity similar to the Nine-Tails."

"But given that the Nine-Tails' consciousness still exists within Naruto, it's only a possibility."

"More likely, it will create another uncontrollable monster."

Shuji listened to Tsunade's words thoughtfully.

A sentient vessel, plus sealing techniques...
-
In the Land of Earth, in Iwagakure (Hidden Stone Village), Onoki, the ruler of the Two Scales, ultimately decided to proceed with the joint Chunin Exams for Iwagakure as originally planned.

The "four-village alliance" that Konoha organized was indeed a grand affair, and the resulting political pressure and public attention forced him to weigh the situation repeatedly.

But giving up now would only make Iwagakure look ridiculous, and the negative impact might even outweigh the sense of isolation that comes from fighting against the alliance of four villages with the strength of a single village.

More importantly, this alliance based on the Chunin Exams is ultimately not as directly aggressive or threatening as a military alliance. If it were the latter, even if Onoki's back ached, he could only bend over.

He judged that the current situation was more of a temporary state formed by other ninja villages due to short-term observation and consideration of interests.

After Konoha successfully hosted the event this year with its gimmicks, it remains to be seen whether it can maintain such a grand scale next year.

Even if this trend of alliance does continue, it wouldn't be too late for Iwagakure to finish its own exams first, and then adjust its strategy based on the actual situation.

Even the poorest countries west of the continent could still muster a few thousand spectators. Even the most affluent might be drawn to the grand spectacle of the four villages uniting.

This doesn't prevent some people from coming to Iwagakure to watch the match, especially the local dignitaries from the Land of Earth.

With appropriate adjustments to ticket prices and advertising, creating a sufficiently lively atmosphere is not impossible.

"Besides the fact that it doesn't look good on the surface and makes us feel isolated, it really affects morale... But no matter what, let's get through this year smoothly first."

"Xiao, their products worked well before..."
-
The bustling competition and power struggles among the five major ninja villages had little to do with the numerous smaller ninja villages. After the three Shinobi World Wars, the格局 (geju, a term referring to the overall structure or pattern) of the ninja world had been largely established.

How much money Yunyin earned has nothing to do with the other small villages. They are just NPCs participating in the competition, and they neither share in the ticket revenue nor enjoy the various hidden benefits of the organizers.

No matter how grand the alliance of the four villages organized by Konoha may seem, for them it is merely a political show that they must attend and even carefully choose sides for, rather than a real opportunity.

After the Grass Country publicly declared that it would only participate in the Konoha Exams, but secretly sent a team to the Earth Country without drawing any explicit criticism from either Konoha or Iwagakure, Takigakure followed suit and adopted almost the same strategy.

Now, Amegakure, which has publicly stated that it will participate in both exams, is the only one that is "fence-sitting" on the surface, which seems somewhat awkward.

However, Amegakure, which is believed to possess the "demigod" Hanzo the Salamander, has not been subject to any public questioning or pressure from Konoha or Iwagakure.

It wasn't raining in Amegakure today; the leaden clouds hung low, and the air was humid and stuffy.

Pain Tendou stood atop the tallest tower in the village, his short orange hair motionless in the breeze, his Rinnegan indifferently surveying the flow of people moving through the steel and pipes below.

The paper scraps fluttered and gathered, and Xiao Nan's figure quietly landed behind him.

"Onoki sent a secret messenger."

Payne didn't turn around: "What does he want?"

Konan said softly, "He wants the organization to send people to sabotage Konoha during the exams and create chaos."

　I have a bit of a cold, so I'll write the second chapter a little later, within the next hour.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)