Konoha Notes

Chapter 233 Reinforcements and Choices

The Nara family mansion hasn't had its lights on late at night for a long time.

Shikamaru leaned against the door frame, his hands in his pockets, watching his father, Shikaku, inspect his ninja tool pouch under the light.

"Why that expression?" Shikaku asked without stopping his movements.

"Dad," Shikamaru's voice trailed off, "you weren't really punished by being sent to the border because of the last failed team leadership, were you?"

"Huh? Hahaha..." Shikaku finally raised his head, "That time it wasn't exactly a failure... it was just that we had a new mission."

"I'm leaving the house and Mom in your care, Shikamaru."

Nara Shikaku opened the door and gave his son some instructions.

"understood."

Like Nara Shikaku, many ninjas received urgent orders in the dead of night. They had already assembled.

Before the morning mist had even dissipated, Shikaku had already led the reinforcements away from Konoha.

Before evening, the group arrived at the Konoha-controlled area near the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers.

The scene before them was different from usual. The most forward outposts had been abandoned, and the main force had retreated into the dense forest behind, relying on the natural, massive canopy for cover.

At the edge of the dense forest, many hastily constructed earthen walls stood, many of which had been destroyed by explosions, leaving only ruins. Scattered on the ground were some twisted, charred metal parts, whose peculiar structures, not belonging to Konoha's standard equipment, could be vaguely discerned.

Just as the reinforcements made contact with the forward sentries and were preparing to enter the forest area—

An unusual buzzing sound came from the sky.

Several blurry black dots swept across the sky, followed by the dropping of some small objects.

Air raid!

Shikaku squinted his eyes.

Dropping bombs at this altitude... is it out of fear of a counterattack from the ground? He glanced at the dense forest.

The round bomb, trailing a hissing, burning detonator, fell erratically.

Without Shikaku giving any orders, several figures leaped out from the forest, shooting kunai and shuriken at the falling threats in the air.

The explosion burst into flames in mid-air, and the shockwave made the treetops rustle.

The dark shadow in the sky didn't linger; it quickly disappeared behind the clouds.

They were the Sky Ninja who were wiped out in the Second Shinobi World War.

Shikaku confirmed the attacker's identity.

He watched as the Konoha ninjas swiftly retreated to their hiding places in the forest, their movements clean, efficient, and perfectly coordinated.

"It seems that although the frontline troops have not encountered such an opponent for many years, they have quickly figured out their attack patterns and found a way to deal with them."

The reinforcements then entered the depths of the dense forest.

The command post was located in a fortified bunker built on top of a natural cave. The entrance was hidden and required one to bend over to enter.

Lu Jiu bent down and entered. The cave was lit, and his gaze immediately fell on the figure in the middle who was bent over a map.

"I'm very sorry I couldn't come out to greet you, Mr. Shikaku." Shuji straightened up.

“Someone has already welcomed me on my behalf, and they were quite enthusiastic,” Shikaku replied. “You’re adapting to the role of commander very quickly, Shuji.”

Xiu Si shook his head: "The frontline troops are all experienced veterans. Just tell them the situation, and they'll know what to do." "They don't really need much command."

"Has the village reached any consensus on the current situation?"

Shikaku handed a sealed document to Shuji.

"The Third Hokage has personally led a team to the border of the Land of Grass to cooperate with Kusagakure in guarding against any possible disturbances from Iwagakure."

"As for your situation, the Fifth Hokage will let you decide for yourself. I'm just responsible for providing reinforcements."

Shuji sighed, "What a lazy decision."

Shikaku laughed loudly: "You can say that to the Fifth Boss when you get back. Anyway, you guys love to make trouble."

Shuji ignored what Shikaku said next and looked at him suspiciously: "Mr. Shikaku, you're not retaliating against me for going to Kumogakure, are you? Now that you're here, I shouldn't be in charge of the command anymore."

The rank leader of the Jonin class quickly waved his hand, his smile fading: "Let's get down to business, let's get down to business."

Shuji stared at him for two more seconds before looking away and pointing to the spread-out map: "The air ninjas are maintaining a continuous series of small-scale air raids, with a very regular rhythm, about once every four to six hours. I have dispatched several elite reconnaissance teams to try to trace their origins in reverse."

His finger pointed to the coastline on the east side of the river country on the map: "The trail goes cold here. They always appear from the sea and retreat out to sea after the attack."

"At the same time, the main force of Sunagakure has not made any further moves across the border. Instead, it has been reinforcing its formation and building defensive fortifications within the Land of Rivers, relying on several fortresses, and has adopted a posture of long-term garrison."

“If my judgment is correct,” Shuuji pointed to a spot near the coast in the Sunagakure-controlled area, “the Sky Ninja’s takeoff point, or even their temporary base, is probably hidden in the heart of the Sunagakure-controlled area, or on an island in the near sea.”

"In other words, to completely eliminate those Sky Ninja who keep harassing us and destroying our forward fortifications, we will inevitably have to engage in direct conflict with the Sand Village's forces."

Shikaku's expression also turned serious; the situation was indeed worse than expected.

During the Second Shinobi World War, although the Sky Ninja also had the ability to fly, they did not reach the heights they do now, and at that time, the Sky Ninja Village had no other allies.

After Konoha located the village, they wiped it out in a single raid.

Now that they have the behemoth that is Sunagakure as a shield and ally, the combination of the two makes them much more troublesome.

"what's your plan?"

Shuji replied, "The Land of Rivers cannot be given to Sunagakure, so my idea is to enter the Land of Rivers."

"Give the locals some confidence."

For a ninja village, what constitutes the actual occupation of a country? The core of the so-called "one country, one village" system is that within the territory of that country, there are no other ninja villages that can compete with it.

The daimyo can only provide funds, and the powerful figures within the territory can only accept the mission quotas submitted by the ninja village. The resources within the territory seem to be unrelated to the ninja village, but in reality, they can only be provided to the village at the most favorable price.

Is Sunagakure now considered to be under our actual control?
If Konoha doesn't send enough forces into the Land of Rivers to demonstrate its presence and resolve, then in fact, it will remain so for quite some time.

Especially now, it's October, and the harvest season in the Land of Rivers is nearing its end.

The grain that might have been sold to the Land of Wind at a premium is now available to the Sunagakure army. Rasa doesn't even need to fight for it; he only needs to take out gold and buy it at a price slightly lower than in previous years, but in line with the purchase price of grain merchants from the Land of Fire. The merchants and landowners from the Land of River, who are currently filled with anxiety, have no choice but to accept it.

This is not just an economic loss, but a complete collapse of political influence.

Shikaku stroked his chin: "Should we use our usual tactics?"

"Yes, I only see the card 'Ku Ninja' in Rasa's hand for now."

"But the conservative stance of the Sunagakure ground forces suggests that they may be waiting for something."

"I believe that precisely because he is waiting, now is the best time for us to take the initiative and disrupt his rhythm. By the time he is ready, it will be too late."

(End of this chapter)