Konoha Notes

Chapter 243 Who are you?

The door to the Kazekage's office was pushed open, and Chiyo walked in with two dusty, humanoid puppets.

"A dragon vein puppet that is in its initial stages of completion."

She slightly raised her withered index finger, and the two puppets stepped forward in unison, their joints emitting a dull grating sound.

"Unable to act independently, they still require a puppeteer to control them. However, the difficulty of operation has been greatly reduced, and even a novice can control two or three at the same time to form an effective combat force."

Luo Sha's gaze swept over the rough seams on the puppet's shell.

This was not the weapon he envisioned that could turn the tide of battle, but for Sunagakure at present, it was a rare addition.

"Is it possible to create a puppet with higher individual strength, surpassing existing specifications?"

Chiyo shut her mouth, her cloudy eyes fixed on him. The old man had a bad temper, so she didn't want to be too disrespectful to the Kazekage with her first words.

What does it mean for a single unit to have higher strength, and how much higher is considered higher?

Simply building a few units is useless if they can't surpass the level of a Shadow. To truly surpass the level of a Shadow, it's not just a matter of energy supply; it's about overcoming the bottlenecks that current technology cannot break through.

With tasks piling up, Fengying's primary requirement is mass production.

Luo Sha shifted his gaze and asked a different question: "How well is Loulan's defense system set up?"

“Loulan itself retains energy transmission channels, which, once repaired, can serve as a control network for the puppets.” Chiyo’s voice was dry. “The first batch of dragon vein puppets has already been deployed into the defense sequence.”

After pondering for a moment, the Fourth Kazekage said, "Elder Chiyo, now that the Dragon Vein Puppet is ready for use, we can leave the subsequent mass production and optimization to others."

"Please adjust the equipment and weapons of the Sky Ninjas. These are weapons that can be used immediately and deployed to the battlefield."

"Konoha has rejected our peace talks, making air power especially important now."

Despite her advanced age, Chiyo remained silent in the face of the newly assigned task, leaving the puppet behind before departing.

The young people had a lot of ideas, but in the end, it was this old woman who took on all of them.

Luo Sha also walked onto the corridor and looked at the village.

The failure of the first round of peace negotiations was not unexpected for Rasa. He only wanted to demonstrate his willingness to negotiate; if Konoha agreed, that would be a pleasant surprise.

But what Shuuji said to Maki kept lingering in his mind.

Is Konoha bluffing, or is there something specific at play?

He suddenly asked, "Gaara, how have you been lately?"

A response came from the shadows: "There haven't been any Shukaku riots recently, but... the day before yesterday, a villager..."

The fourth Kazekage remained silent.

Yashamaru, his brother-in-law and Gaara's uncle, had been ordered by him to provoke Gaara several years ago. Since then, Shukaku's outbursts have indeed decreased, but incidents of Gaara harming innocent people due to his emotional fluctuations still occur frequently.

In terms of the stability of the Jinchūriki, the goal can be considered to have been achieved, albeit barely.

But looking at it now, the damage this weapon did to the village still outweighed the benefits it brought.

Even as his disappointment grew, he couldn't spare the energy to deal with the problem at the moment. Sunagakure not only needed a large number of regular troops, but also high-end combat power capable of determining the course of the battle.

For two or three days in a row, Rasa arranged village affairs. Finally, he looked in the direction of the River Country.

The Konoha troops are still there.

Finally, he said, "Go to Loulan."
-
In the desert, the dilapidated stone chamber barely shelters the sand and wind.

Yakushi Nonou shielded Sara and her daughter behind him, holding a kunai across his chest with the blade pointed at the uninvited guests.

Orochimaru stood at the entrance, his golden snake eyes gleaming coldly. He ignored the kunai facing him: "Yakushi Nonou, don't be so nervous. I just encountered a small problem while researching the dragon vein energy."

Nonou broke out in a cold sweat. Jigu should be nearby, so why hadn't he arrived yet?

"Don't worry about Di Jiu, he's taking a break for now."

"I have no interest in your lives," Orochimaru said slowly as he stepped forward. "I'm even cooperating to conceal your tracks. Otherwise, given Sunagakure's emphasis on the Dragon Vein, they would inevitably have searched this place."

"At that time, Danzo's plan would probably be difficult to achieve." He then suddenly chuckled, "Although he has already failed now."

Danzo Shimura's thoughts were too easy to guess, but none of that mattered to him.

Jiraiya and the others were called back. Akatsuki's objective had been achieved, and Konoha couldn't send anyone out again for the time being.

Orochimaru can now do whatever he wants without worry.

"Queen Sarah, please cooperate..."

Just as he raised his hand, his movement abruptly stopped.

"That's quite unexpected," Orochimaru chuckled. "You've finally chosen to come to me, Shuji-kun."

Amidst the swirling sandstorm, two figures cloaked in capes slowly approached.

Orochimaru looked at the other person who was shorter.

"...You've been found too."

The short man did not reply.

Xiu Si took off his cloak, put it aside, and patted the sand off his body.

"While it shouldn't be surprising, Mr. Orochimaru, aren't you getting a little too involved?"

"That's a bit hurtful, Shuji-kun. Have you made good use of the gift I gave you?"

“To be honest, it’s quite difficult without anyone’s help,” Shuuji said, then looked at Yakushi Nonou and the two people behind her.

The older red-haired woman looked terrible, while the younger red-haired girl clung to her mother's leg, hiding behind her.

Hmm...does this combination seem a bit familiar?

Kabuto looked at Nonou with excitement, but seeing Shuji in front of him and Orochimaru on the other side, he knew it wasn't the time to speak. He simply adopted a defensive stance.

“I’d be happy to help, Shuji-kun.”

Shuji ignored Orochimaru and said to Yakushi Nonou, "I am Shuji, a Jonin of Konoha. As the commander of the front-line troops in the Land of Rivers, I now require your cooperation in my operation, Yakushi Nonou."

Nonou paused for a moment, then lowered her hand slightly as she held up the kunai.

"As for Mr. Orochimaru, do you want to fight? If not, this is an internal matter of Konoha and has nothing to do with you as a rogue ninja."

Orochimaru chuckled lightly: "If it were another time, I would like to try out some new techniques. But I have other things to do now, so see you next time, Shuuji-kun. It won't be so easy to refuse me then."

As Orochimaru left, Kabuto removed the cloak that concealed his face and strode up to Nono Yakushi.

“Sister, are you alright? I…”

However, he was not greeted by the familiar gentle smile.

Instead, he looked at her with a questioning gaze.

"Who are you?"

(End of this chapter)