Konoha Notes

Chapter 263 Fifty-Seven Years End

The dragon vein was given away, and the empty ninja were given away.

Despite carrying these two great gifts, Luo Sha not only failed to create the expected upheaval, but instead slunk back to the barren land of the Wind Kingdom with his troops.

It would be fine if they just shrank back.

How could you... just die like that?
Obito is truly perplexing.

He was always coming and going in Kirigakure, but when he arrived in Sunagakure, he only went out and never came in. As a result, Rasa not only failed to stir up the expected storm, but he also got himself involved.

Zetsu, carrying Obito Uchiha's questions, found Orochimaru.

"Given the strength of Sunagakure, this situation is not surprising."

The moment Orochimaru saw Shuji in the desert, he knew that Rasa might be gone.

Now that Yakushi Nonou and Yakushi Kabuto have been found, Danzo is probably gone.

"It was you, Orochimaru, who advocated handing over the remnants of the Sky Ninja to Sunagakure." Zetsu's face, half black and half white, revealed no emotion.

"The gears of change have already begun to turn, Zetsu." Orochimaru didn't care about these almost accusatory words; at least, he lacked the patience to explain things in detail to Zetsu.

"It won't be long before Iwagakure lays down its arms and goes quiet. But this is just the beginning."

"What do you mean?"

"Konoha doesn't have time to focus its energy on the organization." Orochimaru didn't have the patience to explain in detail, at least not to Zetsu. "That's how it is for now."

"Let's use this time to transfer the organization's core."

The Hidden Sound Village, which was originally reserved as a backup, can no longer be used. Once Danzo dies, there is no hope that his Root forces can still resist the will of the Konoha leadership.

The previous investigation report on the Land of Rice Fields by Root will surely be reviewed again, and it has probably already revealed its flaws.

He also had to choose a different village as his target.
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After confirming that Iwagakure Village was indeed willing to end the standoff, Shuji handed over the subsequent complicated negotiations to a specialist.

He remained at the Konoha front-line camp, waiting for the miscellaneous matters, such as the division of patrol areas and the withdrawal schedule, to be settled one by one.

During this time, Shuji was recalled along with Jiraiya, and then spoke with Uchiha Shisui, who had been hiding on the front lines of the Land of Grass, about the current situation of the Uchiha clan in the village.

The main topic of discussion was the establishment of a branch within the police department and the appointment of Hyuga Hiashi as the powerful deputy captain of the police force.

Shisui merely nodded when asked about the distribution of power; he was more concerned with whether a genuine reconciliation could be reached between the village and the Uchiha clan. As for the specific arrangements, his only concern was their potential impact.

“At first, the Uchiha clan might not notice anything wrong, but once the duty station is marked with the sign of the police department, there will be a strong reaction.”

Upon hearing Shuji's words, Shisui's hand tightened slightly, then relaxed again.

He said earnestly, "After I return, I will pay attention to the reactions within the clan and report back promptly."

Shuji shook his head: "That's not the point."

"Going forward, the village will be more involved in the police force. This means that any blatant provocation or act against the tide will no longer be handled as mildly as it was in the previous two years."

"This is what you need to know."

Although Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi shared the same views, their methods of doing things were completely opposite.

One is too gentle, the other too absolute.

Therefore, under the current circumstances, it is not Itachi who needs to communicate in advance, but Shisui. Upon hearing this, Shisui remained silent for a long time before replying in a low voice, "I understand."

Xiu Si stood up, walked to his side, and patted him on the shoulder: "Don't worry. As long as it's not a serious crime with irrefutable evidence, at most they'll be transferred to another post, dismissed from their position, or... locked up for a few years to let them calm down."

After saying that, he lifted the tent flap and went out. In the distance, the tents belonging to the negotiators were still brightly lit, and the shadows of the people were cast swaying silhouettes on the canvas.

Shuji spent the last part of his fourth year in the ninja world in this kind of scene on the front lines of the Land of Grass.

In the fifty-eighth year of Konoha, a few days later, the negotiators from Konoha and Iwagakure finally reached a consensus on all the terms.

Before the formal signing of the agreement, Onoki met with Shuji again.

Deidara was not with Onoki this time.

Neither side raised a high platform again, but instead held a final informal meeting in an open area between the two military camps.

The Third Tsuchikage looked at Shuji with a rather complicated expression.

After the last meeting, he pondered alone for a long time, about war, about peace, about order, and also about the beliefs he had upheld for most of his life.

To say that I've figured something out is too far off.

Or perhaps they had no thoughts at all, but that's unlikely.

"This isn't the first time Konoha has discussed peace. Even when Lord Hashirama founded Konoha, he talked about an alliance." Onoki softened his usual assertive demeanor. "Back then, there was an incident. My teacher, the Second Tsuchikage, and I went to Konoha to seek an alliance, but we almost died on the spot."

"It was Uchiha Madara, another founder of Konoha, who rejected the alliance."

"However, with his unparalleled power, Lord Hashirama managed to suppress all the noise and brought an era of peace to the ninja world."

His gaze returned to Xiu Si's face, trying to find some ripple in that calm, but to no avail.

"However, that was only... an era."

Shuji replied, "That was also an era."

Onoki paused slightly, then let out a low chuckle. "Regarding that 'New Elite Joint Martial Arts Competition'... Iwagakure has agreed to participate."

What Onoki didn't say was that he didn't intend to end Iwagakure's activities either. Anyway, after joining the joint martial arts competition, Iwagakure would also be able to obtain information about the joint competition, so they could just deliberately avoid it.

He knew that Xiu Si was aware of this unspoken scheme, but the other party clearly didn't care.

For Konoha, having Iwagakure involved would allow them to create a greater impact, whether it's the joint Chunin Exams or the joint martial arts exercises.

Of course, this matter still needs to be discussed with Kumogakure. The more allies there are, the more the pie needs to be redistributed. But since Kumogakure took the initiative to bring Sunagakure into the game, Konoha should be able to push Iwagakure to join now, and I suppose they won't object too much.

Therefore, he immediately agreed: "In that case, please have Iwagakure send a representative to Konoha."

"At that time, we will invite envoys from both Kumogakure and Sunagakure to discuss the specific rules for the joint martial arts exercise."

Onoki nodded and said nothing more. He gave Shuji one last deep look, then turned and his short figure disappeared into the Iwagakure camp.

Shuji stood still, exhaling softly; the white breath quickly dissipated in the cold air.

Thus, the last remnant of Konoha's 57th year came to an end.

(End of this chapter)