Konoha Notes

Chapter 264 Early Fifty-Eighth

Emerging from the underground base at the root of the world, the sunlight was surprisingly dazzling. Kakashi squinted, adjusting to the long-lost brightness.

The bustling street and the sounds of people pulled him out of his long period of being surrounded by documents and shadows.

Another year has passed.

The hidden strongholds of Root have been located. Because of the relatively lenient approach taken towards those who have Root members, the intelligence gathering work is not too difficult.

Even after Danzo lost power, several research institutes continued to operate. These places were hidden outside Konoha Village and maintained by the resources and reputation that Shimura Danzo had accumulated over decades.

Just as Shuji told Tsunade, most of the members of the research institute knew nothing. The reshuffling of the village's high-ranking officials was not widely publicized. As long as money and supplies continued to flow in normally, the retirement of the advisor did not feel real to them.

They believe they are still serving Konoha and remain a part of Konoha, even the core members who know the inside story think so.

When Kakashi took over these places, he had to admit that the information held by the Root was more profound than that of the Anbu, even if there was a lot of unclear and ambiguous information in it.

The task involved screening personnel, organizing intelligence information, receiving remaining intelligence personnel, and dealing with the chaos that arose after the disappearance of the curse seal that caused the root of the tongue disaster.

These tasks took him two months to complete. Fortunately, he had some experience from being assigned to manage the root department before, otherwise it would have taken him even longer.

He wandered aimlessly, the crisp winter air washing away the lingering oppression in his mind.

"Kakashi!"

Kakashi originally didn't want to stop, but after spending so much time in that gloomy place, he eventually changed his mind.

He turned his head to look into the confectionery shop, where Kai was waving his arms vigorously.

Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma Sarutobi were also present.

Kakashi walked in.

Matt Ke was overjoyed.

Hong's eyes widened slightly: "It's rare that you'd be willing to come in, Kakashi."

Asma, with an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips, chuckled and agreed, "Indeed rare."

Because he was so rare, Kakashi's contemporaries would not do anything extra when they saw him. After all, anyone who has ever invited friends knows that it is normal to be rejected when you invite someone to a gathering. No one will blame you for it, but no one will make a fool of themselves by inviting you again and again.

There was only one Kai who never gave up.

"But..." Kakashi mumbled, not wanting to say much about Root or his own feelings, so he turned to the shopkeeper and said, "One serving of dumplings, please."

Kai was still teary-eyed about Kakashi's response, shaking him and saying things like "youth" and "bonds".

Red glanced out the window, gesturing for everyone to look: "There are more and more foreign ninjas appearing in the village."

Two ninjas wearing Cloud Village headbands walked by on the street without attracting much attention.

While Kurenai and the others were looking outside, Kakashi's plate was empty. When Kurenai turned her gaze back, she saw only a bare bamboo skewer.

Kurenai looked at the empty plate and sighed helplessly: "...You're still the same as ever, you always eat so fast."

"Hahaha," Asuma laughed heartily, pointing to Kakashi's still-masked face mask, "and you don't even need to take it off when you're drinking tea." Kakashi, holding his teacup, casually asked, "What's the matter that brought you all together today?"

Hong picked up her teacup and gently blew on it: "Generally speaking, friends don't need any special reason to get together..."

"I'm going to take on the role of Jonin!" Guy immediately announced loudly, "It's finally my turn to pass on the flame of youth!"

"Congratulations," Kakashi replied lazily.

"Since last year, I've heard the kids at the Ninja Academy have been working really hard." Kurenai glanced at Guy, then turned to Kakashi. "Has anything changed at the school?"

“There’s a remarkable guy who arranged a lot of things at the Ninja Academy last year,” Kakashi replied.

Asuma chimed in, "Is this in preparation for that 'Joint Martial Arts Tournament'? I heard even Iwagakure agreed to join. Those guys are probably even harder to deal with than the Kumogakure people."

Earth Release. Of the five basic esoteric techniques, this is perhaps the most widely applicable, but also the most troublesome. Unlike Fire, Lightning, and Wind Release, it doesn't rely on the user creating their own attributes, nor is it as severely constrained by the environment as Water Release.

The earth is omnipresent, meaning that earth-style ninjas almost always have the advantage of terrain.
Defense, trapping the enemy, changing the battlefield, and even launching a strong attack... there are many methods, making it extremely difficult for ninjas below the rank of Jonin to deal with.

"Well," Kakashi sipped his tea nonchalantly, "let those who should be worrying about this figure it out. After all, he was the one who pushed things along."
-
Shuji, whom Kakashi casually labeled as "the one who should be troubled," was now unknowingly passing on a new "trouble" to Uchiha Itachi standing beside him.

The location was the experimental woodland behind the Senju family mansion. Winter sunlight filtered through the sparse branches, casting dappled shadows on the leaf-strewn ground. Shuji was squatting on the ground, fiddling with a seemingly withered, yet subtly vibrant, brown branch.

“The graduation process for the Ninja Academy can be brought forward appropriately,” he said without looking up, brushing the dirt off the branches with his fingers. “I’ve calculated the time; Uchiha Izumi should be able to make it to this joint military exercise.”

Itachi frowned slightly upon hearing this: "Izumi... she's not good at fighting."

“So, I’m giving you a break for this period.” Shuji finally planted the branch carefully into the soft soil. “Shisui is back too, so we don’t need any extra hands for now. Go and tutor Izumi in ninja tool throwing and taijutsu.”

"Yes, I understand."

After Itachi agreed, he watched as Shuji planted the branch in his hand and then set up a sealing spell next to it.

"For your senior, is cultivating these plants a crucial step?" Itachi asked softly, looking at the various plants that still stood tall in the winter.

"Just like leaving behind those three Sharingan eyes, it's a step that we have to try, even though we don't know how much of a role it will play in the end."

"But compared to the former, planting trees still played a significant role."

Itachi, observing Shuuji's actions, asked, "Is this part of the Sand Village's plan?"

"Ah."

The Sand Village has replied, hoping that Shuji can provide some seeds so they can try planting them.

Regarding the land redevelopment plan itself, I am somewhat interested but also worried.

“And it’s equally important to me personally,” he added.

Itachi was silent for a moment, then spoke again: "What exactly do you need me to do, senpai?"

“Take advantage of the holiday and if you have some free time, go and look through the scrolls and notes passed down from the Uchiha clan,” Shuji said. “Your clan must have left behind quite a few interesting things.”

(End of this chapter)