Konoha Notes

Chapter 270 is set in stone.
The messenger who went to Konoha returned to Kirigakure faster than expected.

Mei Terumi initially thought that the joint martial arts exercise negotiations had not gone smoothly, or that the envoy sent by the village was not of enough importance and had not attracted enough attention from Konoha.

After all, simply asking to join the Chunin Exams is not difficult; Konoha agreed two years ago, so there should be no reason to refuse this year.

"Konoha... agreed?" she asked, looking at the weary messenger.

"Yes, Lady Terumi Mei." The envoy bowed in response. "After understanding our purpose, the Konoha official in charge of receiving us provided us with detailed documents on the competition rules and the terms and conditions regarding the distribution of ticket profits."

Looking at the documents brought back by the messenger, Terumi Mei fell into deep thought.

This was not a hastily drafted plan; its completeness and meticulous detail clearly indicate that it was prepared in advance. Did the other four major powers anticipate that the Hidden Mist Village would be unable to resist wanting a share, and thus reserve positions and quotas beforehand?

What I thought would require at least several rounds of negotiation and bargaining to finalize... turned out to be obtained so easily.

For Wuyin, who only wanted to participate and had no immediate interest in hosting the event, being able to directly share a considerable portion of the ticket revenue was already considered to have achieved its basic goal. It's not hard to understand why the envoy, who wasn't authorized to discuss other matters, chose to quickly return to report.

Just thinking back to the first time the four villages held a joint exam of this scale, it was when Kirigakure participated two years ago.

That time, Zabuza didn't bring back any agreements, only the evaluation of "a fake performance, a deceptive money-making trick".

This year, although I got what I wanted, the feeling... even the bargaining process was skipped. It was like sitting at a table, enjoying a meal that had already been cooked and prepared by someone else. For the small ninja village, this was perhaps a blessing to be celebrated.

But for Mist Shadow, it shouldn't be like this.

An indescribable sense of frustration quietly crept into her heart.

She placed the document, a symbol of "established fact," on the corner of the table, her fingertips tapping lightly on the wooden surface. Her thoughts drifted to something else—she was very interested in the child Zabuza had brought back. The information suggested that he might also be someone with the potential to inherit the ninja sword.

She looked even more delicate and pretty than the photos showed.

Mei Terumi patiently waited until get out of class ended, watching the child leave the school alone and head towards the relatively secluded temporary dwelling on the edge of the village before she appeared and blocked his way.

"White, right?" she asked, her voice softer than usual.

Bai stopped and looked up, his clear eyes showing no panic. He recognized who was in front of him.

"Lady Terumi Mei," he greeted politely.

Are you getting used to life at school?

"Everything is fine," Bai said. "If you don't mind, please allow me to leave. Mr. Zabuza has some things to tell me."

This is a rejection.

Reject irrelevant concern, reject potential closeness, and reject actions that could blur one's stance.

Mei Terumi understood what the child meant.

“We are not enemies. I am not with Zabuza, nor with you, Haku,” she said softly.

"I am a tool, and I don't think about the relationship between master and master."

Shiro's response revealed a different emotion in Mei Terumi's eyes.

"Tools... Haku, even though there was a conflict between Zabuza and me, back then, it was Zabuza who used the most intense methods to fight against the tyranny that didn't value the lives of ninjas or his comrades."

Mei Terumi did not choose to make things difficult for the child, nor did she know what effect her words would have.

But after leaving, I had a few more worries.

Those who confront the blood mist are also affected by it, even Zabuza, who was also chosen by the Yuan Master. What about the others?
What about the children after that?
She went to see Elder Yuan Shi with her doubts.

The elder didn't take it seriously.

Having lived since the Warring States period, he was already used to all of this.

“Ming, whether it was enforcing the rules that created the blood mist in the past or ending it now, the starting point for everything is, in the final analysis, simply whether it is beneficial to the village,” he said calmly. “If it is beneficial, then do it; if the problem is too great, then change it.”

"Don't think about too many other things; that will only tie your hands and feet."

Mei Terumi left with even deeper confusion.

Back in his office, he sat there, motionless for a long time.

"If it were you, what would your opinion be about Kirigakure...?"

She instinctively unfolded a blank scroll, picked up a pen, and held the tip above the paper, unable to bring it down. In the end, Mei Terumi rolled the scroll up again and set it aside.
-
May is a great time to warm up and go out, but unfortunately, those who stay in the Hokage's office don't really feel it.

Tsunade went to Konoha Hospital to handle the details of the process for qualified ninja academy students to directly enter internships, as well as the arrangement of related courses.

Therefore, one of the laborers had to stay behind to keep watch.

While planning the second half of the year in his mind—he needed to find at least two months to take leave and slack off—Shuji mechanically stamped the mountain of official documents on his hands.

One of the applications made him pause and take a second look.

The clerks from Bamboo Village have applied to participate in this year's Joint Chunin Exams.

Shuji tapped the document with his fingertip, recalling the intelligence summary Kakashi had submitted earlier regarding the movements of the surrounding small ninja villages. After a moment's hesitation, he finally picked up his pen and approved the application with the words "Approved to participate."

However, a small line of text was added at the end: "Strictly review the qualifications and backgrounds of participating ninjas."

Then, the Hokage seal fell, leaving a clear red mark.

Then came another report.

Shuji put down the Hokage's seal.

This is about the Uchiha clan.

After repeated unsuccessful attempts to "reprimand" the Hyuga clan by proposing to clan leader Fugaku, some people began to plan to create trouble for the Hyuga clan and Hyuga Hiashi once the police department officially began operations.

This is to prove that Hyuga's abilities are insufficient.

Shuji read it carefully. The good news was that the Uchiha no longer prepared to confront Konoha or think about rebellion so readily.

But such behavior cannot be tolerated.

If they intended to use the police headquarters to check and audit the branches through formal administrative procedures, then perhaps we could turn a blind eye and consider it internal competition... But this behavior of trying to bypass the overt rules and secretly sabotage things...

Shuji looked up and spoke to the empty corner of the office:
"Please ask Kakashi to come here."

A blurry shadow flickered in the corner and then disappeared.

　It's getting cold, dear readers, please remember to wear more clothes.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)