Konoha Notes

Chapter 277 Omen
"The Hidden Sound Village has started its activities?"

Xiuji, who had arranged Hongdou's schedule and was only going back to work the next day, heard the news.

Kakashi said in a deep voice, "Those who are operating outside in the name of Otogakure are former members of the Fuma clan."

Just as Orochimaru had predicted, after Danzo Shimura's death, much of the deliberately concealed information gradually surfaced. This was especially true regarding procedures like ninja village certification, which required multiple parties to file records; these traces were difficult to completely erase.

Kakashi initially did not directly associate Otogakure with Orochimaru; he was more inclined to believe that it was one of the many secret strongholds that Danzo had reserved for himself.

After all, since Danzo's downfall, this village, whose existence was tacitly permitted by the Konoha leadership, has remained dormant and unused. From this perspective, its connection to Root seems even closer.

However, with the Dark Side's renewed in-depth investigation and background research on Otogakure, another name that cannot be ignored has inevitably re-entered the spotlight.

Based on a comprehensive assessment of the available intelligence, Kakashi's conclusion coincided with Shuji's own considerations: given the current inability to pinpoint Orochimaru's exact whereabouts, preserving the nominal "shell" of Otogakure might serve as valuable bait, or at least as a window for observation.

"The Wind Demon Clan..."

Shuji remembered this ninja clan as being native to the Land of Rice Fields. According to the original story's pacing in his memory, they seemed to have sent people to make contact after the establishment of the Hidden Sound Village, and then gradually began to serve Orochimaru.

But judging from Kakashi's words, it seems that's not the case now.

“I dispatched the Anbu to investigate the situation, but they found no trace of Orochimaru. They can only confirm that from the recent resumption of activities in Otogakure to the initial recruitment of outsiders, it has always been the members of the Fuma clan who have been in charge of all of this,” Kakashi said.

"What about ninjutsu?" Shuji asked.

Kakashi shook his head. As far as the Fuuma clan is concerned, they haven't shown anything noteworthy yet.

Despite leaving the pond in the fields for so long, there are still fish in it, so there haven't been any bad catches. However, the bait we're getting now isn't quite right.

Orochimaru was temporarily sending the Fuma clan as a vanguard to test the waters, or did he have a deeper plan, using the Hidden Sound Village as a pawn or a smokescreen in some sense?
"Keep it."

"I will increase the number of people skilled in infiltration and tracking to closely monitor the movements of Otogakure and the Fuuma clan," Kakashi said, indicating that he understood.

Those capable of disrupting the ninja world are few and far between. Given Orochimaru's knowledge, skills, and potential threats, it's worthwhile for Konoha to invest resources and lay this long-term trap.

Whenever he uses the Hidden Sound Village, whether or not he personally intervenes, he will always leave traces that can be analyzed and speculated upon.

Information about Otogakure (Hidden Sound Village) has been temporarily marked and archived, and placed in an area requiring continuous monitoring.

Meanwhile, the initial talks with Kumogakure concluded yesterday, and the overall atmosphere remained relatively harmonious. Although Kumogakure's leader was cautious in his words and did not make any substantive promises, he at least did not show any clear opposition or intention to make things difficult.

As for the results, it probably won't be that quick.
-
Deep within the palace of the priestess in the land of demons.

I will die.

The priestess was absolutely certain of this; from the moment she understood her responsibilities, she was mentally prepared for this day.

However, this time, the death she foresaw was not solely due to monsters.

Having confirmed this, Miroku fully understood that the nature of the matter had changed. It was no longer merely a matter of the eternal conflict and sealing cycle between the priestesses of the Land of Demons and the monsters.

Shion could no longer survive by his side.

We must send our daughter away before anything happens. We must prepare before the final moment arrives.

She summoned her guards.

"Get ready to send Shion to the fastest ninja village we can reach."

"Any of the five great ninja villages is fine. We'll send Shion to whichever village we can contact the fastest."

Anyone from one of the five great ninja villages would understand the significance of the Land of Demons and the meaning behind sending away the young priestess.

The ninja from Sunagakure received this special request. The priestess's guards, traveling along a relatively secluded sea route, were fortunate enough to encounter a merchant fleet escorted by Sunagakure ninja.

Following the strict orders of the Miroku priestess, they carefully verified the authenticity of the other party's identity before issuing this urgent request from the Land of Demons.

For Sunagakure, which was struggling financially, receiving additional requests was always beneficial. After confirming the identities of the guards, these people successfully followed the people of Sunagakure to the Land of Sand.

Chiyo, who was a bit hot-tempered from teaching children, welcomed a new employer in the Kazekage's building.

Her younger brother, Ebizo, was not happy about this.

If it were any earlier, the priestesses of the Land of Demons represented many things, and Sunagakure might have been able to devise some schemes from them. As for now...

This is a case that must be solved, but is destined to yield little financial gain.

"Miroku, the current priestess of the Land of Demons, foresaw her own death and sent forth her only successor." Chiyo put down the scroll. "Couldn't she have kept watch over that demon?"

"That's probably what it means," Ebizo said. "Otherwise, they wouldn't have gone this far."

Chiyo lowered her eyes: "It just so happens that at a time like this, Sunagakure has received such a request."

The village is weak and simply doesn't have enough people to handle this level of mission.

Ebizo calmly analyzed, "Sister, this is no longer just a matter for our Sunagakure family. If Moryo breaks free, it will threaten the peace of the entire ninja world. We cannot and should not bear this alone."

"what do you mean……"

"Send this little witch away, to the person who should and is capable of taking the lead in this matter."

"Konoha... is busy preparing for the joint martial arts exercise. They'll probably be troubled by this hot potato." Chiyo said this, but she agreed with her brother's assessment.

"First, send someone to inform the Konoha border garrison that there is an emergency involving a major crisis that needs to be communicated, and Sunagakure hopes to send an envoy to inform them of the details in person."

After all, there are still people from Konoha on the border.

If Sunagakure doesn't want to cause any more trouble, it shouldn't cross the border rashly.

As for directly informing Konoha of the situation, Chiyo felt that even if the little fox from the Land of Fire were to take over as the successor to the priestess, she would probably choose to let Sunagakure take the lead in handling this task.

It would be safer to just send the person over there directly.

(End of this chapter)