Konoha Notes

Chapter 278 Wrong Judgment
Things didn't go as smoothly as Chiyo had imagined. It wasn't difficult to send the guards of the Oni Kingdom and Shion, whom they were protecting, out under the guise of sharing information.

The problem erupted on the other side.

The time that Miroku, the current priestess of the Land of Demons, can hold on for is far shorter than even Chiyo's most conservative estimate.

Almost immediately after the Sand Village completed the personnel handover and before the messenger returned, news of countless giant stone statue soldiers emerging from the Land of Demons had already reached back.

As the first force to become alert, and probably the first to receive the news, Chiyo had no choice but to inform her neighbors while simultaneously dispatching a ninja squad to cross the border to intercept them.

Even though the Land of Wind is mostly sand, it's much better to intercept and fight them outside the border than to let these tireless and fearless stone legions wreak havoc on our own land.

A ninja's individual combat ability far surpasses that of a puppet, but the puppet is indestructible and tireless. Driven by demonic power, it can advance day and night without rest.

Therefore, when Shion and her group finally arrived in Konoha under strict escort and after many twists and turns, and stood in the Hokage Building, almost at the same time as their arrival, what was presented to the Konoha high-ranking officials was the terrible battle report that the Stone Statue Army was breaking through the Sunagakure temporary defense line and advancing inland.

Konoha's response mechanism was activated at full speed. Almost immediately after confirming the authenticity of the intelligence, the corresponding support plan was activated, and the first batch of reinforcements began to assemble and be mobilized.

Thus, the person Chiyo least wanted to see inevitably appeared in the Sunagakure village's reception room.

"Based on their current route and speed of advance, the territory of the major powers that the Stone Statue Legion will most likely first affect and pose a substantial threat to is the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind."

The people sitting in the conference room were stating the facts.

Chiyo's face darkened: "Of course I know, so what do you want to talk about?"

"Part of the first batch of reinforcements dispatched by Konoha has already set off by sea in order to reach the flank of the war zone as soon as possible. However, we must consider the worst-case scenario—the possibility that the western border of the Land of Wind will be breached and the homeland will become the main battlefield is rapidly increasing."

"So, the Konoha ninja army wants to set foot on the land of the Land of Wind? After what happened before?" Chiyo sneered.

“Konoha can also choose another route,” Shuuji replied calmly, “going through the Land of Rain, then the Land of Birds and the Land of Stone, taking a longer detour. Then, Konoha can temporarily stand by and watch you fight.”

"Although we still do not know exactly what happened inside the Land of Demons that caused the seal to collapse and the situation to get out of control to this extent."

"The conflict is no longer just between the major ninja villages."

"Wars between ninja villages, no matter how brutal, always have their bottom lines and rules, involving civilians and the aftermath. But these stone statue legions have no scruples when passing through the lands of various countries."

"As the one who personally ended the life of the Fourth Kazekage, I was able to disregard my own safety and set foot on this land. I think that as part of Konoha's sincerity in this matter, it should be enough."

Chiyo and Ebizo remained silent, probably still deep in thought.

In fact, not long ago, when Konoha received the initial news from the border troops about the unusual movements of Sunagakure and the arrival of the little priestess from the Land of Demons, the high command was still engaged in various speculations and debates.

Who would have thought that the thunder had barely sounded before the torrential rain began to pour down?

Has the current priestess of the Land of Demons, Miroku, died? What's the situation with the demons? How did the stone statue army appear? After all these years, why did they suddenly collapse? Who was involved? Or has the demon's own power undergone an unknown change?

The little witch who was brought back was bewildered, and the remaining guards only knew how to carry out the final escort order, and were equally clueless about the root cause of the domestic upheaval.

The only proof they had was an emergency authorization letter personally signed by the Maitreya priestess, and all they knew was that the priestess wanted them to send the person away as soon as possible.

What can we deduce from this? It's highly likely that the priestess of the Land of Demons is already dead.

It can also be inferred that there is another force in the Land of Demons, so much so that the priestess dares not directly ask the five great nations of the ninja world for help through open means, and may even tell her guards to entrust the task to whoever she can contact.

However, these speculations are of little practical use in terms of how to contain the ever-advancing stone statue army.

“Sunagakure must make a decision as soon as possible.” Shuji ended his brief silence. “Is it to cooperate with Konoha in defense, or to deal with it independently and bear all the possible consequences?”

"I must remind everyone that the country that will bear the first wave of impact after the Stone Statue Legion spreads is not the Land of Fire."

"Konoha's proactive intervention at this moment is based on strategic considerations of the future security situation of the entire ninja world. It is a preventive regional security cooperation action, but it is not the only option that has no alternatives and that requires your consent."

“We could even choose not to take the detour,” he concluded, “and wait on the border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Wind, building a second line of defense on the spot. However, in that case, the pressure on your country’s border would probably be far greater than it is now.”

Ebizo sighed softly. Chiyo understood her brother's meaning: Konoha, at least the current Konoha leadership, did not have any territorial ambitions towards the barren land of the Land of Wind.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have needed to propose the so-called land reform plan.

Including the young man who killed Rasa with his own hands, Konoha's greatest hope at this stage is perhaps that Sunagakure can stay peacefully in the Land of Wind, handle its internal affairs, and not cause them any more trouble.

Chiyo forced out a sound from her throat: "...People from Konoha can travel to the designated defense area in the west, accompanied by the Sand Village troops."

Xiuji didn't say anything more that might provoke the other party, but simply nodded slightly.

"Yes. I will immediately send orders back to the village to prepare the follow-up support troops so that they can be guided by you to enter the designated positions and begin deployment."

After making the final decision, Chiyo seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, her expression turning indifferent as she said without any emotion, "The commander of the border forces is Maki. He will be responsible for liaising with you and coordinating with your operations."

"But the stone statue army is only a superficial problem. The root of the problem lies with the priestess."

If she and Ebizo had known the problems in the Land of Demons would erupt so quickly, they wouldn't have made the decision to send Shion away.

Keeping this card at least gives us some leverage in dealing with the problem of the demons.

(End of this chapter)