Konoha Notes

Chapter 309 Disputes

Chapter 309 Disputes
"What's wrong? You look so serious."

The Fifth Hokage was painting his nails. When he saw someone come in, he glanced at them out of the corner of his eye, then continued doing what he was doing.

"Wasn't it because of the event plan and the reply from Sunagakure that you went to see that 'Miss Samui'?"

"That matter doesn't really need to be asked." After sitting down, Shuji looked at the ceiling. "The Sunagakure's reply roughly means that one or more of the Cloud Village, Iwagakure, or Kirigakure are chasing their fleet."

"The most likely candidate is Yunyin."

"Oh," Tsunade simply replied.

She wasn't surprised at all. After all, even Konoha was making preparations to deal with Sunagakure's air force, so it wasn't surprising that Kumogakure had similar plans. Or rather, it would have been strange if Kumogakure hadn't taken similar actions.

"and then?"

"Then the Raikage told us that their people were missing, and that some people from Sunagakure were also missing," Shuji said. "But the latter was not confirmed."

"Based solely on the information provided by both sides, Kumogakure may believe that the disappearance of their people was caused by Sunagakure."

"Internal strife within the alliance, of all times, happens to occur at this time." Tsunade sighed, then turned away when she realized that Shuuji hadn't followed up.

The man seemed to be still thinking about something.

She squinted, not asking any further questions. After finishing the last nail polish, she checked the color against the light, then stood up.

First, she hovered around Shuji, her eyes scanning from his face to his ears and back again. Then she reached out and beckoned to him.

"Are you under a spell?"

"It's hard to say," he replied. "There's a small problem, which we had to face sooner or later, but I didn't expect it to be so soon."

"Oh—to think that our Lord Shuuji could be so lost in thought." Tsunade pretended to be thinking and paced from left to right. "Could it be that someone said something very impactful?"

"For example..."

She suddenly leaned close to Shuuji's ear.

"I like you."

"or……"

"I love you."

"In that case..."

Then her face was pushed away.

“It’s not that exaggerated.”

"Hmph, what I mean by 'not that exaggerated' is that it does exist after all."

“Alright, let’s get back to the main topic,” Shuji said. “If it really was Sunagakure who attacked Kumogakure, then we need to be prepared to mediate.”

Tsunade sat back in her chair: "At this time of year? Even if Sunagakure confirms that it's Kumogakure tracking their fleet, they wouldn't actually take action, would they?"

"Especially according to Kumogakure, this happened during the Five Kage Summit."

Shuji shook his head: "Based on the intelligence, we haven't found any other possibilities yet."

"After all, while Kirigakure also replied to the message, they didn't say anything."

It wasn't that she didn't say anything at all. When Shuji asked if anyone was missing, Mei Terumi's reply was—

Probably.

Mei Terumi didn't say why she disappeared, but Shuji could guess.

After all, given the current state of Kirigakure, even after three years, some issues haven't been fully resolved. They just recently dealt with Suigetsu Fuguki—who was still a high-ranking member of Kirigakure. This means there might still be people below them betraying them.

Therefore, since we cannot link the situation of Kirigakure with Sunagakure and Kumogakure, we can only tentatively conclude that it is a problem of those two villages.

"The Chunin Exams are next month, and Sunagakure should be preparing to send people out in the next few days."

"First, order someone to carefully guard the route and be on high alert."

"As for Yunyin, since they informed us of this situation first, they probably also want us to coordinate."
-
The Fourth Raikage heard the noise some distance from the village entrance.

Ai's forehead twitched.

A makeshift wooden stage was set up in the small square in the center of the village. Kirabi stood on the stage, holding a microphone, swaying his body to the rhythm.

"Yo! This is my rhythm! A flow that soars to the heavens!"

"Lightning from the Hidden Clouds! A show that illuminates the ninja world!" A few young ninjas swayed to the rhythm in the audience, while most of the villagers covered their ears with helpless expressions.

Ai walked through the crowd, each step leaving cracks in her path.

When he leaped onto the platform, Killer Bee was still engrossed in his rap with his eyes closed, completely unaware of the commotion behind him.

The next second, five fingers gripped his head.

"B-Big Brother!" Killer Bee cried out, "Misjudgment of time! Crisis MAX!"

“Didn’t I tell you—” Ai’s fingers suddenly tightened, and Ledekiribi’s voice distorted, “Don’t disturb the villagers!”

"You didn't listen to a word I said, Bi!"

"Big brother, this is a drill! My acting career is about to usher in a new era!" Killer Bee wailed as he struggled to explain.

"What kind of development is this?!"

"The village stadium! The stage where I, the great one, will soon dominate, yay—"

Ai's fingers exerted force again.

"—Awoooooo—"

The Fourth Raikage only let go of Killer Bee when Killer Bee yelled and his feet left the ground.

Carrying a dejected Bi, Ai smashed through the walls and returned to the Raikage Building.

Behind them, the Cloud Village villagers, unfazed by the sight, dispersed.

When the Raikage is in a bad mood or in a hurry, he never uses the door.

Finally, he smashed open the window of the Raikage's office. Glass shards exploded in the air as Ayr, carrying Killer Bee, stepped into the room and casually tossed his brother onto a chair in the corner.

Mabuyi and Tutai were already waiting in the room, completely ignoring the scene.

“I went to check myself, and there were no other clues.”

Aside from the fact that their people were tracking the Sunagakure ships at the time.

Therefore, Sunagakure is the only possible candidate.

"Has Konoha responded yet?" Ai asked, sitting in the Shadow's seat.

"Konoha's reply was to ask both sides to exchange information during the Chunin Exams," Mabui replied.

Tsuchitai said, "It seems that Konoha also believes this is related to Sunagakure."

"The Sand Village probably told them something."

Ai said in a deep voice, "If it really is Sunagakure, then things are simple. Given the current situation, their purpose in taking action is probably to issue a warning, so the possibility of killing is not high."

"Then we can just ask them for the people directly."

"As for the conditions, since the direct acquisition of the technology has failed, we should abandon the subsequent tracking operation."

"If you want money, that's fine too."

"Do you understand, Tutai?"

Tsuchikage nodded: "Yes, Lord Raikage."

"However, if..."

Ai knew what Tsuchita wanted to ask: what if Sunagakure attacked too brutally?

In that case, they will most likely deny any connection to the matter, and no one will be left alive.

How should we negotiate at that time?
Ai remained silent.

In the past, it would have been easy to handle.

Now...

“Since Sunagakure has responded to Konoha, things won’t come to that point,” A finally said. “Let’s talk about getting them back first.”