Konoha Notes

Chapter 313 Snow Melting
For Shuji, most of what happened in the remaining 58 years of Konoha was within his plan.

For example, Kumogakure did not reject the report submitted by Sunagakure, and readily accepted the conclusion reached by the Martial Arts Affairs Bureau team after their research at sea that a wandering ninja organization had attacked Kumogakure.

For example, Sunagakure replied that this year's courses have already begun, and matters concerning exchange students will have to wait until next year.

The only unexpected thing was what Kakashi had mentioned before, about Fuuka Koyuki.

The people investigating her are from the Hidden Cloud Village.
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The Land of Snow, as its name suggests, is a country covered in snow all year round, a peaceful and remote place rarely visited by outsiders.

The greatest chaos stemmed from several years ago when Fuuha and Yukinin joined forces to kill their elder brother and seize the throne. But Fuuha was not satisfied with killing their brother, for he gained nothing but the crown and the cold land.

His brother neglected Xue Ren, wasn't it because of the family's long-standing secret treasure?
Feng Hua Nu Tao could only continue researching chakra armor technology while searching for records left behind by his family and looking for any possible treasures.

After years of effort, he finally found it, but he couldn't find the key to unlock the treasure.

The ninjas of the Land of Snow believed that fighting outside their own icy and snowy lands would be fruitless, so he could only wait for a new opportunity until a person in a vegetative state came to him.

His kingdom now has a much stronger mercenary force, and there's no longer any need for him to tolerate it.

"What about people?!"

The sound of raging waves echoed through the palace.

"The ninjas from Konoha got involved unexpectedly. Kumogakure discovered them, and after discussions between the two sides, the ninjas from Konoha took the princess away," Zetsu said.

The tall man made no attempt to hide his dissatisfaction: "You mercenaries made me hire ninjas from the Hidden Cloud Village, and this is all I get in return?"

“Lord Nutao, please don’t be angry,” Jue said, holding out his hand with a necklace in his palm. “Although I didn’t bring the person back, I did get the hexagonal crystal.”

"Besides, she left behind a fake necklace, so she won't know what happened."

Jue took out the necklace.

Feng Hua Nu Tao strode forward and snatched the necklace.

The hexagonal crystal shimmered softly in my palm.

Without waiting a moment, he immediately went to the place where the secret treasure was located.

Upon ascending the stone platform and activating the device, a light illuminated the scene. No weapons appeared, but Feng Hua Nu Tao felt a warm current rising within him.

The temperature of the earth is constantly rising.

The snow melted, revealing the dark brown beneath, and the frozen river began to flow, making a crisp, cracking sound.

"This is... a geothermal generator!?"

Feng Hua Nu Tao's face showed surprise, and his expression turned gloomy.

It's not a weapon that can surpass the Five Great Nations, but that's exactly what Kazahana Hayate is looking forward to.

Jue said, "What amazing technology... It can actually change the climate of a region in an instant."

"What a joke!" roared Futao. "How can we conquer other countries with something like this!"

and……

The Snow Ninja leader, Wolf Fang Avalanche, stared at this rapidly recovering land, his expression even more solemn than that of the raging waves.

Without their original environment, will the Snow Ninja's Ice Release techniques still be powerful enough...?

No wonder Kazahana Hayate distanced herself from the Snow Ninja early on and even hired Konoha ninjas.

"Lord Futao, this device..."

Before Wolf Fang Avalanche could finish speaking, the space behind him suddenly distorted.

A vortex appeared, and Obito Uchiha landed on the ground.

The Snow Ninja leader instinctively turned around, but felt an irresistible suction force. Before he could even form hand seals, he was dragged into the Kamui dimension.

Before the other two Snow Ninjas could react, a burly figure had already swept past them. *Crack*.

The crisp cracking sounds of cervical vertebrae breaking rang out almost simultaneously. The two corpses collapsed to the ground. Shennong shook his hand and stood beside Obito.

Feng Hua Nu Tao immediately took two steps back, tore off his coat, revealing the chakra armor underneath. The glider on the back of the armor unfolded with a "whoosh".

"What are you doing!"

His palm was aimed at Obito.

"Don't be nervous." Obito raised his hand. "Given the current situation, these Snow Ninja are no longer of any use to you."

He pointed to the sky.

A massive fortress flew slowly by, casting a shadow that swallowed half the valley.

"This is our true strength. Including this flying fortress, it is far stronger than the Snow Ninja and better able to meet your needs."

"All we want is a country that is willing to accept us."

"The Five Great Nations have no place for wandering ninjas like us. But beyond the Five Great Nations—"

Obito's mask turned towards the raging waves.

"We are willing to help you achieve new dominance."
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"Konoha is grateful that Kumogakure was able to relinquish the mission objective this time."

"Compared to the common interests of both sides, this is not a big deal. Moreover, a monarch who seizes power by relying on the strength of ninjas is not someone that Kumogakure is willing to entertain."

“If Princess Fenghua wants to reclaim her kingdom, Kumogakure is willing to accept her request,” Samui said. “However, since Konoha has already made the first move, this matter must have been part of Konoha’s plan.”

"Konoha will not act rashly if the client does not have sufficient willingness," Shuji replied. "But if we receive a request, Konoha is willing to work with Kumogakure to complete it."

In return, Kumogakure has given Konoha a lot of face this year. Even if Shuji knows that the Land of Snow has great potential for the future, there is no need for him to take it all for himself.

Furthermore, considering that the Land of Snow is actually closer to the Land of Lightning by sea, attempting to seize the commission source by taking advantage of intelligence would not only be unwise, but would also damage the relationship between the two sides.

There is no need for this.

But any further ideas will have to wait.

There are so many things to wrap up at the end of the year. First, I'll send a team of ANBU to investigate the current situation in the Land of Snow. Then, when I'm less busy, I'll send a few more teams, or have Kakashi go to save face, or I can just treat it as a vacation to resolve the issues...

This is how Shuji planned it.

But on the day of the Lunar New Year, they received unexpected intelligence.

The snow in the Land of Snow has disappeared.

Is the necklace that Feng Hua Xiao Xue is currently keeping fake? When was it switched?

Yunyin... no, Yunyin has no need to do this.

That means Feng Hua Nu Tao had made two preparations: on the one hand, he hired Yun Yin, and on the other hand, he sent someone to steal the necklace.

Did they utilize the Cloud Village's intelligence network...?

Then came another message.

The Land of Snow has deployed its airships and begun targeting neighboring island nations.

"The year starts with war..."

Xiu Si put down the scroll and looked out the window at the darkening sky.

"The new year doesn't seem very peaceful either."

　Sorry, I'm quite busy at the end of the year. I usually post as soon as I finish a chapter. If you don't like that, I'll post them all at night.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)