Konoha Notes

Chapter 317 Confession Bureau
The ninjas piloting the airship weren't fast enough.

It turned into a corpse floating on the sea.

Shuji remained standing at the bow, gazing in the direction where Hiruko and Pipa Juzo had disappeared, where only the gradually calming waves remained.

With her silver hair, petite stature, beige turtleneck coat, and bandages, she is easily recognizable.

“Hiruko…”

"I have used Storm Release and Swift Release."

"Was that movement just now intended to use Dark Release...?"

However, he just used water that exists in nature, so the Dark Release technique, which can only absorb chakra, is meaningless.

Once the wave has already formed, even if he can absorb the chakra that controls the seawater, a wave tens of meters high crashing down will still have a physical impact equivalent to tens of tons of explosive force.

Another person who ran away quickly was Juzo Biwa. His guillotine sword was very conspicuous, and he also remembered that this person was a member of Akatsuki. Even though neither Juzo nor Hiruko were wearing Akatsuki uniforms, it undoubtedly proved that Hiruko was now a member of Akatsuki.

Having been recruited into Akatsuki and having completed the Oni-Garata Technique ahead of schedule, Obito would surely have granted him the Sharingan.

If possible, I'd really like to see if Hiruko's boast about the complete version of Oni-Gera's immortality in the movie is true.

But the fact that even Hiruko was included means that his other guess was probably correct as well.

Shuji looked away.

At that moment, a silver-gray warship broke through the water and rose into the sky.

The metal hull reflected the midday sun as it stopped beside the wooden boat.

One by one, Sunagakure ninjas fell from the sky, their flight wings folding and retracting, landing precisely on the deck of the warship.

Maki climbed out of the warship and boarded Xiu Si's ship.

He looked at the charred wood scattered all over the ship, waved to the warship, and several Sand Village ninjas came aboard to clean up the debris.

"Mr. Shuji's skills are as amazing as ever. If you hadn't come in person, it would have been extremely difficult to break through here."

“It’s not a breakthrough,” Xiu Si said. “Besides, we should go back.”

Having confirmed that the Land of Snow is connected to Akatsuki, and having seen Obito's cards, it would be impolite to venture in alone again.
-
The Sand Village's warship did not anchor in the waters near the Land of Lightning. It found an uninhabited island nearby, submerged again, and disappeared without a trace.

When Shuji steered the boat back to shore alone, the Raikage was already waiting on the dock.

Ai looked at the returning ship—only one remained; the original fleet had vanished. He understood that Xiu Si had already clashed with the enemy.

But the fact that this ship was able to be brought back means...

"How is it?" Ai asked.

"Destroy one of the airships from the Land of Snow." Shuuji jumped off the ship and landed on the dock. "According to the numbers on the books, they still have three left."

"Where are the interceptors?"

"They're quite strong and run very fast."

Ai squinted: "They escaped...?"

He turned and walked towards the village, with Xiu Si following behind.

Only after entering the Raikage's office did Ai say, "Next time, I'll go with you. We'll have the Sand Village's air force coordinate the operation."

He stared at Xiu Si: "I'm going to twist Feng Hua Nu Tao's head off within a month."

Shuji shook his head: "I'm afraid there's no way to do that."

Mabuyi stood to one side, the documents in her hand suspended in mid-air. Darui leaned against the wall, her eyes, which had been half-closed, opened a crack.

Ai first frowned, probably out of anger, but then calmed down.

"The Cloud Village hasn't fully considered your plan yet. Let's deal with the Snow Country matter first."

"This matter only makes sense if both sides agree that it is feasible. Lord Raikage, I will not use this as a threat," Shuji said. "On the contrary, it's because it's impossible."

He chose a more straightforward approach. "Given the current combat power that Kumogakure and Konoha can mobilize, it would likely require both sides to deploy all their top-tier combat forces to flatten the Land of Snow."

"And there's a chance... of failure."

Ai stared at him.

Five seconds.

Ten seconds.

The air in the office seemed to freeze.

Then the Raikage moved.

He raised his right hand, clenched his fist, and slammed it onto the solid wood desk next to him.

The table exploded in the middle, sending wood chips flying. Documents, scrolls, and pens were scattered all over the floor. The heavy tabletop broke in two and fell to either side.

Mabui took a half step back. Darui straightened up.

Shuji stood still, without moving.

Ai maintained the posture after throwing a punch, his fist still suspended in mid-air, his eyes clear.

“What do you know, Shuji?” the Fourth Raikage said. “There aren’t many enemies that you, with your power and my speed, cannot handle.”

"Isn't this just because the Land of Snow got lucky and recruited a few ninjas?"

“Yes, the mastermind behind this is related to the incident between Konoha and Kumogakure a few years ago,” Shuji said.

Now that things have progressed to this point, concealing some information would make us seem very suspicious.

"Last year, there was an event where the demons and monsters revived. That's when I met that person and fought against him."

A uttered the name: "Uchiha Madara..."

"The demon disappeared later. If we have to say who it was related to, it could only be him."

"This also means that when needed, the demons can be released at any time, and the undead army of the Land of Demons will be revived."

Upon hearing this, the three people in Raikage's office all knew what it meant.

The fighting capacity on the western front of the mainland could be tied down at any time.

“In that case, we need to flatten the Snow Country even faster.” Ai’s voice was low. “If we let them develop, then Madara’s power will be on both the eastern and western fronts at the same time.”

“That Uchiha Madara backed down last year, which means that he didn’t have the confidence or sufficient preparation to deal with the forces you deployed at that time.”

Ai stared at Xiu Si: "Or are you saying that you're not as good as you were last year?"

"But dealing with that freak, there is indeed a way to make him back down."

“But it’s not enough to deal with the entire Akatsuki organization,” Shuji said calmly. “I have some recent information about Akatsuki’s current fighting strength.”

"Lord Raikage, it is said that there are many legends in the Land of Lightning related to the Sage of Six Paths."

Ai didn't respond, she just looked at him.

Shuji continued, "So, have you heard anything about the power possessed by the Sage of Six Paths?"

"In other words, the three great dojutsu of the ninja world, besides the Sharingan and Byakugan—"

He looked at Ai.

"The Rinnegan represents the power of the Sage of Six Paths."

"There is someone in the Akatsuki organization who possesses these eyes. I don't know if he is currently in the Land of Snow."

"If we were alive, and we had gathered all our strength, and by some stroke of luck we had achieved final victory, that would naturally be a good thing."

"If we are not here, the villages will be left empty when we go on our expedition to the Snow Country."

(End of this chapter)