Konoha Notes

Chapter 320 Experiments and Responses

News of the attack on Kumogakure spread rapidly throughout the ninja world, along with the declaration of Fuka Ryutō.

Immediately after the attack, he issued a statement, which was only a warning to the Hidden Cloud Village for its recent transgressions against the Land of Snow's territory, and also a punishment for the Hidden Cloud Village ninjas who abandoned their commission after accepting it from the Land of Snow.

Meanwhile, Feng Hua Nu Tao demanded that the five major powers retract their slander against him during this period.

There are also a series of requirements, such as handing over things like "wind, flowers, and snow".

Shuji received this information when he met Kabuto Yakushi, who claimed to have completed his study of Orochimaru's remaining materials.

Kabuto pushed up his glasses, thinking that the meeting was over, but he saw that Shuji had no other reaction to the news.

"Come with me, Dou."

He led Kabuto all the way to the old house in the western suburbs and into the experimental woodland. Kabuto looked at the plants and noticed one that looked particularly special, with a barrier set up around it.

“I have frequently taken leave in the past few years.”

Kabuto Yakushi, though only fifteen, was already a well-rounded socialite. He picked up the conversation, displaying his smooth-talking nature: "Even while I was studying, I heard that you and Lady Tsunade took turns fulfilling the duties of Hokage. You made Konoha stronger in this way."

“I’ve spent most of my leave time here.” Shuji looked at the experimental mother plant bound by the barrier. This year, after the mother plant had grown a little, he once again tried to implant the tailed beast chakra.

This time, he used the chakra of the One-Tailed Beast—while helping Gaara get a good night's sleep, he casually stole a bit of its chakra. Shukaku, which frequently breaks its seal, was deeply entangled with Gaara's chakra, so even without transforming into a tailed beast, he still managed to get some.

The good news is that the implantation was successful, the nature of the tailed beast chakra was preserved, and the tree was not damaged.

The bad news is that after absorbing the One-Tailed Beast's chakra, this thing stopped recognizing its father. Not only did it absorb energy and grow faster, but it even started attacking.

"The results of your Sunagakure land reform plan also stem from this, don't you? Even during your rest time, you're working for the future of the ninja world..."

Shuji interrupted Kabuto Yakushi's flattery: "I brought you here today hoping to get your help."

"But before that, there was a legend about the ninja world, about the Sage of Six Paths..."

Dou straightened his posture and listened intently.

As Shuji spoke of the Divine Tree, the Chakra Fruit, the Otsutsuki clan, the Bloodline Limits, and everything he had speculated about.

As the conversation progressed, the shock on the pharmacist's face became increasingly apparent.

"...If it's just an unsuccessful attempt, I don't intend for you to invest your energy here," Shuuji concluded. "But if there's even a sliver of hope for success, having someone as talented as you push it forward might yield better results."

Kabuto remained silent, hesitant, and cautiously probed, "If, as you say, the Divine Tree absorbs all the life energy of the planet, then..."

He had things he valued: his foster mother, the orphanage, and he didn't want to destroy them.

“What I want is not to conquer the ninja world,” Shuuji said. “I just want to try and see if I can achieve the effect of Bloodline Limit if I gather enough chakra from the One-Tailed to the Nine-Tailed and complete all the attributes.”

After all, judging from the Fourth Shinobi World War, the Gedo Mazo doesn't necessarily need to absorb all the Tailed Beasts when it is resurrected. Even if it only absorbs part of the Tailed Beast's chakra, it will slowly transform into the Ten-Tails.

The key is to recover the chakra information obtained by each of the One- to Nine-Tails when they were separated. Recovering all the tailed beasts will only accelerate the Ten-Tails' revival process.

“I brought you here because my personal abilities are limited.” Shuuji looked at Kabuto. “You will lead the subsequent experiments. If you judge that it will get out of control and needs to be destroyed—you can decide for yourself.” “No need to report to me.”

Dou took off his glasses, bent down and wiped the lenses, his movements slow and careful.

a long time.

He put his glasses back on and said, "This requires the village's resources, as well as the access to all the information I need, and... some of the authority to mobilize manpower."
-
In the Hokage's office, Jiraiya stood by the window, Shikaku sorted out the clues he had gathered over the past few days, the advisors and elders, including the Third Hokage, sat to the side, and the Fifth Hokage sat upright.

Jiraiya looked at the Shadow Rock and then at the village below.

Last month, Shuji went to Sunagakure, then to Kumogakure, and finally to Kirigakure, setting up an unconventional encirclement—a method Shuji had never seen before. Jiraiya didn't intend to be stingy with his praise, but the information Shuji brought back was even more alarming.

For example, the whereabouts of the Hidden Mist Blade, Hiruko's completion of the Demon Blade, the existence of the Rinnegan in the Akatsuki organization, and information about the abilities of the Rinnegan.

Jiraiya didn't know how he had uncovered so many secrets in such a short trip. But given Shuji's current status and achievements in Konoha, he didn't need to explain the source of the information.

After all, he was well-connected in both Sunagakure and Kumogakure, so maybe Kirigakure had told him something too.

But... the Rinnegan, Amegakure, Nagato...

"Too slow." Tsunade said first after Shuji came in, "Didn't the Anbu notify you a long time ago?"

"I have some things to arrange." Shuuji nodded to the others. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"According to the intelligence submitted by Kumogakure, that aerial fortress has an extremely long-range strike range and its power is comparable to the Eight-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball. If the enemy launches an attack on our territory without any scruples, it will have extremely serious consequences," Shikaku said. "The Daimyo is very worried about this and hopes that the village can come up with a result as soon as possible."

"The village's current plan is to rely on the national defense system and extend the early warning range outward by tens of kilometers."

"However, we know nothing about the fortress's maximum flight altitude or whether the enemy has any means of concealment. How effective the existing system can be remains to be seen."

The Konoha strategist said, "Since the 'Wind Flower Fury' is merely a pawn, the enemy's true objective is probably to use the panic caused by the air raid—either to force us to agree to subsequent conditions, or..."

"They lured us to the Land of Snow to fight on their home turf."

Mitokado Homura said in a deep voice, "But this is probably unavoidable. If we don't retaliate, the prestige of the Five Great Shinobi Villages will be completely destroyed. Once the people's sense of security collapses, in the long run... if the enemy makes it a condition for not attacking, it is hard to guarantee that some villages will compromise."

"The efforts made in the past few years on the joint effort will be ruined."

Shuji nodded: "But before that, we need to investigate the threats around the village first."

Jiraiya finally turned around.

The light from the window illuminated half of his face, while the other half remained in shadow: "You're talking about... Amegakure, right?"

“Exactly,” Xiu Si replied. “First, we need to confirm the current situation of Rain Village. Then, we need to thoroughly clear the area between the five great nations of Wind, Fire, Earth, Lightning, and Water, and establish a connected defensive space.”

"Make sure the villages have enough time to react when we set out."

"With the Land of Snow producing weapons of that caliber, even Lord Onoki should realize that this matter is closely related to all the ninja villages."

(End of this chapter)