Konoha Notes

Chapter 348 Roaring
As people get older, they inevitably experience lighter sleep. Even trained ninjas will eventually lose control of their bodies as time goes by.

Ohnoki is seventy years old, and even when he has some worries, he usually doesn't have trouble falling asleep.

But what he heard tonight kept his mind racing.

Onoki had heard about the so-called new order and new path two years ago. He'd seen how he actually implemented it, and frankly, he was extremely envious of Konoha's effortless handling of the situation this year.

Regardless of what happened, the current joint structure was maintained, allowing the five major ninja villages to operate in a coordinated manner in practice.

Onoki, who fought three Shinobi World Wars, knew all too well what it was like when clouds, mist, and sand worked together.

Konoha has been repeatedly attacked over the years. Apart from the fact that a few people always manage to stand up, the fundamental reason is that each of the ninja villages has its own agenda. Even if one village is willing to take the lead and withstand Konoha's attacks, the others will only go their own way.

If they had the same level of teamwork they've shown this year, Konoha would have been gone at least eight years ago.

Onoki rolled over.

Rōshi always acted like an excellent ninja, but chose to leave when the village settled down.

Under constant pressure to survive, the village's young people have always been very competent, but what about the future?

Not a hundred years from now, not a thousand years from now, but five or ten years from now.

Konoha is very strong. Shuji is nineteen this year, and he can maintain the current situation for a long time, even thirty or forty years.

What kind of people will the ninjas who grow up in this era become?

There are also mission requests...

Countless thoughts collided in his mind until the sky outside the window changed from dark black to deep blue, and then gradually showed some gray and white, before Onoki sat up.
-
Each ninja village with the capacity to host events now has an attached venue area to accommodate spectators.

Iwagakure also had one, but there wasn't a special area for entertaining ninjas before.

It wasn't until last year, after Onoki returned from Konoha, that he specially prepared dedicated areas for each of the major ninja villages, just like Konoha had done.

Shuji was the first person to enjoy the Konoha Pavilion area.

The venue area was still quiet in the early morning.

When Ōnoki found Shuji, he was sitting on a low stool at an open-air food stall.

It was an inconspicuous stall—a large iron pot on a stone stove, a few simple wooden tables and stools, and its signboard was the steam rising from the pot when the lid was lifted.

"Good morning, Lord Tsuchikage."

Shuji looked up, still holding the wooden spoon in his hand; he looked like he had rested well.

Onoki floated over and sat down on the stool opposite him.

“The mutton in the Land of Earth is delicious.” Shuji said, scooping up a spoonful of soup and putting it in his mouth, letting out a satisfied sigh. “It’s such a pity that I couldn’t have it yesterday.”

"Are you complaining about the poor hospitality of Iwagakure?" Onoki floated over and sat down, gesturing for him to have a bowl as well.

“If you could be even more enthusiastic and extravagant,” Shuuji smiled, “I would be truly grateful.”

"Those who can only bring problems should not expect anything in return."

Having not slept all night, the warm mutton soup gave his body some energy and relieved Onoki's fatigue a little.

Shuji continued eating at a leisurely pace, and Onoki didn't rush to speak either. After finishing a bowl of soup, Tsuchikage's body warmed up, and his thoughts became clearer as well.

“Since you don’t want to go back to Konoha,” Onoki put down his bowl and looked at Shuji, “then take a look around the Land of Earth.”

He stood up—or rather, he floated even higher. Shuuji understood and stood up as well.

"Aren't you going to pay the bill?" Shuji took out some money from his pocket and placed it on the table. "I'll only pay for my share." "Someone will naturally pay for this old man's bill." Ono didn't reply. "But you, kid, remember to pay the full amount."
-
Onoki didn't take Shuji anywhere special. After leaving the stadium area, he flew straight to another nearby, relatively secluded hilltop with a wide view.

“Yesterday there was one mountain, today there is another. Lord Tsuchikage, you are proving with your actions that my choice of this official travel route was correct,” Shuji said. “Even the most magnificent scenery loses its novelty after two days in a row.”

"I haven't slept all night, do you expect me to arrange a song and dance performance and a hot spring banquet for you?" Onoki floated to his side and said irritably, "Watch if you want, or shut up if you don't."

But the awakened earth is different from the earth at dusk.

As dawn broke through the eastern horizon, the first light painted the sky a pale gold, and then gradually illuminated the reddish-brown earth below.

The rock strata revealed delicate textures under the light, the shadows deep in the canyon slowly receded, and the thousand-meter-high natural rock wall stood silently between heaven and earth in the distance.

The wind was strong, and Shuji squinted, showing no dissatisfaction with the scene before him.

"Alright, kid, let's get down to business. All those topics are too far-fetched. What exactly are you planning to do?"

"If we have to pinpoint the ultimate goal, it's to separate the traditional ninja world from the systems of various countries," Shuji said.

"Stripping?" Onoki frowned.

"Assassination, war, espionage, sabotage... these are some of the parts."

Onoki frowned even more deeply: "Then what should ninjas do? And what should ninja villages be?"

"Isn't exploring what ninjas should be doing something that every ninja village is doing?"

"Commercialized martial arts competitions can accommodate a considerable number of ninjas skilled in combat. Beyond that, even if not by choice, Sunagakure is exploring how to maintain its own oasis."

"Yugaku Village has almost become a tourist village."

"Lord Tsuchikage, 'How to survive after the war ends'—every ninja village answers this question in its own way. But most of the time, we're used to treating these attempts as 'side jobs' or 'supplements,' rather than..."

Xiu Si paused, searching for the right words.

"What the future truly looks like."

Onoki remained silent.

"You mean," Onoki said slowly, "that the ninja village should transform?"

“What the ninja village represents is, in essence, a collection of ‘powerful people’ within a nation,” Shuji said. “It symbolizes the region’s need for stability and security—but stability and security do not necessarily have to be achieved through war and killing.”

Just then, a huge explosion came from the southwest, and Onoki's face immediately darkened.

This commotion, this timing, it's Deidara again.

He glanced at Shuuji: "Even with this kind of power?"

Shuji nodded: "Even with that kind of power."

Only then did Onoki say, "Things probably won't go as you expect."

“I know,” Shuji said, his tone not one of frustration, but of composure. “That’s why I came here this time hoping that Lord Onoki can persuade the daimyo of the Land of Earth in a subsequent proposal from the Joint Secretariat.”

Onoki narrowed his eyes: "What proposal?"

"Regarding formal legislation, all unofficial life-or-death gladiatorial matches that use ninjas as the stakes should be prohibited," Shuji said. "This is the first step—to clearly draw a line: what things ninjas should not do; and what areas even nobles cannot dabble in."

"Hmph, I knew it, you had other motives."

But he did not refuse; he simply floated there, gazing at his village.

(End of this chapter)