Konoha Notes

Chapter 375 The Sprouting Seed

Spiritualism itself is not complicated.

However, it still took Xiu Si quite a while to establish a contract with a tree and become familiar with that subtle sense of connection.

By the time he finally confirmed that the dark brown mother plant could respond to the call when needed, the clock on the laboratory wall had already passed nine o'clock in the evening.

Before leaving the lab, he picked up a simple report from the table. It was a daily briefing left by the Anbu, and one of the brief entries mentioned: Kabuto Yakushi went to the detached residence in the stadium area this afternoon to meet with Fu, a Jinchuriki from Takigakure who was temporarily residing there, and had a preliminary discussion about health checks and chakra assessments. Fu was very cooperative.

In this regard, one can only say that Orochimaru has truly experienced the joy of life.

Having someone who is capable, loves to work, and won't mess things up as a helper makes any ideas you have much more effective.

At least he himself will have a much easier time.

Retirement seems to be coming sooner than I expected.

After leaving the lab and going home for a nap, Shuji leisurely entered the Hokage's office the next day.

"You seem to be in a good mood," Tsunade said. "What, have you found another excuse to go on a publicly funded trip?"

"I don't have such thoughts for now," Shuji said. "It's simply because the seed I planted has sprouted, and I feel a little more hope for the future."

"Seeds? In a bag?"

She knew that Shuuji had gone to the western suburbs laboratory yesterday, and the Anbu had also given a brief report on Kabuto's actions afterward.

Tsunade said, "That is indeed a talented person."

"Kakashi should have it much easier from now on."

Shuji did not respond.

He simply leaned back on the sofa, closed his eyes, and let the sunlight streaming in from the window envelop him. The warm, fuzzy touch seeped into his skin.

All I could hear was the rustling of Tsunade turning the pages, the subtle friction of her pen gliding across the paper, and the occasional whispered word or two.

Sleepiness crept in again.

Perhaps because the atmosphere was too quiet, Shuji's consciousness began to become hazy, floating on the edge of being half-asleep.

Until a scroll was thrown onto the coffee table in front of him.

He first glanced at the wall clock—10:47. He actually dozed off for more than half an hour.

Tsunade was no longer behind her desk, but sitting on a low sofa with her legs crossed, holding a cup of hot tea.

“It’s from the Hidden Cloud Village,” she said. “It’s the Raikage’s proposal.”

Xiu Si sat up straight and unrolled the scroll.

The content is not long, and the core proposal is simple: In view of the current threat of tailed beasts faced by the five great ninja villages, as well as the newly emerging "spore technique" and other difficult-to-prevent infiltration methods, it is necessary to establish a real-time communication system exclusively for the five Kage.

It was followed by a long string of technical names and model codes, which, just from the words alone, certainly gave the impression of "this is the latest technology".

“The technical details are here.” Tsunade gently nudged another, thicker folder under the coffee table with her toe. “The Raikage sent it over along with the proposal. Apparently, this system was originally spearheaded by the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning, intended as a secure communication channel exclusively for the Daimyo of the five great nations.”

Shuji quickly skimmed through the main body of the proposal, then opened the thick folder. Several black-and-white design drawings and densely packed technical specifications came into view. His gaze fell on a schematic diagram of the equipment's exterior.

Hmm, it looks like high-end technology, but the equipment looks like an old-fashioned CRT television set with a screen size of about 10 inches.

Each village must deploy one group of five ninja villages.

"Did the Raikage steal it from the Daimyo?" Shuji laughed. "They didn't even bring out this thing when things were so tense at the beginning of the year."

"It's hard to say. After all, the daimyo have all sorts of concerns in private, and they have many secret channels for communication that they wouldn't open to the ninja villages." Tsunade also felt that it seemed like the Hidden Cloud Village was following its traditional practices.

"But, seeing how eager the Raikage is to push this forward..."

"At least this shows that someone's earlier assessment that 'this high-level meeting will not yield any substantial results' seems to be inaccurate?"

Shuji closed the folder.

"I will discuss the specific plans for defense cooperation at a subsequent formal meeting," he said calmly. "As for this proposal... I would rather they were a little more eager."

"Oh?"

“The more anxious they are, the more it shows they’re really starting to worry.” Xiu Si leaned back on the sofa. “And worry is often the beginning of change.”

Tsunade chuckled softly and didn't continue the topic.

The office fell silent again.

“By the way,” he suddenly said, “I have some new ideas about cultivating immortal arts.”

Tsunade raised her eyes.

“Through assisting Anko’s training during this period, I have confirmed one thing,” Shuji continued, “By combining Wood Release and Slug, we can create conditions for those with outstanding chakra to practice Sage Mode while ensuring maximum safety.”

Tsunade's expression turned serious: "You mean... mass production?"

"It's not about large-scale production, but we can at least try to expand the scope."

"After all, we don't know how long this tug-of-war will last, and it's too much for Hongdou to handle alone."

"It is necessary to increase the number of users of natural energy and enhance the village's options and resilience in dealing with special threats."

He looked at Tsunade: "Speaking of which, does Lady Tsunade really have no interest in practicing Sage Mode at all? With your chakra, if you were willing to try, your progress should be much faster than Anko's."

"No need, Lord Shuji." Tsunade waved her hand without hesitation, her movements crisp and clean. "I don't have the talent to instantly enter Sage Mode. When it really comes to using natural energy, the slug is enough, convenient and worry-free."

She steered the conversation back on track: "How do you plan to choose people? Pick from the Jonin?"

“The initial plan is to proceed in two steps,” Shuji said thoughtfully. “First, we will select a group of people from the existing Jonin and Special Jonin who have abundant chakra reserves, excellent control, and a calm and reliable temperament to be the first batch of test subjects.”

"With the dual protection of me and the live slug, we will first explore a relatively safe and stable auxiliary cultivation path."

“Secondly,” he changed the subject, “we could also consider selecting some students with outstanding chakra talent and solid foundations from the ninja academy for earlier contact and adaptive training.”

"With someone supervising and guiding you throughout the process, slowly adapting to natural energy from a young age should have a subtle but positive effect on the long-term growth of your physique and chakra."

(End of this chapter)