Konoha Notes

Chapter 6 Blood
Deep within the village, Shinya sat on a smooth, worn stone. He appeared unremarkable, of medium build, dressed in ordinary coarse cloth, easily overlooked in a crowd. Only when he looked up at Shirakawa Kisuke did a fleeting, enigmatic glint appear in his eyes.

"The Daimyo Prefecture has sent people again." Shirakawa Kisuke's voice was hoarse as he stared straight at Shinya. "You... you should go out and avoid the area."

Koichiro and several other young men immediately grumbled in dissatisfaction, shouting, "What are you afraid of?" Shinya, however, nodded unexpectedly, his attitude even bordering on sincere: "You're right, we should avoid it." He bowed slightly.

Kisuke Shirakawa's tense shoulders relaxed slightly, almost imperceptibly. "It's not easy out there. Tonight... have something to eat and drink before you go." He gestured for the people behind him to put down their loads.

"Thank you..." Shinya's smile deepened, and a few lines appeared at the corners of his eyes. "Koichiro, call everyone over. Eat your fill, rest a bit, and we'll leave at dawn."

The village quickly became lively.

Many people looked reluctant to leave again, but Shinya clearly had a way of calming them down.

During the meal, Shirakawa Kisuke and his entourage were unusually hospitable, constantly urging him to drink and eat, and repeatedly reminding him to be careful on the road.

After a few rounds of drinks, an unnatural blush appeared on Koichiro and the others' faces, and their eyes began to glaze over.

Shinmi also drank quite a bit, but his eyes remained clear and bright, and a faint smile played at the corners of his mouth.

As Shirakawa Kisuke watched, his heart sank—beneath that smile, something cold seemed to be hidden.

The night deepened, and a pale moon hung in the treetops. As the sounds of snoring rose and fell from the village, Shirakawa Kisuke slowly rose and waved to the dark shadows of the forest.

A faint rustling sound came from the bushes, like a snake slithering through fallen leaves.

Led by Shirakawa Sosuke, the villagers, wielding their razor-sharp farm tools, quietly emerged from the shadows.

At first, some people hesitated, but when the first short scream ripped through the silence of the night, their expressions quickly froze, leaving only a numb resolve.

“They chose this path themselves.” Sosuke’s voice was not loud, but it was as piercing as an ice pick.

“Robbing caravans drags the whole village into a fire.” He scanned the crowd. “Think about your empty rice jars, think about the goods you can’t sell.”

Screams, the dull thuds of blunt force striking flesh, and the dying whimpers mingled together, and a strong stench of blood permeated the chilly air.

Sosuke's voice was unusually clear amidst the chaos: "Once the small caravans are all killed, they will eventually target the merchants who do business with us."

"Once people have tasted the pleasure of getting something for nothing, they can never turn back."

"This is retribution for their listening to the instigation of outsiders!"

The last sentence was almost squeezed out through gritted teeth.

Under the moonlight, the villagers' sickles and pitchforks dripped with dark red liquid, each drop hitting the soil with a dull "tap, tap" sound.

The old man walked to Shinya's "corpse," poked it a few times with a pitchfork, and then stood up and said in a loud voice, "Pack your things."

He didn't even glance at Shirakawa Kisuke, whose face was deathly pale.

There weren't many valuables in the village, so Shirakawa Sousuke gave a portion to everyone who was going to work that night, and gathered the rest together.

"These, along with these..." The old man pointed to the corpses lying scattered on the ground, his voice eerily calm, "Take these and hand them over, Kisuke. Tell those two ninjas that these are all that's left; the rest have probably been squandered by the thieves."

"Yes...yes." Shirakawa Kisuke's voice trembled violently.

"This matter ends here. No one is allowed to mention it again." The old man's gaze swept across the faces of every villager like a knife. "The thieves were wiped out by Konoha ninjas. Just tell everyone that." He only looked away after everyone nodded stiffly.

The Shirakawa village troops, carrying their meager "spoils," silently disappeared into the deepest darkness before dawn. Only deathly silence and the pungent stench of blood remained in the village.

As a sliver of gray appeared on the horizon, a figure slowly sat up from the pile of corpses. Shinmi patted his blood-stained clothes, gazing at the faintly brightening eastern sky, a playful smile playing on his lips.

"I was originally planning to let it rest for a while longer..." he muttered to himself, a hint of mockery in his voice, "but now it's much easier."

He looked around, his gaze sweeping over the corpses of the villagers who had once obeyed him, and his smile deepened: "Now you can go to the Land of Tea and live a peaceful life."

"Ninja?" A cold voice suddenly rang out.

Shinya froze, then abruptly looked up.

A boy dressed in dark green ninja attire stood silently atop the dilapidated wooden fence of the village, his headband reflecting a cold light in the dim light.

He fell as lightly as a leaf.

Shinya's pupils contracted sharply, and he instantly retreated several steps, his muscles tensing as he stared intently at the Leaf Village symbol on his opponent's forehead.

“A group of ordinary people were able to slip from the Land of Rivers to the Land of Fire, and then to the Land of Rain. Sure enough, there must be someone pulling the strings behind the scenes.” Shuuji’s voice was calm, but his gaze was like a probe.

Shinya's Adam's apple bobbed, but his voice was surprisingly steady: "A bunch of petty thieves causing trouble, at most a C-rank mission. Less than twenty people, the reward from the Land of Rivers won't exceed fifty thousand taels." His eyes were fixed on Shuji's hands, on guard against any sign of hand seals.

“This money…” he said, subtly adjusting his breathing, “isn’t enough to make two ninjas fight to the death. I didn’t directly take action, and my name isn’t on the wanted list in the Land of Rivers. If you report the truth and let me go, the mission will still be considered complete.” He slightly spread his hands, indicating that he was not a threat for the time being. “Why risk it for such a small amount of money? There are too many variables in a ninja battle.”

"Looks like you know the ropes." Shuuji's fingers lightly rested on the ninja tool pouch at his waist. "Deliberately controlling the scale to ensure the bounty isn't enough to trigger a ninja conflict?" Shinya's lips curled into a faint smile: "The corpses on the ground are enough for you to get by."

“Theoretically, that’s correct.” Shuuji nodded. “Requests from the Land of Rivers are accepted by Konoha, Sunagakure, and Amegakure. To be able to pinpoint the reward so precisely… Sunagakure? Or Amegakure?”

"Let me guess, being so cautious, you are..."

Before he could finish speaking, a "corpse" behind Xiu Si suddenly sprang up, splintering wood and revealing a cold, humanoid puppet underneath.

The puppet's joints made a piercing "click" sound, and its mouth opened, from which dozens of senbon needles gleaming with a ghostly blue light shot out!

Shuji reacted extremely quickly, turning around instantly to deal with the situation.

The moment his attention was drawn to the puppet, Shinmi's hands had already turned into a blurry afterimage!

His wide sleeves resembled the open neck folds of a venomous snake, from which hundreds of poisoned senbon needles burst forth in the dim light.

At the same time, his chest bulged high, as if the surrounding air had been instantly sucked away.

"Wind Escape·Big Breakthrough!"

A violent gust of air erupted from Shinmi's mouth, whipping up a sky full of poisonous senpai.

The power of the wind endowed the hidden weapons with terrifying speed and penetrating force, forming a howling net of death that covered Xiu Si's entire back!

"Puff puff puff puff——"

The dense sounds of flesh being penetrated were like raindrops hitting banana leaves.

Shuji's body jolted violently, then began to tremble uncontrollably. Countless tiny blossoms of blood instantly appeared on his eyes, cheeks, neck, chest, and limbs.

The dark blue venom quickly spread around the wound. He staggered, then fell straight forward, crashing heavily onto the cold, muddy ground, where he remained motionless.

Shirakawa Village was shrouded in a thin morning mist before dawn. The air was cold and damp, carrying the scent of earth and vegetation, yet it couldn't mask a faint, almost imperceptible, smell of rust.

Itachi stood at the village entrance, watching the villagers silently walk into the village with a few simple packages.

There was no sadness on their faces, only a heavy weariness and numbness.

Kisuke Shirakawa walked at the back, his steps unsteady, as if he might collapse at any moment.

Itachi's appearance was like a stone thrown into stagnant water; the group stopped, and everyone's eyes were focused on this small figure.

Sousuke Shirakawa parted the crowd and walked to the front. His wrinkled face resembled a piece of dried tree bark, and his eyes were sharp and cold.

“Konoha ninja sir,” the old man’s voice was hoarse, “the thieves have been wiped out. There’s not much left, it’s all here.” He pointed to the packages, “The village chief will explain the situation to you.”

Itachi's gaze swept over the villagers' clothes and farm tools, which were stained with dark red dirt.

His gaze finally settled on Sousuke's face, his dark, jade-like eyes calm and undisturbed, his voice clear and penetrating the morning mist:
"Senior Shuji asked me to pass on this message to everyone."

The village entrance was deathly silent; even breathing was hushed.

"First, Konoha already knows the whole story of what happened in the village last night."

These words were like a piece of ice thrown into the crowd, causing several villagers to visibly sway.

Kisuke Shirakawa suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with terror.

Sosuke's face instantly darkened, and the veins on the back of his hand gripping his cane bulged.

Itachi's voice remained flat as he continued, "Secondly, we must maintain a unified narrative: the bandits were tracked down and eliminated by Konoha ninja Shuji, myself, and Uchiha Itachi. The villagers of Shirakawa provided necessary assistance during the process."

He paused, looking into Sousuke's eyes: "Third, your act of cleaning up your own house is a matter of village affairs, and Konoha will not comment on it or intervene. The premise is that this matter is completely resolved and there are no further troubles affecting the business route or the client."

Sousuke stared intently at Itachi, his chest heaving violently. After a long while, he finally managed to squeeze out a voice through clenched teeth: "...I understand." The sound was like sandpaper rubbing together.

Itachi nodded slightly, said no more, turned around, and his small figure silently disappeared into the dissipating mist, moving quickly towards the village.

The villagers stood frozen in place until the weasel's figure completely disappeared, at which point a suppressed commotion and whispers erupted, fear and lingering dread clinging to them like cold vines.

Sousuke slammed his cane down and shouted sternly, "Shut up! Do as the ninja lord says! Clean up and get back to what you were doing! No one dares to utter a single word of what we said today—"

His bloodshot eyes swept over the crowd, and he didn't say the rest of his words, but the chilling aura he exuded silenced everyone.

Kisuke Shirakawa looked at Sosuke, his lips moved, but he ultimately said nothing. His hunched back seemed to collapse even further.

(End of this chapter)