Konoha Notes

Chapter 66 Classmates and the Thousand Hands

Itachi had to leave, should we find someone else to go with? We don't know where Anko is right now...

Forget it, I'll just take a walk around by myself. It's been so tiring. It's good to clear my head once in a while.

Konoha Village isn't small, but there aren't many places worth visiting, and there aren't many interesting entertainment facilities nowadays...

"Hey! Shuji."

A somewhat unconventional voice rang out from behind.

Shuji looked in the direction of the voice and saw a boy wearing a ninja hat with his bangs covering his right eye.

Next to him was a spiky-haired guy who looked to be about the same age, and another... well... Byakugan... a member of the Hyuga clan.

Images from my memory flashed by quickly, and the person matched up.

Izumo Kamui, Tetsuko, and Tokuma Hyuga are Shuji's classmates at the Ninja Academy.

Shuji stopped and walked towards the three of them.

"You bastard!" Izumo Kamui strode over and slapped Shuji hard on the back. "I heard you became a Special Jonin? And even completed an S-rank mission? And you still have that 'who are you?' look on your face when we meet!"

"Ah, I was just thinking about something."

In his memory, his relationship with these people was neither good nor bad, but after three years of war, there weren't many classmates left who were still alive to see. No wonder he came out with this kind of attitude.

Unlike Shuuji's team, who were on the border of Kumogakure, Izumo Kamui, Tetsuo Koko, and Tokuma Hyuga seemed to be heading towards Iwagakure.

Just one year after Kumogakure deployed troops to the border, Iwagakure also broke the alliance and repeatedly harassed Konoha's borders. Fortunately, Sunagakure was still an ally of Konoha at this time, and with Sunagakure's assistance, Konoha's defensive pressure in the west was not particularly great.

"Where are Kaito and Shota? Why aren't they here..." Hedgehog-haired Kotetsu was only halfway through his sentence when Hyuga Tokuma suddenly nudged him with his elbow.

These are the names of Shuuji's two teammates.

The atmosphere suddenly froze.

Izumo Kamitsuki immediately chuckled and awkwardly changed the subject: "Um... Shuji, where are you headed?"

"Let's find a place to eat."

"What a coincidence! We were just about to go too, want to come together? Ichiraku Ramen?"

Ramen… Shuuji preferred to treat himself to something better, but seeing the embarrassment and slight guilt on the faces of the three men who had misspoke, he nodded: “Okay.”

The lively atmosphere at Ichiraku Ramen is as vibrant as ever, with the rich aroma of bone broth mingling with the chatter of diners.

For ninjas' income, the prices here are very affordable, cheap and delicious, and can fill their stomachs, making it a good place to go.

The four men sat at the counter. Tetsuo called out to Uncle Ichiraku, "Boss, give him an extra serving of char siu! It's on me, to celebrate his promotion to Special Jonin!"

Izumo Kamitsu rested her chin on her hand and looked at the menu: "Then I'll have some fried shrimp."

Hyuga Tokuma succinctly stated: "Add some squid."

Shuji looked at them and raised an eyebrow: "That's all?"

Gangzi Tie immediately responded: "Uncle! Give him more noodles!"

"plus one!"

"plus one!"

After a few bowls of noodles, the awkwardness from before had long been dispelled by the hot soup and jokes. The conversation naturally turned to the biggest focus of the village at the moment—the Cloud Village delegation.

“If we can really reach an agreement,” Kotetsu slurped his noodles, mumbling, “we can focus on dealing with those bastards from Iwagakure in the west. With allies helping us, peace… shouldn’t be far off, right?”

“Yes, but there are actually some people in the village who are unhappy about this.” Izumo Kamizuki picked at the few noodles left in his bowl with his chopsticks. “After all, they started the war, and the village is organizing everyone to welcome them.”

"There's no other way, for the sake of peace..." Kotetsu's voice was low, his eyes glancing at Shuuji.

Shuji silently drank his noodle soup.

“I won’t go with you that day,” Hyuga Tokuma said.

"Such a big thing, Tokuma, aren't you going to go and see?" Kotetsu asked in surprise.

The boy from Hinata explained.

"It's the eldest daughter of the main family's third birthday. There are important matters to be dealt with in the clan, so everyone will be returning to the clan's territory. We have already informed the Hokage."

"A birthday? We've never made such a big fuss about this before, have we?"

Tokuma simply shook his head and remained silent.

For the Hyuga clan, the eldest daughter of the main family turning three is no ordinary day.

Yi Le's space is limited now, and after the group finished their noodles, three more loafers appeared on the street.

"Should we go inside and take a look..." Gangzitie stood at the entrance of a shop, his face full of longing.

Shuji looked down at the sign by the door—"Bitter Joy." "This is an izakaya," he said. "A karaoke-style izakaya, we don't serve..."

"Shut up! Of course I know about that kind of thing!" Gangzi Tie put his arm around Xiuji's shoulder. "I'm just looking for a place to sit down."

"Ahem, Zitie's words make some sense." Kagura Izumo nodded.

"Besides, with a special Jonin leading the way, it should be alright, right?"

It's no use poking me anymore. Just because I can chop people up doesn't mean I'm old enough to drink.

It'll be troublesome if Granny Taohua finds out...

Shuji lifted his foot to leave, but Kotetsu pulled hard, and Izumo Shingetsu tugged at him.

Xiu Si was startled by the immense strength. But he still managed to move his body one step, two steps at a time, with great difficulty.

"What are you guys doing here!"

The calm yet stern rebuke startled Izumo and Kotetsu, causing them to release their grip.

The man walked up to the group.

“This isn’t a place for people your age, Izumo, Kotetsu, I…” The man noticed someone who seemed out of place, “Shuji?”

"Good morning, Uncle." Xiu Si greeted him.

“You’ve reached the age where you’re interested in izakayas, but this isn’t the right place.” Hayami Shigeru put away his serious expression. “If you want to take a look, let’s go somewhere else.”

"...Um, Uncle Hayami, Shuji is the same age as us. Aren't you being a bit too hurtful to say that?" Kouji's face twitched.

Shingetsu Izumo nodded repeatedly.

Hayami Shigeru gave the two of them a cold glance, then looked at Hyuga Tokuma: "Tokuma-kun, are you interested too?"

“No, I’ll pass.” Hyuga Tokuma immediately refused.

Hayami Shigeru snorted, "If you want to see it, then come with me." His gaze fell on Shuji, "Shuji, let's go together."

As he spoke, he led the way. Kotetsu and Izumo Kamizuki winked at Tokuma Hyuga and made a fierce expression at Shuji before following Hayami Shigeru.

The four of them turned left and right and arrived at an old-fashioned izakaya (Japanese pub) that had been around for a while. The sign read "Yama no Ya" (Mountain House).

"Like this kind."

"Zitie, let's go back."

"Come in!" Hayami Shigeru shouted, pulling back the curtain.

The interior was not as old as it looked from the outside. There was space at the counter and a few customers at other tables. When they saw that it was Hayami Shigeru, they greeted him and even mocked him for bringing his child to drink, saying that they would complain to the Ministry of Government later.

Hayami didn't take it seriously and walked straight to the counter, saying to the owner, "Give these two boys a glass of milk." He pointed to Kotetsu and Izumo, "Find a corner to sit in."

The two were dejectedly relegated to a small table in the corner.

Hayami Shigeru and Shuji sat down at the counter.

"Just give me a glass of water," Shuji said to the shopkeeper.

It seems that the brief period of relaxation has come to an end.

"Izumo and Kotetsu, too?" he asked softly.

Hayami Shigeaki nodded slightly: "The Shingetsu and Kou families followed Lord Hashirama's orders and felt that since they had disbanded, they should not go back, as this would go against that lord's will."

No wonder she didn't have the memory of those two people's identities. But thinking back, Tsunade used these two people when she first returned to the village in the original work, so it's not surprising.

"Regarding the protective gear wear and tear you submitted earlier," Hayami Shigeru said, taking a sip of his drink before getting to the point.

"Since annihilating the Black Erosion Clan is an official duty assigned by the village, it can be reported."

"However, there are some issues with the mission report."

"I've taken care of it for you. Next time, please make sure to list this type of loss separately in the material loss section of the mission report's appendix, and don't mix it in the mission process description. The administration department only looks at the format, not the content, which can easily cause problems."

"Thank you, Uncle Hayami."

Hayami Shigeru waved his hand and looked at Shuji: "It's just a small matter. If we don't help each other, we really won't be able to handle things if something happens later."

"Grandma Taohua is getting old and doesn't understand that the village is different from before. There used to be only so many people, but now there are more and more people. We can't do without uniting together."

“Look at the Uchiha, the losers of the Warring States period, they eventually rose above us precisely because they were able to maintain unity.”

"Alright, I won't say any more. Those two kids are about to lose their temper."

He stood up and patted Shuuji on the shoulder: "I'll leave the rest to you... Oh, by the way, the owner of this shop is one of our own, so if you really want a drink, it's fine."

Shuji watched as Hayami Shigeru walked to the corner to rescue the two boys who were living in agony, his gaze falling on the glass of clear water in front of him.

(End of this chapter)