Konoha Notes

Chapter 68 Messenger

He's found a new teammate, Itachi Uchiha.

Who is that person who can detect me watching...?

A man with long, flowing hair, a tiger-striped mask covering his face, and wearing a dark robe, strolled casually through the forest, holding a long sword in his hand.

When his figure touched the thick tree trunk, it passed through it without any hindrance, as if the solid wood was nothing but an illusion.

"Where is he?" The voice coming from behind the mask was deep.

“It’s just ahead,” a strange voice seemed to seep from the ground.

Immediately afterwards, a figure, half black and half white, twisted and fused like a plant and a human body, slowly grew out from the tree trunk beside Obito.

"Most of Konoha's guards have been diverted by the harassment from the outside. Now, around the Cloud Village envoy's residence, there are only their own guards and a very small number of Konoha sentries. The gap... is at most three minutes."

“That’s enough.” Obito Uchiha’s voice was completely calm.

He glanced at Zetsu's strange face: "Iwagakure is really willing to spend money this time. Where did they find so many useless people?"

“Hehehe,” Jue let out a low, sticky laugh. “The war is about to end. Many rogue ninjas and wandering ninjas can’t survive in the cracks between the great powers, so they’re all running west.”

"As long as that old man Onoki controls the checkpoint and prevents them from passing, these people can only be used as cannon fodder. This 'big deal' is a rare chance for them to survive."

"Humph."

"Whether or not I had this commission, I wouldn't have let this opportunity slip by."

Xiao's reputation has gradually spread, and that's how this commission came about; he personally took charge.

Even without a formal request, tasks still need to be done.

Allowing Konoha to so easily gain a respite and form an alliance with Kumogakure? This is not good for future plans at all.

No matter how powerful any one village is, it won't work. Waiting for the perfect world to arrive amidst the chaos is the only salvation for this world.

His figure became ethereal again, silently flowing into the seemingly heavily guarded temporary base of the Hidden Cloud Village ahead.

"you……"

An alert Cloud Guardian had just noticed a slight distortion in the air and only managed to utter a single syllable.

The sound then abruptly stopped.

The two guards collapsed silently to the ground like sacks with their bones removed, with only a barely visible thin line at their throats.

The leader of this mission, Akai, was suddenly grabbed by the neck by a hand that reached out from the void!

Akai's pupils contracted sharply due to suffocation and horror, and the crimson Sharingan behind the mask's hole was clearly reflected in the eye not covered by the headband!

"Find an opportunity...to sabotage the peace talks..."

"……yes……"

Akai's eyes quickly lost focus, becoming empty and submissive, and a muffled response squeezed out from his throat.

At the same time, two milky-white, humanoid slime mold-like creatures silently seeped out from the ground and quickly covered the bodies of the two guards who had just stopped breathing.

They wriggled, greedily absorbing the remaining chakra from the corpses, their bodies twisting and changing, transforming into people whose appearance, clothing, and even subtle expressions were no different from the previous guards.

The White Zetsu swiftly cleaned up the traces at the scene. By the time they finished, the confusion in the eyes of Akai, the leader of the Cloud Village, had faded, and he had regained his normal clarity.

Just then, a Konoha squad responsible for patrolling the area arrived, following the commotion made by the guard before he collapsed.
"What's going on? Is something wrong?" The leading Konoha Jonin scanned the camp warily.

“It’s nothing,” Akai said calmly, even with a hint of annoyance at being interrupted. “Just a few annoying rats, we’ve already taken care of them. Isn’t it always like this lately? It seems your village’s defense efficiency is nothing special.”

He waved his hand, indicating that the other person could leave.

The Konoha ninja glanced at the freshly turned soil and signs of a struggle on the ground, then looked at Akai and the two expressionless but steady-breathing guards behind him.

Thinking back on the various attackers of varying skill levels encountered in recent days, although he had doubts, he also felt that it made sense—the Cloud Hidden Mission's guards were indeed quite strong, and dealing with a few harassers was no problem for them.

"Please be careful, Your Excellency," a Konoha Chunin gave a perfunctory reminder before leading his team away.

Behind his back, which he couldn't see, Akai's lips twitched upwards in an extremely subtle way.

With the close cooperation of a large number of Jonin and Chunin from Konoha, the final leg of the Cloud Village delegation's journey into Konoha proceeded smoothly without any obstacles.

Team 5 also received the latest orders: the Cloud Village envoys have been temporarily settled in a safe farm outside Konoha Village, and Team 5 is to return to the village immediately to await orders.

With the mission over, Matt Kai, who had been temporarily transferred in, naturally had to leave.

"Shuji-kun! Itachi-kun! Anko-san!"

Before parting, Kai once again ignited his signature youthful energy, raising both thumbs high, his white teeth gleaming in the sunlight.

Every moment I fought alongside you made my youth burn even brighter! This brief separation is for an even more dazzling reunion!

"Let's make a promise: for the next mission, we'll shine even brighter with the brilliance of our youth!"

Shuuji nodded without changing his expression: "Senior Kai, thank you for your hard work."

Itachi bowed slightly, maintaining the proper etiquette towards his senior: "Thank you for your help, Senior Guy."

Red Bean smiled awkwardly: "Well then, goodbye, Senior Kai."

Watching Kai's departing figure, Xiu Si still felt uneasy. What was the purpose of those who ambushed him, making such a big commotion?
And that footprint, that footprint that made them extra vigilant during their night shifts, whose did it belong to?
Shuji forced himself to stop his pointless speculation. Not all conspiracies in the world can succeed. Perhaps the person who orchestrated this incident could only find opportunities through such actions.

This is not impossible.

On the contrary, the envoy from Kumogakure, if he remembered correctly, seemed rather impolite in the part of the story he vaguely recalled.

Of course, this fits Shuuji's stereotype of Kumogakure.

They are quite strong on the battlefield and have a significant diplomatic presence, yet they always have a penchant for petty theft, which gives people a rather unsettling feeling.

The most ridiculous event was the death of the Third Raikage.

To cover his subordinates' retreat, the village's leader fought a three-day, three-night battle against ten thousand Iwagakure soldiers.

Three days and three nights later, the Fourth Shinobi World War was over, and the Hidden Cloud Village let the Third Raikage be worn down and killed.

Of course, there is no accurate information about the actual situation in either the past life or this life.

Both Kumogakure and Iwagakure kept this information completely secret.

It is also unrelated to the current situation.

Shuji planned to go back and remind the village to be wary of the envoy from Kumogakure. With three years of experience fighting on the Kumogakure border, he felt it was appropriate to offer some opinions on the matter.

Isn't that the point of becoming a Jonin? Even a Special Rank Jonin can go directly to the Hokage's office at any time.

　I'm still working on the update; I tried harder yesterday and managed to write a bit more. Thank you to all my readers for your continued support.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)