Konoha Notes

Chapter 78 Response
This time, the lounge provided by Sunagakure was much more spacious.

Red Bean let out a heavy sigh, patted her chest, and her face still showed signs of shock: "That Sand Village advisor's aura was so intimidating. How did you manage to remain calm, Shuji? My legs would have gone weak in the knees."

"Moreover, isn't it a problem to agree to so many conditions? Captain, you even killed the Iwagakure envoy on the spot."

Xiu Si rubbed his temples: "It's nothing. My permissions were confirmed before I went on the mission."

Even if there isn't one, you must never show weakness in this situation. You should talk, respond, and wait for instructions. Otherwise, you won't get anything done.

"As for that Iwagakure envoy, even if Advisor Ebizo doesn't bring him out, I'll have to find an opportunity to kill him after we finish talking."

Red Bean lay on the table, muttering, "But how did our mission get to this point? We came here to explain the situation to our allies, and now..."

First, Iwagakure laid an ambush; then, it seemed like Sunagakure had turned against them; then, it seemed like Sunagakure hadn't turned against them; next, it seemed like Sunagakure was about to turn against them; and finally, Sunagakure didn't turn against them.

The face of the Sand Village changed faster than the wind in the desert.

The young Jonin was also a little tired, so he closed his eyes to rest.

So-called alliances during times of war are nothing more than this.

In such times, the life of an envoy is either one of great success and abundant honor, or one of death and obscurity.

The Cloud Village Messenger is one, the Rock Village Messenger is another, and if he doesn't handle things well, he won't be any different from the former two.

The matter of Sunagakure has not yet been truly settled. The agreement reached with Ebizo is only a preliminary one. The final decision will depend on the return of the Kazekage from the northern fortress.

As for Ebizo bringing out the Iwagakure envoy for Shuji to kill, it only shows that this advisor's actual stance was more inclined towards Konoha.

If the Kazekage returns and decides to turn against them, he can, since the person was killed by a Konoha ninja.
-
Konoha was now shrouded in dark clouds.

Genma's squad brought back disastrous intelligence—Sunagakure ninjas were involved in the ambush of Konoha's forces.

Although it is only speculation about the Sand Village's change of stance, it is undoubtedly adding insult to injury for the Konoha leadership, who are already overwhelmed by the Cloud Village's messenger incident.

Inside the Hokage Building, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane, Danzo Shimura, and Shikaku Nara, the leader of the Jonin team, gathered together.

Bad news comes one after another.

The official accountability document from Ray Shadow has arrived, and it is strongly worded.

The Cloud Village border forces have once again confronted Konoha on the eastern front in the Land of Hot Springs, with several small-scale clashes breaking out in just one day, creating a tense atmosphere.

Even more troublesome is the Hidden Mist Village. Several Hidden Mist Village squads took advantage of the chaos to land and scout along the eastern coastline of the Land of Fire.

Fugaku Uchiha volunteered to help the village, and the police force agreed to send personnel.

After an emergency meeting at the top, it was decided that Uchiha Shisui would lead the team there, and they have temporarily repelled the Kirigakure squad.

But this signal is extremely dangerous—if Kirigakure were to intervene and cause trouble, even if it were just to provide Kumogakure with a small amount of food supplies, it could cause Konoha a great deal of trouble.

"From the Cloud Village side, Jonin Kitamura's latest report," Mitokado Homura pushed up his glasses, "although the other side is making frequent moves, the intensity of the conflict is kept below the Chunin level, and troop movements are limited to their existing defense zones."

Koharu Utatane turned her gaze to the leader of Root: "Danzo, any further information regarding Iwagakure?"

"Not yet."

Time was too short; even the most efficient spies infiltrating Iwagakure needed room to maneuver. An invisible pressure weighed on Nara Shikaku. The four men focused their attention, awaiting the judgment of this Konoha strategist.

Nara Shikaku rubbed his temples, forcing himself to stay alert: "The intervention of Kirigakure is more of a test and an attempt to take advantage of the situation."

“Unlike the other three major powers, they do not have enough strategic motivation and strength to gain substantial benefits on land far from the coastline.”

"Their threat level can be assessed as secondary for the time being."

He then shifted his focus to the core issue: "Regarding the Sand Village, Team 5 has yet to send back any concrete information."

"Combined with the information brought back by the Genma Squad, this silence is all the more intriguing."

"More likely, Sunagakure is still wavering and has not yet made a final decision."

"The most powerful support we, living in the village, can provide for the fifth class right now is to create momentum."

Nara Shikaku's gaze swept over everyone, and he said, "The 'attack the west, defend the east' strategy decided at the Jonin meeting can no longer be implemented due to the Sunagakure's unclear stance. There are currently two feasible strategies."

He held up one finger: "First, we should take the initiative to launch an attack on the eastern front of the Land of Hot Springs, seek a victory of sufficient magnitude, severely damage the Cloud Village frontline troops, force them to face reality and abandon their illusions of war, thereby stabilizing the eastern front. This is the most direct and effective solution."

The plan was proposed, but the room fell silent.

Everyone knew that if a decisive victory could be easily achieved on the Eastern Front, peace would have already arrived. This plan was extremely risky, and if it failed, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Nara Shikaku understood immediately and raised his second finger: "Secondly, a two-pronged approach. On one hand, continue to put pressure on Kumogakure on the eastern front, maintaining a high-pressure stance to prevent them from making any rash moves. On the other hand, and most importantly—immediately dispatch an envoy to Kumogakure to formally restart peace talks!"

His gaze sharpened: "The Cloud Village's current restraint on the eastern front is itself a signal—"

"They are still willing to negotiate, but they need a higher price to save face and make up for the losses caused by the Akai incident."

“Send envoys there. Even if the negotiations ultimately fail, as long as the outside world, especially Sunagakure and Iwagakure, sees that Kumogakure is more inclined to negotiate with Konoha than to fight to the death, their desire for war will be greatly curbed.”

“When weighing the options, Sunagakure will lean more towards Konoha than be tied to Iwagakure.”

“Kumakunobi’s attitude does indeed lean more towards continuing negotiations,” Mitokado Homura added, “but this time, the price they’re demanding will inevitably be far greater than before. Sending Jonin isn’t enough to deal with them.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi cannot leave the village. Danzo needs to oversee intelligence gathering and Root operations in the Iwagakure area.

The candidate can only be one of the two advisors.

“I’ll lead the team to Kumogakure,” Mitokado Homura said. “Later, I’ll go to the Sealing Team.”

As an advisor, he knew too much; before he could be sent to a ninja village that was still hostile, he had to make arrangements for his own death.

Hiruzen Sarutobi silently lit his pipe, tacitly accepting the decision amidst the swirling smoke.

Xiaochun, who was turning over to her room, looked solemn and had no objection to this.

The two advisors had already conducted a private deduction, and faced with the possible extreme measures of the Cloud Village, Mitokado Homura's reaction and decision-making ability were superior.

“The scale and prestige of the mission must be large enough,” Nara Shikaku added, “This is to give a boost to the reputation of the Jonin Shuji in Sunagakure.”

“I will take care of their safety.” Hiruzen Sarutobi put down his pipe. “From the moment the delegation leaves the village until they enter the border of the Land of Hot Springs, I will personally lead the escort!”

(End of this chapter)