Konoha Notes

Chapter 80 Driving people away
Not wanting to continue discussing the matter of Konoha sending reinforcements, Rasa chose to end the conversation and asked Shuji to leave.

Even with the Kazekage's verbal promise to maintain the alliance, Team 5's actions in Sunagakure were still strictly restricted.

The only concession came after Shuji made several requests, at which point Sunagakure reluctantly agreed to allow them to travel to a designated commercial area within the village, accompanied by ninja.

"How strict, Sunagakure." Anko felt the gaze from behind and complained in a low voice, "We don't treat envoys from other villages this badly, do we?"

“The current Konoha has been reorganized, and the clan territories and key locations are all outside the main roads.” Shuji said while looking at the items on the shelves of the Sunagakure shop. “The village’s commercial areas are even open to the outside world, allowing trade with the outside world.”

The shelves in Sunagakure do have items, including a considerable amount of rare luxury goods such as gold, high-end spices and medicinal herbs, but the variety and prices of daily necessities are a bit too high.

Xiu Si's fingertips brushed over the everyday items, finally stopping in front of a small bottle of exquisitely packaged high-end fragrance.

He took it off, and the gazes of the Sand Village ninjas accompanying him softened considerably in an instant.

This should be reimbursable, right...?

As he made the payment, the Jonin thought to himself.

"Does the captain have someone he wants to give a gift to?"

When Hongdou heard the price of the perfume, she gasped and leaned over to smell it. "This price... it smells so good."

"I guess so, it's a gift."

After packing his things, Xiu Si lost interest in looking at them anymore and returned to his resting place.

Upon returning, they found Ebizo in their lounge.

The old man's head was lowered, his body rising and falling with soft snoring, as if he had been waiting for a long time.

"Advisor Ebizo".

"Hmm... Oh, Shuuji brat, you're finally back?" Ebizo seemed to be startled awake, slowly raising his head, his eyes squinting, looking old and tired. "An old man can't stand waiting."

His gaze swept over the small cloth bag in Xiu Si's hand, and his nostrils twitched almost imperceptibly.

"Kid, you know your stuff." His face was full of smiles, but his attitude was as if he had seen a sucker. "Sunagakure has a lot of good things, you can buy more."

"Speaking of which, after we've finished shopping, when are we going back?"

"Konoha must be getting impatient, wanting to know Sunagakure's attitude. Are you trying to get your money back by staying here?"

Shuji leisurely placed the bag aside, sat down opposite Ebizo, and poured himself a glass of water.

Konoha was naturally anxious at first because they didn't receive any news, but several days passed and Sunagakure also showed no unusual activity, which was a strong sign of stability.

The village, at this moment, should not be in a hurry.

"We haven't received Lord Kazekage's official reply yet, so it's not good to go back empty-handed."

Ebizo spread his arm, and a small scroll slid out from his wide sleeve and landed on the table.

"This is it, time to go back, kid."

"Lord Kazekage doesn't seem to want to see me," Shuuji said without looking at me.

"A sharp tongue is too annoying. The Fourth Hokage doesn't have the time to waste on your words."

“Every day we talk about reinforcements, but what kind of reinforcements? Let’s not talk nonsense.” Ebizo slammed his hand on the table. “If Konoha doesn’t deliver what it promised, Sunagakure won’t make a move.”

"I've already let you kill the Iwagakure envoy, isn't that enough of Sunagakure's sincerity?!"

"Kid, who do you think your threats can scare? Even if that old bastard Onoki is unreliable, he can still pull out his money if it comes to attacking Konoha."

"I chose Konoha because I saw that you know that among all the ninja world, only Sunagakure and Konoha have the best foundation for cooperation. It's not that we had no choice but to choose Konoha." "You brat, do you understand now?!"

Ebizo's voice grew louder and louder, as if he had gone mad. Shuji picked up the kettle and filled the empty cup in front of the old man.

The old consultant glared at him, then grabbed the cup and gulped down the water, his emotions seemingly calming down as a result.

The young Jonin then reached out and took the scroll, checked it over, and, seeing that the seal and signature on it were correct, put it away.

Ebizo watched his movements coldly, snorted, and stood up to leave.

"Get out of here tomorrow. Sunagakure will send three teams of ninja to escort Konoha's envoy back."

"Advisor Ebizo," Shuji, who had been silent until now, suddenly said, "Since both sides understand that they are the most compatible partners, why can't we cooperate sincerely?"

"In this ninja world, the only villages with the least desire to attack Sunagakure are Kirigakure and Konoha."

"The one that most desires to achieve a permanent peace with Sunagakure is also Konoha."

"Now is the time for Konoha and Sunagakure to take their friendship a step further, and it is also the best opportunity to weaken Iwagakure, their common enemy."

Ebizo remained silent. Without the pressure from Iwagakure, could Konoha still offer Sunagakure such good conditions? He didn't believe it, and neither did Rasa.

Permanent peace? Let's talk about that when the people of the desert no longer have to worry about survival.

As he watched him leave, Shuji was puzzled.

Sunagakure, why are you in such a hurry all of a sudden?

Is there some movement in the village? Or has something happened?

Team 5 couldn't hear any news from Sunagakure, and he had no way of knowing the current situation in the ninja world.

However, it's time to go back. As an envoy, this is all I can do.
-
Ebizo's ultimatum quickly became a reality. The next morning, Team 5 left Sunagakure under the protection of three full squads, a total of twelve Sunagakure ninja.

They barely stopped along the way, let alone encountered any problems.

The role of these Sand Village ninjas was less about protection and more about strict guarding to ensure that Team 5 didn't run away and led the group straight to the Land of Fire.

The good news is that because there are enough Sand Village ninjas under protection, Team 5 is able to rest for a relatively long time during their journey.

The bad news is that they were in a real rush, so much so that Xiu Si found it strange and had even more doubts in his mind.

However, since there were many Sand Village ninjas, he had no choice but to abandon his thoughts of investigation.

After a day and a night, the familiar lush forests of the Land of Fire came into view, and the fences and watchtowers of the border outposts were clearly visible. Only then did the Sand Village's guards stop.

The leading Sand Village Jonin gave Shuji a brief greeting: "Jonin Shuji, we were ordered to escort you here. We are now in the territory of the Land of Fire, so farewell."

Before the words were even finished, the twelve Sand Village ninjas turned around without hesitation and quickly disappeared in the direction they had come from.

The Konoha ninjas on duty at the border outpost had already noticed them. Several Konoha ninjas cautiously stepped forward, and after verifying each other's identities, the middle-aged ninja who appeared to be the captain quickly came to greet them.

"Jonin Shuji! You're finally back! That's great! The village has been worried about you while you were in Sunagakure..."

His gaze swept eagerly over Xiu Si, with an inquiring look in his eyes.

Shuuji nodded and said succinctly, "Mission accomplished, Sunagakure is safe."

"I have the Kazekage's reply here, and I need to return to the village immediately to present it to the Third Hokage."

Upon hearing this, the Chunin breathed a long sigh of relief, a smile instantly spreading across his face. He turned back and shouted loudly to his companions behind him:
"Did you hear that?! The alliance is fine! Sunagakure is still our ally!"

(End of this chapter)