Konoha Notes

Chapter 95 Leaving the Village
In the spring of the fifty-fifth year of Konoha, the village's operations had returned to normal.

Ninjas frequently stopped at the notice board of the Ministry of Government Affairs, and more and more people were submitting leave applications.

Shuji summoned Class 5 and informed the two of his plans.

"I plan to apply for a leave of absence to go out and cultivate," Xiu Si said.

"Taking a vacation, huh?" Hongdou scratched her purple hair, her tone light. "To be honest, I was really running around all year, with one mission after another, and I didn't get much rest."

The good thing is that her savings have also increased. This way, it's not a problem for her to not go on missions for the time being.

"Then I'll take this time to focus on my training. There are still several ninjutsu that I haven't mastered yet."

The ninjutsu rewarded by the village, the ninjutsu left behind by Orochimaru, will keep her studying for quite some time.

Red Bean said with rare seriousness, "I also want to strive to become a Jonin."

She turned to the boy beside her: "Speaking of which, preparations for this year's Chunin Exams are about to begin. Itachi, are you sure you're okay participating by yourself?"

Itachi remained calm: "No problem."

Indeed, the ones who should be worried are the others in the same batch as Itachi Uchiha, meaning there are quite a few Chunin spots available this time; otherwise, those in his batch would be considering the next exam.

"But why did Shuji specifically leave the village? He could have trained within the village, couldn't he?" Hongdou asked, somewhat curious.

"Find someone."
-
The day after submitting his application for leave from the village, Shuji received a response. The Hokage's office sent word that he needed to come over.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looks a bit older than last year, and the wrinkles around his eyes seem to have deepened.

When he saw Xiuji come in, he got up from behind his desk piled with documents and gestured for Xiuji to sit down on the sofa next to him.

"A leave of absence can be approved, but leaving the village..." The Third Hokage looked at Shuji, "Where do you want to go?"

Xiu Si hesitated for a moment, then decided not to fabricate a reason.

"I hope that while I am away on my training, I can find Lady Tsunade and persuade her to return to the village."

Shuji met Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze and spoke frankly.

The Third Hokage took out his pipe and slowly filled it with tobacco: "Go find Tsunade and bring her back. You should know her current situation, Shuji."

"Yes."

Hiruzen Sarutobi leaned back into the sofa: "The Hokage cannot be afraid of bloodshed, nor can he be unable to personally go to the front lines."

When Shuji mentioned finding Tsunade, he understood what was going on.

If it weren't for the need to persuade her to return as Hokage, and given that the village currently doesn't face any major medical challenges, why bother seeking out Tsunade—she's someone whose background and reputation would make her a Hokage candidate the moment she appears in the village.

Although surprised that Shuuji was so direct, the Third Hokage didn't mind. If Jiraiya hadn't wanted to be Hokage and Tsunade hadn't been away from the village for so long, he wouldn't have had to take over as Hokage again after the Fourth Hokage's death.

The Hyuga clan sacrificing one member turned public opinion away from their previous discontent. The village's resentment now rests on him.

This includes the discontent of the young man in front of me.

But none of that matters. As long as you don't want to betray the village, even if you just want to leave for a while, that's fine.

Moreover, Xiu Si doesn't actually want to leave; he just wants to find someone to replace him, so it's a minor matter.

Thus, Hiruzen Sarutobi merely pointed out the key problem facing Shuji's idea—

Tsunade's hemophobia.

“I’ll figure something out,” Shuji replied.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at him for a moment, then nodded: "Since you've said that, then leaving the village is permissible, but we can't let you waste too much time on it."

"Three months, I'll give you a three-month leave."

With that, he got up and went back to his office, briefly searching through several scrolls of documents. He finally took out a scroll.

"This is a clue about Tsunade's recent whereabouts. According to the latest intelligence, she is probably active in the Land of Hot Springs area."

Shuji took it and opened it to examine it carefully.

The above is a rough itinerary for Tsunade this year. This princess of the Thousand Hands gambled her way from south to north, all the way to the Land of Hot Springs. It also includes a list of her creditors and the amounts owed…

While money may not be much for ninjas, especially those of the legendary Sannin, this number is still somewhat exaggerated.

After waiting for Shuji to finish reading, Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "She's impatient and loves to gamble. For the Hokage position, I prefer Jiraiya."

"Given the current situation, if she's willing, then that's fine too."

As he spoke, the old man sighed softly, "I'm sorry to have disappointed you all. It's all because of my incompetence. If only I had died back then, Fourth Hokage."

Shuji slowly rolled up the scroll and bowed slightly to the Third Hokage.

"You have your reasons. Thank you for your understanding."

Xiuji's behavior was indeed inappropriate; in front of the current leader of a military group, he expressed an attitude of looking for someone else to replace him.

If this person wasn't Hiruzen Sarutobi, and had truly harbored such thoughts, Shuji wouldn't have said anything and would have simply prepared his own.

It is precisely because it is Hiruzen Sarutobi that he can be so straightforward, and it is precisely because it is Hiruzen Sarutobi that perhaps letting him leave the position of Hokage is a relief for him.

"It's a good thing that the younger generation is constantly exploring ways to make the village better."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression turned serious: "However, Shuuji, I also hope you understand that even if Tsunade returns, the hemophobia issue will not be resolved, so don't blame me for not making way."

"Yes, I understand."

“Also, there’s something else I need to remind you of.” Hiruzen Sarutobi pulled out another document and handed it to you. “You’re on the black market’s bounty list.”

"The bounty is ten million. With your strength, dealing with enemies who are after that amount shouldn't be a problem, but you still need to be careful."

"I sent my secret agents to investigate who put up the bounty, but we didn't get any information."

A bounty has been placed on your head?
Shuji took the document. The attached bounty poster had his picture, name, and ninja rank printed on it.

He remembered that he hadn't done anything that would cause resentment. When he went out on missions and it came to actually taking action, he usually did it very cleanly.

Is it another ninja village? Or is it someone in a village that didn't receive a reply from him?

His thoughts shifted, and he temporarily put aside the matter of the bounty. The bounty list did not contain information about his abilities, and moreover, the reason he chose this time to leave the village for training was precisely because he had already mastered a new technique—the Flying Thunder God Technique.

After spending so much time, Xiu Si has finally mastered how to quickly cast spells and teleport using them.

Limited by his perception ability, his teleportation range was extremely limited. When he first marked the target, he could only move within a dozen meters.

Later, the Flying Thunder God Seal recording body was improved using Wood Release. With the ability to sense Wood Release creations, the teleportation range was greatly expanded, and the effective teleportation distance was extended to several hundred meters.

If the Wood Release clone is used as the physical record, then wherever the Wood Release clone is, he can transmit the information through the shared senses.

As for using it in actual combat—he is neither a sensory type nor someone with superhuman reflexes, so ninjutsu is more suitable for Shuji than using Flying Thunder God Technique in combat.

However, Shuji's initial purpose in learning this technique was not for combat, but simply to have another means of dealing with space-time ninjutsu.

Now that I've mastered it, if I'm out and about and someone really comes after me, I'll always have a way to escape.

Shuji put away the bounty poster and thanked Hiruzen Sarutobi: "Thank you for the reminder, Hokage-sama. I will keep an eye on it."

"Go." Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand. "Be careful."

Shuji bowed again, then turned and left the Hokage's office.

(End of this chapter)