Konoha Notes

Chapter 385 Communication
Yugakure's reply came quickly. Kakashi responded on behalf of the Joint Affairs Bureau and mobilized Konoha's reinforcements. Their leader was on his way.

Even before the leader of Yugakure arrived in Konoha, it was Kumogakure's communication equipment that made its way there.

After inspection, the huge wooden crate was sent to the Hokage Building in Konoha Village.

A group of five, each corresponding to one of the five elements: fire, thunder, water, wind, and earth.

At this moment, the two screens representing "Wind" and "Earth" were completely black. The vast geographical distance meant that it would take some time for the equipment to reach Iwagakure and Sunagakure. But clearly, the Raikage was unwilling to wait even a few more days.

Almost at the same time the equipment finished debugging and the lines were connected, the screen representing "Lightning" lit up with a "buzz," flickered a few times with static, and then stabilized. The Fourth Raikage's face filled the screen.

Immediately afterwards, the screen for "water" lit up, and the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, appeared.

On Konoha's side, Tsunade sat in the center facing the screen, while Shuuji stood half a step behind her, his figure just at the edge of the camera's field of view.

"Finally connected." Ai's voice broke through the speaker first, "Shuji, are you there?"

The Raikage tried to see everyone except Tsunade through the screen.

The Raikage's gaze searched the screen, but the old-fashioned camera had a limited field of view, only able to capture Tsunade and the limited space behind her.

"Are you still hiding at a time like this?" Ai clicked her tongue.

Tsunade didn't reply, resting her elbow on the armrest, her fingertips touching her chin, a faint smile playing at the corners of her lips. She was enjoying watching the show.

She was well aware of the Raikage's current attitude. Since the Takigakure incident, Konoha had adopted a very proactive stance.

However, for a long time, those who have been actively connecting and mediating in such incidents have remained silent.

For the Cloud Village, which was the first to establish deep cooperation with Konoha and was accustomed to having Shuji act as an intermediary, this change was felt most strongly.

"Shuji, you said you wanted to retire, does that mean you're going to shirk your responsibilities at a crucial moment like this?" Ai's voice rose again. "If you're really tired of Konoha, come to Kumogakure. Hot springs are fine, they have everything."

Tsunade then cleared her throat and, in her capacity as Hokage, spoke up: "Raikage, the meeting is still being prepared. All the information Konoha has has been reported, and a clear response plan has been proposed."

“I know,” Ai replied curtly. “I’ve reviewed the plans. Apart from intelligence sharing, the rest are scrapped.”

“Sage Mode? Natural energy training?” He spoke faster. “Let’s be frank, apart from your Konoha’s Summoning Ground tradition, other non-chakra training systems are either too inefficient or have too high barriers to entry. They were almost completely cut off back in the Warring States period!”

Yagura's voice then broke in: "The Kirigakure naval forces began yesterday to assist in the defense of the waters towards the Land of Snow."

Raikage continued, "Their airships have started moving again. This is a request I made to Kirigakure—we can't just wait around."

Tsunade's eyelashes twitched slightly.

Leaving aside Konoha, the fact that Kumogakure and Kirigakure are coordinating their efforts is a trend that deserves more attention than the deployment of airships.

This shows that a cross-village tactical collaboration based on a shared understanding of threats is spontaneously forming, while also subtly revealing that not everyone has enough patience for Konoha's current pace of "emphasizing internal technology cracking and system integration".

But there was no change in her expression; instead, she showed approval and nodded, saying, "The two villages' swift response is commendable. Konoha is also willing to provide the necessary support."

“Support?” Ai scoffed. “Just supplies or intelligence won’t do.” “We need a strong enough joint mobile force that can be rapidly deployed to any hotspot. A permanent force, specifically tasked with countering the Akatsuki’s threat.”

At this point, he revealed the real key point.

"The Seven-Tails Jinchuriki from Takigakure should be in Konoha right now, right? Shuji, you personally went to Takigakure, you can't just leave him there waiting for the Akatsuki to come and snatch him again, can you?"

Without waiting for a response, he turned his attention to another blank space.

"Sunagakure seems to be quite relaxed lately." A's gaze was sharp, carrying a sense of pressure even through the screen. "So, where is the One-Tailed Jinchuriki of Sunagakure now?"

Yagura's gaze also fell silently upon him; though he didn't speak, that silence itself was a form of inquiry.

Standing in the shadows, Shuji finally took half a step forward, his lower body falling into the camera's field of view.

Tsunade stood up, placed one hand on Shuuji's shoulder, and pressed him back into the spot where she had been sitting.

He then moved to the back of the chair, resting his hands on the top of the backrest and leaning against it.

On the screen, Ai watched this scene and let out a snort.

Shuji sat up straight in the chair, his face fully in the center of the screen.

The conference room lights fell on his sharply defined profile, making his dark eyes appear even more serene.

"So," his voice rang out calmly, revealing little emotion, "what exactly does Lord Raikage mean?"

Seeing that he had finally taken his seat at the dialogue table, Ai stopped beating around the bush and laid out the plan directly:
"Since Iwagakure has called for an emergency meeting, then the four of us—Konoha, Kumogakure, Kirigakure, and Sunagakure—will jointly support Iwagakure in establishing a rapid reaction mobile force."

He paused slightly, emphasizing his words:
“I propose that Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki of Iwagakure, serve as the core combat force and the nominal supreme commander of the unit.”

"He is strong enough, experienced, and has a special identity. Having him in charge will not only demonstrate our shared determination to protect the Jinchūriki, but also give this team sufficient deterrence."

"As for the permanent base of this force... I suggest choosing a location within the Forest Kingdom, close to the border, and convenient for rapid deployment by water."

He looked intently at Xiu Si: "What do you think of this plan?"

His gaze was fixed on Xiuji, awaiting the other's reaction.

The subtext of this plan is that the four clans of Konoha, Kumogakure, Kirigakure, and Sunagakure will join forces under the guise of "joint protection" and "improving the efficiency of joint defense" to force Iwagakure to hand over its strategic-level combat power and place it under a multi-party coordination framework, thereby sharing and reducing the enormous pressure and risk that each clan bears in defending against Jinchūriki.

Shuji was silent for a moment, then said, "Lord Tsuchikage, I'm afraid you won't easily agree to this plan. Especially not in this way, handing over command of the Jinchuriki."

Ai's response was resolute: "If Iwagakure insists on opposing it, then ignore them and this mobile unit must be established no matter what."

"We cannot allow the concerns or internal difficulties of one village to cause other villages that truly protect the majority of the Jinchūriki and face more threats to bear disproportionate defensive pressure and risks."

(End of this chapter)