Konoha Notes

Chapter 386 The Silent Game

Where is the Kingdom of Forest?

Located south of the Land of Hot Water, it borders the northeastern part of Konoha. To the east, across the sea, lies the Land of Lightning, and to the southeast, across the sea, lies the Land of Water. On the map, it resembles a wedge, nestled in the gap where the spheres of influence of the three lands of fire, lightning, and water intersect.

Assuming that the One-Tailed Beast from Sunagakure is also in Konoha, or even without assuming it, and that we can already make a rough estimate based on the reactions of these two people in Konoha, there are at least three Jinchūriki currently under the protection of Konoha.

In addition, there were two from Kumogakure and two from Kirigakure.

Establish a permanent base for the Joint Mobile Force in the Land of Forests, and then negotiate with the former Bamboo Village, which has responded to Konoha's call, incorporated the Hannya sect, and renamed itself "Bamboo Village," to borrow land...

From a purely military perspective, there is nothing wrong with it.

With the shortest defense radius and the fastest reaction channel, it can cover most of the existing pillar forces within the most stringent protective net.

As long as Kumogakure and Kirigakure do not intend to hand over their Jinchūriki, this is indeed the best option at present.

At least from the perspective of protecting the Jinchūriki and dealing with Akatsuki attacks, there is no problem.

If we don't consider the potential impact.

Therefore, he needed to first coordinate with Kirigakure. He implicitly agreed to one condition: Konoha genuinely wanted to promote the alliance and also genuinely wanted to protect the tailed beasts of each village.

So next, we'll see how Konoha reacts.

Should they prioritize the reputation and security of Iwagakure by devising a symbolic defense plan centered on Konoha, constantly putting out fires on all sides but exhausted by the constant struggle? Or should they set aside sentimentality and choose this cruel but efficient and optimal answer?

The only sound in the conference room was the low hum of the equipment running.

Shuji was silent for a few seconds. His fingers tapped very lightly on the armrest of the chair.

"After the joint meeting, Konoha will first contact Takegakure to have preliminary discussions about the possible use of the base."

They neither agreed nor supported Yunyin's proposal.

However, expressing a willingness to communicate is, in Ai's view, already a gesture that carries a certain bias.

Ai was fairly satisfied with this.

"Since Sunagakure and Takigakure have no objection to your protection of the other two Jinchūriki, Kumogakure has no intention of interfering."

“Shuji, I can understand why you’re being conservative with your defensive strategy under these circumstances.”

"At the Five Kage Summit, the specific proposal regarding the formation of this mobile force can be put forward by Kirigakure."

Yagura nodded: "Mei Terumi will give a formal explanation at the meeting."

“That’s it,” Ai said before turning off the communication. “That old stubborn Onoki should also understand that letting Han join the Mobile Force is not to steal his Iwagakure people, but because we don’t intend to exclude him.”

After the screen for "Thunder" went dark, the screen for "Water" also went dark.

A soft laugh came from behind the chair. Tsunade released her hand from the back of the chair, walked around to the front, and placed her elbow unceremoniously on Shuuji's shoulder.

"The new development you've been waiting for has arrived."

“The fact that Cloud Village and Mist Village are willing to step forward is a good thing. We should talk less and do more, and just play a supporting role.” Xiu Si didn’t move, letting her press down, his gaze fixed on the now-black screen in front of him.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

The elbow resting on Shuuji's shoulder didn't move, but the other hand was raised, and the index finger and thumb were rubbed together.

“Hey,” she said, “that kid Ai is really going all out to poach you, he should at least do something about it behind the scenes, right?”

She leaned closer, her voice low and teasing.

"Give me half. I'm still the current Hokage. If you accept any benefits without reporting it, I'll treat it as treason."

Shuji finally moved.

He didn't respond to the topic of "bribery," but instead slumped his shoulders, deftly shifted half a step to the side, and then stood up.

Tsunade's elbow, which was pressing on his shoulder, suddenly lost its grip, and he swayed forward due to inertia.

“Even if you did receive something,” Shuuji finally spoke, his tone tinged with disdain, “it certainly wouldn’t be the kind of thing you could take half of.” He turned around to face Tsunade.

"Besides, that 'Aina kid' you just mentioned... you revealed it yourself. This habit of unintentionally revealing 'I've lived for a long time' isn't my fault if we're really going to hold you accountable."

Tsunade glared at him.

Those beautiful brown eyes were wide open and stared for a full three seconds.

Then, she suddenly burst out laughing, crossed her arms, and adopted a "what's the use of trying" attitude.

"Envious?" She raised her chin and casually tapped her face with her fingertip, where not a single fine line could be found. "One of the 'side effects' of the Yin Seal."

"Ten or twenty years from now, when we stand together, people might even think you're older than me."

She took a step forward, getting closer to Xiu Si.

"So, take this opportunity to call out 'Lady Tsunade' or 'Lady Hokage' a few more times so we can hear it."

“When Kakashi is willing to take over the straw hat and I retire to enjoy myself—” Tsunade drawled, her eyes curving into crescents, “you won’t have the chance.”

Shuji didn't respond to that.

He turned around and looked out the window again.

"Another matter mentioned by Kumogakure is that the Land of Snow has recently taken some action."

She walked to Xiu Si's side, also looking out the window, her arms crossed in the same posture.

“If it weren’t for the fact that the puppet Feng Hua Nu Tao couldn’t stand the loneliness and left on its own,” she continued, the ease in her tone gone, “then it would prove that the Akatsuki organization had ulterior motives.”

"The timing of this action is very delicate," Shuji said. "With the joint meeting about to be held, the attention of all the major ninja villages is focused on the safety of the jinchūriki and internal coordination."

"Although the maritime blockade is still in place, the main focus is on preventing smuggling and illegal shipping routes."

He paused.

"If I were Akatsuki, I would choose to do something else at this time. For example, test the reaction speed of each village, or... create some chaos in other directions."

Tsunade turned her head to look at him.

"what's your plan?"

Shuji remained silent for a moment.

The sunlight outside the window was a bit too bright, so he squinted slightly.

“I don’t have any particular plans,” he said, his tone returning to its usual calm. “However, since the other side may have some ulterior motives, Konoha has to make some kind of response.”

Tsunade turned her head to look at him.

"attitude?"

"Ah."

“I’ll send a wooden clone away from the village.” Shuji lowered his hand. “It’ll wander around the area and make an appearance. Since Akatsuki might be testing us, let them see Konoha’s reaction.”

He turned around and looked at Tsunade.

"I need to allocate some of my energy to maintaining the wooden clone, and also maintain sufficient combat power to deal with unexpected situations—"

Shuji wore an innocent expression.

"—It's a rather arduous task."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes.

"so?"

“So during this time,” Shuuji said matter-of-factly, “the Hokage will do the office work himself.”

(End of this chapter)