Konoha Notes

Chapter 389 Outside the Meeting
On the fourth day of the joint meeting, Kakashi, who had just finished the previous meeting, was facing a dilemma: standing was tiring, sitting was uncomfortable, and lying down would really damage the image of the head of the joint affairs bureau.

So he squatted in a corner outside the conference room, holding a copy of "Intimate Paradise" in his hands, thinking about how long it had been since he had taken off.

His thoughts drifted until a pair of shoes stopped in front of him.

"Kakashi-senpai," Itachi said, "the meeting room is ready, and representatives from all sides are entering."

"Oh." Kakashi looked up from the book, keeping his crouched position, and smiled at Itachi. "You go in my place, Itachi."

Itachi replied, "This is a meeting that only you, as the representative of Konoha, have the right to participate in and express your opinion on."

“This impromptu meeting won’t decide anything substantial.” Kakashi shifted to a more comfortable squatting position. “Wenya convened this meeting in advance simply to get a feel for things before the formal talks.”

"You know the Transformation Technique and the Sharingan. Once you go in for me, just do three things: be positive, speak politely, and then watch them argue without making any real promises."

"That's enough."

Itachi stood still: "Using the Transformation Technique to impersonate a village representative, if exposed, will be an extremely serious diplomatic matter."

"Sigh..." Kakashi leaned against the wall and slowly stood up.

“Itachi, look at me.” He pointed to the dark circles under his eyes. “If I die from overwork, Shuji won’t be able to escape.”

"As his most trusted subordinate, shouldn't he be more flexible and help prevent such a tragedy?"

"Lady Tsunade is in the village." Itachi's tone was unwavering. "You won't die so easily, Kakashi-senpai."

"...How cruel."

Kakashi finally gave up struggling, took out the Icha Icha Paradise from his ninja tool bag and put it back in its place, straightened his back, took out a file and handed it to Itachi.

"Alright. The draft agreement for the main agenda of the joint meeting is finalized. The specific rules for opening the martial arts system to the Little Ninja Village, the subsidy standards for participants, the qualification review process... everything that needs to be finalized has been finalized."

"Take it to the Hokage's office."

Itachi took the file with both hands: "Yes."

Kakashi thumped his back one last time, then strode towards the meeting room. As he passed Itachi, he muttered to himself:

"If you had just said 'yes,' I would have been grateful to you for the rest of my life, really."
-
When Itachi arrived at the Hokage's office, the scene inside came into view: Tsunade was sitting on a short sofa by the window, while Shuji was leaning back on the opposite sofa, his body slightly tilted back, his gaze fixed on an unknown distance outside the window.

On the guest chair, Shibuki, the leader of Takigakure Village, sat upright with his hands placed properly on his knees.

On the coffee table in front of the three people were teacups that were still steaming.

"Excuse me," Itachi bowed. "This is the final draft agreement for the main agenda of the joint meeting."

"Just put it on the table," Tsunade said casually, waving her hand dismissively.

Shibuki stood up, nodded politely to Itachi, and then turned to Shuji: "Then, I'll leave Fu's matter to Konoha."

Shuji turned his gaze away from the window, but his eyes still seemed to linger with a hint of uncertainty.

"Don't worry," he said. "The Ninja Academy has already accepted exchange students from various villages, and Fu will be one of them."

“Takigakure can leave one ninja stationed in Konoha to be responsible for daily care and communication.”

"I am extremely grateful." Shibuki lowered his head. "After what happened, my greatest wish now is for Fu to grow up in a safe environment."

The air was quiet for a moment.

Shuji's gaze drifted to the window again, this time lingering a little longer.

Tsunade glanced at Shuji. "Regarding the future development of Takigakure," Shuji finally spoke, his gaze refocusing on Shibuki, "what are your thoughts?"

Shibuki carefully considered his words: "Takigakure has always followed an elite path, so the number of ninjas has never been large. Now that we have the qualification to participate in the martial arts competition, plus the financial support from the daimyo of our country, it should be enough to keep the village running."

Shuji nodded, offering no further comment, only adding, "Takigakure's Great Waterfall is a natural resource. If there are any plans to develop tourism or unique training grounds in the future, Konoha is willing to provide support."

"I will seriously consider it." Shibuki thanked him again and rose to take his leave. Tsunade had the ANBU at the door escort him away.

The office door closed again.

Itachi was about to take his leave when his gaze inadvertently swept over Shuji. The black-haired youth looked out the window again, his brows furrowed, and his lips pressed into a straight line.

Senior, what are you thinking about again...?

"He said he was sending a clone out on patrol," Tsunade's voice broke the silence, "but he ended up going fishing at the beach instead. He was even distracted while entertaining guests, is that acceptable?"

Shuji withdrew his gaze: "Prolonged use of clones is very mentally taxing. Finding something that can calm the mind and allow for reasonable downtime, such as fishing, is a very economical choice."

"Because you're always daydreaming, Shibuki thought he said something wrong," Tsunade sneered.

“I’ve been guiding the conversation very well,” Xiu Si retorted, then suddenly stopped mid-sentence, his eyes abruptly losing focus.

"What?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Did you catch it?"

Shuji didn't answer immediately. He closed his eyes and sighed.

“The fishing rod broke,” he said slowly. “It was a big fish, it bit the hook too suddenly… I accidentally used too much force.”

Tsunade chuckled, her shoulders trembling slightly: "Could it be that you broke your rod in a fit of anger because you caught nothing?"

“Lady Tsunade would do that, but I wouldn’t.” Shuji opened his eyes, his expression now calm. “I just used an old pole to make it look like a proper pole. It wasn’t very good quality.”

Tsunade laughed even louder.

Shuji ignored her laughter and turned to Itachi, who was still standing there: "Are you getting used to working at the secret service?"

"Yes, I've gotten used to it," Itachi replied. "Kakashi-senpai has been very kind to me."

"If there are no problems, your file will be officially removed from the Dark Division."

Tsunade also looked over: "Kakashi has been worried that your temporary assignment will end, and he has been praising your outstanding abilities all this time, hoping that you can transfer your file to the secret service."

Itachi bowed slightly: "I am grateful for Kakashi-senpai's high regard."

"That's settled then," Shuuji said. "Be careful not to become Kakashi's scapegoat."

"Yes."

Itachi bowed and turned to leave the office. Just before the door closed, Tsunade's voice came again.

"Hey, that's not how you treat Kakashi."

"Kakashi is, after all, my senior. In terms of seniority and position, these tasks are rightfully within his responsibilities."

"No matter what, it's not really appropriate to give such instructions to the younger generation, is it?"

"Compared to this, the person who was slacking off just now..."

Itachi gently closed the door, shutting out the rest of the conversation.

(End of this chapter)