Konoha Notes

Chapter 403 Bait
In August, Itachi first arranged for the Uchiha people transferred from the police headquarters to serve as the direct duty squad of the secret service bureau.

After a full July of leisure, the Uchiha clan still made their choice.

Fugaku led a group of people to stay at the police headquarters to maintain the clan's control over the police department, while the rest came to serve as reinforcements for their young clan leader at the Joint Affairs Bureau.

Just like the story of the Dark Guard.

At least that's what the Uchiha said when they reached a consensus in their internal meeting.

Itachi managed to find a relatively empty office in this building, which was originally built only to host the Five Kage Summit, and settled the people in.

Itachi headed towards the conference room on the top floor with the latest intelligence, which consisted of battle reports from the front lines between Kumogakure and Kirigakure.

When the door to the rooftop conference room was opened, the sounds that had been kept inside by the well-maintained equipment briefly escaped.

"After nearly two months of maritime interception operations, the Cloud Village suffered over a hundred casualties."

The usually calm and collected Tu Tai, who fits everyone's image of a strategist, unusually displayed a loud voice at the meeting.

"The losses on the Kirigakure side are also considerable. We are not facing ordinary rogue ninja and ronin."

Wenya waited for the echo of Tutai's voice to fade before slowly saying, "Iwagakure and Sunagakure also suffered casualties while clearing out rogue ninja on the western front. Moreover, Han has already arrived in the Land of Forest as agreed, and we have delivered our most important force."

"Then let's settle another matter."

Tu Tai picked up another document.

"After the eastern part of the Land of Lightning and the northern part of the Land of Water became war zones, a large number of merchants changed their destinations in the past two months."

"And the corresponding transportation contracts were also placed in the hands of Iwagakure and Sunagakure."

Wenya listened to Tutai's accusations.

This was indeed an unexpected surprise for Iwagakure, but it shouldn't be a reason for him to feel guilty.

After all, the hidden risks that Iwagakure takes are far greater than a few mission orders.

He was about to tell Tsuchikage that Kumogakure and Kirigakure could also be relieved of some of their burdens.

For example, place all the Jinchūriki in the Land of Forests, or simply place them in Konoha.

He believes neither side would be willing to go this far.

Sitting next to Wenya, Maki said, "Lord Tsuchida is right. Kumogakure and Kirigakure bear the most direct pressure on the defensive line. Sunagakure acknowledges this and is willing to conduct further negotiations on troop support."

Wenya glanced sideways.

Their gazes met those of Machi.

However, instead of directly refuting it, they chose to remain silent.

The cooperation between the two sides is a consensus reached directly between them. Temporary silence will not cause serious consequences, while rash questioning will only expose the rift.

At that moment, Itachi closed the door, walked to Kakashi's side, and placed the battle report in front of him.

Just as he was about to leave, Kakashi gestured for him to stay and listen. So Itachi stood behind and to the side of Kakashi's chair, a position that allowed him to see the whole room without drawing attention.

The argument continued, and Tsuchikage did not back down despite Sunagakure's concessions; instead, he released even more data.

Bi occasionally interjected a few words of supplementary information.

Kakashi remained silent throughout.

He sat comfortably back, his right elbow resting on the armrest, his hand supporting his chin, looking as if he had been exhausted by the long meeting. But Itachi could see his left hand hanging down on his knee, his fingertips turning the pages of a small booklet tucked between his knee and the edge of the table.

When both sides were getting tired of arguing during the noisy meeting, Kakashi finally raised his head and, in his capacity as the head of the secret service, proposed that all parties first formulate a written plan outlining their specific needs, which would then be coordinated and evaluated by the secret service before discussing reinforcements.

The meeting, which yielded no conclusions, ended abruptly as representatives from all sides walked out.

Once everyone else was out of the meeting room, Kakashi closed the booklet on his lap, put it back in his ninja tool pouch, and then stretched his stiff shoulders and neck.

“If Mr. Tutai was only seeking help,” he said, “he wouldn’t have chosen to argue at the joint meeting.”

He explained why he was slacking off. "As for Sunagakure's concession, Itachi, what do you think was the reason?"

Itachi pondered and said, "Sunagakure is trying to ease the conflict. They have a cooperative plan with Kumogakure and our side. A united front against them would not benefit them."

“If it really comes to that, it’s not something Sunagakure should be concerned with, Itachi.” Kakashi put away his book. “Their Jinchuriki are still in Konoha.”

"Sunagakure has only two guarantees that can get Gaara back."

"One is that the magistrate is willing to continue to maintain the existing system."

"Secondly, other ninja villages still retain the power to counterbalance Konoha."

"In other words, Sunagakure would never want to see Kumogakure and Kirigakure also having the idea of ​​temporarily entrusting the Jinchūriki to others."

Even if the probability is very low.

Itachi accepted this assessment.

"What does Kakashi-senpai believe is the true purpose of Kumogakure?"

Kakashi didn't answer. Instead, he picked up the battle report, quickly glanced at it, and put it down a few minutes later.

"It's easier to just ask the person in question."

The earthen platform hadn't gone far. He stood alone at the corner of the next flight of stairs.

"Kakashi."

“Mr. Tsuchidai, regarding matters at sea, Konoha can dispatch troops, and can also coordinate with Iwagakure and Sunagakure for reinforcements.” Kakashi walked to his side.

“Not enough,” Tsuchitai said. “The fighting strength of Iwagakure and Sunagakure at sea is limited.”

"Moreover, both Cloud Village and Mist Village are constantly losing blood..."

"It's not because of those rogue ninjas and treacherous ninjas. The Land of Snow has been free of ice and snow for less than a year and has not accumulated enough power."

"The real problem is that Xiao's people can attack from all directions."

"However, the elites of Kumogakure and Kirigakure cannot leave their villages without permission."

The wind blew in from the window at the end of the corridor, carrying the heat unique to August.

"I see."
-
The briefing from the Joint Affairs Bureau was quickly delivered to the Hokage's office.

"When the Raikage proposed placing Han in the Land of Forests, he must have already thought of this," Tsunade said.

"The proactive moves and sudden bluster during this period were all for this moment."

Shuji looked at the briefing and said, "That's why Onoki approached Sunagakure and made such a big concession."

"Once a person leaves their village, what they are taken to do with is no longer up to them."

Yunyin wanted to use Han as bait.

The Forest Country is a place where support can be provided to the Hidden Cloud Village and the Hidden Mist Village most quickly.

It is also in a place that has actually been isolated.

As someone who helped set up the barrier, if the Hidden Cloud Village made any move, Han's chakra would no longer be able to conceal his location.

They'll be targeted immediately.

However, Kumogakure only wanted to use Han as bait to ambush him, not to actually send him to his death. Therefore, they needed to be able to provide support from Konoha quickly.

Therefore, it is necessary to inform Konoha and to obtain Konoha's consent, or even cooperation.

"Let's wait for their specific plans."

(End of this chapter)