Konoha Notes

Chapter 71 War
The mournful cry of a hawk tore through the night sky above Konoha.

Upon receiving the emergency summons, figures sped out from all parts of the village, heading straight for the Hokage Building.

When Shuji stepped into the Hokage's office, the room was already filled with Jonin and Special Jonin from the village.

The air was heavy and oppressive, suffocatingly so. Fugaku Uchiha was prominently featured among them, his face somber. Looking around, however, there was no sign of any other Hyuga clan ninja.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat in the main seat, emanating a low-pressure aura that Shuji had never seen before.

"Kukai, the Cloud Village Messenger, is dead."

That short sentence almost froze the already tense atmosphere. All eyes were focused on the Hokage, holding their breath as they awaited what he would say next.

"Kumakure's envoy, Akai, infiltrated the Hyuga clan's territory tonight with the intention of kidnapping the eldest daughter of the main branch, Hinata Hyuga." Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze swept across the entire area. "After being discovered by Hiashi Hyuga... he was killed on the spot."

Suppressed gasps and uncontrollable whispers instantly erupted from the crowd.

Shock, confusion, and anger collided silently.

The Jonin squad leader, Nara Shikaku, was the first to break the silence: "Hokage-sama, where are the other two members of the Cloud Village envoy's team?"

His thinking was exceptionally clear. The fact that Akai was dead couldn't be changed, so the first task now was to control the remaining two people and prevent the news from spreading.

Then we can slowly consider how to handle this matter and how to negotiate with the Hidden Cloud Village.

Hiruzen Sarutobi closed his eyes, his exhaustion evident. An ANBU member beside him stepped forward and answered on his behalf, "The other two Kumogakure ninja... have been confirmed missing."

"what?!"

"Missing?! How is that possible!"

"What on earth is the Anbu doing?!"

After a brief silence, an even more violent uproar ensued.

Three Cloud Village envoys, in the heart of Konoha, one died in the Hyuga clan's territory, and the other two vanished without a trace right under their noses? This isn't just dereliction of duty, it's downright disgrace! How did Akai infiltrate the Hyuga clan's territory? How did the other two break through surveillance?
Nara Shikaku frowned, quickly quelling the commotion, and said again, "In that case, the alliance with Kumogakure is unlikely to continue, and the Raikage will surely use this as an opportunity to exert pressure, given his usual practice."

"The offensive from Iwagakure on the western front had already weakened because of our alliance with Kumogakure. Now that the Kumogakure envoy has died and two guards have disappeared without a trace, we must immediately inform the allied Sunagakure to be on guard."

"At the same time, report the situation to the Daimyo, and explain the actions of the Cloud Village envoy."

With the Jonin squad leader's clear analysis and plan, the whispers gradually subsided.

The Jonin turned their attention back to the Third Hokage.

Hiruzen Sarutobi met those gazes, feeling as heavy as a mountain on his shoulders.

He had already heard the report from the Dark Division: Akai had been under surveillance until the Hyuga clan sent news of the intruders' deaths. Only then did the monitoring point discover that Akai had vanished into thin air, along with the other two.

In the heart of Konoha, the situation has spiraled out of control to this extent!
"Does anyone have any other questions?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked.

Shuji raised his hand: "Lord Hokage, have there been any unusual military reports from the border area of ​​the Land of Hot Springs recently?"

This is extremely important, so important that it determines where Konoha's limited resources should be deployed.

Nara Shikaku looked over; as the direct leader of all the Jonin, he naturally recognized Shuuji.

As soon as the question was raised, he immediately realized that there was something he had overlooked in his previous thinking.

If Akai's actions were instigated by the Cloud Village's higher-ups, it means all previous gestures of goodwill and peace were merely a facade. In that case, the Cloud Village's frontline troops will inevitably make coordinated moves soon. But if the Cloud Village forces show no unusual activity…

"The latest report came back this morning; there are no unusual movements at the Cloud Village front," replied the Jonin in charge of intelligence on the Cloud Village side.

Sure enough, there was a problem...

Shuji understood and remained silent, for he saw Nara Shikaku's expression and knew that this strategist of Konoha had also come to his senses.

The Hidden Cloud Village's pursuit of a peace treaty with the Hidden Leaf Village was a necessary act out of practical considerations, rather than a whimsical desire for peace from some high-ranking official.

Akai's unauthorized actions seem more like a reckless act by an individual or small group in an attempt to sabotage the peace talks.

This means that as long as this incident is not a carefully planned trigger for war by the Hidden Clouds, the death of the envoy will only cause some setbacks to the alliance, but it will be difficult to fundamentally shake the general trend of peace talks between the two sides.

The death of Akai is nothing; even if all three of them died, it wouldn't solve the problems facing Kumogakure.

Given the prevailing trend, even if the Hidden Cloud Village were to clash with the Hidden Leaf Village again over this matter, it would quickly subside.

After all, it's true that Konoha Village is deeply weary of war, but in the past three years, they haven't allowed other ninja villages to invade the Land of Fire.

This means that the production and order of the Land of Fire are stable, and if the Hidden Cloud Village insists on restarting the war, the Leaf Village still has the ability to drag them into a quagmire.

In contrast, consider the Land of Lightning.

Konoha only needs to repeat its old tricks and block the land trade routes to the Land of Lightning, preventing food from entering, and the price of food in Kumogakure will rise again.

The Hidden Cloud Village is wealthy and can use its strong financial resources to continue purchasing food at high premiums to maintain supplies for the front lines and keep the village's supply stable.

But what about the millions of ordinary people in the Land of Lightning? Can the Raikage fill the stomachs of ninjas with money, and can he fill the gnawing bellies of the entire Land of Lightning with money?
If the Land of Lightning falls into turmoil due to a food shortage, will the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning still be able to provide financial support?

How long can the Hidden Cloud Village, whose foundation is crumbling, hold out?
Therefore, the foundation for peace talks remains intact. The real crisis now lies on the western front. If the Iwagakure forces seize this opportunity to launch a major offensive and breach the western defenses, the Kumogakure on the eastern front will see an opening, and the Raikage might be able to grit his teeth and continue the war despite domestic pressure. Only then will the Land of Lightning be forced to continue supporting the war.

The thought process is now clear.

Nara Shikaku spoke again: "Hokage, there are two urgent matters: First, immediately order the frontline commander of the Land of Hot Springs, Jonin Kitamura, to strengthen vigilance, consolidate the defense line, and prevent the Hidden Cloud Village from taking advantage of the situation to cause trouble, but the actions must be restrained and avoid any initiative to provoke."

His gaze swept over the Jonin present, finally settling on the Third Hokage: "Second, dispatch elite forces to reinforce the western front immediately! Before Iwagakure can react and launch a large-scale offensive, we must strengthen the defenses, stabilize our Sunagakure allies, and absolutely not allow the western front to become a breakthrough point!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath, suppressing all the heaviness and exhaustion in his chest. He slowly stood up, his aged gaze sweeping over the pillars of Konoha before him, finally settling on Shikaku Nara's face.

"Let's do as Shikaku says!"

"Gentlemen, begin preparations immediately! Specific mobilization orders will be issued later."

He bowed slightly.

"Everything... is entrusted to you all."

"For Konoha..."

The brief pause seemed to hold all the weight.

"For...our home."

　I'll try three updates again, but it might revert to two updates later. I need to sort out the plot again.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)