Simultaneous traversal: All Abyss difficulty.

Chapter 223 Undercurrents, Animal Path Seven-tailed Shukaku
Ichiraku Ramen is bustling with activity. The steaming hot air carries a rich aroma that permeates the air, and the voices of diners talking to each other can be heard one after another.

Uchiha Yu, Fu and Kurama Yakumo sat down at a small table outside the store. The ramen on the table had not been served yet, but the atmosphere had already become subtle.

Fu was still as lively as ever. She twisted her body around in the chair, looked around curiously, and kept muttering, "Wow, it's so lively here! This is my first time to a ramen restaurant in Konoha." Her voice was clear and loud, attracting the attention of many people around her.

Kurama Yakumo sat aside, looking a little lonely. Her fingers unconsciously tugged at the corner of her clothes. From time to time, she looked up at Uchiha Yu, then quickly looked away and secretly looked at Fu.

Fu's dark skin, hot clothes and unrestrained personality formed a sharp contrast with her restrained nature, which made Yakumo completely jealous and sour.

After a while, the boss Otsutsuki Ichiraku came hurriedly with a bowl of steaming ramen. "Sorry for keeping you waiting. Be careful of the heat!" He placed the ramen in order and hurried back into the store.

Uchiha Yu looked at the ramen in front of him, a smile appeared on his lips, he picked up the chopsticks, but he was not in a hurry to eat, instead he turned to look at Fu and said, "Try it quickly, this ramen is the signature of Konoha, the taste is absolutely first-class."

Fu couldn't wait any longer. Upon hearing that, she immediately picked up a large portion of noodles with chopsticks and started eating. She mumbled, "Hmm! It's delicious. It's much more delicious than the food in our village!"

Yakumo also gently picked up a few noodles and slowly put them into his mouth, but his mind was not on the noodles at all.

As she watched Uchiha Yu and Fu chatting happily, her uneasiness grew stronger.

She couldn't help but say: "Yu, you..." Before she finished speaking, she was interrupted by Fu: "Oh, right, Uchiha Yu, tell me, can the Sharingan really control the tailed beasts?"

Uchiha Yu was slightly stunned, then smiled and said, "That's hard to say, I haven't controlled it either."

Just then, a burst of noise came from the store. It turned out that several ninjas from other villages were discussing what happened in the examination room just now, and the topic naturally mentioned Uchiha Yu.

One of them said disdainfully: "That Uchiha Yu is just relying on a backdoor. If he is really capable, he wouldn't have to threaten the examiner in the examination room. Can't he get the information himself?"

When Fu heard this, she immediately put down her chopsticks and retorted loudly: "What do you know! Uchiha Yu is so powerful, he..." She wanted to continue, but Uchiha Yu gently pressed her shoulders: "Ignore them, eat."

Fu wanted to say something more, but Uchiha Yu persuaded her: "Eat, eat. How can I eat if you are not full?"

Of course, it is hard to say what exactly is being eaten.

Fu nodded: "Yeah! Don't bother with them!"

Just as they were enjoying the meal, the clear sky suddenly turned overcast without warning, and a fine rain began to fall without any warning, hitting everyone.

Fu reacted very quickly, and quickly reached out to cover the bowl of noodles, shouting: "Oh, my noodles can't be ruined by the rain!"

Kurama Yakumo frowned, a hint of displeasure flashed across his delicate face. He looked at the ramen splashed by rain and gently put down his chopsticks, obviously losing interest in continuing to eat.

The people around were suddenly in chaos. Some people hurriedly hid in street shops, while others quickly opened their umbrellas.

But the ninjas from the Rain Country seemed unaware and still sat in the rain, eating noodles calmly, as if they were used to this sudden rain.

Uchiha Yu was not as panicked as the others. He looked up at the sky, his eyes full of confusion and thought. He seemed to be frozen in place, unable to move.

Kurama Yakumo noticed his abnormality, gently pulled his sleeve, and asked with concern: "Yu, you are staring into the sky in a daze, what happened?"

Uchiha Yu slowly withdrew his gaze and shook his head: "I feel that this chakra is somewhat familiar. By the way, can you turn the weather into sunny?"

Kurama Yakumo nodded slightly and without asking any more questions, she took out a drawing board from her bag.

Seeing this, Fu no longer cared about eating noodles. She widened her eyes and stared at Kurama Yakumo's every move with curiosity.

Kurama Yakumo held the paintbrush and sketched carefully on the drawing board. After a while, a big, shining sun appeared on the paper.

Miraculously, as the painting was completed, the rain suddenly stopped.

The originally gloomy sky quickly cleared up, the sun hung high in the sky, and the scorching sunlight poured down, instantly drying the rain off everyone's bodies.

Fu was so surprised that she couldn't close her mouth. She pulled Kurama Yakumo's arm and asked anxiously: "How did you do this? It's amazing!" Kurama Yakumo blushed slightly and explained his ability embarrassedly, but Fu was still confused and just kept exclaiming in amazement.

At the same time, on the other side of Konoha Village, a team of Anbu ninjas were hurriedly moving through the streets.

They were hidden, and everyone's face was serious and vigilant.

The leading Anbu ninja whispered, "The strange rainfall just now is probably the prelude to an enemy attack. We must find the source of the 'rainmaking technique'! This is a large-scale perception ninjutsu. There is definitely no good intention in releasing such a technique at this time!"

In a dark, seldom-traveled alley in Konoha Village, a damp smell filled the air, filled with the smell of decay.

Several pieces of waste paper were spinning on the ground, as if being pulled by an invisible force and slowly gathering together.

In the blink of an eye, these waste papers magically outlined Xiaonan's face!

In front of Konan, stood quietly a brown-haired female ninja.

There were a few steel nails embedded in her face, which flickered coldly in the dim light, adding a bit of coldness and mystery to her.

The female ninja said in a low but clear voice: "The Yuhu Freedom Technique has been interrupted, but I have roughly found the place where Kakuzu is imprisoned." Konan nodded gently, her hair made of paper fluttering slightly, her voice was soft but revealed unquestionable firmness: "Nagato, don't be anxious. This is a great opportunity for collecting the tailed beasts, but all countries have also sent out extremely strong guards to protect the Jinchūriki. We can't alert the enemy until the best time."

Hearing what Xiaonan said, the female ninja nodded again and responded: "Well, when I find an opportunity, I will use the animal way to do it."

Konan looked up at the sky outside the alley, as if he could penetrate the layers of buildings and see the Chunin Exam venue taking place in the distance.

The sad face is filled with memories.

Several ninja dogs came running over, and Konan and the Animal Path left in an instant, and the dark alley returned to peace again.

In the conference room of the Hokage Building, the atmosphere was solemn and subtle.

Sunlight streamed through the window onto the conference table, illuminating the scrolls from various countries placed on the table.

Kazekage Rasa, Hokage Tsunade, and Kirigakure high-ranking official Mei Terumi sat around the table and discussed the alliance.

Luo Sha was the first to break the silence. He was wearing a brown robe and his voice was steady but a little anxious: "The situation in the ninja world is turbulent now. The resources of the Sand Village are scarce and the village is having a hard time developing. We are in urgent need of an ally to stabilize the situation. This cooperation is extremely important to us."

He looked at Tsunade and Mei Terumi with a determined gaze, his hands unconsciously folded in front of him, revealing his inner anticipation.

It would be best if there was no war.

After the third Kazekage disappeared, the Sand Village spent all the village's funds to find him, but to no avail. Now many ninjas in the village are almost driven to defect due to the harsh environment. If a war is launched, who knows how many families will be destroyed.

Tsunade leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms, and looked serious.

She frowned slightly, her tone carrying her usual strength and calmness: "Regarding the alliance, I understand its importance, but Konoha has just experienced many changes. The Nine-Tails Rebellion and the Uchiha Clan Extermination have caused huge losses to our resources. We need to ensure that the alliance agreement is fair to all parties and can effectively protect Konoha's interests and security."

She paused, her sharp eyes swept across the faces of Rasa and Terumi Mei, "I don't want Konoha to sacrifice its own interests in vain."

Mei Terumi gently lifted her purple hair and revealed a charming smile, "The Hidden Mist Village also longs for peace and stability, but in the past, we have suffered a lot and been involved in various disputes."

She narrowed her eyes slightly, a shrewd light flashing in her eyes, and her slender fingers tapped lightly on the table.

Although she was not the Mizukage, she revealed the truth that the Mizukage Yagura Karatachi was controlled by illusion during the Third Shinobi World War. In addition, after the policy of the Blood Mist Town, the village lost a lot of talents, so Mei Terumi naturally became a ninja with a lot of say in the village.

"For this alliance, we must have a clear division of responsibilities and distribution of benefits. Kirigakure cannot be dragged into unnecessary conflicts for no reason."

Luo Sha felt a little uncomfortable being sandwiched between two strong women. He nodded slightly and continued, "Regarding resource sharing, although Sand Village is located in the desert, it is rich in gold resources. We can make certain concessions in this regard. However, in terms of ninja support and intelligence sharing, I hope Konoha and Kirigakure can give us enough support. More importantly, I hope we can reach an agreement on fisheries, timber, and food industries."

Tsunade and Mei Terumi looked at each other and read the message from each other's eyes - this Kazekage is really hungry!

The three forces have not yet reached an agreement on cooperation.

Rasa acted as if he was going to take advantage of Shukaku to rule the world and was trying to force Konoha and Kirigakure to make concessions on resources.

He originally thought that after Konoha experienced the Nine-Tails Rebellion and the destruction of the Uchiha, and Kirigakure experienced the Bloody Mist Village and the loss of most of its talents, the two villages would reach a compromise.

That turned out to be nothing like that.

First up is Kirigakure.

After being controlled by the Sharingan, the Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure, Karutagi Yagura, implemented a strategy of seclusion in the village.

This country has just been opened for a short time, and Luo Sha thought that Kirigakure was going to do business with the world's biggest country, but he didn't expect that Mei Terumi would refuse so decisively.

Tsunade was even more blunt: "Kazekage, you are asking for too much! Even if it is a warring country and a defeated country, the terms are just like this, right? We spend money to buy your gold sand and provide you with food resources. It is not Konoha's fault that the Wind Country is at a disadvantage in terms of geographical location."

Tsunade's personality is completely different from Sarutobi Hiruzen's. If Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo sat in the seat of Hokage, Danzo might whisper in their ears and exchange interests with Rasa in private and then give the resources of the Land of Fire to Sunagakure.

But this is Tsunade. She is not a fool like Danzo who is willing to sacrifice all his interests just to become Hokage.

Even Madara who had activated Susanoo was attacked by Tsunade, so does she care whether the Sand Village has a tailed beast or not?

You really think you are the sun! You cry and scream when you run out of food, and scare this and that! Konoha won't fall for that!
"Hmph, let's stop here for today!"

Luo Sha waved his hand angrily and left, leaving the two women staring at each other.

At this moment, there was a knock on the office door.

"Enter."

Uchiha Yu pushed the door open and was a little surprised to see Mei Terumi, but his expression didn't change much, "Lady Tsunade, I have something urgent to tell you."

Mei Terumi looked at Uchiha Yu carefully, her face inexplicably flushed, and after a moment she nodded: "Then I will take my leave first."

(End of this chapter)