Konoha Notes

Chapter 344 Interlude
A letter carrying a warning arrived on Onoki's desk. After reading it, he could only sigh that it was bad news again, and had no other thoughts.

Old Purple's determination to leave was beyond imagination. From the moment news of the flying fortress appeared, Onoki summoned him back. He did return, but after staying outside the village for a few days, he left again after learning that the fortress was gone.

Onoki ordered the Anbu to give chase, issuing numerous warnings. He said the enemy was powerful, and the current threat was only the tip of the iceberg. As a Jinchūriki and the vessel for the Four-Tails, he shouldn't continue training outside. He genuinely wanted to use this method to bring Rōshi back first.

In terms of the outcome, if there's anything that moved Old Purple, it's that he hasn't yet gone outside the Land of Earth.

What can Onoki do?

When Lao Zi left the village, he had already shown that he didn't care if Lao Zi was beaten to death. Now, if they forcibly bring him back and lock him up for a while, and then there is no news of any Jinchuriki being captured, Lao Zi will still leave, and it's probably the kind of person who can never be called back.

There's no other way but to see what results he can achieve in his spiritual practice outside.

"Old man!"

Deidara kicked the door open and entered.

Onoki immediately straightened his face.

"Why was my application rejected?" Deidara strode to the wooden table of Ono, pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, and slammed it on the table.

The Third Tsuchikage didn't even look at the paper, and asked expressionlessly, "Why are you participating in this kind of competition?"

"I made a promise with that Uchiha to defeat him on the field!"

"The joint training exercise has strict requirements regarding the number of years of experience, whether you're a genin or a chunin. You need to know how many years of experience your opponent has as a chunin."

"Furthermore, the use of illusion techniques is not allowed in martial arts competitions, and bloodline limits are restricted."

"You must have heard these things during the meeting, right?"

“Hmph, I heard you perfectly well, old man,” Deidara said. “As the organizer, we can retain our own characteristics as long as the secret service allows. At the time, Wenya insisted on keeping the rules of the Iwagakure Western Exchange Activities, and the final agreement was to control the damage.”

"Furthermore, the use of illusion magic will not be investigated as long as I, as the opponent, do not actively report it, hmm!"

"Although we don't know his age, judging from his physique, he won't have been a Chunin for more than three years."

The blond boy was smug.

Onoki's face immediately darkened: "I told you to attend the meeting properly, and after hearing that, this is all you can think of?"

"I've made thorough preparations for revenge!" Deidara patted the application form again. "Approve it quickly, old man. My art will soon be on the field..."

"No way!" The Tsuchikage slammed his fist on the table in anger. "He's been thinking about this every day..."

While fuming, Onoki suddenly remembered Old Purple who had run outside, and finally managed to suppress his anger.

“The ninjas participating in the martial arts competition need to submit their identity information to the Martial Arts Affairs Bureau for review. That Uchiha is an Anbu member, and his information is kept confidential. It is even more impossible for him to change his personal information for a mere competition.”

"And the same applies to you. All the ninjas present at the time were Jonin level. Even if the village didn't specifically raise your ninja level, your information appearing in the Martial Arts Affairs Bureau would arouse suspicion from other ninja villages. Even if the village approves it, they will question Iwagakure's motives."

His attitude softened somewhat, and he said to Deidara, "If you really want to find an Uchiha as your opponent, I will give you the opportunity."

Onoki's unusually non-aggressive attitude finally led Deidara to leave with his application. Watching the young man leave, Onoki, the oldest member of the Kage, felt his worries grow.

All sorts of things have appeared in the ninja world, and the methods are becoming more and more diverse, both underwater and aerial. Even though they have acquired some flight wing technology through the Bureau of Affairs, they are only just getting started, while Konoha and Kumogakure have been working on it for at least a year.

The Light and Heavy Rock Technique is a secret technique belonging to the Tsuchikage, and it is quite difficult...

He put the warning letter aside and pulled out another document, which was the list of exchange students going to Konoha this year. After thinking it over, Onoki added two more names to it.
-
Onoki, who received the warning letter, had many worries, while Ai, who was personally reminded of the situation, found it rather strange.

After finishing his business, Shuji found a hot spring inn in Kumogakure. Apart from taking a bath and having some food, he didn't do anything else.

After waiting for three days and finding that the other party seemed to have no new topics to talk about, Ai went to their door in person.

Shuji, dressed in a dark blue yukata-style casual robe, leaned against a pillar on the veranda. On the low table in front of him were a white porcelain teapot and two teacups, along with several plates of delicate pastries.

In the distance are the layered buildings of Kumogakure, and further away are the clouds and mist that linger in the mountains all year round.

“Even Darui isn’t as lazy as you are now, Shuji.”

"After several years of hard work, I'm planning to prepare for a more leisurely life in the future. Would you like some tea, Lord Raikage?"

Ai looked at him suspiciously, then said, "Now? After announcing several pieces of bad news in a row, are you telling me you're preparing for retirement?"

So it's just preparation.

"What are you planning now... Never mind, I have no interest in finding out. But there's something I need to tell you since you're here."

"When preparing for the martial arts competition this year, Yunyin discovered that someone was secretly organizing gladiatorial matches."

Shuji sipped his tea, waiting for the next part to follow.

"The location is on an overseas island. According to preliminary intelligence, the spectators are all famous people from various countries, including not only people from the Land of Lightning, but also nobles from the Land of Water."

"It is a place with absolutely no bottom line, where ninjas are used as bargaining chips, including the trading of human lives."

"Is the joint team's authority insufficient?" Xiu Si asked.

"According to our investigation, some of the bloodline ninjas who left Kirigakure in the past have also appeared in the arena..."

Shuji understood what Ai meant.

"Are you suspecting that Kirigakure is also a participant in overseas arenas?"

"Because they are hated and expelled by Kirigakure, young bloodline ninjas are left without protection and are forced to become gladiators for others. This is an entire industry chain," A said. "Without confirming Kirigakure's role in this, the joint team cannot act rashly. Otherwise, it may escalate into a diplomatic incident between ninja villages."

"Moreover, there is another force at sea now, you should be aware of that."

"The Land of Snow, Dawn." Shuji put down the cup in his hand.

(End of this chapter)