Konoha Notes

Chapter 442 The Visionaries
Upon hearing this, the first thing that flashed through Shikamaru's mind was the three empty seats in the classroom that day.

"Dad, could it be..."

“I know what you’re thinking.” Nara Shikaku didn’t beat around the bush this time, but answered directly, “It has nothing to do with them, the village knows the situation.”

"Today, we just arranged for Naruto and the others to have a medical check-up."

After his anxiety subsided, Shikamaru asked, "What about the cause of death? Has it been determined?"

This time, Shikaku didn't answer immediately. He walked to the low table in the living room, sat down, and poured himself a cup of chilled barley tea. The sound of the tea being poured into the cup was particularly clear in the quiet evening.

“Shikamaru,” the head of the Nara clan said, his tone different from usual, “you should know that I have never had any special requirements for you.”

Shikamaru paused for a moment, then sat down on the cushion opposite him: "Why are you suddenly bringing this up..."

Shikaku held his teacup, his gaze fixed on the swirling tea within, without drinking immediately. His profile appeared more serious than usual in the sunset, the languid fatherly image that usually lingered on him vanishing in that moment.

"Then why," he continued, "why would I allow Kakashi to repeatedly summon you to the Joint Affairs Bureau during your rest time?"

Shikamaru replied, "Because that place is important, right?"

“It’s not just important,” Shikaku said, “it’s that the rules are changing.”

"If you want to understand the world of ninjas, to understand missions, villages, and wars, you only need to participate in a few actual missions to integrate the principles from books and the knowledge you hear into your own way of thinking."

"You have that talent."

"But things will be different in the future."

His tone became serious, and the image of a lazy father vanished in that moment, replaced by the demeanor of the leader of the Konoha Jonin team.

"No one can say for sure what the rules will look like in the future. But one thing is certain."

“You can only truly experience those changes earlier in a place like the Joint Affairs Bureau.”

"Those who are outside, no matter how perceptive they are, can at most sense that a change is about to happen, but they can't say how the weather will change or which direction the rain will come from."

Shikamaru stared at Nara Shikaku: "Dad..."

“And those who sense the impending change are not just ninjas,” Shikaku said in a low voice.

Not just ninjas.

As Shikamaru pondered those words, fragmented thoughts began to automatically piece together in his mind—nobles watching the match, requests for encores, contact, death…

A vague outline took shape in his mind. The deaths of those people were probably not just a matter of a few people dying.

"Did they die on purpose?" Shikamaru asked, but immediately realized something was wrong.

Those nobles were clearly afraid of the risks and only dared to come to Konoha to watch the game after the opening ceremony. How could such people possibly have that kind of courage?
Shikaku shook his head.

“They died with dignity,” he said.

Very respectable.

Shikamaru didn't understand the meaning of this word at first. In ordinary people's terms, dying with dignity probably means dying without pain, in a peaceful posture, and with proper funeral arrangements.

But looking into his father's eyes, he suddenly understood: in the world of ninjas, dying with dignity often meant that the body was intact. No mutilation, no damage, all features preserved.

An intact corpse means that no secret can be kept.

There are countless ways to uncover the truth from a perfectly intact corpse. If those nobles were indeed plotting something, choosing such a way to die would be tantamount to voluntarily abandoning all cover-up.

They are really dead.

But not because they wanted to die.

That was enough. Shikaku didn't intend for his son to be exposed to anything more cruel at his age. He reached out and patted Shikamaru's shoulder lightly, but it brought Shikamaru back to his senses.

"Go do your homework first," Lu Jiu said, her tone returning to its usual gentleness. "Mom is still cooking; she should be done soon."

"Ah."

The conversation between father and son ended there.

After dinner, Nara Shikaku changed into dark casual clothes and went out again.

The atmosphere in the conference room on the top floor of the Hokage Building was more solemn than usual.

Seated on one side of the long table were Konoha's high-ranking officials: former Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, current Hokage Tsunade, advisors Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, and Shikaku Nara.

On the other side was a delegation of officials from the Land of Fire. Leading them was Danai, a man around fifty years old, wearing a dark purple kimono jacket, his hair neatly combed, and a polite smile on his face, but no smile in his eyes.

"Regarding the fact that all the band members are Jinchūriki," Danga said, "if Konoha had made a formal statement beforehand, this situation wouldn't be what it is now."

Tsunade's brow furrowed: "What does this have to do with them? The incident itself is irrelevant."

"Fifth Generation," Danga bowed slightly, his posture respectful, but his words were unyielding, "Jinchūriki are beings that harbor calamities, with powerful monsters sealed within their bodies. This is a consensus among the Five Great Nations."

"Now that this has happened so suddenly, and the deceased happened to have been in contact with band members... it's really hard to avoid speculation from the outside world."

The events of last night have already spread throughout Konoha and the surrounding areas. Konoha has conducted a preliminary investigation and has identified the source of the information.

Almost all of these messages came from close associates of the daimyo or from the deceased's family. The way the messages were relayed was also very subtle; they weren't announced publicly, but rather mentioned casually during tea parties, banquets, or private conversations.

"The investigation is still ongoing," Tsunade tapped her fingers on the table, "Until the results are in, do not spread rumors that 'people died due to contact with unknown individuals'..."

Tuanhe remained polite: "Please understand, it's just the common concern of the deceased's relatives and friends. After all, the deceased were their family members and colleagues. Seeking explanations in grief is only human nature."

"Konoha will ensure the thoroughness of the follow-up investigation and will also strengthen security measures," Mitokado Homura interjected, trying to ease the tension. "This kind of thing will not happen again, so please help control the spread of the news. If the Daimyo's official residence can come forward to clarify, it will greatly help stabilize the situation."

"Control?" Tuanhe shook his head slightly. "Advisor Mitomon, the message has already been sent out."

"Right now, many people in the Fire City are talking about this. They're worried that if even the daimyo's personal guards can suddenly die after coming into contact with certain beings, then who will be next?"

His gaze swept over the people of Konoha, finally settling on Tsunade.

"Of course, Konoha has long fulfilled its duty to protect the Land of Fire. We have never questioned that. But the current situation is special. The safety of the Daimyo must be the top priority, and the public's anxiety also needs to be appeased."

"But please forgive my bluntness, the conclusion that Konoha has given so far regarding the cause of death as 'sudden failure of bodily functions' is really hard to believe."

"This sounds more like some kind of unpreventable and incurable epidemic. Under this explanation, public panic will only intensify, not subside." A moment of silence fell over the meeting room.

Tuanhe stood up, and his entourage followed suit.

“Perhaps returning to the Land of Fire for now is a last resort,” he said. “After all, the safety of the Daimyo is paramount. We’ll discuss this further once we have more concrete results from the investigation in Konoha.”

After speaking, he bowed slightly, then turned and left the conference room with his entourage.

The door closed gently.

A brief silence fell over the room.

“We can’t just let the daimyo leave like this,” Koharu Utatane said first. “If we evacuate at this time, the outside world will interpret it as Konoha having lost control and not even being able to guarantee the safety of the daimyo. Nobles and officials from other countries will also be shaken.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi said in a deep voice, "I will go directly to the daimyo tomorrow to negotiate. There are some things that Dango may not be able to convey in full."

"The most important thing right now is to control the rumors." Tsunade's fingers tapped unconsciously on the table, a habitual gesture when she was thinking. "Those messages are spreading too fast."

Mitomon Homura pushed up his glasses, his brows furrowed: "Those are all people from the Daimyo's official residence. If we use drastic measures to suppress them, it may provoke even more covert resistance."

"At that time, the rumors will only spread further and become more difficult to trace their source."

Nara Shikaku finally spoke. He had been observing Dango's expression and words, and now he slowly said, "Regarding the control of information, I think it's enough to focus it on the village. As for external information, instead of forcibly blocking it, it's better to use other more attractive information to counteract it."

"The outcome of the martial arts competition, the performance of the contestants, the upsets, and the emergence of dark horses—these are the topics that most viewers are really concerned about," Lu Jiu calmly analyzed. His voice was not loud, but it drew everyone's attention. "We can release information and news through the hosts, commentators, and the bulletin boards in the venue area."

"As for the concerns within the aristocratic circles, those are matters within a fixed scope. As long as they don't spread to the general public, the impact is controllable."

"After all, Lord Tuanhe's words were very polite, which shows that they do not want the situation to get completely out of control."

Koharu and Homura exchanged a glance and nodded.

This is indeed a more prudent approach. Forcibly suppressing the conflict will only exacerbate the situation, while guiding attention is a gentler way to deal with it.

"That's settled then." Tsunade made the decision. "Shikaku, the specific arrangements are up to you."

"clear."

The discussion of temporary countermeasures had reached a point where a direction was being taken. However, the atmosphere in the room did not lighten much as a result.

Shikaku was silent for a moment, and when he spoke again, his tone was more cautious than before: "However, these problems now... are probably not the real reason for the Daimyo's attitude this time."

He didn't continue speaking, but everyone present understood the unspoken meaning.

The deaths of nobles were merely the surface, the spread of rumors was just a means, and the daimyo's withdrawal was merely a gesture. Behind all this, something deeper was brewing.

It is a change in the rules; the balance maintained over the past few decades is being shaken.

Those who have noticed this, whether they are lords, nobles, or anyone else, are reacting in their own ways.

"Let's deal with the immediate problem first," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

The meeting ended. Hiruzen Sarutobi, Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, and Shikaku left one by one. Tsunade remained alone in the room, without turning on the lights, simply sitting in the gradually darkening shadows, gazing at the lights of Konoha outside the window.

The streetlights stretched out in a continuous, warm glow, creating a peaceful atmosphere. People were heading home after a long day's work, or gathering in pubs to discuss the day's games. Children chased and played in the streets, snacks they had bought from stalls in their hands.

After a long while, the door was pushed open.

Shuji walked in. He closed the door behind him and sat down in the chair opposite Tsunade.

“Naruto and the others are fine,” he said. “They’ve been checked, and no spores were planted on them.”

"Just go back to class as usual tomorrow."

Tsunade said, "The people at the meeting tonight were acting ambiguously."

As she spoke, her voice trembled with annoyance: "They actually used Naruto and the others as a pretext."

Just a few days ago, she was standing in the audience, watching the children, the human jinchūriki, and the audience cheering, standing up, and waving their arms for them.

That pure passion ignited by music and performance touched her deeply.

But in the blink of an eye, the same thing was twisted into something else.

“People driven by fear see everything as a monster,” Shuuji said calmly. “And exploiting this fear is the simplest way to manipulate others.”

"Fear doesn't need logic, it just needs a target."

"And the spread of rumors makes it impossible to even confirm whether any shapeshifters were involved."

White Zetsu's transformation technique possesses the highest level of concealment, even impervious to the Byakugan. If someone were to blend into a crowd, using the transformation technique to disguise themselves as an ordinary nobleman or servant, and inadvertently reveal a few words, it would be impossible to trace them.

"But rash accusations will only exacerbate the conflict."

"Even if the imposter is caught on the spot, the final conclusion might still be that this was Konoha's design."

Ultimately, the root of the problem lies in the fact that the current managers who have perpetuated their past positions lack power, while the ones who possess power are the ninjas.

The Joint Affairs Bureau is still too young, and even its current smooth progress is inseparable from the cooperation of the production and supply ports.

The cooperation of the daimyo is also due to the existence of the Joint Affairs Bureau, which is a result of past cooperation with the ninja villages.

If this were at another time, it would be much easier to handle. As a military monopoly, the Joint Affairs Bureau can easily resolve external conflicts once an internal consensus is reached.

The problem is that the world today is not just about the five great ninja villages.

"It seems that Xiao is also progressing very quickly."

"It seems they've started redirecting their brainpower elsewhere."

Should we take care of the daimyo directly using some other method...?

and many more……

Xiu Si seemed to be deep in thought.

"I see……"

(End of this chapter)