Konoha Notes

Chapter 48 Hozuki's Flame Fades
Jubei loosened his grip on the hilt of the sword.

The murderous blade, which had once been as docile as an extension of his limbs, now fell limply to the ground, emitting a dull metallic sound that was unusually jarring in the deathly silent courtyard.

He took several steps back, creating some distance between himself and Xiu Si.

His gaze swept across the courtyard, which resembled a battlefield of carnage—the lifeless body of the skeleton lay stiffly in a pool of blood, and not far away, the brat from the Uchiha clan knelt on one knee, his head bowed, his body trembling slightly uncontrollably, each breath a tearing, difficult struggle.

"Hai Shi, he's dead." Jubei's voice was hoarse. "He actually died at the hands of a child."

The explosions in the backyard continued.

"Water erosion seems to be out of the question."

That chilling killing intent suddenly crumbled. The beast guard's straight shoulders and back seemed to sag slightly, then quickly tensed up again.

He stared at Xiu Si, his eyes, deep in the shadows of his brow bone, like two pools of blood about to dry up.

"Phantom Eclipse sent a message: You are at Sea Breeze Pavilion. Now you are standing here...Phantom Eclipse, are you dead too?" The question was phrased as a question, but it was a statement of absolute certainty.

Before Xiu Si could answer, he pressed on, "What about the First Eclipse?"

"That one whose arms and neck could extend and retract at will?" Xiu Si's tone was flat and emotionless. "Dead. I killed it."

died.

An indescribable sense of emptiness, a mixture of absurdity and bone-chilling cold, filled his entire body. The muscles on Jubei's face twitched nervously, twisting into a strange, ambiguous expression that was neither a smile nor a laugh.

How could this be... how did you do that?
The thought flashed through my mind for only a moment before being overwhelmed by a deeper weariness and coldness.

Not important anymore.

This seemingly hastily assembled squad from Konoha, which even included an eight-year-old child, destroyed his Black Devourer.

Illusionary Erosion and Skeleton Erosion possess powerful destructive capabilities against enemies who are unaware of their abilities.

The First Eclipse is the strongest fighter in the world besides him.

Without these three, even if we fight with all our might to kill the ninja in front of us and crush the two remaining Konoha ninjas in the courtyard, what good will it do?

The grand plan to build the village, which had consumed so much effort and risked everything, and the blueprint that had been repeatedly revised in countless late nights, now seemed as absurd and laughable as ice and snow under the scorching sun.

What did he do wrong?
Every step has been carefully considered and weighed repeatedly.

Before the peace talks between Konoha and Kumogakure were finalized, they set up the framework for the village and obtained the official endorsement of the Land of Tea.

As long as this banner is firmly established, any further action by Konoha would be a blatant act of aggression against the legitimate armed forces of a sovereign nation.

At that time, by extending olive branches and offering benefits to Kumogakure, Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kirigakure, and by using multiple parties to restrain them, Konoha will inevitably be hesitant to act rashly.

If they can withstand the first few waves of the most dangerous assassinations and probing attacks, they will have the opportunity to sit at the negotiating table, cede a portion of their mission assignments to Konoha in exchange for peace, and then seek opportunities to grow stronger.

What exactly went wrong?

Should we have been too unconfident in the daimyo's choice and hastily dispatched the First Eclipse to intercept the messenger?

Should we not have been so indecisive and delayed in taking action against the Konoha ninja?
Or did we let that old bastard Wasabi Jirocho live for too long, giving him the opportunity to collude on evidence and deliver a fatal blow?

Chaotic thoughts churned and collided in my mind, eventually turning into a cold, deathly silence.

With a sudden flick of his toe, Jubei lifted a longsword that had fallen to the ground and placed it firmly in his hand. The hilt felt cold to the touch, as if it were his only remaining support.

“Konoha ninja,” Jubei’s voice deepened, carrying an unusual calm, “state your name.”

"Shushi."

“Shuji…” Jubei slowly chewed on the name, as if savoring a bitter aftertaste.

"Beast Guardian, leader of the Tea Mountain Gang." He announced his first identity, paused, and then a deeper and more tragic aura emanated from him. "Nether Eclipse, leader of the Black Eclipse Clan." The moment his voice fell.

Suddenly, a dense, dark blue vein, like a spiderweb, appeared on Jubei's exposed skin, as if some living thing was running and burning under his skin!
The air around him suddenly distorted and heated up, and a scorching and violent aura erupted from him!
A series of sharp, crackling sounds emanated from deep within his bones, as if an invisible force was forcibly stretching and reshaping his body.

His already imposing physique seemed to have expanded even further, his bulging muscles bulging beneath his clothes, and his skin taking on an eerie dark red hue due to the immense energy surging within.

Secret Technique: Extinguishing the Hozuki!

Open three acupoints near the heart to unleash the body's potential.

The young ninja in front of me is definitely not an enemy that my current physical abilities can handle.

"Miss Shizune," Shuji's voice rang out amidst the ever-increasing, terrifying pressure emanating from Jubei, yet remained steady, "Are you still able to move?"

Shizune's face was pale, and she nodded through gritted teeth: "Yes! I'm sorry... it was my carelessness."

“Please keep an eye on Itachi,” Shuuji said, his gaze sweeping over the black-haired boy kneeling in the distance, his breathing so faint it was barely perceptible. “His condition is very bad.”

"Understood!" Without hesitation, Shizune pressed the slug on her shoulder with her left hand and staggered but determinedly rushed towards Itachi's direction.

“Red Bean,” Shuuji’s gaze shifted to his purple-haired companion, “Mr. Jirocho needs help in the backyard.”

"Okay—" Hongdou's tense nerves relaxed a bit with the captain's return. "He's ordering people around as soon as he gets back! I'll leave this guy in the captain's care!"

She turned nimbly, lightly touched the ground with her feet, and was about to rush towards the backyard where the explosions were still happening.

"Wait!" Jubei's hoarse voice rang out abruptly, like rusty iron scraping against each other.

Hongdou suddenly stopped, turned around sharply, and her eyes instantly blazed with vigilance and confusion as she stared intently at the warrior who resembled a burning beast.

"That little girl," Jubei's eyes, burned red by the violent energy, locked onto Anko through the swirling, distorted air, "who are you to Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru?!

Her pupils suddenly contracted, and the blood in her body seemed to freeze for a moment, then rush wildly to her head! Her clenched fists made a soft "crackling" sound from the excessive force, and her nails dug deeply into her palms.

"What... are you saying?" Her voice trembled slightly, each word seeming to be squeezed out from between her teeth.

"Snake Ninja Technique... I won't mistake that cold, slippery smell."

Jubei's voice carried an almost dreamlike indifference, as if stating a fact that had nothing to do with him.

"Orochimaru... that man once manipulated our Black Eclipse Clan and left behind some 'souvenirs'..."

His words were tinged with regret, "What a pity, I should have snapped your neck first. You're his disciple, right?"

"You—!" Extreme anger almost made Hongdou lose her mind and lunge forward, a metallic taste rising in her throat.

She bit her lower lip hard until she tasted the rusty flavor.

Betrayal, pain, and self-doubt assaulted her nerves...

But the next moment, the captain's calm back, Shizune's blood-stained arm, and Itachi's weak breath, like a cold tide, forcibly suppressed her surging anger and killing intent.

“I…” Hongdou took a deep breath, her chest heaving violently, and when she spoke again, her voice was forced into a calm tone, “I will kill him with my own hands sooner or later!”

Without glancing at the beastman again, she abruptly turned around, the hem of her dark purple trench coat drawing a sharp arc in the turbulent air currents, shooting towards the battlefield in the backyard where fire and explosions intertwined.

In the center of the courtyard, only the two of them remained.

On one side was a ferocious beast engulfed in eerie blue flames, as if it had stepped out of a furnace from hell.

On the other side was a Konoha Jonin, whose figure was as tall and straight as a solitary peak and whose aura was as deep and still as a deep pool.

(End of this chapter)