Konoha Notes

Chapter 79 Luo Sha
The fifth team stayed in Sunagakure Village for two days.

The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, finally returned from the northern fortress. He did not immediately summon the Konoha envoy, but instead listened to Ebizo's detailed report on the negotiations.

"That's the condition; Konoha's bottom line is very strict."

Luo Sha sat upright in the Wind Shadow position, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the cold armrest, making a soft tapping sound.

"Can't we try to get more?"

"If we were to ask Konoha for a piece of land at this time, would they agree?"

Ebizo met Rasa's gaze, but instead of answering the tempting question directly, he threw out a seemingly unrelated fact: "Fourth Hokage, the current Raikage is not like his father."

Luo Sha's fingers, which were tapping the armrest, paused.

That Third Raikage was capable of doing something as foolish as attacking Sunagakure across the entire ninja world, and then, after failing to attack Sunagakure, he went on to attack Iwagakure.

What's the point? Just because the Third Kazekage is missing? Neighboring Iwagakure and Konoha haven't even said a word yet, so why is the Raikage, who's miles away, in such a hurry?
Even if we could win, what would happen? Would the Land of Wind become an enclave of the Land of Lightning?

Thinking of defeating Sunagakure and Iwagakure? And then attacking Konoha together? Can't you just say so before you attack Konoha? We can do it together.

Such a reckless man, who acts solely on impulse, would disregard the realities of his homeland and fight Konoha to the death if his envoy were killed by Konoha.

But the current Fourth Raikage, A, is not his father. He may be just as irritable and easily angered, but he is better at weighing the pros and cons and understanding what is worthwhile.

Rasa, of course, understood Ebizo's subtext—

The Akai incident has been brewing for several days, but the Hidden Cloud Village has only made a lot of noise but not much action, which already speaks volumes about their stance.

In this situation, if Sunagakure were to demand land from Konoha, the chances of success would be very low. Instead, it might force Konoha to compromise with Kumogakure first.

As the Konoha envoy said, they turned around and made peace with Iwagakure... Kumogakure is thousands of miles away, while Iwagakure is a hostile neighbor of Sunagakure. The entanglement and friction of interests between the two sides in the western countries have never stopped.

However… such opportunities are far too rare. Luo Sha felt a little regretful; chances to thoroughly rip off an ally were few and far between.

“Onoki cannot be trusted.” Ebizo looked at Rasa’s expression, his tone becoming much more serious. “That guy, although we don’t know how he managed to plan this operation.”

"But, his plan was definitely not designed to benefit Sunagakure."

"We would never allow Sunagakure to gain such a great benefit after going to such lengths."

"Fourth Hokage, let's first secure the benefits we can hold onto! Food, supplies, mission quotas—these are the tangible things that can solve our immediate problems. As for land? Or even dividing up Konoha? That's too far-fetched and too unrealistic."

"If there is any hope, it's not too late to take action then."

Luo Sha was silent for a moment, then asked about something else.

"Have you found Feng Juan's whereabouts?"

“Yesterday, Maki confirmed it in the land of rivers,” Ebizo said casually. “They’re dead. They’re dead along with the men he took with him. Utterly foolish, trying to control the will of the village and act on their own, bringing about their own destruction.”

"Really? He's dead." Rasa thought for a moment, his eyes flickering. "Killed by someone from Konoha?"

"Probably so."

"Then... could we use this as a reason to ask Konoha for something else? After all, we've lost several elite ninjas..."

The old advisor from Sunagakure chuckled: "If the Fourth Hokage thinks it's feasible, he might as well try it himself."

It's not a matter of the old man's pride—yes, our people intended to cooperate with Iwagakure in attacking Konoha, so what? Does Konoha even need Sunagakure as an ally? If it were a different messenger, he might be willing to swallow his pride again and perhaps even get something more.

The one who has arrived now is no simple character. Ebizo can imagine what Shuji will say after he speaks up for this.

He had no interest in arguing with that young man again.

Upon hearing this, Luo Sha stopped mentioning the matter and simply said, "In that case, I will go and meet with the envoy from Konoha."
-
Kazekage office.

"Lord Kazekage." Shuuji bowed slightly, followed closely by Anko and Itachi.

"The envoy from Konoha has had a long and arduous journey. Advisor Ebizo has explained the details to me."

"The Sand Village will firmly uphold its alliance with Konoha and work together to address this crisis. Please rest assured, village."

Hongdou's lips twitched almost imperceptibly, and she almost couldn't help but question what "steadfastness" meant, but the captain in front of her kept her quiet.

Uchiha Itachi quietly observed the relationships between the villages, and learned a great deal from this mission.

Shuji wore a perfectly timed smile.

He then said, "Lord Kazekage has worked tirelessly for the alliance, and Konoha is deeply grateful. I wonder how the battle is going at the Northern Fortress? If the pressure on the front lines is too great, as an ally, Konoha is willing to provide support and fight the powerful enemy together."

Luo Sha replied, "The battle at the front is at a stalemate, but Elder Chiyo of our village has gone to take command on my behalf. The defense line is solid, and there is no major problem for the time being."

"As for Konoha's assistance, Sunagakure is deeply grateful. The Land of Wind is poor and barren, and Sunagakure is indeed in dire need of material aid."

Pay more? Of course.

"Regarding the matter of food and supplies, Advisor Ebizo and I have already reached an agreement, and Konoha will do its best."

Pay more? Forget about it.

Shuji brushed it off and revealed his true request: "Konoha is willing to provide elite squads to directly support the Sunagakure defenses and share the burden."

Rasa's expression remained unchanged: "Sunagakure appreciates the sentiments of our ally. However, your village is currently under pressure from Kumogakure and is in a difficult situation as well. It would be best to use your elite forces to deal with Kumogakure first. Sunagakure can still hold on."

Support? What a joke. The news of the Iwagakure envoy's death hasn't even spread yet, and Iwagakure is still trying to win over Sunagakure. There's practically nothing happening on the northern front. They just throw out some shuriken every day, and they have to pick them up and use them again the next day.

Luo Sha stayed at the front lines only as a precaution, and also to let the old advisor play the bad guy in the rear.

Konoha said they were sending reinforcements, but how many could actually come? Just a few small teams, more like supervisory teams than reinforcements.

Their arrival will most likely cause trouble, and a major battle between Sunagakure and Iwagakure will probably be unavoidable.

Luo Sha did not want to fight.

This is fine as it is; they just take the money and do nothing.

Moreover, people in Sunagakure have already died because of this.

Although Kazemaki, that idiot, deserved to die, he was, after all, a ninja from Sunagakure, and he died in the Land of Rivers.

Why do they ignore the deaths of those who died at the hands of Konoha ninjas, and now they don't question or hold anyone accountable? This is the sacrifice of Sunagakure.

(End of this chapter)