Konoha Notes

Chapter 91 Clues

News of Iwagakure being driven out of the Land of Fire arrived three days after Shuji left.

The specific details of the battle were kept secret, but the results were not. The morale of the villagers, which had been somewhat unsettled, returned to normal.

This is related to his predecessors, That's what Itachi thinks.

"Why?" Izumi asked, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at Itachi.

“It is precisely because it is a mission of this level that we need to mobilize you alone.” Itachi’s tone was very certain. “Your strength has always been unfathomable. Although we have gone through several missions together, it has never been fully revealed.”

"The Third Hokage must have been aware of this, which is why he only summoned his predecessors."

Uchiha Izumi was a mediocre ninja. She was self-aware of her own abilities, and even though she had awakened the Sharingan, she was still a nobody as a ninja.

Itachi was the most outstanding and talented ninja she knew. Since he said so, it must be him.

So she smiled and replied, "Yes, you're right."

"I'm going to train, Izumi."

"Go for it, Itachi!"
-
The village still hasn't conscripted us.

As Aoko trained, fragments of the villagers' conversations kept flashing through her ears: Iwagakure had retreated, Kumogakure was willing to talk, and the Tsuchikage had been driven out of the Land of Grass...

However, there was still no news of Xiu Si; no one knew where he had gone. He should have had a share in these achievements, but as a member of Class 5, she was left behind because she was too weak.

The sky darkened without us noticing.

Hongdou dragged her tired body back to the apartment building, but stopped at the door.

"Xiu...Si?" The voice was soft, uncertain, as if he thought he had mistaken the person.

"Haven't you eaten?" The captain looked up and glanced at her upon hearing the voice.

"Ah... um, not yet..."

"Open the door first, I'll have a drink of water, and then I'll call Itachi and we'll go eat."

Red Bean's mind was a little dazed, but her body acted first, obediently opening the door. She mechanically went to the kitchen to boil water, watching as Shuji, just like the first time he came, tidied up the ninja tools and clutter she had scattered around, scolding her for this old habit as he did so.

Because she was so hungry, Hongdou opened a cup of instant noodles.

When she realized that there seemed to be only one bucket of noodles left, she resigned herself to taking out a bowl and the two of them shared it.

"Hey! You gave me too little!" She stared at the small half-bowl that Shuuji pushed over and complained naturally. Hongdou protested indignantly, "Is this how the captain mistreats his team members?!"

"I'll treat you to something to eat later. If you eat too much instant noodles, the red beans will turn into sweet potatoes."

"What sweet potato! That's too much! Shuuji!" Red Bean bared her teeth and claws, trying to pounce, but her face was pinched by a hand, and she was furiously impotent.

She mumbled incoherently, but ultimately accepted the assignment obediently. She quickly finished her noodles, tidied herself up briefly, and was then led by Shuji out to find Itachi.

"Senior, you're back." Itachi's eyes lit up slightly when he saw Shuuji, but he quickly regained his composure and greeted him politely.

"Have you eaten yet?" Xiu Si asked as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Eh..." Itachi had obviously eaten by now, but looking at Anko behind Shuuji with a grin, he said, "Not yet."

Itachi Uchiha naturally lied.

"Let's go then. Speaking of which, there haven't been any new shops in the village lately." "I want to eat tempura!" Red Bean raised her hand.

"Weasel?"

"I can make tempura too."

"Then tempura it is."

Hongdou originally had a lot of complaints and strange things she wanted to say, but now she feels like there's no need to say anything at all.

With the fighting on the western front subsided, many ninjas on leave came out to relax, so the atmosphere inside the shop was quite lively.

Amidst the commotion, several middle-aged ninjas were raising their glasses in celebration.

"Finally, we've driven those bastards from Iwagakure out!" A ninja with a scar on his face gulped down a large mouthful of sake. "This time, we've finally gotten our revenge."

"Even theirs..."

"Hey!" another, slightly older ninja quickly interrupted, "What happens on the battlefield is classified, you absolutely cannot talk about it! Don't forget!"

"Sorry... I just remembered Kento. To cover for us... they..." The scarred ninja's voice trailed off.

This topic caused the atmosphere in the entire shop to become much colder. Hongdou slowed down her movements as she picked up food and looked at Xiu Si.

The captain lowered his eyes and took a sip of tea.

"I heard there's still some wrangling on the Cloud Hidden side?" Another table of guests tried to change the subject, bringing up another important matter. "The negotiations have been going on for a while now, haven't they reached a result yet?"

"It was clearly their envoy who did those things in the village first, yet they have the nerve to turn around and question us..."

"If you ask me, the Hyuga clan shouldn't have gone so far," a different voice came from the corner. "If they had just subdued them, the situation wouldn't be so passive. Now look what's happened..."

"what are you saying!"

The lively atmosphere completely dissipated amidst the arguing. The shop owner hurriedly ran out from behind the counter, smiling and trying to smooth things over. Several regular customers at nearby tables also spoke up to reconcile the situation, saying that people shouldn't fight amongst themselves on such a day.

The owner offered each table a complimentary serving of fried shrimp tempura, and the tense atmosphere gradually eased amidst the aroma of the food and words of comfort.

But once words are spoken, they represent a real idea.

As Shuji ate the shrimp the boss had given him, the sweet taste lingered in his mouth, but his mind was filled with thoughts of Hinata.

During the pressure of fighting on two fronts, no one had time to investigate the details. Now that the external threat has eased, the internal rifts and resentment are beginning to seek an outlet.

After a fierce battle with Iwagakure, the list of casualties was shocking. Negotiations with Kumogakure were destined to be difficult and might involve concessions. With nowhere else to vent their negative emotions, they finally found a seemingly reasonable target to dump them on—the Hyuga clan.

Even if one rationally understands that the Hyuga clan is the victim in this matter, when one's own pain and loss need to find a responsible party to bear, people will subconsciously hope that the victim could have done something more perfect.

It's always easier to criticize the victims than to confront the cruelty and irrationality of war itself.

At times like these, if the village's leadership doesn't take the initiative to guide public opinion and build consensus, the pressure on the Hyuga clan will only increase day by day.

Ultimately, the outcome will likely be the same one he already knew.

Shuji couldn't be sure if Konoha's original situation was more difficult than it is now, to the point that it had to make the decision to quell the conflict with the corpses of its own people. But in his personal judgment, Konoha was far from needing to take that step.

At the very least, given that Xiu Si's level of understanding is not yet high enough, he does not approve of this approach.

(End of this chapter)