Konoha Notes.

Chapter 435 Between Leisure and Reunion

Chapter 435 Between Leisure and Reunion

On September 13th, the sun was already quite high in the morning.

Thanks to the arrangements made for the opening ceremony of the joint martial arts exercise, Naruto, Gaara, and Fu were given leave and could fully devote themselves to the final rehearsals.

The long-awaited full-day preparation mode allowed them to rediscover the rhythm of their vacation and when the band was just starting out.

The morning training session came to a temporary end. The midday sun was shining directly down, which wasn't unbearable for the ninjas, but there was no need to tough it out. So they decided to rest for a few hours before continuing.

Naruto gulped down several mouthfuls of water and was about to ask where to get lunch when Fu came running over.

"Um, Shibuki's come to Konoha. He's in the Joint Affairs Bureau. I'll head over there first."

Fu waved her hand, turned around and ran away.

"Gaara, noon—"

Naruto was halfway through his sentence when he noticed Gaara looking in another direction.

There stood a short, elderly woman dressed in a black robe and wearing a white scarf. Even from a distance, one could sense a serene aura emanating from her.

"I need to go there."

Gaara said something and walked towards the person.

Naruto was suddenly left alone in the student group, so he immediately turned to the other group.

"Compare!"

A powerful roar exploded out.

A tall, burly figure with dark skin charged into the arena like a beast, taking only a few steps to reach Killer Bee. The Fourth Raikage, A, reached out and unceremoniously grabbed Killer Bee's head.

"Didn't I tell you to keep a low profile?! Huh?!"

"Are you really that obedient?"

"B-Big brother?! When did you get here... Wait, this timing isn't right—whoosh—!!!"

Killer Bee's scream instantly rose in pitch, a mixture of pained howls and broken rhythm, as the immense force lurched him to one side. Naruto felt a chill run down his spine just hearing the sound and instinctively shrank back.

"Explanation is useless!" Ai growled, giving the younger brother of the Jutsu no chance to defend himself or improvise a rap. He just held his head in his hand and turned to walk off the field.

Yukito sighed and followed the two brothers.

Immediately afterwards, Han stood up from behind the drum group and nodded to Naruto: "The Kage from each village are arriving one after another. As is customary, we need to report to the Secretariat."

As Yu Gao passed by, he added, "I'll be back later."

In just a few minutes, the once-bustling, number one band in history was suddenly reduced to just himself.

During this break, some ninjas responsible for venue maintenance entered the venue to check the equipment and adjust the lights. With more people, there was more noise.

But that sense of emptiness did not disappear.

Naruto walked to the sidelines alone, sat down on the steps, opened his lunchbox, picked up his chopsticks, and ate one bite after another, mechanically chewing, swallowing, and then picking up the next bite.

The bento box was quickly emptied.

Naruto closed the lid and stood up. There was still a long time before the agreed-upon regrouping time. He looked around, stuffed the lunchbox into his small bag, and walked away from the main arena.

The venue area was bustling with activity at noon, more so than anyone could have imagined.

Various stalls were set up on both sides of the street, and people were surging around. There were ninjas dressed in different colored ninja uniforms and wearing different headbands, as well as men, women, and children who looked like ordinary tourists.

Laughter, haggling, and hawking—all the sounds blended together, weaving a buzzing background noise.

Naruto wandered aimlessly through the bustling crowd.

At this time, Shikamaru and the others should have just finished class and be having lunch in the classroom or on the rooftop, right? Choji must have brought a huge bag of potato chips and other snacks whose names I can't even name.

As his gaze swept over the unfamiliar faces, some smiling and some curious, Naruto suddenly stopped in his tracks.

These people—thousands upon thousands, crowding the streets and stalls—will be sitting in the audience, watching them on stage, a few days later.

The thought suddenly crashed into my mind, like a red-hot coal, instantly burning from my stomach all the way to my chest, bringing a strange feeling of tightness.

Then, Yugito's words suddenly echoed in his mind:

"...Before you shout 'Absolute'...I ask you, Naruto, are you prepared...for death?"

The surrounding noise suddenly became somewhat jarring.

Naruto looked around. The little girl laughing heartily while holding a cotton candy, the middle-aged ninja arguing with his friends about which ramen stall was better, the old man buying balloons for his grandson… these smiling faces, these seemingly ordinary people—

Could there be among them...?

My heart pounded uncontrollably a few times, and my palms became inexplicably sweaty.

Naruto took a half step back, his heel bumping into someone's foot. "Sorry!" he hurriedly apologized, but the other person waved and walked away.

The crowd continued to flow past him, like a warm, noisy river, yet one that seemed impossible to truly merge into.

Now let's go back to the main arena. There are at least many village ninjas there. We'll wait until Uncle Bee and the others return...

but.

If you want to run away because of the current situation, what will you do when you actually take office?

He was determined.

Naruto slapped his face hard, then squeezed back into the crowd.

As I walked, a familiar yet unfamiliar accent entered my ears.

"...So, beautiful ladies, drawing inspiration for art often requires in-depth communication. Would you mind inviting a few of you to lunch to discuss the mysteries of life...?"

Naruto turned his head away.

At the drink stall on the street corner, Jiraiya was talking animatedly to three young women.

Without thinking, Naruto rushed over.

"What a lecherous immortal!!!"

The sound was loud enough to penetrate the noise of the entire street.

Jiraiya's expression stiffened. The three women were taken aback for a moment, then exchanged glances and burst out laughing almost simultaneously.

"A lecherous... immortal?"

"Wow, this uncle has such a cute nickname?"

"What an interesting nickname! But I'm sorry, we have other plans, so we'll have to leave now. Bye-bye!"

They smiled and waved, then gracefully merged into the crowd.

"Wait, wait! No! That's just some nonsense this brat uses!" Jiraiya's outstretched hand hung futilely in mid-air, trying to salvage the situation. "Let me explain! I am the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku—!"

However, the audience had already left. This energetic performance only earned him the scornful looks of passersby and Naruto's merciless glare.

Jiraiya slumped his shoulders and let out a long sigh. He walked up to Naruto and poked the other's forehead with his index finger in an annoyed manner.

"Damn it... my precious research time is wasted again. Do you know how difficult it is to find a beautiful woman willing to have a deep conversation, Naruto!"

"This isn't your job!" Naruto exclaimed, rubbing his forehead where he had been poked.

"This is my job!" Jiraiya glared back. "Alright, get out of my way. I'm off to find my next encounter."

"I won't let you succeed!"

Naruto grabbed Jiraiya's sleeve.

"Let go! Let go!" Jiraiya shook his arms, trying to break free. "I hate it when men pull and tug at me! Especially a brat like you!"

"don't want!"

Naruto was thrown from side to side, his feet almost leaving the ground, but he still held tightly to the piece of cloth.

"You little brat..." Jiraiya clicked his tongue and stopped what he was doing.

The two stood frozen at the street corner. Sunlight streamed in from the side, casting two intertwined shadows of different lengths on the ground. Passersby cast curious glances, then hurried on their way.

After a long pause, Jiraiya sighed as if admitting defeat.

"Never mind," he muttered, his tone clearly dismissive, "I have to go help out at the Bureau of Affairs, I don't have time to waste here with you."

"I want to go too."

"What are you going there for? To cause trouble?"

"I'm going anyway!" Naruto retorted, "Besides, you're not really going to help, are you? You're probably just trying to sneak off and spy!"

Jiraiya rolled his eyes and stopped arguing. He started walking towards the Joint Affairs Bureau building. Naruto's hand still wouldn't let go, and he was dragged along, staggering but stubbornly following beside him.

Two figures, one tall and one short, moved through the bustling street in an awkward yet wonderfully synchronized manner.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the main stadium.

Gaara quietly followed Chiyo, leaving the bustling main stadium area and heading towards the relatively quiet connecting passage.

This Kazekage, who lived in the same era as the Tsuchikage, moved very slowly.

"Maki reported on your situation; he said you've changed a lot."

Gaara simply followed behind her.

"Is there anything you're lacking in Konoha?" Chiyo continued, "Does Maki visit you often?"

The red-haired boy said, "The Secretariat has a lot of work to do."

"Really... You've been to the secret service?"

"Um."

It was the band's first rehearsal, and we went there when we were looking for Kirabi.

"Then let's go together."

She wasn't familiar with the layout of the Joint Affairs Bureau, but as soon as she stepped into the hall, Sunagakure's entourage quickly came forward and respectfully led the two of them to Maki's office.

The door to Maki's office was opened after a knock.

Inside, Maki and another Sand Village Jonin, Yura, were standing in front of a desk, discussing something.

Upon seeing Chiyo and Gaara enter, the two immediately stopped talking and bowed at the same time.

"Kazekage-sama."

Chiyo nodded slightly, walked to the chair by the window and sat down, with Gaara standing beside her.

Maki quickly got into a reporting mode.

He first outlined the progress of the Snow Country issue at the recent expanded meeting of the Joint Secretariat. After several rounds of discussions, the likelihood of final approval is extremely high.

"Konoha's attitude has become clear, and the various ninja villages, including Amegakure, which were originally observing, have also made their choices."

"Once approved, subsequent joint martial arts competitions related to the Land of Snow will most likely be held overseas."

"The standard is Jonin level, which is the highest level of competition at present."

"Whether the specific location will be around the Land of Water or in other sea areas is still undecided."

Chiyo's wrinkled face revealed no expression.

"Scorpion, if they send someone to participate, he'll be their representative, right?"

This is not a question, but a near-certain statement.

Maki and Yura remained silent.

"If their fate is unknown..." Chiyo's gaze fell on a certain point outside the window, "Sometimes, death might be a relief for everyone."

These words were spoken so calmly, so calmly, that they sent a chill down one's spine.

Maki cleared his throat, breaking the silence: "There's one more thing, Kazekage-sama. Based on some scattered clues we've gathered recently, and cross-referencing intelligence from different sources, it seems that Konoha and Kumogakure have been having unusually frequent private contacts lately."

"The content involved may be related to Jinchūriki (human jinchūriki)."

Upon hearing this, Chiyo lifted her half-closed eyelids.

"Yura," she turned to the Jonin who had been standing quietly, "I'll leave this matter to you. Select a reliable team to investigate the movements of Konoha and Kumogakure in this regard."

"Maki, within the secret service, fully cooperate with Yura's operations, providing the necessary authority and intelligence support."

"Yes!" Yura immediately bowed and accepted the order.

"Understood," Maki replied solemnly.

Maki and Yura walked out of the office at the same time.

Chiyo turned back to the window and remained silent for a long time. Gaara stood behind her, waiting just as quietly.

"Gaara," the old man finally spoke, his voice a little softer than before, "Whether in the past or now, Sunagakure has the worst environment and the most unsupportive daimyo."

"We can only rely on limited resources to cultivate elites. And those who receive the most effort and the highest expectations..."

"In the end, it became uncertain whether they still cared about Sunagakure or even remembered that they were Sunagakure ninjas."

"However, perhaps it is someone like me who brought this upon myself."

"Whether it's your matter, Yekura's matter, or Sasori's matter... you've made too many mistakes, and you've lost too much in the process."

Gaara said, "We will return to Sunagakure."

Upon hearing this, Chiyo's lips twitched slightly.

"The fact that Maki has such thoughts shows that he has not completely failed in his duty."

"It was Shuuji who taught you."

His tone returned to its usual sharp wit.

"If it's the latter, Sunagakure can no longer tolerate any more people with questionable stances."

Gaara calmly replied, "I have committed many wrongdoings in the village, killed my fellow villagers of Sunagakure, and brought fear and pain to them."

"Such a person cannot bring a better future to Sunagakure; all he will face is round after round of opposition."

"I will not promise anything, Lord Kazekage."

He paused.

"When I return, I will have a clear goal and a feasible plan. Then, it will be up to my fellow villagers of Sunagakure to decide whether they are willing to follow that path."

Chiyo watched him quietly.

Sunlight streamed through the window, casting a soft glow on the boy's red hair. His still-childish face held a calmness and determination beyond his years.

After a long while, the old man sighed softly.

"Then... let's live well," she said. "At least, let's live until the day we can go back."

(End of this chapter)