Escape From Konoha

Returning to the hotel, Shikamaru found that his father, Shikaku, had been waiting in the corridor for a long time.

"Dad, why are you here?"

If Shikamaru remembered correctly, the coming-of-age ceremony for the miko of the Demon Country had not yet ended. As the leader of the Konoha Messenger Group, Shikaku should not come back at this time.

"I saw that the three of you left midway, and I was a little worried."

Shikaku glanced at his son Shikamaru's face, and then set his sights on Ino, the daughter of his friend Yamanaka Haiichi.

I noticed that there was a trace of sadness remaining on the other person's face. Although he tried his best to cover it up after seeing him, how could the other party's hiding skills be hidden from Shikaku's eyes.

Seeing this, Shikaku almost knew what the three Shikamaru and others who left had experienced before.

"It seems that the situation of the three of you meeting Haruno Sakura is not optimistic."

Shikaku sighed.

"...Since you know it, don't say it."

Shikamaru glanced at Ino, whose head was lowered next to him, and couldn't help but speak to his father in a reproachful tone.

Now that Ino is grieving, wouldn't it make people even more heartbroken to have to say such words at such a time?

Although there was a lot of friction between Sakura and Ino in the past because of Sasuke's relationship. But amid the constant friction and contradictions, an extremely deep friendship was also established.

When Sakura left, the one who was most saddened was not necessarily Naruto, who was in the same group, but Ino, his love rival and close friend.

"Uh, sorry." Shikaku also realized that what he just said was somewhat hurtful.

"It's okay, Uncle Shikaku, I can survive this."

Ino raised her head and forced a smile from her face.

Shikaku sighed in his heart and did not say any words of comfort. He just kept silent and stopped mentioning Haruno Sakura.

"Speaking of which, now that Dad is back, what will happen to the miko's coming-of-age ceremony?"

Shikamaru asked.

"Don't worry, Suzaku is my deputy and is qualified to participate on my behalf. In addition, the Daimyo Prefecture of the Fire Country is responsible for participating in the Oni Country Miko's Coming of Age Ceremony. In terms of status, Konoha and the Oni Country are not equal. Yes, the Kingdom of Ghosts won’t mind this kind of thing.”

Shikaku replied.

Nara Suzaku, who accompanied him this time, was his trusted deputy among the Nara clan, and was also an elite Jonin of Konoha. It was no problem to replace him for a while.

Furthermore, in terms of status, the status of the Kingdom of Fire and the Kingdom of Ghosts is equal. This time, the Fire Country's participation in the Oni Country's miko coming-of-age ceremony was led by the Daming Prefecture, and Konoha was just the leader.

"Yeah?"

Shikamaru nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

He was not in a good mood to talk to Shikaku right now.

Shikaku also saw that Shikamaru and the others were not in high spirits, and they urgently needed to calm down at this time.

"In that case, you can take a rest here. The celebration banquet will be held in the evening. I will inform you to attend then."

Shikaku came over and patted the shoulders of Shikamaru and the others, then walked past them.

At the moment when they were separated, Lu Jiu's expression suddenly became solemn and he disappeared in the corridor in an instant.

◎

Arriving on the rooftop of the hotel, at the edge of the water tower and railings, a young man wearing a white coat specially designed for medical ninjas had his back turned to him, looking at the scenery in the distance.

Although it was snowing lightly, the wind was not strong, so neither of the two people standing on the rooftop felt the cold.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Shikaku came to the young man's side, glanced at him, and sighed in his heart.

The other party was him and the passing Minato, a ninja of an era.

But the look on the other person's face seemed to be frozen twenty years ago, and it had not changed at all from when he left Konoha.

What has changed is that his temperament and eyes are more elusive than during the Konoha period.

But think about it, using just twenty years to build a border neutral country into a super military power, Shikaku would never have believed it in the past.

Since the establishment of the one-country-one-village system, all patterns have been directly shaped under the leadership of the five major powers. It cannot be said that there is no room left for the rise of small countries, but the slightest disturbance will inevitably arouse the vigilance and suppression of big countries.

Even Sansho Hanzo, the arrogant leader of Amegakure at that time, had the ambition to lead the Land of Rain to the position of a great power, but in the end, under the constant oppression of the great powers, he bent his unruly body and bowed to the great powers. , and eventually it was reduced to ashes, and the Kingdom of Rain was almost destroyed with him.

Unfortunately, the Kingdom of Ghosts still rises.

Taking advantage of the chaos among the great powers, when the great powers' attention was completely focused on the Ninja World War, primitive accumulation was quietly completed.

The battle in the Kingdom of Wind made people know that the rise of this country is unstoppable.

The creation of the current structure of the six major countries is mostly related to the man in front of him.

——Chiba Shiraishi.

"That's not true. Anyway, it's just a shadow clone who came here. My true body is still at the shrine. But if Shikaku you are here to simply reminisce about the past, then it goes without saying. Neither you nor I are people who cherish the past."

Shiraishi responded.

Then he turned around and stared at Shikaku with clear black and white eyes.

Lu Jiu nodded, both the other party and himself were actually very realistic men.

Rather, from the standpoint of both parties, no matter what kind of involvement they had in the past, under this standpoint, it is not worth mentioning.

"I know you are not such a person, and neither am I. This is the letter that the Hokage entrusted me to bring to you before I came here."

Shikaku took out a letter and handed it to Shiraishi.

"Tsunade-sensei? Women are always so sentimental."

Shiraishi said this and took the letter directly from Shikaku's hand.

It doesn't matter if there's any danger up there, it's just his shadow clone here.

On the contrary, if there is really any conspiracy in the letter, Shikaku and all the Konoha ninjas and Fire Nation envoys who came to the Demon Country will not be able to leave the Demon Country smoothly.

Opening the envelope, he took out the letter inside and spread it out. Shiraishi's eyes quickly glanced over it.

The content of the letter was pretty much what I expected. There was no nostalgia for the past, nor was there any mention of the friendship between teachers and students... It was mainly about the conflicts and collisions between countries, as well as the current situation, and, if it really happened When necessary, neither side has to hold back.

Even though she said that as a woman, Tsunade was sentimental, her resolute demeanor remained unchanged at all.

Shiraishi didn't know what kind of mood the other party was in when he wrote this letter, but that was no longer the main thing.

"what a pity."

After reading the content of the letter, Shiraishi sighed.

"Yes, unfortunately."

Lu Jiu nodded in agreement, not knowing what he was regretting.

"As for Haruno Sakura, I can arrange for you to meet her. Also, consider it a moment of kindness on my part and give you some advice from the Leaf Village."

Shiraishi thought for a moment and looked directly at Shikaku's face.

"advice?"

Shikaku frowned in confusion.

Shiraishi smiled slightly and said: "Don't worry, this matter has nothing to do with our country of ghosts. However, you must keep a close eye on the Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki and don't let some people take advantage of it."

After saying that, ignoring Shikaku's reaction, Shiraishi's palm ignited a flame, burning the envelope into ashes.

And the whole person finally turned into a puff of white smoke and disappeared in front of Lu Jiu.

◎

Keep a close eye on the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?

This kind of words is like saying that the Kingdom of Demons is about to take action against Konoha's Nine-Tails.

Although the Kingdom of Oni has such power, when he thought about it carefully, Shikaku felt that it was impossible.

If the Kingdom of Ghosts really needs Kyuubi, there are too many opportunities to kidnap Kyuubi, and it would not wait until now to take action.

Moreover, once the Kyuubi really falls into the hands of the Demon Country, the power of the Demon Country and other countries will further expand, which will only encourage the surrounding powers to engage in a more radical cold war with the Demon Country... and may even become a The cause of the Fifth Ninja War.

Because the existence of tailed beasts is worthy of a village carrying out such a big action.

What's more, the Nine-Tails is known as the strongest tailed beast.

Doing this will not only slightly enhance the military power of the Kingdom of Ghosts, but the subsequent serious consequences will definitely severely damage the vitality of the Kingdom of Ghosts.

Nerves among the major countries are tense and they can no longer withstand the huge stimulation.

If the Kingdom of Demons needs to take action against the Kyuubi, there will be no motive and no benefits to be gained, which is not in line with the consistent style of the Kingdom of Demons.

Therefore, this sentence is a reminder to Konoha that there is another force that is eyeing Konoha's Nine-Tails.

And this force is so powerful that even the Kingdom of Ghosts cannot completely ignore it.

The power that the Ghost Country cannot ignore must at least start as a great country.

Shikaku quickly thought of something.

That mysterious organization that targets tailed beasts.

Nowadays, Kumogakure and Iwagakure are the unknown forces that are being searched for all over the world.

They plundered Iwagakure's four-tailed and five-tailed beasts.

Four years ago in the Country of Waves, when a conflict broke out between the Country of Demons and Kumogakure, he took advantage of the chaos and kidnapped Kumogakure's second tail.

According to the information collected by the Sannin Jiraiya, this organization included Orochimaru, Itachi Uchiha, Kisame Inigansaki, Scorpion Akasaka and other dangerous S-class rebellious ninjas in the ninja world.

They had attacked Naruto on his way back to Konoha after the Chunin Exams four years ago. The person who did it was Uchiha Itachi, who was born in Konoha.

Two years ago, there were rumors in Sunagakure that an organization dressed in black red cloud coats almost kidnapped one of them, who was suspected of possessing the Mangekyou Sharingan and possessing the power of time and space.

"..."

Is it this organization? Shikaku asked himself.

But when he asked himself this question, he was already leaning toward this answer.

This organization has a mysterious origin, and its core members are mainly S-class rebel ninjas from various countries. Orochimaru, who turned Konoha upside down three or four years ago, is also a member of this organization.

Strong, organized, and targeting the tailed beasts of major ninja villages...

An organization with this kind of power is definitely qualified to be mentioned positively on the table by the Kingdom of Ghosts.

In the past, Konoha had also approached the Kingdom of Demons for its intentions in this regard, and tested whether the Kingdom of Demons knew about this organization. However, at that time, the Kingdom of Ghosts directly refused to answer and cooperate on the grounds of its own tailless beast, claiming that this was an internal matter of the other five major countries and that the Kingdom of Ghosts would not interfere.

But now it seems that this may not be the case.

If all the above guesses are correct, not only does the Demon Country already know all this, but it even knows more secrets about this organization than Konoha and other villages.

So, at this time, Chiba Shiraishi suddenly mentioned to him, the Konoha Jonin squad leader...

Lu Jiu couldn't help but feel his heart sink.

In the past two years, as this organization has ceased to exist and has disappeared, the power of the Demon Country has greatly increased, wreaking havoc everywhere in the ninja world, attracting more attention from all countries, and causing him to ignore some crises that were once forgotten.

Shikaku, who was thinking like this, came to the military residential area of ​​the Demon Country.

Since Shiraishi had already greeted him in advance, he registered the information at the gate guard. The Oni Country ninja who served as the guard released Shikaku and was led by an Oni Country ninja.

The rows of houses are arranged in an orderly manner, and the distribution map is carefully added on the notice board at the intersection, so that people like Shikaku who enter for the first time can quickly find the target residence.

However, with the Ninja of the Demon Country personally leading the way, such a distribution map lost its meaning in Shikaku's eyes.

"Please follow me, Mr. Shikaku."

The ninja from the Kingdom of Ghosts politely led the way.

Not long after, under the leadership of the ninjas from the Kingdom of Ghosts, Shikaku arrived downstairs at Haruno's house.

Different from ordinary residences, the Haruno family's residence is an exquisite small villa building with a large lawn in the courtyard. It should be a little wider than the Haruno family in Konoha.

Reminiscing that Haruno and his wife own a barbecue restaurant, they must have saved a lot of money in Konoha over the years.

The ninja from the Kingdom of Oni led Shikaku through the courtyard, stood under the eaves of the small villa building, and rang the doorbell of Haruno's house.

The two didn't have to wait long before the security door of the villa building opened from the inside.

"Excuse me..."

Sakura saw the ninja from the Kingdom of Oni standing in front of her house. She remembered that it was the ninja at the door guard.

However, when he saw Shikaku behind the ninja of the Demon Country, his face suddenly became stunned, and then he closed his mouth, suddenly having the idea of ​​closing the door.

The thing I'm most afraid of seeing now is undoubtedly meeting the ninja from the village in the past.

Whether it was Naruto or an acquaintance like Ino, she was afraid to meet him.

Of course, it's not fear on that level, but fear because I don't know how to face it.

"If possible, can we talk alone?"

Shikaku crossed the side of the Oni Country ninja and came to Sakura, asking with a smile.

Try to slow down your tone and expression.

"...Please come in."

Sakura struggled for a moment in her eyes, knowing that she couldn't escape at this time.

But what gave me a sigh of relief was that the other party came here without Shikamaru and others.

"excuse me."

Shikaku walked into Haruno's house.

Seeing this, the ninja from the Kingdom of Oni returned along the original route without disturbing the two people's reminiscence.

In the living room on the first floor, Sakura served tea.

"Tea, please."

"Thank you. Well, you and Shikamaru and the others know each other. If we don't meet anyone else, I will call you Sakura."

Shikaku, who was sitting on the sofa, used Shikamaru to get closer to Sakura.

"yes."

Sakura sat across from him and responded nervously.

"Don't be nervous. I didn't explain to Shikamaru and the others that I came here. The three of them probably caused a lot of trouble for you with their random behavior before."

Shikaku smiled helplessly.

When it comes to his relationship with Sakura, in fact, what Shikaku knows about him is limited to information on paper.

There are only a few opportunities for real face-to-face contact.

Occasionally when we see Tsunade, we just say hello and nod to each other.

In addition, the relationship between the two parties is limited to superiors and subordinates.

"No, it was me who caused trouble for them."

Sakura said in a remorseful tone.

"Looking at your current situation, you don't seem to have received any harsh punishment from the Kingdom of Ghosts."

Sakura's face was plump, her breath was long, and there was no bitterness or hatred in her eyes. It was obvious that she was living a good life in the Kingdom of Ghosts. There was no unfair treatment as expected because of being a former Konoha ninja.

Sakura nodded and replied: "Actually, many of the Demon Country's military personnel are not natives of the Demon Country. They migrated to the Demon Country during the war to escape disasters and were later absorbed. Here, there are also many ninjas who were originally from Konoha."

Although he said it unintentionally, such words were actually a bit harsh to Shikaku's ears.

Considering that Sakura just wanted to explain that she had not been treated unfairly, her words came naturally, so Shikaku did not blame her.

After all, they are young people, and there is still room for improvement in terms of human sophistication.

Considering the other person's experience from childhood to adulthood, it's actually not surprising.

However, that is not what he is talking about today.

"In that case, I'll get right to the point."

Shikaku's tone became slightly serious.

Sakura straightened her posture, gritted her teeth and asked, "Is it because of Master's relationship?"

Lu Jiu asked strangely: "Why do you ask?"

"Because the master has taught me her lifelong secret knowledge. If it spreads among the ghost country's military..."

Sakura said with her head lowered.

In fact, she has always adhered to the agreement she made with Tsunade.

Even if she moved to another place, she did not hand over Tsunade's things to the high-ranking military officials of the Kingdom of Demons.

Shikaku sighed and said: "From my point of view, this is indeed the right request. However, Lord Hokage does not have such a view."

"What?"

"What you are learning are forbidden arts. Although the Kingdom of Ghosts is not stingy about popularizing secret arts and forbidden arts, learning this thing depends on the person. Among a hundred ninjas, there may not be a ninja who knows the forbidden arts. . And forbidden techniques also have levels. The forbidden technique that Lord Hokage entrusted to you is also of a very high level among the forbidden techniques. The conditions for its use are very strict. Only those with 'talent' can learn it."

As long as you fail to complete the prerequisites for practicing forbidden arts and practice forbidden arts rashly, serious injury is still the lightest price.

"That's what I said..."

The system, knowledge, and insights created by the forbidden technique itself are the most important things.

And these can be spread within a certain range, and the risk is very small.

"Okay, you don't have to worry about this. Lord Hokage came here to tell me not to put too much pressure on yourself. In fact, I had a private chat with Lord Hokage, and she said, if not With the tie of Konoha, she is extremely sympathetic to the beliefs held by the country of Demon."

Shikaku said.

"Then why, Master..."

Sakura's mouth opened wide. She had never heard these words from Tsunade.

"Chiba Shiraishi has invited the Hokage many times to join his country of ghosts. Just before the Hokage came to power, the other party came to invite him in person. But in the end, the Hokage refused. Because everyone in Konoha She can betray Konoha, but she can't. What flows in her body is the blood of Senju and the will of the first Hokage. Even if she dies, she will not switch to another country. This is her innate mission and responsibility. "

Shikaku looked directly into Sakura's eyes.

"So, you don't have to feel guilty. Before Lord Hokage comes, let me tell you that as the successor of her medical ninjutsu, you have now joined the Kingdom of Demons, which can be regarded as fulfilling her once selfish ideal. According to your own As long as you can benefit the world with your medical ninjutsu, you are worthy of being her student. Just like Chiba Shiraishi, he used his medical ninjutsu to save many people in the ninja world."

Even if there are special existences like wandering mikos who are similar to spies, let’s not say what their purpose is, but they wander around the ninja world, and they have indeed saved countless lives with their medical ninjutsu, allowing more people to live. Many people survived in good health.

"Ninjas from all countries have their own beliefs and live in this ninja world with their own beliefs. Today, only the country of ghosts has the courage and ability to break the inherent traditions of the ninja world and use their unique A way to transform the ninja world. Regardless of whether it is successful or not, the essential purpose is to allow humans to better survive in this world, not to do anything evil."

"Is this... like this? Master, she..."

Sakura lowered her head even more, as if it was hard to see anyone.

Shikaku took out a brand new notebook from his ninja bag and placed it on the coffee table in front of Sakura.

"This is what Lord Hokage asked me to pass on to you. These are some insights she has summarized in recent years on medical ninjutsu. I hope it will be useful for your future path. That's all..."

Shikaku sighed and said nothing.

In fact, as the leader of Konoha's Jonin squad, he really couldn't agree with Tsunade's actions.

But considering Tsunade's status as a medical ninja, he couldn't accuse her of anything.

Perhaps the more powerful a person is, the less he cares about these trivial things.

After the Fourth Ninja War, the relationship between the Kingdom of Ghosts and the Kingdom of Fire dropped to a freezing point. However, in medicine and other medical-related industries, they did not block the neck of the Kingdom of Fire, nor did they use the victory of the war to oppress the Kingdom of Fire. , but conduct friendly trade as in the past.

Shikaku knew that once the Kingdom of Ghosts made restrictions in this regard, or even severely suppressed the Kingdom of Fire, many patients in the poor areas of the Fire Kingdom who were sick and without medicine would die in pain. Even Konoha Village will be affected somewhat.

Whether it is Chiba Shiraishi of the Kingdom of Demons or the Fifth Hokage of Konoha, as medical ninjas, in their eyes, the lives of patients have no distinction between nationality, occupation, and nobility. They will not use these things to make a fuss and ignore the lives of countless people.

They are just doing their job as medical staff.

Such a trivial thing.

Tsunade selflessly gave her knowledge to Sakura in the hope that she would follow her responsibilities as a medical ninja and become an excellent medical ninja without any other messy thoughts.

Obviously these two people, as the top military leaders of the two countries, should not be so naive towards the enemy country, but in this regard, they are both so childish.

Shikaku shook his head helplessly, stood up from the sofa, turned and left Haruno's house. With the words brought here, there was no need for him to stay.

And Sakura looked at the notes left by Shikaku on the coffee table and couldn't come back to her senses for a long time.