Escape From Konoha

On the day of the coming-of-age ceremony for the miko of the Kingdom of Demons, the capital of the Kingdom of Demons is more gorgeous than ever.

This is also true, this is a day of national celebration, and the atmosphere of laughter does not stop until the night.

The capital city has already been decorated with lights, and even in the slightly cold snowy night, you can still see the lively atmosphere of people holding celebrations in the city from the shrine on the top of the mountain.

People outside the 'god's domain' are enjoying the excitement of the celebration, while the banquet within the 'god's domain' is no longer that noisy, and is more solemn and solemn.

After all, the guests who come to the 'God's Domain' tonight are all top celebrities from various countries in the ninja world. In terms of paying attention to their image, they still need to behave appropriately and not let other people look down upon them.

In a slightly larger side hall of the shrine palace, it has been carefully renovated and decorated.

Mainly red and white, the high ceiling, four walls, and floor beneath your feet are decorated with various beautiful murals. Each of the stone pillars supporting this side hall has been carefully decorated.

Before the banquet officially started, invited guests had already entered the palace where the banquet was being held. Some were still strolling along the corridors, admiring the graceful murals in the palace. Some people stopped halfway, chatting and laughing while admiring the scenery outside.

Even military personnel such as ninjas have changed from the ninja uniforms they usually wear and put on formal attire for important banquets. However, even under a suit of decent clothes, it is difficult to hide the fierce aura of some ninjas.

They were used to ninja attire, and formal attire like this that could be torn to pieces with just a touch made them extremely uncomfortable to wear. Not only did it hurt their necks, but it was also inconvenient to fight. In short, when wearing this kind of clothes, the ninjas had to tighten their bodies, for fear that the clothes on their bodies would explode if they exerted great strength.

Especially the ninjas from Kumogakure, the Kingdom of Thunder.

Their skin is mainly dark, and they have a strong physique, which is quite distinctive. Although the formal clothes they wear are tailored to their sizes, they are the most sensitive group of ninjas.

There is an illusion that a wild gorilla suddenly puts on human clothes.

"This kind of clothes is too uncomfortable. It feels like someone is strangling my neck."

Shikamaru walked towards the banquet palace, while tugging on the tie hanging under his neck, he complained that this kind of clothes was not suitable for ninjas at all.

"Don't act like you've never seen the world before. Ninjas should try to get used to various environments. This is also part of training."

A preaching voice came from behind, causing Shikamaru to turn around and look.

It's Temari from Sunagakure Village.

Wearing a black lady's dress, the last hint of youthfulness on her face has disappeared without a trace under the matching of the lady's dress, giving her a sense of mature temptation.

This sense of maturity was completely incomparable to Ino, who was also wearing a lady's dress next to him.

Shikamaru's eyes were dazed for a moment, and then he regained his composure, but his eyes subconsciously began to wander away from Temari.

"Well, you're quite used to this kind of scene."

"When doing missions, I will occasionally play a similar role."

Temari's face was filled with a confident smile.

"However, you are now a chuunin of Konoha, so you have to get used to such things."

Temari said in the tone of someone who has experienced this.

"It really makes things difficult for people."

Shikamaru sighed.

Although he passed the chunin exam, he was incomparable to Temari in front of him.

If the information was correct, the other party was already a Jonin of Sunagakure Village.

And he is only nineteen years old.

Shikamaru felt that he had no chance of becoming a Jonin before he turned twenty.

In fact, although there are individual ninjas in the ninja world, they become jounin of the ninja village before the age of fifteen.

But the real situation is that most ninjas who become jonin are in their twenties, even thirties or forties.

Those who can become jounin before the age of twenty are undoubtedly the key training targets of the Ninja Village and the future pillars of the village.

"Let's go."

Completely uninterested in the conversation between his sister Temari and Shikamaru, Gaara, who was also wearing formal attire, walked directly past the two of them and said these words indifferently.

Shikamaru noticed that Gaara, who was wearing formal clothes, was carrying a conspicuous big gourd on his back, and couldn't help but sweat.

This is not going to the battlefield, is there any need to be so nervous?

Moreover, the ninja weapons are displayed so conspicuously.

He didn't think anyone would dare to cause trouble at tonight's banquet.

"Is it okay for him to look like that?"

Shikamaru asked quietly.

Temari also had a headache and pressed her brows, and said helplessly: "I think so. It took a lot of effort to let the miko outside let go. Gaara, this guy, has been insecure since he was a child because of some things."

Shikamaru didn't speak. He had heard a little about Gaara's situation and heard that it was related to his father, the Fourth Kazekage. However, this was someone else's housework, and Shikamaru didn't want to inquire further. He nodded, took Ino, Chouji, Temari and Kankuro, followed Gaara's footsteps, and walked towards the palace where the banquet was held.

After entering the Banquet Palace, I found that it was wider than the building looked like.

It's big enough to accommodate hundreds of people without feeling crowded.

Not only dignitaries from various countries, but also princesses from other countries attended the banquet wearing gorgeous ceremonial dresses.

"Mr. Shikaku, long time no see."

A middle-aged man in his forties came over.

When Lu Jiu saw the visitor, he also smiled, went up to greet him, and chatted with the visitor.

Behind the middle-aged man, there is also a young girl with good looks. She looks even more graceful under the influence of a decent blue dress.

The conversation lasted for a few minutes before it ended, and the middle-aged man took the girl away.

"Dad, that's..."

Shikamaru walked over and asked.

"The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Kawawa. He wants to introduce his daughter, the girl next to him, to you."

Shikaku explained to Shikamaru.

As for the purpose of understanding, Shikamaru is not a fool, so he naturally knows what it means.

The Nara clan is not just a pure ninja family, but also has a business part.

In addition to family secrets, the Nara clan also has an important industry that supports the family's sustainability - deer farming. The antlers of the deer raised by the Nara clan are precious medicinal materials famous in the ninja world, and are important commercial contacts with many countries.

Of course Shikamaru knew these things clearly.

Coupled with the status of his father, Shikaku, as the Jounin squad leader of Konoha, it is normal for him to get to know political figures from various countries.

Therefore, it is not surprising that someone took this opportunity to marry into the Nara clan.

"..."

But Shikamaru still couldn't complain.

Isn't this banquet to celebrate the coming-of-age ceremony of the miko from the Kingdom of Ghosts? How could it be that politicians from various countries were promoting their daughters at a marriage conference.

"What do you think? If you think it's appropriate, I can take this opportunity to help you connect. That girl, I heard, has a good tutor, which will also be a good help for you."

Shikaku asked Shikamaru's opinion.

Considering that Shikamaru is now fifteen or sixteen years old, he can indeed think about the next generation.

Even though the average life span of the ninja world today is slightly higher than that of the Warring States Period, it is not much higher.

If Shikamaru died before having any descendants, his lineage would basically be cut off.

"No, I just want to marry an ordinary woman and live the rest of my life normally."

Shikamaru refused unceremoniously.

"……Yeah?"

Lu Jiu shook his head. He had already taken this step, how could he still be ordinary?

However, he did not force Shikamaru. Instead, he glanced around and said, "You guys can act on your own here. I'm going to find the Machi Jonin of Sunagakure Village. I have something to say."

Without waiting for Shikamaru to respond, Shikaku walked towards the place where the ninjas of Sunagakure Village were, looking for Jounin Maki, the leader of Sunagakure Village's envoy group, to discuss something.

…

During the banquet, Ziyuan, who was the protagonist of the banquet, was naturally on the most conspicuous stage in the palace, distinguishing herself from everyone.

She did not end up interacting with senior officials from various countries in person. These matters would naturally be handled by others. She just kept a calm face, standing there quietly like a lady, calmly scanning the people at the banquet.

Besides the two branch shrine maidens from the Kingdom of Ghosts, there was only Fenghua Koyuki, a famous figure from the Kingdom of Snow. The two of them whispered from time to time and occasionally smiled.

"The banquet is really troublesome."

Ayane, who was standing in the corner, scanning everything, chatted with Ruri who was standing next to her.

Wearing a well-fitting lady's dress, she looked at the dignitaries from various countries at the banquet and started chatting and laughing, as if she was talking about something interesting. But Ayane knew without listening that this was just their intrigue.

Unlike Ayane, Ruri wore a black men's formal suit and tied her long hair into a ponytail. Her whole body looked simple, capable, chic and handsome.

"If you get bored, there's a lot of food here so you can eat whatever you want."

Liuli said.

"I am more or less careful about my image in public. Moreover, I am currently on a diet to lose weight."

Ayane coughed, keeping her eyes from looking at the various delicious foods at the banquet, and swallowed the saliva in her mouth back into her stomach again and again.

I really want to eat.

"Speaking of which, where did Asuka, Ichiji, and Aya go?"

Ayane used such topics to talk to Liuli to divert her desire to eat crazily.

"I was taken there by Bai Shi. I heard that the foreign minister of Zhi Country came with their princess."

"The country of Zhi?"

Ayane raised her eyebrows.

I remember that it was a small country that had little to do with the Kingdom of Ghosts. Although the power of the Kingdom of Ghosts has touched many small countries, there are still more small countries that have not yet been touched.

Zhizhiguo is one of them.

This country has no ninja power and its territory is very small. It is based on various medicinal herbs and is one of the famous producers of medicinal materials in the ninja world.

Apart from business dealings in medicinal materials, the Kingdom of Ghosts and the Kingdom of Zhi do not have much communication.

"Yes."

“Is their daimyo’s head starting to get wet?”

Ayane said something like this.

The reason why the small countries that were touched gathered around the Kingdom of Ghosts was not because of their aristocratic forces, but because of the civilian forces supported by the Kingdom of Ghosts. After occupying the dominant position in the country, they moved closer to the Kingdom of Ghosts.

On the contrary, the nobles of the Zhi Kingdom, especially the famous families, still have absolute dominance over the Zhi Kingdom.

From a standpoint point of view, the great masters of the Zhi Kingdom are naturally in conflict with the Ghost Kingdom.

"Is their princess coming here for a winter outing?"

Ayane guessed so.

But that's just a thought. The real situation is that it is absolutely impossible to send a princess from a country to come over for a winter outing, at this time and at this kind of banquet.

"Probably because I want to place my bet in advance."

Liuli said.

The power that the Kingdom of Ghosts now has makes other big countries still tremble with fear, let alone the many small countries that exist around the big country.

Therefore, Liuli could guess a little bit about the thoughts of the great names of Zhi Country.

"Furthermore, I heard that the daimyo of Zhi Country introduced his other two daughters to the daimyo families of Fire Country and Thunder Country respectively."

"..."

Ayane looked like she didn't know how to evaluate it.

"By the way, Asuka probably won't get to know the princess of Zhi Zhi Country. Therefore, Cai will probably get to know the princess of Zhi Country. If this thing is successful, I would like to say congratulations."

Liuli said calmly.

"..."

Ayane touched her face, which was still as white and tender as a girl.

Am I going to be a grandma?

An inexplicable emotion surged into her heart, and Ayane felt like she had suddenly aged dozens of years.

…

"Zhi Country? It seems that the miko's coming-of-age ceremony is more than just what it seems."

In a quiet corner, Shikaku and Sunagakure jounin Maki stood side by side.

He observed the Foreign Minister of Zhizhi Country who was communicating with Baishi, and the Princess of Zhizhi Country behind him.

Although he is only fourteen years old, he is already very impressive.

Its purpose is self-evident.

Although Zhizhi Country is a small country, it is a relatively wealthy country. In addition, the country is rich in various medicinal materials. For Ghost Country, which focuses on the pharmaceutical industry, further cooperation with Zhizhi Country is also of great significance.

Ma Ji just nodded. Although he didn't know much about political affairs, he also knew that if the Kingdom of Ghosts and the Kingdom of Zhi began to cooperate in depth, it would definitely not be good news for the other countries.

"At present, they are just a trend of cooperation. It has not yet reached the moment of cooperation. There is no need to worry now. So, why did Mr. Shikaku bring me here?"

Marky asked quietly.

Shikaku turned his attention away from the people of Oni Country and Zhi Country, and turned to Magee: "How much does Mr. Magee know about the organization that captures the tailed beasts?"

"Is this the case? Regarding this matter, since Gaara was almost kidnapped two years ago, the Kazekage-sama began to pay attention to the affairs of this organization. In addition, in that organization, the rebels from our Sunagakure Village We must not relax when we endure the Red Sand Scorpion. However, although we attach great importance to this, the ANBU sent out by Sunagakure did not achieve much. In addition, we have to guard against the Demon Country to the north, so it is not easy to invest more power. On this organization.”

Judging from the current situation, the threat from the Kingdom of Ghosts to the Kingdom of Wind is far greater than this organization.

Shikaku nodded, he basically agreed with Ma Ji's judgment.

Before that, he thought so too.

But after Shiraishi's reminder, he felt that this organization had a deeper secret, which was far more than what it seemed.

"In this case, please be careful on your way back to the Kingdom of Wind."

Shikaku's voice deepened.

"Mr. Shikaku means..."

Ma Ji remained calm on the surface, but was slightly shocked in his heart.

Shikaku just continued to nod and said nothing.

It goes without saying that the road back may not be smooth.

Marky also nodded understandingly.

Shikaku is not the kind of person who makes assumptions based on nothing. Since he said this, he must have learned something.

Moreover, it is also necessary to pay attention to the safety of jinchūriki.

"I understand, thank you Mr. Shikaku for the reminder. I will explain it to Gaara and the others, and then ask the border troops to respond when the time comes."

After Maki said this, he walked directly to Gaara and the three of them and explained the matter to them.

…

"That guy Cai, I didn't expect him to be so eloquent."

Sitting in the corner of the banquet, Asuka held a dinner plate with food on it, and then looked not far away.

Ai was chatting and laughing with a girl in a gorgeous kimono.

Although Cai still had a serious smile on her face, her face was not as cold as when she executed those attackers during the day. Coupled with her outstanding appearance, she was indeed able to attract the attention of women her age.

The girl in kimono is the princess of Zhi Country.

She is fourteen years old, two years younger than Cai, but she talks well and always has a gentle smile on her face, with a bit of nervous shyness.

No matter how hard he tried to keep his appearance calm, it was actually his first time to be so close to a boy, so he was inevitably a little uneasy and shy.

As for Cai, there are no complicated ideas. Although the princess of Zhizhi Kingdom has a sweet appearance and a gentle personality, which can easily make men have a strong desire for protection, she is only in the mood of entertaining distant guests and completing the tasks assigned by her father Shiraishi.

After all, the princess of a country came to visit in person, and naturally the country of ghosts could not neglect it.

"Didn't we teach similar etiquette lessons in school? You must have forgotten them all."

Yiji was wearing the same black formal suit as her mother Liuli. She put her hands behind her head leisurely and crossed her legs, so that the men of the same age who wanted to get close would stay away and stop without daring to come forward.

"I'm just not used to a place with this kind of atmosphere."

Asuka tugged on the tie under his neck, which was not as relaxed as his usual work clothes.

Even though there are usually a lot of people working in the place where I usually work, it's not as overwhelming as it is now.

"Just be patient. Anyway, the party will be over soon."

Yiji is also not used to such a place and knows how to participate, but this kind of place feels too far away from her.

Asuka had no choice but to follow Yiji's example and began to relax, waiting for the banquet to end.

◎

The next morning.

In the Kingdom of Demons, the celebration of the Miko's Coming of Age Ceremony still lingers, and in Konoha Village, everyone is equally busy.

As the Hokage of Konoha, Tsunade must work diligently and not dare to slack off at all.

Her current situation has actually improved considerably compared to before.

At least her direct forces, through her own operations and with the full support of the Pig, Deer and Die tribes, would not be as passive in many matters as they were at the beginning.

But Tsunade can also understand that her power has reached its maximum level in Konoha.

If you want to make another breakthrough, you must attack one of the advisory group, the ninja forces led by the Sarutobi clan, and the martial arts faction led by Genbe.

Among the three, the advisory group is the weakest. The Sarutobi clan has an extremely solid reputation and influence among the civilians. Although the martial arts faction led by the roots has lost the possibility of ascending to the top, it still possesses the same force as the three. The most powerful among them.

"..."

Tsunade felt that no ninja village in a big country would be as full of factions as Konoha.

Although she occupies a dominant position as Hokage, if she is overstimulated at once, there will be a huge backlash.

What's more, the external environment is also unfriendly to Konoha.

If we really do this in a fit of enthusiasm, we will definitely be in a situation of internal and external troubles.

She, the Hokage, might really take the blame and resign, instead of just doing some superficial work like the Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure Village.

Just when Tsunade was secretly having a headache, the door to the office was pushed open.

The four people from Team 7 led by Tian Zang came in.

In addition to the original Tenzo, Naruto and Saai, the fourth person is the twelve-year-old female ninja selected from the ANBU candidates-Honoko.

"Hokage-sama."

Tenzo stepped forward and said.

"Grandma Tsunade, we are here to receive a mission."

Naruto shouted carelessly in the office without noticing anything.

"Has the team already adjusted well?"

Tsunade asked.

As the captain, Tianzang nodded and replied: "Yes, after these few days of running in, I feel that there is no need to continue and we can officially enter actual combat."

"In that case, there is indeed a task for you, Team 7, to handle."

Tsunade took out a scroll and placed it in front of Tenzo.

Tianzang picked up the scroll and quickly browsed it to confirm the mission content on it.

It is an A-level difficult task.

Destroy the defecting ninja.

Although the Ninja Village in a big country will have very strict management of the Ninjas in the village, on average every year, some Ninjas will leave the village for various reasons and become dangerous rebellious Ninjas.

This will pose certain safety risks to the original village.

Therefore, unless there are special circumstances, the annihilation of the traitorous ninja will be dealt with immediately.

But the kind of rebellious ninja who are so dangerous that they are unable to carry out executions only exist on a small scale.

Tenzo watched the information about the defecting ninja and fell into deep thought.

"How's it going? Any questions?"

Tsunade asked.

"No. Let's leave this task to our seventh class."

Although in A-level missions, you will basically encounter jounin-level ninjas, but with the current strength of Team 7, Tenzo doesn't think the problem is too big when dealing with a jounin.

Not to mention him and Naruto, Sayi has a record of single-handedly assassinating Jonin.

Although Hanoko did not have a similar record, her assassination ability was no worse than Sai's. In the case of a sneak attack, she could kill an unsuspecting Jonin with one hit if she was lucky.

With the current strength of Team 7, it is not difficult to take on three Jonin as opponents at the same time.

After receiving the mission, there was no need to stay in the office, so Tenzo left with Naruto and the three of them and quickly set out to start this A-level mission.