Escape From Konoha

"This is really unreasonable!"

As a heavy punch fell, a large hole appeared in the desk made of heavy wood, directly under the attack of the fist. A large number of documents flew everywhere with the wind caused by the heavy punch, scattering all over the floor.

The pale yellow eyebrows also stood up, and an obvious word "Chuan" was squeezed out between the eyebrows, revealing the inner dissatisfaction and indignation of the Fourth Raikage Ai.

It is natural for him to be so angry. First, he failed to cooperate with Konoha to arrest Orochimaru, so that he lost the whereabouts of the two tails. Later, in order to regain the whereabouts of the two tails, he had no choice but to send an envoy to the country of ghosts to fight with the ghosts who destroyed Orochimaru. The Chinese military communicated in an attempt to obtain intelligence information about the organization from the Kingdom of Ghosts and find the stolen second tail. As for the result of the communication...

From the way the Fourth Raikage was furious in the office, it was clear that this communication with the Demon Country ended in failure.

No matter what conditions Kumogakure offered, the military of the Kingdom of Demons remained silent and calmly refused regarding Orochimaru.

Looking at the letter that was crushed by fists in the big hole in the desk, the secretary Mabui standing aside roughly guessed what the content of the letter was, even if he didn't witness it with his own eyes. It must be that the military of the Kingdom of Demons severely rejected Kumogakure. The given conditions made the Raikage-dono react in such an 'excited' manner out of desperation.

"Lord Raikage, please calm down. No matter how angry you are, you cannot destroy public property at will."

Azabu sighed as he had a headache as usual.

Although she has ordered someone to make a stronger desk with special wood and send it here for Raikage to use, no matter how strong it is, if Raikage wants to vent, even steel can be easily broken through, let alone just wood.

"The whereabouts of Erwei are already very close. In this situation, how can you tell me to calm down?"

In order to recover the stolen two tails, Kumogakure had spent a lot of manpower and force in the past few years. First, the operation failed, and then the military of the Kingdom of Demons did not cooperate. His long-standing patience was finally worn away.

"Even so, there is no point in being so angry. No matter from which aspect, Kumogakure currently does not have the ability to force the military of the Kingdom of Demons to speak out."

As the Raikage's secretary and a member of Kumogakure's decision-making team, Mabuyi knows that the current Kumogakure is not good enough to become an opponent of the Demon Country.

In name, Kumogakure, who is backed by the Kingdom of Thunder, seems to have become the symbol of the top military organization of the great powers after suppressing Konoha of the Kingdom of Fire. However, after the battle two years ago, anyone with a discerning eye understands that the strongest The military organization belongs to the big country in the far west of the continent.

Although Kumogakure has spared no effort in these years to imitate the Kingdom of Demons, form his own military industry, and also began to create new types of ninja tools and ships on his own to seize power on land, sky, and sea, he started a little late in the end. Therefore, using the previous radical method of forcing Konoha to relent and compromise would not work against the Kingdom of Demons. If you're not careful, you might burn yourself.

The Fourth Raikage's breath suffocated, and he sat back in his own seat depressedly. The sound of breathing from his nostrils could not help but become heavier.

The second tail is something that Kumogakure must get back. This matter does not need to be considered. It is the result of the meeting unanimously approved by Kumogakure's senior management.

The reason why Kumogakure and the Kingdom of Thunder are able to run rampant in the ninja world relies on their own strong enough military power.

The tailed beast is the core force related to the military strength of a country. To a certain extent, its importance is equivalent to that of the 'shadow'.

Not only the Fourth Raikage understands this kind of thing, but Mabui, as the secretary, also knows it very well. The two tails cannot be given up. No matter how many years have passed, this tailed beast that belongs to Kumogakure must be taken back, and no discussion is allowed. .

"Lord Raikage, the reason why our current search for the second tail has been fruitless is not because we are causing trouble in the Kingdom of Demons, but because of our own lack of intelligence and information acquisition."

Mabuyi expressed her opinion.

Kumogakure does have one of the strongest military forces in the ninja world, but this influence only exists in the Kingdom of Thunder and the countries surrounding the Kingdom of Thunder. Once it goes beyond this scope, such as entering the territory of other major countries, such influence will weaken.

The territory of a big country not only represents the mainland of the big country, but also means that the neighboring countries of other big countries will also become a constraint for Kumogakure's search for the whereabouts of the second tail. Because these weak neighboring countries will follow the instinct of the jungle and take the initiative to approach and cater to the nearby big countries. Even if they know that the Kingdom of Thunder and Yunyin are powerful, it is difficult to actively cooperate with Yunyin's actions without profit.

Therefore, no matter how many ANBU and ninja teams were sent out before, the most they could do was to remove a few insignificant strongholds of Orochimaru without any pain. The key information must be obtained from Konoha.

"Do you mean to continue to cooperate with those villages in Konoha?"

The Fourth Raikage was thoughtful.

"That's right. The Kingdom of Demons has a complete intelligence system that surpasses other major countries, and its scope covers most of the ninja world, so their demand for collaborators is not high. But we can't do that here, or in other words, except for the Kingdom of Demons, In a big country, no country's intelligence system can be deployed in the fields of other big countries. If you want to find Erwei as soon as possible, relying on the power of other villages is an indispensable part."

Mabuyi understood that the Fourth Raikage did not trust the other villages.

After all, the organization that captured the tailed beasts, judging from the known member information, gathered S-class dangerous rebel ninjas from the four villages of Konoha, Sunagakure, Iwagakure and Kirigakure.

Therefore, when dealing with this organization, using these villages where rebellious ninjas were born will subconsciously make the Fourth Raikage feel disgusted.

Especially Konoha.

Whether it is this unknown organization or the Kingdom of Demons that is causing huge trouble to all major countries, they all have a close relationship with Konoha.

Because of this, the Fourth Raikage's attitude toward Konoha was extremely distrustful.

The reason why the Four Nations Alliance collapsed in the Fourth Ninja War was partly because of Kirigakure's improper operations, and partly because Konoha always leaked key intelligence to the Kingdom of Demons.

In a village where even the ANBU minister could be turned into a traitorous ninja, even if it were later revealed that the senior elders were spies planted by other countries, the Fourth Raikage would not be shocked.

But just as Mabuyi said, even if he no longer trusts Konoha, he wants to obtain more information about the mysterious organization as soon as possible. In order to facilitate the use of local forces in the territories of other big countries, cooperation with other villages is urgent.

He didn't want to waste a few more years of manpower and material resources and still get nothing.

"However, if we form an alliance with villages like Konoha and Sunagakure, we might get involved in the struggle with the Demon Country."

This is what the Fourth Raikage is worried about.

"Deploy a line of defense on the border of our country's East China Sea and support it in name only. Considering the dire situation Konoha is facing now, I won't refuse."

Mabuyi already had a countermeasure.

Kumogakure's most important task at present is to find the second tail, not to fight against the Demon Country's military.

By then, Kumogakure, who has two tailed beasts, will be more confident whether he is passively or actively involved in the disputes between the ninja countries.

"In that case, send a message to Samui who is still staying in Konoha and ask her to convey Kumogakure's attitude to the Hokage."

"yes."

Having finally stabilized her Raikage, Mabuyi secretly breathed a sigh of relief and walked towards the office door, preparing to leave.

"etc."

The voice of the Fourth Raikage sounded from behind.

"Is there anything else, Raikage-sama?"

"It's nothing, I just need to add a word to Konoha and ask them to do it more secretly and not to make any announcement about the alliance. I don't want to have just finished talking about the alliance and the next second this information will appear in Chiba Shiraishi's On the desk.”

The Fourth Raikage really lacked confidence in Konoha's intelligence system.

Mabuyi hesitated.

"Raikage-sama, are you making a fuss out of a molehill? No matter what, Konoha will not be infiltrated to this extent by the Kingdom of Demons."

"It's better to be careful."

In response to the Fourth Raikage's solemn warning, Mabuyi had no choice but to nod her head and decided to send this message to Konoha's Hokage along with the information.

◎

"Alliance with Kumogakure?"

The news came so suddenly that when he just got home and learned the news from his father Shikaku, Shikamaru was stunned for a moment before he came back to his senses.

"Why is it so urgent? And there was no warning before."

Shikamaru reacted, his eyes full of confusion.

It's not that forming an alliance with Kumogakure is a bad thing, but the news is too sudden and makes people unprepared.

"Because Kumogakure wants to find the stolen two tails as soon as possible. In view of the previous interference from the Kingdom of Demons, they know that without the assistance of other villages, it will be difficult to dig out the organization from the darkness by relying on their own strength."

Standing in the corridor, Shikaku turned his eyes to the courtyard and answered without changing his expression.

"Hokage-sama, have you agreed?"

Shikamaru thought for a moment and looked at Shikaku.

"Lord Hokage has agreed to formally sign the alliance in early next month, when the first Chuunin exam opens. Kumogakure's envoys will come to sign the alliance by visiting the Chunin exam. In addition, there are also messengers from Sunagakure and Iwagakure.”

Like Kumogakure, Sunagakure and Iwagakure also had their tailed beasts taken away.

If you cannot quickly increase your power through development in a short period of time, then your desire for tailed beasts will become more and more important.

Shikaku had expected this day to come, but he didn't expect it to be so soon.

"What about Kirigakure?"

"Still hesitating, they are alone overseas, and the tailed beast is well preserved. Although the Hokage has sent a letter of condolence, the Fifth Mizukage seems not to be involved in this matter."

"It seems the matter is more serious than imagined."

Orochimaru, the organization that captured the tailed beasts, Uchiha Sasuke, and the villages formed an alliance, Shikamaru felt a headache.

Are there too many things that have happened recently?

And every incident is enough to have a huge impact on the ninja world.

"That's fine. There was no chance to join forces with Kumogakure. With Kumogakure joining, Konoha's situation will be much better."

Lu Jiu's mentality was very relaxed, and he did not feel that things were getting out of hand.

"But they won't fight for Konoha and the Kingdom of Demons."

Shikamaru analyzed calmly.

"Just have this attitude. After all, no one is stupid. Kumogakure only wants to use us to get their tailed beasts back. We need Kumogakure to grow our momentum. Until then, this covenant will not expire."

"Then, tell me about this..."

Shikamaru frowned, feeling that something like Shikaku and himself that had not yet been publicly announced was definitely not as simple as an announcement.

"How are your preparations for the Chunin Exam going?"

Shikaku didn't answer, and instead asked about topics unrelated to the alliance.

"It's ready, I just need to wait until the exam starts next month."

There weren't many things assigned to him, and many of the staff responsible for the chuunin exam process were experienced jounin, so Shikamaru's job was not as heavy as he thought.

In addition, Temari, who is in the same team, is also a capable jounin, so there is not much work left on his hands now. It will be completed successfully in about two days.

"In that case, after the Chunin Examination, you will join the joint action team of each village to assist each village in recovering the tailed beasts."

Shikaku glanced at Shikamaru, meaningfully.

"But, I..."

"This is Hokage-sama's order."

Shikaku's face suddenly turned serious.

Shikamaru lowered his head and fell silent.

"Dad, Hokage-sama...did she say something to you?"

Generally speaking, as a staff member of this Chunin Exam, he would have a period of vacation after the exam as a reward.

But no, and he was directly asked to join the action team searching for tailed beasts in each village immediately after the exam. Shikamaru smelled an unusual smell.

Shikaku nodded without hiding it.

"Yes, you want to deal with Sasuke alone. I have learned from the Hokage that she is very worried about your current psychological problems. I have always thought that you are a sensible child, but your behavior this time makes me Very disappointed. You don’t have to interfere with Uchiha Sasuke’s matter, I will discuss it with Lord Hokage and resolve it."

Lu Jiu dropped these words coldly and left the corridor directly.

Shikamaru silently watched the figures drifting away in the corridor. Although they were connected by blood, it was like they were separated by a chasm, and neither side could get close to each other.

…

"I see that you are not in a good mood. Do you want me to give you a few days off to relax?"

Looking at Shikaku with a serious look on his face, Tsunade, who was leisurely drinking afternoon tea, walked into the office and couldn't help but tease him.

"No need, Lord Hokage, I just didn't expect that brat to have such a stupid idea. I was a little worried for a moment."

The boredom on Shikaku's face immediately turned into a wry smile.

He had always been proud of having a smart and well-behaved son, but he didn't expect that this time, the other party would make such a reckless move, and even proposed to the Hokage that he should bear the responsibility of killing Sasuke alone.

Not to mention that the behavior itself is stupid, even the idea is completely distorted.

Shikaku was born for the first time. Is this really his son with a smart brain? Could it be someone else faked it?

"When I heard it that day, I thought it was a bit incredible...but thinking about it carefully, maybe it was because he was under too much pressure."

Tsunade put down the tea cup in her hand, looked out the window, and sighed.

"pressure?"

"The ardent expectations of his friends, the heavy responsibilities that the village constantly entrusts to him, and the fear of hesitation and confusion when the mission fails... He himself is a lazy person, and his current commitment is probably just an act of forcing himself. Forcing himself to bear everything, Make yourself someone others can trust.”

"This kind of thing..."

Lu Jiu was shocked. He had not realized this problem before.

Now after listening to what Tsunade said, she began to seriously think about whether the pressure she had put on Shikamaru in the past was too much. So much so that now Shikamaru couldn't bear the pressure and began to have some bad and extreme thoughts.

"I'm worried that if he continues like this, he will be targeted by Gen's people. I will pay attention to his every move in the future. If it doesn't work, I will leave him idle for a period of time after the Chunin Exams and will not assign him tasks."

Tsunade's reply made Shikaku feel slightly reassured and he nodded solemnly.

"Everything will be subject to Lord Hokage's arrangements. During this period, I will also pay a little attention to his situation to avoid any accidents."

◎

The country of ghosts.

On Shiraishi's desk, there is a document sent from Konoha.

The above content is roughly that Kumogakure intends to unite with Konoha, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure, and use the power of the four villages to find the missing tailed beast.

The specific time and place of cooperation has been determined to be during the opening of the first joint Chunin Exam next month, which is July 10, and the talks will be held in Conference Room 304 of the Hokage Building.

Finally, a list of representatives of the jounin from each village was attached, on which the names of more than a dozen elite jounin from the four villages appeared one after another.

If this information is sold to Akatsuki, Nagato will probably pay a certain price to buy the document and formulate a targeted plan.

But unfortunately, Shiraishi didn't have this idea in his mind, and he had no intention of using this information to accomplish anything ulterior.

His current focus on Akatsuki is when Nagato will take action against Kirigakure's two tailed beasts.

Not surprisingly, at that time, the alliance between the Demon Country and Kirigakure, the two tailed beasts who want to protect Kirigakure, will inevitably be exposed.

Although such exposure will have a negative impact on the follow-up plans of the Demon Country, no matter how negative the impact is, it is stronger than having two tailed beasts taken away.

He was not interested in dealing with the complete form of the Ten-Tails, nor did he want to see the legendary power of disaster that could destroy the world.

Therefore, the more chaotic the situation, the better.

Kumogakure's frontal intervention will continue to increase Akatsuki's direct pressure.

This is exactly what Shiraishi expects, so Shiraishi does not intend to destroy this alliance, and will even secretly contribute to the birth of such an alliance.

In addition to this document, there are also condemnation documents from Konoha and other villages on the desk, and the matter is related to Sasuke and Kakashi.

The elimination of Orochimaru cannot be used as black material to smear the Kingdom of Demons, but taking in Konoha rebels is something they can use to criticize and accuse the Kingdom of Demons.

Especially Konoha's attack was the strongest. During this period, the envoys from the Kingdom of Fire negotiated with the diplomatic department of the Kingdom of Demons no less than ten times, and sincerely hoped that the Kingdom of Demons could hand over Konoha's rebellious ninja to avoid the consequences. Harboring international criminals is discreditable internationally.

For such a condemnation document, Shiraishi just glanced at it and felt that the words of criticism and condemnation were very sharp and the writing was fluent, stimulating various pain points of the Ghost Country. Then he threw it into the trash can and stopped paying attention to it.

After handling these matters, Shiraishi became idle.

He glanced at the time and saw that he still had half an hour to rest before heading to the laboratory. Then he remembered the half-read latest version of the "Intimate Paradise" series of books in the drawer. He reached out to the bottom drawer and prepared to use it. Come and pass the time.

Boom.

The sound of knocking on the door made Shiraishi retract his palm like lightning.

Skillfully brew yourself a cup of hot tea and sprinkle some wolfberry on it.

Although the nightlife is relatively boring these days, Shiraishi always likes to be prepared.

Only by planning before taking action can you win every battle. No matter which battlefield it is, you should be fully prepared.

Victory will eventually come to those who are prepared.

"Come in."

Along with these words, the person who came in had silver hair and a mask covering his nose. His tall and straight body looked thinner, his eyes were slightly lazy, and he was more capable than before.

This person is none other than Kakashi.

The forehead protector on his forehead was also changed accordingly.

From Konoha at the beginning, to Otogakure, and now to the ninja forehead protector from the Kingdom of Ghosts.

"It's you, Kakashi, has the matter in Tian Country been completed?"

"Well, it's completed. Shuimu is handing over the people here to bring back the people, and will temporarily arrange them to the medical department for recuperation."

Kakashi nodded. His tone was so calm that it made people feel relaxed. He didn't look like he came in a hurry at all. He seemed to be well-prepared. People who didn't know better thought he had just returned from a trip.

"That's no problem. Although we don't know when they will regain their spirits in their current state, there is still hope as long as people are alive."

This is the only place Shiraishi can find comfort.

The survivors who were extradited from Tian Country and returned to Orochimaru's stronghold suffered not only physical dangers, but also mental traumas that should not be underestimated. It takes a long time to heal those people physically and mentally.

"If there is no solution here in the Ghost Country, then I think of other countries, and there is no solution."

Kakashi, who said this, was obviously very confident in the medical methods here, and there seemed to be a smile on the corner of his mouth under the mask.

"I accept your good advice. I have already prepared your appointment letter."

As he spoke, Shiraishi took out one document from the neatly stacked documents on one side.

Kakashi walked over, took it in his hand, and glanced at it briefly.

Shiraishi took a sip of tea, leaned his back against the seat behind him, looked at Kakashi and said, "Is there any problem? If there is no problem, I will take office the day after tomorrow."

With Kakashi's processing ability, Shiraishi believed that he would handle all the tasks he assigned.

"No problem, but I need to transfer Mizuki over."

Although the new job is not difficult for him, Kakashi feels that he should find someone to help him share some of the heavy chores to reduce his burden.

He wasn't familiar with anyone here. In comparison, Mizuki was one of his own, so he was a little more comfortable with it.

"Okay, you can just go over and talk about this yourself."

Shiraishi nodded and agreed.

"Then, if there is nothing else, I will go over to the spot and observe secretly to avoid any mistakes."

Kakashi put away the appointment letter, turned around and left the office without any delay.

Shiraishi sat quietly and waited until he drank all the tea, then walked out of the room and walked towards the laboratory.