Escape From Konoha

"Guests, here are the ingredients you ordered."

In the barbecue restaurant, the female clerk puts fresh meat and vegetables on the table.

"Sorry for the trouble, just leave it to us."

Looking at the fresh meat that had been put on the table and completely ignoring the vegetables, Ding Zuo couldn't wait to start drooling.

The female clerk nodded at this.

"Then, guests, please take it easy. If you need anything, you can always ask me."

The female clerk exited the single room and gave up the space.

"I can finally have a big meal. The barbecue from an exotic place is really worth looking forward to."

As a member of the Akimichi clan who loves meat, Ding Zao has always had a huge appetite for meat ingredients.

Moreover, the meat used for barbecue here is so tender and delicious just from the appearance. This business trip is really worth it.

"Hey, although the public funds are quite sufficient, don't use them too quickly...by the way, the ingredients here are very expensive."

Looking at the numbers on the ingredient list, Lujiu's eyelids twitched and he smacked his tongue secretly.

"Does it matter? Shikaku, you must be tired too. After all, you have been rushing to the Kingdom of Demons non-stop for several days, and you haven't had much rest on the way."

Yamanaka Haiichi said with a smile.

"It's really troublesome."

Shikaku shook the wine glass in his hand, poured himself a glass of sake and drank it while grumbling.

Indeed, this place is already a foreign country, a country of ghosts on the other side of the continent.

It has a completely different culture from the Fire Nation.

The monastic culture prevails in the Land of Fire, and the Temple of Fire is the source of the monastic culture in the Land of Fire.

The country of ghosts is completely different. The culture of witches is prevalent here, and there are also various monsters and ghosts. These are also stories that are worth talking about and passed down by word of mouth.

Along the way, you can see shrines or witches in many places.

It is said that in neighboring countries, there are also many witches from the Kingdom of Ghosts roaming there.

"Speaking of which, Shikaku, the alternative you mentioned..."

Ding Zuo asked subconsciously while flipping the barbecue with chopsticks.

Shikaku just put his finger in front of his lips and made a 'shh' gesture.

Ding Zuo realized something and didn't ask any further, concentrating on starting the barbecue.

It seems that both Ding Zao and Hai Yi are worried, and Shikaku also knows what they are worried about.

After all, there are only three of them on this mission to the Kingdom of Demons. If they really want to cause trouble here, they will definitely be attacked by a group of ninjas from the Kingdom of Demons immediately and captured and imprisoned in a prison.

The two of them were worried that the so-called 'alternative plan' was related to force action.

Shikaku said comfortingly: "Don't worry, our only rule here is to live in peace with the ninjas of the Ghost Country, and conflicts will not happen. Moreover, the person I am waiting for is almost here."

"Someone to wait for?"

Ding Zuo and Hai glanced at each other, and both saw the confusion in each other's eyes.

Shikaku picked up the wine glass and took a sip, as if he was carefully tasting the foreign wine and feeling whether it was slightly different from Konoha's wine.

The smell of meat filled the whole room. Soon, the first plate of barbecue was ready. When Ding was about to pick up a piece of barbecue with chopsticks, there was a sudden sound outside the room.

"What are you doing? Is this right here?"

Hearing this slightly familiar voice, Ding Zuo kept his posture and turned to look at the door of the room.

Haiyi also tilted his head, keeping almost the same movement as Ding Zuo.

Only Shikaku smiled.

"Looks like we're already here. The barbecue is ready."

The door to the room opened, and two women walked in from the outside.

The leading blond woman has a very fiery look, wears relatively light clothes, and looks carefree.

The woman following her was about in her twenties, with shoulder-length black short hair, holding a pink piglet in her arms, and followed the blond woman respectfully.

"Tsunade-sama!?"

The people who came in were Tsunade and Shizune.

Both Choza and Haiichi were a little surprised. They didn't expect that the person Shikaku was waiting for turned out to be one of the three ninjas.

It had been almost eight or nine years since the other party left Konoha. To suddenly meet under such circumstances, the two of them were really at a loss.

Looking at the two people who were in surprise, Tsunade waved her hands in trouble and said: "Don't look at me like this, Akimichi and the Yamanaka family brats, I'm just being entrusted by others. That old man is really good at calling people. They say I don’t want to get involved in such things. No wonder I keep winning big prizes these days, and I’ll just wait until I lose everything.”

When she said this, Tsunade was full of resentment.

He has linked his 'misfortune' to the village's arrangements.

"Well, well, Tsunade-sama, please take a seat."

Dingza and Haiyi stood up and offered their seats to Tsunade with great respect.

It can be said that most of the ninjas in Konoha have been favored by Tsunade.

Especially those Konoha ninjas who are often active on the battlefield. Many of their lives were directly or indirectly saved by Tsunade.

The same is true even for the Inar, Deer, and Butterfly families, who have received many favors from Tsunade in the past.

Tsunade didn't hesitate and sat down directly.

"excuse me."

Shizune said something to the three people in Dingzao and sat down with Tsunade.

Tsunade looked at the table full of rich barbecue ingredients and was speechless.

"You three are on an important mission to the Kingdom of Ghosts. People who don't know may think you are here for a trip."

Shikaku smiled bitterly and explained: "I was rejected by the miko, so I can only eat some good food here to relieve my depression."

Anyway, the public funds are still very sufficient, so there is no need to wrong yourself.

Even if diplomacy does not succeed, food still needs to be eaten.

"Isn't this natural? As you can imagine, the other party must have already arranged it. He is the kind of man who is overly cautious, whether it is medical ninjutsu or other things."

Tsunade snorted.

Thinking of this, Tsunade became unhappy again.

Shikaku didn't speak immediately. He didn't know much about Shiraishi's information.

A lot of information was left over from more than ten years ago. After more than ten years, it is actually impossible to accurately determine the opponent's behavior or strength.

The most important point is that he didn't have much communication with Shiraishi in the past, only to the extent that he knew this person.

And it is only known that it is because he has a good teacher-student relationship with Tsunade, has close contacts with the geniuses of the Uchiha clan, and is also the medical unit of the White Fang team.

Other than that, there seems to be nothing worth noting.

"So, why did the old man ask me to come here this time to cooperate with you three brats? Let's make sure you don't come to me about the fight. If you have any ulterior disease in your body, you can take a look."

After listening to Tsunade's words, Shikaku and the three of them looked a little embarrassed. What is an ulterior disease?

They have three children and have entered the ninja school. How could they have some ulterior disease?

Lu Jiu coughed and said: "It's nothing. In fact, I failed to negotiate with the miko before. I hope the village can send a more important person to come here to negotiate with the miko. After thinking about it, only Tsunade-sama meets this requirement. condition."

The village's senior officials would definitely not be easily sent out to serve as envoys to the Kingdom of Ghosts.

As the leader of Konoha's jounin squad, he had also failed in negotiations, so another one of the three ninjas became the first choice.

"Even if you let me come over, I can't change anything. You are the village's jounin think tank. If you can't do anything, then it's even less likely that I can do anything."

Tsunade poured herself a glass of wine, took a sip, and looked at Shikaku with squinted eyes.

"It all depends on people."

Shikaku smiled naturally.

Tsunade did not change her gaze, but stared closely at Shikaku's face, as if she wanted to see something from it.

Shikaku, who was calm and calm at first, felt a strong sense of oppression as Tsunade kept staring at him, and the expression on his face became a little nervous and unnatural.

"What's wrong, Tsunade-sama?"

"It's nothing." Tsunade turned back, put down the wine glass in her hand, turned to Shizune sitting beside her and said, "Shizune, let's go."

"Eh?"

Shizune was stunned, didn't he just arrive? Why are you leaving?

"Suddenly I'm not in the mood to eat." Tsunade stood up and walked towards the door of the single room with Shizune.

Just when he was about to go out, he paused and left a sentence:

"I won't leave here for the time being. If you have anything, you can come to me at the hotel, but you can handle the rest by yourself. I don't have time to pay attention to the intrigues between you."

"yes."

Shikaku smiled bitterly.

Sure enough, this kind of trick can't deceive a ninja of the Sannin level.

Even if he didn't know it at first, after he said those words and thought about it for a while, he must have understood the behind-the-scenes operation of the village.

However, this battle is not just about the frontal battlefield of the Kingdom of Wind. They are in the Kingdom of Ghosts and must also provide the frontline surprise troops with intelligence that can determine the direction of the battlefield.

Once the negotiation with the witch fails, then the frontline battlefield becomes the most important key to victory.

For Konoha, this surprise attack must be successful.

◎

Early next morning.

Shizune bought breakfast outside and returned to the hotel. Just when she was about to open the door with her key, a voice suddenly stopped her and asked her to stop opening the door with her key.

"You are Shizune, right? I didn't expect you to be so big in a blink of an eye."

Shizune didn't notice anyone approaching her, so she jumped to the side, quickly made alert movements, and stared closely at the person.

After seeing the appearance of the uninvited guest, Shizune was stunned.

"Who are you……"

It would be a lie to say that she didn't know the person in front of her, because she had met this person in the past when she and Shiraishi were working together as Tsunade's teaching assistant at Konoha Ninja School, and he had an inexplicable relationship with Shiraishi.

Hinata Ayane.

The name suddenly came to mind.

Shizune's expression became a little nervous.

Although the other party's appearance has basically not changed much from before she left Konoha more than ten years ago, the gentle smile on her face at that time, or the very iconic white eyes, undoubtedly prove her identity. .

The defecting ninja who left Konoha with Shiraishi more than ten years ago unlocked the Caged Bird Technique of the Hyuga clan, led some Hyuga clan ninjas to defect, and killed many of Konoha's pursuers in the chase.

Her betrayal once caused discord between the Hyuga clan and the village's senior officials.

In the end, the crisis of trust between the two parties was successfully restored with the efforts of the village's top management.

But it is also true that the other party's betrayal caused Konoha to suffer a lot of losses in the Third Ninja War.

For example, as a bounty hunter, he assisted Iwagakure and caused a lot of trouble to the Konoha troops stationed in the Country of Grass.

The Fourth Raikage had also defeated Kumogakure in the northern battlefield of Iwagakure, and had frustrated the Fourth Raikage many times. There is no doubt that he is the top super-class ninja in the ninja world and can rival the Five Kages today.

When encountering such a terrifying ninja, Shizune would naturally feel panic and fear.

Although the other party didn't seem to have any intention of taking action, Shizune had already begun to think wildly, what was the purpose of the other party coming here?

The Kingdom of Demons is already a country under the control of traitorous ninjas. If the other party makes trouble here, it doesn't matter to her. If something happens to Tsunade here, then things will be terrible...

Thinking of this, Shizune gritted her teeth stubbornly and stared at Ayane without saying a word, ready to fight at any time.

Compared to Shizune's vigilance, Ayane stood there casually and used her smile to relieve Shizune's nervousness.

"Oh, don't worry. No matter what happens, you are still distinguished guests from afar. I won't do anything to you. I still know how to treat guests with a little bit."

Although she said this, the vigilance on Shizune's face still did not dissipate. On the contrary, because of Ayane's words, her heart became more alert.

She had always felt that the smile on the other person's face was a bit strange.

He was clearly smiling kindly and tenderly, but he couldn't feel the slightest hint of smile.

Even if this kind of person greets people with a smile one moment and tears the person greeting into pieces the next moment, there is nothing worth making a fuss about.

Maybe this is her nature.

The tense and dull atmosphere made the place seem particularly depressing. At this moment, the door opened from the inside.

"Shizune, it's too long to go out and buy breakfast, isn't it..."

Tsunade walked out of the house, and that was the end of her words.

She followed Shizune's vigilant gaze and looked to the other side, showing the same expression as before, and was stunned for a moment.

Ayane seemed to want to lighten the atmosphere here. She moved her eyes away from Shizune and landed on Tsunade. She smiled and said hello: "Tsunade-sama, I haven't seen you for a long time. I didn't expect that you are still as good as ever at this age. She’s young and beautiful.”

"..."

Tsunade was angry but couldn't let it out.

Because she didn't know whether Ayane's words were praising her youth and beauty, or whether she was an old woman who was almost fifty years old.

Judging from the bright smile on her face, it seemed that it was mostly a compliment.

"You're not much different from before."

Except for not wearing a Konoha forehead protector, Ayane has hardly changed at all compared to more than ten years ago, and time seems to have stagnated at the same time as it did more than ten years ago.

Faced with Tsunade's lukewarm words, Ayane smiled very familiarly and said: "Why, don't you invite me in to sit down?"

"I'm just here for a trip. I don't want to get involved too much in such a troublesome matter."

Tsunade said.

"Is it because Shiraishi-kun is not here?"

Ayane asked.

"It has nothing to do with him, I just hate trouble. If possible, please treat me as an ordinary tourist."

Tsunade said.

Ayane pursed her lips and smiled slightly.

"I would not dare to treat Tsunade-sama, one of the Sannin, as an ordinary tourist. Just before, I might have believed what you said. But in such a complicated situation, you appear like this in the Demon Palace. Country, maybe there is someone behind it. For example, the Hokage who showed great power to the Uchiha clan not long ago."

"That matter has nothing to do with Sarutobi-sensei!"

You can hear the anger in Tsunade's words.

But only Tsunade knew who the anger was specifically aimed at.

Uchiha, a powerful ninja clan, was wiped out by a thirteen-year-old kid in his own village. No matter how you look at it, it is the most ridiculous thing in the world.

"It doesn't matter if it doesn't matter. I'm just making some baseless guesses. Don't get angry, Tsunade-sama. After all, Hokage-sama was once known as the doctor of ninjutsu. He is such a wise and powerful man. How could he cut himself off?" Where’s one arm?”

Tsunade wanted to punch Ayane in the face and shut her up completely, but she still held back.

She wasn't sure if this was Ayane's provocation, asking her to take the lead, and then there would be a reason to capture her here.

Even what Ayane said made her angrier the more she thought about it.

Why hadn't she noticed before that the words coming out of this girl's mouth were like bloodless knives, poking hard at people's painful areas?

What a very bad character.

"What did you come here for?"

Tsunade sighed helplessly and asked.

Ayane did not speak, but glanced at the corner at the end of the corridor, with a faint smile on her face.

"Eavesdropping on conversations between girls is not something a gentleman would do, Mr. Shikaku, please come out with the other two."

After Ayane finished speaking, a few seconds passed, and three people walked out from the corner at the end of the corridor. They were Shikaku, Choza, and Haiichi who had been hiding aside for a long time.

The three of them were not surprised when Ayane discovered the hiding place.

In front of Byakugan, such hiding is meaningless.

Instead of continuing to hide and hold on, it is better to come out openly and appear more upright.

"Not only the Jonin squad leader, but also the Sannin are here. I'm wondering, will the other two Sannins come over next?" Then she realized something, and Ayane saw that Tsunade was getting worse. He looked apologetic and said: "I'm sorry, I forgot that Orochimaru-senpai has left the village. Among the Konoha Sannin, only you and Jiraiya-sama are left in Konoha. I'm really sorry to mention Orochimaru at this time. Senior, please forgive me for being rude, Tsunade-sama."

"fine."

Tsunade took a deep breath with a nonchalant look on her face.

"That's great, then, please, Tsunade-sama, please restrain yourself a little here. After all, if you make a fuss here, the people in the security team alone won't be able to stop it. Over here The same goes for the three of them. I don’t really want to use violence against my former colleagues.”

This is not at all due to the so-called comradeship in the past. Lu Jiu has reason to firmly believe that under the smiling faces of the other party, he must very much hope that someone will make trouble here, and then solve the trouble once and for all.

Considering that the other party once had the experience of defeating Raikage, one of the five shadows, this kind of deterrence is enough to make people here not dare to act rashly.

"Of course, we are the same. We came here to negotiate with sincerity, and we don't want to have some unpleasant things happen here with our past colleagues."

Shikaku said seriously.

"Shikaku-san didn't even blink when he said he was panicking."

"On that note, we are both mutually exclusive."

Shikaku fought back not to be outdone.

"Well, I am more and more interested in the next development. In short, if you don't make trouble here, I am very willing to entertain you. In the same way, if you plan to do something here, I personally I will still feel very happy.”

After Ayane said this, she turned around and walked away with a smile.

It wasn't until Ayane's figure disappeared in the corridor that the tense heartstrings of Shikaku and the others relaxed slightly.

Regarding this point, Jingyin is the same. The pink piggy beside her, even after Ayane left, was still trembling, as if smelling something very terrifying, and did not dare to hesitate loudly.

The only person who was relatively calm was Tsunade.

She was not frightened by the aura Ayane deliberately created, she just frowned and thought about something.

"Well, Tsunade-sama..."

"The temptation should end here. Nara brat, or in other words, your goal should have been achieved."

Tsunade interrupted Shikaku and sighed slightly.

Shikaku nodded, and then said: "Yes, I know this. But next, please ask Tsunade-sama not to leave the country of ghosts for the time being."

Tsunade nodded perfunctorily, not very happy.

"In addition, regarding the Uchiha genocide incident mentioned by Hyuga Ayane just now, the reasons behind it are actually very complicated, and Tsunade-sama should not be too gullible... After all, she is a ninja who left the village, and she will definitely use all kinds of unsubstantiated remarks. Come to discredit Lord Hokage and prove that you are right to leave the village."

"I have my own judgment on this kind of thing. However, I didn't expect that your relationship with Sarutobi-sensei would be reconciled so quickly."

Tsunade still remembered that Shikaku was a staunch supporter of Minato, the Fourth Hokage.

"Ah, I was not very sensible when I was young, but now I can say that I am more mature."

Shikaku scratched his head awkwardly, looking troubled.

"Yeah?"

Tsunade was a little uninterested, and just when she was about to return to the house, Shikaku said again:

"Actually, Hokage-sama became tired a long time ago and is in need of a suitable successor."

This sentence seems to be implying something.

Or maybe his inner desire has not been extinguished by the flood of reality, and he is still struggling for something.

With complicated colors appearing in Tsunade's eyes, she walked directly into the room without giving Shikaku an answer.

Shikaku sighed, is it still not possible?

For Lu Jiu, the biggest dilemma Konoha is facing now is not to eliminate the rebellion that may endanger the safety of the village, but the lack of a sufficiently enlightened leader.

Instead of focusing the village's efforts on eliminating rebellious ninjas, it would be better to concentrate on developing itself.

As long as you are strong, any difficulties will no longer be a problem.

Shikaku clearly felt that the Hokage-sama was beginning to feel confused.

Is there a causal connection between the Uchiha clan being exterminated, or is there someone else behind it, such as someone at the root?

But not choosing the most sensible approach also means that Hokage is no longer the confident doctor of ninjutsu in the past, but an old man who has been eroded by the years and his will is slowly sinking.

This is Konoha's biggest crisis, not the rebellious ninja.

◎

The land of wind.

Hidden in the sand camp.

Sarutobi Takashi came to the lounge where Jiraiya was, with a slightly relaxed expression on his face, as if something happened that made him happy.

"What's wrong, Long?"

Takashi Sarutobi couldn't wait to smile and said: "Brother Jiraiya, it has been confirmed that Hyuga Ayane is not on the frontline battlefield, but is stationed in Ziyuan City, the capital of the ghost country."

"What about Chiba Shiraishi?"

Jiraiya asked.

Hinata Ayane is not on the frontline battlefield, so the position of the last remaining person has not yet been determined.

It has long been determined that Uchiha Ruri is on the frontline battlefield. Next, they only need to confirm the location of the third person. Then, their surprise attack will be more certain of success.

Sarutobi Takashi replied: "This cannot be determined yet, but according to Mr. Shikaku's judgment, Chiba Shiraishi is more likely to be on the front line. Otherwise, the Kingdom of Demons will not be so aggressive and offensive on the battlefield of the Kingdom of Wind. Violent. They must have something to fall back on."

And this support, in Sarutobi Takashi's opinion, is probably the third person hidden on the front line, Chiba Shiraishi.

"Can't you be 100% sure? But in order for the surprise attack to be successful, uncertain factors must also be taken into account. Then, let's carry out the beheading operation assuming that Chiba Shiraishi and Uchiha Ruri are on the front line."

Three people are missing one, which is very important information for Jiraiya.

The difficulty of surprise attacks will also be reduced a lot.

Just to deal with the two of them, Jiraiya would be very confident in cooperating with Sunagakure's actions.

"yes."

"I'm going to tell Feng Ying the news. You should also be prepared and don't let the other side see any flaws. When the enemy falls into the trap, that's when we will appear and take them down in one fell swoop."

After saying that, Jiraiya left the tent, transformed into a Suna ninja, and walked towards the tent lounge where Kazekage Rasa was.

◎

In the office of the frontline base, holding the information sent by Ayane, Shiraishi looked thoughtful and then laughed.

"Use Tsunade-sensei to contain one person from behind? It's really a good method."

Unfortunately, from the beginning, he had no intention of letting Ayane intervene on the frontline battlefield.

Not only because Ayane needs to be in the rear to guard against the ninja villages that have not participated in the war, but also because the troops placed on the front line have been seriously saturated, and there is no need to arrange Ayane on the front line.

From Konoha's actions, Shiraishi also clearly felt that the Hokage was secretly anxious.

Is it because of the Uchiha clan's affairs and fear that they will settle the score in the future and continue to secretly arrange plots that are detrimental to Konoha, so they have the idea of ​​​​eliminating the roots in advance?

Or is there a deeper reason?

The only thing that is certain is that Konoha really intends to intervene in the battlefield here, and there is no possibility of relaxation between them.

It will be equally difficult for the situation to ease in the future.

Suddenly, the earth shook. There was some terrible force shaking the earth.

Shiraishi subconsciously looked out the window. A huge shadow enveloped the sun in the sky, overwhelming the sky and hitting the outer wall of the base fiercely.

On the high wall of the base, the ninjas from the Kingdom of Oni looked down at the densely packed sand ninja, which had surrounded the outer wall of the base. They kept using ninjutsu and kunai with detonating talismans to bombard the barrier.

On the gold placer waves that surged like a passing tsunami, a figure stood still, with a resolute face and a strong desire to attack in his eyes. It was none other than the Fourth Kazekage Rasa.

He controls the placer gold and makes the gathered placer gold, like a surging tsunami, push forward wave after wave, never stopping.

The defensive barrier protecting the outer wall began to tremble further and waver violently under the onslaught of sand gold.