Escape From Konoha

The truce with Sunagakure will happen in a few days.

This time, the place where the armistice agreement was signed was re-determined. The mission that Konoha traveled was not attacked, and the scene of the armistice agreement passed peacefully.

Although the war has passed, ninjas still have to be stationed here at the national border of the Fire Country.

Moreover, evacuation and return to the village will not take a day or two. The unused supplies need to be counted, and there are many wounded who also need to be taken care of.

There are also corpses of the victims that need to be identified and transported back to the village.

Sakumo's team has nothing to do now. The war is over and there is no need to carry out sabotage work behind the Sunagakure camp.

Ignoring the other three for now, Shiraishi is on requisition because he is a medical ninja and has to stay in the medical unit every day.

When these wounded people get better and return to Konoha, it will be much smoother.

On this day, Shiraishi worked in the medical force as usual, working with other medical ninjas to treat injured ninjas.

In fact, the medical ninjas who performed the operations were all experienced and skilled adult ninjas.

Shiraishi didn't complain about this, so his workload would be much easier.

This kind of day lasted until early December, when the Konoha ninjas on the front line began to break camp and return to the village, and Shiraishi ended his work as a medical unit.

Returning to the village from the front line, because we were not walking very fast, it took us three or four days to return to the village.

During this period, we had to take care of the wounded and protect the important supplies that had not been used up. We couldn't move too fast, otherwise we would have to return to the village within a day.

When he returned to the village, Shiraishi also enjoyed the treatment of a 'hero' for the first time.

The high-level Konoha, headed by the third Hokage, led a large number of Konoha ninjas, surrounded by villagers from Konoha Village, to welcome the ninjas who returned from the front line.

After a day of rest, a large burial ceremony was held in Konoha the next day.

Only more than 500 people were able to bring back the corpses, and less than one-tenth of them were able to preserve the integrity of the corpses.

And there are still many ninja corpses whose corpses cannot be found, or whose corpses are so mutilated that they cannot be identified as their own, or sand hidden ninja corpses, there are even more ninjas in this part.

It was already very cold in December.

In addition, on the day of the funeral ceremony, the weather was not very sunny and there was little sunshine.

The four members of Sakumo's team wore pure black mourning clothes and stood in front of the newly added tombstones to express their silence.

This war with Sunagakure lasted for more than two years. It was even worse than the War in the Kingdom of Rain. In terms of sacrifice rate, it was even higher than the War in the Kingdom of Rain.

The overall level of the ninjas who formed Sunagakure was far beyond that of the ninjas of Amegakure Village.

"I didn't see Tsunade-nin."

Ayane looked around and whispered.

Shiraishi also circled around, and Orochimaru and Jiraiya of the Sannin also came, and even Jiraiya's disciple Minato was there, but Tsunade was the only one to be seen.

"After all, this war directly caused her to lose two of her closest relatives. It's only natural that she doesn't want to attend this kind of funeral. However, after everyone leaves, she will sneak here alone."

He didn't want others to see Sannin's fragile side, and then chose a person to come to mourn. From Shiraishi's point of view, Tsunade's heart has become weak.

However, people have different levels of inner strength and weakness, and their ability to withstand bad news also varies from person to person.

Shiraishi can completely understand this.

"You guys go back first, I'll go to Hokage-sama to discuss something."

After the funeral, Shuo Mo left this sentence and walked towards the position where the third Hokage and other high-level officials were located.

The three of Baishi did not object, they looked at each other, and left the mausoleum park

"It seems that this year's New Year festival will be very deserted."

Ayane walked on the road and said something, as if she was regretting.

After hearing this, Baishi and Liuli also nodded slightly.

It is now December, and many families have been torn apart because of the war. Although the festival will be held as usual, it is certain that it will not be as lively as in previous years.

Not only civilians, but also many ninjas sacrificed by major ninja clans.

"What are you going to do next? The war is over, it always feels so sudden."

"That's because our team has never participated in a frontal war, so we think so."

Shiraishi responded to Ayane's emotion.

"You two, don't take it lightly just because the war is over. If you die, it will be very difficult to find a ninja who can match my rhythm."

Liuli poured cold water on the side.

Baishi laughed and said, "It's okay, safety first has always been my code of conduct."

The end of the war does not mean that ninjas have lost their usefulness.

In peacetime, ninjas also have to perform tasks, but compared with wartime, the task difficulty will be much lower.

Shiraishi thought that he hadn't tried to accept normal missions yet, and the missions he had been doing all along were fighting enemy ninjas.

The lowest level is also a B-level mission, and usually it is an A-level mission. Occasionally, I will follow Sakumo and perform S-level missions, paddling behind and doing military exploits.

Thinking that Ruri and Ayane in the team are already zhongnin, and he is the only one in Sakumo's team who is the lowest level jinnin, Shiraishi is thinking about when it would be better to become a zhongnin.

After all, the genin felt a bit out of place in Sakumo's team, which was all elite.

After chatting for a while, the three of them also left and went home.

"Speaking of which, uncle and aunt, will they come back to celebrate the New Year this year?"

"I'll send something back."

"Really? Don't you feel lonely?"

Shiraishi asked.

"It doesn't matter."

"It seems like the two of us will be keeping vigil together again this year."

Shiraishi put his hands behind his head and said casually.

"Yeah, it's another year without any expectations."

Liuli said this, then glanced at the gray sky, lost in thought.

◎

December passed quickly. Since Konoha and Sunagakure signed the armistice agreement, no major events have happened in the shinobi world.

During this period, Sakumo's team only performed two missions, both of which were relatively simple C-level missions. They destroyed a bandit stronghold in the Land of Fire, and escorted a caravan to the neighboring country of Waves.

Compared to the peaceful ninja world, some minor and minor things happened in Konoha Village.

That is, Tsunade resigned from Konoha Hospital and devoted herself to the ninja school's career of cultivating medical ninjas.

This baffles many people.

Among those who were confused was Shiraishi.

Because of Tsunade's extremely excellent medical ninjutsu, no one can surpass her in the current ninja world.

The strongest among the ninjas are naturally the ‘Five Shadows’.

But in the world of medical ninjas, the strongest person today is undoubtedly Tsunade.

In the eyes of medical ninjas, Tsunade is the pinnacle they want to surpass.

With Tsunade's ability, she could work at Konoha Hospital and at the ninja school to train medical ninjas for Konoha. The two functions did not conflict with each other.

After all, working at Konoha Hospital only occasionally required her to undergo some difficult surgeries. Most of the injuries could be handled by the other medical ninjas.

In this regard, there was no explanation from the senior management, but they only expressed respect for Tsunade's own wishes.

Although they gave up their position at Konoha Hospital, Konoha's medical ninjas can still ask Tsunade for some difficult medical knowledge.

Tsunade didn't say anything about this.

It can be said that she is the greatest authority in the field of medical ninja.

She herself is also very keen on cultivating more outstanding medical ninjas for the village.

Compared to the other two among the Sannin, Tsunade's prestige is undoubtedly stronger and she has an extremely large mass base.

The various drugs she developed for Konoha, during the war, cracked all the poisons of Sunagakure elder Chiyo, and single-handedly greatly reduced the poison attack capabilities of Sunagakure's puppet troops.

Not to mention, during the war, she saved countless Konoha ninjas through surgery, which made many Konoha ninjas grateful to her. Invisibly, she accumulated a large number of contacts and mass base.

If we say who among the three ninjas is most likely to become the future Hokage, Shiraishi believes that Tsunade is more likely than the other two.

She inherited the excellent bloodline of her grandfather, the first Hokage, and has a solid mass base. She has rescued countless patients through surgeries, and she is very powerful as a Jonin... If she herself has the intention to serve as Hokage, there are probably not many people in Konoha. Will go against it.

But this is just Shiraishi's family opinion, because the political environment in Konoha is very... well, how should I put it, very special.

Shiraishi really couldn't find the right words to describe it, so he could only use 'special' to describe Konoha's political environment.

The power of Anbu, the direct unit that Hokage relies on most, is divided into Anbu and Root.

The control of the roots is not in the hands of the Hokage, but they have the same power to move freely as the ANBU.

Uchiha controls Konoha's security forces and has some powers that exceed those of the ANBU directly under the Hokage.

For example, the ANBU needs the Hokage's order before they can arrest someone, and the security team can detain the suspect before the Hokage's order is issued.

As a ninja, Uchiha's power is very powerful.

However, for Uchiha, who has such great power, the headquarters of the police force is not in the center of Konoha, but in a relatively secluded part of the village, which is not conducive to the functions of the guard force.

There are also many principle issues that, in Shiraishi’s opinion, need to be changed.

Although the first Hokage established Konoha and the second Hokage created the development pattern of the Ninja Village, there were many regulations left behind by the two of them that were not in line with the times.

If changes are not made in the future, some deplorable tragedies will inevitably occur.

Thinking about it carefully, Shiraishi felt that his worries were a bit unfounded.

Organization matters have been officially formalized.

The five people he sent out are currently following the business group established by Liuli's parents, and have purchased a huge piece of land in the Kingdom of Ghosts that can be used to establish a base.

Shiraishi only needs to wait for the next more intense war to come, so he can leave Konoha and follow his own path.

His ideas and thinking patterns are incompatible with this village.

◎

January, the beginning of the new year.

Because he wanted to avoid suspicion, he always attended the festival with Liuli during the Chinese New Year.

Now that Ayane has joined Sakumo's team, they can naturally work together openly and avoid arousing unnecessary suspicion.

A team established in the form of a team is, in a sense, a bond of connection. Every member of the team is like a family.

"Happy New Year."

Wearing a brand new white kimono with a pink cherry blossom pattern on it, Ayane, who had been waiting on the street for a long time, bowed slightly to Shiraishi and Ruri who were walking toward her.

"Happy New Year."

The two of them also bent slightly, and Liuli didn't show any expression to her.

Unlike Ayane, Ruri is wearing a light blue kimono, with a blue headband in her hair. There is some gap between her hair and the clothes around her neck, and her snow-white and slender neck can be seen from the side.

The three of them exchanged red envelopes, which were considered gifts for this year.

Because there was still war last month, even though it was New Year.

This year's New Year's celebration in Konoha will be a little more deserted.

It’s not yet time for the night festival to start, but there are many festive things hanging on the road.

For example, there are fountains made of straw ropes, and some people place pine and bamboo in front of their homes.

On the street, there are already children running on the road with toys, and their laughter can be heard.

Hearing the laughter of these children, even the sadness caused after the war was washed away a lot.

"Ruri, your kimono is beautiful."

"Well, yours isn't bad either."

Liuli took a look at Ayane's kimono. The kimono was made of white material with pink cherry blossoms as the pattern. It really fit Ayane's pure and gentle temperament.

"Yes, after all, this is the best gift I received this year."

Ayane said with a smile.

"Speaking of which, where are you two going to play?"

After hearing what Ayane said, he was afraid that she would say something unnecessary at this time, so Shiraishi quickly changed the topic skillfully.

"I heard that there are some new shops opened in the village. Let's go there and have a look. After we have enough fun, we can go have barbecue with Mr. Sakumo in the evening."

The thought of a sumptuous meal in the evening made Ayane extremely looking forward to tonight's festival.

Shiraishi and Ruri have no problem with this.

The highlight is the barbecue in the evening.

For this reason, Shiraishi and the three of them planned not to eat anything during the day.

To be honest, Shiraishi is not very interested in shopping, but he also knows that the fun of Liuli and Ayane's shopping lies in the atmosphere, rather than actually buying something.

Liuli aside, Ayane's family environment is not bad, and she doesn't have much attachment to material pursuits.

Otherwise, with Ayane's appetite, ordinary families would have been eaten to pieces.

After all, he is the poorest one.

Liuli and Ayane were there to evaluate and communicate with each other about a certain product. Occasionally, Shiraishi would intervene and give some opinions. The atmosphere was very harmonious, like a family.

Time passed unconsciously, and the sky began to darken.

More and more people are coming to the street.

Thin white snow began to fall in the sky, adding a bit of chilliness, but after the number of people increased, the chilliness was completely lost.

The ninjas who are usually busy at work also took off their ninja clothes one after another, put on brand new clothes, and participated in the night festival together.

Gradually, the lively atmosphere became lively.

There are open-air dramas, in which people wear strange costumes and ghost masks on their heads, and perform bizarre ghost stories, attracting the attention of many children.

The children on the street were jumping and jumping, and even the shouts of the adults were ignored.

"I'm not late."

After shopping in the afternoon, Baishi and the other three waited at the agreed place. Not long after, Shuo Mao in casual clothes appeared in front of the three.

He also held a two-year-old child in his arms, tightly huddled in Shuo Mao's arms, keeping warm there.

"No, there is still half an hour before the scheduled time. Is this Teacher Shuo Mao's child? It's so cute."

Ayane looked at the child in Shuo Mao's arms, who, like Shuo Mao, had white hair.

He was looking at Ayane with curious eyes.

"Okay, you can come down now, Kakashi."

Sakumo put the child down in his arms.

This child already had the ability to walk independently. After being placed on the snow by Sakumo, he stood there blankly, not knowing what to do.

Ayane went up to hold him in her arms. He didn't cry, but he raised his eyes and showed a very arrogant expression.

Although his eyes were very energetic, his expression... it would be more comfortable to beat him up.

Shiraishi doesn't think this kid is cute anymore.

"This kid is very energetic."

Ayane said with a smile.

"One thing is that he has always been in good health and will become an excellent ninja in the future."

"Teacher Sakumo, today is a rare celebration, can you not say such disappointing words? It's hard to get away from the busy tasks."

"Sorry, professional habit."

Because he has a pair of discerning eyes that can see through the essence of things, Sakumo subconsciously said those words.

"Liu Li, do you want to give me a hug?"

Ayane looked at Liuli.

"No, this kid's eyes are too arrogant. It makes me want to slap him."

Seeing Kakashi's eyes hanging, Liuli felt a little unhappy.

Shiraishi nodded aside, he felt the same way.

This kid will definitely be a delinquent when he grows up.

"No, I think little Kakashi's eyes are proof that he is very energetic."

"Where is the energy?"

"Oh, it seems Liuli doesn't have the potential to be a good wife and mother."

Ayane seemed to laugh in a proud tone.

Liuli snorted and said in a disdainful tone: "Excessive compassion will only harm others and yourself."

As she said that, she looked at Shiraishi with sharp eyes, as if asking him to give a fair evaluation.

"Okay, you two, let's enjoy such a lively festival."

Somo said.

Shiraishi breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at Sakumo gratefully.

Sakumo patted Shiraishi on the shoulder, as if to say: I can only help so much.

Things are really complicated for young people. With Sakumo's eyes, he could naturally see some ambiguous relationships between Shiraishi and the three of them, and he sighed helplessly in his heart.

Then the four of them entered the barbecue restaurant not far away.

This BBQ restaurant is the old place where Sakumo's team celebrated when they were formed.

Sakumo was deeply impressed by this.

Because of a meal, he was paid for an A-level mission.

"Eat less. Eating too much is bad for your stomach."

Sakumo said seriously before ordering.

For the sake of the health of the three of them, they are definitely not worried about their wallets.

He, Konoha White Fang, is also a famous Jonin in the village.

A mere few hundred thousand taels...

It's better to be cautious.

"But the three of us haven't eaten a grain of rice during the day in order to prepare for tonight's big meal."

Ayane looked at Sakumo with innocent eyes.

"Is this the measure of Konoha Shiroga (laughing)? It's really disappointing."

The smile on Liuli's face was very contemptuous.

"I can't help it, it's Konoha White Fang after all (laughs)."

Shiraishi also followed to fan the flames.

I have been hungry all day, so I must eat a lot tonight.

Shuo Mao couldn't help but laugh, these guys, except for Baishi, the other two are not short of this money, why do they have to make trouble with his wallet?

I shouldn't have offended them during my usual missions, but rather take good care of them, right?

"Send all of this up."

After everyone had chosen what they wanted to eat, Shiraishi called a waiter and asked him to prepare it.

When the waiter saw the checked ingredients and quantities on the order... he was worried whether they could finish the whole table.

But when he saw Ayane, a very familiar little girl, he smiled knowingly.

Not only are the ingredients selected the most expensive and best, but the portions are also very large. It can be said that they are a big customer of this barbecue restaurant.

— two hours later.

Everyone had eaten and drank enough. When they were paying, Sakumo looked at the huge number on the bill and his eyes turned slightly white, showing a look of despair.

Although it wouldn't bankrupt him, it was just a barbecue, which still made him feel very distressed.

But if this kind of thing happens a few times every year, it will only be a matter of time before he, the captain, goes bankrupt.

"Thanks for the hospitality, Sakumo-sensei."

Looking at the satisfied expressions on the three people's faces, especially Ayane, she was the one who enjoyed the meal the most.

"You three should also think about my wallet."

"But among our team, you are the only jounin, Sakumo-sensei."

"After all, he is the most powerful jonin-sama."

"Yes, a qualified Jonin is one who can consider his teammates in the team. Thinking about it this way, he is worthy of Konoha White Fang."

Seeing the three of them praising him one by one, Sakumo had a headache even more.

Obviously, I called him Konoha White Fang before (laughing), and he is small-minded.

The change of face is too fast.

After joking for a while, Sakumo took Kakashi to play somewhere else, and Shiraishi and the other three didn't bother them.

It was about twelve o'clock, very late.

A thick layer of snow has accumulated on the road.

The festival also changed from lively to deserted, and many shops began to close.

"This year's festival is a little more fun than before. After all, I always feel a little bit reluctant to participate in the festival with the clansmen. It would be nice if it could be like this every year in the future."

Ayane put her hands behind her back, lowered her head and carefully stepped on the snow step by step. Suddenly she raised her face and said with a smile to Shiraishi and Liuli.

"Of course it can be like this every year. We are teammates in the same team."

Shiraishi replied.

"Yes. Speaking of which, I like this year's gift very much, so I'll thank you too, Baishi-kun..."

"ah?"

When Ayane mentioned this matter suddenly, Shiraishi knew that things were getting troublesome, and was about to use an excuse to change the topic.

A piece of softness touched Shiraishi's cheek, and Ayane's white and crystal-clear delicate profile was in front of him, making him instantly stiff in place.

Liuli was also stunned and forgot her movements.

"Although it's not my first kiss, it's a unique imprint I have left on Mr. Baishi, which is very memorable. So, goodbye."

Ayane smiled shyly, and ran away in the snow with light steps.

While Baishi was still in a daze, Liuli beside him turned red with anger.

It was a feeling of humiliation that one's most cherished 'toy' was snatched away by others without hesitation.

This sense of humiliation filled her mind with dark thoughts of wanting to destroy everything.

I have no other ideas.

"This, this, this - shameless! How shameless! Dirty! A promiscuous woman!"

As he spoke, Liuli formed a seal with his hands and gathered all the chakra in his body.

"Go to hell! Fire Release·Hao Huo——"

"Wait! Don't mess around in the village!"

Shiraishi reacted and immediately stopped Liuli, throwing her down on the snow to prevent the fire escape technique from being used.

After all, it's the Chinese New Year, so it's really unlucky to have ANBU come to your door.

Ayane, who was some distance away, naturally heard the bustle behind her, but her mind was no longer on it.

She touched her lips with her fingers, and there was Shiraishi's breath there.

This year will be a great start.

◎

Mid January.

The four members of Sakumo's team gathered at the entrance of Konoha Village.

"This mission is to exterminate an illegal organization in the Land of Fire. There seems to be ninjas in it, so it is a B-level mission. It can also be upgraded to an A-level mission at any time. It is not a difficult mission, but you should not be careless..."

When Sakumo was explaining the mission, he suddenly found that the atmosphere in the team was a bit strange.

Ayane had a gentle and innocent smile on her face, as if she didn't notice the strange atmosphere in the team.

Ruri's extremely ferocious look towards Ayane made Sakumo suspect that she would cut Ayane into pieces.

"Shiraishi, what happened to the two of them?"

Sakumo looked at Shiraishi, the most ordinary and most normal-behaving medical ninja in the team.

"It's nothing, girls have something every month..."

Liuli walked directly to the side and stepped on Shiraishi's foot, making him turn blue and speechless.

"Teacher Sakumo said that the mission is very dangerous, so don't leave my sight, otherwise I will not guarantee your safety."

Listening to Liuli's threatening words, Shiraishi had no choice but to nod in agreement.

Since that day, Liuli's expression became very scary.

It doesn't make sense to reason with a woman who is extremely angry.

Sakumo scratched his head. He didn't know why, but the team's running-in seemed to have become difficult.