Escape From Konoha

In the doll shop, Deidara, who was obviously coming as a guest, sat down on the sofa very familiarly and looked at the decoration in the doll shop with curious eyes.

The products in the store are basically wooden dolls, with a small number of cloth dolls, but it can be seen that there is no duplication of each product. From human figures to animals, each one is a unique selection.

As long as one can be sold, it can sustain daily expenses for a long time.

Moreover, as far as Deidara knew, Scorpion's private treasury contained a staggering amount of reserve funds.

For him, opening this doll shop is just a casual interest, and it is not essentially to support his family.

Scorpion didn't react to Deidara's familiar behavior. He just made himself a cup of tea, then walked to the sofa opposite Deidara and sat down.

The appearance of a young man of fifteen or sixteen years old remains. Although his flesh and blood body has been restored, his eyes without much fluctuation still look like a doll, without much emotional expression.

"It's really hard for you to find my whereabouts, Deidara."

After Scorpion sat down, his tone was emotional, and then his eyes glanced at Deidara's body.

"Looking at the way you look now, you probably are no longer Akatsuki. It's not Bai Zetsu who noticed that I'm here."

Scorpion seems to be very determined.

"After Brother Scorpion left Xiao, a lot of things happened. Anyway, due to various reasons, I am now working for Her Highness the Princess. Yes."

Deidara nodded and replied.

"So, you are here on behalf of the Kingdom of Ghosts?"

Xie frowned and thought about it, and immediately understood who Deidara was referring to by 'Her Royal Highness'.

After leaving Akatsuki, it was not a 'fake death' like him, but a betrayal, and the result has not been dealt with by Nagato. It is conceivable that Deidara must have joined a powerful force that can arm-wrestle Akatsuki head-on.

In addition to the familiar title of 'Her Royal Highness', there is only that weirdo from the Kingdom of Demons.

Because he had a brief fight with him in the past, Scorpion was very impressed by the power displayed by the opponent.

If it was the other party who guaranteed it, then it would not be impossible for Akatsuki to be helpless against Deidara.

"No, it's not the Kingdom of Ghosts. Coming here is a private mission given to me by Her Highness the Princess. Her Highness the Princess hopes that you can join her team. It can be said to be an invitation. Hmm."

Deidara looked directly into Scorpion's eyes and directly stated his purpose.

He knows that Scorpio never likes to make detours in communication. It is best to explain the purpose directly, otherwise it will make the other party angry.

"Team of Thorns? Not to mention that I no longer want to get involved in the rights and wrongs of the ninja world. Even if I want to join, I am no longer in my prime and can't help much in the battle. In her team, there should be There is no shortage of ninjas of my level."

Scorpion refuses.

He has recovered his flesh and blood body, and most of the puppets were damaged in the battle with his grandmother Chiyo and the Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki. Both the quantity and quality of the puppets he controls have declined seriously.

Even Deidara could easily get rid of him with a little effort.

In such a turbid ninja world, you can only protect yourself.

The important thing is to hide it. Once exposed, it will attract crazy revenge from countless enemies.

After leaving Sunagakure and joining Akatsuki, he killed countless ninjas, and their families would be like sharks smelling blood, eager to eat him alive.

This is the most realistic portrayal of the ninja world.

In the past, his strength was strong enough that he could not care about these boring revenge actions.

But the current state is very weak, and the strength is not even half of what it was in its heyday. Once the whereabouts and identity are exposed, one can imagine the consequences.

Only by avoiding it can you have a chance of survival.

Although it was shameful, after he was reborn, he didn't want to die.

"And, unlike you, even if I leave Akatsuki, Nagato still has a lot of kindness to me, and I will not fight against Akatsuki. In addition, I will not fight against Sunagakure's people. In other words , I now have any value I can take advantage of.”

Xie said very simply.

Hearing Scorpion's self-deprecating words, Deidara smiled and said, "Brother Scorpion really likes to belittle yourself. Although Brother Scorpion, your strength has indeed dropped a lot now, but the things in your head have not been lost. "

"Um?"

Scorpion glanced at Deidara unexpectedly.

Deidara took out a letter from his arms and placed it in front of Scorpion.

Xie didn't think much about it. He took the letter and took out a folded white paper. After folding it, he found words written on the white paper. In addition, there was a square metal nameplate.

"This is……"

Xie held the metal nameplate in his hands. It was soft but tough, made of a special alloy. He turned it over left and right, and finally fixed his gaze on the front of the nameplate.

"The position of specially invited senior technician in the military research department... does not require going to the battlefield or fighting anyone. You can enjoy the blessing of the ghost country's military. In addition to your daily work, you have complete freedom the rest of the time. Subject to intervention for life. Compared to the doll shop owner who hides and is afraid of being discovered by others, Brother Scorpion, it is also a job, this job is more attractive, right? Hmm."

"Senior Technician……"

Scorpion frowned.

This is a senior position in the research department of the Kingdom of Ghosts, and even he has heard about it.

Most of the people inside are not ninjas, just a group of ordinary people, but the knowledge contained in their minds, and their understanding and penetration of chakra are beyond the reach of most ninjas.

They constructed extremely detailed and precise chakra and scientific concepts and applied them to various fields, enabling the Kingdom of Ghosts to achieve technological breakthroughs and bring about many changes that attracted the attention of all countries.

"That's why I said Brother Xie, you are too arrogant to belittle yourself. Brother Xie's strength is really not of much help, but the knowledge in Brother Xie's brain is a priceless treasure in the eyes of Her Royal Highness. Under Her Royal Highness, talents who can be used Although there are many, few of them are related to the research field. This is why Her Royal Highness the Princess values ​​Brother Scorpion. Hmm."

Deidara talked so eloquently, trying his best to sound like a qualified lobbyist.

But this is also true. Looking at Scorpio's life experience, it is difficult to describe the word genius.

While others in the ninja school were still copying the knowledge from textbooks, Scorpion had already independently started to study forbidden arts on his own, and completed it in his teenage years. He had reached the peak of his 'human puppet' technology and completed a feat that people like Orochimaru had not been able to do for most of their lives. Achievable immortality. Although such immortality comes at a certain price, it also shows Scorpio's intelligence and talent.

In addition, the bearings, wheels and other important parts of the Scorpion Structure Puppet were specially identified by researchers from the Kingdom of Ghosts. They are a very rare material, sophisticated and complex, including the anti-corrosion technology that can keep the corpse as good as ever. They are all considered miraculous skills and involve many profound knowledges.

Therefore, even if Xia cannot become a ninja, his own knowledge is enough to make him a scholar with rich knowledge.

This was the scene where Ichiji asked Deidara to recruit Scorpion.

Xia frowned and didn't answer.

"Besides, although Brother Scorpion wanted to live in seclusion, he found a small town like this instead of a no-man's land. He must not have wanted to be isolated from the whole world in his heart. Maybe Brother Scorpion was tired of his career as a ninja, but he still has feelings for people. My love, but it still hasn’t changed at all. Hmm.”

Deidara glanced around the store. Every doll was Scorpion's work of care, not a half-finished product made perfunctorily.

Rather, this is what Scorpion demands of himself. No matter what happens, the only thing that remains unchanged is his love and loyalty to the dolls.

Never allow inferior dolls to appear on your hands.

Xie still didn't speak, but he was indeed a little moved.

He doesn't object to working under others, but he still has some concerns.

As Deidara said, the reason why he did not choose to live in isolation in the mountains and forests was because he wanted to live in seclusion, but he did not want to be isolated from the entire world. Although this can avoid vendetta, it also means that one will always be alone and completely closed off.

The desire to communicate seems to be human instinct.

As a result, he finally made the contradictory choice of living a semi-reclusive life in such a small town.

Perhaps seeing Scorpion's wavering, Deidara took out a scroll from his arms again, with a determined smile on his face.

"This is the art of the soul that can give life consciousness to invisible things... It is said to be a by-product of the art of spiritualization. Even so, it is an extremely precious secret art. Brother Scorpion, don't you want to create it yourself? Will the 'children' that come out have independent consciousness like humans? Maybe, it will be a brand new eternity. Hmm."

As soon as Deidara finished speaking, he saw Xia's unwavering eyes, staring at the scroll without saying a word.

◎

"Why do you always like to recruit such dangerous traitorous ninjas?"

Seeing Ichiji's application, which was almost equivalent to killing him first and telling him later, Shiraishi felt a slight headache and knocked on his forehead.

I originally wanted to take a few days off before the war to recuperate my energy, but then I saw Ichiki's application for recruiting the Red Sand Scorpion.

However... Shiraishi is sure that when he saw this application, the envoys sent by Yiji to recruit the Red Sand Scorpions had probably already been in contact with the Red Sand Scorpions.

Therefore, strictly speaking, Yiji's behavior has not completely exceeded it and is hovering on the edge of the bottom line.

"Now is the time to employ people. Although there are certain risks in appointing such a rebellious nin, I am sure to keep him under control and prevent him from messing around. Besides, old man, didn't you do similar behavior in the early days? Kakuto, the gold medal debt collector who works in the Chamber of Commerce, was once a rebel ninja of Takigakure Village. In addition, there are other ninjas, and many of them are rebel ninjas."

Yiji retorted gracefully.

"There is no comparison between now and the past..."

In the early days, the Kingdom of Ghosts needed to accumulate, so Shiraishi was tolerant in this regard.

"Furthermore, when I recruited these rebellious ninjas, I carried out standardized rectification of them, and the reasons for their defection were not heinous. On the contrary, they were all framed by the village's senior officials. And look at what you recruited... Dida La, in order to pursue art, caused many explosion crises in Iwagakure Village, disrupted the security of the village many times, and refused to change despite repeated admonitions. If it were not for the fact that his teacher was a Tsuchikage, he would have been sent to a torture chamber for reform. The Red Sand Scorpion is What’s even more troublesome is his motive for defecting, and he also assassinated the Five Shadows..."

"Old man, haven't you plotted against several Five Shadows? The number of Five Shadows who have died indirectly at your hands is only much greater than that of the Red Sand Scorpion. You also connived at Uchiha Sasuke to carry out terrorist attacks in Konoha."

"That was Sasuke's personal act of revenge. I have no reason to stop a person from avenging his parents and tribe."

"Ah."

Yiji smiled coldly.

There may be such a reason, but in the eyes of outsiders, this is Shiraishi conniving with criminals like Uchiha Sasuke to carry out terrorist attacks on Konoha.

Even the clerk in the Kingdom of Ghosts who was responsible for recording this incident found it difficult to accurately define the words terrorist attack and revenge, so he blurred the words and kept silent about the so-called motive.

After all, Uchiha Sasuke's attack on Konoha was not only related to Shiraishi, the senior executive, but also the reputation of the entire Uchiha clan in the Kingdom of Demons.

Even if this is the case, the Uchiha clan will never allow the reputation of terrorist attacks to become established.

Therefore, the bait thrown by the Kingdom of Ghosts is very conspicuous - avenging the Uchiha clan who was framed by Konoha's former high-level officials was the reason why Uchiha Sasuke attacked Konoha.

In addition, it was also revealed that Sasuke was officially recognized by the Uchiha clan of the Demon Country after the attack on Konoha. He had been in the investigation period before, and the attack on Konoha had nothing to do with the Demon Country.

Hearing Ichiji's "ha" sound, Shiraishi felt a surge of anger.

Even the rhythm of his fingers tapping on the table suddenly became much faster, proving his inner unhappiness and irritability.

However, on the surface, Shiraishi's emotions were not revealed at all.

Seeing Shiraishi's posture, Ichiji didn't panic at all, she just looked into Shiraishi's eyes calmly.

"Let me ask, what would you do if I refused?"

"Then there is no other way. Let's set up a private company abroad and register it under the Ziyuan Flower Chamber of Commerce."

If the old man's path doesn't work, seeking a relationship with his mother is also an option, and Yiji has already made preparations for both.

However, starting from the Ziyuan Flower Merchant Guild was only Ichiji's alternative plan.

What she wants is for the Red Sand Scorpion to enter the military's research department and serve as a senior technician.

Although the research department is not involved in actual military government affairs, their proportion in the military is equally high.

"...It seems that you made a lot of extra money when you went out to kill the bounty hunters in the black market."

Shiraishi knew that Yi Ji had wiped out the bounty hunters in the black market and paid a large sum of stolen money into the national treasury after returning, but he felt that the part that Yi Ji had concealed and not reported might be even more.

Regarding this matter, Shiraishi just turned a blind eye.

After all, when the Thorns Team is dispatched to eliminate the bounty hunters in the black market, it means that Yiji and the Thorns Team can handle the black money obtained from the bounty hunters themselves, not to mention that a lot of it has been handed over.

"It's just a small amount of money. It can't be compared with my mother's treasury, but it's definitely higher than you, old man... Well, old man, you don't seem to have your own private treasury."

Yiji casually told a very cruel reality.

"Who said-"

Shiraishi, who wanted to prove something, suddenly stopped talking.

The fact that you have hidden your private money in the bookcase or on the wall panel of the study room, covered with magic, cannot be revealed at will.

Although he has no particular desire to spend money, and usually only buys a few out-of-print books by the dead Sannin, as long as he thinks that he still has a sum of money that he can control privately, even if he keeps putting it away, he feels satisfied and satisfied. The sense of happiness is also something that outsiders cannot experience.

Realizing that Yiji's face was half-smiling, as if she wanted to say something, Shiraishi quickly changed the subject: "Although your recruitment of the Red Sand Scorpion is a bit against the rules, as long as you can ensure that he enters After studying the department, I can give him a chance if he can continue to work peacefully. Then, you sign this responsibility. If he has any accidents in the future, or damages the interests of the Kingdom of Ghosts, the blame will be borne by you alone. , then I will not show mercy to you just because you are my daughter."

Shiraishi drew up a document, turned it upside down, and placed it in front of Ichiki.

Yi Ji did not hesitate, stepped forward, picked up the pen, and signed her life on it very readily as a guarantee.

Shiraishi kept one copy of this responsibility letter, and then Ichiki took away the other copy.

The matter regarding the Red Sand Scorpion has been settled.

"Speaking of which, the one named Hidan..."

After Yi Ji signed, she wanted to say something else.

Shiraishi's face darkened immediately, with a stern look in his eyes: "Don't worry about the cultist who is digging potatoes in the frozen soil area of ​​Snow Country. He is different from ordinary rebellious ninjas. His character is very extreme. It is so destructive that it cannot be reinvented.”

After Deidara and the Red Sand Scorpion packaged things up a bit, he could convince himself.

But Hidan, a Protestant who dug potatoes in the frozen soil of the Land of Snow, was an extremely difficult thorn in his side.

So far, he has been caught escaping from prison 131 times, insulted the guards 473 times, and gotten into countless fights, which the guards are too lazy to count.

This kind of cultist who refused to change despite repeated admonitions and clamored to kill everyone all day long would have been sentenced to death long ago if he hadn't still had certain research value.

However, after digesting all the secrets of the other party's physique, Shiraishi plans to take away his soul and use it as waste.

Yiji sighed with regret, but didn't say anything.

Although she is indeed in urgent need of manpower, not everyone is taken into consideration.

Hidan's hidden dangers were beyond his control.

For ordinary ninjas, no matter what they want to do or kill, they always have some kind of clear motive.

But Hidan is not like that. He kills just for pleasure, for fun, to satisfy the sublimation of his own soul... and he kills indiscriminately.

In comparison, Deidara's willfulness pales in comparison.

"Besides, from now on, just stay here honestly."

Shiraishi reminded.

"Is the Fifth Ninja War about to begin?"

"Well, according to the recent trends shown by the Alliance Army, it will be in these two days... then the Thorn Team will be the vanguard of the military and be ready."

In any war, the momentum of taking the lead is the most important.

Morale is an invisible and intangible thing, but it exists, and in many cases, it can have a good effect on inspiring people and improving the combat effectiveness of combatants.

Therefore, leaving the first battle of the war to the Thorns Group was the result of Shiraishi's careful consideration.

"So, which side is it targeting? Akatsuki... or the Alliance Army? Or, is it going to war with them at the same time?"

Ichiji asked.

Shiraishi thought for a while and replied: "When three parties participate in a war, generally speaking, two parties combine to exclude the other party. Otherwise, the situation will only fall into a strange state of balance, with all parties having concerns, resulting in a delay in starting the battle and waste. The timing. The Alliance Army and Xiao's side are probably thinking about the same thing as me at this time."

"In other words, do you want to form an alliance with one of them?"

"Well, that's why I participated in the previous Five Kage Conference, just to leave a seed of fear of 'Infinite Tsukuyomi' in the hearts of the Five Kages. It depends on whether this seed can take root and sprout now."

Shiraishi gave a rare smile.

◎

Terumi Mei's return was expected.

But the other five Kages, headed by the Fourth Raikage, all showed surprise when they saw the old man who followed Terumi Mei into the Alliance Army headquarters.

This old man is none other than the third generation Mizukage of Kirigakure Village who has long since abdicated in favor of others.

As early as the establishment of the one-country-one-village system, Kirigakure was already a famous jounin.

The disciple of the second generation Mizukage Kiden Gengetsu was also a ninja who inherited the will of the first two generations of Mizukage.

At the first Five Kage Conference, Hakuren, the first generation Mizukage who had followed Kirigakure, attended and witnessed with his own eyes the feat of the first generation Hokage Senju Hashirama to divide the tailed beasts.

"Long time no see, Onoki, you are older than before."

The Third Mizukage glanced at the contemporary Five Kages, and finally his eyes fell on Onoki, an old acquaintance.

"Tch, you old guy isn't dead yet. I thought you were dead after you were overthrown by the men you trained."

Ohnoki seemed to have a deep grudge against the Third Mizukage, with a hint of hostility in his eyes.

"Is there anything going on between these two?"

Luo Sha, who didn't understand the grievances involved, asked in a low voice.

Tsunade who was next to her replied: "It's a grudge between the older generations. The third generation Mizukage's teacher, the second generation Mizukage Kiden Gengetsu, and the second generation Tsuchikage Mui of Iwagakure are destined rivals. The two met for the first time. During the Ninja World War, we died together on the battlefield. This grudge and desire to win was also inherited by the disciples."

Luo Sha nodded clearly.

The disciple of the second-generation Tsuchikage, Mu, who pioneered the Blood Succession and eliminated the Dust Release, was Onoki, the third-generation Tsuchikage.

Ohnoki inherited not only the blood inheritance of the previous Tsuchikage, but also the grudges and entanglements of the previous generation.

On this point, the same goes for the Third Mizukage.

If it weren't for the fact that the five major countries have now formed an alliance, these two old men with deep grudges would have been ready to fight.

To be feared and worried about by a ninja like Ohnoki, the third Mizukage, who looked very old, was obviously not a mediocre person.

Compared with the help brought by the third generation Mizukage, in Luo Sha's eyes, the grudge between the two Kages was not a big problem.

In the face of such a major right and wrong, I believe they will temporarily join forces to fight against the powerful enemy.

Luo Sha felt very stable.

For the unexpected new force like the Third Mizukage to join, the Fourth Raikage, as the leader, was also a little happy in his heart.

The Alliance Army is in desperate need of the Five Kage's combat power. The joining of any powerful ninja is an improvement.

What's more, ninjas like the first five Kages, whose loyalty is worthy of protection, are even more worthy of attention.

Although he was dissatisfied with some of Kirigakure's past actions, this time he also invited the reclusive Third Mizukage out of the house, which shows Kirigakure's overflowing sincerity.

"Anyway, let's go into the conference room to talk first. The preparations are almost completed. Next, we will consider the time for the war to start and some issues regarding the march."

Tsunade suggested at this time.

No one objected.

The Fourth Raikage stood tall and tall, and led everyone into the conference room. A brand new seat was specially set up for the arrival of the Third Mizukage. Although the status of the leader was not given, the position of advisor to the Alliance Army was It is inevitable.