Konoha Notes.

Chapter 498 Each Person's Testimony

Chapter 498 Each Person's Testimony

Naruto broke free from the crowd, rushed to the corner of the corridor, and hurriedly formed hand seals.

White smoke exploded, and another Naruto appeared in the same spot, while the original Naruto plunged headfirst into the bushes in the corner of the courtyard.

"Don't even think about escaping!"

Naruto, now a shadow clone, turned green as he watched a group of classmates rush towards him.

"It wasn't me—!"

He turned and ran. The footsteps and screams quickly faded into the distance.

Naruto peeked half his head out from between the branches and leaves, watched his clone being chased and yelling, swallowed hard, wiped his sweat, and tiptoed away in the opposite direction.

He felt it would be wiser for him not to go back to the classroom in the afternoon.

After crouching and moving about ten steps, Naruto saw a figure under the shade of a tree on the other side.

Green Aoi stood there, holding an autograph sheet in her hand. Seeing Naruto's appearance and listening to the commotion in the distance, she noticed him.

"Was that a shadow clone just now? Naruto is also a very skilled ninjutsu user."

Naruto asked in confusion, "Does Midorima-sensei also recognize my shadow clones?"

Green Aoi said, "That's a high-level ninjutsu that only Jonin can master, of course I recognize it."

Naruto chuckled twice, instinctively reaching to scratch his head, but his fingers touched the bruises on his face and he hissed as he withdrew them.

Green Sunflower handed him the autograph form.

"This promotion went very smoothly, Naruto."

Naruto immediately perked up at the mention of this.

"Many people on my side have agreed, even Sasuke has signed it. This time it definitely won't be like last time."

Green Sunflower nodded, but did not reply.

The silence lasted a long time, so long that Naruto couldn't help but look up at him.

"That's probably not enough," said a Chunin from the Joint Affairs Bureau. "The names of the badges won't just be used in Konoha. All ninjas participating in the Joint Affairs Bureau's Chunin Exams, regardless of which village they come from, will come into contact with these names."

"If only the people of Konoha approve, and other ninja villages don't buy it, then in the end, we might fail."

""

Naruto frowned: "What does 'all for naught' mean?"

Green Sunflower paused for a moment.

"—It means that all efforts will fail."

"Failure?!" Naruto's eyes widened. "How could this be? Even Iruka-sensei didn't object anymore—"

Minato did not mention anything about other ninja villages.

"Compared to successfully implementing the badge, it's just a matter of the name, something that children can try," said the green-haired chunin.

Naruto shook his head vigorously: "No. This is something that Dad and I worked on for a long time."

"But apart from Naruto, Mr. Uzumaki hasn't tried it anywhere outside of school, right?"

"That's...that's what Dad doesn't want—he doesn't want—" Naruto tried to explain. "While Mr. Uzumaki hopes these names can be preserved, what he probably hopes even more is that the badge itself can be successfully implemented, even if the final name used has nothing to do with him."

Green Aoi said, "What Naruto is doing is not meaningless. It's just that some things always take precedence over others."

He smiled and said, "Sorry for saying some discouraging things. It's probably because today is the last day at the Ninja Academy, and I'm a little reluctant to leave."

"It's a real shame that we can't see any new proposals adopted."

"However, even if I go back, I will do my best to promote Naruto."

Naruto then remembered that his teacher seemed to be in mortal danger: "That—Midori-sensei, didn't he say—or that—"

'

Green Aoi revealed a relieved expression: "Sasuke-kun has promised to explain the situation to the director for me. As long as I'm careful, everything should be fine."

Naruto was momentarily speechless.

He instinctively felt that things shouldn't be this way. Why should his fellow villagers, who were just working outside the village, face such risks?

"—Isn't there any other way? What if we ask Brother Shuuji?—"

"That lord will probably let me return to the village," Green Aoi said, lowering her gaze. "I don't want to give up becoming a Jonin."

"As ninjas, it's only natural to take risks when carrying out missions. If you don't go back because you're afraid of dying, you might never have any hope again in your life."

Naruto's fingers tightened.

"Speaking of which, Naruto gave me a new opportunity," Midori Aoi said casually. "After all, the Badge Project is one of the village's plans."

""

"As long as I assist Naruto in doing this and stay in everyone's sight, those who want to attack me will probably give up on me, a target that isn't particularly valuable, because the risk is too great."

Naruto looked up: "Will this really work?"

Before Green Sunflower could answer, Naruto grabbed his sleeve.

"I'm going to the secret service too! How can luck alone be enough? If more people are watching those bad guys, wouldn't they be less likely to cause trouble?"

"Besides, I was planning to continue promoting my name anyway," Naruto continued, his tone gradually quickening. "I've gotten so many autographs, it would be so frustrating if they were all invalidated because other ninja villages didn't recognize them."

"If I go to the secret service, I'll be able to meet people from all the ninja villages, right? I'll go and persuade them one by one, and show them just how cool these names are!"

"Leaving the village is not a simple matter."

Naruto grinned, "Even Sasuke can get into the secret service, I won't lose to him."

"If it's because of me, there's no need to force yourself to this extent."

"It's not just because of Mr. Green."

The blond boy held the autograph sheet between the two of them, covering the lower half of his face, revealing only his blue eyes.

"I'm going to become the champion and Hokage, so I can't keep losing at things like this."

He stuffed the autograph sheet into his pocket and held out his fist to Green Sunflower.

"Midori-sensei too. When I become Hokage, you'd better work hard to become a Jonin."

Green Sunflower looked down at the fist.

He wanted to laugh.

This child probably doesn't understand the true significance of the whole thing.

He wanted to laugh, and he actually laughed.

Then raise your hand, make a fist, and extend it.

Fists touch.

Green Sunflower withdrew her hand, bringing the fist to her side.

"That's amazing, Naruto."

Naruto withdrew his fist: "I'm going to find Iruka-sensei."

Green Sunflower looked in the direction where the blond boy had disappeared.

That moment of hesitation just now was truly pointless. Sometimes people just suddenly become concerned about things they've long since discarded.

However, that's enough.

The biggest gain from this trip to the Ninja Academy has already been achieved.

The next thing to consider is what to do after we get back.

As evening approached, the team heading to the Joint Affairs Bureau set off on time.

Green Sunflower walked at the front of the group, followed by the same group of trainees, except that there was one more person in the group.

Naruto walked beside Green Aoi, asking questions incessantly.

"Ms. Green, where should we begin?"

"The Cloud Village office recently proposed adding a Chunin professional skills assessment to the Chunin Exams. Starting with Cloud Village should make things go more smoothly."

"Kumakugakure—that's the village where Uncle Bee and Omoi live, right?"

"Then they will definitely support our proposal."

Green Aoi responded with "Yes," and answered Naruto's other questions, leading the group all the way to the secret service building.

The atmosphere in the lobby was different from usual.

This time of day is usually the noisiest time before and after shift changes.

But the hall was unusually quiet today.

The clerk on duty at the front desk was still there. The lights in all the offices were on. But there were hardly any people walking around in the corridor.

Green Sunflower grabbed one of them: "Is there an urgent mission today?"

The man replied, "No. The liaison office of Daimyo requests an emergency meeting."

Representatives from each village and the director's office were all invited to attend.

"Now?"

"It's already open."

The large conference room on the sixth floor was already full of people on both sides of the chairman's seat.

The representative from the Daming Liaison Office stood at the podium, a prepared speech spread out in front of him. His gaze swept over the heads of the various village offices present, finally settling on Director Kakashi.

"Since the establishment of the Joint Affairs Bureau, the world has indeed been moving in a more orderly direction. Disputes between countries have been resolved, and the world is no longer mired in endless wars as it once was."

His voice echoed in the conference room.

"However, thieves who are trying to overthrow the world have emerged. They are running rampant overseas, killing one after another people who have worked hard for the development of the world without any reason."

"Those enemies that were originally far overseas are getting closer and closer to the land we live on."

"People are therefore filled with anxiety. However, the secretariat does not seem to intend to do anything about it."

Maki spoke first.

"Sunagakure has already mobilized all available manpower to eliminate the villains who were expelled from the member states. If they continue to escalate the situation, we will have no choice but to withdraw our defenses from the border."

"I wonder if your esteemed envoy is willing to bear this risk as well?"

Wenya from Iwagakure continued, "Iwagakure is in the same boat. Several Jonin have already died in battle while carrying out missions in order to maintain the current situation. We have no spare capacity."

The Hidden Clouds and Hidden Mist also expressed some dissatisfaction.

"We are facing the enemy's main camp directly, so your criticism should perhaps be made with more care."

The representative from the liaison office in Daming did not express any dissatisfaction with these rebuttals. He bowed slightly, and his tone was even more gentle than before.

"Your sacrifices are well worth it. My wording just now was indeed not precise enough."

"The righteous indignation at this moment is more because this happened in the Land of Tea, the neighboring country of the Land of Fire."

He raised his gaze and looked at the seats in Konoha.

"Surrounded by numerous ninja villages and nations, Konoha, which has preserved the most power, has been overly cautious this year?"

""

Kakashi Hatake then spoke, "What are you referring to regarding the Land of Tea?"

The representative turned a page of his speech.

"The Kingdom of the Sea has already suffered a calamity, and the Kingdom of Tea is separated from it only by a sea. Its ruler has repeatedly expressed his concern to the other countries, and recently he has finally had to seek the help of a merchant to pledge allegiance to the wicked."

Bi said calmly, "Does Shucheng mean they've cooperated with Xiao?"

The representative confirmed this, stating, "Such actions have been condemned by dignitaries from various countries."

"But a temporary compromise is also in order to seek opportunities."

He hoped that Konoha would take more concrete actions instead of simply ignoring the problem.

6

"It is said that there is a thug leader in the Land of Tea who seems to be planning to take action against his monarch."

"This person has already initiated a relevant request through the secret service, and was received by Konoha today."

He closed his speech.

"Is such rebellious behavior even permissible?"

Kakashi tapped his finger lightly on the table.

"All commissions are reviewed through the relevant procedures, so you are overthinking it."

"Does Director Hatake mean the commission won't succeed?"

Kakashi looked at the representative.

"The Joint Affairs Bureau also set targets when collecting funds."

"To assist countries in their development. This is for the common benefit of all countries and ninjas."

The representative pressed further, "Can Konoha provide a definitive answer?"

Kakashi's voice was neither hurried nor slow.

"As I just said, whether it is conducive to the development of various countries and the ninja world is the only standard."

"This is Konoha's answer."

Inside the large conference room, the representatives from various countries present immediately erupted in uproar and began to discuss the matter incessantly.

"Does this mean that anyone can issue commissions to daimyo and nobles?"

"How is this any different from what those people are doing?"

The representative's expression changed.

Kakashi didn't give him a chance to speak.

"Of course, as you said, the dignitaries of all countries are working diligently for the development of the world. Such a thing certainly won't happen."

"According to the village's reply, Mr. Wasabi is the manager of Desai Port who has been recognized by the Daimyo of the Tea Country, and is not some kind of gang leader."

He turned his head slightly.

"Have you misunderstood something?"

As Director Hatake spoke, the representative's gaze swept over the seats of the other four major ninja villages. No one expressed their opinion.

He paused for a few seconds, then spoke again, his tone calm: "Perhaps there was an error in the communication, which led to a misunderstanding between the Daimyo of the Tea Country and the local officials."

Kakashi smiled.

"It's so good that the misunderstanding has been cleared up."

The representative smiled and agreed.

Kakashi then asked, "So, is there anything else to discuss in this meeting?"

"The tea-producing country's daimyo's expedient measure won't be the only one. To avoid such misunderstandings, could this country, which is in such a dangerous situation, request more reinforcements from the secret service?"

The representative put his speech aside and rested his hands on the table.

"We are aware of the problem of insufficient military strength. But it seems that there are still some places where manpower is not being fully utilized."

,

"For example, it seems that ninja villages like Kusagakure and Yugakure haven't yet incorporated their troops into the secret service. If they were included as well, it would free up a lot of manpower."

Kakashi said, "This will require a lot of additional funding."

The representative raised his head and met the gaze of the silver-haired bureau chief.

"For security reasons, countries are willing to pay extra costs."