Chapter 309 Rumors and Preparation

Most of the people in Konoha Village who were enjoying the late summer evening breeze were not interested in what was happening abroad. When they occasionally talked about it, they would focus on dozens of leaders, such as how unruly the daimyo of a certain country was, or how angry the Kage of a certain ninja village was. For them, a small ninja village was their entire life, and no other place in the ninja world could compare to it.

A rumor spread quietly among the elite jonin. When Orochimaru betrayed Konoha, he killed several Anbu ninjas who were on the mission to prove his loyalty. Most people said nothing about this, but secretly blamed the Hokage for being so careless and arrogant. Orochimaru's double-mindedness was known to everyone. Why did he send him to the Rain Country to carry out the so-called intelligence gathering mission? And why did he order the Anbu ninjas to follow him as a secret line? Now, not only did Orochimaru rebel, but the village also lost the lives of several Anbu ninjas. It was simply a typical example of stealing a chicken but losing the rice.

In response to this, the Hokage's office issued a gag order, prohibiting anyone from mentioning it in public, which successfully had the opposite effect of confirming the rumor.

Ye Shan stood on the Hokage Rock overlooking the village. The weather in summer was unpredictable. Just now there was a breeze and it was refreshing, but in the blink of an eye, it was covered with dark clouds and heavy rain. Uchiha Keiji sighed and held up an umbrella to block Ye Shan's head. The umbrella was tilted badly.

A flash of purple lightning streaked across the gloomy sky, bursting out with shockingly dazzling light before quickly disappearing, followed by rumbling thunder, adding a touch of hideousness to this sudden rainstorm.

The small umbrella could not block the heavy rain. Even though Uchiha Keiji held the umbrella over Ye Shan's head, both of them soon became wet. Only Ye Shan's hair and face remained neat.

"Any news about the Rain Country's search and rescue team?"

Uchiha Keiji's eyes sank slightly, and he remained silent in the face of Ye Shan's question. This silent silence had already given the answer for him.

Ye Shan stretched out his hand, feeling the numbness of the heavy rain hitting his palm, and he spoke with a rare sense of helplessness: "They all carried out the mission with the determination to die, and prepared for their funeral long before leaving the village. But now there is no trace of the living or the dead, and there will be a few more cenotaphs in the cemetery."

"Anbu rules are to leave no body behind after death. They have been exposed to too many village secrets, so they must have used the secret technique of self-immolation before they died."

Ye Shan pursed his lips, pushed the umbrella to one side, and let the heavy rain wet his hair: "Even if they can bring back a broken kunai or a pile of ashes that have not been dispersed by the rain, it will be fine. They are all excellent ninjas, the true inheritors of the Will of Fire who risked their lives for the village. They deserve to be honored."

Uchiha Keiji put away his umbrella and his voice became sonorous and powerful: "Hokage, there is no need to be so sentimental. I have already made it clear to them the dangers before the mission officially began. None of them were forced to participate."

Ye Shan wiped the rain off his face and said, "I hope Orochimaru can pass on valuable information to us. Otherwise, I don't mind going out of the village to visit one or two."

"With Kabuto Yakushi acting as a double agent by his side, I think he can still obtain valuable information even if Orochimaru has ulterior motives."

"The talent of this child, Kabuto Yakushi, is not inferior to Kakashi, and his character is vaguely similar to me when I was young. I don't know whether it is a good idea to send him out of the village to carry out dangerous missions."

"It's too late to regret now. We can only choose to trust them now. I hope the mystery of the Rain Country can be unveiled soon. By then, whether we send people to investigate or designate defensive measures, we will have the upper hand."

Ye Shan frowned and said in a cold voice: "Once the veil of the Rain Country is taken off, I will personally kill the so-called God! What a bullshit Samsara Eye, in my heart, it is not as good as a few excellent Anbu ninjas who have experienced hundreds of battles!"

Uchiha Keiji nodded and changed the subject: "Kushina's due date is less than a month away. Should we prepare in advance?"

"Minato has already selected his favorite personnel for the barrier class, medical class, and perception class. You can personally select the Anbu, Root, and security departments. The personnel must not only have good ideological and background, but also strong enough. At least start with jonin. Select about a hundred people."

After thinking for a while, Ye Shan said: "Send someone to inform Tsunade and Jiraiya to return to the village. After Kushina has given birth safely, they can go wherever they want."

Uchiha Keiji smiled bitterly and said, "Tsunade has been found. She is in the underground casino of the Iron Country. But there is no news about Jiraiya. It is said that he went to Myoboku Mountain to practice. He didn't even leave a means of communication."

Ye Shan snorted coldly and said, "That guy has always been reckless. It was okay when I locked him up in the village before. At most, he took materials to open a few bathing centers. Once he left the village, he disappeared directly. If it weren't for his strength, I would have suspected that he was secretly killed."

"He is just such an eccentric person, otherwise Sarutobi Hiruzen would never have chosen Orochimaru and Minato as his successors. Sarutobi Hiruzen did not say it on the surface, but he actually had great hopes for Jiraiya, even higher than Orochimaru, but unfortunately, it is difficult to change a person's nature, he is just too eccentric."

The rain was getting heavier, and Ye Shan was getting more and more irritated. As Kushina's due date approached, he had a bad feeling in his heart, as if someone was plotting against him, but there was nothing unusual.

"Starting from next week, the security department will cancel the vacation. You will select the best soldiers from your family to fill in. The area within 50 kilometers outside the village will be included in the key monitoring range. The mission department will suspend accepting missions above A-level to ensure that most of the jonin stay in the village."

Uchiha Keiji narrowed his eyes and said softly, "Is it a bit of a big deal? I'm worried that Minato will have opinions. After all, he is the most sensitive and nervous person at the moment."

"I hope I'm just overthinking it. Just do as I say and you'll have to explain everything to Minato." Ye Shan sighed.

"By the way, how did the village handle the last Jinchuriki's childbirth?"

Uchiha Keiji thought for a moment and said, "It was a long time ago. At that time, Konohagakure had not yet been established. There were only a few words in the notes of the Second Generation, but they were just mentioned briefly tonight. There is nothing to refer to at all."

"The Uchiha clan didn't take advantage of the situation?"

Uchiha Keiji smiled bitterly and said, "At that time, our family was fighting against several small families that rebelled in the southern part of the Land of Fire. In addition, the First Hokage's Wood Release could suppress the power of the Nine-Tails, so we were unable to split our forces and could only watch the opportunity slip by."

Ye Shan touched his nose, not wanting to say anything bad. During the Warring States Period, it was common for you to hit me and I to hit you. It would be strange if we didn't fight. "We must attach great importance to it. Let the barrier team set up the barrier outside the village in advance, and notify the rest of the candidates the day before."

"Write a letter to Fugaku, asking him to put down his Narcissus Project and rush back to the village. He and Minato will stay in the barrier while Kushina gives birth. You and I will stay in the office and wait and see what happens."

Uchiha Keiji didn't say anything, but he actually had some opinions in his heart. Not to mention that it was a peaceful time, and each ninja village was accumulating strength and waiting for the next round of competition, and they would not do anything small. Even if someone wanted to take advantage of the situation, did they really think that Konoha Village was made of mud? There were five or six Kage-level masters on paper, and there was also the super Kage existence of Yeshan, so even if the Six Paths Sage came, he would have to kneel down and sing "Conquer".

Therefore, according to Uchiha Keiji and most people, there is no need to mobilize the army. At most, a curfew on the day of childbirth is enough. Not to mention the distant past, the Kirigakure, which is about to fall apart, is the best example of angering Konoha.

Ye Shan glanced at his deputy beside him and said calmly, "Planning is the key to success. The smoother things are, the more vigilant we must be. It is certainly refreshing to be on the rise, but what if something goes wrong? That would be a joke. This year is crucial for Konoha. If everything goes well, the economic system of the Water Country can be defeated before the end of the year, and the new Rain Country can also begin to enter an era of universal ninja. It won't be too late to celebrate then."

"We have developed so smoothly and so fast in the past few years that I always feel it's unreal. Could it be that this ninja world that has remained unchanged for thousands of years can really be changed so easily by us? Could the blood and tears of ninjas for thousands of years really be ended so easily? If it were that simple, why did the ambitious first generation Hokage and the ambitious second generation Hokage both end in such an unexpected way?"

Ye Shan let out a long sigh and looked up at the sky. He hated rainy days because there was always a faint smell of blood in the rain. "Until the dust settles, no one dares to pat their chest and say that they will succeed. I have seen too many ninjas who were full of ambition die in an insignificant accident. They are all living examples."

Uchiha Keiji pushed away the indifference in his heart and nodded heavily, "Next, I will put aside all official duties and concentrate on planning the preparations for the Jinchūriki's birth. I will make sure it goes smoothly."

Ye Shan wiped the rain off his face, took a step forward from his statue's nose, and free-falled with his body straightened, without any worry of being killed.

I hope the dark clouds will soon dissipate and the sun will shine on the Konohagakure.