Chapter 587 Winter Night

In the early morning, standing on the balcony on the second floor, what I looked up was a grayish-white sky full of monotonous colors.

Pieces of snowflakes are flying down from the gray sky. In this kind of weather, it is basically impossible to see too much sunlight.

The entire Konoha Village looks like a silver world.

Sakura was on the balcony on the second floor, and took a look at the road in front of the house. She could see that many store staff had gotten up early and started shoveling snow to keep the road clear.

They wore heavy cotton-padded clothes and scarves under their necks. Did they put down the snow shoveling tools in their hands, looked up at the sky, rested there for a while, and then continued to sweep the snow.

"I won't practice today, let's go to the library to read."

Sakura felt the biting coolness in the air. For some reason, she always felt that today's winter was colder than usual.

When exhaling from the mouth, the white gas spit out from the mouth, under the blowing of the cold wind, began to drag towards one side like a meteor.

The roads on the street are fairly smooth, and you can keep walking, but under the heavy snow for days, the Konoha training site may have become a no-man's land, with a thick layer of snow on it, even for ninjas, it is not particularly convenient to move there.

Besides, in such a cold weather, she didn't really want to run outside.

Sakura stood on the balcony for a while, then left the balcony, walked back into the room, picked up the things she brought out, and was ready in less than five minutes.

"Mom, I'm going out."

Father was busy at the barbecue restaurant early in the day, and only mother was left to watch the door at home. Sakura carried a backpack and walked towards the library.

Sakura looked at the scenery on both sides of the street, most of the shops opened early, and a small number of shops had just opened.

However, looking at this familiar street, Sakura always felt that the pedestrians walking on the road were a little more deserted than usual.

Is it an illusion?

Sakura didn't think deeply about this, and continued to head towards the library.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, I came to Konoha's library, where all the books that can be seen in Konoha's market are concentrated here, and even books imported from abroad, it is an important place where ninjas often come here to learn knowledge.

Compared with the library established by the ninja school, it is much larger, and the types of books are more colorful.

Walking in front of the bookshelf she often comes to, Sakura habitually takes out a book about medical knowledge and walks towards the reading area.

In the morning, the reading area of the library is very deserted, not many people come here to patronize, and it is empty visible to the naked eye.

At this moment, Sakura found a familiar figure in a remote corner, and couldn't help calling out the other person's name.

"Sai?"

Hearing Sakura's whisper, Sai, who was sitting in a remote corner of the reading area, also raised his head at the right time, looking at Sakura who was walking towards him.

"It's Sakura, good morning."

Sai squinted his eyes and smiled, giving the impression that no matter how you look at it, it is fake, just smiling for the sake of smiling.

For this, Sakura has long been familiar with it. These days, she has followed Tsunade's side, and she has grown not only medical ninjutsu and strange power, but also a lot of knowledge.

For example, during the break, she also asked Tsunade about the root organization, and gained a deeper understanding of this organization.

At the same time, I also understood the circumstances under which Sai's thinking, which is very different from that of ordinary people, was cultivated. It is not the problem of Sai itself, but the darkness inside Konoha.

It is that kind of darkness that has caused Sai's current situation.

"Good morning, I didn't expect you to read a book here so early in the morning."

Sakura took a look at the book in Sai's hand, she had already opened about a third of it, and there was a notebook next to it.

The title of the book is "How to Interact with People Correctly".

Seeing this, the smile on Sakura's face deepened.

"However, reading this kind of book, Sai, it seems that you are just a knife-mouthed tofu-hearted. Don't say it in your mouth, in fact, you really want to integrate into the environment of the seventh class."

Hearing what Sakura said, Sai smiled and said, "No, I did this just to better complete the task."

"I knew you would say that, but Naruto is not here now, but is practicing in Mount Miaomu, so you don't have to play charades with me."

Sakura sat down opposite Sai, and put down the medical book in her hand, the name was "The Effect and Harmonization of Drugs".

"No, this is what I say from the bottom of my heart."

Sai shook his head.

"I really can't stand you. Forget it, let's not talk about this, have you figured out the ending of your picture book? Can you tell me, you and your brother, who won in the end?"

Sakura asked curiously.

Sai pondered for a while, and replied: "About this, I haven't figured out how to draw a good ending. Because for me, no matter who wins, it can't be called an excellent ending."

Speaking of this, a little loneliness flashed in Sai's eyes. But soon, such a lonely look disappeared from Sai's eyes.

"Really?" Sakura thought for a while and continued to ask: "In other words, is it a tie?"

"I thought about it too, but I still think it's a bit bad."

"In this case, when you think about the ending, please let me watch it."

"Well, we'll talk about it later."

After finishing this topic, Sai turned to take the initiative to talk about something else:

"Speaking of which, Sakura, do you feel that the situation in the village is a bit strange recently?"

"strangeness?"

Sakura looked away from the medical book, and frowned slightly.

"Well, I am very good at seeing the dark atmosphere of Konoha because I often act in the dark... And recently, after returning from Ikenokuni, I feel that the atmosphere in the dark part of the village has changed. I asked Danzo-sama about this, but I didn't get an answer. I think you, Sakura, might know something."

Sai looked at Sakura, hoping to get some references from her.

Sakura frowned even tighter.

When she came to the library, she did notice that there was something wrong with Konoha today, but now Sai brought it up again, isn't this her own illusion?

However, if there is a major change in Konoha's atmosphere, what would be the reason?

"I heard that the relationship between our country of fire and the country of ghosts in the west of the mainland has become extremely bad recently. It has begun to affect the normal business exchanges between the two countries, and diplomatic problems have frequently occurred."

Sai said his opinion.

"Even at other times, the relationship between the two countries may not be harmonious."

Sakura said so.

The ruling class of the Oni Land are ninjas who left Konoha.

Based on this reason, the two countries naturally have some problems that cannot be adjusted, and they don't like each other.

The Nation of Fire regards the opponent as a traitor.

The other party thinks that the Land of Fire is messing around.

Wanting to solve such a complicated problem is obviously not something her kind can do.

"No, I feel something is different this time..."

Before Sai had finished speaking, a voice suddenly broke in:

"So it's here. Why, isn't Naruto there?"

There was some idle voice, I saw Shikamaru walking slowly with his hands in his pockets.

"Shikamaru?" Sakura looked at Shikamaru who came here in surprise, and then said: "Naruto is still practicing in Mt. Myogi, not in the village. Why, Shikamaru, what do you want from him?"

Shikamaru scratched his head, glanced at Sai from the corner of his eyes, and said in a tone lacking motivation: "It's not that Ino guy who woke up Choji and me early in the morning, saying that he wanted to discuss what kind of gift to give tomorrow."

"Gift?"

"Yes, tomorrow is Hinata's birthday."

Shikamaru sighed.

"That's right, I almost forgot. Fortunately, Shikamaru came to remind you. It seems that I also need to prepare a gift here."

Sakura finally realized that she has been busy with too many things recently, and even forgot about this matter.

"It's nothing. Speaking of it, we haven't been together for a long time. This time, it happened to be Hinata's birthday, and I called Naruto back by the way, and we all came out to get together... Well, there is this one, it's called Sai."

Shikamaru fixed his eyes on Sai, and said in an affirmative tone.

"Yes, what's the matter?"

Sai asked with a smile.

"Do you want to come with me?"

"Huh? Can I do it too?"

Sai was surprised.

Hinata Hinata, he is not unfamiliar, but he has met very few times, and has not had any conversations, which belongs to the superficial relationship of "meeting".

And my own knowledge of the other party is limited to the fact that the other party is from a wealthy family and is a noble young lady.

In addition, I learned from Xiao Sakura that it seems that this young lady has an unusual relationship with Naruto.

Other than that, he doesn't have any understanding.

"Of course, you are a member of the seventh class, then we will be companions in the future. I heard from my father that you have taken care of Naruto many times during the mission. As a friend of Naruto, naturally you cannot be excluded."

Shikamaru smiled.

"Is that so? Well, I see."

Sai thought about it for a while, and felt that this was a good way to integrate into the group, and it was beneficial to his own tasks.

However, to celebrate Hinata Hinata's birthday, let's prepare a birthday present.

What kind of gift should I give the girl?

Moreover, it is still in the relationship of a stranger, so it is not good to give it too precious, and it is not good enough to give it too simple.

Then, Saii frowned in distress.

It seems that I really lack the common sense of communicating with people.

The more this is the case, the more he feels that he should join this birthday party. Only in this way can he better disguise himself as a normal person.

After chatting for a while, Shikamaru left the library.

Sakura closed the medical book, and said helplessly: "It seems that I don't have time to read today, Sai, shall we go pick out gifts together later?"

Sai nodded, maybe Sakura can give him some good references.

"That Naruto..."

"In the future, I will ask the teacher to be responsible for sending the message. There seems to be a communication office in the village to contact Mt. Miaomu. And the Chinese New Year is coming soon, so it is not a problem for Naruto to come back a few days earlier."

Sakura said so, obviously thinking about the next arrangements.

Sai closed the book, put the book on the shelf with Sakura, and walked out of the library.

"That's it, Naruto, as long as you work harder, you can introduce natural energy into your body normally and control them!"

Beside the oil pond where toad oil is stored in Mount Miaomu, one of the two great sages, Fukasaku sage, held a black stick in his hand, dancing and directing Naruto to practice sage.

It is inevitable to want to learn fairy art, absorb natural energy, and skillfully use natural energy.

Even though Naruto used the shadow clone technique to increase the experience accumulation process of absorbing natural energy, there were still various mistakes in the middle, resulting in unsatisfactory progress.

But this unsatisfactory progress is only in comparison with learning other ninjutsu. Simply learning about natural energy, in Fukasaku's eyes, Naruto's cultivation progress can be regarded as the kind of ninja who is progressing very rapidly.

Continuing to practice at this speed, in the next year, it is not difficult to learn how to use natural energy and involve the principles of fairy arts.

If the situation permits, the goal of learning fairy art can be achieved even faster.

"ah!"

Naruto shouted freely from his mouth.

Wearing only a pair of boxer shorts all over the body, revealing strong abdominal muscles and leg muscles, there are a lot of whip marks on the back, and red marks are all over it, like a medal to be proud of.

"It's really troublesome, and it's like this again. This kind of energy is too difficult to control, isn't it, Grandpa Immortal?"

Feeling the natural energy in his body getting thinner and thinner, Naruto couldn't help but feel dejected.

This is the first time he has made no progress in cultivation.

Instead, the rest of ninjutsu has already been completed ahead of schedule with the assistance of the shadow clone, and it has been integrated and used.

However, for the special power of natural energy, which is different from chakra, it is completely unworkable.

Even with the help of the shadow clone, in his opinion, the effect is not particularly obvious, it is still like a turtle crawling.

This is still in a place like Mount Miaomu, where natural energy is abundant and easy to absorb. If it is the outside world, it may not be possible to absorb natural energy by itself, and it needs the help of others.

"Little Naruto, you are just too impatient. Learning immortal arts is the most taboo, otherwise it will easily disrupt the natural energy in the body. In fact, you have done a very good job in the introductory cultivation of natural energy."

Senjin Fukasaku jumped over with a black stick to comfort Naruto.

"Really?"

Naruto looked suspicious.

"Of course, as a celestial being, how could I deceive you? Although Naruto's method of cultivating shadow clones can shorten the accumulation process to a certain extent, learning celestial arts is a long process of water grinding. The most important thing is to learn patience and remember the feeling of absorbing natural energy every time. I think that in a short time, you should be able to absorb natural energy by yourself, and you can be self-sufficient even in the outside world."

Immortal Fukasaku laughed.

Different from when he first came to Mt. Miaomu to practice celestial arts, Naruto now has completed the improvement of his own skills, especially in the control of chakra and other aspects, and has obviously had targeted training.

After so much training, Naruto at this time has obviously reached the qualification line for cultivating natural energy.

Naruto was about to say something when footsteps came, and Zilai also approached from far to near.

"Boss Fukasaku, Naruto, you are all here."

He said hello.

"What's the matter, lecherous fairy? I'm doing natural energy cultivation."

Naruto stood up from the ground and patted the dust on his pants.

"Let's put aside the matter of cultivation for now. Next, we should go back to Konoha."

"Eh? Now?"

Naruto froze for a moment.

"Well, yes, let's go now. There has been a letter from the village, let us hurry back as soon as possible. The next time we come back, it may be in the next year. And, at that time, I may not have time to come with you."

Jiraiya's tone was full of inexplicable meaning, as if foretelling what was about to happen.

"Really? It's okay, it doesn't matter if I come here alone."

Jiraiya stroked Naruto's head, smiled, then turned to look at Fukasaku Immortal, and said, "Boss Fukasaku, then I will take Naruto back."

"Okay, but remember to be careful when you go back, Xiao Zilai, and don't get too impulsive then."

Senren Fukasaku had a heavy look in his eyes, and his tone was a bit lowered, meaning something.

Jiraiya put his palm on his chest and scratched it, continued to smile and said: "Don't worry, no matter what, I am also one of the Sannin, but I am not so easy to be defeated."

Naruto stood aside, he was a little confused about the communication between the two, so he blinked his eyes in doubt.

"Okay, let's go back, Naruto."

Jiraiya ignored Naruto's gaze, patted him on the back, and walked away quickly under the watchful eye of Fukasaku Sensei.

The country of ghosts.

Bitter ice and snow are flying in the sky.

In the military jurisdiction, there was a chill atmosphere.

The flag engraved with aster flowers is fluttering in the cold wind.

Located in the built-in corridor outside the conference room, Kazuki put his hands behind his head in boredom, and looked sideways at the closed door of the conference room from time to time.

This time lasted for about half an hour before the closed door of the meeting room was slowly opened.

The high-level military personnel came out one after another from the inside. They walked in the corridor calmly, with an unhurried attitude, as if they didn't anticipate the difficulties they would face next, they dispersed in an orderly manner, and returned to their jobs as usual.

The wind and snow outside are blowing violently, and a layer of solid ice has formed on the windows, making the eyes pale and cold.

"I heard that the Bear Country has been snowed for three days, making the road difficult. Is there really no problem with the deployment there?"

Seeing her mother Ruri coming out of the meeting room, Kazuhime turned her back away from the wall and asked casually.

In this kind of icy and snowy day, even if there is an efficient means of transportation, it will be more difficult than usual to operate it.

"The action deployment plan has already been drawn up, and now it's just to redefine the process. But you, the burden on you next time is not light at all, and you can't do it if you don't make preparations."

Liuli responded lightly.

Yiji chuckled lightly.

"I am no longer the child who will be easily knocked down by you, Mom, you have to be clearly aware of this. By the way, you should not go home tonight, then I will go back and prepare first."

After finishing speaking, Yiji turned her head slightly, glanced at the snowflakes flying outside, then turned and walked in the opposite direction.

Liuli looked at Yiji's back and lowered her head, thinking about something.

"Hey, didn't Ichihime act with you? Why did you leave alone?"

There was a startled voice next to him.

Ayane yawned as she walked out of the conference room, and she tilted her head in doubt after seeing Kazuhime leaving alone.

"No, the area she is in charge of is not in the same place as mine." Liuli shook her head, then looked at Ayane, frowning dissatisfiedly: "Also, wasn't this matter mentioned in the meeting just now? You...won't you have been sleeping in the meeting?"

"Uh..." Ayane laughed, but there was no embarrassment on her face: "Oh, I don't care about such trivial things. After all, I will be in charge of the Land of Earth in the future. I have to ensure that I have enough sleep time so that I can work hard at that time, right?"

"Hmph, I will really make excuses for myself."

"Liu Li, you are always serious about such small things. For me, now it is just the same as before, an ordinary task. There is no need to make a fuss, just treat it with a normal heart."

The corners of Ayane's mouth curled up a bit, and the smile she showed was naturally more obvious.

In her tone, there was no worry or hesitation about what would happen next. In her eyes, this is just another task assigned to her by her own man, nothing more.

"No, I am very worried that you will be unfamiliar with combat because you have not been on the battlefield for a long time."

"Why, you underestimated me. In order to ensure the smooth flow of blood in my body before the battle, Mr. Baishi and I fought until three o'clock in the morning yesterday. Now the blood in my body has completely boiled."

Ayane raised her slender but strong arm. From the outside, it doesn't have too many muscles, giving people a feeling of weakness and helplessness that will break at the touch of a touch.

Only those who are familiar with her know what kind of terrifying power is hidden in this slender and petite body.

As far as the body's ability to resist blows is concerned, Ayane is undoubtedly the best in the kingdom of ghosts!

The 'fighting' mentioned by the other party is completely different from the normal fighting.

However, Liuli knew that this woman who always had a smile on her face felt no fear or reverence for anything.

Although I feel a little unhappy in my heart.

The more she thinks about it, the more unhappy she becomes. Maybe she can also do warm-up exercises before the battle tonight?

Liuli, who was considering whether to carry out this matter, heard Ayane's exclamation voice next to her ear:

"What a heavy snow, it wasn't as serious as yesterday. It seems that we have to find a way to solve the battle quickly."

It is already a world of ice and snow outside.

The staff outside, wearing thick warm clothes and boots, are diligently shoveling snow there.

But the effect is not great, and soon new snowflakes will cover it again, making the road difficult to walk on.

"Yeah, it seems that there is no way to have a good year, and I can only wait for next year to rest."

Liuli walked to Ayane's side, and also looked at the grand snow scene outside the window, and let out a soft breath.

Because the heating is supplied inside, you can't feel the cold, but in the severe cold weather outside, it will greatly affect the combat.

However, the negative impact of this kind of weather is effective for both parties, and there is no such thing as targeting one party and letting the other party go.

Because the Kingdom of Ghosts has more sufficient logistical capabilities, the negative impact will be lower than that of ninjas in other countries. This is barely a good signal.

The country of bears.

It was already 11:50 in the middle of the night, and the road was blocked by heavy snow.

On the railroad track connecting the country of ghosts, it was also covered by heavy snow and there was no trace.

Located on the eastern border of the Bear Country, it is a military fortress built up from the ground.

The huge circular tube wall isolates the world inside and outside, and also resists the cold wind whistling from afar.

There is a door at the front and back, which is the entrance and exit position of the fort.

The tall wall is more than 30 meters high. Needless to say, it is difficult for ordinary people to climb such a high wall. Even a ninja can't climb a high wall all at once, and needs to use Chakra to attach to the wall and run.

Not only that, the high wall is also covered with grooves, and various organs are set up.

Crossed the high wall, avoided the various traps set on the wall, and then faced the ninjas of the ghost kingdom guarding the high wall.

Work in standard groups of four.

Except for the captain, he was wearing heavy chakra armor and a metal helmet like a gas mask. Only his eyes were exposed, and he was holding a gun-shaped weapon with a wider muzzle than ordinary firearms. There was a saber on his waist, and a standard backpack on his back, which was full of things and armed to the teeth.

The remaining three team members are all in uniform black hooded windbreakers, with anti-virus helmets on their heads, backpacks on their backs, and ninja bags hanging on both sides of their thighs. In a world full of silver eyes, they are extremely eye-catching.

Every forty meters, there is such a standard team.

As it was almost midnight, the world was black and white.

The huge lighthouse of the military fortress stands tall, and the strong lights turn the inside of the fort into daylight, and even the outside of the fortress is also baptized by light.

The blind area of the field of vision is the external wall layer of the high wall, which emits light to illuminate the blind area of the lighthouse to avoid omissions.

In the lifting plaza of the fortress, the ninjas of the ghost country equipped with flying ninjas lay down on the runway of the latest orbital launcher, accompanied by a mechanical roar that instantly overwhelmed the sound of the wind and snow.

Spread out the steel wings on the back, friction with the air to generate electricity, and drag the beautiful light band phantom under the night sky, flying freely in the high altitude.

Start night patrol as usual.

The ninjas of the ghost country flying high in the sky, they crossed the plains, valleys, and forests to conduct a careful investigation of the ground situation.

A ghost country ninja flew over a forest area, using military binoculars like goggles on his eyes, and began to scan the ground to identify whether there were any abnormalities in this area.

Just as he flew over this dense forest area, the only sound left on the ground was the howling of cold wind.

On the land of the forest, snowflakes as big as goose feathers covered layer after layer, burying everything.

Suddenly, a piece of land loosened slightly.

From there, he stood up alone, flapping the snowflakes on his body.

Using this person as a signal, the snow next to it also began to loosen. The second person, the third person, the fourth person... Countless people pushed the ice and snow away from their bodies, and stood up densely on the snow in the forest.

They looked at each other, then looked at the sky, and found that there was nothing above, as if they were confirming something.

"There are only ten kilometers left to the target, and the hovering air scouts will return in five minutes. Everyone, let's start action."

Did not ask if he could reach the target location ten kilometers away within five minutes.

This is an inevitable answer for ninjas.

It can be done!

Under the dark night, the area around the fort was brightly lit.

"Dinner is served, dinner is served!"

Following the sound of this sound, the four-person teams patrolling the high wall stopped their work one after another.

I saw the staff in blue overalls delivering hot food up.

On the high wall, in a tent surrounded by three parts, there are simple beds and a dining table. Next to it is a stove for heating. Under the blowing of the cold wind, the sparks in the stove are constantly dragging towards the outside.

Although there is no cover for the gap facing the outside, the baking of the stove will not make the body in a state of freezing.

Every team gathered in such a tent and began to enjoy the necessary supper every night.

In this season of snow and ice, every meal is an extremely happy moment.

After all, there is nothing happier than eating a delicious hot meal in cold weather.

"Unfortunately, there is only so much wine, it's not enough for us to stuff our teeth."

Junin captain wearing heavy chakra armor, took off the helmet on his head, and shook the hand-sized wine bottle that was brought along with the hot food. If four people share it, they can only get a small glass, which is enough to satisfy the mouth.

"Be content, captain, that is, you can get this little wine in winter, but in other seasons, you can't even get this little wine."

A female ninja in the team said with a smile.

She smiled and took off the gas mask on her face, flicked her wavy hair, and let out a long breath.

"It's true. Unlike the group of people stationed in the country, we who are stationed at the border are too strict in management."

Although the captain complained, there was no dissatisfaction in his tone.

The four of them ate hot food, filling their already hungry stomachs.

Just as he was about to finish eating, a ninja from the Hinata clan with white eyes in the team suddenly shook his body and stopped eating.

"What's wrong?"

The captain asked a question with a serious expression.

As the scouting ninja in the team, the other party showed this appearance, obviously something happened.

"A large number of Chakra reactions have appeared in front, the number has reached hundreds, and the number is still increasing..."

The ninja of the Hyuga Clan stood up abruptly, and swept towards the forest in the front direction with solemn eyes, his face darkened.

In the range that he could observe with his white eyes, a large number of chakra reactions that did not belong to ordinary people began to surge at a skyrocketing speed, one after another, continuously.

This is obviously a precursor to a surprise attack by the ninja troops!

"What?"

The captain and two other team members also stood up suddenly, rushed out of the tent, and flashed to the edge of the high wall in the blink of an eye.

The other team seemed to have noticed something, and like them, they came to the edge of the high wall and glanced at the forest.

The sound of wind and snow whistled in my ears, it seemed that this sound was the only sound left in the world. The forest was terrifyingly silent and dark.

Suddenly, a figure rushed out of the forest and galloped across the snow at a terrifying speed.

With the first one, there will be the second... Then more figures rushed out of the forest, rushing towards the fort at lightning speed.

Suddenly, a sharp siren sounded in the fortress under the night, breaking the silence of the night.

(end of this chapter)