Chapter 645 Time and Invitation

Konoha 64, January.

In the harsh winter season, everything is dormant, and it has been two years since the Fourth Ninja World War that established a new pattern in the ninja world.

Perhaps that war consumed too much power of the major powers. In the past two years, the major powers seem to have entered a relatively peaceful period of development. Although it is said that at the junction of the land of ghosts and the land of earth, the ninjas of the two countries will still break out conflicts from time to time, but it is only a small-scale battle, and it is not worth mentioning on the stage.

On the surface, the ninja world is calm, and every major war will usher in peace for several years or even ten years, which seems to have become a tradition in the ninja world. However, everyone knows that this is just a sign before the storm.

Friction between big countries has decreased, but the behind-the-scenes control of small countries by big countries has become a stage for fighting among countries.

Taking the victory of the Fourth Ninja World War as an opportunity, the country of ghosts penetrated into the small countries more rapidly. The small countries in the west of the ninja continent are basically led by the country of ghosts, gradually forming a trend of alliance countries.

The original aristocratic class in the country has been suppressed by force, and their voices are getting smaller and smaller. If things go on like this, it will only be a matter of time before these small countries become the possessions of the ghost country. Anyone with a discerning eye can see this.

As the land and population of the ghost country's "encroachment" are getting bigger and bigger, the two big countries in the west of the mainland, the wind country and the earth country, can only turn a blind eye to this.

After all, the first time the military and security forces of the ghost country entered these small countries was to attack the country's black industry and the bandit forces hidden in the country, and suppress them with thunderous and **** means.

Accepting the rule of the ghost country means that the country can enjoy the constant protection of the ghost country's security forces, and there is no need for an existence like the ninja village to solve their problems. If it weren't for the more abundant financial support provided by the daimyos of the two countries, there might be problems with the normal operation of the Ninja Village.

Lujiu stood in Hokage's office.

Even after two years, the working environment here is still the same as in the past. There are piles of documents on the desk that can never be processed, and there is a fifth-generation Hokage Tsunade who is constantly busy.

This is already the norm in Hokage's office.

Although as the Tsunade of Hokage, he can assign the work of processing documents to the rest of the senior management to complete together. After all, with so many documents, if one person was really required to handle them, he would have to stay in Hokage's office for at least ten hours a day, and occasionally work all night.

But the rest of the high-level Tsunade can't believe it, especially the two who are consultants, they are very vigilant existences of Tsunade. If the power of Hokage is divided between the two consultants, maybe the other party will stab him in the back with a backhand.

Teacher Sarutobi Hiruzane's mistakes and experience Tsunade can vividly remember.

Therefore, Tsunade will only assign a small number of tasks to Shikahisa, the trustworthy Jonin squad leader, and occasionally assign some documents to Hinata Hizuru, who is among the senior elders, to handle it on his behalf. But most of the time, Tsunade handles it alone.

If you are too busy, you will use the shadow clone technique to make an emergency.

Standing in front of the desk, Shikajiu didn't say a word. Even if there was something important to report, he would quietly wait for Tsunade to finish his work before explaining.

It lasted like this for more than ten minutes, Tsunade temporarily escaped from the bitter sea of work, and turned his attention to Shikahisa.

Even after two years, Lu Jiu, who is already a middle-aged man, has not changed much in his body. At most, the beard on his chin has grown a little bit, and his motivation has improved a little.

The ninjas of the Nara clan have two notable features besides the family-inherited secret techniques.

One is lazy, not motivated to do anything.

One is smart. People in this family generally have high IQs.

The ninjas of this family have been able to serve as the Konoha Jonin squad leader from the beginning to the end, and it is not for nothing.

At least in terms of work attitude, even Tsunade can rarely pick out any faults from Shikajiu.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"Isn't this a necessary job every day? Don't worry, physically speaking, I am the same as a young man, and this amount of work is not difficult for me."

Tsunade stretched her hands and let out a long breath.

Tsunade disagreed with some of Shikahisa's concerns.

She is a top medical ninja in the ninja world, so she naturally knows how to maintain her body. Although at her age, her physical fitness has basically reached its limit, and it is impossible to increase any more, but relying on her own medical ninjutsu, even at the age of sixty, the decline in strength is almost negligible.

After all, the hidden wounds left in her body when she was young have already been slowly removed through the usual maintenance and continuous care. In terms of physique, he is stronger than most young ninjas nowadays.

It looks like a lot of workload, but for her, it doesn't cause any load on the body, just pay more attention to the balance between work and rest.

"Speaking of which, is there anything you want to come to me at this time?"

Tsunade turned to ask.

"There are two things."

Lu Jiu said.

Tsunade did not speak, took a sip of tea and listened quietly.

"The first thing is that the Anbu cultivated secretly in the previous batch has reached the qualified standard, and we can try to cultivate a new batch of Anbu."

Because he advised Tsunade two years ago and provided this idea, the Anbu under Tsunade is now divided into two parts, light and dark.

The dark side on the bright side is commanded by the chief and deputy ministers. There are six sub-captains, twenty-four squad leaders, and seventy-two team members under his command. The lowest strength of these people is Chunin. The six sub-captains are all elite Jnin, and more than half of the twenty-four squad leaders are Jnin or special Jnin. These ninjas gathered under Tsunade's command are already a very powerful force.

Compared to the period when the three generations of Hokage were in power, the size and strength of Anbu have been significantly improved.

And this is also the condition that Tsunade obtained from advisors and ninjas when he took the position of Hokage.

In addition to this, there is Anbu who was secretly cultivated two years ago.

These Anbu are not counted in the Anbu's original statistical list, but are recorded on another list. Only Tsunade and Shikahisa are eligible to watch.

The Anbu, which is located deeper, has cultivated a total of more than 270 people. Because there are no mandatory regulations on the level of ninja, even lower ninja can be incorporated, so there are more people.

Among them, most of them are mainly Chunin, and a few low-level ninjas with outstanding talents are also absorbed, and finally several high-level ninjas are selected as the leaders of this Anbu team.

The strength of this Anbu is obviously not as strong as the Anbu on the bright side. On the bright side, there are 20 Jonin gathered together in Anbu, not to mention, the gathered Chunin are all excellent ninjas at the same level. However, the biggest function of this Anbu is to strengthen the direct power of Tsunade. In addition, when there is a problem with the bright side and Anbu, it can quickly replace the superior, and always let the Anbu organization carry out a virtuous circle. Instead of falling into a stalled state as soon as you encounter a blow.

Due to the defection of Kakashi and Asami Masumi and others, Tsunade and Shikahisa are cautious about recruiting ninjas into Anbu.

Any ninja with a little flaw or a 'vacancy' in their resume will not be admitted. They will even conduct a 360-degree investigation on their family members, relatives, and friends, and only after confirming that there are no problems in all aspects will they be admitted.

This is also the method Tsunade strictly adopted in order to protect Konoha.

"Oh, have they finished training yet?"

"Yes, because there is no need to worry about life, and there is no need to rush around for lengthy and meaningless tasks. Their only task is to train and then become stronger. Occasionally, they will use the task channel here to conduct actual combat. In addition, Mr. Naruto, you have opened many ninjutsu and secret techniques to them, so the ninjas who join in grow up very fast..."

Lu Jiu gave a positive tone.

A smile appeared on his face.

These recruited ninjas already have a good foundation. In addition, Tsunade spares no effort to provide various ninjutsu and secret techniques, as well as various resources. They don't have to worry about life. Apart from practicing, they are actually fighting. If they can't grow rapidly, then it's not justified.

It can be said that the effect of this plan is much better than expected.

But Tsunade showed a trace of sadness.

"That's true, but we can only do this on a small scale, while the Oni Land military is implementing such a policy in an all-round way... Whether it is the ninjutsu and secret art resources that can be provided, or the funds and time, Konoha has no way to compare with it."

"The steps have to be taken slowly step by step. The kingdom of ghosts also started to become stronger after completing the primitive accumulation."

"Of course I know this. Are there enough funds over there? How many people can be admitted in the next batch?"

Tsuna shook his head and asked this question.

"With Master Hokage's secret support, the funds can continue to turn around. As for the number of people admitted in the next batch, according to the report, there are 161 people who have no problems in total, but I suggest that 30 people be admitted based on merit."

Although I really want to absorb so many people at once, it will be very troublesome to deal with the issues of the venue and the teachers.

Absorbing newcomers is not just giving them ninjutsu and secret techniques, but just studying them by themselves.

If this is the case, it is just behind closed doors, and it will not go long at all.

Therefore, the real key is to be proficient in educational Jonin resources. Each jonin is in charge of several newcomers, and elite training is conducted in small classes, so that the resources invested in can quickly become the strength of the ninjas themselves.

"Thirty people? With the previously trained personnel, there are almost 300 people... It seems that there is still a long way to go before the goal of 500 people."

This transformation speed is not slow, not to mention, these are all direct subordinates who can be trusted, so Tsunade can't pick any thorns out of them.

"At present, Anbu has grown more than a circle, and can solve many problems for Master Hokage. It is that the consultants and ninjas may have noticed the movement here..."

Lu Jiu pondered.

It was okay at first, but with the increase of personnel, more and more venues were requisitioned, and it was absolutely impossible to hide from the eyes of some people.

"It's not possible, but they have already discovered it. Just yesterday, those two old men, and several ninja representatives headed by the Sarutobi clan, came to me to discuss this matter."

Tsunade smiled coldly.

Lu Jiu was startled.

"Don't worry, after all, I'm still Hokage, and they just protested. What I can't accomplish, let the next generation do it. Anyway, those two old things probably won't stay in the position of consultants for long."

It is already blatantly cursing the two consultants to retire soon.

"Having said that, if we lose the two advisors to lubricate the middle, the situation may be even worse."

Lu Jiu thought of this question.

The existence of the consultant was originally to lubricate the relationship between Root and Hokage.

But now the roots have withdrawn from the front stage, and they can no longer take the position of Hokage.

Then, the existence of consultants is to lubricate the relationship between Naruto and Ninja. Without the lubricant of a consultant, things could go badly. After all, there are still many powers that have not been collected in the hands of Hokage.

"Even without them lubricating in the middle, the situation is similar. As for the Hyuga clan..."

Tsuna pressed his brow with a headache.

Although it was her one-vote decision-making power, it pushed Hinata Hizuru to the high-level stage.

This is also an unprecedented decision.

Because a wealthy family like the Hyuga clan ascended to such a high position, the power of the clan will be further strengthened, making the gap between them and ordinary ninja clan wider and wider.

But how did Hyuga Nichizu give feedback?

In every meeting, he only has two sentences

The consultant is right.

Hokage-sama is right.

This not only made Tsunade helpless, but the consultant probably also felt dumbfounded about it.

In terms of not offending others, even the consultants who used to be the grass between the roots and Hokage had to bow down.

Although this is already a traditional practice of the Hyuga clan.

But Tsunade still hopes that Hinata Hyuzu, the newly promoted high-level executive, can do something bigger, instead of being like a dead fish, even if it is fried in a frying pan, it is estimated that it will not move a bit.

"Forget it, let's not talk about these headaches. What's the second thing?"

Tsunade changed the subject, not thinking about the bad things about the Hinata clan.

"It's an invitation letter from the Ghost Country."

Lu Jiu took out an exquisite letter from the document in his hand, with aster-style bronzing on it.

"Invitation letter? Even if you want to hold another joint Chunin exam, this time is too early."

Tsunade said so.

Now that the new year has just passed, not to mention the high-level officials of various countries, even the ninjas have begun to take vacations to reunite with their families.

Only Hokage, like her, would be busy with endless work at such a time.

By the way, Lu Jiu, the Jonin squad leader, was brought along.

"It's not the Chunin exam, but we are invited to Konoha and the Land of Fire to participate in the coming-of-age ceremony of the 16th-year-old witches of the Ghost Kingdom."

"The witch of the ghost country?"

Tsunade looked dazed for a moment.

Lujiu nodded, feeling emotional in an inexplicable tone:

"Speaking of it, the kingdom of ghosts seems to be a theocracy."

Tsunade smiled wryly.

After Lu Jiu mentioned it, he suddenly remembered such a thing.

For a long time, because the Kingdom of Ghosts gave people a prominent impression of strong military power, people ignored the fact that it was essentially a theocracy.

"Is it a coming-of-age ceremony for a shrine maiden? In other words, sending an envoy..."

Tsunade calmed down.

Although the relationship with the ghost country is not good, this is how things are in diplomacy.

During the period of hostility, when she assumed the position of the Five Hokages, Oni Nation also sent an envoy to congratulate her with a generous gift.

At least in terms of etiquette, it must be impeccable, showing the power of a big country, instead of holding on to some things.

"Lu Jiu, I will trouble you to go there then."

There is only one main maiden in the kingdom of ghosts, and that is the current maiden Shion.

If it were the Land of Fire, the opponent's status would be equivalent to that of a daimyo.

The coming-of-age ceremony of the king of a country should send enough people to participate.

Jiraiya is also a good choice... But thinking about the relationship between Jiraiya and Oni no Kuni, Tsunade feels that sending him there is likely to cause an accident, so it is the best choice to let the more stable Shikaku go.

"I see."

Lu Jiu didn't refuse, and he can probably guess that Tsunade will leave this matter to himself.

Except Hokage, consultants and other high-level officials who cannot move around without authorization, those who are qualified have too much conflict with the kingdom of ghosts. There are no contradictions, but the identity is a little bit worse, and it seems that they don't pay enough attention.

And among the ninjas who are suitable in status and will not cause conflicts with the kingdom of ghosts, among Konoha, he is the only ninja squad leader.

"It's troublesome." Tsunade nodded, and then thought of something: "By the way, don't let Naruto that stinky boy know about this, if you let him know, he will probably run to the kingdom of ghosts clamoring..."

"Your Highness Ziyuan, please don't do this, your actions will embarrass us."

In a side hall of the shrine, compared with the past, it seems to be more spacious and brighter because of many repairs and modifications.

The wooden floor is smooth and bright after being wiped, and it seems that the reflection of people can be seen from above.

Although some places can be seen to have modern decorations, most places still retain the ancient style.

At this time, the maiden in the side hall is teaching the main priestess Shion about some precautions for the coming-of-age ceremony.

For example, the most basic walking posture must have strict specifications.

Originally, these things should be the foundation that should be laid since childhood, instead of waiting until this time to learn.

However, unlike the previous generation of main line shrine maidens, Ziyuan's character is too capricious. Coupled with the favor of the Minister of Military Affairs, the shrine maidens who usually teach Shion etiquette can only turn a blind eye.

But this time the situation is different. It is the only one-time coming-of-age ceremony for a shrine maiden in her life, so she must not relax her vigilance.

Holding the completion ceremony means that Ziyuan has come of age, and is a veritable monarch of the ghost country, and is no longer a mascot in name only.

Theoretically, as long as you have passed the coming-of-age ceremony, you can control various government orders in the kingdom of ghosts.

But on the other hand, excessive contamination of the world's atmosphere will make the witch's power unclean.

It doesn't matter to the witches of the branch, but the witches of the main line must keep the power of the witches pure to suppress the most powerful monsterssprites. Once the power of the main maiden is no longer pure, there will really be problems.

Therefore, the coming-of-age ceremony of the witches, the main branch of the Ghost Kingdom, is more symbolic than actual.

Even if they have the ability to hold power, they will not interfere excessively in human affairs.

Using the torii as the boundary, the world inside is ruled by the maiden, while the world outside is under the jurisdiction of the military and government of the kingdom of ghosts, and if necessary, it can be reported to the maiden of the main line.

"Don't stop me! Come-of-age ceremony, let it go to hell!"

Ziyuan strenuously stretched out her hand towards the gate of the side hall, as if wanting to regain her freedom.

On her body, several witches are like a pendant, constantly obstructing her progress, asking her to stay and learn the various etiquette norms necessary for the coming-of-age ceremony.

After all, the coming-of-age ceremony is not far away, and there is not enough time in the first place. If His Royal Highness is allowed to mess around, the envoys from various countries will definitely laugh at that time, thinking that the witch in the kingdom of ghosts is just a vexatious child.

Although it is true that it is a child, if it is not true that they feel the huge pure power from Shion, as branch maidens, they will even really doubt whether the previous maid Maitreya carried the wrong fetus.

This kind of personality that escapes willfulness is not at all like the mainline witches of previous generations who kept their own way.

He willful, savage, playful, delicious, half-hearted during the practice of the witch, either dozing off, or wanting to eat snacks, always thinking about running to the "human world".

He still yelled big words like "How can you truly transcend the world if you don't experience the prosperity of the world"...

In the end, didn't you find an excuse for your fun and delicious food? It's just that this excuse just sounds nice.

"We will not let you leave here, Your Highness Ziyuan! Whatever you say today, I will let you stay, and learn the etiquette that a lady should have!"

"Don't! I will die of boredom in such a place where the birds don't shit!"

It's a pity that a person's power is always limited, and these witches are extremely firm in their willpower, and they won't let go no matter what.

In the end, Ziyuan, who was alone, was still defeated, and was honestly held in the side hall by the witches, and was forced to accept etiquette studies.

About two hours later, an older priestess walked into the side hall where she was learning etiquette.

Come to the front of the curtain and stop. Inside is a place for Shion to rest.

"You've worked hard in the afternoon study, Your Highness Ziyuan. I know that His Highness doesn't like this kind of long and boring etiquette study, but it's an important day for His Highness to accept the coming-of-age ceremony. At that time, you must not be rude in front of the envoys from various countries. Well, after the coming-of-age ceremony is over, Your Highness will be free again."

There was no sound coming from inside.

On the bed, only a young girl lying on her side can be seen.

The old priestess sighed, knowing that Shion was annoyed with herself, so she didn't want to pay attention to these tedious and troublesome etiquettes.

However, considering that this year's main line of shrine maidens is slightly different, and the kingdom of ghosts has also undergone tremendous changes, she will turn a blind eye to some of Shion's behaviors that are not in line with shrine maidens.

"Since His Highness has already rested, as long as His Highness promises to study here for the past few days, I will not bother you."

However, this time on the bed behind the curtain, the girl still didn't hear anything.

"Your Highness?"

The old priestess hesitated for a moment, and tried to call out.

Finally realized that something was wrong, the old priestess quickly stepped forward to lift the curtain with the agility of an old man, and saw the girl lying on her side on the bed.

The girl is wearing a priestess costume, but she doesn't have the slightest vitality on her body, like a doll placed here.

The old witch's expression changed slightly, and he formed a seal with one hand.

"untie!"

The witch on the bed immediately turned into a puff of black smoke and disappeared into the air.

On the bed where the girl was lying on her side, there was only a palm-sized scarecrow tied with a red string, which seemed to be silently mocking her.

The face of the old witch suddenly darkened.

"Go to the country of ghosts?"

Shikamaru, who came back from outside in the evening, was told about it by his father Shikahisa as soon as he got home.

The sixteen-year-old Shikamaru is not only taller, but also a bit stronger than before, but it is completely invisible under the clothes. But that kind of mature and stable temperament compared with his peers cannot be faked.

In the past two years, although he often complained about the busyness of tasks, the hard work of cultivation, and the inevitable headache of teaching Naruto every week...but in the end he gritted his teeth and persisted.

In a simple sentence, he thinks that his current strength can easily defeat himself when he was chasing Sasuke three years ago.

In terms of such impressive results, it can be regarded as fruitful.

Although the energy and time spent on it made him often exhausted.

The days of leisurely distance are gone forever.

However, he has just come back and is about to be ordered to go to the kingdom of ghosts. Isn't this oppressing him too intensively?

He no longer rejects the work of ninjas, but he can't squeeze his body like this, right?

Sensing Shikamaru's resentful gaze, Shikahisa also knew that Shikamaru might be wrong, so he said, "Don't worry, even though it's a mission, I will go with it. And it's not a troublesome diplomatic job. It should be said that it's a public-funded trip."

"Dad, would you come to me for such a good thing?"

Shikamaru looked at Shikahisa suspiciously.

"Can you have more confidence in me as a father?"

Lu Jiu complained.

"So, the specific thing is..."

"The witches of the ghost country are going to hold a coming-of-age ceremony in a week. At that time, all countries will be invited to participate, and Konoha is also in the ranks of invitations. Hokage-sama entrusted me to handle this matter, and I will choose the envoys who will participate in the coming-of-age ceremony held by the witches of the ghost country."

Shikahisa's answer reassured Shikamaru.

Since this is the case, it is really not a troublesome thing, except that it is not good to travel long distances, and it is not an exaggeration to use public travel as an evaluation.

He was afraid that he would go to the kingdom of ghosts for some extremely troublesome diplomacy, which would not only affect his body, but also his head.

He is only a sixteen-year-old child, but he can't bear the pressure of collisions between countries, which is too heavy.

"Then you decide who..."

"A total of more than a dozen people, you are one of them, and I am considering the rest. The departure time is the morning of the day after tomorrow. On the way, I will hurry with the envoys from the Daming Mansion and arrive at the Kingdom of Ghosts a few days earlier."

"Well, then I'm fine. I just want to relax recently. By the way, Ino and Choji can also take it with me."

"As long as you get their consent, there is no problem on my side. As for Naruto, you should know what to do without me telling you what to do."

"Of course, if he finds out, the world will be turned upside down..."

Shikamaru scratched his head, nodded, and agreed.

Although it is not good to hide it from a friend, but because of what happened to Sakura, he couldn't judge how Naruto would react when he learned about it.

Therefore, I had no choice but to hide this matter temporarily, and explain it to Naruto when the limelight passed.

It is better to let him come in contact with the past 'companion'.

(end of this chapter)