Chapter 652 Banquet

On the day of the coming-of-age ceremony for the witches in the kingdom of ghosts, the capital of the kingdom of ghosts is more gorgeous than ever.

The fact is the same, this is a day of national celebration, and the atmosphere of laughter has continued until the night and has no tendency to stop.

The capital city has already been decorated with lights and festoons. Even in the slightly cold snowy night, you can still see the lively atmosphere of people holding celebrations in the city from the shrine on the top of the mountain.

People outside the 'Domain of God' are in the midst of the celebration, but the banquet inside the 'Domain of God' is less of that 'noisy', and more solemn and solemn.

After all, the guests who came to the 'Domain of God' tonight are all top celebrities from various countries in the ninja world. In terms of image, they still need some decent performance, so that they cannot be underestimated by other countries.

In a slightly larger side hall of the shrine palace, it has been carefully remodeled and decorated.

Mainly red and white, with soaring ceilings, walls on all sides, and the floor under your feet, decorated with various beautiful murals. Each of the stone pillars supporting this side hall has also been carefully decorated.

Before the banquet officially started, invited guests had already entered the palace where the banquet was held. Some are still strolling along the corridors, admiring the graceful murals in the palace. Some people stopped halfway, chatting and laughing while admiring the scenery outside.

Even armed personnel like ninjas have changed out of their usual ninja outfits and changed into formal attire for important banquets. However, even under decent clothes, it is difficult to conceal the ferocious aura of some ninjas.

They are used to ninja outfits, formal suits that can be torn to shreds at the touch of a finger, making them extremely uncomfortable to wear. Not only does it hurt their necks, but it is also inconvenient to fight. In short, wearing this pair of clothes, the ninjas had to tense their bodies, for fear that their clothes would explode if they were too strong.

Especially the ninjas from Yunyin, the land of thunder.

Their skin is mainly dark, and their physique is strong, quite iconic. Although the suits they wear are tailored according to their size, they are the most sensitive group of ninjas.

There is an illusion that wild gorillas suddenly put on human clothes.

"This kind of clothes is too uncomfortable, it feels like someone is strangling the neck."

Shikamaru walked towards the banquet palace, while pulling the tie hanging around his neck, he complained that this kind of clothes were not suitable for their ninjas at all.

"Don't look like you haven't seen the world. A ninja should try to get used to various environments. This is also part of the practice."

The preaching voice came from behind, causing Shikamaru to turn around and look around.

is Temari of Sand Hidden Village.

Wearing a black lady's dress, the last trace of greenness on her face has disappeared without a trace under the matching of the lady's dress, and there is a sense of mature temptation.

This sense of maturity is completely incomparable to Ino, who is also wearing a lady's dress beside him.

Shikamaru's eyes were in a daze for a moment, and then he regained his composure, but his eyes subconsciously began to drift away from Temari's body.

"Well, you are quite used to such scenes."

"When doing tasks, I occasionally play similar roles."

Temari had a confident smile on his face.

"However, you are now Konoha's chunin, you have to get used to such things."

Temari said in the tone of someone who has been there.

"It's really embarrassing."

Shikamaru sighed.

Although he passed the Chunin exam, he is incomparable to Temari in front of him.

If the information is correct, the other party is already a jounin from Sand Hidden Village.

And only nineteen years old.

Shikamaru felt that before the age of twenty, he could not see the opportunity to become a Jonin at all.

In fact, although there are individual ninjas in the ninja world, before the age of fifteen, they became the top ninjas of Ninja Village.

But in reality, most of the ninjas who become jounin are in their twenties, or even in their thirties or forties.

Guys who can become Jnin before the age of twenty are undoubtedly the key training objects of Ninja Village and the pillars of the future village.

"Let's go."

Not interested in the conversation between her older sister Temari and Shikamaru at all, Gaara, who was also dressed in formal attire, walked past the two of them and said this coldly.

Shikamaru noticed that Gaara, who was wearing a formal suit, was carrying a conspicuous big gourd on his back, and couldn't help sweating.

This is not going to the battlefield, so there is no need to be so nervous?

And also placed the ninja's weapons so conspicuously.

He didn't think anyone would dare to make trouble at tonight's banquet.

"Is he okay like that?"

Shikamaru asked quietly.

Temari also had a headache and pressed his brows, and said helplessly: "It should be, it took a lot of effort to let the priestess outside let him go. I love this guy, because of some things, he has been insecure since he was a child."

Shikamaru didn't speak, he had heard a little about Gaara's situation, and he heard that it was related to his father Sidai Kazekage. But this is someone else's housework, Shikamaru is not easy to inquire deeply, nodded, took Ino, Choji, Temari and Kankuro, followed Gaara's footsteps, and walked to the palace where the banquet was held.

Entering the banquet palace, only to find that it is wider than the appearance of the building.

It is enough to accommodate hundreds of people and it doesn't look crowded here.

Not only dignitaries from various countries, but also princesses from other countries, wearing gorgeous dresses, participating in the banquet.

"Mr. Lu Jiu, long time no see."

A middle-aged man in his forties came over.

Lu Jiu smiled when he saw the visitor, went up to greet him, and chatted with him.

Behind the middle-aged man, there is a young girl with a beautiful appearance. Under the influence of a decent blue dress, she looks even more graceful.

The conversation lasted for a few minutes before it ended, and the middle-aged man left with the girl.

"Dad, that's..."

Shikamaru came over and asked.

"Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kawa no Nation. He wants to introduce his daughter, the girl next to him, to you."

Shikahisa explained to Shikamaru.

As for the purpose of understanding, Shikamaru is not a fool, so he naturally knows what it means.

The Nara family is not just a pure ninja family, but also has a commercial part.

In addition to family secrets, the Nara family also has an important industry that supports the family's continuationthat is, raising deer. The antlers of the deer raised by the Nara family are precious medicinal materials known in the ninja world, and are important commercial contacts with many countries.

Shikamaru naturally knows these things clearly.

Combined with the identity of his father, Kakukiha Jonin, it is perfectly normal to know the political leaders of various countries.

Therefore, it is not surprising that some people took this opportunity to marry the Nara clan.

But Shikamaru was still unable to complain.

Isn't this banquet celebrating the coming-of-age ceremony of the witches of the ghost country? How come it's like the political leaders of various countries are promoting their daughter's wedding ceremony.

"What do you think? If you think it's suitable, I can take this opportunity to match you up. That girl, I heard that the tutor is very good, and it is also a good help for you."

Shikahisa asked Shikamaru for his opinion.

Since Shikamaru is fifteen or sixteen years old now, he can really think about the next generation.

Even though the average life expectancy in the ninja world is slightly higher than in the Warring States Period, it is not much higher.

If Shikamaru dies unfortunately before he has no offspring, then his lineage will basically be cut off.

"No, I just want to marry an ordinary woman, and then spend the rest of my life ordinary."

Shikamaru refused politely.

"Yeah?"

Lu Jiu shook his head, he has already made this step, how could he still be normal?

However, he didn't force Shikamaru either, but glanced around and said, "You can act on your own here, I'll go to Maki Jnin of Sand Hidden Village, I have something to say."

Without waiting for Shikamaru's response, Shikahisa walked towards the place where the ninjas of Hidden Sand Village were, and went to Maki Jnin, the person in charge of the envoy group of Hidden Sand Village, to discuss something.

During the banquet, Zi Yuan, who was the protagonist of the banquet, was naturally on the most conspicuous stage in the palace, distinguishing herself from the crowd.

She did not end up interacting with the high-level officials of various countries in person. These matters will naturally be handled by others. She just kept a calm expression, quietly standing there like a lady, calmly scanning the crowd at the banquet.

Besides him, apart from the two branch maidens from the Kingdom of Ghosts, there is only the daimyo Fenghua Xiaoxue from the Land of Snow. The two whispered from time to time and smiled occasionally.

"The banquet is really troublesome."

Standing in the corner, Ayane, who was scanning everything, talked to Ruri who was standing beside her.

She was wearing a well-fitting lady's gown, looked at the dignitaries of various countries at the banquet, and started talking and laughing, as if she was talking about something interesting, but Ayane knew it without listening, it was just a conspiracy between them.

Different from Ayane, Liuli is wearing a black men's formal suit, with her long hair tied into a ponytail, her whole body looks simple, capable, chic and handsome.

"If you feel bored, there are a lot of food here, you can just open it up and eat it."

Liuli said.

"I pay more or less attention to my image in public. Besides, I'm on a diet to lose weight recently."

Ayane coughed, and kept her eyes from looking at the various delicious foods at the banquet, and swallowed the saliva in her mouth back into her stomach time and time again.

I really want to eat.

"Speaking of which, where did Asuka, Ichihime, and Aya go?"

Ayane used such a topic to talk to Ruri to divert her desire to eat like crazy.

"Brought by Baishi. I heard that the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Zhi came with their princess."

"The Kingdom of Zhi?"

Ayane raised her eyebrows.

I remember that it was a small country that had no contact with the ghost country. Although the power of the ghost country has touched many small countries, there are still more small countries that have not yet been touched.

The Kingdom of Zhi is one of them.

This country has no ninja power, and its territory is very small. It is based on various herbs and is one of the famous producers of ninja medicinal materials.

Ghost Country and Zhi Zhi Country didn't have much communication except for business dealings in medicinal materials.

"Yes."

"Is their daimyo's head starting to get water?"

Ayane said such a sentence.

The reason why the touched small country surrounds the ghost country is not their aristocratic forces, but the folk forces supported by the ghost country. After occupying the leading position in the country, they move closer to the ghost country.

On the contrary, the nobles of the Zhizhi Kingdom, especially the famous families, still have absolute dominance over the Zhizhi Kingdom.

From the point of view of standpoint, the great masters of the Kingdom of Zhi are naturally at odds with the Kingdom of Ghosts.

"Could it be that their princess came here for a winter tour?"

Ayane guessed like this.

But this is just a thought. In the real situation, it is absolutely impossible to send a princess of a country over for a winter tour, and it is still at this time, this kind of banquet.

"Probably want to bet in advance."

Ruri said so.

The power that the Kingdom of Ghosts possesses now makes the rest of the big countries trembling, not to mention the many small countries that live around the big country.

Therefore, Liuli can guess a little bit about the thoughts of the daimyo of Zhi Zhi Country.

"Besides, I heard that the daimyo of the country of Zhi introduced his other two daughters to the daimyos of the country of fire and the country of thunder respectively."

Ayane didn't know how to evaluate it.

"By the way, Asuka probably won't get to know the princess of Zhizhi Kingdom. Therefore, it should be Cai and the princess of Zhizhi Kingdom. If this matter is successful, I will say congratulations."

Liuli said calmly.

Ayane touched her face which was still as white and tender as a girl.

Am I going to be a grandma?

An inexplicable emotion welled up in her heart, and Ayane felt that she had aged dozens of years all of a sudden.

"The Kingdom of Zhi? It seems that the coming-of-age ceremony for a witch is not just as simple as it seems on the surface."

In a quiet corner, Shikahisa and Sagakushi Kaminin Maki stood side by side.

Observed the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Zhizhi Kingdom who was communicating with Baishi, and the Princess of the Zhizhi Kingdom behind him.

Although she is only fourteen years old, she is already beautiful and charming.

Its purpose is self-evident.

Although the country of Zhizhi is a small country, it is a relatively rich country. In addition, the country is rich in various medicinal materials. For the country of ghosts, which focuses on the pharmaceutical industry, further cooperation with the country of Zhizhi is also of great significance.

Maki just nodded. Although he doesn't know much about political affairs, he also knows that if the Kingdom of Ghosts and the Kingdom of Zhi start to cooperate deeply, it will definitely not be good news for the rest of the countries.

"At present, they are just a trend of cooperation, and the moment of cooperation has not yet arrived, so there is no need to worry now. Then, Mr. Lu Jiu called me, is there something wrong?"

Maki asked in a low voice.

Lu Jiu turned his eyes away from the people from the Kingdom of Ghosts and the Kingdom of Zhi, and turned to Ma Ji, "How much does Mr. Ma Ji know about the organization that captures the tailed beast?"

"Is this matter? Regarding this matter, because Gaara was almost taken away two years ago, Kazekage-sama began to pay attention to the affairs of this organization. In addition, in that organization, the red sand scorpion who betrayed us from Sand Hidden Village was even more unrelenting. However, although we attach importance to this, the Anbu sent by us Sand Hidden has not gained much. In addition, we have to guard against the ghost country in the north, so it is not good to invest more power on this organization."

Judging from the current situation, the threat of the Kingdom of Ghosts to the Kingdom of Wind is far greater than this organization.

Lu Jiu nodded, and he basically agreed with Ma Ji's judgment.

Before that, he also thought so.

But after Shiraishi's reminder, he felt that this organization hid a deeper secret than it appeared on the surface.

"In that case, please be careful on your way back to the Land of Wind this time."

Lu Jiu's voice became low.

"Mr. Lujiu means..."

Maki remained calm on the surface, but was slightly startled in his heart.

Lu Jiu just continued to nod without speaking.

The meaning is self-evident, the way back may not be peaceful.

Maki also nodded knowingly.

Lu Jiu is not the kind of person who makes groundless claims. Since he said so, he must have learned something.

Besides, if you are not afraid of 10,000, you are afraid of 10,000, and it is also a matter of paying attention to the safety of human strength.

"I see, thank you Mr. Shikajiu for reminding. I will explain it to Gaara and the others, and then let the border troops come to meet them when the time comes."

After Maki finished speaking, he went directly to the three Gaara and explained the matter to them.

"That guy Aya, I didn't expect to be so eloquent."

Sitting in a corner of the banquet, Asuka held a plate with food on it, and looked not far away.

Aya is talking and laughing with a girl in a gorgeous kimono.

Although Cai's face is still unsmiling, it is not as cold as those who executed the attackers during the day, and with her relatively good appearance, she can indeed attract the attention of women of the same age.

The girl in kimono is the princess of Zhizhi Kingdom.

Fang is fourteen years old, two years younger than Cai, but she speaks well, always has a gentle smile on her face, and is also somewhat nervous and shy.

No matter how hard I tried to keep my calm appearance, it was actually the first time I had been so close to a boy, so I was unavoidably a little apprehensive and shy.

As far as Cai is concerned, there are no complicated ideas. Although the princess of Zhizhi Kingdom has a sweet and lovely appearance and a gentle personality, which can easily arouse a strong desire for protection in men, but he is only in the mood of entertaining distinguished guests from afar, and by the way completes the task assigned by his father Baishi.

After all, the princess of a country came to visit in person, so the country of ghosts naturally couldn't neglect it.

"Isn't there a similar etiquette class taught in school? You forgot it yourself."

Yiji wore the same style of black formal attire as her mother Liuli, with her hands leisurely placed behind her head, and her legs crossed, making men of the same age who wanted to come up to get closer directly discouraged, and stopped daring to step forward.

I'm just not used to places that have this vibe.

Asuka tugged on the tie under his neck, not as relaxed as his usual work attire.

Although there are a lot of people in the place where I usually work, I won't let go as much as I do now.

"Just be patient, anyway, the banquet will end soon."

Yiji is also not used to such a place and knows how to participate, but this kind of place feels too far away from her.

Asuka had no choice but to imitate Kazuhime, and began to relax, waiting for the end of the banquet.

The next morning.

The Ghost Country still has the afterglow of the shrine coming-of-age ceremony, and Konoha Village is also extremely busy.

As Konoha's Hokage, Tsunade must work diligently and dare not slack off at all.

Her current situation has actually improved considerably compared to before.

At least her direct lineage, under her own operation, and with the full support of the Zhuludie clan, many things will not be as passive as they were at the beginning.

But Tsunade can also understand that her power has reached the maximum level in Konoha.

If you want to make a breakthrough again, you must start with one of the advisory group, the ninja forces headed by the Sarutobi clan, and the fighting faction led by Genbu.

Among the three, the advisory group is the weakest. The Sarutobi clan has a solid reputation and influence among the common people. Although the fighting faction led by the roots has lost the possibility of being in the top position, it holds the most powerful force among the three.

Tsunade feels that there is no ninja village in a big country, where there are many factions like Konoha.

Although she, as Hokage, occupies a dominant position, if the stimulation is too much at once, she will also usher in a huge backlash.

Besides, the external environment is also unfriendly to Konoha.

If you really do this in a flash of brain, it will definitely be a situation of internal and external troubles.

She, Hokage, might really take the blame and resign at that time, instead of doing superficial engineering like the fourth Mizukage of Wuyin Village.

While Tsunade was secretly having a headache, the door of the office was pushed open.

Those who came in were the four members of the seventh class led by Tianzang.

In addition to the original Tianzang, Naruto and Sai three people, the fourth person is a 12-year-old female ninja selected from Anbu's candidatesHinoko.

"Master Naruto."

Tianzang stepped forward and said.

"Grandma Tsunade, we're here to pick up the mission."

Naruto yelled carelessly in the office without seeing anything outside.

"Has the team run in?"

Tsunade asked.

As the captain, Tianzang nodded and replied: "Yes, after these few days of running-in, I don't think it is necessary to continue, and I can officially enter the actual combat."

"Since this is the case, there is indeed a task that you need to deal with in the seventh class."

Tsunade took out a scroll and put it in front of Tianzang.

Tianzang picked up the scroll, quickly browsed through it, and confirmed the task content above.

is an level difficult task.

Suppress defected ninjas.

Although ninja villages in big countries have very strict management of ninjas in their own villages, there will still be some ninjas who leave the village for various reasons and become dangerous rebels after a year on average.

This will pose a certain security risk to the original village.

Therefore, if it is not a special situation, the extermination of rebellion will be dealt with immediately.

But the kind of rebellion that is too dangerous to carry out executions also exists in a small area.

Tianzang watched the message of the defected ninja, lost in thought.

"How's it going, any questions?"

Tsunade asked.

"No. This task, leave it to our seventh class to complete."

Although level missions will basically encounter ninjas of the ninja level, with the current strength of the seventh class, Tianzang thinks that it is not a big problem to deal with a ninja.

Not to mention that he and Naruto, Sai are at the root, and have a record of assassinating Jonin alone.

Although Hinoko does not have a similar record, her assassination ability is not inferior to Saii's. In the case of a sneak attack, even if she is lucky, she can kill an unsuspecting Jonin with one blow.

With the current strength of the seventh class, it is not difficult to face three jounin at the same time.

After receiving the mission, there was no need to stay in the office, so Tianzang took Naruto and the three to leave, and quickly dispatched to start this level mission trip.

(end of this chapter)