"Hurry up, don't be lazy! This month's share must be over before the end of the month!"
Inside a large building similar to a workshop in Mount Myoki, a large number of toads came in and out, giving Shiraishi the appearance of being busy with something.
Moreover, from the toads entering and exiting, Shiraishi saw that they were sweating profusely, and many of the toads had tired looks on their faces, which made Shiraishi realize that the busy work of these toads was not simple.
This was also the reason why Shiraishi had not immediately evacuated Mount Myoki when he investigated the general topography of Mount Myoki.
Through his hard work, he had almost recorded the terrain of Miaomu Mountain, the deployment of troops, and other matters in his mind in detail. He only waited for him to immediately convene a high-level meeting to discuss strategies after returning.
But in order to further understand the situation in Mt. Miaomu, after completing these tasks, Shiraishi decided to stay temporarily and see if there were any places in Mt. Miaomu that he had missed.
This workshop is one of them.
It gives Shiraishi an unusual feeling.
What are these toads doing inside?
Seeing how busy they were, and the strange fluctuations coming from the workshop, made Shiraishi even more curious.
However, to be on the safe side, Shiraishi did not immediately sneak in to see what was going on. Instead, he waited patiently outside. When the toads began to rest and relaxed their vigilance, he was ready to go in to see what was going on, lest these toads notice anything. alright.
Time passed little by little, from afternoon to evening, and then into night, these toads were still working happily in the workshop.
Their work enthusiasm, in Shiraishi's opinion, is more competent than many humans.
While waiting like this, it was not until ten o'clock in the evening that the toads in the workshop stopped what they were doing and began to leave in twos and threes, returning to their homes.
Finally, several human-sized toads patrolled around the workshop and closed the door of the workshop tightly.
Although their patrol attitude seemed serious, Shiraishi could still see some laziness in their expressions.
Think about it, the work in the workshop consumes their energy, and this is the core area of Mount Myoboku. For ordinary people, let alone trying to sneak in, they are likely to be caught by the giant toad the moment they enter Mount Myoboku.
If it was done with ulterior motives, it might be swallowed directly by the giant toad and become a nutrient in its body.
Shiraishi didn't pay attention to the laziness on the faces of these toads, and started to act on his own.
Even he felt a little tired after surveying the terrain of Mt. Miaomu for a whole day.
After finishing the work here, temporarily find a place to rest for the night and wait until tomorrow to continue observing.
For example, he was still very curious about the magic of Miaomu Mountain.
The essence of Mount Myoki's magic can't be found in Jiraiya. He needs to rely on two immortals to perform magic. In essence, it is only a semi-finished product and does not have much reference value.
But the Miaomu Mountain headquarters is different. The true essence of Miaomu Mountain's magic will be presented here.
Stones from other mountains can attack jade, and Shiraishi feels that even toad's magic can be used for reference.
With this mentality, Shiraishi ordered the shadow dancer to carefully move along the shadows cast by the corridor of the workshop towards the door of the workshop.
Then it penetrated into the workshop through the gap in the door.
Maybe he felt that there was no need to set up a barrier in a place like this, so Shiraishi sneaked in very smoothly.
The space inside the workshop is very large, and the overall shape is in the shape of a sphere.
In the center of the workshop, there is a platform surrounded by a large number of transparent stone tablets at the bottom. The stone tablets are engraved with dark green and glowing incantations.
Surrounded by these stone tablets, suspended in mid-air is a spherical object similar to a 'cocoon'.
The volume of the spherical object is approximately the size of a standard mobile two-story villa building.
Through the transparent surface of the sphere, you can see that there are countless lights inside, moving irregularly like meteors.
Seeing this huge spherical object, Shiraishi's heart sank slightly.
The light that moves like meteors inside the spherical object is extremely high concentration of magical chakra.
In terms of quantity, it is already comparable to tailed beasts.
To restrain such a huge power in a container, Myobokuyama's research on chakra technology is no small matter.
The stone tablets and spheres emitted a brilliant light, illuminating the entire interior space of the workshop.
Therefore, Shiraishi also saw things on the tables around him.
There were a large number of tools that Shiraishi had never seen before, and only a few of the utensils had known uses. Even Shiraishi didn't know what the toads were doing in such a place during the day.
It wasn't until Shiraishi saw the talismans on the table that they looked like handicrafts, that he suddenly understood the work of the toads.
Baishi has seen these talismans before, and they are called immortal talismans.
However, it is an imitation of the Immortal Talisman, and is called a fake Immortal Talisman by the toads of Mt. Myoboku.
Even so, this kind of thing also has the powerful effect of healing injuries and clearing abnormal conditions in the body.
Looking at the large number of pseudo-immortal talismans placed on the table, at least twenty, Shiraishi fell into deep thought.
Although it is not a finished product, it is probably only a few steps away from the finished product.
Is the large amount of senjutsu chakra gathered here used to produce this kind of talisman? Shiraishi's mind became active.
So, in other words, why would Mount Miaomu make a large number of pseudo-immortal talismans at this time?
In the end, were these pseudo-immortal talismans consumed internally or traded with external forces?
If it is a transaction with an external force, then which force is Miaomushan trading with?
In fact, these answers can be determined with a little guessing.
Because of the inexplicable and miraculous prophecy, he was inexplicably targeted by Mount Myoboku. He was also accused by Jiraiya, one of the three ninjas, of causing trouble to the ninja world. He was deemed a most vicious person and was given the title of 'Son of Destruction'.
Even Jiraiya is still in other countries and continues to advocate his 'world-destroying' remarks.
Just like Jiraiya once promoted his disciple Namikaze Minato as the 'son of prophecy' who brought peace in other countries.
It's just that in these rumors, he is the villain on the negative side, while his disciples are the savior heroes on the positive side.
Then Minato Namikaze died.
He is alive and well.
"..."
Shiraishi didn't need to think about it, but he also knew that the reason why Miaomushan mass-produced these pseudo-immortal talismans was probably to deal with him.
Is it because he is evil?
Because he is the culprit who destroyed the ninja world?
Is this a fact that appears in the eyes of the Great Toad Immortal?
So, is it equivalent to what Jiraiya sees?
Will possible crimes in the future also be defined as iron-clad criminal facts?
Although it's a bit ridiculous, Shiraishi never thinks that what he does is evil.
He has the emotional side of human beings, but he is also rational.
The premise for him to launch a war must be based on stabilizing the world order and uncovering the existing unreasonable things in human society that cannot benefit workers. Therefore, the 'justice' of this article must be included.
Using war to judge right and wrong is a sign of immaturity.
The correctness of war lies in what kind of legacy it leaves to future generations, which is beneficial to the collective positive thinking of mankind.
This was probably the fundamental reason why he and ninjas like Jiraiya couldn't communicate.
Looking at the fake Immortal Talisman on the table, Shiraishi did not touch it. Instead, he let the shadow dancer control the shadow and exited the workshop where the Immortal Talisman was made along the same path.
◎
The ceremony to succeed the Fifth Hokage was more tiring than Tsunade imagined.
Under the watchful eyes of countless civilians and ninjas in Konoha, he read out the proclamation of taking office as Hokage. He also had to cooperate with his advisors and personally summon envoys from various countries to accept their congratulations.
Although envoys from various countries brought congratulatory gifts, Tsunade, who did not pay much attention to material comfort, knew that these valuable things were just accepted by Shizune.
Fortunately, there were no accidents during the Hokage succession ceremony this time. In addition, most of the jounin were also satisfied with her succession as Hokage, so when the two advisors had concerns, , finally passed safely.
The Hokage succession ceremony and reception of envoys from various countries started in the afternoon and ended in the evening.
And at night, Tsunade lay directly on the desk in the Hokage's office, as if she had lost her soul.
There are piles of paper on the desk, all important documents filled with words.
On the double bed-sized table next to the desk, there are also stacks of papers or sealed file bags.
Not only that, under Shizune's command, a steady stream of Anbu came in from the outside holding thick documents, almost filling the entire Hokage's office.
Seeing this, Tsunade's eyes lost their luster, revealing a gloomy light that she wanted to be disillusioned immediately.
"Why are there so many unprocessed files?"
Tsunade couldn't help but ask this question.
Her time was limited, and she had more important things to do, so she didn't want to be stuck in a hard battle with various documents for the next half month, and there was still no end to the battle.
"There is nothing we can do about this kind of thing. After all, the documents here have been on hold for a long time. In addition, with so many things happening in the village recently, there are naturally so many documents that have been accumulated. Tsunade-sama, please work a little harder. Bar."
Shizune also said helplessly.
"Hey, are you kidding? This is not a workload that can be solved with a little hard work!"
Tsuna pointed at the mountain of documents, his brows furrowed together.
"Having said that, is it really okay for you to complain here just after becoming Hokage, Tsunade-sama?"
After hearing what Shizune said, Tsunade also knew that it was inappropriate to complain at this time.
But if this workload is really dealt with, it will feel exhausting to death.
"Let's use the shadow clone to share the pressure from now on."
Tsunade said.
"If you want to use that method, you have to pay attention to the time."
Shizune thought for a while and answered.
Using shadow clones to share work pressure is indeed a feasible way. But after the shadow clone is eliminated, the pressure accumulated on the shadow clone will be directly fed back to the main body. Shizune was a little worried about whether Tsunade's body could support it if the accumulated fatigue was too much.
"Don't worry, I will control the amount and time of shadow clone work, so there will be no problem."
In order to complete the work as soon as possible, this is the only way Tsunade can come up with.
"In this case, I will be optimistic about you, Tsunade-sama. By the way, there are some letters here that need to be given to Tsunade-sama in person."
Shizune thought of something, took out a stack of sealed letters from the clothes in her arms, and placed them respectfully in front of Tsunade.
Tsunade took the letters and looked puzzled: "Strange, are they letters to me?"
"Yes."
With Shizune's affirmation, Tsunade opened the letters and took out the papers inside... After that, Tsunade immediately showed an embarrassed look on her face.
These papers were not letters of condolences, but IOUs she had signed for past loans.
In other words, the creditor came to collect the debt.
Because she had been traveling around various countries in the past and wandering around without a fixed address, it was difficult for her creditors to track her down.
Now that she is fine, she has returned to Konoha to serve as the Fifth Hokage. She can no longer make her creditors struggle to collect their debts like she did in the past. Therefore, after learning that Tsunade had succeeded as the Fifth Hokage, these creditors planned to give her a 'surprise'.
Seeing the dense numbers on the IOU, Tsunade felt dizzy.
"As Hokage, it might not be good if you have a reputation for defaulting on your debts."
Shizune coughed and said to Tsunade.
I hope the other party will stop evading fares like in the past, otherwise it will lose Konoha's face. Although sending the IOU to Konoha is embarrassing enough.
Therefore, it is the right way to replace the outstanding debt as soon as possible before the matter becomes serious.
"Yeah... these guys obviously said they wanted to wait a little longer. Forget it, Shizune, find a time to invite them to the village and pay them back the debt as soon as possible."
Tsunade rubbed her eyebrows and said.
"It would have been nice to have done this earlier, but now there are some more troubles."
"What a waste of time! I just want to pay it back in one lump sum. It's millions of dollars every time. It's such a waste of time."
"..."
Shizune sighed and just wrote it down silently.
Just then, there was a knock on the office door.
"Come in."
"Excuse me, Hokage-sama."
After receiving permission, Shikaku walked in from outside, stopped in front of Tsunade's desk, and gave a slight salute to Tsunade.
Unlike Tsunade who had just entered working mode, Shikaku had very serious dark circles on her eyes.
The muscles on the face are also very loose, and the whole person exudes an aura of decay and decadence.
Even the gestures of saluting and the tone of speaking give people a drowsy feeling.
"Um... Shikaku, are you okay?"
Seeing Shikaku's state, Tsunade and Shizune were worried about whether he could stand safely now.
If you have to work in this state, something will definitely go wrong.
"Ah, I'm sorry to make you laugh. But it doesn't matter, my body should still be able to support it for a while."
Shikaku scratched his head and forced a smile from his flabby face.
"What's going on here? You should go back and rest quickly. You don't have to come to work tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. Your work will be taken over by Shizune for the time being."
Tsunade frowned when she saw Shikaku Na forcing himself, and asked him to go back home and rest for two days before coming back to work.
"Thank you very much. However, today's work still needs to be completed, and some things need to be confirmed."
"Thing? Identification?"
Tsunade was a little confused about Shikaku's words.
"Well, it's actually the issue of Kakashi Hatake and Sasuke Uchiha, as well as the funeral of the Third Generation. Regarding these matters, the insiders have been kept secret for the time being, and countries don't seem to know much about it. But if this continues No way, these things cannot be hidden forever. Therefore, I think it is better to make it public as soon as possible."
Because the village lost the Hokage in the past, even if the top management knew about some things, the middle and low-level personnel may not know these things.
The purpose is to prevent the impact of the matter from expanding and causing unnecessary confusion.
But now that Tsunade has returned and has successfully taken the position of the Fifth Hokage, in this case, even if these things are made public, it will cause a storm, but it is basically not a big problem.
"These things? How did you discuss it before?"
Tsunade paused and asked Shikaku.
Shikaku said without thinking: "As for Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Sasuke, their actions undoubtedly betrayed the village. Therefore, treating them as traitors is the best way to deal with them. As for defecting, For the reasons, we can guide Orochimaru to try to avoid the faults of Danzo elders, transfer the conflicts within the village, and stabilize the resistance of the martial arts faction."
"It's really a simple and crude method."
"There is no way. The people of the Fighting Faction are a little restless in the village because of the failure of Danzo Elder. If they take an extreme path, it will make things more troublesome. Before things evolve into that result, they must be appeased. Their mood.”
Shikaku's tired face showed a serious look, obviously he wasn't joking.
The members of the Konoha Fighting Faction at this stage are psychologically sensitive and fragile. If they are stimulated again, they may explode within Konoha.
"Don't worry, although I hate Danzo, I can still figure out the position. Let's do it this way. Hatake Kakashi is designated as an S-class rebel ninja. As for Uchiha Sasuke..."
Tsunade was in a dilemma.
Compared to Kakashi, she was not particularly familiar with Uchiha Sasuke's affairs.
"Design him as an A-level traitorous ninja. What do you think, Hokage-sama?"
"What's the reason?"
"He knew the truth about the genocide of the Uchiha clan, but still chose to leave the village. Therefore, sooner or later he will take revenge on the village... In fact, I am more inclined to classify him as an S-class rebel ninja, in terms of potential threats."
Lu Jiu's eyes showed a sharp light, and the fatigue on his face also dissipated a lot.
"Oh...Sarutobi-sensei, you really left me a mess."
Tsunade tapped her forehead with her fingers and took a deep breath.
She also knew a little bit about the genocide of the Uchiha clan through the information submitted by Shikaku.
It is precisely because of this that I feel ashamed and full of pity for what happened to Uchiha Sasuke, but not hostility or disgust.
It was Konoha who owed that child too much, not that child who owed Konoha too much.
If that child really wants to take revenge on Konoha in the future, from what standpoint should I accuse the other party?
It's almost like I despise my own village. Tsunade smiled bitterly in her mind.
"It's not just you, Hokage-sama, who is in trouble. Even I, the Jonin squad leader, feel ashamed... The Uchiha clan shouldn't end up like that. However, now that things have happened, Uchiha Sasuke is the enemy. Although it is regrettable , but it is our responsibility as Konoha ninjas to eliminate him."
Shikaku said in a cruel tone.
"Of course I know this kind of thing... But, I think you also know that the village has no spare power to deal with Uchiha Sasuke. Moreover, he and Kakashi are suspected of taking refuge in Orochimaru and getting involved with that guy. That's not true. What a good thing."
The worry on Tsunade's face was unmistakable.
"Regarding this matter, perhaps we can use the power of the Kingdom of Ghosts to deal with Orochimaru."
Shikaku thought about his answer.
"Ghost country? What do you mean..."
Tsunade suddenly understood.
"Well, this is the best way at present. It can not only eliminate Orochimaru and Uchiha Sasuke, but also divert the attention of the Kingdom of Demons... However, the operation is very difficult and may not be successful."
"Let's discuss this matter later. There is no rush for now. The most important thing right now is to restore the village's various functions as soon as possible and to have Sarutobi-sensei's funeral."
"That's true. So, can the funeral be held two days later?"
"Okay, let the two consultants make the arrangements. Your next task is to rest at home. You will resume work after Mr. Sarutobi's funeral."
Considering that Shikaku's condition was not good, Tsunade asked him to rest at home for two days until the teacher's funeral was over before he could return to work.
"Yes. If there's nothing else to do, I'll take my leave now, Hokage-sama."
"Wait, don't leave yet. I have another question. I want to hear your advice."
Tsunade called out to Shikaku.
"Hokage-sama, please speak."
"Danzo Shimura has fallen. Do you have any good recommendations for an elder position that has become vacant among the senior officials?"
Tsunade asked, staring into Shikaku's eyes.
"Hokage-sama, do you have any recommendations?"
Lu Jiu didn't answer the question.
Tsunade thought for a moment and answered Shikaku's question: "I hope Akimichi Tatefu from the Akimichi clan can take over this position."
Shikaku was not surprised. Not just anyone could hold such a position as a senior elder.
A contemporary of the two advisors and a disciple of the Second Hokage, Akimichi Tifeng has the qualifications to become an elder in terms of identity, background, ability and strength.
"Although I am also inclined to this suggestion, I have already inquired and found that the other party has no intention of becoming an elder. He would rather be an idle old man in the village."
Shikaku shook his head.
"Is that so? Then, is there anyone else in the village who can hold this position?"
After being disappointed for a moment, Tsunade continued to ask.
"In terms of prestige and ability, you can only choose from the ninja clan chiefs. And among all the ninja clan chiefs in Konoha... I prefer the one who is Hinata."
"Hyuuga Hinashi?"
Tsunade frowned and tapped her fingers on the table, seeming to be seriously considering this proposal.
Shikaku bowed to Tsunade silently, then turned and left the office, leaving Tsunade to think about this issue on her own.
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
(PS: It seems that in Chapter 541, through the Raikage, it was mentioned that Jiraiya once promoted Minato as the savior. The Raikage who was far away in the Land of Thunder also heard about it... I can't remember clearly, but it's like this My remarks, I remember they were rejected by the Raikage.)
