Chapter 445: Nipping the Bud
While Naruto and Satsuki immersed themselves in wedding preparations, discussing ceremony procedures' trivial happiness, outside Konoha Village, the ninja world's undercurrents hadn't ceased for this joy.
Some events—once common in the past but nearly extinct in recent years' stable ninja world relations—were quietly occurring.
Initially, just sporadic, seemingly "commercial" friction.
Several Fire Country trading companies that had long imported specific rare medicinal herbs and certain tool-essential minerals from the Land of Earth suddenly received formal notifications from Iwagakure's official channels. Effective immediately, all exports of strategic medicinal materials and special minerals to the Land of Fire were suspended. The reason was high-sounding—"based on considerations for our nation's sustainable resource utilization and strategic reserves."
Immediately after, disharmonious episodes began appearing in joint border patrol and supply missions between the two countries.
Iwagakure supply teams would "coincidentally" delay past agreed times, or delivered supplies would be "slightly short," and when Konoha raised queries, the other side would adopt helpless postures, attributing it to "sudden road conditions" or "internal allocation oversights."
Simultaneously, within the Land of Earth, skillfully-guided public opinion began circulating in small ranges, vaguely accusing the Land of Fire of "habitually taking larger resource shares" in joint missions, implying this was disguised "resource exploitation."
More obvious moves appeared in the trade sector. Within the Land of Earth, several influential ninja tool craftsmen guilds and merchant associations suddenly jointly voiced complaints, accusing basic ninja tools from the Land of Fire like standardized kunai and shuriken of "impacting the market with unreasonably low prices," causing numerous local craftsmen workshops difficulty in making a living.
They claimed this wasn't normal commercial competition but the Land of Fire's conspiracy to "destroy our nation's ninja tool manufacturing foundation and conduct economic infiltration."
Some instigated merchants began organizing small-scale assemblies, raising slogans like "Resist dumping, protect national craftsmen."
These frictions originally belonging more to diplomatic and trade spheres quickly spread influence toward more sensitive domains.
In some not-heavily-disputed areas along both countries' borders, reports began appearing of small groups of Iwagakure ninja "patrol ranges exceeding usual bounds." Confrontation frequency with Konoha border personnel quietly increased. Though direct conflicts hadn't erupted, the tense atmosphere was like a gradually tightening spring.
Iwagakure's official response was vague yet firm, calling it "legitimate national territorial alert behavior" and conversely accusing Konoha of "overreacting, escalating tensions."
Inside Konoha Village, ordinary villagers and lower-ranked ninja initially felt more confusion and curiosity than immediate anger or panic at news arriving from border and trade channels.
"What are those Iwagakure people thinking? Suddenly not selling medicinal herbs? After our cultivation division's production increased, our dependence on them has long been less than before. Using this move now—it doesn't hurt or itch."
"And ninja tool dumping? Saying this alone could crush Iwagakure's craftsmen? Do they even believe it themselves? Their specialty has always been Earth Release-related heavy machinery and defensive ninja tools—not even completely the same category as our standardized throwing weapons."
When border friction news arrived, most villagers showed incomprehension.
"What's going on? Why are they pulling these little tricks again? Haven't these years been quite peaceful? I heard Sunagakure and Kumogakure's dealings with us are much smoother. What's Iwagakure playing at?"
Most attributed it to "the Tsuchikage getting old, increasingly stubborn" or "certain Iwagakure internal factions causing trouble again," not immediately realizing this might be the prelude to broader strategic testing.
After all, having spent more than ten years in calm tranquility, civilians' first reaction to these not-very-clever small frictions was often examination and doubt rather than easily having emotions provoked.
Of course, Naruto currently had no spare attention to handle these endless diplomatic disputes and border frictions.
However, these unpleasant episodes wouldn't continue much longer. When they accumulated to a certain degree, attempting to escalate from "annoying noise" to genuine "obstacles," naturally someone would make them quiet down.
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"Here... this is it."
Land of Earth, atop the cliff precipice outside Iwagakure. Night like spilled thick ink cut the craggy rocks and distant village's scattered lamplight into interwoven light and shadow.
A figure quietly stood alone at this cliff edge, black clothing motionless in the severe mountain wind, only slightly disheveled black short hair lifted by several strands in the breeze.
He looked down at that enormous village embedded within massive rock caverns and mountain bodies. After a long while, he released a barely audible sigh.
Behind Uchiha Shisui's mask, his eyes flashed with complex emotion. As expected—after experiencing a prolonged relative peace period, someone still couldn't suppress the restlessness and calculation in their hearts, attempting to throw several testing stones beneath calm waters, stirring waves that shouldn't exist.
As a core member of the Ember organization, Shisui was extremely clear about the organization's core objective. It wasn't rule, nor domination, but simple, even crude "war cessation" based on absolute military force.
Like the ideal the leader upheld—don't actively provoke disputes, but if anyone attempts igniting war flames in any form, then Ember's blade would point at them.
Therefore, when the organization's department specializing in intelligence and analysis compiled and reported Iwagakure's recent series of small moves against Konoha, many veteran members including Shisui—their first reaction wasn't anger but a sense of absurd "novelty."
How many years had it been? Which power still dared so blatantly yet clumsily test that invisible red line?
"There really are those unafraid of death." This was one member's murmur then, tone carrying not mockery but habitual faint sentiment.
Thus, the deterrence mission naturally moved onto the agenda.
This time, Uchiha Shisui volunteered. He chose to come alone. Not because the organization lacked strength, but because he clearly remembered Leader "Menma's" method in Konoha Village years ago—try not harming anyone while achieving the most shocking deterrent effect.
That was Ember's truly fearsome aspect—possessing destructive power yet using it cautiously. Every action aimed at excising the "lesion"—war's buds—rather than indiscriminately destroying the "organism."
Of course, choosing Iwagakure as the deterrence location, Shisui wasn't without concerns. He thought of Deidara. When Shisui routinely informed colleagues of his mission location before departure, Deidara's reaction far exceeded his expectations.
"Deterrence?! At Iwagakure?! So cool!!"
"Senior! Take me along! This is perfect timing for the old man to properly witness my newest art! Yeah!"
In his eyes, Shisui saw not the slightest attachment or reluctance toward his homeland, only desire for "display" and "shock," plus a kind of excited anticipation to present "new works" on the "old stage."
This reaction made Shisui completely dismiss any notion of bringing Deidara along.
Of course, if warnings proved ineffective and these people truly remained obstinate... Shisui was no softhearted person. This genius of the Uchiha Clan, Konoha's "Shisui of the Body Flicker," had likewise walked down from bloody battlefields. When necessary to kill, he absolutely wouldn't hesitate. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that.
"First... I'll meet with the Tsuchikage."
As Shisui's thought shifted slightly, behind the mask's eyeholes, scarlet base color suddenly surfaced. Three tomoe rapidly rotated, ultimately transforming into a pinwheel-like unique pattern.
However, the ocular power contained in these Mangekyo now was so immense even Shisui himself felt astonished.
This was no longer a limited wellspring requiring careful calculation, no longer needing to rely on the special "buttons" containing vast life energy left by the leader to supplement consumption.
Now, he felt his ocular power connected to an unfathomably deep ocean—surging, turbulent, nearly infinite.
This naturally was Naruto's handiwork. He'd used Universal Manifestation's power to casually "modify" reality—not enhancing Shisui's Mangekyo ocular techniques' essential nature, but simply, crudely "stuffing" into those eyes' "containers" highly concentrated Yin Release ocular power equivalent to several Tailed Beasts' total chakra volume.
Shisui wanted to meet the Tsuchikage—not planning to infiltrate the village and submit a calling card. That was too slow, also didn't match the "posture" Ember's current action needed to convey.
He wanted to make the Tsuchikage actively come "meet" him.
Focusing intent, immense ocular power like breached floodwaters explosively burst forth!
"Susanoo!!"
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