As dusk approached and the sky grew dark, Konoha Village gradually fell into silence, but the house of Yamanaka Inobu was still brightly lit.
"Phew, it's still more convenient at your house, at least no one will jump out and interrupt."
Nara Shikaku put down his cup, closed his eyes, and savored the wine in his mouth. After a long while, he let out a long sigh and exclaimed in praise.
Across from him, Yamanaka Inoichi calmly put down his cup as well, saying, "I don't think that's the only reason you're having a gathering at my house."
By the way, Rino heard what we just said. I remember she's making plans to go shopping with Yoshino tomorrow.
Upon hearing his friend's words, Nara Shikaku's hand trembled as he poured the sake, spilling some onto the table.
"Hehehe, I have important business to attend to here, but I'm just having a few drinks to liven things up."
Nara Shikaku awkwardly put down the bottle, his expression turning serious.
"You all know the news that the Third Hokage released today. Shouldn't we discuss this matter?"
"It really should be discussed. Who would have thought that something like this would happen again just a few months after the Fifth Hokage took office?"
Yamanaka Ino nodded in agreement, "I thought that some things in Konoha could be improved under Tsunade's care, but I didn't expect such a change to happen just when I saw a glimmer of hope."
"Shikaku, you're the quickest-thinking one. Now we need you to analyze the situation."
"Quick-witted," Nara Shikaku said with a wry smile, before suddenly reaching for another glass of wine and gulping it down.
"I still don't understand what's been going on in Konoha all these years. Strange and unexpected changes keep happening, as if there are several behind-the-scenes manipulators messing with Konoha."
"No matter what, Lu Jiu, you are the smartest among us, so we still need you to decide what to do next."
When the topic turned to the key point, Choza Akimichi stopped chewing and began to speak.
"My judgment?" Nara Shikaku closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then looked seriously at his two friends.
"The current situation is not optimistic."
We all know how severely Konoha's strength was damaged after the previous incidents. If it weren't for Jiraiya's intervention, the border of the Land of Fire might have been lost.
Now that the newly appointed Fifth Hokage can mysteriously disappear even in his own village, it's hard to guarantee that Kumogakure and Iwagakure won't take action again. Konoha is under immense pressure.
Nara Shikaku looked worried. "Although the news has been tightly controlled, we all know that something big happened to Root last night, and today it seems that many ninjas from the Anbu and Root have disappeared."
Also, it seems that Hayama Shirakumo and Aoba Yamashiro, whom Tsunade had recently recalled from the border, have also disappeared at the same time.
Under the bright lights, Nara Shikaku's eyes were dark and unreadable.
"We must be vigilant. Perhaps it's time for us to leave Konoha. Our predecessors joined Konoha to ensure the continuation of their clans, but Konoha now looks like a leaky, dilapidated ship."
"Is it that serious already?"
After hearing his friend's assessment, Yamanaka Inoichi frowned and cursed. Leaving Konoha was just a simple four-word phrase, but the bloodshed involved would probably be beyond description even in 40,000 words.
How to leave, and how to ensure the survival and development of the family after leaving, are all very troublesome issues.
Nara Shikaku smiled slightly. "Of course, it's not that bad yet, but we must be prepared for it."
According to current intelligence, there have likely been significant changes within Root and Anbu, which may even be related to the mystery of Tsunade's disappearance.
If the Root and Dark Root are truly severely damaged, Danzo will probably have to plunder manpower from our families again. What should we do then?
Are they constantly sending their people to have cursed marks implanted?
"Shikaku, just tell me how to do it."
After listening to Shikaku's words and pondering for a while, Akimichi Choza still came up with nothing, and finally simply threw the question back to Nara Shikaku.
Nara Shikaku and Yamanaka Inoichi exchanged a glance. "This hasn't happened yet. If Danzo really comes to demand people again, then we'll have to ask Uncle Torifu to fight him!"
Shikaku's voice was low and gentle, but his tone was firm and resolute.
“Danzo has drained too much of our resources in the past few times, and we haven’t recovered yet. We can’t let him continue to drain us.”
After listening, Choza Akimichi hesitated for a moment, "Of course, Uncle Torifu's intervention can put up a fight, but we also know who is backing Danzo. Relying on Uncle to stall for time is not a solution!"
"So there are two options at the moment. The first is to buy time and wait for the Fifth Hokage to return or for the Sixth Hokage to be born; the second is to leave Konoha!"
"The fifth or sixth generation?"
Yamanaka Inoichi's expression was not good. "I'm afraid there's not much hope for him in the short term."
Nara Shikamaru nodded and said, "That's right, the chances are indeed slim. The key is that we can't make any big moves."
"Then we have no choice but to leave Konoha, but there are so many of us from several clans, we can't just leave Konoha quietly. And how are we going to survive after we leave Konoha? Our clans have a lot of grudges with the various ninja villages."
Akimichi Choza's question was exactly what Yamanaka Inoichi was worried about, and he listened from the side, nodding repeatedly.
“Actually, there is a way,” Shikaku stared at Yamanaka Inoichi with a rather strange expression.
Yamanaka Inoichi understood that Shikaku might have some concerns. He closed his eyes and sensed his surroundings before saying, "Just tell me what you want to do. There's no one else around."
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