Naruto: Sasuke loves to visit forums

Chapter 251 Doubts every day

At the beginning, it was still Tiantian who noticed the strange existence.

Konoha's sixty-fifth year, May 20th.

Uchiha Sasuke had just finished the lengthy meeting and just walked out of the Hokage Building when he was stopped by Tenten who had been waiting for a long time.

"Ah, it's Tiantian. What do you want from me?"

Uchiha Sasuke stopped and asked friendly.

"Forget it, guess it."

Tiantian hesitated to speak, looking like he was deeply worried.

"Is it related to Neji?"

Uchiha Sasuke guessed:

"Speaking of which, just now, a piece of good news about him was finally officially confirmed and notified."

At the moment, Sasuke was in a very relaxed mood, chatting with Tenten and wanting to share the good news he had just received.

"is it?"

Tiantian grinned and made a stiff smile.

Immediately afterwards, her expression quickly dimmed again, and she said hesitantly:
"It's just that the news from my side may not be so good."

"Huh? What's wrong?"

Uchiha Sasuke finally noticed Tenten's abnormality and couldn't help but asked in confusion.

"Maybe my worries are unfounded."

Tiantian sighed, then shook his head heavily, as if to get those bad thoughts out of his head.

Afterwards, Tiantian cheered up, managed to put on a brisk tone, and asked:
“Although, it feels like my matter is more important.

"However, you can still listen to it first. What is the good news you are talking about?"

Two hours ago.

Hidden Leaf Village, Hokage Building, Council Hall.

In the hall, on the chairman's seat, Jiraiya, the fifth generation Hokage, wearing a god robe, sat in the center.

On both sides, Tsunade and Mito Kadeni, as Konoha's senior advisors, lined up on the left and right.

Danzo Shimura, another person accustomed to being in the dark, did not attend as usual.

Under the rostrum, Konoha's four leading elite jounin, Kakashi Hatake and Kurenai Yuhi, were prominently among them. The other two, Metkai and Sarutobi Asuma, were absent due to missions.

The remaining six clan heads, Akimichi Choza, Yamanaka Kaiichi, and Inuzukazuma, were absent, while the remaining three clan heads were present.

It is worth mentioning that Nara Shikamaru, who is already a Jonin, attended this high-level meeting as the leader of the Nara clan and was the only two young people among the participants.

The other one is naturally Uchiha Sasuke.

Normally, with nearly half of the core staff absent, such a meeting might not be considered a formal meeting.

However, under the haze of war, dignitaries and celebrities from various countries are making frequent moves in the dark.

The amount of tasks Konoha has received recently is far greater than before.

Therefore, under this specific background, today's meeting may be regarded as the highest level in Konoha in recent times.

The theme of the meeting was also very clear, according to the previous notice sent by Shiranui Genma to everyone.

At this meeting, the "Formal Announcement of the Return of Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuga Neji" will be drafted, as well as subsequent personnel arrangements.

"Everyone, the announcement document has been copied and sent to everyone."

Jiraiya cleared his throat and said loudly:
"Previously, everyone had many doubts about what Uchiha Sasuke's secret mission was.

"Now that Sasuke has returned successfully, I naturally no longer need to hide it. In addition, the announcement also mentioned a lot about Hyuga Neji's defection.

"I won't go into details one by one. You can read it by yourself first."

As Jiraiya finished speaking, everyone pretended to lower their heads and read the announcement in their hands.

In fact, everyone present has their own information channels, and they all have a rough idea of ​​this kind of public content that has been decided in advance.

In the document, the announcement was made that Hyuga Neji's defection was an undercover strategy directed and performed by Konoha.

Lord Hokage knew about this beforehand.

The direction of the undercover is the Otogakure Ninja Village where Orochimaru is located.

On the other side, Uchiha Sasuke's secret mission is also the same as Hyuga Neji.

In terms of merit, the announcement pointed out.

While undercover, Uchiha and Sasuke successfully obtained information about the connection between Orochimaru and the Akatsuki organization.

And based on the intelligence, he took advantage of the internal contradiction between the two and successfully killed Kabuto Yakushi, causing the death of the second-in-command of the Otogakure Ninja Village;
Later, thanks to the excellent intelligence work, he obtained the news that the Akatsuki organization would launch an invasion of the Sunagakure Ninja Village, and reported it to the Hokage immediately.

Under the instructions of Master Hokage Jiraiya, Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuga Neji rushed to the Sunagakure Ninja Village alone to support their allies, and ultimately achieved excellent results in the battle.

During the battle, the "genius puppet master" who once destroyed the city by himself, Akatsuki Scorpion, a member of the Akatsuki organization, was successfully stopped and killed by Sasuke Uchiha;

Subsequently, with the assistance of the team of elite Jounin Metkai and Chuunin Rock Lee, Sasuke and the two successfully prevented members of the Akatsuki organization, the one-tailed Jinchuriki Gaara, and Iwagakure's genius rebel ninja Deidara from annihilating the village. , and completely repel it;

(Author's note: Deidara's name was learned by Jiraiya after asking the ANBU ninja Aku.)
(Interestingly, as early as the Third Hokage's tenure, Uchiha Itachi claimed that he was an undercover agent of Konoha, but for some unknown reason, he did not even return the most basic member name information in the Akatsuki organization.)
The above is the general content of this announcement.

The drafting of this announcement was naturally the result of discussions between Jiraiya and Uchiha Sasuke's master and apprentice.

The content of the announcement is basically consistent with the facts.

The only change is to increase the penetration of Naruto's will.

Through this change, it not only enhances the legitimacy of Uchiha Sasuke's behavior, but also demonstrates the authority and leadership of the fifth generation Hokage, Jiraiya.

Originally, at the beginning, Jiraiya wanted to go with the flow, conform to the current speculation of public opinion, and solidify his wise character of "predicting the unknown".

However, Uchiha Sasuke believes that the propaganda method of creating gods and fooling the people will only unite fools.

The result would be that it would make truly intelligent people doubtful and cast doubt on the Hokage's rule.

The more you lie, the more loopholes will appear and the greater the potential risks in the future.

An issue that is not a problem in the first place will cause unnecessary trouble if someone is found to have lied and concealed it.

Going undercover at Orochimaru's base is not a shameful thing.

A truly brilliant lie should be 90% truth, mixed with the concealment you care about most.

Furthermore, according to the theory of ambushing Sunagakure in advance, it is impossible to explain to everyone the necessity of Hyuga Neji's defection.

Many details will be wrong sooner or later.

"Then, if there are no objections, the announcement document that will be released publicly among the Jonin Group is the one you have in your hands."

As Jiraiya spoke, he looked around at everyone and turned to look at the two advisors beside him.

The two of them had their eyebrows lowered and looked indifferent.

In fact, everyone present had roughly known the content of the announcement in advance.

Next, is the focus of this meeting, which is about subsequent personnel arrangements.

"Then, next, the other document in your hands, as you can see, is the battlefield report from our elite Jonin, Metkai."

Jiraiya said loudly, motioning for everyone to check for themselves.

This report will only be circulated in this room and must not be taken out.

According to Metkai's witness, when facing the Red Sand Scorpion, Uchiha Sasuke's strength was as good as that of elite jounin such as Sarutobi Asuma.

In view of his great strength as a Konoha ninja on the battlefield and his significant contribution to the maintenance of Konoha's status.

"As a ninja of Konoha, Uchiha Sasuke's performance in Sunagakure Village not only safeguarded the alliance between Konoha and Sunagakure, but also demonstrated the strength of our Konoha Hidden Ninja Village."

Jiraiya said calmly:
"Based on the double standards of strength and contribution, now I formally issue an initiative to everyone to nominate Sasuke Uchiha to be among the elite jounin. The work treatment and political power will be consistent with those of the elite jounin Kurenai Yuhi."

Everyone was silent except Hatake Kakashi who looked at Sasuke encouragingly, smiled and nodded to him.

"On the other hand, Hyuga Neji put himself in danger. As a ninja of Konoha, he also shouldered the dual responsibility of intelligence and combat.

"Furthermore, according to Metkai's witness, Hyuga Neji also has the strength of an average jounin.

"Based on the double standards of strength and contribution, I now formally issue an initiative to everyone to nominate Hyuga Neji for promotion to Jonin.

“In the new generation, after Uchiha Sasuke and Nara Shikamaru, we will also welcome the third young jounin ninja.

"Now, for the above two nominations, please start voting."

Jiraiya said calmly.

"agree.

"In addition, in accordance with Metkay's mandate, I also vote in favor on his behalf."

Kakashi was the first to break the silence and vote with a show of hands.

On the side, Special Jonin Yamashiro Aoba came out of the corner, put away Metkai's battlefield reports in everyone's hands one by one, and then walked back to the corner again.

Use the "Fire Release: Palm Fire Technique" to burn all the documents.

On the other side, the special jounin Shiranui Genma held a thousand books in his mouth and silently took note of Kakashi's vote.

"agree.

"In addition, according to Sarutobi Asuma's request, I also vote in favor on his behalf."

Yuhi Kurenai was the second to speak.

Uchiha Sasuke showed a slightly surprised look, then quickly lowered his head and returned to normal.

Subsequently, Nara Shikamaru represented the Yamanaka clan and the Akimichi clan, and Aburame Shimi represented the Inuzuka clan, and they all solemnly voted in favor.

Finally, the head of the Hyuga clan, Hyuga Hiashi, also voted in favor.

Passed unanimously.

"Originally, I thought there would be a few abstentions." After the meeting, Uchiha Sasuke followed Jiraiya, discussing in a low voice.

Previously, the master and apprentice had analyzed the current governance structure of Konoha in the study room at home.

The two agreed that among the above-mentioned ten major forces, Kakashi, Metkai, Nara clan, and Aburame clan, these four are the iron vote warehouses of the Hokage lineage.

The Inuzuka clan and the Akimichi clan have strong swings and are neutralizing forces.

But with the blessing of Hokage's orthodoxy and the support of the Nara clan, it is not difficult to win over the two.

This is already more than half of the votes, ensuring the stability of the fifth generation Hokage's daily rule.

In addition, the Hyuga clan and Asuma Sarutobi (Red Yuhi) belong to relatively independent factions.

As long as it does not infringe on their interests, they are also happy to see healthy promotions that enhance the strength of the village.

However, the criteria for judging what kind of rise "does not infringe on their interests" appear to be much more subtle.

Finally, the attitude of the mountain clan has always been very ambiguous.

Secretly, Jiraiya has a lot of evidence of his clan leader, Yamanaka Haiichi's dealings with Shimura Danzo, but the matter that cannot be brought to the table has not been confirmed for the time being.

Jiraiya and others still have no way of knowing what this clan really thinks.

Of course, this is also related to its weak power and not being taken seriously by Jiraiya and others.

At this time, the "abstention votes" that Sasuke mentioned that may appear refer to the above three parties——

The Hyuga clan, the Yamazaka clan, and the Sarutobi clan.

“The more solid you make things, the less flexibility you leave for them.”

Jiraiya knew what Sasuke was referring to and responded in a low voice:

"Don't think that the words 'bad influence' are meaningless.

"Under the subtle game, the matter itself has become the fulcrum of everyone's fuss.

“With your performance in Sunagakure and Metkai’s endorsement, the trend is set.

"No one could be that ignorant."

Hearing Jiraiya's words, Uchiha Sasuke nodded silently.

He knew that this was the teacher giving him instructions.

Afterwards, the master and apprentice said goodbye.

Uchiha Sasuke walked out of the Hokage Building and ran into Tenten who had been waiting for a long time.
-
"So, Neji is now a jounin."

Uchiha Sasuke said with a smile.

"Really?"

Tiantian said in surprise.

But then, her brows wrinkled again, still looking worried.

"Have you seen Neji recently?"

Before Sasuke could speak, Tenten took the lead again and asked.

Have you seen it?
Uchiha Sasuke recalled it, as if he had seen it before, but also as if he had not.

Afterwards, Sasuke activated his gift of eternal memory, thought about it carefully, and said:
“I met him at the Konoha cafeteria at noon the day before yesterday.

"But there were a lot of people at that time, so they just nodded and didn't say anything."

"Then, do you think there's anything wrong with him?"

Tiantian continued to ask.

"no."

Uchiha Sasuke recalled carefully.

It’s just a quick look, so what information can there be?

An ordinary person would probably not even be able to remember this meeting.

"So, what exactly do you want to say?"

Seeing Tenten's appearance, Uchiha Sasuke became more and more curious and couldn't help but ask.

"I just doubt it."

Tiantian hesitated, then slowly asked:
"Ningji, does he have someone else outside?"

Hearing this, Uchiha Sasuke almost spat out blood.

It’s been foreshadowing for so long, is this what happened?

Sasuke was seen coughing violently, waving his hands continuously, and said:
"Don't worry, during the time we left the village, we were almost inseparable.

"He has never behaved in any unusual way, and no suspicious girls have approached him."

Having said that, however, the scene in the Sunagakure Ninja Village where Hyuga Neji applied for a bite of Korin was recalled in Sasuke's mind again.

Then, emmm, in order to help Mr. Metkai break the Shukaku Shield.
That scene is still vivid in my mind.

"No, absolutely not."

Uchiha Sasuke waved his hand while covering for his brother, as if he was about to leave.

joke.

I don't want to get involved in the trivial matters of suspicion between lovers like you.

However, Tiantian still looked serious and said:
"If it's not a change of heart
"Then, my second guess will probably be even worse."

Hearing this, Uchiha Sasuke's face changed and he stopped again.

He carefully observed Tiantian's expression.

The girl looked very serious.

After hearing Sasuke's assurance, Tenten did not show any signs of relaxation. Instead, the doubts on his face became more intense.

"Hey, if you have something to say, just say it quickly."

Sasuke urged patiently.

Women are really troublesome.

Why can't you just say it openly?
If it hadn't been about Hinata Neji, he wouldn't have been here for so long.

However, seemingly unaware of Sasuke's mood, Tenten continued:
“These days, for some reason, Hyuga Neji seems to be avoiding me.

"When I came back on the first day, everything was as usual, him."

As Tiantian thought about it, a blush spread on both sides of his cheeks, and he said shyly:
“Anyway, everything is good.

"However, the third day after you came back was May 16th.

"On that day, we had made an appointment in advance to meet at the gate of Gan Ligan in the afternoon, but he did not show up that day."

Uchiha Sasuke was a little distracted, barely holding himself up and listening to Tenten talking about the daily love affairs of these girls.

“After that, he seemed to be avoiding me.

“In the beginning, he could chat with me briefly, but soon made lame excuses and left.

"Later, it got to the point where he would turn around and leave as soon as he saw me. I saw him from a distance in Konoha several times.

"However, he deliberately avoided me, even ignored my calls, and would leave as soon as possible."

"Did you have a fight?"

Uchiha Sasuke made his first judgment and asked.

"Absolutely not."

Tiantian shook his head solemnly and continued:

"At first, I thought I accidentally offended him. But this is definitely not how Neji handles problems. The more I think about it, the weirder I feel.

"Finally, that day I made up my mind to catch up with him and ask him clearly. However, he ran away and disappeared after turning a corner!"

Indeed, it's a bit strange.

Based on my understanding of Neji, he has never been a guy who is irresponsible and can only escape.

As Uchiha Sasuke listened, he kept thinking about it in his mind.

These days, he was busy discussing political affairs in the village and the situation in the shinobi world with his master. During the day, he went to Konoha Hospital to accompany Naruto Uzumaki to do some rehabilitation exercises.

Interspersed with this are visits to Kimimaro and chatting about each other’s experiences;

I went to meet Kakashi-sensei again and shared everything about the Akatsuki organization. By the way, we discussed various possibilities of Thunder Release together;
Also, visits to Tsunade, Shizune, etc., as well as dinner invitations among friends of the same generation.
In short, it is indeed rich, and you can say that there is no leisure for a moment.

Now that Tiantian mentioned it, Sasuke suddenly realized that indeed, he had not been in contact with Neji for many days.

"So, what exactly is your second guess?"

Uchiha Sasuke asked.

Apparently, this matter has been bothering Tiantian for a long time.

In this case, she must have thought over the various possibilities.

Thinking of this, Sasuke no longer thought about it, but chose to ask the other party directly.

"If he hasn't changed his mind."

Tiantian took a deep breath and said slowly:
"I suspect that after May 16th, the Ningji we see will no longer be him.

"Although that guy's acting looks very similar, I can just feel it from his eyes."

Tenten looked directly at Uchiha Sasuke firmly and said word by word:

"Such a guy is definitely not the Hinata Neji I know."

(End of this chapter)