69novels Chapter 536 The Konoha Youngsters of Akatsuki Village
Chapter 536 The Konoha Youngsters of Akatsuki Village
Chapter 536 The Konoha Youngsters Return to the Village
The Land of Fire, Konoha Village.
After two days of arduous travel, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Sakura, Kiba, Shino, Lee, Tenten, and Yakumo finally returned to their village.
When they saw the gate of their village, they finally breathed a long sigh of relief.
Soon, the returning Konoha 11 also attracted the attention of Konoha's gatekeepers, Kotetsu and Izumo.
"Yo, you guys are finally back." With her side-swept bangs and medium-length brown hair covering one of her left eyes, Izumo Shinzuki seemed to remember these cockroaches quite well, and waved to greet them.
After all, during the Chunin Exams, it was the two of them who were responsible for testing the Konoha candidates in front of the first exam hall.
Shikamaru and the others are geniuses of this generation.
Shikamaru stepped forward to speak with the two, registering their return to the village, and asked, "Has anything major happened in the village recently?"
Hedgehog-haired Gangzi shook his head and said, "After the attack during the Chunin Exams, the village has been recovering, but I've heard that many retired ninjas have received conscription orders."
Conscription order?
Shikamaru, Choji, and the others were slightly taken aback.
They had grown up in Konoha and lived peacefully for so many years, and this was the first time they had heard of a conscription order.
Both Kotetsu and Izumo Kamizuki participated in the Third Shinobi World War. Izumo Kamizuki said somewhat leisurely, "I wonder how long this war will last."
The Konoha 11s were even more unsettled.
They had just returned from the Star Kingdom, where they had witnessed its development firsthand and had a glimpse of its military mobilization capabilities, but the outbreak of war still weighed heavily on everyone's hearts.
As the group was registering one by one, three figures landed at the village entrance.
Shikamaru, Choji, and the others all looked over and saw three ANBU ninjas wearing animal masks.
A bad feeling rose in their hearts.
Sure enough, the leader stepped forward and said to Shikamaru and the others, "This is an ANBU mission, please come with us."
""
Gangzi Tetsu and Kamizuki Izumo were also slightly taken aback, and their expressions changed.
If the secret police come knocking on your door as soon as you return to the village, it's usually not a good thing.
Especially for ninjas on long-distance missions, this often means that the village has already become suspicious of them.
However, the two were only special Jonin and were not qualified to stop the Anbu ninja.
"Sigh, I knew it—" Shikamaru sighed, looking at the three ANBU ninjas without fear. He turned to them and said, "Just remember to report the truth, it's no big deal."
Although he said that, Shikamaru's gaze involuntarily swept over Lee, Tenten, and Sakura.
This was the first time any of them had encountered such a situation, so they couldn't help but feel nervous, their expressions becoming serious.
Of these people, only these three are of commoner origin and have no family to rely on. Let's just hope they'll be alright.
Before long, led by ANBU ninjas, Shikamaru and the others were taken to the ANBU, where they were personally questioned by Ibiki Morino, the commander of the ANBU interrogation unit.
On the other side...
The news of the Konoha 11's return to the village quickly spread throughout all the major ninja clans of Konoha.
After all, although these nine people were only genin, they were involved with six ninja clans, including the successors of the Ino-Shika-Cho clan, which were from the lineage of the previous Hokage.
Nighttime, the Nara family's patriarch's villa.
Shikaku is playing shogi with Inoichi.
Dingza was eating snacks on the side.
Several fruit platters were placed next to the three of them, filled with fruit prepared by Shikaku's wife for their after-dinner meal, but now they had all ended up in Choza's stomach.
"You're really good at keeping your composure." Inoichi pushed the shogi in his hand forward and looked up at Shikaku, who was deep in thought about the game.
Shikaku, of course, understood what Inoichi meant. He said calmly, "There's no use worrying. After all, that acting Hokage is following standard procedures."
As ninjas who have been away from home, it is perfectly normal for them to be questioned upon their return. Moreover, Shikamaru and the others were forced to stay in the Land of Stars for a week, so naturally there were many things they needed to clarify.
"Regarding the Star Country, the intelligence unit of the Dark Division used to go to great lengths but still had a hard time obtaining some core information, especially information about the Star Capital." Shikaku stretched out his right hand and made a move.
As the leader of the Jonin class, Shikaku had handled a lot of information about the Land of Stars since its inception.
In particular, when Shisui's team was ordered to investigate the coup in the Land of Bears, they encountered Uchiha Hikaru and a female Uzumaki clan member as soon as they entered the Land of Bears. As a result, the three of them suffered a crushing defeat, and Shisui even lost an eye. Shikaku was also one of the few people who knew the truth.
"I only have one daughter. Although she is always a bit rebellious, if Danzo dares to touch my daughter—" Inoichi did not continue speaking, but simply picked up a chess piece and slammed it heavily onto the chessboard.
Snapped-
The chess pieces landed with a loud thud, especially clear in the courtyard.
Shikaku raised an eyebrow slightly, glanced at his friend across from him who had a sullen expression, and said, "Don't worry, I believe Shikamaru and the others will abide by the Konoha ninja code and won't do anything out of line. Ibiki Morino will also give us some face."
Yamanaka Inoichi is the captain of the analysis team and often cooperates with the interrogation department to interrogate spies who have infiltrated Konoha. Morino Ibiki also has many Yamanaka clan ninjas under his command.
After all, the secret techniques of the mountain clan are too convenient for interrogation.
Therefore, Shikaku concluded that Morino Ibiki did not want anything to happen to the young lady of the Yamanaka clan in the torture chamber.
"I bet Ibiki Morino is having a headache right now," Shikaku said, a subtle, enigmatic smile playing on his lips.
Haiyi was also confused by his concern, but after hearing Shiku's comforting words, he felt a little relieved.
He turned to look at Ding Zuo, who was eating watermelon with gusto, and asked curiously, "Ding Zuo, aren't you worried about your son?"
Ding was putting a slice of watermelon into his mouth when he heard this, he scratched his head and said, "What are you worried about?"
"I don't know why Menma did that, but I've seen him several times. I think Menma is a true friend to Choji and the others, and he won't do anything to them."
"As for the interrogation in the interrogation department, I believe Menma will also make Choji and the others tell the truth about their experiences in the Land of Stars."
"As for what the Acting Hokage thinks—"
Ding Zuo may appear simple and rugged, but he is actually delicate and gentle at heart, and his analysis is also very organized.
Menma was mentioned, and both Shikaku and Inoichi frowned.
All three of them had met Menma and knew that Menma and Naruto had a good relationship, but none of them expected that the two were actually brothers.
"Now that I think about it—if Menma's hair color were blonde—it would indeed bear some resemblance to Minato," Shikaku said.
"Yes, I was wondering why he looked like an old friend. Turns out he's the son of an old friend—" Haiyi couldn't help but recall the photo of Menma that he saw on the class commendation list when he went to school for a parent-teacher conference once.
Seemingly recalling the days they spent working with the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, all three fell silent, even Choza put down the melon he was holding.
clatter-
The door to the Nara family's house was knocked open from the outside, and a boy's voice came from the direction of the door.
"I'm back!" It was Shikamaru's voice.
"Shikamaru, you're back! Are you alright?" This was Shikamaru's mother, Yoshino Nara, asking with concern.
"It's nothing, it's nothing, I was just asked a few normal questions," Shikamaru said.
"Oh right, your dad, your Uncle Haiyi, and Uncle Dingza are playing chess in the corridor. I'll go heat up your food. You go find your dad first."
"No need, Mom. Uncle Ibiki treated us to dinner, but the food at the Anbu's canteen was just so-so."
A short while later, Shikamaru, with his hands in his pockets, walked along the courtyard corridor to where his father and the others were playing chess.
"Father, Uncle Inoichi, Uncle Choza," Shikamaru said respectfully, abandoning his usual nonchalant manner.