Konoha Notes.

Chapter 11 The Village

A few days later, when they met again in the somewhat deserted corridor of the Hokage Building, Itachi's gaze lingered on Shuuji's face for a moment.

"You don't look too well, senior," he said softly, his gaze falling on the barely noticeable bluish tinge under the other's eyes.

"Hmm, cultivation." Xiu Si rubbed his temples, almost yawning. "The money's here, let's go, Q-style barbecue, we'll eat and share."

Itachi was already used to this, and he told his mother where he was going before leaving.

The two blended into the bustling streets at dusk, the air gradually filled with the enticing aroma of charred fat. Shuji walked ahead, humming an off-key melody, while Itachi quietly lagged half a step behind.

This interaction gave him a strange sense of relaxation. Beside Xiuji, there was no scrutinizing gaze as if he were a "genius specimen," nor was there a heavy expectation weighing on him; it was as if he were just an ordinary boy.

The barbecue restaurant was filled with the lively atmosphere of smoke.

The pork belly slices, just placed on the wire mesh, immediately sizzled happily, dripping oil and sparking tiny sparks. Shuuji quickly picked up a slice of meat, its edges slightly charred and sizzling with oil, coated it in dark brown sauce, and eagerly put it in his mouth.

The scalding hot meat juices, mixed with the savory aroma of the sauce, exploded on the tongue, seemingly washing away most of the fatigue accumulated from days of training.

"Phew..." He breathed a satisfied sigh, squinted his eyes, picked up another piece of meat that was also grilled to perfection, and placed it naturally on Itachi's plate. "Eat more, you're still growing."

"Is Senior studying a new technique?" Itachi asked, looking at the fragrant slices of meat on the plate.

"I guess so, it hasn't been going too well," Xiu Si mumbled, picking up another slice for himself. "What about you? What have you been practicing these past few days?"

"Taijutsu, ninjutsu, ninja tool throwing," Itachi picked up his chopsticks, "and practiced with the seniors of the clan."

"Uchiha Shisui?"

Itachi paused almost imperceptibly, then looked up at Shuji: "Senpai, do you know Shisui?"

"Besides you, the record holder for graduating in one year, his name is more well-known within the Uchiha clan." Shuji calmly took a sip of barley tea. "I've heard of him, but I don't know him personally."

After several rounds of meat slices, the emptiness in his stomach was replaced by a solid sense of satisfaction. Shuji wiped his mouth and got down to business: "The reward has been confirmed. From that Sand Ninja's sealing scroll, it came to about ten million taels..."

This amount of money is enough to issue more than a dozen high-level A-rank commissions in the five great ninja villages. For an ordinary Chunin, it might not be possible to accumulate this amount in their entire career.

"Senpai," Itachi put down his chopsticks, his eyes clear and focused, "why did that Sand Ninja betray his own village?"

Instead of answering directly, Shuji asked, "In your opinion, what is a village?"

After a moment's thought, Itachi gave a textbook answer: "It's a place where ninjas live, accept missions, and protect each other."

Shuji nodded, his gaze fixed on the myriad lights gradually illuminating the city outside the window, as if piercing through the dust of time: "Initially, Konoha was merely a settlement jointly established by the Senju and Uchiha after they put aside their blood feud."

"When the two strongest clans in the ninja world shook hands and even lived as neighbors..." He tapped the table with his chopsticks, "the other ninja clans within the Land of Fire had no choice. No single clan could withstand the alliance of these two powerful clans alone. For survival, they had no choice but to join Konoha."

The weasel straightened its back unconsciously.

The glorious history of the village's founding, which he had heard in the ninja academy classroom, was stripped of its idealized veneer and revealed in Shuji's plain narration, exposing its cold and realistic foundation—the coercion of survival and the balancing of power.

"When the vast majority of the ninja clans of the Land of Fire gather here..."

"This place naturally became the nation's only and most powerful military pillar. Local lords, and even daimyo prefectures, could no longer easily incite the ninja clans to kill each other and reap the benefits, as they had during the Warring States period."

On the wire mesh, a thick piece of pork chop dripped its fat onto the charcoal fire, making a loud "sizzle" and sending up a plume of white smoke.

"So initially," Shuji turned his gaze to Itachi, "the village was more like a platform. A platform that allowed these ninja clans to cooperate within relatively safe rules, while also competing within those rules."

"Back then, Konoha was essentially a settlement where a dozen or so ninja clans banded together for mutual support."

"Until..." Shuji's eyes sharpened, "the Senju clan voluntarily disbanded, and the village began to absorb a large number of orphans and wandering ninjas without clan support. After the Second Hokage established the Anbu..." He paused slightly, seemingly choosing his words carefully, "the village truly possessed its own power base, no longer entirely dependent on the ninja clan. This power obeyed only the village itself."

Outside the private room, the footsteps of the waiter carrying plates faded into the distance, leaving a brief silence.

"This shift is crucial." Shuji's voice lowered. "The ninja clan is no longer the sole entity in the village. As the basic pressures of survival lessen, the ninjas' suppressed personal thoughts and pursuits... begin to surface. And some of these pursuits..." He picked up his teacup, looking at the amber liquid inside, "are destined to create irreconcilable conflicts with the village as a collective."

The smoke from the barbecue swirled between the two, blurring their expressions.

"You said before that for you, being a ninja is just a job," Itachi pressed. "So, what's your view on 'rogue ninja'?"

Shuji's expression remained calm: "Normally, I would consider them enemies. Because under the ninja village system, ninjas are strictly restrained and cannot attack ordinary people at will."

He picked up a piece of grilled, fragrant meat, dipped it in the sauce, and said, "Ordinary people can farm, run shops, and live in peace, with harm kept within a certain range. The economy can develop, life can get better, and good things like this..." He pointed to the sizzling wire mesh and the table full of food, "...will become more and more common."

"And rogue ninja, like that Sand Ninja," Shuji changed the subject, "He fled the village to pursue what he considered a better life, which on the surface seems perfectly justifiable. But in reality..." He smiled slightly, a smile devoid of warmth.

"This is just a cautious Chunin who is wary of the village's power and doesn't dare to be too reckless." Shuji looked into Itachi's eyes and said clearly, word by word, "If we encounter those who are even more unscrupulous, without any bottom line, and who treat human life like dirt..."

He paused, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and his Adam's apple bobbed.

"I just want to enjoy a peaceful meal. If someone insists on causing trouble..." He put down his teacup, the bottom making a crisp, soft sound as it hit the table. "I will stop them as far as I can."

Itachi listened in silence, his small fingers unconsciously stroking the warm rim of the teacup, feeling the delicate texture of the ceramic.

"Senior believes," Itachi said cautiously after a moment, his voice even softer, "that the ninja village system can maintain this... order indefinitely?"

Shuji turned his gaze to the window.

As dusk settled, the streets of Konoha were illuminated by warm lights, outlining the silhouettes of people returning home. "No system is perfect, Itachi."

"The key question is whether it has yielded better results than in the past. As for the ninja village system..."

"From the perspective of ending the Warring States period and reducing unnecessary killing, it is indeed more competitive than the fragmented ninja clans."

Shuji withdrew his gaze and looked back at the boy across the table: "The village, as a platform, gave ninjas a sense of belonging that they could call 'home,' reducing the endless fighting and drain between ninja clans. But it also brought new constraints and... new conflicts."

"Under any system, there will inevitably be contradictions that cannot be completely eliminated. Conflicts between the demands of individual ninjas and the village as a whole, friction between ninja traditions and the village's unified will... These are all problems that the village must face and cannot avoid, and they need to be solved and balanced by generation after generation."

"Senpai," Itachi seemed to have caught something, "then in the village, is it... necessarily that a powerful ninja clan should not exist?"

"Not entirely," Shuji stated his point of view. "In fact, the village needs the ninja clan to some extent."

"Especially for those clans with unique bloodline limits, the ninja clan itself is the most effective way to protect and pass on these precious powers."

"It could even be said that the existence of ninja clans actually relieved the pressure on villages in cultivating special talents and protecting secret techniques. To some extent, it also mitigated the potential direct conflict between individuals with powerful bloodlines and the overall rules of the village."

He picked up a lettuce leaf, wrapped it around a piece of grilled meat, and said calmly but with unwavering authority, "However, the power of the ninja clan must not become too great, much less surpass that of the village. After all..."

"From a realistic perspective, many of the heroes who stepped forward to protect their villages amidst the mountains of corpses and seas of blood during the Three Shinobi World Wars came from families without illustrious bloodlines. It was thanks to countless unsung heroes like them who followed one after another that the villages were able to stand firm in the wars and continue to this day."

Itachi didn't say anything more.

He looked down at the slightly cooled piece of roast meat that Xiu Si had placed on his plate; the warm yellow light shone on it, giving it a slightly oily sheen.

The only sounds in the private room were the faint crackling of the charcoal fire and the distant laughter and chatter coming from the next table.