Mizukage's Pokémon Ninja Scroll

Chapter 215 The Dilemma of the Crowd

At the same time.

On the second ship of the Air Force, which is currently anchored on the sea near the border of the Land of Fire.

Everyone is gathered together for a meeting.

Still no news about Ju?

Qing rubbed his temples with a troubled expression, but no one could answer his question.

Everyone lowered their heads and remained silent, making the atmosphere in the cabin exceptionally oppressive.

"Maybe we should retreat. If the ship stays docked here, it's very likely to be discovered by Konoha or Sunagakure ninja."

The captain of the guard suggested in a low voice, but was met with angry glares from the rest of the guard.

However, the captain of the guard's suggestion was not without merit.

In the past two days, this once relatively remote land in the Land of Fire has become a secondary battlefield between Konoha and Sunagakure, with both sides sending a considerable number of ninjas to frequently engage in small-scale clashes.

The root cause was the robbery of Konoha's supplies led by the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, that day.

Although this place is not a strategic location, and these small-scale conflicts in the secondary battlefields will not last long, at least for now, the entire surrounding area is no longer safe.

Even though neither side is likely to engage in naval combat in the short term, the risk of the second ship being exposed is increasing day by day due to the frequent searches for Jianchuan Ju's whereabouts near the battlefield.

"Let's not talk about the retreat. The search and rescue operation for Jianchuan Ju was also an order from the front-line command."

Although Qing had a bit of a headache, she still rejected the other party's suggestion outright.

However, the guard captain seemed determined to persuade everyone to retreat, and even though Qing had cited orders from his superiors, he was still muttering to himself.

"That order was given two days ago, and the frontline camp hasn't responded in the last two days."

What he said is one of the reasons why everyone is distressed.

Logically speaking, even though the second ship was on an outbound mission, the communication gulls should still be able to transmit intelligence back and forth within a few hours.

However, apart from receiving a reply to the mission report sent to the front-line camp after everyone returned to the ship on the first day, all subsequent communications seemed to have sunk without a trace.

Now everyone suspects that something serious has happened at the front line, and they are becoming increasingly anxious about finding Jianchuan Ju.

This situation is actually quite normal. Although they both belong to the Air Force, the escort team and the Air Force flight formation usually travel on separate ships when going on missions.

The missions they performed did not completely overlap. Naturally, Tachibana Kanagawa was closer to his direct flight squadron members and received more of their support.

Before Qing could even reprimand him, the already emotionally charged members of the Air Force surrounded the guard captain.

The second squad leader, Toshio Utsumi, flashed in front of him, grabbed his collar, and lifted him up.

At that moment, Utsumi Toshio's arm veins bulged, his eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at the man, and he let out a suppressed growl.

"Damn it! Are you trying to abandon your superiors and run away?! Huh!? Believe me or not, I'll kill you right here and now!!!"

The guard captain, who had been somewhat indignant when Qing rejected him, was now silent as a cicada in winter, not daring to utter another word.

When the others saw that Utsumi Toshio had even taken out kunai, they quickly stepped forward to stop him, lest he do something foolish.

At this moment, Kono stepped forward, snatched the kunai from Utsumi Toshio's hand, and pushed the guard captain aside.

He also patted Toshio Utsumi on the shoulder and offered words of comfort.

"Captain Jianchuan will definitely be fine. If you cause trouble here, won't the captain have to clean up your mess when he gets back?"

"Furthermore, the Konoha ninja we captured a couple of days ago said that the Yellow Flash didn't catch the captain. The captain is usually so cautious; he's probably hiding somewhere recovering from his injuries right now."

With Captain Kono stepping in to ease the tension, the atmosphere among the group improved somewhat.

However, the problem remains unresolved.

Qing's brows furrowed tightly, and she sighed helplessly.

He didn't think that Tachibana Kenkawa would die in battle or be captured by Konoha.

It wasn't just because of the words of the captured Konoha ninja, who was just an ordinary ninja and whose information wasn't very valuable.

Rather, it's because Qing has been Jianchuan Tachibana's teacher for so long that he has a fairly deep understanding of this kid.

In Qing's mind, with all the various life-saving methods developed by Jianchuan Ju, it was impossible for him to be defeated so quietly, even if his opponent was the Yellow Flash, which he himself could not handle.

Smoothing her brows again, Ao looked at Kono and asked.

"Hasn't Jonin Hoshigaki returned yet?"

When asked the question, Kono simply nodded somewhat helplessly without saying anything more.

However, the others understood what he meant.

Since the mission began two days ago, Kisame Hoshigaki, Mei Terumi, and Zabuza Momochi have not returned to the ship.

After Jianchuan Ju stopped the pursuers for them, he flew off to lead the air force troops, originally intending for Qing and the others to retreat directly back to the ship.

However, after a brief hesitation, the group decided to return to provide cover.

At that time, the mission was basically doomed to failure due to intelligence errors, so everyone felt there was no need to continue with the previous plan.

However, there is a difference between those that run on the ground and those that fly in the sky, and the battle between Tachibana Kanagawa and Minato Namikaze did not last long.

By the time the four of them approached the battle location, it was already Luo Sha's turn to appear, and the group was almost caught in the 'Golden Sand Burial'.

However, the group witnessed the entire battle between Konoha and Sunagakure, and only learned about Tachibana Kanagawa's situation after they reunited with the Air Force squad, who had lost their flight equipment.

Kisame Hoshigaki and his two companions immediately began searching for Tachibana Kenkawa, and they have been doing so ever since.

Ao had no choice but to return to the ship to take command in place of Kenkawa Tachibana.

"I heard that Jonin Kisame Hoshigaki has killed quite a few Konoha and Sunagakure ninjas in the past two days."

"After all, he's the Flounder Master."

Several members of the air force were whispering among themselves.

Kisame Hoshigaki's actions and demonstrated strength over the past two days have earned him the approval of his subordinates, including Tachibana Kanagawa.

"Whoosh—"

A massive blue blade of light slashed through, cutting the Sand Village Puppet Master and his puppet in two.

Meanwhile, Zabuza, who had also defeated his opponent, looked enviously at the flounder in Kisame's hand.

Mei Terumi also ran over from a distance.

"Kisame-senpai, the escaped ninja has also been dealt with."

Kisame Hoshigaki nodded upon hearing this and silently hung the twin swords Hiramekarei back on his back.

The three of them did not intend to fight, but there were simply too many teams from Konoha and Sunagakure on this battlefield. In order to avoid being surrounded and attacked, they had no choice but to eliminate all the enemies they encountered.

Zabuza, who was standing to the side, sheathed his 'Short Sword *Sewing Needle' and took out a rolled-up map as he walked over.

"We've already searched these places. This area ahead is quite secluded; that guy Tachibana might be there."

However, before Zabuza could finish speaking, a blue figure quickly swept past in the distance.

"Blue Boy!"

(End of this chapter)