Mizukage's Pokémon Ninja Scroll

Chapter 244 Let's see when they arrive!

What Jianchuan Ju said about recruiting was not a lie.

Although she wanted to kill with every move during the fight, if she had the chance to subdue Kakuzu, Tachibana would actually like to test whether her "money power" could impress him.

After all, the two didn't really have any grudges against each other; the profession of bounty hunter was at most just a tool for the enemy.

Moreover, Kakuzu is known for his love of money. At worst, Tachibana Kenkawa can make Kakuzu her manager and manage her money.

Give Kakuzu's agent a bigger commission.

Isn't this much more cost-effective than saving up your whole life's money to fry up Xiao Nan for fun?

"Don't even mention 600 billion explosive tags! Even 60 million would be enough for the Sky Division to flatten Konoha countless times!"

Thinking of this, Tachibana Kanagawa began to feel sorry for Kakuzu.

Unfortunately, his own terrible "ice prison" was still just a rudimentary form of ninjutsu and was not yet perfected.

The "Water Prison Technique" was originally intended to be used as a defensive ninjutsu in conjunction with Zabuza and Mei Terumi as a team combo technique.

At that time, my strength was relatively low, and I didn't know many ninjutsu. The water prison, with its all-around buffer, was very suitable for resisting splash damage.

Later, as Jianchuan Ju's strength gradually increased, the enemies she faced also became stronger, and the water prison's defenses became insufficient.

Most of the attacks Jianchuan Ju either chooses to withstand with "Feather Perch" or dodge them in advance by using the "Danger Foresight" warning.

Furthermore, after learning the ninjutsu "Water Release: Water Wall" from Ao, the defensive power of the Water Prison Technique became even more useless.

However, the "Water Wall" taught by Ao can only defend one side. Tachibana Kenkawa has studied it for a long time but has not been able to achieve the level of the "Second Mizukage" Tobirama Senju, which surrounds the whole body. Therefore, it is not very useful for Tachibana Kenkawa.

What Tachibana Kenkawa wanted was a defensive ninjutsu that could withstand wide-range attacks from all directions when it was impossible to dodge or it was not suitable to take the hit head-on.

Until recently, after fusing the Ice Release bloodline limit, Tachibana Kenkawa still hadn't been able to draw any defensive ninjutsu, so he picked up the Water Prison technique again.

However, the idea envisioned by Jianchuan Ju—a thick outer layer of ice to withstand damage, flowing water inside to mitigate impact, and the ability to be firmly fixed to the ground—is quite challenging for a single person, resulting in very slow development progress.

In the end, they managed to produce this half-finished product that somewhat resembled a combination ninjutsu.

If we hadn't been so close to the explosion's epicenter today, the 'Water Wall' definitely wouldn't have been able to withstand the blast, and Tachibana Kanagawa wouldn't have released it so rashly.

As a result, he survived the explosion, which was comparable to the power of a full-power "egg bomb," without getting hurt. However, he was blown so far away that when he returned, Kakuzu had already disappeared.

"Alas, the task ahead is arduous and the road is long."

"However, perhaps we could consider a form like the wooden ingot wall of Yamato?"

Kenkawa Tachibana thought to himself.

However, Tachibana Kanakawa's contemplation on ninjutsu development didn't last long, as the person he was waiting for finally arrived.

"Sizzle—sizzle—"

"Swish—swish swish—"

A familiar voice rang out in the air.

Then, a dozen or so Sky ninjas circled half a circle in the air before immediately slowing down and landing in front of Kenkawa Tachibana.

"team leader!"

"Captain Jianchuan!"

A jumble of sounds rose and fell.

The leader was Kono, who was temporarily in charge of the second squad of the air force in place of Tachibana Kenkawa.

Kono first looked at the tattered clothes on Tachibana Kenkawa's body, then at the wrecked battlefield that had clearly just been through a major battle and the huge hole in the beach, before cautiously asking the question.

"Captain, what happened?"

As he spoke, Kono was about to unfasten his gear and hand his clothes to Tachibana Kenkawa.

But at that moment, Lanzi appeared next to Jianchuan Ju with a "bang," holding a new set of clothes in his arms.

Ignoring Kono's question, Tachibana Kanakawa first tore her tattered shirt to shreds, and then started putting on her coat on her own.

This caused several female team members to blush and stare intently with wide eyes.

The battle-damaged black trousers, paired with a brand-new blue shirt, and the surrounding devastated battlefield.

It gave Jianchuan Ju a graceful yet somewhat sinister air.

While changing clothes, Tachibana Kenkawa casually asked Kono.

"Is our squad responsible for patrolling the border of the Land of Fire today?"

Since the village established the policy of air force deterrence, the air force ninjas not only regularly conduct full-scale military exercises near the Land of Fire, but also regularly send two detachments, one to the south and one to the north, to "patrol" the coastline of the Land of Fire, centered on Whirlpool Island.

It wasn't really for defense; the purpose was to put pressure on the Daimyo of the Land of Fire and thereby transfer that pressure to Konoha, thus increasing Kirigakure's bargaining power.

Kono realized that things might be more serious than he had imagined, and without thinking about his previous question, he immediately and honestly answered Tachibana Kenkawa's question.

"Captain, our squad is on rest today. The Third and Fourth Squads are responsible for patrolling the border of the Land of Fire, and this area falls under the patrol area of ​​the Fourth Squad."

After thinking for a moment, Kono added another explanation.

"The camp noticed the loud noise here, and since the fourth squad hadn't returned to report, they sent us to investigate, in case the fourth squad was attacked."

Kono's voice trailed off as he spoke, clearly indicating that he was also considering some unpleasant possibilities.

Upon hearing this, Jianchuan Ju breathed a slight sigh of relief.

When he saw that it was his own men who arrived first, for a fleeting moment, he genuinely doubted his suspicions. He feared that it turned out to be one of his own men pulling the strings, which would make him a truly disastrous squad leader.

As mentioned before, Uzushima Island is not far from the coastline of the Land of Fire.

Whether it was the "Steam*Shakugan Bomb" he released at the beginning or Kakuzu's fire-attribute Earth Grudge Fear self-destruction at the end, both were incredibly powerful.

It's not surprising that the sensory ninjas and even ordinary guards at the camp noticed the commotion here.

Considering the time it took for Teacher Qing to arrange for people to be dispatched, arriving at this time is reasonable.

However, after hearing everything Kono said, Tachibana Kenkawa couldn't help but snort.

"Fourth Squad? They really are ingrained habits!"

Looking at his dozen or so subordinates, he casually pointed to a squad leader.

"Kita, take your squad and go back to command. We don't need any support here."

"Yes, Captain!"

The squad leader, named Xitian, immediately accepted the order and led his men to take off and return to base.

Jianchuan Ju then looked at the remaining team members and spoke.

"Since the fourth squad is in charge of patrolling this area, let's wait here."

"Let's see when they arrive!"

(End of this chapter)