Mizukage's Pokémon Ninja Scroll

Chapter 446 The Stubborn Mei Terumi

When asked by Jianchuan Ju, Qing only paused for a moment before replying immediately.

"The Jonin Hozuki recently went out on a mission with Mei and Zabuza."

Upon hearing this combination, Tachibana Kanagawa knew exactly what was going on without Ao continuing. She asked with great certainty.

"The three of them took on another mission at sea, right?"

"Uh, yes, this time it's about catching rare marine fish."

Ao's gaze was slightly unfocused, as if she dared not look directly into Kenkawa Tachibana's eyes.

When Jianchuan Ju heard the details of the mission, she became even angrier.

"An elite Jonin, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and two elite Chunin with near-Jonin strength—this combination is going to fish at sea? Does the village already have that many people on its hands?!"

Hearing Tachibana Kanagawa get angry, even Ao, who was a teacher, shrank back and could only explain in a low voice.

"It's a rare sea fish, and it's a reward for a Rank B mission."

Seeing Qing's cautious explanation, Jianchuan Ju suppressed the urge to roll her eyes, took a deep breath, and calmed herself down.

It's no wonder he got angry.

This story begins when Hozuki Shingetsu reported to him about the mysterious disappearance of the pirates.

After Hozuki Shingetsu reported the matter, Kenkawa Tachibana assigned him to lead a team to investigate the incident in the waters surrounding Sea Mist Castle.

However, their investigation yielded no results for some time afterward.

Post-war Kirigakure was undergoing rapid development and reform, and was in dire need of manpower everywhere.

Kirigakure wasn't wealthy enough to allow dozens of ninjas to wander aimlessly at sea conducting investigations.

Moreover, in the end, pirates are not something that Kirigakure should pay too much attention to.

Tachibana Kanagawa simply called off the investigation, allowing all the ninjas involved to return to their original posts.

However, perhaps Hozuki Shingetsu did have doubts about this very strange matter, or perhaps it was out of youthful stubbornness.

After that, the Hozuki Crescent Squad deliberately chose to conduct their investigations in the vicinity of this sea area or in the vicinity of Sea Mist City for several missions.

At first, Tachibana Kenkawa didn't notice this.

After all, Sea Mist City is quite prosperous nowadays, and it is closely related to Mist Village, so there are indeed quite a few missions related to this place.

However, after doing this so many times, it was inevitable that Tachibana Kenkawa would discover something amiss.

However, the three of them were quite capable, and even though they only took on those tasks casually, they still achieved a 100% completion rate.

As the Mizukage, Tachibana Kanagawa couldn't interfere too much with his subordinates' overtime work.

He only found out later when Zabuza came to him on his own initiative.

Hozuki Shingetsu was genuinely suspicious about the disappearance of the pirates, which is why he decided to investigate the matter as well.

However, he wasn't too fixated on it, and if someone had given him some advice, he might not have clung to this trivial matter.

However, Mei Terumi and Zabuza were fixated on this matter.

Actually, it's because Mei Terumi had made a decision before.

After completing this mission, they applied together to join the Shadow Guard directly under his command, and returned to his side to fight alongside him.

However, before the investigation could yield any results, the mission was abruptly halted.

This left Mei Terumi, who was already feeling rather awkward, somewhat bewildered, as if it were fate.

After that, the group fell into a strange cycle.

The more unsuccessful the investigation, the deeper the obsession becomes.

The deeper the obsession, the more one wants to find out the truth.

After several missions, the three of them had almost drawn a complete nautical chart of all the islands, large and small, in the waters near Seamist City.

Several pirate hideouts that mysteriously disappeared have been discovered, but the truth has yet to be revealed.

That's why Zabuza, who was the most rational of the three, came forward to explain the matter to Tachibana.

However, Tachibana Kanagawa did not expect that he had just arranged for the three of them to rest for a while.

The three then went off to sea to carry out another mission.

However, now that they've already run away, it's impossible for Jianchuan Ju to send another team to bring them back.

Reluctantly, he had no choice but to entrust the task of bringing Karin back from Kusagakure to someone else.

"Raiga and Harpoon accompanied Nagato on his mission to Amegakure. Kisame is coming to Mist Castle to assist with security."

"Teacher Ao definitely can't leave the village casually, and Kushimaru Kurihara also has to take charge of the Anbu's operations."

"It seems that only Juzo Biwa is relatively free among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen."

Thinking of this, Jianchuan Ju immediately had an idea.

Juzo Biwa, carrying a large cleaver and baring his sharp teeth, smiled at the one-year-old Karin.

"Come on, Uncle will take you away!"

"No, no."

Kanakawa Tachibana shook her head repeatedly.

If we were to send Juzo Biwa, Karin might develop a deep-seated fear of Kirigakure from a young age.

On the side of the bloodline families, there are still some skilled individuals.

However, Tachibana Kanagawa was still somewhat uneasy about sending these bloodline ninjas to bring Karin, a descendant of the Uzumaki clan, back to the village.

For an ordinary Jonin.

After all, Kusagakure still has some strength, and if something goes wrong, it will only add unnecessary trouble.

"Sigh, we still don't have enough high-end combat power!"

Thinking of this, Jianchuan Ju stopped worrying and said to Qing.

"Xinyue and the other two are back from their mission. Tell them not to go anywhere and to notify me immediately!"

Kanagawa Tachibana thought that since Kusagakure didn't know what he was thinking for the time being, it wouldn't matter if he brought Karin back later.

It wouldn't be bad if, after Nagato's operation is over, he, as a descendant of the Uzumaki clan, could pick up Karin on his way.

After receiving Ao's affirmative reply, Jianchuan Ju briefly discussed some routine matters with the two of them before ending the call.

After that, Tachibana Kenkawa also contacted Nagato.

However, he's currently spending his days in Amegakure, helping Yahiko with government affairs, and seems to have forgotten all about home.

Tachibana Kenkawa simply reconfirmed the upcoming schedule with him and the matter of Yahiko leading a team to Sea Mist City for the third exam, and then stopped bothering the two of them.

Regarding the future policies for the Land of Rain that I had previously discussed with Konan, I, Tachibana, still plan to discuss them with Yahiko in person after he arrives.

After dealing with all the trivial matters, Jianchuan Ju finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

He didn't leave the secret room immediately afterward; instead, he left behind a clone while his main body entered the 'secret space'.

Lanzai is still giving the three little ones and Honglian special pre-exam training at the Sea Fog City training ground.

While the little frog was away, Jianchuan Ju went up and rubbed the head of the sleeping Xiao Ji for a while, hoping to share in the good fortune.

Only then, under Pokobi's resentful gaze, did he open his system panel.

"I'll do my last three 10-pulls in the water-themed prize pool. Hopefully, I'll get a gold item. I'll also check if there are any suitable new skills. This time before exams is perfect for those three kids to study, so it's a small help from their teacher."

(End of this chapter)