Mizukage's Pokémon Ninja Scroll

Chapter 45 Defining the Goal

"Walk!"

After Zabuza jumped onto the wall with Tachibana, he subconsciously looked back at the spot where the two had been hiding.

Just then, three strangely shaped ninja tools flew out of the window.

The three ninja tools landed precisely on three points at the same time, forming a triangular formation that surrounded the location where the two people had just been.

The next instant, a violent explosion, accompanied by a heat wave, surged toward the center of the triangle.

Zabuza could even imagine that if Tachibana hadn't pulled him away, the two of them might be seriously injured by now.

Even more incredibly, this seemingly powerful explosion did not leak any energy; the flames, sounds, and even the shockwave were all firmly contained within a triangular area.

Even the lawn next to it was only slightly yellowed from the heat and was not destroyed by the explosion.

When Jianchuan Ju turned around and saw the same scene, her eyes were filled with disbelief, and she said subconsciously.

"Holy crap! Claymore mines!"

Although the reason why the explosion was contained within a fixed area was unknown, a cold sweat still broke out on Tachibana Kanagawa's back when he saw the ground that had been blown beyond recognition.

There was no time to think further; the "danger warning" was far from over.

Tachibana Kanagawa, clinging tightly to Zabuza, jumped off the wall again and ran towards the outside of the workshop.

Just as the two left the wall, the tall, thin man, wielding a black longsword, darted out of the window.

He swung his longsword with one hand, and scorching flames shot out from the tip of the sword, like a burning fire dragon soaring into the sky, leaving behind only suffocating, scorched air in its wake.

Seeing the courtyard wall charred after being attacked by the fire dragon, the two immediately stopped hesitating and ran into the mist, leaving without hesitation.

The tall, thin young man did not continue the pursuit. He simply stood in the workshop's courtyard, looking thoughtfully at the section of the wall he had attacked and burned.

Only then did Caique emerge from the house carrying a pair of long swords.

"Bao Gui, aren't you going to chase him anymore?"

"There's no need. They only have two children; I'm worried it might be a trap."

Cai Que thought for a moment, then stopped dwelling on the question and asked a different question.

"Two children? Did you get a good look at their faces?"

"No, I only saw two kids around ten years old from behind, but one of them was a white-haired kid carrying a short sword."

That's right. Because Ao reminded the two to disguise themselves before setting off, Tachibana Kanagawa, who was full of tricks, directly persuaded Zabuza to use the Transformation Jutsu to transform into Kakashi Hatake and Obito Uchiha respectively.

When Caique heard Bao Gui mention the white-haired dagger, her pupils constricted sharply, and she spoke in a gloomy tone.

"Could it be one of those Konoha ninjas? I remember one of the kids had white hair and carried a short sword."

"It's possible. Perhaps their so-called antique appraisal in that letter was just a cover."

Bao Gui recalled that the two of them had just been discussing the Water Gate Squad's letters and had almost been tricked, and a sinister glint appeared in his eyes.

"We need to find an opportunity to get rid of them. Konoha is currently at war, so no one will pay attention to them."

"Unfortunately, the conditions for resurrecting the Qingming Ancestor have not yet been met, otherwise it might be the perfect time to declare war on the five despicable nations."

The mission was now complete. Considering it was the first time he had taken his disciples abroad, Minato planned to stay a few more days to broaden their horizons. Little did he know that a strange accusation had been leveled against them.

And there are two ignorant frogs in a well who are looking for an opportunity to kill them.

Of course, even if he knew, Minato probably wouldn't care too much about such a bumbling Tom, Dick, or Harry.

On the other side, after running for a while, Tachibana Kenkawa saw that no enemies were chasing him and gradually slowed down.

Tachibana Kanagawa stopped and grabbed Zabuza, who was about to jump onto the next rooftop.

"Alright, no need to take the detour anymore, no one's following us."

Now that he was out of combat, Zabuza finally had time to think. He thought about how Tachibana had twice pulled him out of the enemy's attack range ahead of time, and a little gratitude rose in his heart.

However, recalling the meaningful look he gave his teammate by the window earlier, he looked at him with a strange expression.

"Why did you attack just now?"

Tachibana was caught off guard by Zabuza's sudden question.

"When did I say I was going to take action??"

"There was no sound from inside before. Didn't you signal to us with your eyes that we should go in and catch those two?"

It was only then that Tachibana Kenkawa realized why this guy was preparing to retreat and had even drawn his short sword.

"That was a retreating look! Would someone with a captivating look turn their head away?"

Zabuza was speechless.

"Well, how about using tactical hand signals next time? Besides, there are only two of them, so there's no need for us to retreat."

Just as Jianchuan Ju was about to explain, a voice interrupted their friendly discussion.

"What are you doing?"

In the misty, dark night, a voice suddenly rang out in the deserted alley, startling the two men so much that they instantly drew their weapons and assumed defensive stances. Even Lanzi ripped a piece of foam from his neck in preparation for an attack.

However, after seeing who it was, the two breathed a sigh of relief.

"Teacher Qing, you're going to scare people to death."

"I saw what looked like fire over Sixiangfang, so I rushed over. It seems you were the ones who made the commotion."

Just as Jianchuan Ju was about to ask Qing how he found them, she realized that as a sensory-type Jonin, it would be a piece of cake for Qing to find them in such a small village.

Seeing that neither of them spoke, Qing decided not to waste any more time and spoke directly.

"Let's go back to the hotel first. There's no need for me to investigate anymore."

Tachibana and Zabuza exchanged a glance, but didn't ask any more questions. They gathered chakra in their feet and followed closely behind Ao.

Back at the hotel, Tachibana Kenkawa told Ao and Mei Terumi everything that had happened to her that night.

"It's now almost certain that the smuggling operation was orchestrated by the Four Symbols Bureau, and the leader of the Takumi Ninja Village is likely under their control."

After listening to Tachibana's story, Ao wasn't surprised; he simply nodded and continued.

"It's alright. It's enough to identify who the smugglers are. The next step is to find out who in the Land of Water is trading with them. The internal strife in Takumi Ninja Village is none of our business. We just need to report back to the village when we get back."

After thinking for a moment, Jianchuan Ju felt that Qing was right. However, he felt that given the current situation, the group might not be able to escape the turmoil caused by the Takumi Ninja Village.

"Today, Tachibana and Zabuza have already alerted them. Will this make them wary?"

Mei Terumi said with some concern.

"Tachibana said that their appearance was not seen, so there is no big problem. We just need ledgers, letters or order information to confirm which family is trading with them. After all, the person who issued this mission was Yagura Tachibana."

Tachibana Kanagawa completely agreed with Ao's words. The Land of Water could be involved in the Third Shinobi World War at any time, and if they made too much of a commotion while carrying out such a private mission abroad, they wouldn't have a good time when they returned to the village.

"Captain Qing, what did you find out during your investigation at their leader's house?"

Although the smugglers had been identified, Zabuza still casually asked Ao about it.

However, a strange expression appeared on Qing's face.

"There is no one in the village chief's house."

(End of this chapter)