Mizukage's Pokémon Ninja Scroll

Chapter 53 A Small Meeting on the Ship (Fourth Update! Please Subscribe!)

Tachibana gave Shimotsuki Ichiro an apologetic smile, then got up and went to open the door.

Outside the door stood Mei Terumi, looking somewhat anxious.

"What happened?"

Seeing that Mei Terumi's expression was a little off, Tachibana Kenkawa immediately became serious as well.

Mei Terumi glanced somewhat awkwardly at Shimotsuki Ichiro beside her.

"Teacher Qing asked us to come over; she has something to tell us."

"What about the mission to protect Mr. Shimotsuki?"

After all, he was the target of protection for this actual mission, and it wouldn't be good to always leave the old man alone.

However, Shimotsuki Ichiro, being a shrewd man who had lived to such an old age, could tell from Terumi Mei's expression that something important must have happened.

He laughed heartily and said it.

"It's alright, Tachibana boy, you go ahead. What danger could there be on the ship? I'll study this ninja tool here, and we'll talk again when you get back."

"Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Shuangyue. Lanzi, you stay here to protect Mr. Shuangyue's safety."

First, she apologized to Shimotsuki Ichiro, and then Tachibana Kanagawa gave Lanzi some instructions.

"Quack~ (v)"

The newly evolved Lan Zai is not weak in combat. On a passenger ship like this, even if they encounter danger, they can create some noise to delay until Jian Chuan Ju and the others arrive without any problem.

The old man just smiled when he heard this, not paying much attention. Instead, he waved to Lan Zai to show his affection.

However, when Jianchuan Ju stepped out of the cabin, it still excited the old man Shimotsuki.

"Mr. Shimotsuki, I will consider the weapon forging. You can use this time to think about the direction of your forging."

After saying that, she ignored Shimotsuki Ichiro's excited expression, closed the door, and followed Terumi Mei, who seemed a little anxious.

"What exactly happened?"

"Come in first and we'll talk."

Since the team members all bought tickets and boarded the ship together, their rooms were basically next to each other, and the two of them arrived at Qing's room in just a few steps.

When Tachibana Kenkawa entered the room, the first thing she looked at was not Ao and Zabuza, who were already seated, but rather the two small coffins standing in the corner of the room.

"Two perfectly healthy people have been sealed inside ninja tools for so many days, and Ao-sensei actually manages to sleep."

Upon seeing that Mei Terumi had brought Tachibana Kenkawa over, Aoya did not directly explain the situation.

Instead, he first habitually formed hand seals and released a sensory ninjutsu to ensure that no one else was eavesdropping on him.

Then he looked at his three disciples and spoke.

"Just now, I received intelligence from Shinobu Oogway of Yagura Karatachi. The Land of Water has officially declared war on the Land of Fire."

After speaking, Qing paused for a moment and looked at his disciples.

However, when Jianchuan Ju heard the news, her heart only beat a little faster, and she didn't have any other special reaction.

When I first learned that the Third Shinobi World War was about to begin, I was nervous and anxious for a long time.

However, Kirigakure has not formally intervened in the war for so long that its emotions have long since calmed down.

Hearing this news now feels like a weight has finally been lifted off my shoulders.

Zabuza, with his hands behind his head, spoke nonchalantly.

"The village has been preparing for war for two months, so it's not surprising that they're only now officially declaring war, is it?"

Hearing Zabuza's somewhat arrogant voice, Ao felt no displeasure, but rather a sense of relief.

After returning to the village, they might be directly assigned war missions. Qing's biggest worry is that his two disciples, who have just graduated and haven't even been out of school for a year, might have mental health issues.

However, seeing the condition of Tachibana and Zabuza, Ao was no longer worried and continued speaking.

"Jonin Karatachi's original intention was that if we hadn't completed our mission, we should return to the village as soon as possible. He probably didn't expect us to find our investigation target so quickly."

The group couldn't just disembark and run back to the village from the sea, especially since they had Shimotsuki Ichiro, a living person, to escort. So, the idea of ​​rushing back as soon as possible was just empty talk.

"So, will we be assigned war missions after we return to the village?"

Mei Terumi, who had been somewhat nervous from the beginning, asked the question.

This is also the issue that Tachibana Kenkawa is most concerned about. After all, the village can't send all the ninjas to the battlefield as soon as the war starts. It would be best if they could have more time to develop.

"It's still uncertain at the moment, but the first batch of troops to establish outposts may have already set off. Even if we receive war missions later, they will likely be independent missions in the form of small teams."

In fact, Qing didn't tell the whole truth.

Logically speaking, a newly promoted Jonin like Ao is not an important combat force and would not be specifically transferred away.

However, Ao is still a sensory ninja.

Unlike Konoha, Kirigakure has various sensory ninja clans such as Hyuga, Aburame, and Inuzuka, which can easily form a professional sensory team.

If the village really did need to relocate Qing to organize a perception unit, the squad would likely be disbanded. However, Qing didn't mention this possibility to avoid worrying his disciples.

As the disciple who had followed Qing the longest, Terumi Mei vaguely guessed what was going on, but after thinking it over, she chose to remain silent.

However, since participating in the war was something that happened after returning to the village, Qing decided to change the subject.

"There's one more thing I wanted to ask you to come here for. I've already sent the general information from this investigation back to Jonin Karatachi through Ninjaguar. I wasn't originally planning to tell you which specific clan was involved in the smuggling."

"Captain Qing is probably worried that we'll get involved in the village's internal conflicts," Jianchuan Ju chimed in at the opportune moment.

"Yes, but considering you might need to be more careful later, I've decided to give you this reminder anyway."

At this point, Qing rubbed his temples, his voice becoming slightly lower.

"The ledger records that both the Yuki clan and the Tai Dun clan were involved in smuggling. However, it's still uncertain which clan was responsible for training the pirates."

"The Snow Clan, perhaps?"

Jianchuan Ju was slightly surprised. He didn't have much of an impression of the Tai Dun family, but the Yuki clan was a famous Kirigakure bloodline family.

Because the character of Haku, who is a member of the Yuki clan, is very likable in the original work, Tachibana Kanagawa has a certain bias towards this family.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. How could everyone in such a large ninja clan be as pure and innocent as snow, like Haku?

Zabuza probably didn't have a good impression of these ninja clans because of Yagura Karatachi. He sneered and said.

"They'd better not even think about doing anything underhanded!"

Qing didn't refute anything; he was telling his disciples these things to remind them to be careful.

Things are fine within Kirigakure, but on the battlefield, attacks don't necessarily come from the front.

"In short, you need to be extra careful from now on."

The three, including Jianchuan Ju, nodded in agreement.

(End of this chapter)