Mizukage's Pokémon Ninja Scroll

Chapter 56 Young People (Second Update! Please Subscribe!)

The four members of the Qing team were naturally unaware that just a short time ago, the village's higher-ups were discussing what they had done.

Jianchuan Ju and the other two had just finished handing over their tasks when they hurriedly headed home.

There was no other way; the continuous battles and sea voyages of this mission were simply too exhausting, and everyone was looking forward to getting some rest.

Qing smiled as he saw off his three disciples. He was about to go alone to hand over the evidence he had collected to Yagura Karatachi, thus completing the mission successfully.

Unexpectedly, two members of the Dark Guard suddenly teleported in front of Qing.

This sudden appearance almost gave Qing a stress reaction.

Fortunately, after regaining his senses, he realized that he was in Kirigakure, not even far from the Mizukage Building, and that it was impossible for anyone to impersonate an Anbu and attack him here. Only then did Ao lower his guard and examine the two Anbu members.

"Blue Jonin, the Mizukage requests your presence."

Another ANBU member glanced at the two coffin-like ninja tools on Ao's back and spoke.

"Furthermore, Lord Mizukage has ordered that these two prisoners be handed over to us."

Without any hesitation, Qing readily placed the coffin on the ground.

The two secret agents silently carried the coffin on their backs and, without pausing, disappeared again in an instant.

"Hmm, that's more like the way the Anbu does it."

Qing nodded in a seemingly serious manner, but then he remembered that the Mizukage had summoned him at this time and had the Anbu take away Bao Gui and Cai Que.

It must be related to the matter that Yagura entrusted to him.

However, Ao didn't have much to be nervous about, since his team was just following the instructions of the Jonin squad leader to investigate.

As for whether the Mizukage had said that investigations were prohibited due to the approaching war, how could a newly promoted ordinary Jonin know so much inside information?

With that thought in mind, Qing didn't hesitate and turned back to the Water Shadow Building.

"Thump~ thump~ thump~"

"Please come in."

Elder Yuan's aged voice came from the Water Shadow's office.

As Qing pushed open the door, he saw the Third Mizukage looking out the window and Elder Yuan Shi working with his head down.

"Lord Mizukage, Elder Master Yuan."

Elder Yuan Shi spends most of his time working here, so Qing doesn't find it strange. It's actually a good thing for Qing to have Elder Yuan Shi here.

After greeting everyone, Qing stood obediently and waited for instructions.

Elder Yuan Shi looked at Qing gently and nodded.

"Ao, you did a great job this time. The Land of Water has now officially declared war on the Land of Fire. The information you brought back may help the village control some of the higher-ups in other ninja villages."

"Thank you for your praise, Elder."

Elder Yuanshi's words made no mistake. After all, the smuggled ninja tools from the Land of Craftsmen were not only sold to Kirigakure. More or less, families or organizations from the five great ninja villages had records in the Four Symbols Bureau's ledgers.

However, because the Kingdom of Crafts is located close to the Kingdoms of Water, Fire, and Thunder, and maritime smuggling is more convenient, it receives more orders from these three countries.

If Kirigakure has this evidence, whether through threats or deals, they might actually be able to plant some spies in other villages.

For example, the "Kage" who doesn't want to reveal his name, as recorded in the ledger, probably wouldn't mind making some kind of deal with the Land of Water.

Even if these people ultimately reject Kirigakure's offer firmly, they can at least release evidence at a crucial moment, causing some turmoil within other ninja villages.

However, Qing subconsciously touched the account book in her arms.

"Should I remind Elder Yuan that I haven't submitted the evidence yet?"

In her heart, Qing cursed Yagura for being unreliable, as she had only ever passed on detailed mission information to him through Ninjao.

It now seems that the Water Shadow and Elder Yuan Shi know more about this mission than he does.

It couldn't possibly be that our own three genin reported this matter to the village's higher-ups.

Just as Qing was still hesitating about whether to quickly take out the account book...

The Third Mizukage also turned around and looked at Ao with a calm expression.

"Blue Jonin, in light of your performance this time, the village has decided to appoint you as the vice-leader of the Sensory Team. What do you think about that?"

Upon hearing this, Qing's heart skipped a beat, and she spoke cautiously.

"Lord Mizukage, if I were to become the vice-class leader, would my squad need to be disbanded?"

"You seem to care a lot about your teammates?"

Although the Third Mizukage Aokiji raised a question, he didn't seem angry, so Aokiji gritted his teeth and continued.

"My team members are all very talented young people, but Mei Terumi is not yet qualified to be a Chunin captain, and Zabuza Momochi and Tachibana Kenkawa have only recently become Genin. I am worried that changing the team leader at this time will affect their future development."

For some reason, Elder Yuanshi suddenly burst out laughing after hearing Qing's words, and even the Third Mizukage, who had been expressionless before, now had a slight upturn at the corner of his mouth.

The Third Mizukage coughed twice and looked at Ao.

"Alright, then you will continue to be the captain of these three young people." When she said this, the Mizukage emphasized the words "young people".

"As for the work of the perception team, you will need to balance your time yourself. However, the village should send another batch of perception teams to the front line in a while. Whether or not to take them to the battlefield is up to you as the captain."

"Thank you, Lord Mizukage." Ao accepted the appointment with great gratitude.

"As for your three teammates, they will each be rewarded with a C-rank ninjutsu this time. Take them to the Merit Hall to choose one when you have time."

After Elder Yuan finished speaking, he signaled that Qing could leave.

Ao didn't care much about so-called C-rank ninjutsu, as he already possessed quite a few ninjutsu himself. Furthermore, he had already accepted the three boys as his disciples, so he would naturally teach them some basic ninjutsu of this kind.

Seeing Qing respectfully leave, Elder Yuanshi nodded slightly to the Third Mizukage before resuming his work.

It seemed that because the war had been brought up, the Third Mizukage also wanted to discuss the situation at the front with Elder Genji again.

"What's Konoha's reaction right now?"

Elder Yuanshi answered without the slightest hesitation.

"We haven't dispatched a large force to the Land of Fire's border yet; the existing garrison is still holding us off. However, several attempts to spy on the frontline camp have been thwarted by Suigetsu Hobutsuki and his crew."

"At present, Suigetsu Hobuki and Kushimaru Kurishari are still setting up a front-line camp at the old site of the Land of Whirlpools, while Kurosuki Raiga and Nakayoshi are leading small units to scout the terrain and intelligence along the coast of the Land of Fire as planned."

The Third Mizukage pondered for a moment.

Everything seems to be going according to plan, except that Kirigakure did not expect Konoha to react so slowly.

Logically speaking, only Sunagakure is currently engaged in a full-scale war with Konoha. Iwagakure is only in the early stages of contact and probing, and Kumogakure hasn't even officially entered the fray yet. It's impossible for Konoha to be unable to spare any troops to defend Kirigakure.

It's as if they've determined that Kirigakure won't impulsively invade the Land of Fire.

If they had known this would happen, Kirigakure might have established their frontline camp directly on the Land of Fire's mainland.

"Let's proceed as planned. The island of Whirlpool Country is close enough to the mainland, giving us room for both defense and offense."

After careful consideration, the Third Mizukage did not make any changes to the plan.

After all, the Land of Water did not participate in the Second Shinobi World War.

Although we have never relaxed our intelligence on the Land of Fire, we still need to investigate it more thoroughly before the battle.

Furthermore, the Third Mizukage did not want to launch a large-scale offensive too early. Declaring war so early was more about showing his stance and enticing the other villages to send more troops to the Land of Fire.

However, if a large-scale invasion of the Land of Fire were launched at the beginning of the war, attracting Konoha to send more ninjas to defend Kirigakure, it would only benefit Kumogakure and Iwagakure.

"However, if Konoha continues with this attitude, then let Suigetsu's side not be polite to them either."

As he said this, a hint of cruelty flashed in the Third Mizukage's eyes.

(End of this chapter)