Naruto: I'm Not a Pokémon

Mei Terumi felt a little sorry for the situation and said, "Since the pirates specifically kidnapped children, there must be a reason. They wouldn't kill them so quickly. If we find the pirates' lair, maybe we can rescue these children."

"The prerequisite is to find the pirates' lair." Jianchuan Ju also reminded Terumi Mei in time.

However, the man named Hugo said weakly at this time: "I may know where the pirates' lair is."

Chapter 22 Apple Village

After Mr. Hugo's introduction, everyone knew the details of the cause of the incident.

Apple Village is an ordinary small village on the southern edge of the main island of the Land of Water, close to the mainland of the Land of Fire. Although it is located on the seashore, the terrain is not suitable for building a port, and the land route outside the village is not smooth due to the complex terrain.

The complex terrain has resulted in an underdeveloped economy in the village, but thanks to this environment, the small Apple Village has never been visited by the rampant pirates around the Water Kingdom.

However, just a dozen days ago, fishermen from the village found a merchant ship that had run aground on a reef. Out of kindness, the villagers spent a lot of effort to save the merchant ship, and fortunately there were no casualties on the merchant ship.

In this way, the merchant ship repaired in Apple Village for several days, and the villagers also learned that the merchant was an arms merchant from the Country of Craftsmen.

However, when the villagers asked the merchant where in the Water Kingdom he was going to trade, the merchant hesitated and evaded the question. The villagers thought that the merchant wanted to protect his business secrets and did not ask any more questions.

Afterwards, the merchant ship was finally repaired with the help of the villagers, and the merchant said goodbye and left. Before leaving, he left some money and several weapons to thank the villagers for their help.

However, because this ordinary small village was not accurately marked on the map and the villagers had no geographical knowledge, the merchant asked the local fishermen in detail about the conditions of the surrounding sea areas before leaving.

"The businessman specifically asked us about the islands to our east and described the characteristics of a certain island. Only one elderly fisherman in our village said he had seen the island from afar."

Hugo emphasized this point: "Later, the village chief said that the nearest port from River Country to Water Country is to the west of the village. It is precisely because of the existence of that port that few people come to the village."

"So, when that merchant ship left, it headed for the small island in the east, right?" Upon hearing this, Jianchuan Ju also guessed at the right time.

"Yes, the village chief said at the time that this businessman probably wasn't doing any legitimate business." Hugo also confirmed Jianchuan Ju's guess.

"A few days after the merchant left, pirates came to attack our village. The only people who escaped were those who went out to sea to fish and some old, weak, women and children who hid in the mountains." When he said this, Hugo's eyes were already moist.

"There is nothing valuable in our village, but those pirates not only robbed money, but also robbed children. My daughter was also kidnapped by pirates."

"That merchant must have made a deal with the pirates and sold the location of our village to them. The survivors in the village said that the weapons of those pirates were exactly the same as those on the merchant's ship!"

"Maybe it's just that merchant ship was unlucky and was robbed by pirates?" Although Zabuza saw that Hugo was a little emotionally unstable, he still asked directly.

After hearing what Zabuza said, Jianchuan Ju thought for a moment and then refuted, "It shouldn't be possible. First of all, the merchant's target is clearly an overseas island. And if they were robbed by pirates, the victims usually wouldn't specifically mention a remote village with little money, not to mention that this village has done him a favor."

Jianchuan Ju touched his chin and thought that the merchant ship Hugo was talking about should be the one going to trade with pirates.

"Yes, everyone in the village thinks so."

"In that case, let's set off. It's always better to have a target than to search aimlessly on the sea." Seeing that she had almost all the intelligence, Mei Terumi decided to set off as soon as possible.

However, Jianchuan Ju still asked Hugo one more question: "Can the people in your village still find the location of that island?"

"It's no problem. Most of the fishermen and fishing boats in the village are still there. Although no one has been to the island, it's easy to find if you know its approximate location."

In the end, everyone decided not to take Hugo with them and go directly to Apple Village.

After all, it's not an escort mission. Hugo also said that there are other people in the village who can lead the way. Rescue missions still require speed, and bringing an ordinary person along will definitely greatly slow down the progress.

Qing Ze did not interrupt from beginning to end, but silently watched his disciples make preparations before the mission.

A day later, the Qing team traveled day and night to reach Apple Village.

Although the buildings in the village looked relatively intact, they were obviously repaired everywhere, and there were still some unwashed bloodstains on the streets. There were almost no pedestrians walking on the streets in the whole village, and the one or two passers-by in cloth clothes looked at everyone with numbness and a hint of vigilance.

Just by looking at the dilapidated village in front of us, we can already imagine the devastation this remote little village has suffered.

However, since they had already arrived here overnight, there was no point in delaying any longer.

Mei Terumi signaled to Tachibana Kanegawa with her eyes.

Jianchuan Ju understood and stepped forward to stop a middle-aged man, and asked, "We are the ninjas from the Hidden Mist Village who have received a mission to rescue the captives. May I ask where the village chief's house is?"

When he heard this, the numb-looking middle-aged man seemed to have a little light in his eyes, and then quickly fell into sadness again.

"The village chief has been killed by pirates. His son Daz is in charge now. I will take you to find him."

Having said that, the middle-aged man turned around and led the way.

Several people came to a relatively clean courtyard. Before they could speak, a sturdy young man wearing a bamboo hat walked out of the stone house.

When the young man went out, he was stunned for a moment when he saw so many strangers standing in the yard. However, he immediately realized what was happening when he saw the emblems of the Hidden Mist Village on several of them. He asked, "Are you the ninjas that Hugo invited?"

With the customs of the Water Country, no one anywhere would look down on ninjas because of their age, not to mention that there is Qing, an adult wearing a jonin vest, in charge.

This saved Jianchuan Ju and the other two a lot of trouble. After a brief introduction, everyone turned their attention to the young 'acting village chief'.

"Then let me be responsible for leading everyone to the island."

The young man named Daz looked at everyone with a determined expression.

The middle-aged man who was leading the Qing team seemed to be hesitant to speak after hearing what Daz said, but in the end he just sighed softly and didn't say anything else.

As if afraid that the ninjas might misunderstand him, Daz explained: "I am the best fisherman in our village. I am also very familiar with the nearby sea area. I can take you there by myself."

Mei Terumi said, "No problem. You just need to take us to the island. After we get to the island, you can return directly. After the mission is completed, we will bring the kidnapped children back to the village."

Mei Terumi seemed to be particularly sensible today, and even her usual tsundere tone was gone when she spoke.

Seeing the worries of the two ordinary people present, Jianchuan Ju also comforted them: "Don't worry, as ninjas, we have no problem dealing with ordinary pirates."

After that, Daz simply gave a brief explanation to the middle-aged man and led the four people out of the yard.

In this way, without disturbing other people in the village, the group came straight to the shore where several fishing boats were anchored.

It is probably because recently, people in the village have no mood to go fishing, so the fishing boats on the shore are just parked there in a lopsided manner.

Considering that this trip was for rescue and that Daz would return early, several people also helped to tow an empty ship together.

However, Jianchuan Ju, who came into close contact with the fishing boat, couldn't help but complain in his heart.

'These wooden fishing boats are all equipped with engines and propellers. Fortunately, no one thought of chasing pirates at sea. Could the pirates' ships be ironclad ships?'

Chapter 23 Emergency Situation

A group of five people took a fishing boat and arrived at an inconspicuous and nameless island under the cover of night.

However, before they got close, they could basically confirm that this was the place.

Because on this remote island that is not even marked on the map, there is a small camp built around a simple port.

There were flickering lights at the port, and several small boats were moored there. Deeper in the forest, there were all kinds of strange wooden and stone houses scattered in the sparse woods, and some figures could be vaguely seen walking around in the camp.

Fortunately, Daz's fishing boat was not very big. Seeing this, he began to slow down the speed of the fishing boat from a distance and spoke in a low voice.

"Master Ninja, the pirate ship doesn't seem to be here. Those who survived the previous pirate attack in the village said that the pirates were sailing a medium-sized sailing ship."

Naturally, several people also saw the situation at that port.

"It might be that a pirate ship has left. Judging from the architectural style, we should have found the right place." Jianchuan Ju frowned after he said this. It would be nice to say that the pirate ship had just left.

But if the pirates had looted Apple Village and never returned, it would undoubtedly be much more difficult for everyone to rescue the target of the mission.

After all, it has not been more than ten days since Apple Village was attacked, and the pirate ship is likely still sailing.

"Let's go to the island first. Mr. Daz, don't go close to the port. Go a little further east and find a more secluded place to dock. There are still pirates left on the island, so don't alarm them yet."

Perhaps he was worried that the three disciples were inexperienced and would affect the rescue. At this critical moment, Qing directly spoke up and made arrangements.

Although we have already made a certain assessment of the situation, the specific conditions of the camp and whether the mission target is on the island still require further investigation.

Since the leading jonin has already made arrangements, everyone will naturally have no objections.

Then Daz carefully turned the bow of the boat, tried to lower the noise of the engine as much as possible, and slowly drove the fishing boat towards a shallow beach in the blind spot on the east side of the port.

However, just as the boat was about to slowly approach the shore, the "danger premonition" in Jianchuan Ju's mind suddenly sent a rapid warning. The degree of danger was no less than the previous time when it was enveloped by the water waves of Terumi Mei.

Without any time to delay, Jianchuan Ju hurriedly said to Qing beside him: "Captain, there is danger, sense ninjutsu!"

At the same time, without waiting for the boat to stop, he immediately took out a kunai from the ninja tool bag and jumped directly onto the shore.

As a senior ninja who had experienced countless dangers, Qing naturally would not have any hesitation at this time.

After seeing Jianchuan Ju's series of abnormal behaviors, he closed his eyes, formed the "Wei" seal with one hand, and concentrated his mind, and began to perform perception ninjutsu.

Zabuza and Mei Terumi did not say anything when they saw this, but jumped off the boat in tacit understanding and formed a "卍" formation with Jianchuan Tachibana to protect the small boat behind them.

Faintly, an invisible ripple spread out from Qing's body to the surroundings.

The enemies hiding in the dark naturally noticed the alert posture of the three little ones and Qing who was performing perception ninjutsu.

Without waiting for Qing, who had already discovered their hiding place, to launch any attack, two masked ninjas walked out from behind a huge rock on the shallows.

Judging from their figures, they should be a man and a woman, both dressed as members of the Hidden Mist Village assassination team. They are wearing ANBU vests and cloaked masks on their faces, with the Hidden Mist Village logo printed between their eyebrows.

Only the Anbu of the Hidden Mist Village are so stupid that they would print the village logo on their masks, as if they were afraid that when they did something bad, others would not know which village did it.

The two men just walked out so openly, without any attacking gesture, and seemed to have no hostility at all.

However, Jianchuan Ju's mind still had the "danger foreboding" that did not stop, so he did not dare to relax.

The male ninja ignored the three little ones who were still on guard, and spoke directly to Qing. "Qing Jonin, we are carrying out an ANBU mission to search for a group of missing people from the Land of Water, and we do not want to conflict with you."

When they saw that the other party was dressed in ANBU attire and directly pointed out Qing's identity, they let down their guard a little, but still held their weapons tightly and waited for Qing's order.

After Qing pondered for a moment, he explained the situation.

"I am leading a team to carry out a C-rank mission. I do not intend to offend you, and it will not affect your mission."

After all, the Hidden Mist Village is not entirely harmonious, and Qing doesn't want to have any conflicts with these Anbu members during the mission.

The two ANBU members didn't seem to want to stay any longer, and didn't say anything after hearing that. They just glanced at the people, turned around without saying a word, and quickly left towards the back of the island.

Seeing the other party finally leave, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and put away their weapons.

The three little ones were still waiting for Qing's next order, but Qing stood there motionless with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Teacher Ao?" Mei Terumi called out after approaching Ao.

After being awakened by Mei Terumi, Qing spoke to everyone with a serious expression.

"Those two are not right. The Anbu will not casually tell others about the mission! And from what I perceive, the woman is the Jonin, but the one who spoke is a Chunin man!"

Seeing Qing raising doubts, and thinking of the previous crazy alarm of "Danger Prediction", Jianchuan Ju also became suspicious of the two people, and continued to speculate along the lines of Qing's words.

"There aren't many female jonin in the village. Maybe that jonin happened to be known by Qing-sensei, and she didn't want to be known by others when she spoke?"

"Fake ANBU?" Mei Terumi and Zabuza exclaimed in surprise.

Qing did not continue analyzing, but turned back to look at Daz, who still did not quite understand the situation.

"Mr. Daz, you should return to the village first. Leave the rescue to us. It's not safe to stay here."

"Then I'll trouble you all, ninja masters."

Daz also knew that he, an ordinary person, could not play any role here. He immediately untied the chain, left the empty ship behind, and returned alone.

When Qing saw Daz start the engine, he immediately stopped hesitating and ordered the three disciples: "Ming, you will lead the team to continue the mission. I will catch up with the two and confirm the situation."

"There won't be too many pirates left on the island. If the mission is completed, wait for me near the port. If there is any danger, fire flares in time."

"Yes, Captain." The three answered in unison.

After saying this, Qing was still a little worried and added another sentence.

"It doesn't matter if the target of the mission is not on the island. After you deal with the remaining pirates, I will consider how to find the pirate ship when I come back."

"Teacher Qing, don't worry. We can deal with these ordinary pirates." Mei Terumi frowned and said somewhat dissatisfiedly.

Seeing Mei Terumi speak confidently, Qing said no more.

He turned around and quickly chased in the direction the two men had just left.

Chapter 24 Let Them See Ninja

Looking at Qing's quickly leaving back.

Zabuza, who rarely showed concern for others, asked.

"Captain Qing, it won't be dangerous if he chases after them alone, right?"

However, when he turned around, he saw that Mei Terumi seemed to be indifferent, and suddenly he felt that his words seemed a bit redundant.

"Don't worry, Mr. Ao's ability to save his life is one of the best among the village's jonin. You should just focus on the next mission." Mei Terumi spoke directly to ease Zabuza's worries.

Jianchuan Ju heard this and complained in his heart. "Don't underestimate Qing's ability to save his life. He is a man who can survive even if he is hit by the Ten-tailed Beast Ball in the future."