Chapter 86 It seems like following Mochizuki Souji for now isn't so bad
In the Land of Rain, all untreated wild water sources are extremely dirty and murky.
The three of them could never have imagined that there was such a large expanse of clean and clear water in the world.
"Such clean water must taste delicious, right?"
Konan spoke with an expectant look on her face, as if she really wanted to drink some seawater and taste it.
Souji, however, smiled, shattering her illusion.
"Seawater is very salty, tastes bitter and salty, and doesn't taste good. It also contains a large number of microorganisms... almost like tiny insects that you can't see with the naked eye. Drinking it will make you sick."
"Huh? Is that so..." Konan looked disappointed.
"Captain, you are truly knowledgeable!"
Nagato listened with great interest to the knowledge about the sea, and couldn't help but admire Souji's insight.
The Souji laughed:
"I used to work as a librarian in Konoha. I read a lot of books and have some knowledge of many things."
"The library...I want to go see it too!"
"Don't worry, I'll definitely let you go in the future."
Nagato, who is rather introverted and quiet, is actually very interested in reading and learning, but given their previous circumstances, they naturally didn't have such opportunities.
Jiraprimarily taught them ninjutsu, and their academic education was limited to basic literacy in daily life.
However, this cannot be blamed on Jiraiya. More than 99% of people in the ninja world are like this, and even Jiraiya himself was probably not much better.
Aside from fighting and killing, they know almost nothing, which is the tragedy of ninjas.
Souji looked at the silent Sasori and asked:
"Sasori, this must be your first time at the beach, right? Don't you have any thoughts?"
Sasori pondered for a long time, then slowly said:
"The scenery is beautiful, quite artistic... but now is not the time for leisurely sightseeing, is it?"
"No matter how urgent the matter is, you can't be impatient. You're still too young and too immature."
"snort..."
Sasori pursed his lips, too lazy to answer.
"That's true, it's definitely not the time for leisurely sightseeing yet."
The Souji took out a large map covering the five great nations and pointed it to the distant sea area southeast of the Land of Fire and south of the Land of Water.
"Our destination, Dragon Island, is here."
Sasori glanced at it and asked:
"How do you plan to get there?
Taking a boat will take quite a while, and if we get close to the Land of Water, Kirigakure might just be playing the role of pirates..."
"Kirigakure becomes a pirate?" Yahiko asked in surprise.
"This is a strategy to disrupt the Land of Fire's maritime trade revenue.
Ships heading to or departing from the Land of Fire will be attacked by pirates disguised as Kirigakure ninja."
Sasori gave a brief explanation to the three, but for the trio, who were not very knowledgeable, this kind of national-level matter was like listening to gibberish.
The Souji nodded slightly and said:
"That's right, and that's our second objective for this trip: to eliminate these pirates!"
"Firstly, the reason I left Konoha this time was to eliminate these pirates.
Secondly, Kirigakure's plundering of passing ships is indeed seriously affecting Konoha's trade revenue.
Since it's on my way anyway, I might as well eliminate them all at once!"
"You're as confident as ever... But the people Kirigakure assigned to do these things are definitely not weak.
You'd better be careful. If you fight them at sea, they'll have the advantage of terrain, so it will be a bit tricky."
Although Sasori said that, his expression showed a hint of eager anticipation.
"Don't worry, Konoha has already investigated these people thoroughly.
The number of Kirigakure pirates is about 150, and the leaders are three former members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist: Umino Rokuro, Nezu Jinpachi, and Yuri Kamanosuke."
"They are all elite Jonin, but they are not a big problem for us."
The Souji said calmly.
With its own trade revenue severely affected, Konoha had naturally already thoroughly investigated the other party's background.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist is a title given to the seven strongest elite Jonin of Kirigakure, who were tasked with carrying out highly difficult missions for the successive Mizukage.
When the Second Mizukage, Hozuki Gengetsu, first began implementing his raiding strategy, Konoha had just begun to express its dissatisfaction with Kirigakure.
Hozuki Gengetsu immediately and readily removed Umino Rokuro and the other two from the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and even listed them as rogue ninjas of Kirigakure, expelling them from the village.
Kirigakure claimed that all of this was the personal behavior of those three individuals and had nothing to do with Kirigakure.
They also gave Konoha an explanation by expelling them from the party. Therefore, Konoha could not find a formal reason to attack Kirigakure.
Since that's the case, Konoha has no choice but to deal with the pirates themselves. However, as Sasori said, the Hidden Mist ninja have the advantage of being at sea, making them very difficult to deal with.
Moreover, the pirates' leader is one of the three former Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and they are quite strong.
If the ninjas sent by Konoha are too weak, they'll just be sent to their deaths.
If they send Kage-level ninjas, even if they can't defeat the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, escaping at sea shouldn't be too difficult.
Therefore, for many years, Konoha was unable to deal with these pirates, and maritime trade never developed.
However, for someone like me who's using cheat codes, this is naturally no big deal.
With the system's power boosting it, the kunai is guaranteed to hit and kill; no matter how fast they run, it's useless.
This is why the Hokage readily agreed to let him leave Konoha, even when war could break out again at any moment.
The Hokage himself experienced it firsthand last time; Souji's kunai is indeed guaranteed to hit, making it perfect for dealing with enemies who are very good at escaping.
For the Souji, the real trouble is finding people. He's afraid of not running into these guys and having to waste time slowly finding them.
"Konoha has prepared the ship, let's set off now!"
Yeses!"
Souji led the Kagebu members to a large merchant ship docked at the port.
After identifying themselves to the ship owner, they boarded the ship without any problems.
It was their first time going out to sea by boat, and not only Yahiko and his two companions, but even Sasori seemed quite interested. When the boat set sail, Sasori stood on the bow with his arms crossed, and couldn't help but smile slightly.
"Hmph, not bad, it feels like it's stimulating my creative inspiration!"
"I haven't left the Land of Wind much in the past, which has indeed narrowed my horizons... It seems like it's not bad to just follow Mochizuki Souji for now."
Just as the merchant ship slowly set sail from Tanba Port.
The Root ninja, who had been observing all of this from afar, released a messenger bird.
The messenger bird flies eastward, towards the Land of Water.
At the same time, Shimura Danzo, who was in Konoha, checked the time and thought to himself:
"That ship should have set sail. Mochizuki Souji... a young ninja who twice injured the formidable Tailed Beast Jinchuriki using peculiar kunai techniques, achieving numerous great feats in a short period of time..."
"I feel like this is going to become a troublesome obstacle, so I'd better get rid of him as soon as possible.
If I can simply use the Kirigakure guys to deal with him, that would be ideal. If not, then next..."
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End of this chapter...