Chapter 326: Hiruzen's Response

After leaving the house, Ao said, "Lady Mei, I am afraid that he has abducted more kids."

Mei nodded and said, "Yeah. But seeing his confidence, they shouldn't be here. He must have already sent them to Konoha. Unfortunately, there isn't much we can do. If we ask, they will deny it. Until the civil war ends, such cases will keep happening. What we need to do is end this war as soon as we can."

Ao looked at Mei. He could see the seriousness on her face. However, he knew that Mei couldn't end the war. He thought, 'Unfortunately, that isn't possible. The Terumi clan leader is too old, while the Sakai clan leader got injured in the 3rd Great Ninja War. The other clan leaders can't take on rank S ninjas. So we don't have anyone who can take on the Fourth Mizukage. At least until Mei becomes a rank S ninja!'

Renjiro wrote a letter and sent it to Hiruzen. His teammates approached him. Itaru said, "Sorry, Renjiro-san. Because of us, you got captured as well."

Renjiro replied, "I can't just leave my teammates behind to die. Besides, we will be fine. Don't worry."

His teammates nodded. Despite his statement, they knew that they were under a lot of risk. Kazuki thought, 'If another Elite Jounin from the Rebel faction arrives, then even Renjiro would have difficulty escaping.'

Renjiro was aware of the risks as well. He didn't want his teammates to let down their guard and warned them, "Though I am sure that they won't try anything funny, be on your guard. Mei's mother was from the Sakai clan. And there are rumors that she can use the Vapor release."This chapter was first shared on the Ñøv€lß1n platform.

His words surprised his teammates. Kazuki asked, "She can use 2 Kekkei Genkai?"

Renjiro nodded and replied, "Most likely. Vapor release jutsus can harm us while we are inside the house, while Lava jutsus can submerge the entire house in an instant. Luckily, we can avoid both by entering the ground. So stay on guard."

His teammates nodded. They consumed soldier pills to stay awake.

Around 16 hours later, a messenger bird reached Konoha. As soon as the message was received, the ninja immediately rushed to Hiruzen and handed him the scroll. As soon as Hiruzen opened it, his eyes widened. He looked at the ninja and said, "Call Shikaku here immediately."

The ninja nodded and left while Hiruzen continued reading the scroll. In a few minutes, Shikaku appeared in the room. Hiruzen tossed him the scroll. Shikaku's expression became serious as he started reading. After he read the entire scroll, he sighed in relief and said, "Renjiro did well."

Hiruzen nodded. Shikaku added, "Still, what bad luck to have. They didn't encounter any Kiri ninja for months and then directly attracted one of their strongest units. But for Kiri to extort so much money from us..."

Hiruzen said, "40 million Ryo for the life of 3 Jounins and the safety of 1 Elite Jounin is fine. Even though Renjiro could have escaped, it's difficult to say whether he would have managed to do that without any injury. Besides, we do have a lot of funds lying around."

Fujin's eyes widened. Hiruzen noticed it and said, "Don't worry, they are safe. Renjiro could have escaped but stayed behind as his team couldn't. They have reached a deal with one of the rebel leaders. Your mission is to complete the deal and bring them back to Konoha safely."

He gave Fujin the scroll that Renjiro sent and said, "This scroll has the information regarding the deal. See and memorize it."

He handed Yugao and Fumito a scroll each and said, "These scrolls have information on Mei and Ao, the two strongest Kiri ninjas there. Memorize their abilities."

Everyone began reading. Fujin let out a sigh and thought, 'Looks like he will be fine."

He handed the scroll back to Hiruzen and read up the information on Mei and Ao. It was quite similar to what he recalled in addition to some more information that wasn't very important.

After everyone was done, Hiruzen handed Fujin a couple of scrolls and said, "This scroll contains 40 million Ryo. Keep it properly. And the other scroll contains information we gained from the fake Bounty Hunter who targeted you. Read up. Provide this scroll to Terumi Mei. You can use this information to get an advantage over her or a favor from her."

Fujin nodded. Hiruzen's expression became serious. He said, "Though I believe there wouldn't be any conflict, there is a chance it might be a trap. If it is, then focus on surviving. Disperse in different directions and make your way back here somehow. I will have ninjas deployed along our coast with Kiri."

Fujin and his team nodded with solemn expressions behind their masks. They understood how bad the odds were if a conflict were to break out.

Meanwhile, Hiruzen thought, 'If Renjiro ends up falling because of being held back by his teammates, then it will be sad. If his student were to fall due to the same reason, then it would be a tragedy. Only by dispersing can they guarantee Fujin's safety.'

He said, "Fujin, you will inspect Renjiro properly. If he is placed under Genjutsu or some other means of mind control or if they are tortured, then I will give you the full autonomy to decide on how to proceed."

Fujin nodded though he hoped that situation didn't reach that stage. For one, he didn't want anything bad to happen to Renjiro. And secondly, he had no confidence in defeating Mei.

After explaining all the details, Hiruzen said, "Fujin, use your Hawk mask for this mission."

Fujin realized what Hiruzen's plan was. He nodded and asked, "Does Kiri have anyone who can fly?"

Hiruzen shook his head and said, "Not that I know. But their Mizukage is a perfect Jinchuriki. Flying against him won't be much help."

Fujin nodded. His team left immediately.