Naruto: I'm Not a Pokémon

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Chapter 27 Bad Luck

They heard this from several older children.

Not only the seven children in Ringo Village, but all the other children were abducted by pirates from some remote villages nearby.

The so-called camp here is not a training ground, it is just a transit point.

The pirates would usually only teach these captured children some simple fighting skills and then let them fight each other.

Those who perform well will have the opportunity to survive and eventually be sent to other places by ship.

These children only knew that the people who were taken away were going to serve the "Nobles", but they had no idea where they were taken or who they were going to serve.

As for the red-haired child, she behaved well but hid food in the hope of escaping.

She was eventually discovered by pirates and locked up alone, and everyone else thought she was dead.

The more he listened to the information Mei told him, the more Kaito's heart sank.

"It's just a C-rank mission, why is it so complicated?!"

This seemingly ambiguous style of the Anbu, could it be that the erratic "Kirigakure" also has its own "roots"?

Could it be that we had breached the talent base of some shady organization?

As if she noticed the worry in Kaito's expression, Mei patted his shoulder generously and spoke.

"These are things that Ao-sensei needs to worry about. Let's check the ships in the harbor and wait for Ao-sensei to come back."

This is indeed an important matter. Team Ao had never thought that there would be so many kidnapped children. The small fishing boat left by Dazu could not accommodate so many people.

Fortunately, there were several small boats anchored in the pirate port.

Kaito suppressed his anxiety, stood up and walked over with Mei.

And at this moment, Ao is being expected by his team members.

Sensing the speedboat moving at high speed hundreds of meters away on the sea, Ao poked his head out from the water with a bit of suffocation.

Ao thought that with his perception and tracking skills, he would be able to quickly catch up with the two ninjas who were suspected to be fake Anbu.

It would be best if he could communicate directly and get proof of the other party's identity as an Anbu member.

But Ao believes more in his own judgment that the other party is most likely an imposter.

Then according to Kaito's guess, he might know the female jōnin, and he would be able to confirm her identity through a fight.

However, who would have thought that the two people seemed to have known that someone was following them.

Just when Ao was about to catch up with the other party, the two of them actually got on a small boat on a hidden shore and used Water Style to speed up and leave the island.

Considering the war is approaching, the matter of someone impersonating the ANBU could be a big deal.

And his three subordinates should have no problem dealing with some ordinary pirates.

Ao decided to continue tracking the two people.

However, it is always inconvenient to track by diving in the sea using water-style ninjutsu, and the opponent's ship is also accelerating continuously using water-style ninjutsu.

At this time, the speedboat was finally about to leave Ao's perception range.

Let's not talk about how Ao, whose pursuit was fruitless, will return.

After checking the small boat in the port and confirming it was intact, Kaito and the other two found some supplies stored by the pirates and began distributing food to the children.

This is the time when the excellent handling ability of Mei, a Genin with a full year of experience, can be demonstrated.

It seems that Mei, at such a young age, can manage these messy kids in an orderly manner.

And she soothed the children's emotions with a gentle tone that was completely different from before.

This made Kaito, a guy with an adult soul, feel ashamed.

"This is nothing. I've done a D-rank mission before, playing a ninja game with a rich merchant's kid. That's called..."

As if it brought back some bad memories, Mei shuddered involuntarily.

Upon hearing this, Kaito immediately thought of the series of outrageous actions of a certain "Money Style Ninja" in the original novel, and couldn't help but cast a sympathetic look at Mei.

"Put away that weird look of yours!"

Seeing Mei's expression, which was like a frightened kitten, Kaito decisively gave in and moved closer to Zabuza.

Zabuza looked at the interaction between the two with disdain and continued to clean his short sword. But he seemed to have thought of something and looked up at the two again.

"After Ao-sensei comes back, will he let us continue to chase the pirate ships that are out?"

Mei thought for a moment before answering.

"Probably not. It's too difficult to find a pirate ship on the sea. That's why there are so many pirate groups composed of ordinary people around the Land of Water."

"Besides, we are on a rescue mission after all. We still have so many children to bring back. We can't just wait here for the pirates to come back so we can kill them."

"Oh." Zabuza seemed to be just asking casually. After hearing the answer, he just replied coldly and continued to wipe the short sword with his head down.

But what Mei said makes sense.

Previously, they woke up a few pirates. Although they were all small fry, they didn't know much more information than these children.

But the three also learned that the pirate ship left the port again yesterday. Usually, it would stay out for at least ten days and at most a month.

It is indeed impossible for Team Ao to stay here and wait for opportunities.

They can only rush back to the village as soon as possible and report the situation here. Then the village may issue tasks and send other teams to deal with the remaining pirates.

Oh, by the way, there is another piece of information. They learned from these pirates that their captain and vice captain are extremely powerful and can control strong winds and so on.

However, the three of them were dismissive of this. With the weak strength of these cannon fodder pirates, any random Genin who could use wind style would probably be as powerful as they said.

Even if Zabuza formed a seal and released his Water Dragon Jutsu, the pirates would think that he was a powerful man who controlled the sea.

Just when the three of them were bored and waiting for Ao to come back from investigation.

The 'Anticipation' in Kaito's mind suddenly sent out a series of warnings. Although not in a hurry, he still subconsciously turned his head to look at the sea.

Then his pupils dilated slightly and he muttered to himself.

"Why are they back at this time?"

In sight, a ship with a black sail was slowly heading towards the island. It was the pirate ship that the three had just discussed.

"What?"

Zabuza, who was standing by, heard Kaito mumbling something and asked.

Kaito quickly stood up and motioned his two teammates to look over.

"That pirate ship is back. Let these kids find a house to hide in first."

Fortunately, thanks to Kaito's early discovery, the pirate ship was still quite far away from the island.

The three of them immediately directed the children, who did not yet understand what was happening, to hide in several houses far from the coast.

Seeing that the children were all hidden, the three of them leaned over behind a wooden house at the back of the harbor and watched the pirate ship slowly approaching the island in the distance.

Kaito was still somewhat confused.

"Didn't they say they left the island yesterday? Why are they back now?"

Instead, Zabuza on the side said in a sinister tone.

"That's just bad luck for them!"