Could it be that someone embezzled the pension of Orochimaru's parents?
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Orochimaru, who was particularly meticulous about money, and his first thought was that someone had embezzled the pension, but then he thought it unlikely; he had personally overseen the distribution of the pension, so not a single tael could have been withheld.
"Orochimaru, this matter still needs to be discussed with the Land of Tea Daimyo's retainer." Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the unconscious rogue Ninja and continued: "The premise is that there are Ninja among the pirates."
"Tsunade, can you treat them?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Tsunade; to be honest, there was very little he could teach this disciple. Apart from the most basic Ninja qualities, everything Tsunade knew was learned from Uzumaki Mito, the First Hokage's wife, and she herself was also quite interested in Medical Ninjutsu.
"Huh? Why should I treat them?"
Tsunade said unwillingly. It was already good enough that she hadn't killed these rogue Ninja; why treat them? They had just tried to kill them!
"Exactly! These guys tried to kill us, why should we treat them, Hiruzen Sensei!"
Jiraiya shouted loudly, kicking the rogue Ninja who had long lost consciousness under his and Tsunade's punches and kicks.
"Is it to get information?"
Orochimaru frowned slightly, thinking that this mission might not be as simple as she thought, and it was very likely to involve other Various Ninja Villages, which would mean that the pirates were supported by other Various Ninja Villages.
"Exactly, I asked Tsunade to treat them to get information."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze swept over the three of them, and he said seriously: "Listen carefully, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Tsunade, information is very important to us Ninja, and intelligence during wartime can even determine the direction of a war.
Through these few rogue Ninja, we might be able to obtain information about the pirates. If the Land of Tea Daimyo's retainer is hiding information from us, this mission can be abandoned."
"I know, I know, I'll treat him."
Tsunade understood the reasoning in Hiruzen Sarutobi's words and unwillingly walked towards the rogue Ninja whose head was exposed on the ground. Pale green light emanated from her hands as she injected Chakra into the rogue Ninja's body to treat his injuries.
The head, which was swollen like a pig's head, visibly deflated, and soon, the unconscious rogue Ninja regained consciousness.
"Tsunade, you will become an excellent Medical Ninja in the future!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi praised, although he had long known Tsunade's talent in Medical Ninjutsu, it was his first time seeing her use Medical Ninjutsu.
"Medical Ninja? I'm not interested in becoming a Medical Ninja. I didn't learn Medical Ninjutsu to save lives and heal injuries! I learned it so I can hit people without any worries!"
Tsunade raised her clenched fist, and this seemingly soft and weak fist brought a heavy sense of oppression to everyone.
Could… could it be to hit me?
Jiraiya subconsciously moved away from Tsunade, looking at her in fear.
The rogue Ninja who had just regained consciousness heard Tsunade's words and looked at everyone with terrified eyes.
"Why did you attack us? What is your relationship with the pirates who plunder fishing boats? Tell us everything you know!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi clenched his fists, a kind smile on his face, and his figure grew larger and larger in the rogue Ninja's eyes. Jiraiya and Tsunade huddled beside Hiruzen Sarutobi, smiling with ill intent.
"Please spare me! I'll talk! I'll talk! Whatever you want to know, I'll tell you!"
The recent experience was still vivid in his mind. To survive, the rogue Ninja decisively gave in and confessed everything he knew.
The three rogue Ninja were hung from tree branches. Sarutobi Squad cleaned up the battlefield, moved to a different spot to spend the night, and rekindled the bonfire.
The pirates appearing in the waters of the Land of Tea were indeed being instigated by someone, seemingly wanting to achieve some goal using these pirates. The hired rogue Ninja did not know who they were.
"Hiruzen Sensei, who do you think hired the rogue Ninja and used the pirates?"
Jiraiya broke a branch and threw it into the bonfire, listening to the crackling sound of the burning branch, and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who seemed to be deep in thought.
"I don't know."
Hiruzen Sarutobi had a guess in his heart and said with a smile: "Perhaps hiring rogue Ninja here to ambush us is because they don't want us to eliminate the pirates."
"Hiruzen Sensei, that's so perfunctory…"
Jiraiya saw through Hiruzen Sarutobi's perfunctory attitude and complained.
Sunagakure, or Hidden Mist?
Hiruzen Sarutobi suspected it was a covert action by Sunagakure or Hidden Mist. The Land of Wind was undoubtedly the closest to the Land of Tea. Regardless of which Shinobi Village it was or what their purpose was, the pirates could not be allowed to continue their rampage.
"In the end, we didn't get any useful information from the rogue Ninja."
Tsunade sat beside Orochimaru, yawned, leaned against her, and rested her head on her shoulder.
Orochimaru turned her head, her golden eyes looking at Tsunade with a hint of confusion.
"Hehe, lend me your shoulder to lean on."
Tsunade bared her teeth and smiled at Orochimaru, her beautiful bright brown eyes narrowing into two crescent moons.
"As you wish."
Orochimaru looked at the bonfire, the dancing flames reflected in her eyes, and it was clear she was deep in thought.
She suspected that the rogue Ninja's attack was related to other Various Ninja Villages. The Ninja World War had ended, but the covert actions of the Various Ninja Villages had never stopped, including Konoha.
She suspected that the pirates appearing in the waters near the Land of Tea were supported by other Various Ninja Villages to reduce Konoha's Ninja population.
Eliminating them little by little, weakening Konoha's strength through accumulation.
The next day, Sarutobi Squad arrived in the Land of Tea and met the Daimyo's retainer. Upon learning that the pirates had hired rogue Ninja, the Daimyo's retainer was very shocked and immediately decided to increase the reward, sincerely hoping that Sarutobi Squad could eliminate the pirates.
Hiruzen Sarutobi saw that the Daimyo's retainer did not know the inside story, and being confident in his own strength, he agreed to the retainer's proposal to increase the reward.
Thus, the C-rank mission became a B-rank mission.
Orochimaru was quite happy about this.
Sarutobi Squad disguised themselves as fishermen, boarded a fishing boat, and went out to sea with the fishermen.
The sky was clear and blue, the sun was dazzling, the sea was calm, and the weather was fair and pleasant, making it an excellent day for fishing.
Perhaps out of trust in the Konoha Ninja, the fishermen who had not gone out to sea for many days all chose to go fishing today.
The fishermen on the boat were energetically casting their nets. Just as they pulled up a net full of fish, several dark figures burst out of the water.
The pirates drew their katanas and pointed them at the fishermen.
"If you want to live, jump off the fishing boat and swim back!" one pirate said.
"Obey, or you'll die here!"
Another pirate licked his blade, his scar-covered face looking menacingly at the fishermen.
"No, impossible! I will never give you my boat!"
The boat owner shouted loudly. How could they, who made a living from fishing, hand over their means of survival?
"Since you want to die so much, then I'll grant your wish!"
The pirate swung his sword, but suddenly, he screamed, his katana plunged into the deck, and he flew backward, smashing through the gunwale at the edge of the fishing boat and falling into the sea.
"In front of me, Jiraiya-sama, you little ruffians won't get away with your crimes!"
Jiraiya, who had kicked the pirate away, struck a pose he thought was cool, twisting his neck.
"My… my… my boat…"
The boat owner looked at the broken gunwale with a pained heart.
Jiraiya heard the boat owner's words, and an awkward smile appeared on his face.
"So stupid…" Orochimaru was too lazy to complain about Jiraiya. Seeing that a nearby fishing boat was also under attack by pirates, she formed hand signs.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Bang—!
As the smoke cleared, four Shadow Clones appeared beside Orochimaru. With her current Chakra reserves, creating four Shadow Clones for combat was more than enough.
The four Shadow Clones and the original ran in different directions, and while dealing with the pirates, they would protect the fishermen as much as possible if conditions allowed, which was what they had agreed upon.
"Jiraiya, stop playing around!"
Tsunade punched a pirate away and took out a Kunai from her Ninja tool pouch.
Clang—!
Sparks flew as Tsunade blocked a katana with her Kunai, then raised her leg and kicked the pirate's fatal weak point between his legs.
A sickening crunch was heard, the pirate's scream distorted, his wide-open eyes bulged out, and his body curled up like a shrimp, falling to the ground and twitching uncontrollably.
Tsunade… so scary!
Jiraiya subconsciously clamped his legs together.
Seeing this scene, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes widened in shock.
"What are you still standing there for?!"
Tsunade saw Jiraiya and Hiruzen Sarutobi staring blankly and shouted angrily, forming hand signs.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Tsunade created three Shadow Clones, who rushed towards the other fishing boats to assist Orochimaru in dealing with the pirates.
Before learning the Shadow Clone Technique, Tsunade thought it was useless to her, but after learning it, she found it incredibly useful. Whether for aiding in training or reading medical books, the Shadow Clone Technique could be put to use; it was simply a versatile Ninjutsu.
Just as Sarutobi Squad was dealing with the pirates, seawater condensed to form figures dressed as Hidden Mist Anbu, their masks bearing the Hidden Mist Ninja symbol.
This is… Water Clone?!
Are the pirates causing trouble in the Land of Tea related to Hidden Mist?!
Hiruzen Sarutobi noticed the Hidden Mist Ninja appearing on the sea surface.