Chapter 22 Ringo Village
After Hugo's narration, everyone knew the details of the cause of the incident.
Ringo 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 Ringo Village has never been visited by the rampant pirates around the Land of Water.
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 was repaired in Ringo Village for several days, and the villagers also learned that the merchant was an arms merchant from Takumi Village. ( Takumi = Artisan )
However, when the villagers asked the merchant where in the Land of Water 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 surrounding sea conditions 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 the Land of River to the Land of Water is on the west side 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, Mirukawa Kaito 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 Kaito'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 the 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, Kaito 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."
Kaito 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 lead than to search aimlessly on the sea." Seeing that she had almost all the information, Terumi Mei decided to set off as soon as possible.
However, Kaito 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 Ringo 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.
Ao did not interrupt from beginning to end, but silently watched his disciples make preparations before the mission.
A day later, Team Ao traveled day and night to reach Ringo Village.
Although the buildings in the village looked relatively intact, there were obvious signs of repairs everywhere, and there were still some unwashed bloodstains on the streets.
There were almost no people walking on the streets in the entire village. The one or two passers-by in cloth clothes looked at everyone with numb expressions and a hint of vigilance.
Just by looking at the dilapidated village in front of them, they can already imagine the devastation this remote little village has suffered.
However, since they had already arrived here overnight, there was no time to delay any longer.
Mei signaled to Kaito with her eyes.
Kaito understood and stepped forward to stop a middle-aged man, and asked, "We are the ninjas from the Kirigakure 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 Dazu 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 Kirigakure Village on several of them. He asked, "Are you the ninjas that Hugo invited?"
With the customs of the Land of Water, no one anywhere would look down on ninjas because of their age, not to mention that there is Ao, an adult wearing a Jōnin vest, in charge.
This saved Kaito 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 Dazu looked at everyone with a determined expression.
The middle-aged man who led Team Ao here seemed to be hesitant to speak after hearing what Dazu said, but in the end he just sighed softly and didn't say anything else.
As if afraid that the ninjas might have some misunderstanding, Dazu 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 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 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, Kaito also comforted them: "Don't worry, as ninjas, we have no problem dealing with ordinary pirates."
After that, Dazu 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 are in 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 Dazu would return early, several people also helped to tow an empty ship together.
However, Kaito, 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?'