Chapter 42 Takumi Village
On this unchanging sea, four days passed in a flash.
Apart from a minor incident on the first day on board, nothing noteworthy happened afterwards.
During this period, Mirukawa Kaito met the four members of the Team Minato several times.
However, although the Land of Water and the Land of Fire have not yet gone to war, they are after all ninjas from two different ninja villages and there is no communication between them.
However, because old man Shimotsuki often needs company and protection recently, his relationship with Kaito has become more and more familiar.
I don't know whether he is really optimistic about the future of Kaito, or because Zabuza clearly wants to become one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and has no interest in the old man.
In short, Shimotsuki Ichiro never gave up promoting his ninja sword customization service to Kaito.
In the end, Kaito could only helplessly say that he would consider it when he had money in the future.
"We're finally here!"
As soon as she got off the boat, Terumi Mei stretched her body. She must have been too pent up on the boat for the past few days.
Zabuza on the side didn't say anything, but nodded in agreement.
Kaito looked around but did not see any members of Team Minato. He didn't know whether they had already disembarked or had not come out of the cabin.
The untimely prompt from the system interrupted Kaito's looking around.
[Ding! You have visited the new country for the first time and unlocked the achievement "I'm here! I'll see you!"]
'The system's achievements are becoming more and more arrogant.'
"Ao-sensei, shall we go directly to the Takumi Village?"
Terumi Mei asked Ao with a hint of meaning.
"Well, let's go over there now, is that okay? Shimotsuki-san."
Seeing that Ao had made the decision, he pretended to ask old man Shimotsuki Ichiro.
Kaito secretly rolled his eyes in his heart.
"It's okay. You can arrange the itinerary. I will stay in the Takumi Village for a while in the name of exchange and learning."
It seems that Karatachi Yagura had indeed informed Shimotsuki Ichiro in advance. Such cooperation does not seem like that of a client who paid the money.
However, it did make the investigation a lot easier for everyone.
"Exchange and learning? So your craftsmanship is really not as good as the craftsmen in the Takumi Village, old man?"
"You little brat, communicate! Do you know what communication means?"
Zabuza's words were enough to break Shimotsuki Ichiro's defense, and he wanted to pick up a hammer and hit him twice.
However, the group did not chat for long. Perhaps it was because this pier was designed to facilitate trade in the Takumi Village and the distance was not too far. They arrived at the Takumi Village in just a few steps.
"Takumi Village should have a lot of trade, right? Why would they place the village in the mountains?"
"The Takumi Village has a very ancient history and it has been here for a long time. Before the great ninja villages were established, this was just a gathering place for artisans. At that time, the transactions were mostly small-scale sales of fine weapons, so there were no requirements for the surrounding environment."
Several people walked into the Takumi Village while talking. Maybe because the war was approaching, the weapons were selling well. At this moment, the Takumi Village seemed very lively, and merchants dressed in various costumes were everywhere on the street.
The group first found an inn to stay in, and then went straight to the Takumi Village office building in the center of the village.
As Kaito had just stepped into the building, he saw a group of people coming out towards him, and his pupils suddenly shrank.
It was none other than Namikaze Minato and his three students. Although their destination was likely the Takumi Village, they did not expect to meet here again by such a coincidence.
"Minato-sensei, the letter has been delivered. Can we stay in the Takumi Village for two days before returning?"
This time, Kaito deliberately did not keep his eyes on the other person for too long. He just listened to the two people's fight and followed the others into the building.
Ao noticed that Kaito's expression was unusual and asked.
"That Konoha team came to the Takumi Village on the same ship as us, right?"
Kaito obviously hadn't come to his senses yet and just nodded subconsciously.
"The blond man in the lead should be Konoha's Jonin Namikaze Minato, who is said to be very powerful. The white-haired boy is also reported in intelligence. He is the son of Konoha's White Fang, a genius who became a Chunin at the age of 6. He is called Hatake Kakashi." Ao told about them to his students casually. All this information was recorded in the Ninja Notes.
Of course Kaito knew what his captain said a long time ago, but he didn't understand why Ao said it at this time.
"Ao-sensei, who is stronger, Namikaze Minato or you?"
Ao didn't care about Zabuza asking this question, he just pondered for a moment.
"It's not clear right now, but I was not a jonin at his age."
Minato is not even 20 years old yet, 5 or 6 years younger than Ao, and Ao only became a Jonin two years ago.
I wonder If Minato has mastered the Flying Thunder God Jutsu now. If he has, it is probably not a question of strength difference, but a question of how many seconds Ao-sensei can hold on. Kaito thought silently in his heart.
"Tsk, it's better if his mission doesn't conflict with ours, otherwise, hmph."
Zabuza, who had not suffered any severe beatings at this moment, was obviously not clear about his own strength.
"Then you'd better not hope for it. The village is still in a wait-and-see state. If we get involved in the war between the Land of Wind and Fire ahead of time, how do you think the village will deal with you?"
"Minato-sensei, that guy with the frog summoning beast just now seemed to have been keeping an eye on us from the ship."
Kakashi pulled up his mask and spoke quietly to Minato.
"It should just be a coincidence. Try not to cause any conflict."
After saying that, Minato put his hand on Kakashi's white hair and rubbed it.
"Hey, Minato-sensei, Kakashi, why aren't you leaving?"
Uchiha Obito turned around in confusion, looked at the two people who suddenly stopped, and asked.
Kaito and his companions entered the office building. According to what Ao had said to his students before, they thought they would have a direct communication with the leader of the Takumi Village. Unexpectedly, they were led by the staff to an ordinary office on the second floor.
Before entering the door, Kaito quietly pulled Shimotsuki Ichiro's sleeve and asked in a low voice.
"Old man, you should have come here to trade before, right? Didn't the leader of the Takumi Village show up?"
"How is that possible? Even though it's not an official transaction, it's still a large ninja tool shop in the village. How dare the Takumi Village underestimate the Five Great Nations?"
Kaito entered the office with doubts, and saw a middle-aged woman with green hair standing up to greet everyone.
"I'm very sorry, everyone from the Kirigakure Village. The leader has been unwell these days and is unable to receive guests. I'm the person in charge of the current foreign trade of the Takumi Village, Kujaku. It's nice to meet you all."
Seeing the other party's sincere attitude, everyone naturally didn't say much. They just gave the right to speak to Shimotsuki Ichiro and stood aside to act as security personnel.
Fortunately, we were only discussing the trading intention of new orders and it didn't last very long.
But even so, the few people waiting on the side were getting a little bored, and Zabuza even started yawning.
Kaito initially listened attentively to what the two were talking about, but later he found that there was nothing useful, so he just became dazed.
After Kujaku and Shimotsuki Ichiro stood up and left, the group just performed their protection mission diligently.
According to Ao's plan, they would conduct secret investigations in the first few days. If there were no results, they would go and forcefully test the situation. Therefore, everyone was not in a hurry for the secret mission.
However, they didn't expect that after they returned to the hotel, Shimotsuki Ichiro called them to stop.
"That Kujaku, there's something wrong with the quotation list she gave me."