Avengers of the Whirlpool Family

In the five major countries, the daimyo and some of the highest-level nobles also have a group of ninjas serving them. These ninjas are either trained since childhood or recruited from outside. The most famous are the Twelve Guardians of the Fire Country Daimyo. Generally speaking, these ninjas directly obey the orders of the daimyo and nobles.

This can also be considered a confrontational strategy at the national level.

But in fact it is very weak.

Because the ninjas under their command are either very weak (at most only at the level of Chunin).

Otherwise it's not so pure.

For example, the twelve guardian ninjas just mentioned.

Asma was once one of them.

But what is Asuma? The son of the Hokage, whose side do you think he will sit on?

Obey the orders of the Daimyo? That's a joke.

The bloody fight between the twelve guardian ninjas mentioned in the original work is the best proof of this.

Therefore, it is generally difficult for the ninjas under these big countries to perform well, but their identities must be more or less recognized and respected by others. This can be regarded as a nominal courtesy. Although Menma's identity is forged, the token is real.

Because it was taken from Orochimaru.

This snake uncle didn't even ask Menma what he wanted to do with it. He gave it to him very generously. Or rather, in Orochimaru's eyes, this was a trivial matter. How important was it to have an identity token of a national noble?

The answer is obviously no.

"!? So you are the distinguished guests from the Land of Fire. Please come in. We will report to the leader immediately."

The green-haired Taki ninja on the left certainly couldn't tell whether the token was real or fake, but he didn't care.

This thing called identity.

To put it bluntly, it's just a symbol. Ninjas are more concerned about real issues.

This Taki-nin gestured to another Taki-nin next to him.

"Ah."

Following from that.

He personally led Menma and Karin towards the interior of the village. Along the way, he seemed to be reminding them, but in fact he was warning them in a tone not to wander around after entering the ninja village, because some places were off-limits to outsiders and there were special traps set up inside.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 145: First Encounter

Menma didn't care. We've come to someone else's territory, so shouldn't they be allowed to talk a little more? Menma responded with a smile throughout the whole process. In fact, he was thinking about how to make initial contact with the young leader, and at the same time, he was trying his best to spread his perception to explore this ninja village. In the special plot of the original story, it seems that Takigakure Village is very small and there are no ninjas, but that is obviously a part of the display.

How could Takigakure be a ninja village that has the Seven-Tails and once had the hope of becoming the sixth largest? Kakuzu even came from this village. So, how could it be that Takigakure has only so few people?

And now, within Menma's vast spread perception, he can clearly detect hundreds of chakra auras in the surrounding area. In further locations, there are also many chakra auras constantly moving.

Although the scale of this ninja village is far from comparable to the five major ninja villages.

But the population living here has reached over ten thousand, and the number of ninjas is as high as hundreds. Then we have to count the Taki ninjas who are on guard and on missions outside. The number of ninjas should still be over a thousand.

Of course, the chakra of these ordinary ninjas is generally not strong, and there are very few who can reach the chakra amount of the Jonin level. Compared with its peak period, the current Takigakure Village is really weak.

It is worth noting that Menma did not sense any particularly strong chakra fluctuations nearby. You should know that the perception area that Menma can cover now is already very exaggerated, and he could not detect anything within this range.

"Is the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki not currently in Takigakure Village?"

The image of a girl named Fu with short blue-green hair also subconsciously emerged in Menma's mind.

This person is also the most important and effective chess piece that can be used in Menma's next plan.

Any Jinchūriki.

As long as he can unleash most of the power of the tailed beast, he can at least be treated as a Kage-level powerhouse.

Not to mention that kind of perfect Jinchūriki.

They are definitely the top Kage-level beings, especially the Four-Kage Mizukage Yagura, the Three-Tails Jinchuriki, and Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. Especially the latter, when they burst out with all their strength, ordinary Kage-level beings are definitely no match for them.

Although Fu doesn't have many roles in the original work, she is the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki after all. Even if the expectations are lowered a bit, she can be treated as an ordinary Kage-level character.

This is one of the biggest reasons why Menma chose Takigakure Village.

"Please wait here for a moment. Our leader, Lord Shibuki, will be here soon to meet you."

Under normal circumstances, it is impossible for outsiders to easily meet the leader of a village. Takigakure Village is one of the best among the five major ninja villages, and it has thousands of ninjas under its command. Such a status is considered "incomparably honorable" in the ninja world.

In other words, Menma is an envoy from the high-ranking politicians of the Fire Nation.

This is the only way to meet the village leader directly.

"Ah."

Menma smiled and nodded, then sat down directly. Karin had a blank expression on her face from beginning to end, and also sat down right after Menma. This was what they had agreed upon at the beginning. Karin only needed to keep a "no strangers allowed" look on her face, and all the conversations would be left to Menma.

Otherwise, Menma was worried that Karin might make a mistake on her own.

Of course, Menma had made an extra preparation to prevent his identity from being exposed. Transformation techniques were actually very mysterious, and it was hard to say whether they could be seen through. Top ninjas who were very good at illusions, ninjas with super perception abilities, and some ninjas with special eye techniques could indeed do this, but it was difficult for ordinary ninjas to see through them. Menma didn't think that his career would be successful, and he came here with the attitude of giving it a try. If he failed, it wouldn't be a big deal.

"It just depends on whether there is a corresponding opportunity."

Menma took a sip of the tea that the waiter had just brought over, thinking silently in his heart.

The waiting time was not long. After only ten minutes, footsteps were heard at the main entrance of the reception hall.

Menma had already sensed the corresponding chakra approaching.

When turning around.

At the leading position, a young figure came into his sight.

In the next position, there was a man with a turban tied around his head and a very ferocious face.

A slightly cold aura emanated from his body.

This is enough to prove the strength of this man.

"Ah, I am sorry to have kept you two waiting for so long. Please forgive me."

When the young leader of Takigakure Village saw Menma, he smiled and greeted them.

This demeanor and posture don't look like that of a ninja village leader at all.

Instead, he has the attitude of a big brother next door.

Xianglin on the side just maintained a cold expression on the surface, but in fact she was already complaining madly in her heart.

Menma was used to it. This young leader of Takigakure Village looked so harmless in the original work.

Menma even suspected that this guy might not even be able to take control of the ninja village.

Otherwise, why in the original novel, when he returned to the village from outside, he needed the guards of Team 7!? Where were his own guards?

There are also rebel ninjas coming from behind.

The fight for the water of heroes and so on.

Menma has every reason to believe that there must be a power struggle within Takigakure Village, and this is the only way to perfectly explain everything.

"No, we also ask that you forgive us for taking up your time and coming here in an intrusive way."

Menma and Karin stood up at the same time when Shibuki came in. Menma also replied with a smile on his face and a slight bow.

"How can this be considered presumptuous? It is an honor for our Takigakure Village to be valued by the Left Minister of the Land of Fire."

Even though he looks weak, Shibuki is still very capable when it comes to dealing with necessary public situations.

Moreover, after a brief inquiry just now, Shibuki was basically 60% to 70% sure that the identity of the person coming was indeed a subordinate of the Minister of the Fire Nation, so his attitude would naturally be much more polite. For a ninja village like theirs, it was a rare thing to receive a mission from the Fire Nation, not to mention a mission from a high-level political figure or nobles.

Because they are usually distributed directly to the ninja villages in their own country.

"You two don't need to be polite, just call me by my name, Shibuki. The one next to you is also the strongest jonin in our Takigakure Village - Shuiyan. If it's appropriate, we will also give the mission you issued to Shuiyan jonin to handle. Oh, by the way, I'm so rude, I don't know how to address you two?"

Shibuki came to the main seat and sat down, while inviting Menma and the other man to sit back down, he also said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 146: The Bait of Trial

In the most likely case, if it is a big customer, then naturally you need to deal with him politely. Even if you take a step back and say that there is really something fishy or problematic about his identity, as long as the mission is real and the benefits can be seen and obtained, then there is no need to have any hesitation. Not to mention Takigakure Village, any other small or medium-sized ninja village in the ninja world will have the same attitude.

The only one who followed closely beside Shibuki at the beginning and then sat opposite Menma and the other man was the turbaned man who looked at them with scrutiny and caution from beginning to end, as if Menma was his enemy.

This made Menma frown slightly.

But after hearing Shibuki's introduction of this senior ninja, Menma showed no expression on the surface, but he suddenly realized it in his heart.

"So it's this guy!"

After all, he was just a minor villain boss in a fragment of the plot, so Menma naturally couldn't remember his appearance very clearly. But as soon as Shibuki mentioned his name, Menma could naturally associate him with him. Isn't this the guy who betrayed Takigakure Village in the original work and brought outsiders such as Rain Ninja and Soup Ninja to invade his own ninja village again?

Judging from this, this guy is not dissatisfied with them, but with this young leader.

Menma thought silently in his heart, and then he said with a smile on his face: "Haha, you are too polite, Chief. I am Accelerator, and this is Misaka Mikoto. We are now serving under Lord Tsuchikata. This time I came to your village because the Minister, no, to be more precise, the Daimyo has a mission that needs to be assigned to your village. The preliminary level is A-level, but it may also be S-level."

Although it was expected that this would be a 'big cargo' mission.

But when I heard it from Menma's mouth.

Shibuki couldn't help but become excited.

This is not just a matter of mission share, but also involves establishing relationships with high-level politicians of the Fire Nation!

For the Ninja Village.

Long-term and stable task share is the most important.

What's the use of one or two tasks?

What the ninja village needs is a long-term supply of resources. Takigakure will certainly support its own ninja village, but that is limited after all. If Takigakure Village needs further development, or to be more precise, to return to its former peak, it must have all-round resource support.

Moreover, for Shibuki, he had just taken over the position of leader not long ago, and he needed some political achievements to prove himself. If he could connect with the high-ranking politicians, nobles, and even the daimyo of the Land of Fire to win a fixed share of tasks for his own ninja village, wouldn't this be something worth celebrating! ?

At this moment, Shiyan, who was standing next to him, raised her eyebrows, and her eyes became slightly dangerous.

"Can you tell me what the mission is first? Yifang-san?"

Shibuki suppressed his excitement, pretended to be calm as he looked at Menma and asked.

"Haha, of course. This mission is a search mission. The targets are the following people. It doesn't mean that you have to find all of them, but the more you find, the higher the completion rate will be."

As Menma spoke, he took out a scroll from his arms and threw it directly at Shibuki in the opposite position.

Shibuki was not on guard at all, or rather he did not believe that anyone in their Takigakure Village would dare to directly plot against him, the leader.

He simply caught it with his backhand and unfolded it for a look.

When the request to search for a person in the front position came into view.

The leader of Takigakure Village fixed his eyes.

"this?"

There was a hint of hesitation revealed subconsciously.

"Why? Your village can't execute it?"

Menma smiled gently and asked Shibuki with still a calm expression.

"No, of course not. We in Takigakure Village can carry out this mission, but we can't guarantee its completion. After all, it's been so many years. May I ask if there is a time limit?"

After a pause, Shibuki handed the scroll to Shisha in the position below, and asked Menma with a serious expression.

"If the matter has not happened recently, why would we entrust you with it? As for the time limit, well, neither the daimyo nor the ministers have made it clear, but the shorter the better. There is no need to say too much. At least within three months, there must be some results to justify it. Don't you think so, Mr. Leader?"

Menma still looked calm and raised three fingers of his right hand, speaking in a light tone.

"Half of the remuneration can be paid according to the A-level standard. The rest will be paid one by one according to the progress. The remuneration standard can be increased at any time. Moreover, Your Excellency, this is only the first time. You should understand what I mean."

This is the meaning revealed between the lines.

Even the inexperienced Shibuki could hear it clearly, not to mention the hookah beside him.

This is clearly a bait that was thrown out directly.

Menma is getting more and more skilled at this kind of thing, such as empty-handed Taibailang and writing blank checks. Anyway, he doesn't have to worry about being exposed, right?

If someone really sees through me, the worst that can happen is that I just run away.