Chapter 322 : Threatening each other

[A/N: This chapter is sponsored by Pierre. You can thank Pierre for the double Release.]

Makoto looked at the incoming Lava wave and gulped. He muttered, "The rebel forces have someone who can do this?"

Renjiro became serious as well. He thought, 'Terumi Mei… It looks like the old man's information was accurate. Still, this isn't enough to stop me. Unfortunately, I can't ensure the safety of these three.'

Renjiro fell into a dilemma. He was confident in running away by himself. But his teammates didn't share his skill or stamina in the body flicker jutsu.

After thinking for a bit, he let out a sigh and made up his mind. He weaved a hand sign and said, "Don't fight. I will negotiate. They shouldn't dare to kill us."

Nara Kazuki sighed in relief. He thought, 'Good. I was afraid that he would try to leave. Renjiro might have managed to escape, but we wouldn't have managed to do the same.'

He looked at the lava wave and realized, 'We made an error. We should have escaped when Makoto returned.'

Renjiro slammed his hands on the ground. A deep, circular trench, with him as the center, appeared around the Konoha ninjas. A large, inclined wall raised up from the ground along the inside part of the trench. The Lava wave hit the wall and fell into the trench. Once again, another large-scale attack was directed away successfully by Renjiro.

Mei was surprised. She wondered, 'So strong? His wall successfully blocked my attack and even diverted it. Who is this guy?'

Before she could think further, her eyes widened. Thousands of spikes appeared on the surface of the inclined wall. Due to her lava, the spikes looked red and extremely hot. Her expression became grim as she shouted, "Take cover!"

The other Kiri ninjas didn't need to be told twice. They could see the spikes as well. Immediately numerous water and earth walls were raised! However, no spike was fired. Instead, a voice was heard, "Terumi Mei, we aren't here to create trouble for you."

Mei asked, "So, why are you here? And who are you?"

Ao appeared next to Mei as a part of the inclined wall crumbled, showing the 4 Konoha ninjas who had stopped using Transformation jutsu. Ao became serious as he said, "Senju Renjiro. The commander of Konoha's forces that faced us in the last war!"

Renjiro became serious as well. He analyzed, 'Two Elite Jounins, one with a stolen Byakugan and another speculated to have two Kekkei Genkai. I could take on any of them in a one-on-one fight. But I can't win against both of them in a head-on fight. Especially in water where I won't be able to use my Earth jutsus effectively.'

Though Renjiro was an expert at Water jutsus as well, so were most of the Kiri ninjas. Without Earth jutsus, he would get overwhelmed.

Since the spikes weren't fired, but still in position, Mei asked her remaining forces to stop attacking and asked, "What is an Elite Jounin from Konoha doing so deep into my country?"

Renjiro replied, "Lord Hokage was concerned over the state of affairs in this country. He was worried for the children and sent me here to ensure their safety."

Mei instantly knew that he was bullshitting her. She chuckled and asked, "To ensure their safety? Or to bring talented kids to Konoha?"

Renjiro ignored her chuckle and replied, "The kids I rescued are at the house I was staying in. Lord Hokage's orders were to wait here until the civil war ended and to hand over the kids to the winners if I think that they would be well cared for. If the Civil War continued for a long time or if there was a danger, then I would have no choice but to take them to Konoha with me for their safety."

Renjiro's words were loud. All the Kiri ninjas were circling the wall he had raised. Hearing his words made them reluctant to attack him. After all, they had seen what atrocities common people had to go through due to Mizukage's actions. Some of them had suffered in a similar situation until they were rescued by the rebels.

Of course, Mei and Ao didn't believe him. Mei said, "I don't believe you."

She let out a chuckle and said, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill all of you right here!"

Renjiro let out a chuckle as well and asked, "Do you want the Konoha armies to enter the Land of Water and support the Mizukage?"

Mei squinted her eyes. She riled her chakra up and asked, "How would they even know who killed you?"

Renjiro maintained his smirk and riled his own chakra up. The chakra he displayed was equivalent to Mei's chakra, shocking the Kiri ninjas who hadn't been a part of the Third Great Ninja War. He said, "You won't be able to keep me here. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about my teammates. So why don't we come up with a result which is acceptable to both of us?"

Mei looked at Ao, who nodded in response. She looked back at Renjiro and said, "Alright. But I will have to ask you to stay as my guest. And I will be taking the kids that you have 'rescued'. In addition, Lord Hokage will have to send me a formal letter explaining your presence in the country and compensation for the same."

Renjiro nodded and replied, "Alright. We will be staying in the same house. But I will need a messenger bird to contact Lord Hokage. As for the kids, as long as you promise to take good care of them and ensure their safety, you can have them."

Mei nodded. The Konoha ninjas were secretly relieved. But no one showed it on their face. Mei and Ao followed Renjiro to the house while the other Kiri ninjas began taking care of the injured. To their surprise, no one was dead and only one had major injuries. Mei and Ao knew it and hence had agreed to a truce.

After the fighting stopped, the people on the island were relieved. They were afraid that they would be impacted by the fight. Fortunately, the fighting happened far away from civilian areas. Konoha ninjas were afraid that some Kiri ninjas might be hidden there for an ambush while the Kiri ninjas didn't want any harm to befall them. So both stayed clear of them.

After entering the house, Makoto woke up the kids while using a transformation jutsu and handed them over to Mei after consoling them a bit. At the same time, Renjiro and Mei negotiated an amount for compensation.

Ao took the kids and analyzed, '11 kids… I had received information for just 5 missing kids. But I calculated that at least over 30 would be missing.'

After sending the kids away, he asked, "Renjiro, I have received information about 18 missing kids. Where did you keep the rest?"

A frown appeared on Renjiro's face. He said, "These are all we rescued. Feel free to search the house or anywhere else on this island."

Ao asked, "If they aren't with you, who took them?"

Renjiro shrugged and replied, "We are the only ones from Konoha here. If not us, then there might be someone else who is rescuing or abducting the kids. I'd recommend that you look elsewhere for them just like you found me."

Ao looked at Renjiro but couldn't find anything on his face. He thought, 'Looks like there are other forces active here as well. I guess Kumo also sent someone. The fourth Raikage is always looking to kidnap kids with Kekkei Genkai! That said, he is most likely lying.'

While Renjiro thought, 'I have already sent 35 promising kids to Konoha. Even if he suspects me, there isn't a thing he can do about it. Besides, I'm sure Kumo and perhaps even Iwa are doing similar operations here. So if they look in deeply, they will find and suspect them.'

After completing the negotiations, Mei said, "I will ask the four of you to stay inside this house. If you need food or water, I can arrange them."

Renjiro replied, "Alright. As for food and water, we have it."

For obvious reasons, Renjiro wouldn't consume any food or water they provided. In fact, he was worried about them releasing poisons or chemicals into the air.

Mei realized his concerns. She nodded and left. She arranged for 16 Jounins and 12 Chunins to keep an eye on the Konoha ninjas all the time.

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