De Ping was rushing back, chasing after Juichi.
After chasing for a while, he encountered one of Juichi's Water Clones. He immediately recognized it as a Clone.
He wanted to ignore it and go around, but the Water Clone attacked him.
After a small skirmish, De Ping successfully injured the Water Clone and dispelled it.
Returning to the place where he fought Juichi, he found another Clone.
De Ping looked around but saw no sign of Juichi, so he vented his anger on this Clone.
The Water Clone saw De Ping and immediately attacked him with Water Bullets. De Ping made a few Hand Seals and performed Earth Release: Mud Wall Technique.
He spewed a mud wall in front of him, blocking the attack.
The mud wall blocked all the Water Bullets. De Ping made a few more Hand Seals and slammed his right palm on the mud wall. The mud wall immediately began to shoot mud Shuriken at the Water Clone.
However, the Water Clone successfully dodged all the attacks. Due to the resistance in the water, the mud Shuriken's speed slowed down.
The two's attacks became more frequent. As their battle continued, De Ping's mood worsened.
Although the Water Clone couldn't inflict much damage on him, his pride was deeply hurt by being unable to defeat an unknown Jonin's Clone for so long!
A few minutes later, the Water Clone's Chakra was nearly exhausted.
He stopped attacking and said,
"No need to fight anymore."
De Ping stopped, but his face was grim!
The Clone saw his expression and sneered. He said,
"My main body has already escaped far away, and you can't catch him. I can tell you that my main body has no intention of returning to the Land of Hot Water. However, if you continue to pursue me, I will give up living a peaceful life and occasionally return to the Land of Hot Water to hunt your civilians. Convey this message to your Daimyo."
De Ping's face was grim. However, he didn't reply. It was pointless to talk to a Water Clone anymore.
After all, the information wouldn't be transmitted to the main body. Seeing his grim face, the Water Clone smiled.
His body began to dissipate. Hearing his laughter finally made De Ping explode.
He moved forward. A mud spear formed in his right hand and instantly solidified. He threw it at the Clone, thinking...
"At the very least, I will dispel this Clone!"
Juichi's Water Clone smiled and made a Hand Seal. His water body began to deform.
The mud spear passed through his body without causing him any harm.
The Water Clone's body transformed into a water blade and slashed at De Ping's face.
At such close range, De Ping had no time to harden his skin.
He immediately tried to dodge, but the water blade still hit his right cheek, leaving a wound.
Although the wound was not serious, it was a harsh blow to his face. It was a huge blow to his pride.
With such a poor performance, how could he possibly ask the Daimyo for more funds?
Unwilling to give up just like that, he continued to search for Juichi like a headless fly, but to no avail!
After killing Mitsutsuka, Renjiro collected the body and went to the place where Fumimaro and the Shadow Clone had fought to check for any traces.
At the same time, Feng Zheng, Mieko, and Hodaka tried to find the others. Renjiro's Shadow Clone silently followed behind them.
After searching for a while, Hodaka finally saw Seo Shusaku fighting an enemy.
Since there was no way to ambush in the middle of the sea, they decided to attack from the front. They immediately used Body Flicker Technique towards them.
Seo Shusaku and Sagashoraku were evenly matched. Both possessed Water Release.
The two had just engaged in battle a short while ago, a few meters apart, when the three suddenly appeared, launching an attack without warning.
Feng Zheng was the first to attack. He used Air Bullet Technique to attack from a distance. Hodaka followed closely, attacking with Vacuum Palm.
Sagashoraku had just noticed the three when the attacks came. He hastily made Hand Seals, performed Water Wall Technique, and tried to dodge.
Feng Zheng's Air Bullet easily pierced through the water wall, and many of them hit Shorak, but not fatally.
However, he was still injured and bleeding.
The pain distracted him, and he couldn't avoid Hodaka's attack. Hodaka's attack hit his heart, making him cough blood.
Mieko didn't launch a long-range attack but accelerated towards him.
As Hodaka's attack hit Shorak, she used Body Flicker Technique in front of him and slit his throat.
Shusaku was stunned. His struggling opponent was easily killed by the three children he suspected!
Feng Zheng looked at the stunned Shusaku and asked,
"Do you know where your Ninja companions are?"
Shusaku shook his head and said,
"I don't know, but what about your opponents?"
Mieko replied arrogantly,
"They are clearly dead."
Unlike Feng Zheng, Mieko found satisfaction in Shusaku's shocked expression. She knew that the Yugakure Ninja underestimated them. Answering them in this way felt very satisfying.
Feng Zheng sighed and said,
"We have to search for them in the vast ocean. What a hassle!"
Mieko and Hodaka nodded. Although the open sea had no obstacles, it was too vast.
Even with Hodaka's field of vision and Feng Zheng's Chakra Field's enormous range, it was difficult to find them.
Mieko said,
"Let's go look for others too."
Feng Zheng nodded and said,
"Okay, let's go."
As the three were about to leave, Shusaku asked awkwardly,
"Can I come with you?"
Feng Zheng looked at Hodaka and Mieko. Both their expressions indicated that they didn't want him to follow. He secretly chuckled inside.
Feng Zheng replied,
"No, we have never cooperated with you, so our teamwork would be affected. It would be better if we searched in opposite directions, doubling our chances of finding people and helping them."
Without waiting for Shusaku's reply, Feng Zheng, Mieko, and Hodaka used Body Flicker Technique and left.
Renjiro's Shadow Clone, watching from a distance, chuckled softly and followed. Shusaku had never noticed Renjiro's Shadow Clone.
Shusaku looked at the three with a stunned expression. He thought to himself...
"This is the first time I've felt three children looking at me as if I'm useless. The children in the Village all respect me! Besides, how can my reconnaissance abilities compare to the Hyuga Clan?"
He shook his head, collected the bodies of the dead rogue Ninja, and walked in the opposite direction.
The three continued to search for about 10 minutes but found no one.
Mieko complained,
"What's going on? How long do we have to search in this open sea? There's no one here!"
Hodaka nodded in agreement.
Feng Zheng thought for a moment. He made a Hand Seal and performed Shadow Clone Technique.
He used Shadow Clone Technique multiple times until he created 6 Clones. The Shadow Clones immediately activated their Chakra Field and dispersed in different directions.
Mieko and Hodaka noticed this.
Hodaka said,
"Feng Zheng, that's a good idea!"
Mieko asked in an annoyed tone,
"Why didn't you use this strategy earlier?"
Feng Zheng shrugged and replied,
"Experienced Ninja can sense if they are being perceived. Especially sensory-type Ninja. If they notice my Clones, they will run away. And we are far from the Clones, so by the time we arrive, the enemy would have already escaped."
Mieko understood Feng Zheng's reasoning. She said,
"That makes sense."
The three waited in place. A few minutes later, one Shadow Clone dispelled itself. Feng Zheng received its memories. He said,
"One of my Shadow Clones found two Yugakure Ninja carrying the body of a pursued enemy."
Hodaka sighed.
"Alas, that's no use to us."
Feng Zheng nodded. He created another Shadow Clone to replace the dispelled one.
Feng Zheng's Shadow Clones continued to search for about half an hour without any results.
As their Chakra decreased, all the Shadow Clones dissipated.
Feng Zheng received their memories and said,
"No hope, they found nothing!"
He looked back at Renjiro's Clone and said,
"Even your main body didn't find anything, Teacher."
Renjiro's Shadow Clone appeared behind them and said,
"This means they fought too far out in the sea. Don't worry about it, it's useless to search any further. Let's go back to the beach and meet up with my other Clone."
The three sighed and followed behind him.
A few minutes later, they returned to the beach and met Renjiro's Shadow Clone, who was guarding two captured enemies. The other Clone dispelled itself, transmitting its memories to Renjiro.
After meeting up, Renjiro's Clone, who had been following the students, also dispersed.
Renjiro, far out in the sea, received the Shadow Clone's memories. He thought to himself...
"Of the 9 people we pursued, 5 Chunin and their leader have been confirmed dead. Fumimaro escaped. The situation of the other two is unknown."
He sighed.
"It seems this is the extent of this mission's completion. It's indeed difficult to kill every single person. Especially Jonin."
Renjiro knew it was pointless to continue searching for Fumimaro and decided to return to the beach.