Chapter 170: The Confident Uchiha Elder Jiangshu
Morning. Dew shimmered outside Konoha Village…
"Hmph. We're here. So what now?" Uchiha Jiangshu stood with Menwei at his side, his face full of disdain. "Go on—use whatever tricks you've got!"
"Mind your tone. We are here to pursue the S-rank wanted criminal—Kakuzu—not to engage in pointless quarrels." The Octopus Anbu treated this entirely as a routine mission. Of course, that was also Li Jiexuan's instruction…
"Heh…" Jiangshu didn't believe a word of it. He sneered. "Then where exactly is this Kakuzu?"
"The Land of Water." The Octopus Anbu unfolded a map and circled a spot along its border. "According to intelligence reports, Kakuzu was last seen here."
The mission appeared to proceed as usual…
Yet the more normal everything seemed, the more uneasy Jiangshu felt. "Just what is that brat Li Jiexuan plotting? You'd better hope I don't catch you!"
The five-man squad set off toward the Land of Water, while the Li Jiexuan Jiangshu loathed was calmly seated before the Uchiha clan leader, Uchiha Zhenxiong, sipping tea and finalizing a series of cooperative agreements amid pleasant conversation…
At that moment, a small snake suddenly slithered out from Li Jiexuan's sleeve and spat out a slip of paper: Ready!
Li Jiexuan smiled and nodded, burning the note to ashes. He raised his teacup. "Brother Zhenxiong truly lives up to being the Uchiha clan head—even your tea is this fragrant."
"If you like it, I'll have my wife prepare some for you to take home later."
"Hahaha, in that case, I won't stand on ceremony!"
The two chatted amiably…
Time passed slowly, and the Octopus Anbu's team had already reached the border of the Land of Water. It was an ordinary small town called Xuanlord Town. Not large—its population seemed to be only two or three thousand. After a brief investigation, the Octopus Anbu confirmed that Kakuzu had indeed stayed here.
In fact, the entire town claimed to have seen him. The strange part was that every single person gave a different direction for where they had last seen him.
Which meant—north, south, east, or west were all possibilities!
"In that case, we'll split up and investigate separately for now." The Octopus Anbu nodded matter-of-factly. "Remember, if you find Kakuzu, do not engage. We don't want to alert him."
Hearing this, Jiangshu was thoroughly unimpressed. Did Li Jiexuan think that separating him from the Anbu would make it easy to deal with him? They'd better not underestimate the influence of an Uchiha elder!
Jiangshu was brimming with confidence!
But the Land of Water was a nation of scattered islands. No matter which direction one chose, travel by boat was required.
"Our Konoha Anbu have friendly contacts with a shipping company here. If you need, we can arrange a vessel for you."
Faced with the Octopus Anbu's offer, Jiangshu flatly refused, secretly scoffing, "Don't think I don't know what you're planning. Those boats are all your pawns. You want to lure my grandson and me out to sea and eliminate us? I was playing tricks like that when you were still in the mud!"
"That's your decision. I have no authority to interfere." The Octopus Anbu shook his head and left, looking at him as if he were already a dead man…
"Grandpa, shouldn't we take the Anbu's boat?" Menwei trembled in fear. He had an inexplicable feeling that that boat might have been his last chance.
However—
"That Octopus Anbu is clearly Li Jiexuan's dog. Step onto his boat and you might as well close your eyes and wait for death! I've eaten more salt than that brat Li Jiexuan has eaten rice. Do you think I can't see through his tricks?" Jiangshu grinned coldly. "There are plenty of boats in this town. We'll rent one at random, sail around for a bit, then come back. Let's see what they can do then!"
Hearing this, Menwei could only nod meekly.
"Come on. Let's find a boat!"
Jiangshu refused to believe that every single boat in this town bore the surname Li.