Urgent business?
The boy and the girl exchanged glances, finding only bewilderment in each other's eyes. Clearly, neither of them knew what urgent matter had caused them to be summoned. But the one who called them down was none other than Kirigumo Masakazu. Since it was his summons, the only thing they could do was respond immediately.
Soon, they realized it wasn't just the two of them.
All of the jōnin had been called. They were already filing into the dining hall, which had been temporarily repurposed as a meeting chamber.
By the time Kyoichi and Terumī Mei entered, seven or eight people were already seated.
"Clan Head, what's going on?"
Kyoichi quietly asked as he approached Dazen's side.
Terumī Mei didn't go sit with the Kiri-nin across the room; instead, she took the seat beside Kyoichi. Hearing him whisper the question, she also leaned in with curiosity.
After Masakazu had called them down from the mast earlier, he had only told them to assemble in the dining hall and gave her no chance to pry for details. So she was still in the dark about why the jōnin had been gathered.
Dazen glanced at the boy and girl sitting beside him. His lips curled into a small smile before quickly smoothing out again as he lowered his voice:
"Masakazu and I were just playing a game of shogi when he suddenly received an urgent message. I don't know exactly what was written, but judging by his reaction, it wasn't good news."
Not good news.
That meant bad news.
And bad news that had spilled over to them as well—otherwise the jōnin wouldn't have been called together like this.
Before long, all the jōnin had arrived: four from the Koeda Clan, nine from the Kiri side, making a total of thirteen.
"The situation is urgent. I won't waste words—let's get straight to it."
Masakazu sat at the head of the long table. After sweeping his gaze around the room and seeing everyone listening intently, he spoke in a deep voice:
"An urgent report just arrived. The front lines… have suffered a crushing defeat."
"What?"
Ao's expression changed instantly.
"H-how… how could it be this fast?"
He had known the battlefront was in a difficult position. Even while drifting at sea, they had maintained communication with the village. Ninja had their ways of sending word—messenger beasts had been used since the Warring States period to transmit intelligence.
"Wasn't it just a few days ago they said they had held off Konoha's counterattack? And hadn't the Mizukage already laid out a plan for the counteroffensive…?"
Ao stared urgently at Masakazu.
"The counterattack failed."
Masakazu's face was dark.
Truth be told, he had never placed much faith in the Mizukage's counterattack. To put it bluntly, after Konoha had consecutively defeated Suna, Kumo, and Iwa, he no longer harbored any hope of victory against them. But unfortunately, being adrift at sea, he had no way of interfering in the village's decisions.
Besides, even if he had been there, it wouldn't have mattered. His younger brother, Yūzō, had written to him privately, making it clear that the Mizukage's stance was unshakable. Not even Genshi's advice had swayed him.
In the end, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, under the Mizukage's direct orders, set the plan in motion.
And then—
they were utterly defeated.
"I don't know the full details. The letter only said the front lines collapsed and our side suffered devastating losses. Most critically, Konoha shinobi launched a surprise attack on our transport fleet docked at the port—burning more than eighty percent of the ships. Even though many have already died on the battlefield, the few vessels remaining aren't nearly enough to evacuate the survivors…"
Masakazu paused briefly before continuing:
"Some of our comrades are fleeing south toward the coast, hounded by Konoha shinobi. And since we are near the southern shore, the Mizukage has ordered us to provide reinforcements and rescue as many as we can."
At this, the jōnin exchanged uneasy looks.
Rescuing a routed army… that was no easy task.
"Masakazu-sama, most of the people aboard our ships aren't shinobi," Ao spoke up first. Their fleet's purpose was to escort the Koeda Clan, and most of its members were civilians with no real combat strength.
Taking along such a group would be an immense burden during a rescue mission.
Masakazu shot Ao a glance, signaling him to hold back, then turned his gaze to the others.
"My plan is to split into two forces. We have five ships in total. If we pack people a little tighter, we can spare two ships. With some hands assigned to them, those two empty vessels can handle the rescue, while the remaining three continue with our current mission."
"Will two ships be enough?"
Ao asked instinctively.
"The carrying capacity is fixed. Even if we sent all five, it wouldn't change how many people they could hold." Masakazu cast him a sidelong glance.
"You're right—I wasn't thinking."
Ao slapped his forehead. It was a foolish slip. Just as Masakazu had said, the capacity of a ship was limited. Unless they threw their current passengers overboard, there was only so much room for survivors.
And of course, abandoning their own passengers was out of the question.
So the best option was to squeeze their people together to free up two empty ships. That way, the rescue could proceed without dragging along the noncombatants, while still ensuring space to save as many comrades as possible.
It was, without doubt, the most practical plan.
"This is a good idea. I have no objections," Ao responded first.
"Nor do I," Dazen added immediately.
The other jōnin voiced their agreement one after another. Not a single person objected.
"Ao, go and see that two ships are cleared right away," Masakazu ordered once consensus was reached.
"Yes, I'll see to it at once."
Ao accepted without hesitation. Without wasting time, he rose and left the dining hall to begin the preparations.
Inside, the meeting continued.
Two ships and their crews alone wouldn't be enough. A detachment of shinobi had to accompany them, especially since the letter had clearly stated that Konoha shinobi were actively hunting down their retreating comrades. A clash was almost inevitable.
So—
not just shinobi, but strong shinobi would be required.
"For the rescue mission, are there any volunteers—"
"I'll go."
Kyoichi raised his hand before anyone else.
"Count me in as well."
Yūsuke spoke a beat later.
Seeing that Kyoichi and Yūsuke had both volunteered, Dazen swallowed back the words that had been on his lips. With two already stepping forward, it was enough. The Koeda Clan had only four jōnin in total—sending two of them was proof enough of their loyalty to the village.