"He attacked outright, killed several of our comrades, stole a large batch of supply scrolls, and then fled..."
Mei Terumi's expression instantly turned cold.
Defection!
This was outright defection!
In the shinobi world.
Ninja defections were not common, but they were certainly not rare, either.
Especially in a village like Kirigakure, ninja defections were a frequent occurrence.
But killing comrades from the same village before defecting made it an entirely different matter.
By doing this, Kisame Hoshigaki...
Had undoubtedly betrayed Kirigakure completely!
He had betrayed every comrade who had ever fought by his side!
And if Mei Terumi remembered correctly...
Kisame Hoshigaki had always claimed to be a diehard loyalist of Karatachi Yagura.
Yet now, just after Karatachi Yagura had been defeated and the Mysterious Masked Man-Obito Uchiha-had been driven off along with him...
Kisame Hoshigaki had immediately turned on them, killed ninja from his own village, and defected.
What did that mean?
It meant that shark-face had never been loyal to Karatachi Yagura, but to Obito Uchiha, who stood behind him!
Mei Terumi asked in an icy voice.
"Which direction did Kisame Hoshigaki flee in?"
"N-north... He jumped into the sea and headed deep into the waters to the north..."
He had jumped into the sea to escape...
Mei Terumi stopped and gazed out toward the sea.
Even in Kirigakure, ninja as inhuman in both appearance and ability as Kisame Hoshigaki were uncommon.
At least, as far as Mei Terumi could recall...
There did not seem to be a single Kirigakure ninja who could outswim Kisame Hoshigaki in the sea.
Besides, in their current state, the Kirigakure forces simply could not spare enough people to pursue Kisame Hoshigaki across the vast sea.
Mei Terumi fell silent for a moment, then turned and swept her gaze over all the Kirigakure