Of course, Kei himself was unaware that he had become the most important negotiator between his own ninja village and Konoha in this negotiation.
On June 21st, Qi was ambushed by the Root members. After barely escaping the pursuit, Qi, severely injured, did not dare to wander around. He carefully chose a small town in the nearby area, used his Transformation Technique to enter it, and rested for a whole day before turning back and embarking on the road back to the village.
Throughout the journey, Qi's heart was constantly on edge. He carefully chose to take a longer route, unaware that the Root members had either already returned to report or had been taken back by Jiraiya and his men.
Adhering to the principle that caution is better than making a big mistake, Qi Ning would rather spend more time and energy than be ambushed again.
As for the safety of his other teammates and comrades, to be honest, it's not that Qi doesn't care, but that he doesn't have the ability to care. One day is simply not enough time for his injuries to fully recover. Right now, he might not have much of a problem dealing with an ordinary Chunin, but if he were to encounter a Jonin...
That would definitely be a tough situation. Ensuring their own safety is the top priority. As long as they can leave the Land of Fire and return to their Land of Land of Water, they won't need to worry so much!
With this in mind, Qi took a roundabout route before finally arriving at the southeastern region of the Land of Fire. Qi planned to take a ship back to the Land of Water from a nearby port city. Just as he was about to reach that port city, he saw a special mark on a rather inconspicuous tree trunk!
These are tree trunk scratches that look perfectly natural to the average person, casually made by some children or bored people passing by.
But Qi knew very well that this was a secret mark exclusive to their Team 7.
It was a secret code that the three of them had discussed and decided upon over the past few months, and which they had also informed their Jonin instructor!
I saw this code.
This means that at least one of your teammates will survive.
A faint smile appeared on Qi's face.
Moreover, this marker was clearly made recently. If it had been there for a short time, Qi would have ignored it, and he believed his teammates would have done the same!
At that moment, he leaped forward and headed directly towards the location marked by the coded message. However, after traveling a short distance and almost reaching the marked location, he suddenly stopped. He had been so caught up in his joy that he had subconsciously overlooked a more terrifying possibility.
We still need to be careful...
After taking a deep breath, Qi concealed himself once again.
"Smack!"
With a clap of his hands, an Ice Clone materialized directly on his right side. The two figures split up, one to the left and one to the right, one in light and one in shadow, and moved forward separately.
Not long after.
Qi then arrived at the designated, marked location.
Before Qi could investigate further, he sensed a faint, familiar Chakra aura, and knowing that it wasn't just one person, Qi's heart relaxed a little.
A figure leaped out lightly.
"!?"
In that lower location, two slightly shorter figures suddenly sensed Qi's arrival.
Both of them tensed up.
But the next second, upon sensing the familiar aura and seeing Qi's figure again...
The tense expressions on the two men immediately relaxed, and the man on the left even looked at Qi with a smile, chuckling as he spoke.
"Qi! I knew you could break through successfully!"
These two were Kei's two teammates— Mei Terumi and Kisame Hoshigaki.
Kisame maintained his indifferent expression.
However, if you get closer and observe carefully...
You can see a faint hint of relaxation deep in Kisame's pupils. This Kisame has grown significantly from the one in the original work. Putting aside other things, the current Team 7 has truly given Kisame a certain sense of belonging. He certainly wouldn't die for his comrades; Kisame isn't that kind of person.
But deep down, he still cares about the safety of Kei and Mei Terumi.
Kisame would certainly be happy to see Kei return safely, though he himself probably doesn't realize it, much less admit it.
"Yeah, we almost didn't make it back. Konoha really went all out!"
Qi shook his head with a wry smile and said.
This is no exaggeration. Although Qi seemed to have everything under control during the pursuit and counter-ambush, to be honest, he was given the opportunity. If that Root Jonin more cautious and had pushed forward with his subordinates in a perfect coordinated attack formation, Qi would never have been able to forcefully kill that Sensory Ninja in a group of people!
That's not possible.
Based on strength alone, Qi couldn't defeat the Root members who were pursuing him, and if he tried to escape, they could lock onto him tightly!
This was definitely a doomed situation, but luckily the other side gave him a chance! Qi was able to break through successfully!
Mei Terumi nodded in agreement, feeling a sense of shared experience. This ambush had truly put their group in grave danger. If it weren't for a bit of luck, Mei Terumi didn't think she would have been able to escape!
"Hmph, Konoha!"
Kisame also snorted coldly, his pupils filled with chilling killing intent.
"This must be an internal conflict within Konoha. It seems that even the Third Hokage can't completely control the entire village. I thought that the Third Hokage, known as the ' Shinobi Hero,' wouldn't encounter such problems. Now it seems I overestimated him!"
Mei Terumi was unaware of the internal situation within Konohagakure, or to be more precise, outsiders could never possibly know just how outrageous the Konoha F4 was; they could only make inferences based on superficial information!
In reality, Mei Terumi had no idea that it wasn't that the Third Hokage lacked control, but rather that he was too confident in himself and too trusting of his old friend!
Many times, you might think Danzo is outrageous, but considering the series of events in the original work, especially the fact that Danzo even sent people to assassinate Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi is actually the most bizarre and outrageous one among the Konoha F4!
At least, that's Qi's opinion. He also finds it hard to understand why Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was able to lead Konoha out of its predicament in his youth and was known as a Shinobi Hero in the Shinobi World, would become so incompetent in his middle and old age!
However, Qi couldn't say these words directly to Mei Terumi and the others. He could only shake his head and say, "Who knows? This is ultimately an internal matter of Konoha. Let's leave it to the Mizukage and Genji to consider. Let's not talk about this now. Let's return to the village first. The longer we stay here, the higher the risk!"