Chapter 722 The Princess and the Artist

Leaving Shiraishi's office, Kazuhime returned to the thorn group lounge with the jonin roster.

As a vanguard unit specially established by the Ghost Country military, every time the military has any major missions or faces any dangerous enemies, the Thorn Team is the first to rush to the forefront of the battlefield and become a sharp knife in the hands of the military to stab the enemy's heart.

Based on this, the treatment of the Thorn Group in the military is naturally excellent. In the lounge and office space, the military also gives the members of the Thorn Group great benefits.

Yiji came back here and found that in the spacious and luxurious lounge, there were only two people stationed here, and the other people were missing, making the lounge extremely empty.

"Are you the only two here, where did the rest go?"

Yi Ji held the Jnin roster between his arms, and instead of opening it immediately, he asked the only person in the waiting room.

These two are rare female ninjas in the Thorn group, one big and one small.

The older women are in their thirties, but they look like they are in their twenties, and they look very young.

She stood here quietly, holding a teacup in her hand, with long vertical black hair, giving people an aesthetic feeling of watching classical women.

Summer Star. This is the name of this female ninja.

Originally Hoshi Ninja Murakami Shinobi, after Hoshi Ninja Village was incorporated into the army of the Oni Ninja, he successfully stood out from the crowd with his formidable strength and was successfully selected into the thorn group. He is good at peacock magic and is an extremely rare air combat ninja. In terms of maneuverability and flexibility, the peacock magic technique it masters is even better than the flying ninja produced by the kingdom of ghosts.

The other person's body is slightly petite. Like Xia Rixing, he has long black straight hair and white pupils. Sitting on the sofa, there is a quiet atmosphere around him, giving people a quiet and gentle temperament.

Sunflower.

Appears to be only about twenty years old, similar to Kazuhime's age, and is one of the outstanding members of the younger generation of the Hyuga clan in the Oni Land.

It's just that because he was selected into the thorn group early, his reputation is not obvious, but he also has a quiet personality, and he doesn't seem to value things like reputation very much. Overall, he is a ninja who pays little attention to fame and fortune, but pays too much attention to self-improvement.

Entering the thorn group is also thinking about how to improve the ninja strength of oneself faster.

Ichihime always feels that the Hyuga Clan in Oni Land doesn't seem to pay much attention to the cultivation of appearance and temperament. Under the leadership of her "little mother" Hyuga Ayane, the Hyuga Clan is very fond of the cultivation of force, and gradually begins to overlap with the characteristics of the Uchiha Clan.

This may have something to do with the personality of the leader of the family.

Seeing Yi Ji coming in, Hinata Kwai stood up from the sofa, and quickly responded to Yi Ji's question: "They said they want to go out to relax and treat themselves in the barbecue shop. Captain, is there something important, do you need to call them back?"

Yiji thought for a while, shook her head and said, "Forget it, since the few of them are having a party, it's a little out of date now, so don't bother them. Besides, it's not something particularly important."

As she spoke, she picked up the roster between her arms, and gave a slight nod to Sun Xiangkui and Xia Rixing.

"Captain, this is..."

It's not just Hinata, Xia Rixing is curious about the documents in Kazuki's hands.

"This is the jnin roster given to me by the old man. He told me in the office just now that he was not very satisfied with the completion of the thorn group's mission recently. He needs to fill in some combat power."

Yiji said without blushing.

She can't attack and say that the strength of the team members is too weak, so that she, the captain, can't use her strength well.

So, Yi Ji did not hesitate to put the person who proposed this plan on Shiraishi's head.

Anyway, my old man has already been hated by humans and gods outside, so no matter how many lice he has on his body, he should not take it seriously.

Xia Rixing and Sun Xiangkui looked at each other, then lowered their heads in shame, feeling uneasy.

Although I don't know where I went wrong, since the most senior leaders of the military have said such things, I think it is not aimless.

"However, you two don't need to pay too much attention to it. That old man is already forty years old, and he is probably going to be demented. Recently, when doing things, it is inevitable that he will be a little hesitant. He is dissatisfied here and there, just like a menopausal woman. After all, no matter how brilliant the achievements in the past are, now he is just a middle-aged greasy man with a big belly and a lazy mind. So just do your own work."

Yiji comforted Xia Rixing and Ri Xiangkui, with an expression of righteous indignation on his face, like an upright leader who upheld justice and grievances for his subordinates, and could not tolerate a speck of sand in his eyes.

Xia Rixing and Ri Xiangkui felt a little bit of comfort and gratitude when they heard this.

Compared to the unattainable Minister of Military Affairs, the captain, Ichihime, has frequent contact with them and can make them feel more recognized.

However, the two of them didn't think that the Minister of Military Affairs was a so-called middle-aged greasy man, and they couldn't even imagine that the other party was potbellied and lazy. After all, two years ago, the other party directly led people to capture Miaomu Mountain, one of the Three Holy Lands. Such a leader can't be said to be unique, at least in terms of force, it makes their own people feel at ease.

These malicious comments spit out from Yi Ji's mouth are probably the "warm" daily life between father and daughter.

"So, bring this document back for..."

Hinata looked at the document in Kazuhime's hand, and had a guess in her mind.

"As you guessed, the old man asked me to pick a few juunin with outstanding abilities from the roster to make up for the lack of combat effectiveness of the group. Although I really want to refuse."

Ichihime casually sat on the sofa opposite Hinata Kwai, put down the Jnin roster in his hand, took his time, and threw a little lice at Shiraishi.

And Xia Rixing hurriedly prepared a glass of iced juice for her.

Yiji picked up the iced juice and drank it all in one gulp. In this hot season, the most comfortable thing is to blow the air-conditioning in the office, drink the iced juice, and then spend time leisurely, waiting to go home after get off work to rest.

However, Ichihime's idle appearance made the more serious Hinata feel great pressure. She took the jonin roster and began to study each one carefully, trying to find some companions who could join the thorn group and work with them.

It's just that the army of the Demon Kingdom has grown so far, and the number of jonin has already surged to 300.

This number may not seem to be much, but the number of Jnin that the other big ninja villages alone will never exceed this number. In this regard, only Yunyin, who is also extremely powerful in military power, is qualified to be compared with the Kingdom of Ghosts in this regard.

Followed by Kirigakure and Konoha, Iwagakure and Sagakure are counting down. The number of possible ninjas is just over 200. These two villages have been under the special care of the military.

Even so, it would take a long time for Hinata to browse through the information of more than 300 jounin. Not to mention, it is impossible to browse such an important roster.

Finally, it depends on whether the person is willing to work in the thorn group. The other party is unwilling and cannot force the other party to join, otherwise it will easily cause disagreements among colleagues.

"Captain, what's your opinion?"

Compared to Hinata, who has already entered the state of picking people, Xia Rixing knows that Kazuhime's thoughts are the most important. Judging from her attitude of throwing the roster away, she probably doesn't like the Jonin on the roster.

It's a bit impolite to say that, but Xia Rixing thinks that the Thorn Group has dragged down Yiji's development.

With the strength of the opponent, he could have killed the Quartet by himself in action, fighting without any scruples.

The group of thorns is more like a background under the name of Kazuhime, but at the same time it is also a shackle on the other party.

Thinking about this, Xia Rixing directly asked Yiji what he thought.

"These junin, in conventional warfare, have the ability."

Yi Ji put down the empty cup in his hand, put it on the coffee table in front of him, and commented on this sentence indifferently.

Ninjas who have reached the rank of Jnin are all a group of existences who have developed their own unique abilities. In this, even the weakest special Jnin will open a huge gap compared with the regular Chunin. It can be said that none of the ninjas who can do this are mediocre.

Yiji's evaluation is just telling the truth.

But Xia Rixing heard another meaning. Although these ninja abilities are good, the Thorn Group needs ninjas stronger than them to join in.

In the past, as a johnin of Star Ninja Village, she participated in the management of the village. Therefore, she also has some experience in selecting and appointing people. Unlike Hinata Kwai, who are young and powerful, but have weaker management skills, she is not only excellent in strength, but also has rich management experience.

In the Thorn group, she is one of the few members who can discuss the group's development plan with Yiji.

Therefore, Xia Rixing couldn't help but frowned at Yiji's hint.

Practically speaking, there is no shortage of top-level ninjas in the Oni Nation's military. For ninjas of the Five Kages' level, it's not too difficult to find a dozen or so.

But these top ninjas are either in important positions and cannot be easily transferred from their positions without the highest order, or they are team leaders themselves and will not be inferior to others. Even if Yiji went to invite her personally, they would not serve in the thorn group and help Yiji.

"Captain, how about Uchiha Sasuke? The opponent is a rookie in the military, and he has the ability to defeat that Sharingan Itachi and attack Konoha."

Strong strength, lack of background, such a rookie, in Xia Rixing's view, the other party is the easiest group of top ninjas to win in.

As far as she knows, many high-level cadres in the military are eyeing each other and want to transfer him to serve under her command.

"No, the old man said that he will not be inferior to others. Besides, he is now with Kakashi Hatake from the Intelligence Department, so he probably won't be invited. Even if he is invited, he will follow Kakashi Hatake."

Yiji shook her head.

"So, what about Shinobu Ayakami?"

Xia Rixing proposed again, thinking of Yiji's half-brother.

Although there is already a white-eyed ninja in the thorns group, the group has no special regulations, and ninjas with the same blood inheritance limit are not allowed to join together.

In Xia Rixing's impression, the captain's half-brother is not only humble and low-key, but also has good strength. He is definitely qualified to be the second person in the team.

"He has been working in the garrison recently, and it is difficult to transfer."

Yiji also considered Cai, the younger brother, and asked him to join the thorns group, and contact her siblings by the way.

But the little mother who always took advantage of the afternoon tea parties in the office and at home would never let her go easily.

Xia Ri Xing was even more distressed.

Sure enough, excellent ninjas have long been clearly arranged by their superiors, and they will never sit idle and wait for others to dig them.

"Since this is the case, there is only one choice. Captain, do you still remember the Iwagakure ninja who used the burst escape that we captured from the forest country last time? His ability seems to be good."

After being reminded by the summer starlight, Yiji's eyes lit up, and then she thought of something, and subconsciously frowned.

"I remember that he was sent to the southern mining area to serve his sentence and reform. It is not easy to get people from there."

"Since the superior feels that our Thorn team is not strong enough, then, in this regard, I think they can accommodate us a little bit."

Xia Ri Xing said righteously.

Ichihime slowly nodded and stood up from the sofa.

"Then I will go to the old man to explain and ask for a handwritten letter. You go and inform the rest of the people that we will leave for the southern mining area tomorrow morning."

"yes."

Xia Rixing agreed and watched Yiji leave again.

Facing the extremely hot sun, he finally survived the morning mining work. Didara was dragging his exhausted body, eating with the workers in the collective cafeteria.

Meals include two meats, one vegetable and one soup, white rice with full grains, and balanced nutrition. Looking at the work meal in front of him, Didala wondered more than once whether the treatment here was too high. When he and Xie went out on missions, they basically brought cold rice **** to fetch water on the spot to satisfy their hunger and thirst.

Occasionally when I settle down, I treat myself to a hot meal.

After all, most countries in the ninja world are very poor, ordinary people live a precarious life, and food is always the number one priority. In addition, when the ninjas go out on missions, they are used to eating and sleeping in the wind, as long as they can fill their stomachs and not starve to death.

Subconsciously, Didala suddenly felt that mining here was also a promising career, at least food and clothing would not worry about it, and it was extremely attractive to wandering ninjas who were hungry. Seeing that most of the miners who work honestly here will know that they have been smoothed out and began to consider retirement in the mining area.

The only downside is that Chakra is sealed, so I can't study my own art, otherwise this kind of life would be too fulfilling.

Thinking of this, Didala couldn't help but feel a little itchy.

Unfortunately, there is no clay available here, and it is simply unrealistic to knead something.

Moreover, even if something is squeezed out, it is completely meaningless.

Art that doesn't explode isn't art at all, it's just a bunch of boring clay puppets. And this kind of thing is by no means an inferior work of art that he wants to make.

So, Didara sighed, feeling melancholy about the road ahead, and glanced at the location next to him.

This location was originally used by Fei Duan, but now it is empty. The reason why there was no one was because the other party suddenly had a nervous attack for some reason last night, and attacked the staff here with a dinner fork, and shouted, "Long live the evil god".

In the end, he was beaten into a dead dog by the ghost country ninja who walked in with a black face and dragged out, and he is still basking in the sun outside.

According to the past practice, he will be hanged for at least half a month, during which he will only be given some water and food to ensure that he will not die of hunger and thirst.

Didara's thought of making trouble was instantly eliminated.

He wasn't afraid, but he didn't like Hi Duan's reckless approach. Apart from asking for trouble, making one's future more uncertain and worrying, it has no effect at all.

He felt that if Fei Duan continued to go on like this, he would never even think about getting out of the mining area in this life. He could only mine here for the rest of his life until he died of old age.

If you want to leave here, you must abide by the rules here. This is the fastest and only way to gain freedom.

Although the treatment here is good and there is no need to worry about food and clothing, but when Didara thought of his unfinished art, he told himself that he must not fall down so easily.

First set a small goal, that is to win the Excellence Award for Three Good Miners at the end of this year!

"Number 95! Number 95!"

The sudden shout interrupted Didara's thoughts and made him subconsciously turn his head to look. A heavily armed ninja from the Ghost Kingdom was standing at the door, shouting his number.

Prisoners serving sentences in the mining area do not have names, but are only called by numbers. Didara's number is exactly 95.

He stood up from his seat and walked towards the ghost country ninja.

The other party called him over, obviously something happened.

"Number 95, someone wants to see you, follow me."

The Ninja of the Ghost Country glanced at Didara, dropped this sentence, ignored Didara, and led the way directly, motioning for the other party to follow.

After hearing this, Didara was full of doubts.

But in the end, he still didn't say a word, enduring his doubts, wearing handshakes and ankle shackles, and quickly followed the opponent's footsteps at the same speed.

The rest area behind the mining area.

In a simple conference room, Yi Ji crossed her legs, holding two pieces of personnel information in her hand, and glanced at them.

One of them is Deidara, and the other is Hidan.

But on the white paper where Fei Duan was recorded, there was a big red font.

Yiji knew that this cultist named Fei Duan had an extremely dangerous anti-human personality, and if he let it out rashly, it would cause a lot of trouble.

Combined with the various bad performances of the mining area in the south of the opponent, the managers here have already begun to consider whether to extradite such unmanageable thorns to the mining area of Snow Country to dig potatoes. There is a shortage of manpower there.

In contrast, although Didala's performance was not bright, his honest behavior still earned a lot of points from the manager.

Understanding this, Yiji felt that Didara could get a relationship with Shiraishi and fish it out of the mining area, but Hidan was impossible.

This cultist with a serious anti-human personality can only go to the Snow Country to dig potatoes, and leave it to fate when he comes out.

So, Yi Ji simply threw Fei Duan's information file into the trash can, and kept Didara's information.

Not long after, there was a knock on the door.

Yi Ji shouted to the person outside the door without looking up: "Please come in."

The ninja from the ghost country outside the door pushed open the door and brought in Didara, whose hair color had become a little dry and withered.

Here, as long as you do your duty, you don't have to worry about eating and drinking, but after all, you have nothing to do with the word freedom.

Especially for a ninja who pursues art like Didara, it is simply killing his nature, preventing him from touching his own art. Therefore, the expression on Didara's face looked very sluggish, with an air of decay.

The ninja from the country of ghosts brought Didara here, and walked out on his own initiative, leaving room for Kazuki and Didara.

"I thought who it was, it turned out to be Her Royal Highness. What's the use of looking for a prisoner like me? Hmm."

Didara grinned reluctantly. It can be said that he became like this because of the gift of the other party.

"You seem very unconvinced."

Yiji raised her eyebrows, sat on the seat, continued to keep her legs crossed, and stared at Didala with her arms crossed, with a condescending attitude.

"Of course, you guys defeated my art with despicable means. If it's a fair duel, it's hard to say who wins and who loses. Hmm."

Didara is so brazen.

On the one hand, he is dissatisfied with the thorn group's despicable way of capturing him, and on the other hand, he is extremely confident in his own art.

If it was an aboveboard competition, he firmly believed that he would never lose.

What he expresses is precisely this kind of strong belief that he will not yield to others. Even the hard work in the mining area cannot erase his unwilling thoughts.

"At first, I thought that the work here would smooth out your edges and corners, but it seems that it has no effect. However, it doesn't matter whether the ninja fight is despicable or not, that's something that children will care about."

Yiji's attitude was still cold and arrogant, and Didara felt a little aggrieved by her attitude of looking down on others, but she also knew that it was meaningless to use her tongue.

But wanting to prove his own strength with practical actions, right now, as a prisoner of his rank, this possibility is basically ruled out.

However, Yiji's next words surprised him.

I saw Yiji look indifferent, and said: "In this case, then I will give you a chance to prove yourself again, so that you will be convinced."

"A chance to prove yourself?"

Didara was taken aback.

"That's right, that is to use your art to fight me. Defeat me, you can be free immediately, and from now on, the ninjas of the ghost country will never be your enemy, nor will they appear within ten meters of you. But if you fail, your future life will be judged by me!"

Yiji looked at Didara who was completely overwhelmed by her aura, with a satisfied look on her face:

"The conditions are here, how you choose is your freedom. However, I think you don't want to spend your whole life mining here in the future and ruin your art?"

The provocative words with stings resounded loudly in the room.

(PS: still a little dizzy...)

(end of this chapter)