"How much longer until we arrive?"
The man wearing a high-collared trench coat, tied at the waist with a black silk ribbon, a green autumn shirt inside, with black eyes and blank space above them where eyebrows should be, sporting a small mustache, arms crossed over his chest, asked with a faint smile.
"Lord Second Mizukage," the ninja behind him replied respectfully, "We should arrive around noon tomorrow."
Hozuki Gengetsu nodded upon hearing this. He looked in the direction of the Land of Whirlpools and sneered coldly under his breath, "Heh, the friendship of Konoha? Jinchuriki?"
They were practically killed by their own allies. These idiots, the Uzumaki clan should wake up by now.
But it was already too late.
Jinchuriki, sealing techniques...
What truly tempting things!!!
"Sarutobi Hiruzen, heh, Konoha is truly full of hypocrites!!"
"All units, prepare to rest. At noon tomorrow, we will officially declare war on the Land of Whirlpools."
Hozuki Gengetsu shouted loudly to the surrounding ninjas. A village without tailed beasts posed little threat to Kirigakure.
They had to complete the invasion of the Land of Whirlpools and annihilate the Uzumaki clan before the war ended. He glanced at the Mizukage's assistant beside him and asked indifferently, "Are the tailed beasts properly sealed?"
"They are ready," the Mizukage's assistant replied.
"The sealing team has been monitoring them closely. There won't be any issues."
Hearing this, Hozuki Gengetsu nodded with a cold smile. "Good."
The ones who will destroy the Land of Whirlpools—Kirigakure!!!
...
"They're here." The clan leader put down the telescope in his hand, clenched his left fist tightly, and said with a serious expression, "Kirigakure has arrived."
He sighed inwardly. The war had finally begun, and their ally, Konoha, still had not sent reinforcements.
He couldn't help but lament. As expected, in the face of interests and war, all relationships are fragile. He wondered what Lord Hashirama would think if he knew about this.
Perhaps he would only apologize shamefully to the Uzumaki clan but still not interfere with Konoha's affairs. Then, he would risk his life to protect the friendship with the Uzumaki clan.
After all, Lord Hashirama was also an idiot.
"Are they here?" Uzumaki Jun and the elder turned around quickly upon hearing the clan leader's words and asked, "Have they arrived?"
The clan leader nodded.
"A massive fleet. The decks are filled with densely packed ninjas. They will probably begin landing soon."
"Inform the ninjas in the rear," Uzumaki Jun said after a moment of thought.
"Only by eliminating a large portion of the Kirigakure forces early on will we have a chance of victory later."
A village that was beaten so badly on the front lines that they cried for help probably didn't leave Hozuki Gengetsu in a good position within Kirigakure either.
Launching a war without achievements and being beaten until they cried for help, he must have decided to launch a sneak attack from the rear, intending to use the prestige of destroying a nation to silence the discordant voices in Kirigakure.
But he never expected that even if he succeeded, he would still end up perishing alongside the Tsuchikage.
This time, he probably wasn't feeling too good either. Because there was a transmigrator here. The Land of Whirlpools wasn't so easy to destroy, especially when they were prepared.
Trying to achieve the feat of destroying a nation would cost them dearly. If this invasion failed, Hozuki Gengetsu would truly perish alongside the Tsuchikage, because...
He was a Kage!!!
Uzumaki Jun looked at the elder and the clan leader and said, "For now, stay hidden. Use the telescope to observe Kirigakure's movements, but only focus on their chunin or genin."
After all, the perception abilities of strong individuals were extremely sharp. Especially since most of the invading ninjas from Kirigakure had been active on the front lines.
If it weren't for the fact that the war was nearing its end, Kirigakure wouldn't have been able to allocate so many ninjas for this invasion.
Although the telescope wasn't a sensing technique and they might not necessarily detect it, who knew if some of them had beast-like instincts? They might sense it just by being stared at.
"Once the Mizukage leads the main force into the forest, we will act," Uzumaki Jun said seriously. "Also, remember to harass them when they rest, denying them any chance to recuperate."
Guerrilla warfare meant disturbing them when they rested and resting when they were active.
The clan leader and the elders all nodded solemnly.
War was no joke!!!
...
"Lord Mizukage." The vanguard commander saw that Kirigakure's main force had finally landed, especially the Mizukage at the forefront, and quickly stepped forward to greet him respectfully.
"Horiguchi Take." The Mizukage looked at the vanguard commander and asked warmly, "How is the situation?"
Horiguchi Take, an elite jonin of Kirigakure, a genius among civilians, and the vanguard commander.
Horiguchi Take thought for a moment and said, "The Uzumaki clan seems prepared for war. They've set up defenses at the forest boundary to block our invasion. There are so many of them that we couldn't gather much intel. Also, while there are many ninjas remaining in the Land of Whirlpools, they don't seem very strong."
A dense crowd, though most were shadow clones, still represented a considerable number of ninjas. Their strength was just too weak. A light touch and they would burst like punctured balloons...
"Pop—" and they were gone.
Horiguchi Take didn't know that most of those ninjas were shadow clones combined with transformation techniques.
After all, to mobilize the entire nation's strength, they needed numbers to intimidate the enemy.
"Strong? The strong ones were all killed by Konoha's schemes." The Mizukage chuckled dismissively. "What good brothers Konoha has!!!"
"..." Horiguchi Take fell silent upon hearing the Mizukage's words. He wasn't sure if he should mention this, but their small group had been camping here, and the Uzumaki clan hadn't launched any attacks.
Did they truly not want war? Were they waiting for the Mizukage to arrive and negotiate peace? That was why they weren't killing anyone?
Oh, wait, they had killed people, three of them. During another reconnaissance mission, another person went missing. But as long as they didn't move around recklessly, the Uzumaki ninjas left them alone.
What...
Were they planning?
"Mobilizing the entire nation's strength?" The Mizukage stroked his chin playfully. "After losing so many jonin on Konoha's battlefield, how many jonin can the Land of Whirlpools still muster?"
Hozuki Gengetsu waved his hand and shouted loudly, "Advance immediately."
They were too weak, so weak that he couldn't even muster any enthusiasm. A village without a Kage-level ninja, what could Uzushiogakure possibly use to stop them? It was better to end the war quickly and silence the unnecessary voices in the village.
"Yes!!!" The ninjas behind the Mizukage responded loudly.
"Lord Mizukage, shouldn't we formulate a plan?" the Mizukage's assistant asked. "If we fall into Uzushiogakure's trap, it would be disastrous."
"No matter. Under absolute strength, all schemes are useless."
Hozuki Gengetsu rubbed his eyebrow-less forehead and said casually, "Most of Uzushiogakure's jonin died on the battlefield. The remaining weaklings, heh!!"
Moreover...
Only by acting swiftly could Kirigakure gain more benefits. Many were eyeing this piece of fat meat in the shadows.
"The Land of Whirlpools cannot stop us now." Hozuki Gengetsu waved his hand, signaling the Kirigakure ninjas to advance.
"Especially with so many villages watching closely. Heh, Konoha... Trying to use Kirigakure won't be so easy."
"But no matter what, Uzushiogakure is still a shinobi village." The Mizukage's assistant still seemed worried. "And the Uzumaki clan has been a powerful clan since ancient times."
"Heh, powerful they may be." Hozuki Gengetsu said. "With their vast chakra reserves, vitality, and formidable sealing techniques, they are indeed intimidating."
"But without Kage-level fighters or tailed beasts, they are ultimately just a weak village."
"And the Uzumaki clan is full of hotheads. We just need to provoke them."
Hearing the Mizukage's resolute tone, the assistant could only shake his head helplessly. The orders had already been given, and the Kirigakure ninjas were on the move. Besides, everything the Mizukage said was true.
Although the Uzumaki clan was powerful, they were ultimately just one clan. Even if they called themselves Uzushiogakure or the Land of Whirlpools, it couldn't hide the fact that they were few in number.
Combined with the heavy losses on the front lines, Uzushiogakure was probably struggling now.
And Kirigakure? One of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. A village against one clan, even if the Uzumaki clan hadn't aided Konoha, they could still win. It would just be more troublesome. But now?
They could only blame themselves for being fools.
Heaven was fair. It gave the Uzumaki clan vast chakra and vitality but also gave them hot tempers.
They were practically idiots!!!
...
"Attention, Kirigakure has officially entered the forest." A Uzushiogakure ninja said solemnly to the surrounding ninjas.
"Remember Lord Jun's orders. If you can't win, retreat. Don't throw your lives away."
Lord Jun had emphasized this many times. He also understood the Uzumaki clan's situation—never resorting to schemes, just brute force, using chakra and lives to overpower the enemy. But now, the circumstances were different.
Their numbers were few, and their strong fighters were scarce. If anything went wrong, it would truly mean the annihilation of their clan and nation.
So...
They couldn't afford to be reckless!!! If they acted recklessly now, the Land of Whirlpools would go bankrupt, and the big bullies behind them would seize their assets.
The surrounding ninjas all nodded solemnly. They knew this wasn't the time for jokes. They had to control their chakra and their tempers. They couldn't let themselves be provoked into recklessly charging forward, howling and fighting to the death.
"They're here." The Uzushiogakure commander raised his hand, signaling them to stay calm, and said, "Remember to use shadow clones and transformation techniques to create the illusion of an all-out battle."
...
"Halt." The Mizukage surveyed the surroundings and seemed to notice something amiss. Frowning, he asked Horiguchi Take, "Is this the place?"
"That's right." Horiguchi Take nodded seriously. "Ahead is where the Uzumaki clan has set up camp..."
Before he could finish...
"Swish, swish..."
Suddenly, a dense crowd of Uzushiogakure ninjas appeared, forming a human wall in front of the Kirigakure forces, as if blocking their path.
"Leave this place, Kirigakure." Uzumaki Kai, the temporary commander of the Uzumaki guerrilla squad, stepped forward with a stern expression.
Seeing the trench-coated, eyebrow-less man at the forefront of the Kirigakure forces, his eyebrows twitched. Damn it, was this the Mizukage?
This was a Kage-level fighter!!! The Land of Whirlpools had no Kage-level ninjas apart from Lady Mito, and now Lady Mito was too old to aid the Land of Whirlpools.
With so few Uzushiogakure jonin left, most of them dead, the Mizukage could probably crush the Land of Whirlpools with ease.
But Uzumaki Kai still steeled himself and said firmly, without backing down, "You are not welcome here."
Seeing the dense crowd of Uzushiogakure ninjas, Hozuki Gengetsu narrowed his eyes. Did the Land of Whirlpools...
Have this many ninjas?
But as he sensed the chakra of the surrounding Uzushiogakure ninjas, they were indeed real, not clones. Still, he felt no tension. They were too weak, pathetically weak. Most of them were cannon-fodder genin, only capable of causing minor trouble. They posed no real threat to Kirigakure's main force.
"Uzumaki clan, lay down your weapons and surrender unconditionally. Join Kirigakure." Hozuki Gengetsu sneered. "I will spare your lives."
They were so weak that it was hardly worth the effort. Hozuki Gengetsu estimated that he wouldn't even need to intervene as a high-ranking village leader.