"What exactly is happening?" A Konoha ninja wearing the village forehead protector frowned as he looked at the small island across the sea, muttering to himself.
"Why are there such loud noises continuously?"
Could it be that Kirigakure was so shameless as to release a tailed beast, planning to nuke the Land of Whirlpools? If they wanted to speed things up, why go this far?
How could they do something so disgraceful? Using a tailed beast directly, completely ignoring the "tailed beast prohibition" agreed upon by the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
Damn it, at the next Five Kage Summit, they must definitely file a complaint against Kirigakure.
"Nara-sama, are we really not sending troops to help the Land of Whirlpools?"
One of the Konoha ninja couldn't bear it and spoke up. "But the agreement established by Hashirama-sama..."
Nara Shikazo stretched lazily and replied calmly, "It's not that we're not helping. It's just not the right time yet. Wait a little longer."
As for what was really happening, he couldn't just say it outright!
The higher-ups in Konoha wanted to inherit the Land of Whirlpools' assets, so they were waiting until most of the Uzumaki clan was wiped out before acting. Even worse...
He glanced subtly at the masked figures lurking in the shadows—Root!!
These people were here to kill. If too many Uzumaki clan members escaped, they would intervene. After all, if too many survived, how could Konoha claim the inheritance?
Only if the Uzumaki clan was left with a few young children could Konoha, under the pretense of being the Land of Whirlpools' longtime ally, take them in.
Then, using the excuse that the Uzumaki orphans were still minors, Konoha could "safeguard" the Land of Whirlpools' assets.
What a righteous reason!
Damn it, no wonder these people could become village leaders and hold high positions. Their schemes were truly deep!
Nara Shikazo sighed helplessly and shook his head. He didn't know whether Konoha's actions were right or wrong, but as a shinobi, his duty was to obey orders.
After all, those who were too clever often died quickly. It was better to play dumb, he had a family to support and a clan to manage. Laziness and foolishness were the way to go!
"But the Senju clan seems to want to take action immediately," the Konoha ninja whispered, pointing at a group of Konoha ninja with grim expressions nearby.
"Won't they interfere with our mission?"
He didn't dare speak too loudly. The Senju clan was one of Konoha's great clans, especially since both the First and Second Hokage came from their lineage.
Even the Third Hokage was the Second's disciple. No one in the village dared to offend the Senju lightly. However, the Senju were usually kind and amiable, well-liked by the villagers. But today...
Why were they so angry?
"Don't mind them," Nara Shikazo shook his head. "As long as they don't act, let them be."
What kind of mess was this? Could Konoha afford to bear the reputation of betraying its allies? If word got out, who would dare ally with Konoha in the future?
Konoha had always upheld the First Hokage's ideals, striving to maintain peace in the shinobi world and taking the lead in contributing to stability.
So this blame, neither too big nor too small, was just right for...
Kirigakure to take. Hadn't they seen?
The Senju clan was practically green with anxiety, wanting to help the Land of Whirlpools. Weren't the Senju part of Konoha? Had they forgotten that the First and Second Hokage were both Senju?
Thinking this, Nara Shikazo sighed inwardly. What exactly were the higher-ups trying to do? Why were they constantly erasing the influence left by the First and Second Hokage?
...
"Shukuma-sama, what should we do now?" A Konoha ninja wearing the Senju clan emblem asked anxiously, looking at his fellow clansman. "Konoha won't let us go."
The Senju clan couldn't bring themselves to betray their allies like this.
Senju Shukuma sighed, his gaze filled with sorrow as he looked toward the Land of Whirlpools. "Remember, this village was founded by Hashirama-sama. It is our village too."
He didn't know why the village had made this decision, but he knew it was wrong. As Konoha's longtime ally, the Uzumaki clan had never done anything to betray Konoha.
On the contrary, they had given their all. Yet now, they were in such a dire situation. He didn't know how Hashirama-sama would react to the village's decision if he were alive, but he was certain that Hashirama-sama would have rushed to help without hesitation, even if he had to fight alone, even if it meant death.
Because he was the God of Shinobi, the great and benevolent ninja who ended the Warring States period.
Now, the Land of Whirlpools had become a battlefield. The Uzumaki clan had sacrificed so much for Konoha. True, the Senju had also suffered heavy losses, but the Uzumaki were not part of Konoha.
The Senju's sacrifices were for their own village, something they accepted willingly. But the Uzumaki had sacrificed for Konoha, only to meet such an end...
"It's truly disheartening," Senju Shukuma murmured. What was the Third Hokage thinking? He had been steadily reducing the Senju clan's numbers.
The Senju would never do anything to harm Konoha, and they were Hashirama's own clan!
Perhaps the Senju needed to make a decision. Otherwise, they might end up like the Uzumaki.
For the sake of the clan's survival, they might have to betray Hashirama-sama's ideals.
Senju Shukuma gritted his teeth and said to his clansmen, "Prepare to move out. We're heading to aid the Land of Whirlpools."
"Yes!" All the Senju shouted in unison. Recently, their hearts had been uneasy. The Uzumaki clan's friendship with Hashirama-sama was sacred.
Yet now, their dear allies were being betrayed. The Uzumaki had always treated them with sincerity, and now they were repaying that kindness with treachery.
They had failed Hashirama-sama.
...
Uzumaki Jun had no idea that the Senju clan had ultimately decided to defy Konoha's orders and come to the Land of Whirlpools' aid.
Nor did he know that Kushina was leading the clan members in the underground shelter in singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." If he had known, he would have taught her more songs—like "Tomorrow Will Be Better" or "Itsy Bitsy Spider"—songs more fitting for times of disaster, rather than children's songs like "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."
He knew that staying in the shelter for so long without hope or distraction would break people's spirits.
Especially when they knew a war was raging outside, fear and anxiety would spread. He didn't want any accidents happening after they had already won the war. Such ugly incidents would only ruin the mood.
"Elder, Clan Leader, are you alright?" Uzumaki Jun asked as he arrived at the meeting point, looking at them.
"Hahaha, that was exhilarating," the elder laughed heartily. "We're fine, perfectly fine."
The feeling of overwhelming the enemy with sheer force was just too satisfying.
"What about you?" the Clan Leader asked with a smile. "How did things go on your end?"
Had they succeeded? How many ships did Kirigakure have left?
"Ah..." Uzumaki Jun sighed.
The Clan Leader and the elder's hearts clenched. Had something gone wrong? They exchanged glances and patted Uzumaki Jun's shoulder reassuringly.
"It's alright, don't worry. Even if you failed, it's not a big deal."
"They still have one ship left," Uzumaki Jun said regretfully.
"What? They still have... you mean..." The Clan Leader and the elder's eyes widened. "Only one ship is left?"
Then...
"Hahaha!" They burst into laughter, tears streaming down their faces as they murmured, "We succeeded, we succeeded!"
Now, all they had to do was wage a war of attrition against Kirigakure. Without reinforcements or supplies, the Kirigakure shinobi wouldn't last long here.
Especially since...
Kirigakure was one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. With such heavy losses, how could they allow the Mizukage to continue like this?
"There's hope now, there's hope!"
"The Land of Whirlpools finally has hope!"