The Land of Whirlpools Will Definitely Win

The kunai of Uzumaki Kai clashed with Horikoku Takeshi's, sending sparks flying. Takeshi frowned and said, "And you?"

This Whirlpool ninja in front of him was no ordinary foe. He never expected the Uzumaki clan, betrayed so brutally by Konoha, to still have such a powerful shinobi - befitting their thousand-year heritage.

"Daimyo's Guard Ninja - Uzumaki Kai." Kai leapt back from the battlefield, tossed his kunai aside, and with a hand seal unleashed a wind attack, "Wind Style: Wind Blade Jutsu."

Takeshi managed to dodge it, glancing worriedly at his squad mates nearby. He formed hand seals for a water jutsu, "Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique."

This wouldn't do! At this rate, his entire squad would be wiped out.

Takeshi kept retrieving kunai, flinging them repeatedly at Kai, the blades clanging together.

Suddenly, he sensed chakra from behind. 

"Wind Style: Wind Blade Jutsu!" Another jonin had joined the fray.

Takeshi's left arm was cut, and he glared at Kai, fuming, "Despicable!" For the renowned Uzumaki clan to resort to such underhanded sneak attacks?

"The despicable ones are you Kiri ninja," Kai retorted dispassionately, throwing another kunai. "Invaders."

Seeing the Whirlpool ninja remain coolheaded instead of raging about their clan's honor and challenging Takeshi directly suggested they had received psychological training.

So they wouldn't just recklessly charge in. But who could be behind them?

Lurking in the Uzumaki clan's shadow, the real threat was...

"Ebby!" Takeshi cried in alarm as he saw his comrade Ebby struck from behind by an Uzumaki kunai to his back. 

Ebby froze, blood spurting from his mouth as he collapsed face-down.

"Ebby!!!" Tayu screamed in anguish witnessing his teammate's death. How many more? How many more would die? So...

"Guh--!" A kunai pierced Tayu's chest mid-sentence before he too crumpled lifelessly.

"Tayu!!" Takeshi felt despair wash over him as another comrade fell. He knew he was a dead man - even if he survived this, he would be the scapegoat back in Kiri.

But Tayu and the others were just kids! They hadn't even had a chance to truly shine as shinobi before their lives were cut short so abruptly. 

Surrounded by increasing numbers of Uzumaki ninja, Takeshi grew eerily calm.

He could only hope...that the village would spare his wife and children!

...

"The Mizukage seems to have caught on to something amiss and is sending reinforcements," Uzumaki Ryuto said, peering through his telescope. "Give the signal to retreat."

The clan head nodded, raising his hand to the sky. "Wind Style - Retreat Signal Jutsu."

Seeing the signal, Ryuto said, "We should leave too. They've probably located this position now."

Such a massive wind jutsu would surely alert the intelligent Kiri ninja. Looks like he'd have to find another hiding place again.

...

"Damn it, damn it all," Gengetsu Hozuki, the Mizukage, cursed as he saw only half of his scouting team had returned. If they hadn't detected the abnormality early and called for backup, that half might have been lost too. "Where is Horikoku Takeshi?"

"Sacrificed himself," a surviving ninja murmured solemnly.

Gengetsu paused, then sighed heavily. "Compile a list of the fallen. The village will compensate their families properly."

Although he had planned to make Takeshi the scapegoat, the elite jonin's death saddened him. He knew how costly it was to train such exceptional shinobi. 

And now Takeshi was gone.

Shifting that burden onto a celebrated war hero was unconscionable - it would make life hell for Takeshi's children and family. He had groomed Takeshi himself as a loyal subordinate. 

Since the man had died serving the village, Kiri could not ill-treat his kin. Not if Gengetsu wanted to maintain troop morale.

"Who is the strategist guiding the Whirlpool clan?" Gengetsu gripped his fist, muttering. "Don't let them find out who it is, or else..."

"All forces, rest for tomorrow. We'll discuss tactics then." 

Nothing was going right today. Without supplies and reinforcements, his ninja wouldn't last much longer here.

...

"Yawn...yawn..." Ryuto rubbed his nose. Who could be thinking about him?

The village elder chuckled. "Hahaha, I bet the Mizukage is fuming now. Never expected a war could be fought like this."

No command centers, no massive armies, no need to guard the rear - just an all-out clash. Though the casualties were low, constantly harassing the enemy was immensely satisfying. 

"Remember, don't let Kiri rest," Ryuto considered. "Stick to explosive tags for now, no molotov cocktails yet."

The current situation favored the Whirlpool's guerilla strategy perfectly. Gengetsu hadn't committed too many forces, playing right into their hands. But if Kiri got desperate and abandoned their camps to scatter, chasing them all over with so few Whirlpool ninja would be impossible. If the enemy discovered their hideouts and command center, it would be over.

"Keep them exhausted, but if they send too many to pursue us, fight if we outnumber them. If not..." Ryuto surveyed his clansmen. "Run. As long as we live to fight another day, there's hope." 

"Yes sir!!" None dared doubt Ryuto anymore. They all believed the Land of Whirlpools...would definitely win.

"How many Whirlpool losses did we take in that last ambush?" Ryuto knew his protagonists' luck wouldn't make them invincible. There would be deaths in war.

"Two jonin, five chunin, one genin - lighter than Kiri's losses," the clan head reported.

For the famed geniuses of the Uzumaki, those were miraculously light casualties. Perhaps the clan's future really did rest on Ryuto's shoulders.

Ryuto fell silent for a moment, then said, "Record their names. After the war, we'll erect a monument for them so the people of the Land of Whirlpools never forget their sacrifice. If they have families, the state will provide for them."

He couldn't let his loyal warriors' deaths be in vain or their loved ones suffer.

"Yes sir," the clan head acknowledged. 

Sensing Ryuto's somber mood, the village elder patted his shoulder sympathetically. "It's better this way. Don't grieve - warriors accept death as shinobi. We're doing incredibly well."

Indeed, their position could hardly be more ideal. Until recently, they never imagined the Land of Whirlpools could prevail. But now, under the brilliant Uzumaki genius' leadership, they believed victory was attainable.

...

"Lord Hidezumi..."

(end of chapter)