The Land of Whirlpools Finally Has Hope

"What's going on?" A Konoha ninja wearing a Leaf forehead protector frowned as he gazed across the sea towards the small island, muttering, "Why are there constant loud noises?"

Could it be that the Hidden Mist Village is so shameless that they would release the Tailed Beasts, planning to nuke the Land of Whirlpools? You don't have to be that hasty! To commit such a brazen act, where do you place the Five Great Ninja Villages? Disregarding the Ninja World's 'Nuclear Weapon Ban', in order to accelerate the invasion, they directly used the Tailed Beasts. Damn it, the Five Kage Summit will definitely have to reprimand them.

"Lord Nara, are you really not going to send troops to help the Land of Whirlpools?" one of the Konoha ninja said, unable to bear it, "But the agreement made by Lord Hashirama..."

Nara Shikasa stretched lazily and said indifferently, "It's not that we're not going to help, we just haven't reached that point yet. Wait a little longer."

As for the real situation, he couldn't just bluntly reveal it!

The bigwigs of Konoha wanted to inherit the assets of the Land of Whirlpools, so they were waiting for the Land of Whirlpools to be almost wiped out before taking action, and even...

He glanced at the masked figures lurking in the shadows - the Root! These people were here to kill! If too many people from the Uzumaki Clan escaped, they would take action, because with too many people, how could Konoha inherit the assets? As long as only a few Uzumaki children were left alive, Konoha could adopt them under the pretense of being the longtime ally of the Land of Whirlpools, and then manage the assets of the Land of Whirlpools on the grounds that the Uzumaki orphans were still underage.

What a righteous reason!!

No wonder they could become village leaders and attain such high positions in the village. Their scheming was truly profound!

Nara Shikasa sighed and shook his head helplessly. He didn't know if Konoha's actions were right or wrong, but as a ninja, he could only obey orders. After all, those who were too smart tended to die quickly, so he had better play dumb. He had a family to support and a clan to manage, so he might as well be lazy and dumb when he could!

"But the Senju Clan seems to want to take action immediately." The Konoha ninja pointed towards a group of Konoha ninja with sour expressions and said in a low voice, "If that's the case, won't they affect our mission?"

He dared not say it loudly, for as one of the great clans of Konoha, especially with the First and Second Hokage hailing from their clan, and even the Third Hokage being the disciple of the Second, no one in the village dared to easily offend the Senju Clan. However, because the Senju Clan had a good temper and were kind-hearted, the villagers all liked them very much. But today...

Why did they look so sour?

"Don't mind them," Nara Shikasa shook his head and said, "As long as they don't take action, let them be."

What kind of situation was this? Could Konoha bear the burden of betraying their allies? If word of this got out, who would dare to become allies with Konoha in the future? Konoha had always upheld the ideals of the First Hokage, taking the lead in maintaining peace in the Ninja World and making efforts to contribute.

So this burden, not too big or too small, was just right for...

The Hidden Mist Village to bear, didn't you see?

They had always wanted to go and help the Land of Whirlpools, and the Senju Clan was so anxious that their faces were turning green, right? Wasn't the Senju Clan part of Konoha? Keep in mind that the First and Second Hokage were both from the Senju Clan.

Thinking of this, Nara Shikasa sighed inwardly. What were those above trying to do? Why were they constantly trying to erase the influence left by the First and Second Hokage?

...

"Lord Hidezumi, what should we do now?" A Konoha ninja wearing the crest of the Senju Clan looked anxiously at a fellow clansman with the same crest and said, "Konoha simply won't agree for us to depart."

Their Senju Clan could not commit such a treacherous act of betraying their allies.

Senju Hidezumi sighed, his gaze worriedly fixed on the direction of the Land of Whirlpools, "Remember, this is the ninja village established by Lord Hashirama, and it is our village as well."

He didn't know why the village had made this decision, but he knew it was wrong. As the longtime ally of Konoha, the Uzumaki Clan had never done anything to wrong Konoha, and instead, had wholeheartedly helped them. But now, they had fallen into such a predicament. He didn't know how Lord Hashirama would have reacted to the village's decision if he were still alive, but he did know that Lord Hashirama would have gone to help without hesitation, even if he were the only one left, even if it meant fighting to the death.

For he was the God of Ninja, the great and kind ninja who ended the Warring States Period.

Now, the Land of Whirlpools had become a battlefield, and the Uzumaki Clan had sacrificed so many lives to help Konoha on that battlefield. Although the Senju Clan had also made great sacrifices, the Uzumaki Clan were not Konoha's people! The Senju Clan's sacrifices for Konoha were without regret and rightful, but the Uzumaki Clan's sacrifices for Konoha had led to such a fate...

"It truly breaks one's heart!" Senju Hidezumi sighed and said, not knowing what the Third Hokage was doing, constantly diminishing the members of the Senju Clan. They would never do anything bad to Konoha, and they were still Lord Hashirama's clansmen!

Perhaps the Senju Clan should make a decision, or else their fate might be the same as the Uzumaki Clan's.

For the safety of their clansmen, they could only apologize to Lord Hashirama.

Senju Hidezumi bit his teeth firmly and said to the clansmen behind him, "Prepare to depart and help the Land of Whirlpools."

"Yes!!" All the Senju Clan members shouted in unison. Recently, their hearts had been uneasy, for the Uzumaki Clan had made an agreement of friendship with Lord Hashirama! Yet their beloved friend was about to be betrayed by them. The Uzumaki Clan had always treated them with such sincerity, and yet they had committed the act of betraying their allies.

It was truly a disgrace to Lord Hashirama!

...

Uzumaki Ryuto didn't know that the Senju Clan had ultimately decided to violate Konoha's orders and come to help the Land of Whirlpools. He also didn't know that Kushina was currently leading the clansmen in the underground shelter to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." If he had known, he would have definitely taught Kushina a few more songs suitable for singing during a disaster, such as "Tomorrow Will Be Better" or "After the Wind and Rain, the Rainbow Appears," instead of children's songs like "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and "The Two Tigers."

He knew that staying in the underground shelter for such a long time, without hope or something to do, people would break down, especially knowing that a war was raging outside. The sense of anxiety and fear could spread, and who knew what might happen? He didn't want to dampen the celebratory mood when they emerged victorious from the war.

"Elder, Chief, are you alright?" Uzumaki Ryuto arrived at the gathering point and asked the clan leaders.

"Haha, that was truly exhilarating," the Elder Chief laughed heartily, "No worries, no worries, we're fine"

"How about you?" The Clan Chief smiled and asked, "What's the situation? Was it successful?"

"Ah—" Uzumaki Ryuto sighed.

The Clan Chief and Elder Chief's hearts immediately sank. Had there been a problem? Exchanging a glance, they patted Uzumaki Ryuto's shoulder and said, "Don't worry, it's fine even if it failed."

"Actually, the Hidden Mist Village is left with only one ship," Uzumaki Ryuto said regretfully.

"What? They still have one left? You're saying..." The Clan Chief and Elder Chief immediately widened their eyes in shock, "Only one ship remains?"

Then...

"Hahaha!!" They both burst out laughing, tears streaming down as they murmured, "Success, it's a success."

From now on, they just needed to wage a war of attrition against the Hidden Mist Village. Without reinforcements or supplies, life wouldn't be easy for the Mist ninja here!

Especially since...

The Hidden Mist Village was one of the Five Great Ninja Villages. Having suffered such heavy losses, there was no way they would allow the Mizukage to continue like this.

"There's hope, there's hope now."

"The Land of Whirlpools finally has hope!"

...

(End of Chapter)