After So Many Filler Chapters, the Mizukage Finally Makes an Appearance

"How much longer until we arrive?" Wearing a high-collared trench coat cinched at the waist with a black silk sash, with a green autumn shirt underneath, black eyes beneath a blank browless forehead, a small mustache above his lips, and his arms folded across his chest, he asked with a faint smile.

"Second Lord," the ninja behind him said respectfully. "We should arrive around noon tomorrow."

Hozuki Gengetsu nodded upon hearing that. Gazing in the direction of the Land of Whirlpools, he sneered softly. "Heh... Konoha's friendship? Jinchuriki?"

They had practically been played to death by their own allies. Those blockheads from the Uzumaki Clan should have woken up by now, right?

But it was already too late.

Jinchuriki, Sealing Jutsu...

What truly tantalizing things!!!

"Hiruzen Sarutobi, Konoha really is a bunch of hypocrites!!"

"Everyone, prepare to rest. At noon tomorrow, we will formally launch war against the Land of Whirlpools." Hozuki Gengetsu shouted at the surrounding ninja. A shinobi village without Tailed Beasts ultimately posed little threat to Kirigakure. They had to conclude their invasion of the Land of Whirlpools and wipe out the Uzumaki Clan before the war ended. Looking at the Mizukage's Assistant beside him, he asked calmly, "Have all the Tailed Beasts been sealed?"

"They have been prepared," the Mizukage's Assistant said. "The sealing squad has been watching over them the entire time. Nothing will go wrong."

Hearing the Mizukage's Assistant's words, Hozuki Gengetsu nodded with a cold smile. "Mm!!"

The destroyer of the Land of Whirlpools—Kirigakure!!!

"They're here." The Clan Head lowered the telescope in his hand, his left hand clenched tightly into a fist as he said gravely, "Kirigakure is here."

He sighed inwardly. The war had finally begun, yet their ally, Konoha, still had not sent reinforcements.

He could not help but lament inwardly. Sure enough, before interests and war, any relationship was fragile. What would Lord Hashirama think if he learned of this?

Perhaps he would only apologize to the Uzumaki Clan in shame, yet refuse to interfere in Konoha's affairs. Then he would risk his life to protect his friendship with the Uzumaki Clan.

After all, Lord Hashirama was also a blockhead.

They were here?

Xun Uzumaki and the Great Elder hurriedly turned their heads at the Clan Head's words and asked, "They're here?"

The Clan Head nodded. "A massive fleet. The decks are packed with ninja. They will probably begin landing soon."

"Notify the ninja in the rear," Xun Uzumaki said after thinking for a moment. "Only by swallowing up most of the Mist Ninja in the early stages will we have any chance of victory later."

A shinobi village that had been beaten so badly on the front lines that it cried for its mama—Second Mizukage Hozuki Gengetsu probably was not having an easy time in Kirigakure either!

Not only had he launched a war without any achievements to show for it, he had even been beaten so badly that he cried for his mama. That was why he had thought of attacking from the rear, intending to use the might of destroying a nation to silence the discordant voices in Kirigakure.

But he had not expected that even if he succeeded, he would still perish together with the Tsuchikage.

And this time, he probably would not have an easy time either!

Because there was a transmigrator here. The Land of Whirlpools would not be so easily destroyed, especially when they had prepared in advance. If he wanted the achievement of destroying a nation, he would break his teeth on it. So if this invasion failed, Hozuki Gengetsu really would perish together with the Tsuchikage, because...

He was a Kage!

Xun Uzumaki looked at the Great Elder and Clan Head. "For now, conceal yourselves. Use telescopes to observe Kirigakure's movements, but only observe their Chunin and Genin."

The perception of powerful ninja was extremely sharp. Most of Kirigakure's invading ninja had been active on the front-line battlefield. If the war had not entered its final stages, Kirigakure would not have been able to spare so many ninja for this invasion. Although a telescope was not a sensory ninjutsu and they might not notice it, who knew whether they possessed beast-like instincts? Some people could sense it whenever anyone stared at them.

"Once the Mizukage leads the main force into the forest, we act," Xun Uzumaki said seriously. "And remember, whenever they rest, go harass them. Do not give them time to rest."

Guerrilla warfare meant disturbing them when they rested and sleeping when they moved.

The Clan Head and Great Elder nodded solemnly.

War was no joke!

"Mizukage!" The Vanguard Commander hurried forward respectfully when he saw Kirigakure's main force finally come ashore, especially the Mizukage at the front.

"Takeo Horiguchi!" The Mizukage looked at the Vanguard Commander and said gently, "How is the situation?"

Takeo Horiguchi, an elite Jonin of Kirigakure, a genius among commoners, and Vanguard Commander.

Takeo Horiguchi thought for a moment. "The Uzumaki Clan appears to have prepared for war. They are using the forest as a boundary to block the army's advance. There are simply too many of them for us to determine much, and although there are many ninja remaining in the Land of Whirlpools, they do not seem particularly strong."

A densely packed crowd. Although most were Shadow Clones, there were still quite a lot of ninja. Their strength was just too weak—touch them lightly, and they were like an inflated...

"Pop—" and they were gone.

But Takeo Horiguchi did not know that most of those ninja were Shadow Clones using Transformation Jutsu. If they were going to mobilize the strength of the entire country, how could they do it with too few people?

They had to scare them to death.

"Strong? The strong ones were all screwed over by Konoha." The Mizukage smiled casually. "They truly are Konoha's good brothers!"

"..."

Hearing the Mizukage's words, Takeo Horiguchi fell silent. There was something he did not know whether he should say: they had set up camp here with so few people, yet the Uzumaki Clan had not come out to intercept them. Did they truly not want war?

Were they planning to wait for the Mizukage to come negotiate peace before they stopped killing people?

Oh, no, they had killed people. They had killed three. During another investigation mission, they had lost one more person. But as long as they did not wander around carelessly, the Uzushio Village ninja ignored them.

What...

Were they trying to do?

"Mobilizing the strength of the entire country?" The Mizukage stroked his chin playfully. "So many Jonin died on Konoha's battlefield. How many Jonin can the Land of Whirlpools still gather now?"

Hozuki Gengetsu waved his hand and shouted, "Advance at once." They were simply too weak, so weak that he could not even be bothered. Without Kage-level ninja, what could Uzushio Village use to stop them? They might as well end the war early and silence the extra voices in the village!

"Yes!!" The ninja behind the Mizukage answered loudly.

"Mizukage, shouldn't we formulate a plan?" the Mizukage's Assistant asked. "It would be terrible if we fell into the Land of Whirlpools' trap."

"It does not matter. Before absolute strength, any schemes are useless." Hozuki Gengetsu rubbed his browless forehead and said indifferently, "Most of Uzushio Village's Jonin died on the battlefield. The rest are basically old, weak, sick, and disabled!"

And besides...

Only by ending the battle quickly could Kirigakure gain more benefits. There were plenty of people secretly eyeing this juicy prize!

"The Land of Whirlpools can no longer stop us." Hozuki Gengetsu waved his hand, signaling Kirigakure's ninja to set off. "Especially when most shinobi villages around here are watching. Konoha..." His black eyes narrowed. "It will not be so easy for them to use Kirigakure."

"But Uzushio Village is still a shinobi village, no matter what," the Mizukage's Assistant said worriedly. "And the Uzumaki Clan has been a powerful clan since ancient times."

"Yes, powerful indeed." Hozuki Gengetsu said, "Their immense Chakra and vitality, combined with their powerful Sealing Jutsu, truly make them formidable!"

"But without Kage-level experts and Tailed Beasts, they are ultimately only a weak shinobi village."

"And the Uzumaki Clan is a bunch of brainless fools. We only need to provoke them."

Hearing the Mizukage's resolute words, the Mizukage's Assistant could only shake his head helplessly. The order had already been given, and the Mist Ninja had begun moving. Besides, the Mizukage spoke the truth. Although the Uzumaki Clan was powerful, it was ultimately just one clan. Even if they called themselves Uzushio Village and the Land of Whirlpools, they could not hide the fact that they had too few people. On top of that, so many had died on the front-line battlefield. Uzushio Village was probably having a hard time now!

And what about Kirigakure?

It was one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. One shinobi village against one clan—even if the Uzumaki Clan had not helped Konoha, Kirigakure could still defeat them. It would merely be more troublesome. But now?

They could only blame themselves for being stupid.

Heaven was fair. It had given the Uzumaki Clan immense Chakra and vitality, but it had also given them hotheaded brains.

They really were blockheads!

"Attention, Kirigakure has officially entered the forest." An Uzushio Village ninja said sternly to the surrounding ninja, "You must remember Prince Xun's orders. If you cannot win, run. Do not throw your lives away."

Prince Xun had reminded them of this many times. He knew the Uzumaki Clan's nature too well. They never talked about schemes. They just charged headfirst, using Chakra to charge headfirst and using their lives to charge headfirst. But things were different now!

They did not have many people, nor did they have many strong fighters. If anything went wrong, their clan and country would truly be destroyed.

So...

They could not afford to charge headfirst!!

If they kept charging headfirst, the Land of Whirlpools would have to declare bankruptcy and then have its assets seized by the old hooligans behind them.

The surrounding ninja nodded solemnly. They all knew this was not a game. They had to control their Chakra and control their minds! They could not let someone provoke them and make their Chakra surge as they howled and rushed forward to fight to the death.

"They're in." The Uzushio Village commander waved his hand, signaling them to stay calm. "Remember to use Shadow Clones and Transformation Jutsu. Make it look like we are prepared to fight to the death."

"Stop." The Mizukage looked around and seemed to notice something wrong. Frowning, he asked Takeo Horiguchi, "Is this the place?"

"That's right." Takeo Horiguchi nodded gravely. "Up ahead is where the Uzumaki Clan has set up camp..."

Before Takeo Horiguchi could finish...

"Whoosh, whoosh..."

A densely packed mass of Uzushio Village ninja suddenly emerged, forming a wall of people before the Mist Ninja, seemingly blocking their path forward.

"Leave this place, Mist Ninja." As the temporary commander of the Uzumaki Clan's guerrilla unit, Uzumaki Kai stepped out with a serious expression. Seeing the browless man in a trench coat standing at the front of the Mist Ninja, his brow twitched. Fuck, that can't be the Mizukage, can it?

That was a Kage-level expert!

Aside from Lord Mito, the Land of Whirlpools had no Kage-level expert. And Lord Mito was old now and could not come support the Land of Whirlpools. Furthermore, Uzushio Village had few Jonin left; most had died, leaving barely any behind. The Mizukage could probably flatten the Land of Whirlpools just by pushing forward slowly.

Yet Uzumaki Kai still forced himself to remain firm and said sternly, his presence undiminished, "You are not welcome here."

Seeing the densely packed Uzushio Village ninja before him, Hozuki Gengetsu narrowed his eyes. The Land of Whirlpools...

Had this many ninja?

Yet as he sensed the Uzushio Village ninja around him, they truly possessed Chakra. They were not Clone Techniques. Still, he was not nervous, because they were too weak, truly too weak. Most of the ninja here were cannon-fodder Genin. They might cause a little trouble, but they posed no threat whatsoever to Kirigakure's main force.

"Uzumaki Clan, lay down your weapons, surrender unconditionally, and join Kirigakure." Hozuki Gengetsu said with a cold smile. "I can spare you."

They were so weak that Kirigakure could barely be bothered. Hozuki Gengetsu estimated that the Land of Whirlpools would be destroyed without him, a high-ranking village leader, needing to act personally.

Although they had known these hateful invaders would not retreat after just a few words, the Uzumaki Clan was still enraged by the contempt in the Mizukage's tone. And join Kirigakure?

Heh!!

Who did not understand what that entailed? They would probably kill all the adults and elderly, leave behind some children for the continuation of the bloodline, then brainwash the new generation once they were born. After all, no one could truly trust them.

Just as they were about to ignore everything else, roll up their sleeves, and show them the glory of the Uzumaki Clan that had endured for a thousand years, the calm Uzumaki clansmen beside them immediately held them back.

Brothers, do not get worked up!

We cannot afford to make sacrifices. We must follow the commander's arrangements.

Uzumaki Kai secretly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. This Mizukage was truly insidious. As a clan that had endured since ancient times, could they surrender so casually?

He was looking down on the Uzumaki Clan!

Fight to the death rather than submit—that was the ancient teaching of the Uzumaki Clan.

He had nearly lost control. No wonder Prince Xun had reminded them again and again!

"Despicable invaders, leave this place!" Seeing that the Mist Ninja remained unmoved, Uzumaki Kai continued shouting loudly. Though he knew it was useless, he still followed Prince Xun's arrangements...

The Uzumaki Clan had to put on the air of fighting to the death.

"Ha ha!!" Hozuki Gengetsu laughed disdainfully. "The weak have no right to negotiate terms with Kirigakure. Surrender, Uzumaki Clan!" If they truly surrendered, things would be easy. Kill off the stubborn old diehards, and the remaining innocent children could be raised into a new clan of Kirigakure. And it would be the Uzumaki Clan, blessed with immense Chakra and vitality. They could be used as Jinchuriki, which was perfect, since the two precious Tailed Beasts Kirigakure had acquired from Konoha still had not found a suitable home!!

It would also let Kirigakure make Konoha suffer a huge loss. Let us see how they would move the Nine-Tails then, once the Uzumaki Clan had become part of Kirigakure.

However, Hozuki Gengetsu knew that was impossible. How could a clan that had endured for a thousand years surrender so easily?

"It has begun."

It's a little late!!! I finally finished all the filler!