Money Power, Beyond Your Imagination!

Uzumaki Kai drew in a sharp breath at the sight of the Mist Ninja. Money Power truly lived up to its name—the power of money was terrifying! It had barely begun, yet at least half of Kirigakure had already fallen! Though most of them were Chunin and Genin cannon fodder.

But...

So many had died, yet what about the Uzumaki Clan?

Not one had died. After enduring such prolonged explosions, the pain relayed back by their Shadow Clones was rather unpleasant and left them mentally exhausted, but otherwise, they were fine. The Uzumaki Clan had nothing much, except abundant Chakra and powerful life force. A short rest would be enough to recover.

They exchanged glances and saw the excitement in each other's Uzumaki eyes. As expected...

Prince Xun truly lived up to his name. This method felt incredible!!

Other than being a little expensive...

But that sound was simply exhilarating!!

However...

The Mist Ninja on the other side were anything but pleased. Their clothes were in tatters as they glared furiously at the Uzumaki Clan. That tiny country was actually so rich! No, that was wrong—the Uzumaki Clan was simply too shameless. They were literally crushing people with money!

Hozuki Gengetsu in particular knew that regardless of the outcome, he was in for a miserable time. Forget about the next Mizukage coming from the Hozuki Clan—whether he could even keep his position as village chief was uncertain!

When had the Uzumaki Clan become so clever? They were one of the two greatest fools recognized throughout the shinobi world. How had the Uzumaki Clan suddenly wised up? This wasn't like them at all! Could it really be that scheming bastard of a Hokage pulling strings behind the scenes? Now, he no longer dared test whether the Uzumaki Clan still had enough money to keep throwing Explosive Tags.

The Mutual Multiplication Explosive Tags were simply too powerful. One tag unleashed ten times the force. Hadn't he seen that every Uzumaki Clan member within the blast zone had...

Holy shit, they were all Shadow Clones!!!

All of Hozuki Gengetsu's pent-up fury erupted. They had actually been played by a bunch of idiots. Damn it! He glared furiously at the Uzumaki Clan cheering in the distance. They had not even won yet—why were they already celebrating?

This was blatant contempt for the Five Great Shinobi Villages, for a maritime power like Kirigakure, and for him, the Second Mizukage!

Yet he did not dare casually issue another command now. If another round of Explosive Tags came, they would truly have to retreat to the village. Then, this Mizukage of his could only risk his life against the Tsuchikage.

When the Uzumaki Clan saw that the Mizukage did not attack, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Though they were all Shadow Clones, and it would not matter even if they died, Prince Xun had ordered them to treat these Shadow Clones as their real bodies, hide in the forest, and harass the Mist Ninja one wave at a time.

All the Uzumaki clansmen exchanged glances, then nodded. They immediately scattered into the forest around them.

What came next could no longer be resolved through simple schemes.

Seeing this, Hozuki Gengetsu also secretly relaxed. Today was not suitable for battle, so they would rest for now. Since the enemy had retreated, that was all the better. The Mist Ninja could find a safe place to rest, set up camp, and wait for the next battle.

Except...

The next battle probably would not come anytime soon.

He absolutely did not believe those Uzumaki Clan fools could have thought up such a method. It had to be Konoha...

The Nara Clan! They had definitely fallen into a trap.

"Since that's the case, then Kirigakure will swallow the entire Land of Whirlpools." Hozuki Gengetsu narrowed his eyes, then shouted to the Mist Ninja behind him, "Find a campsite. Watch out for Explosive Tags, and..." He cast a cold glance aside. "Bring Takeo Horiguchi to me."

That bastard was the vanguard commander, yet he had failed to detect that the Land of Whirlpools had buried so many Explosive Tags. Was he trying to get him, the Mizukage, removed so that he could compete for the position himself?

After all...

This was practically sabotaging the village chief!

When Takeo Horiguchi heard the Mizukage's words, he shuddered. It seemed he could not escape this time. But he could not shoulder such an enormous blame!! He hurried before Hozuki Gengetsu and dropped to both knees, not daring to say a word. He only hoped the Mizukage would spare his family for the sake of his contributions and bloodshed for Kirigakure.

This was an accident!

"You..." Hozuki Gengetsu pointed at Takeo Horiguchi in fury, but then...

"Mizukage, the fleet commander requests an audience."

"What is it?"

"It seems... something major has happened."

"Hmm, things are truly intense over there."

With long blond hair slicked back, a bare upper body, and powerful, sharply defined muscles, he was the inheritor of the Land of Lightning's strongest title—Raikage A!!

The Third Raikage A gazed toward the Land of Whirlpools. Though he was quite far from its territory, he could still hear the faint sounds of explosions, as well as...

The dust rising into the air.

"The Land of Whirlpools will probably be destroyed."

Such a tiny country actually had its own shinobi village. How laughable. They possessed Sealing Jutsu, and their Chakra could suppress Tailed Beasts—of course they would attract covetous eyes.

"Raikage, should we not make a move?"

"No need." A shook his head. "It is merely a shinobi village without even a Kage or a Tailed Beast, and it has already suffered so many losses on the battlefield. There is no need for two great shinobi villages to act together."

"Kirigakure alone is enough."

"But the Sealing Jutsu..."

"It does not matter. Kirigakure will hand it over, and besides..."

"I made arrangements long ago."

The Tailed Beast the village had brought in still had not found a home. Perhaps this time, it could get a two-story villa with a small garden?

"Yes!! Raikage."

A stared toward the Land of Whirlpools. An ancient clan was about to be wiped out just like that, and his heart filled with emotion. As expected... weakness was the original sin.

What enviable Chakra and Sealing Jutsu!!

"Prince Xun." The moment Zimu saw Xun Uzumaki, the clan head, and the Clan Elders, he lowered his guard and spoke respectfully. His eyes were especially full of admiration for Xun Uzumaki. It was truly unbelievable—Prince Xun was only seven years old.

"How is the situation?" Xun Uzumaki asked anxiously. With so many Explosive Tags, Kirigakure was surely not having an easy time, but...

What if something unexpected had happened?

At Xun Uzumaki's question, Zimu took a deep breath to calm himself and said, "The results..."

As expected, the power of money surpassed imagination!

After hearing Zimu's report, Xun Uzumaki relaxed considerably. The situation was far better than he had expected. However, the battles ahead would be even more troublesome, because most of those who had survived were powerful fighters.

As for the Uzumaki Clan...

They were all weaklings!

If they wanted to hold back Kirigakure, it seemed they could only use that method. Otherwise, if Hozuki Gengetsu went mad and insisted on destroying the Land of Whirlpools at all costs, what could they do? Even if Adamantine Sealing Chains could restrain their Tailed Beast, if they wanted to take down the Mizukage head-on, their losses would probably be devastating!

For the Land of Whirlpools' future development, they definitely could not do that. Otherwise, there would not even be any shinobi left—how could they develop then?

"Remember to hide yourselves. The moment you are discovered, change locations immediately."

The battles ahead were not about fighting Kirigakure to the death. They were about stalling for time—stalling until Kirigakure could no longer endure it, stalling until the war ended. Then the Land of Whirlpools would achieve victory.

"Yes!!!"

The contract has been signed, the contract has been signed! This author is so happy!! What, extra chapters? Oh, oh! What did you say? This author can't see it or hear it!!