Has Kirigakure Lost the Strength to Draw Its Blades?

Faced with the current situation,

Hozuki Gengetsu had something to say, though he did not know whether he should say it. He had led a large force here with great enthusiasm to invade, yet... this had only just begun, and they had already fallen into a trap, then...

Getting beaten halfway through was not a big deal. They were just cannon fodder anyway. When the time came, he could push out a few scapegoats. If one was not enough, then two. As long as he captured the Land of Whirlpools, everything would be fine.

But...

"The fleet has almost been wiped out?!" Hozuki Gengetsu stared at the fleet commander before him and cried out. His right hand clutched his chest. This time, he truly could not take it anymore! He could not take it anymore! They had only just disembarked—how had it already come to this? He furiously grabbed the fleet commander by the collar and roared, "What the hell were you doing?"

Over a hundred ships—how had they all been lost?

There had been over a hundred people in the fleet, and they had basically all been Jonin! Yet all their ships had been destroyed? Even if two hundred Jonin had come, they should have been fine! Had a Kage-level enemy arrived?

Another village?

"No, one ship remains," the fleet commander said cautiously.

"Hm?" Hozuki Gengetsu frowned and asked, "What happened?"

Left with no choice, the fleet commander could only explain. Ordinary water could not put it out, and only Ice Style could extinguish it. Strange things had floated in the sky, and everything had fallen from above. In short, it was a natural and man-made disaster. It was not that his men had failed to work hard; the enemy simply had Gundams! Boss, we must have fallen into a trap. We should retreat immediately!

Someone was targeting Kirigakure!

After hearing the fleet commander's words, Hozuki Gengetsu frowned and barked, "So the only one left now is that fellow from the Yuki Clan?"

Your boss had worked so hard to seize the village head's position, intending to pass the family estate on to the young men of his own clan, only for you to ruin everything at the very end?

It was not your fault? If it was not your fault, was it mine? It would have been better if they had all been destroyed. That one remaining ship was useless anyway. All it did was stain his record as village head and raise the Yuki Clan's prestige.

"Where is Jōyō Minazuki now?" Hozuki Gengetsu asked expressionlessly.

"H-he left," the fleet commander said. "He said the ships were too badly damaged, so he planned to return to the village to report and replenish supplies."

"..."

What did he mean, too badly damaged? The fleet had been completely wiped out! And replenish supplies? Replenish my ass! How could the daimyo possibly spend money to build them another fleet? They had not achieved any merit and had already destroyed the entire fleet. Who would trust them again?

Hozuki Gengetsu knew he was probably doomed when he returned. Jōyō Minazuki had already gone back to the village first to control public opinion, and...

Kirigakure truly had suffered grievous losses because of him. After all, he had been the one to launch the war of invasion!

"..."

This definitely was not the Uzumaki Clan he knew. Those simpletons from the Uzumaki Clan could not possibly be so clever. Someone had to be targeting them. Otherwise, where had they gotten so many Explosive Tags? He had received no intelligence that anyone had purchased that many Explosive Tags.

What Hozuki Gengetsu did not know was that Xun Uzumaki had stockpiled those Explosive Tags for several years.

Boom—

A tremendous blast suddenly rang out from the camp, accompanied by violent tremors.

"What's going on?" Was it an enemy attack? Hozuki Gengetsu stormed out of the tent in fury. Had Kirigakure lost the strength to draw its blades, or had the Uzumaki Clan become arrogant after winning two battles in a row? It was only a small island nation, yet it dared to provoke them proactively?

"Report! It's Whirl Ninja." A Jonin from Kirigakure respectfully said, "They used Explosive Tags. Men have already been sent to..."

Before he could say "capture them,"

The Mist Ninja who had gone out returned to report, "They were Shadow Clones. After throwing the Explosive Tags, they dispersed themselves."

What exactly was the Uzumaki Clan trying to do?

The Kirigakure ninja all thought in confusion. With only a few Explosive Tags, they would probably be swept away before they even landed. Even the massive number of Explosive Tags from earlier would be ineffective now that Kirigakure was prepared!

Did they take the Five Great Shinobi Villages for pushovers?

Yet before Hozuki Gengetsu could order them to continue maintaining vigilance...

Boom—

Another Explosive Tag went off.

"What exactly is the Uzumaki Clan trying to do?!" Hozuki Gengetsu roared. Explosions all day long—were they setting off firecrackers for a shop opening? Was the Land of Whirlpools really that rich? "Capture them! We must capture them and bring them back! At the same time, send ninja to search the surrounding area. We must find members of the Uzumaki Clan!"

Who had come up with this Shadow Clone combat method? It was utterly disgusting.

"Yes!!"

"Someone has come out." Xun Uzumaki raised his binoculars and said, "Looks like Hozuki Gengetsu has finally run out of patience and intends to find the Uzumaki Clan members."

Anyone would be annoyed in this situation!

They kept getting hit by Explosive Tags while being constantly harassed.

"So what do we do now?" the clan head asked. Kirigakure had sent out several hundred people. If they tried to swallow them all, it would probably be troublesome.

"Hm?" Xun Uzumaki frowned in thought. There were four people per team. Though there were several hundred enemies, there would not be many in each group once they spread out. The island of the Land of Whirlpools was quite large, after all. But swallowing them all at once was unrealistic. "Take them down slowly. Pass down the orders: ten people per team. Just hold them back. Split off another twenty people, all of them Jonin, and take them out team by team."

"Yes!"

"Captain, how is it going?" Ebisu pushed up his glasses and looked at his worried-looking captain.

"It's nothing." The captain smiled. "The mission has been assigned. We're going out to find where the Uzumaki Clan is hiding."

"Then..." Ebisu still asked worriedly. Because of their mistake, Kirigakure had suffered such tremendous losses. How could Captain Takeo Horiguchi, the Vanguard Commander, possibly be fine?

"It's nothing. Don't worry." Takeo Horiguchi patted Ebisu on the shoulder, then glanced at the sulking Dayou beside him and sighed. "I know you hate war. You do not like war. Seeing your relatives and friends vanish before your eyes like that feels terrible."

"But..."

"Do not show that kind of emotion during war." He patted Dayou, then called out, "Assemble and move out."

Dayou froze for a moment. She had thought the captain would lecture her again, but he did not say anything more. It seemed...

The situation was not as fine as the captain claimed...

But Dayou opened her mouth and still said nothing. She lowered her head and followed behind them.

"Move out." Uzumaki Kai looked at his clansmen and said, "Remember Prince Xun's arrangements." He knew the mission was not as simple as it sounded. War was filled with countless unforeseen circumstances. Perhaps some among them would not return. He sighed. "Protect yourselves. Do not mindlessly charge in head-on."

"Yes!"

Xun Uzumaki continued to have Shadow Clones follow the clan head and the others. From afar, he observed the Mist Ninja camp, hoping Hozuki Gengetsu could keep his cool and not start screaming after losing a few men, then release a Tailed Beast to fight them head-on. After all, Kirigakure had great resources. Wasn't losing a few people no big deal? Just a minor issue!

As long as they stalled, victory would definitely belong to the Land of Whirlpools in the end.

"The rear has begun moving," the clan head said. "The Clan Elders have moved out as well."

"Mm." Xun Uzumaki nodded. He knew the Clan Elders and clan heads could not possibly sit still. Their wrong decisions had created the current situation, so they must have felt deeply uneasy and guilty. They were also here to protect him; otherwise, the clan head would likely have gone as well.

The Uzumaki Clan had never feared death.

"System."