The Allied Army Is Thirty Minutes from the Battlefield

It was laughable. Six Medium-sized Clans had fought fiercely over the Sarutobi Mine, yet the mine still belonged to the Sarutobi Clan.

The Senju party arrived at the mine without obstruction and set up camp there.

That was right—only the Senju Clan. The Small Clans Alliance had ultimately declared that they would not participate in this war, asking for only ten percent of the Chakra Conducting Metal. If they participated, they would demand thirty percent.

Ignoring Tobirama's objections, Hashirama declared that the Senju Clan alone could handle the other six clans.

And so, the Senju party had come alone to the Sarutobi Clan's mine and made camp there.

Under Masahiko's dumbfounded gaze, the Senju Clan's Chunin and Genin pulled out... Mining Shovels? Then, in groups of several, they began digging around the area where Chakra Conducting Metal had previously been found.

Masahiko looked at Hashirama in confusion. "They're...?"

Hashirama explained, "It may take a few days for the other six clans to react. While we have the time, we're having the clansmen do some mining. As for the Mining Shovels, Tobirama had them bring them before we set out."

Masahiko's expression stiffened. "If that's the case, why didn't you bring Mining Hoes?"

"Mining Hoes are too large and inconvenient to carry," Tobirama explained.

"Too large? Don't you have Sealing Scrolls..." Only then did Masahiko realize that the Warring States era did not have things like Sealing Scrolls.

"Sealing Scrolls? What are those?" Hashirama asked curiously.

"Nothing..." Masahiko brushed it off, his mind entirely occupied by Sealing Scrolls.

There are no Sealing Scrolls yet. With my skill in Sealing Jutsu, can I create them?

"Tobirama, the Jonin and I should join them too. We should finish mining sooner," Hashirama said. "Second Grandfather, you... do whatever you want."

Masahiko thought about Sealing Scrolls for a long while, but there were no materials here, so he could only research them after returning. Thus, he joined the mining crew as well.

He grabbed a Mining Shovel and began thrusting it into an empty area. Before long... the shovel snapped.

He looked around. Seeing that no one had noticed, he went to get another Mining Shovel.

After breaking three Mining Shovels in a row, Masahiko discovered that he had suddenly become an experienced miner. The more he used the shovel, the more naturally it fit his hand.

"This situation is probably..." Masahiko glanced at his Attribute Panel. Sure enough, there was an additional entry under Special Talents:

Mining LV1 (0/100)

A Special Talent, Mining? It felt like it had suddenly lowered the grade of my sensory talent...

Masahiko checked his Witness Points. The Slug Summoning had given him four points, and he tried adding one point to Mining.

Mining LV6 (10000/20000)

It rose five levels at once. Now Masahiko mined as though divinely aided, and before long, he had dug up a pile of... Iron Ore.

The facts proved that no matter how skilled you were, you could not beat a European... Hashirama had already dug out a huge chunk of Chakra Conducting Metal.

Masahiko refused to accept it. He grabbed another Mining Shovel and worked with both hands. By evening, the Iron Ore he had dug up alone probably exceeded that mined by all the Senju Jonin combined, yet...

Masahiko admitted defeat.

Meanwhile, at the six clans' battlefield.

Having just gone through a major battle during the day, the Clan Heads of the six clans gathered in the Nara Clan's tent that night. They had all received word that the iron mine had been occupied by the Senju Clan.

"Damn Senju!" the Inuzuka Clan Head said bitterly. "It wasn't enough for them to occupy the fertile lands in the east of the Land of Fire—they want to meddle in our west too. Nara Clan Head, what should we do?"

Though they were hostile toward one another, every clan here trusted the Nara Clan's strategies.

"The Senju joining in is actually a good thing." The Nara Clan Head spoke slowly. "If the six of us keep fighting, it will only lead to more casualties. Those Small Clans have already formed an alliance. I had been worried they would benefit from it."

"The number of Senju who came this time will not be large. They still have the Uchiha as a formidable enemy. If our six clans unite, we will not lose to them."

"There truly aren't many of them. My insects detected fewer than a thousand Chakra signatures, but two of them were extraordinarily massive... probably several times greater than ours." The Aburame Clan Head spoke slowly.

"One of those two should be the Senju Clan Head, Hashirama Senju. He is likely stronger than all of us. As for the other, he should be an Uzumaki Clan member. That clan is known for its immense Chakra reserves, so he should not be difficult to deal with," the Yamanaka Clan Head said.

"Then why don't the six of us go together and drive them away directly?" the Akimichi Clan Head asked.

"No. It would be best for the six of us to serve as deterrence. Though I do not wish to admit it, they dared to come and oppose us with so few people. They likely have a way to deal with the six of us. The most likely possibility is that Hashirama Senju is even stronger than we imagined." The Nara Clan Head spoke slowly. "We will fight a war of attrition! If the six of us do not move, Hashirama Senju cannot move either. Once our six clans gather, our remaining combat strength will be at least three times theirs. They cannot afford to drag this out!"

"As for that Uzumaki Clan member, with such enormous Chakra reserves, he is likely a Clan Head-level figure as well. At the critical moment, we will be relying on you, Hatake Clan Head."

The Hatake Clan was the most unusual among these six clans. First was its size: it had fewer than a hundred members. It was considered a Medium-sized Clan only because every member of the clan excelled at combat, and because the Hatake Clan Head was extremely strong—stronger than anyone present.

Since entering the tent, the Hatake Clan Head had sat silently in the corner with his sword in his arms. He had not brought a single clansman to this conflict. The Inuzuka and Aburame Clans had merely promised to give him a portion of the Chakra Conducting Metal so he could forge a fine sword.

Hearing the Nara Clan Head's question, he slowly nodded before returning to silence.

"Then it's settled. I'll return and gather my clansmen right away. Tomorrow, we'll go meet the legendary greatest clan of the Warring States era!" the Inuzuka Clan Head said impatiently.

"No rush..." the Nara Clan Head added. "The Senju Clan should be mining right now. We can wait a few days and let our clansmen rest. As long as we stop them before they return, they will have mined it for us."

The people present exchanged glances. Including the Clan Heads of the Nara Clan's allies, the Akimichi and Yamanaka Clans, they all thought the same thing: Those old foxes from the Nara Clan!

But since it benefited them, there was no reason to object. Besides, after the constant fighting, their clansmen truly needed a few days to recuperate...

And so, the Senju Clan happily spent half a month mining, while Masahiko's African Journey also lasted half a month.

They dug out nearly a hundred jin of Chakra Conducting Metal in total, not a single piece of which had anything to do with Masahiko.

The other six clans never attacked. Hashirama had originally thought they had given up competing with the Senju Clan and was about to have the clansmen pack up and return when someone came to report:

The Six Clans Allied Army was thirty minutes from reaching the battlefield...