The Land of Whirlpools and the Uzumaki Clan

"That must have happened more than a decade ago, before the Second Great Ninja War. Although it's uncertain how many major nations were involved, the fact that Uzushio Village was defeated in such a short time suggests that it was the work of other major villages, including Kirigakure and Cloud."

Orochimaru explained to Shuichi, "The Uzumaki Clan excels at Fuinjutsu. They all possess powerful life force, but their personalities are rather fiery..."

"There seems to be only one Uzumaki Clan ninja left in the village..." Orochimaru paused, seemingly thinking, "Could it be that Kushina is... Is this what you're thinking, Third Hokage?"

Seeing Orochimaru's somewhat serious expression, Shuichi suddenly remembered the Nine-Tails.

The identity of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was an absolute secret. Even whether the two advisors and Danzo knew about it was questionable. This is because even Jiraiya, Minato's teacher, later only suspected that the Nine-Tails' Rampage was a natural disaster, which shows how tightly the information was kept secret.

"My question about the Land of Whirlpools has actually reminded Teacher Orochimaru," Shuichi thought to himself.

"Because of my arrival, it's possible that the Third Hokage's decision to choose Minato as the Fourth Hokage might be revealed to the teacher ahead of time."

"Minato's relationship with the Jinchuriki was one of his most important assets in becoming Hokage..." He suddenly realized.

It seems that Orochimaru's chances of being promoted by Danzo are slim. The Third Hokage is determined to put Minato in power, mainly because of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

In order to utilize the power of the Tailed Beast, each village would try to select people who were close to the Kage as candidates, such as master and disciple, children and descendants, brothers, etc.

This is easy to understand. The Third Great Ninja War resulted in heavy losses for all countries, and the military budgets of each village were reduced to some extent. The Third Hokage's thoughts were not much different from those of the Fourth Kazekage Rasa.

Reduced military spending means a decline in military capabilities, but the ninja villages are afraid of losing power due to the Fourth Shinobi World War, so the Tailed Beast are naturally the best target.

If used properly, a single Tailed Beast can be equivalent to thousands of soldiers, allowing the village to maintain its military strength while saving on expenses. From a strategic perspective, this is an inevitable choice for the Kage of the village.

The master and disciple seemed to stop their conversation in a tacit understanding, their thoughts racing. However, Orochimaru quickly continued as if nothing had happened, "You may not have encountered that Uzumaki Clan ninja yet. Speaking of the Land of Whirlpools, in my opinion, their demise was almost inevitable..."

"Holy crap, is he just going to comment like that?" Shuichi looked around in a bit of a panic. His Konoha Ninja vest still had the Uzumaki Clan crest on the back, yet he was saying this rather bluntly, which showed that Orochimaru was indeed a person who had no scruples.

During the Warring States Period, the Uzumaki Clan was known for its powerful Fuinjutsu and cockroach-like vitality. In addition, they were distant relatives of the Senju Clan, so few families dared to cause them trouble.

However, the situation in the Shinobi World is changing. Since the establishment of the system of One Country, One Village, ninja clans that are isolated outside the country have basically no good ending. No matter how strong a clan is, it is impossible to fight against the power of a village.

One undeniable fact is that, although Konoha and the Uzumaki Clan appeared to be on good terms, why didn't they join Konoha from the beginning?

"You think you're strong enough to protect yourself? You don't want to be Konoha's underling? You can't bear to give up the Land of Land of Whirlpools' territory?..."

According to Orochimaru, for nearly 30 years since the founding of Konoha, the successive Hokage had welcomed the Uzumaki Clan to fully integrate into Konoha. The Third Hokage even went to discuss this matter several times after taking office, but was refused each time.

"Is this kind of experience?" Shuichi was surprised, but thinking about it, it was normal. Since he didn't have the strength to overwhelm the Shinobi World, as a qualified Kage, he would naturally try to strengthen his village's power.

If the Uzumaki Clan were to fully integrate into Konoha, the village's foundation would be considered flawless.

Even the major clans strongly support this, because once the war begins, the Uzumaki Clan can deal with the enemy's Tailed Beast, which will significantly reduce casualties on their side.

"This is a fatal mistake in the decision-making of the Uzumaki Clan's higher-ups," Shuichi thought to himself. "Simply put, they want the whole thing: the nation and the village, their exclusive Fuinjutsu, and powerful allies. They want freedom without being wronged, but they don't want to share their Fuinjutsu with others. There's no such thing as a free lunch."

These Uzumaki Clan members lack emotional intelligence; they are completely clueless about human relationships and cannot see the bigger picture of the Shinobi World.

Even among humans, the feelings between the closest of people can fade if they are separated for a long time.

They didn't understand that there's a fundamental difference between two villages being on good terms and everyone being from the same village.

Those who grow up together in Konoha are truly one family; the innocent words of those children in the Ninja Academy are actually quite true.

Shuichi didn't know how many Konoha Ninja went to support the Land of Whirlpools and lost their lives, but the Third Hokage treated the Uzumaki Clan with the utmost kindness and compassion.

During that time, he was just a junior in front of Uzumaki Mito, who was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of the village. For the sake of the village's stability, he certainly wouldn't let Mito find any fault with his actions in this matter.

The result, of course, remained unchanged. What even the two generations of Senju Second Hokage couldn't accomplish, he, a newly appointed Hokage of a small clan, certainly couldn't do either.

"That makes sense, no wonder Minato and Kushina didn't shy away from this topic during their conversation." Shuichi felt that this was more in line with the actual situation.

After learning about the situation in the Land of Whirlpools from Orochimaru, he immediately went home to prepare his mission equipment. This time, he had several Konoha Squad under his command, and the responsibilities on his shoulders were much heavier.

A few days later, a large number of Konoha ninjas left for the borders of various countries, leaving the village in dire need of manpower, and the higher-ups had no good solution.

This is the awkward part of the situation: the land of a small country is not cost-effective for the Land of Fire, but the surrounding major powers are very eager for it. Therefore, Konoha can only passively defend itself and is about to face a brutal war of attrition.

Because the Land of Water is a unique island nation, located far from the mainland, and because Kirigakure) adheres to a policy of secrecy, they rarely participate in the Shinobi World War.

This is a major headache for Konoha, as there are no precedents for war to follow, so they can only send out teams to scout out the Land of Whirlpools first.

Shuichi's squad was the first to arrive at the border of the Land of Whirlpools, and soon after, several other teams from Konoha arrived in time.

Once everyone had arrived, he opened the map and discussed the next course of action with his team.

"The village currently knows nothing about Kirigakure's strategy, so we can only start from the border and keep scouting eastward," Shuichi said, pointing to the location of the Land of Whirlpools. "This country is surrounded by sea on three sides and borders the Land of Fire. If Kirigakure were to launch a large-scale war, they would definitely establish a base here."

"Now let's assign tasks. Our teams will mainly be responsible for reconnaissance of the northern area, so my squad will lead the way and set off first..."

Since Hyuga Akiha is there, we should use the Byakugan's abilities to relieve some pressure on the other teams.

Shuichi has a total of 5 teams, only one of which has Jonin, the rest are Chunin Genin. If they encounter the vanguard of Kirigakure, the chances of them being wiped out are very high.

But there was nothing he could do; the mission had to be completed within the allotted time. He could only hope that the other teams would send a signal when they were attacked, so that there might still be a chance for them to be saved...

After the tasks were assigned, Shuichi's squad set off first, their route forming a "Z" shape, and the area they needed to scout was several times larger than that of the other teams.

He divided the reconnaissance plan into four phases, with several teams gathering at designated locations on time each day, and adjustments made promptly in case of any unforeseen circumstances.

"Disperse!"

"Swish, swish..."

All the teams began to move according to the mission requirements. They were much slower than Shuichi and his two companions, but their routes were simpler, as they had been planned beforehand.

"Captain, why would Kirigakure suddenly attack the Land of Fire? They've lived in an environment different from the mainland for so long, they shouldn't crave land like other countries, right?" Hyuga Akiha asked herself as they walked.

Shuichi thought for a moment, "Because they want to divert attention from internal conflicts. This is probably the consequence of years of self-isolation. There will always be struggles in the world. If you don't fight with outsiders, then you have to..."

Aburame Shihei adjusted his sunglasses. "People who attack their own comrades don't end well. It will make them unable to trust anyone again."

"... I never knew you were a philosopher!"

The terrain of the Land of Land of Whirlpools is quite complex. Perhaps because it is close to the sea, there are no particularly tall trees, but the roads are not easy to travel.

Over the course of two days, Shuichi's squad patrolled the overgrown plains, occasionally encountering muddy areas like swamps, with a faint smell of the sea in the air.

"We've arrived. Ahead lies the former site of the main city of the Land of Whirlpools."

What appeared before the three of them was a scene of ruins. It was a city nestled against the mountains and beside the water, surrounded by low valleys, with a clear lake running through it.

All the buildings are mainly constructed of brick and stone, and many places still bear the same Uzumaki Clan emblem as the ones on the back of the Konoha vests, although they have been destroyed beyond recognition, which shows how fierce the battle that took place here was.

"Byakugan, open!"

These abandoned city sites are easily exploited by ninjas. With a little tidying up, they can be used as a small outpost. Entering rashly makes one vulnerable to a sneak attack, so it's best to use the Byakugan to check them out first.

"Enemy spotted. Judging by their figures, they're not Konoha Ninja, so they must be from Kirigakure." Akiha reported with a frown, "One, two... six, a total of six enemies, located at..."

Shuichi hadn't expected the Kirigakure's operation to be so aggressive. Was it because they hadn't fought against other villages in the Shinobi World for so long?

In Byakugan's view, these six ninjas, though not particularly strong, moved cautiously, each scattering and hiding in the blind spots of the dilapidated building, maintaining a posture of mutual support.

The three did not rush to attack, but waited to see if any other Mist Ninja would appear.

Judging from their posture, they must have had many teammates scouting outside, otherwise they wouldn't have set up such a defensive and ambush formation.

After waiting for several hours, Shuichi did not see any more enemies appear. Instead, it was soon time for the Konoha team to assemble, as this was the destination for all the teams on the third day.

"The enemy has a Sensory Ninja, but his abilities are not strong."

After discovering the Kirigakure, they retreated a distance and maintained safe surveillance using Akiha's Byakugan. Now they have completely taken the initiative.

"Let's get started!"

"Ninja Technique· Super Beast Imitation Drawing!"

Three plump but unusually agile ink rats jumped out. Shuichi didn't let them move in a hurry, but instead formed a few hand seals and shaped them into several balls of clay.

"Although it's much more troublesome than Deidara's abilities, it's still fun to play around with occasionally."

Shuichi stuffed clay into the rats' bellies and manipulated them to wander around the building, following behind them. Now was the perfect moment when the enemy Sensory Ninja stop.

As they approached the enemy, the three stopped a short distance away to prepare for their next ambush, while the Ink Rats ran off to the buildings along the riverbank.

A total of three Mist Ninja were positioned very close to the river, a choice quite different from the other major villages.

According to Shuichi's deduction, if an unexpected situation occurred, the opponent would likely escape by diving into the water, which is why he used this method instead of a direct sneak attack.

Hyuga Akiha kept a close eye on the little mouse. Once the three spots were in place, Shuichi formed hand seals and Hand Seals the Nendoroid, shouting, "Art is Explosion!"

"Boom boom..."

Three explosions rang out in succession by the river. The remaining Kirigakure seemed to be startled. Before they could react, a figure attacked each of them.

"Secret Technique: Insect Sphere!"

"Gentle Fist Style: Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms!"

As his teammates began to move, Shuichi had already easily reached the enemy leader, and several pythons flew out of his hand, tightly constricting him.

"Uh..."

The Hidden Mist Ninja, unable to even conduct business, had their bodies paralyzed by Snake Venom. All six of them were Chunin -level, with the weakest only slightly stronger than Genin, and even the strongest among them was far from Jonin.

"Captain, it's done!"

Akiha and Shihei each carried a defenseless person, preparing to have Shuichi interrogate them for information.

After casting Genjutsu on them one after another, Shuichi pondered. The task of these people was simply to provide backup.

The mission issued by Kirigakure was simply to inform them that there were already powerful Jonin within the Land of Whirlpools, and that they should simply follow orders.

"Hmm... let's wait for the other teams to get here and see if anything has happened." That was all Shuichi could do. The Land of Water had basically never engaged in large-scale battles with other major powers, so it was difficult to predict their tactical arrangements.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..."

"It's the team of Jonin Sōto, and there's another one..." Akiha had already recognized the people who had come.

"Captain Shuichi!" Sōto is a Special Jonin skilled in swordsmanship, a true Civilian Ninja. His achievements at under 30 are quite remarkable. "Everything is normal in our assigned area, and we haven't found any trace of anyone having been here recently."

The other team also reported to him that there was nothing unusual. These people were a little surprised to see the three Kirigakure under the control of Shuichi's squad, but they all followed the rules and did not ask any questions.

The designated assembly time arrived quickly, but everyone noticed that one squad was still missing. Shuichi immediately spoke up, "Wait another 15 minutes, everyone stay alert!"

As time passed, he became certain that something must have happened to that team. "It's Chunin Yūya's Squad. I didn't expect they couldn't even transmit a signal."

Unfolding the map again, Shuichi carefully observed Yūya's Squad's route for the day. "They just happened to cross two rivers in a row. Is that a coincidence?"