A Huge Haul

After hearing Masahiko Uzumaki's words, Tamura Hiroshi was tempted—very tempted.

From what Masahiko had said, the Yang Seal was a Sealing Technique with the same function as the Yin Seal. It could store chakra, exactly what Hiroshi was short on right now.

Although his talent for Chakra Quantity was appalling, he could still gather chakra at a decent pace. He could steadily refine small amounts while not fighting, store them, and then unleash them in battle. That would make up for his greatest weakness to some extent.

And judging by the old man's expression, the Yang Seal seemed usable even with his Chakra Quantity, making it a better fit for him.

But clearly, getting his hands on the Yang Seal would require offering something Masahiko wanted. Was there anything he had that would interest the old man?

Putting on a conflicted expression, Tamura Hiroshi finally gritted his teeth and said, "I can give the Uzumaki clan a method for cultivating Senjutsu. It won't be as powerful as Hashirama's, but it can still multiply your strength several times over.

"But you have to let me take all the Classics, the Uzushio Hidden Village's inheritance, and its resources for safekeeping. We'll make copies of all the Classics.

"The situation in the Land of Whirlwhirl War is far worse than you imagine. The chance of the Uzushio Hidden Village holding out is less than one in ten.

"Let us safeguard those things for now. Later, we'll use them to help rebuild the Uzumaki clan as quickly as possible."

Masahiko Uzumaki fell silent. Only after a long while did he speak.

"Do you know how to spell 'shameless'?"

In all his life, he'd never met anyone so brazen. "Getting something for nothing" didn't even begin to describe this kid's methods.

"With Grandma Mito here, are you really worried I'll steal your clan's legacy? If the Uzumaki clan weren't bound to us by generations of marriage ties, do you think I'd have risked coming here?"

Tamura Hiroshi shot back without backing down, invoking Mito Uzumaki's name.

Now that my identity as Senju Hiroshi, a direct descendant of the Senju clan, has been confirmed, I might as well make good use of it.

Masahiko Uzumaki fell into thought. The kid's offer was shameless, but with his sister in the Senju clan, he wouldn't dare cheat them.

"Is there more to this war in the Land of Whirlpools?"

He asked, sensing that the kid's words carried an unspoken meaning.

Putting on a grave expression, Tamura Hiroshi bluffed seriously. "Madara Uchiha isn't dead. Right now, the only thing that can make him hesitate is a perfect Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

He didn't say anything more. He'd simply brought up Madara Uchiha's name and left the rest to the old man's imagination.

For an old man who'd survived the Warring States period, the name Madara Uchiha was certainly a powerful threat.

Sure enough, Masahiko Uzumaki's expression changed dramatically when he heard the name.

That was truly bad news!

Now that his brother-in-law was gone, Madara Uchiha was synonymous with invincibility. It seemed the Uzushio Hidden Village was doomed this time.

"Wait here!"

Masahiko Uzumaki thought it over for a long while, his expression shifting, then hurried off after saying that.

Tamura Hiroshi breathed a sigh of relief. Then he looked at the Death God Masks in the room, thought for a moment, and took a Sealing Object Scroll from his backpack. He removed all the Death God Masks, bundled them together, and sealed them away.

He'd brought plenty of blank Sealing Object Scrolls. He'd originally prepared them for looting corpses on the battlefield, but they worked just as well for storing other things.

Unfortunately, the Sealing Object Spell on his armor plates wasn't advanced enough to stack seals on the Sealing Object Scrolls. Otherwise, he could've kept loading them indefinitely and turned himself into a walking arsenal.

Before long, Masahiko Uzumaki returned with two enormous Sealing Object Scrolls on his back. His eye twitched when he saw the empty racks.

"Take these and get out of here!"

He flung the two huge Sealing Object Scrolls at the boy and motioned for him to hurry off.

Just looking at you annoys me!

"So this is the person you picked? She doesn't look very bright."

Tamura Hiroshi slung the two huge Sealing Object Scrolls onto his back and looked at the big little girl behind Masahiko Uzumaki.

The girl's eyes were red, and her gaze was full of reluctance.

"You're the stupid one!"

The little girl, who'd been feeling reluctant a moment earlier, got angry and glared furiously at the white-haired boy.

"See? Not too bright after all!"

Tamura Hiroshi sighed. He walked over and, right under Masahiko Uzumaki's watchful gaze, knocked the girl unconscious with a Hand Blade and carried her over his shoulder. Then he casually brushed a hand over her hair and used the Transformation Jutsu to give her short black hair.

"I'm taking her with me. I hope to see you in Konoha. Otherwise, this girl and Grandma Mito will be heartbroken for a long time."

He waved and strode out without hesitation, leaving Masahiko Uzumaki with a face full of exasperation and bulging veins.

"Let's hope we can make it through."

Masahiko Uzumaki sighed at last, deeply worried.

The armies of the Four Great Shinobi Villages were already difficult enough to deal with. If Madara Uchiha was also lurking in the shadows, there really was no hope. Otherwise, he would never have agreed to such an outrageous demand and let the boy take the clan's legacy away. At least this way, the clan would have a fallback plan.

The three Kumogakure ANBU who'd been waiting outside were even more bewildered when they saw Tamura Hiroshi emerge with two huge scrolls on his back and a girl in tow. They had no idea what had happened inside.

"Let's go!"

Tamura Hiroshi said simply and hurried ahead. The three ANBU had no choice but to follow at a brisk pace.

Leaving the incredibly successful Tamura Hiroshi aside, in another part of the village, Dodai met the Uzumaki elder.

"Young man, which family are you from?"

Uzumaki Ashina sized up the young man before him. He was sure the visitor probably wasn't from Konoha; if he were, he would've gone to see the clan head, not him, the old man who disliked Konoha most.

"I'm Dodai, Raikage's Assistant of Kumogakure. This is the battle plan for the Four Great Shinobi Villages' joint attack on the Uzushio Hidden Village. Please take a look."

Dodai kept his posture humble as he handed over a scroll he'd prepared in advance.

The Four Great Shinobi Villages had long been in secret contact over the Uzumaki clan's Sealing Technique. They hadn't formed an alliance, but they had agreed not to interfere with one another. What each village could get from the Uzumaki clan this time would depend on its own methods.

With that in mind, they'd drawn up a rough joint battle plan. The scroll in Dodai's hands contained that plan.

Uzumaki Ashina was taken aback by his words. Then he took the scroll and unrolled it, his expression darkening at once.

"Are you threatening me?"

Uzumaki Ashina fixed the young man with a sharp gaze, convinced that this was a threat.

Don't think the Uzumaki clan is afraid of the Four Great Shinobi Villages.

"It's not a threat. It's a sincere invitation for the Uzumaki clan to join Kumogakure. The invitation is always open."

Dodai looked completely sincere, and he truly was. He genuinely wanted the Uzumaki clan to join Kumogakure and become part of the village.

Whether it was the Tailed Beast Clone Jinchuriki plan or the development and mass production of Firearms, they needed the Uzumaki clan's help to make rapid progress.

Uzumaki Ashina watched Dodai for a long while before his expression finally softened. Then his gaze returned to the scroll in his hands.

"Kumogakure doesn't seem like the best choice for us."

After calming down, he wanted to see how much sincerity the young man and Kumogakure had to offer.

The secret joint battle plan drawn up by the Four Great Shinobi Villages was a decent show of sincerity, but it wasn't enough.

After all, Kumogakure wanted the Uzumaki clan, not just a Sealing Technique.

It wasn't impossible to negotiate, but they would need to show more sincerity.