The Treachery of Human Hearts

"Do you have the Bashosen?"

Hearing Dodai's words, Uzumaki Ashina's eyes lit up, and he directly inquired about the Bashosen, the Six Paths Ninja Tool with the greatest destructive power.

Among those five Six Paths Ninja Tools, only the Bashosen was primarily for offense and killing. Combined with the massive Chakra of their Uzumaki clan, one swing each would be enough to deal with any number of enemies.

"Yes!"

Dodai's response was decisive. He knew that obtaining the Six Paths Ninja Tools would significantly boost the Uzumaki clan's strength, but it was precisely this strength that was needed to force Konoha's hand.

They also needed to rely on the Uzumaki clan to annihilate all the elites from the various Ninja Villages this time, making it easier for their Kumogakure in the subsequent War.

Upon receiving Dodai's affirmative reply, Uzumaki Ashina's smile deepened. He then stepped forward, retrieved the two sealed hearts, and formed a mystical Jutsu formation with a hand seal.

"Contract Seal, release!"

Finally, he slapped both hearts, and dark Jutsu characters enveloped them.

Uzumaki Ashina then took some tissue cells from the two hearts and used them as a medium to perform the Summoning Technique.

A burst of mist exploded, revealing four items, which were the four Six Paths Ninja Tools sealed by Kinkaku and Ginkaku.

Uzumaki Ashina immediately grabbed the Bashosen. Injecting Chakra into it instantly condensed five Chakra spheres, each possessing the properties of wind, fire, lightning, water, and earth, and they were incredibly potent.

"It's just as recorded. It can form five elemental nature transformations and manifest them as five elemental attacks."

Uzumaki Ashina was very satisfied. With this ultimate weapon, the upcoming War was secured.

"Take the remaining three back. I've seen the sincerity of your Kumogakure, and you will soon see mine."

Looking at the other three complete sets of Six Paths Ninja Tools, Uzumaki Ashina wasn't particularly interested. They were too troublesome to use, unlike their Sealing Techniques, which were much more straightforward.

"We look forward to it!"

Dodai sealed the three Six Paths Ninja Tools and the hearts of Kinkaku and Ginkaku in a storage scroll. After discussing some more operational plans with him, he departed.

This mission was a complete success. The next step was to see the Uzumaki clan's choice and the direction of the War.

"Where are they?"

Dodai was stunned when a Uzumaki Ninja escorted him to the village entrance.

Where were that brat and the other three?

"They left with the young lady. They asked me to tell you that they've gone ahead and you should catch up quickly. Be careful of ambushes on the way," the Uzumaki Ninja guarding the village entrance conveyed.

"The young lady?"

Dodai was a bit bewildered. What had that brat done while he was away?

Despite his confusion, Dodai set off as quickly as possible, even using the Body Flicker Technique to speed up his journey towards their previously agreed-upon location.

They had already planned their return route, which was different from the way they came. They had also arranged for several Jonin skilled in Earth Style to create long tunnels in advance to conceal their movements and avoid being targeted and ambushed.

After all, too many people were watching Uzushio Hidden Village at this stage.

Not to mention Dodai, who had left, Uzumaki Ashina, on the other side, after getting accustomed to the Bashosen, walked towards the residence of the Clan Head, who was also his grand-nephew.

The visitors to Uzushio Hidden Village today were not just Cloud Ninja, but also people from Konoha, who were likely here for the new Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

Upon entering his grand-nephew's home, he saw that the other four clan elders were already there, and their expressions were grim.

"Konoha really didn't send anyone to support us?"

Uzumaki Ashina entered, knelt down, and glanced at his grand-nephew, guessing what had happened.

"All Four Great Shinobi Villages have begun advancing towards the Land of Fire. Konoha has already arranged for the Elite Ninja of the major Ninja Clans to depart as vanguards to the frontline to seize advantageous terrain and establish defensive lines. The Senju Clan has been assigned to the Land of Earth. The Hokage has promised to dispatch a Ninja Army for support, and they will arrive in the Land of Whirlpools tomorrow night," Masahiko Uzumaki said helplessly, stating that the problem was far more serious than he had imagined.

He didn't mention the news of Madara Uchiha's survival; it would be useless anyway and would only demoralize them.

If Madara Uchiha didn't appear, they would have no power to resist, not even with Forbidden Jutsu. If that person truly showed himself, they could only close their eyes and await death.

"All Four Great Shinobi Villages have calculated this far."

The four clan elders were all filled with worry. Without Konoha's support, how could their Uzushio Hidden Village survive this crisis?

"Whether it's the calculation of the Four Great Shinobi Villages or the calculation of that little monkey, the Third Hokage, is hard to say. The arrival tomorrow night is not support; it's coming to collect corpses," Uzumaki Ashina said mockingly, causing the expressions of those present to change slightly.

Masahiko Uzumaki remained silent. He had learned a lot about Konoha from that brat, and the situation was not optimistic.

The four clan elders also looked grim. It was uncertain if they could even survive tonight, let alone tomorrow night.

Looking unexpectedly at his silent grand-nephew, Uzumaki Ashina didn't waste any more words and said sternly, "I've always said Konoha can't be relied upon. That's why I secretly contacted Kumogakure. They are the only Ninja Village among the Five Great Ninja Villages that is still recruiting externally, enough to accommodate our Uzumaki clan, at least a part of it. It's also a fallback. We old guys can die for Uzushio Hidden Village, but the children cannot follow us. The Uzumaki clan must not be destroyed, or we will have no face to see our ancestors after we die. Kumogakure has shown great sincerity, having just sent us the Six Paths Ninja Tool, the Bashosen, to assist us in this War."

As he spoke, Uzumaki Ashina took out the Bashosen he had just acquired and injected Chakra into it, condensing five small spheres to prove it was genuine.

"It really is the Bashosen!"

Upon seeing the Bashosen, the eyes of the four clan elders lit up. This was a great weapon, especially when combined with the massive chakra of their Uzumaki clan.

It wasn't very effective against top-tier experts, but against ordinary ninja, it was a massacre.

What troubled them about the allied ninja villages was their sheer numbers. They weren't as concerned about the top-tier experts within their ranks; they could always trade one for one with forbidden sealing techniques.

But those ninja armies were a nuisance. Their convergence posed too great a threat to the village.

With this great weapon now in hand, the upcoming war would undoubtedly be much easier.

From this perspective, Kumogakure truly showed great sincerity.

The current situation was clear: regardless of whether Konoha could send reinforcements, the elite forces of the Four Great Shinobi Villages besieging Uzushio Hidden Village had become a foregone conclusion. They had already tied up Konoha, so even if Konoha sent reinforcements, there wouldn't be many.

Having an additional avenue now wasn't a bad thing.

However, compared to the joy of the four clan elders, Masahiko Uzumaki was struck as if by lightning, completely stunned.

"Just now? The person who met with you was from Kumogakure?"

He had thought the person who met with the Great Elder was also from the Senju clan. He never imagined it was from Kumogakure. Then, who did that brat belong to?

"It was Kumogakure's Raikage's Assistant."

Looking over in confusion, Uzumaki Ashina didn't understand what was wrong with his great nephew.

"Boom!"

"Damn brat!"

The eruption of massive chakra instantly turned the hall into a mess. Masahiko Uzumaki's face contorted with rage, his anger burning fiercely.

He had been deceived by a brat! Not only had he handed over his own granddaughter, but he had also given away the clan's entire foundation.

What a disgrace, and what an insult!

How could Kumogakure have such a despicable, shameless, and evil brat?

Uzumaki Ashina and the others looked at the clan head's sudden outburst, utterly bewildered, not understanding what was happening.

"What's the battle plan?"

After a long while, Masahiko Uzumaki finally recovered and asked gravely. Despite his immense anger, the deed was done, and no amount of rage could change it now.

First, they would cooperate with Kumogakure to survive this calamity. Afterward, he would find an opportunity to deal with that damned brat.