Befriending Lord Dodai

The Uzumaki Clan Head glanced at his nephew, who had finally calmed down, and without asking, he said, "Kumogakure will use ships to take some of our clan members by sea, but on the sea, Kirigakure's Ninja are the masters.

We need to join forces with Kumogakure to first annihilate all of Kirigakure's Ninja Army this time, so that the children can safely reach Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning by sea."

He laid out the operational plan agreed upon with Lord Dodai. There were no detailed tactics or strategies, just ensuring the rear was clear.

As long as they took down the Ninja Army sent by Kirigakure, the remaining Ninja from Sunagakure and Iwagakure would be no threat; they were all landlubbers.

"I've made an agreement with them. If we can hold them off this time, we'll continue to live in the Land of Whirlpools. If we can't, we'll transfer the underage children and unmarried clan members to Kumogakure.

At the same time, we'll share the Sealing Techniques that can be used by non-clan members as payment for inviting Kumogakure to join the fight."

He revealed the deal with Kumogakure. It was unrealistic to expect them to work for free; they had to offer sufficient compensation, which could only be their clan's inherited Sealing Techniques.

"Fine!"

After a moment of silence, Masahiko Uzumaki gritted his teeth and nodded. This was the only way now.

Damn it, if I don't survive this war, the first thing I'll do when I get to Kumogakure is kill that hateful brat.

Seeing that the Clan Head had agreed, the four elders had nothing more to say.

In their current predicament, having an extra option and a fallback plan was already quite good.

At the same time, Lord Dodai caught up with Tamura Hiroshi and the other three at the agreed-upon location. Or rather, five people.

"What did you do?"

Looking at the surrounding Anbu Ninja, the two extra-large scrolls, and the red-haired girl, Lord Dodai was utterly confused.

I've only been gone for less than an hour, and you've already stirred up trouble?

Tamura Hiroshi explained innocently, "It's not my fault. Not long after you went in, the Son of the Hokage came out of Uzushio Hidden Village. We almost fought then.

I could only impersonate someone from the Senju Clan and exchange words with them. Then, I took a stroll inside Uzushio Hidden Village, met the Uzumaki Clan Head, and chatted with him for a while. He entrusted this girl and all of the Uzumaki clan's inheritances and foundations to me.

Oh, and this girl is the designated Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

He couldn't help but sigh inwardly, Master Lu was right. True sincerity is hard to keep, only schemes win hearts. Playing sincere nowadays is a dead end; in the end, you'll lose everything, even the parts of your body. Only schemes can get you everything.

This simplistic explanation made Lord Dodai's eyelids twitch. The amount of information was overwhelming; even with his intellect, he couldn't process it all at once.

"You messing around like this is very dangerous."

With a dark expression, Lord Dodai regretted bringing the kid along.

He's too much of a troublemaker!

"I've thought about it. It's not very dangerous for us. At most, the Uzumaki Clan Head will detain Lord Dodai if he doesn't leave in time after discovering this. Given the current situation in the Land of Whirlpools, Uzushio Hidden Village won't kill Lord Dodai and completely offend our Kumogakure."

Tamura Hiroshi looked like he had everything under control. He had already figured this out, which was why he dared to take the risk and trick them.

"Think about it, my foot!"

Lord Dodai, unable to stand it any longer, punched the young man on the head. I almost became a prisoner.

"You guys, quickly take the scrolls and the girl back. Make sure to bring all three back intact. This is very important to the village; it must be completed."

Glaring at the pained young man, Lord Dodai ordered the Anbu Ninja.

Those he brought with him were absolute confidants, and their combat power was unquestionable, not to mention this secret tunnel. Returning safely should not be a problem.

"Yes!"

They accepted the order. Three of them carried the scrolls and the girl on their backs and entered the tunnel together. At the very end, an Earth Style Ninja caused the tunnel to collapse, preventing anyone from pursuing them.

After a series of twists and turns, Tamura Hiroshi and Lord Dodai turned into a fork in the road. The previous three Anbu Ninja followed behind them, but they had changed out of their Konoha Anbu uniforms.

They traveled a distance before emerging above ground and accelerating towards the agreed-upon location.

As they were about to reach the meeting point, Lord Dodai stopped and glared at the young man, then instructed his three subordinates.

"You guys keep a close eye on this brat. Don't let him cause any more trouble."

"Yes!"

The three responded decisively, but inwardly, they didn't feel any ill will towards Tamura Hiroshi. In fact, they admired and were grateful to him.

The spoils from before should count as a collective S-rank mission record for them. They'd welcome more of these easy, good things. If necessary, it's fine to make Lord Dodai suffer a little.

Seeing that Tamura Hiroshi, who was being targeted, was displeased, he couldn't say anything, but he made a mental note of it.

The five slowed their pace and soon arrived at the agreed-upon location, a secluded forest.

The representatives from the other three factions were already there, and they all looked towards the approaching five from Kumogakure.

"Is Kumogakure out of people? Sending only brats!"

Hozuki Jagetsu, the leader of the Kirigakure side, chuckled sinisterly, his words laced with disdain.

"Indeed, too young and unreliable!"

Chiyo, the representative of Sunagakure, nodded in agreement, inwardly displeased with the late arrival of Kumogakure's representative.

If it were someone of the same generation, it would be fine, but it's a junior, and there's a shorty behind him, probably just a child.

"It seems Kumogakure hasn't recovered from the internal strife back then. Perhaps they should just withdraw from this Land of Whirlpools War."

Gari, representing Iwagakure, added his own comment, putting pressure on Dodai and his group along with the other two parties.

The three people standing behind Chiyo, however, looked at the young man behind Dodai. Although his hair color and style had changed, his build was very familiar, especially the light armor he wore.

Pakura glared furiously, inwardly cursing the lecherous brat.

Seeing the three parties targeting their side, Tamura Hiroshi remained silent but silently noted them down in his heart, even considering if there would be an opportunity to destroy those three parties.

I, Tamura, never hold grudges. Any grudges I have are repaid quickly.

"It seems there's no need to talk anymore. Everyone will rely on their own means tonight!"

Dodai was equally resolute. He snorted coldly and turned to leave.

He had arrived on time as agreed, even half an hour early, yet he was still being targeted.

Clearly, the three parties had made an agreement before they arrived; they intended to exclude Kumogakure.

Fine, if you don't want to play with us, Kumogakure, then don't blame us for being impolite.

Tamura Hiroshi and the other three said nothing more, leaping up and quickly leaving with Dodai.

Before leaving, Tamura Hiroshi glanced at Rasa, who was standing behind Chiyo. The malice from him was much stronger than last time.

The three parties were not surprised by Dodai's decisive departure. This was typical of Kumogakure; they had always maintained a strong stance.

"As expected, too young!"

Chiyo chuckled lightly, not taking it to heart.

Now that the three parties had allied, Kumogakure's anger would be useless. Moreover, their operation would commence tonight, leaving Kumogakure no time to make new arrangements.

Originally, she hadn't fully agreed to ally with Iwagakure and Kirigakure to target Kumogakure, but the intelligence Rasa brought back gave her more to consider. Especially since Rasa had a high evaluation of Kumogakure, posing the greatest threat to Sunagakure.

Given this, she would take the opportunity to target them. If there was a chance, she wouldn't mind destroying Kumogakure's Ninja Army that was dispatched this time.