Only the Ship of State Leaks from the Top

The Shinobi World itself was not large to begin with, and Uzushio Village lay on the eastern edge of the Shinobi Continent, across the sea from the Land of Water. Departing from Kirigakure, a ninja could reach Uzushio Village in roughly two days at full speed, or five days at a slower pace.

With the Chakra reserves of Hozuki Shingetsu and the other two, they could have crossed the ocean directly. But they were in no hurry, and Shingetsu knew someone might come to ambush them, so the three leisurely took a ship to the Land of Whirlpools.

"Even though I've taken ships plenty of times, I have to say, sailing really isn't pleasant."

Yukinagi jumped off the ship and complained with a miserable expression.

Given a ninja's control over their body, seasickness was not an issue. Yet while ships of this era could cross the ocean, their comfort left much to be desired.

"Shingetsu, what are you looking at?"

Karatachi Yagura watched Hozuki Shingetsu gaze out toward the sea after disembarking, as though lost in thought, and stepped forward to ask.

"Nothing. I was just wondering what lies beyond the sea."

Hozuki Shingetsu withdrew his gaze and answered.

"Beyond the sea? You rarely hear any news from there."

In the usual sense, the Shinobi Continent referred to the landmass occupied by the Five Great Nations. But maps of the Shinobi World showed that another continent existed east of the Land of Water. Due to the harsh ocean conditions between the two continents, coupled with the fact that the other land held little worth fighting over, there was very little exchange between them. Each side only vaguely knew the other existed.

In the original movie, while searching for Gelel Ore, Naruto and the others had encountered enemies from that other continent: the Heide Legion. They dressed in a style similar to Western Europe, had no ninja profession, and seemingly did not understand how to use Chakra.

Of course, that was not the important part. The key was that, perhaps because they did not understand how to use Chakra, they had developed a unique steam-powered mechanical civilization. The Ironclad Warship, robots, and Mobile Steel Fortress capable of smashing through small mountains all displayed the technological level of that distant continent.

And that Mobile Steel Fortress reminded Hozuki Shingetsu of something else: the airborne fortress built by Sky Ninja Village in the original work—Ancor Vantian.

As someone determined to dominate the Shinobi World, he naturally would not forget those two powerful weapons.

Although the mobile fortress built by the Heide Legion was not terribly useful against ninja, it was extremely effective as a deterrent against ordinary people.

So when he had the time, he still needed to make a move on that continent!

Furthermore, that technology would be very important to Hozuki Shingetsu, who intended to become Mizukage in the future, vigorously develop Kirigakure's industry, and improve its economy.

Putting those thoughts away, Hozuki Shingetsu turned and stared at a dockworker unloading cargo for a few moments. He smiled, but said nothing.

After reporting their arrival to the Uzushio Village ninja at the harbor, the three left the port and prepared to cross the forest toward Uzushio Village.

Halfway there, Hozuki Shingetsu gave them a look. Yukinagi and Karatachi Yagura, who worked with him seamlessly, immediately understood and made their move.

"Water Release: Water Mirror Technique!"

As Karatachi Yagura swung the club in his hand, a water mirror appeared. Replicas identical to Hozuki Shingetsu and the other two emerged and continued rushing forward with their heads down, while the real trio silently followed behind.

BOOM!

Not long after, their replicas stepped directly onto the explosive tag trap Root had prepared in advance. They dispersed into water amid a shower of flames.

"They noticed us beforehand..." Aburame Tatsuma stared at the pools of liquid and sank into thought. He had known the ambush would not be easy, but having it seen through so effortlessly still left him unwilling to accept it.

"Still, according to the intelligence, there are only three of them, while I have three Root squads. Four against one... hm, the advantage is mine!" Just as Aburame Tatsuma made up his mind, a mocking voice sounded behind him.

"Next time you try tricks like this, remember to take a bath. I could smell that stink of yours from hundreds of meters away!" Hozuki Shingetsu's voice rang out behind him.

Aburame Tatsuma's pupils abruptly contracted. His entire body immediately transformed into a swarm of insects that charged Hozuki Shingetsu, while his true body used the Body Flicker Technique to flee the scene.

At the same time, three figures suddenly appeared nearby, unleashing various ninjutsu at Hozuki Shingetsu.

"Let me see just how capable you Danzo lapdogs really are!"

Faced with the overwhelming swarm of Kikaichū and the various incoming ninjutsu, Hozuki Shingetsu neither dodged nor retreated. He bit his thumb and slapped one hand against the ground.

"Summoning Technique!"

"Mirage!"

As faint smoke rose, Hozuki Shingetsu's entire body became dreamlike and illusory. The mass of Kikaichū passed through him as though brushing through a phantom. With their low intelligence, they could not understand why their target was clearly there, yet could not be attacked.

Boom!

The ninjutsu also passed through Hozuki Shingetsu and slammed fiercely into the trees behind him, knocking down an entire stretch of forest.

"Agh!"

"Aah!"

At the same time, screams continuously rang out from the perimeter. Aburame Tatsuma knew those were the voices of the Root ninja under his command.

Once he realized that Hozuki Shingetsu had mastered Mirage, a beyond-standard ninjutsu far outside his expectations, Aburame Tatsuma knew he was in danger.

As Hozuki Gengetsu's signature ninjutsu, Aburame Tatsuma naturally knew how nearly unsolvable it was.

He had originally hoped that the three Root squads could come support him after taking care of Hozuki Shingetsu's two companions. But from the looks of things, it seemed more likely that all of them would be wiped out here!

Hozuki Shingetsu was right in front of him, which meant the other two had each dealt with two Root squads alone?

He could understand Hozuki Shingetsu having such strength, but the other two had it as well? Since when did Kirigakure have so many geniuses?

"Then so be it..." Aburame Tatsuma thought of the Reverse Four-Symbols Sealing inscribed on his body, and his heart filled with the will to die.

"Secret Technique: Insect Sphere!"

After releasing a large number of sensing insects, he quickly used their physical senses to locate Giant Clam's true body. A cold glint flashed through Aburame Tatsuma's sunglasses, and he charged at Giant Clam's true body.

"Hmm, these people were only so-so." Karatachi Yagura dragged several corpses over to Hozuki Shingetsu.

"Indeed. I thought it would be a life-or-death battle, but they turned out to be so pathetic." Yukinagi also came over and nodded in agreement.

After the fierce battle, aside from their somewhat disheveled clothing, the two were essentially uninjured.

It could only be said that these people had terrible luck. They had encountered Hozuki Shingetsu, the future Fourth Mizukage, and the Yuki Clan's direct descendant. Had the ambush caught them off guard, they might have fallen into a hard battle. But once the Root ninja lost the advantage of surprise, the outcome of this battle was already decided.

It also proved a truth once again: ninja could not casually leak their combat intelligence.

In this battle, the greatest unknown was that Konoha and Ren's side did not know Hozuki Shingetsu had already mastered Mirage.

If they had known, they either would not have arranged this operation at all, or they would have sent far more than Aburame Tatsuma. At the very least, Hatake Sakumo would have needed to come.

In that case, Hozuki Shingetsu might truly have been in danger.

"But speaking of which, how did these Konoha people know we were here and specifically come all this way to ambush us?"

Yukinagi looked at the unconscious Aburame Tatsuma in Hozuki Shingetsu's hand, puzzled.

"Heh, Nagi, among all the ships in this world, only the ship of state leaks from the top." Rather than answer directly, Hozuki Shingetsu gave Yukinagi a statement that left her deep in thought.

Completely forgetting that he himself was also one of the people making the ship of state leak from the top.