Uzushio Village

"But Shingetsu, why did you go out of your way to keep this guy alive?"

Yukinagi looked puzzled as she watched Hozuki Shingetsu hold Aburame Ryoma by the collar.

"This guy can't die. He's our welcoming gift to Uzushio Village!"

Hozuki Shingetsu smiled but didn't answer directly.

When Aburame Ryoma realized where Giant Clam was, he knew he might not complete his mission. He'd acted decisively, trying to detonate the "Reverse Four-Symbols Sealing" within his body and take Hozuki Shingetsu down with him.

That had genuinely caught Hozuki Shingetsu off guard. The technique couldn't kill him, but the Sealing Jutsu was powerful enough to kill Giant Clam. And if Giant Clam died, he'd never be able to use "Mirage" again. It would be like losing one of his arms.

So, although he'd been planning to play around a little longer, he immediately ended the fight, using the way Mirage concealed his figure to capture Ryoma.

"I'll give Danzo this much: he may be a lousy person, but he knows how to train his subordinates." If neither Konoha nor Kaguya's side knew he'd made a contract with Giant Clam and could use Mirage, the fight would've been a lot more difficult.

After straightening their clothes, the three didn't bother much with cleaning up the battlefield. They simply took Aburame Ryoma with them and headed for Uzushio Village.

Not long after they left, two figures appeared quietly.

"These are Konoha shinobi!" After examining the bodies of the Root shinobi, a ninja wearing a Kumogakure Forehead Protector reached that conclusion.

Although Hozuki Shingetsu had taken everything from the Root shinobi that could prove their identities, each village's shinobi trained in different techniques. Those differences could still be discerned from their bodies.

"These... are traces of Ice Release!"

A ninja wearing an Iwagakure insignia reached the same conclusion after examining the wounds on another Root shinobi's body.

"Konoha and Kirigakure shinobi fought in the Land of Whirlpools..." Realizing the significance of the matter, the two exchanged a wary glance and hurried back to report to their leaders.

Uzushio Village lay at the very center of the Land of Whirlpools. It was both the home of the Land of Whirlpools' ninja village and the country's capital. The Daimyo of the Land of Whirlpools was also the leader of Uzushio Village, making it the only country in the Shinobi World where military and political power were united.

Since the Land of Whirlpools lay in the eastern part of the Shinobi Continent, with the Land of Fire at its back, it had become a hub for trade and a gathering place for merchants during the peaceful years following the First Shinobi World War. It shared a thriving maritime trade with the Land of Water.

After the Land of Water shut itself off from the outside world, the Land of Whirlpools became the largest trade hub in the eastern Shinobi Continent. Merchants traveling between the Land of Lightning, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Fire stopped here to trade, bringing a different kind of prosperity to the country. As its heart, Uzushio Village was naturally built on a grand scale. The village gates teemed with people, and merchants came and went without end.

"I never thought the Uzumaki Clan could build such a prosperous village all on their own." Karatachi Yagura was amazed. Uzushio Village couldn't match Kirigakure's grandeur, but knowing it had grown to its present state through the Uzumaki Clan's efforts alone was enough to inspire admiration.

"That's true. But whether this is a good thing for the Uzumaki Clan remains to be seen." Thinking of what had happened to Uzushio Village in the original story, Hozuki Shingetsu wore an inscrutable expression.

As the Senju Clan's in-laws, the Uzumaki Clan had close ties to Konoha, as the symbol on its Forehead Protector showed. If the Uzumaki Clan had joined Konoha back then, given its relationship with the Senju Clan, who knew whether the Third Hokage would've been Sarutobi Hiruzen? At the very least, the clan would surely have avoided scattering across the Shinobi World and ending up as living batteries.

"People from Kirigakure?"

Noticing the Kirigakure Forehead Protectors, the guards at Uzushio Village sent someone to notify their superiors, then escorted the group to a lounge to wait.

"And this person is...?"

The guard noticed Aburame Ryoma, who was unconscious. The Konoha Forehead Protector on his head made the guard's eyelid twitch, but he still followed protocol and didn't ask any questions.

"Envoys from Kirigakure? The leader has been expecting you."

Soon, a ninja wearing a tactical vest arrived and led the group to Uzushio Village's political center, Tenshukaku.

"The leader of Uzushio Village seems to care more about being a Daimyo than being a ninja." Seeing that the political center of a village leader was Tenshukaku rather than an office building, Hozuki Shingetsu wondered to himself.

"Daimyo, the envoys from Kirigakure have arrived."

The ninja's way of addressing the leader confirmed Hozuki Shingetsu's guess. But there was no time to consider what this meant for him. He led Karatachi Yagura and Yukinagi into the room and handed the Land of Whirlpools' Daimyo a letter from Ren.

The current Uzumaki Clan head, the leader of Uzushio Village, and the Daimyo of the Land of Whirlpools, Uzumaki Takumi, was around sixty years old. His hair had turned white from red, he had a mustache, and a long beard on his chin. He was dressed in a loose robe and sat in the seat of honor, casually reading Ren's letter.

"Sealing techniques for exchanging Tailed Beast Jinchuriki..." Uzumaki Takumi set the letter down gently and turned to Hozuki Shingetsu. "Give me a reason to agree to this exchange."

"Daimyo, before I answer, may I introduce this man and explain who he is?"

Hozuki Shingetsu lifted the unconscious Aburame Ryoma in his hand and spoke without the slightest hurry.

Everyone present had been curious about Aburame Ryoma. They could tell from the Forehead Protector on his head that he was from Konoha, but what they wanted to know was why an envoy from Kirigakure had brought someone from Konoha to Uzushio Village.

"His name is Aburame Ryoma, a Jonin from Konoha. A few hours ago, on the Land of Whirlpools' territory, he led three Konoha squads in an attempt to ambush us. They weren't skilled enough, so we killed them all and kept only him alive."

At the same time, Yukinagi tossed down a bloodstained Konoha Forehead Protector. The metal plate clattered across the floor.

At these words, everyone present glanced at Aburame Ryoma. When they realized they didn't recognize him, their attention soon returned to the three Kirigakure shinobi.

Three people had fought thirteen and arrived here without a scratch. Kirigakure had certainly produced quite a few promising talents lately!

But before they could dwell on that, Hozuki Shingetsu abruptly asked a question they could hardly answer.

"May I take this as Uzushio Village deliberately tipping Konoha off? May I take this as a sign that Uzushio Village is abandoning its independence and joining Konoha? May I take this as Uzushio Village declaring war on Kirigakure?"