The Smoke of War Rose Outside Uzushio Village, and the Allied Forces Camped by the Great River

Kindness conveyed through Chakra was arguably the most convincing kind. Although Hozuki Shingetsu had all sorts of ulterior motives, he genuinely liked Uzumaki Kushina.

So the moment their fists touched, Uzumaki Kushina knew that the person before her meant her no harm. On the contrary, he was filled with an indescribable fondness for her.

Uzumaki Kushina, who had always been carefree and outspoken, rarely lowered her head, feeling a little shy.

"Since that's settled, we need to discuss how to evacuate the clan." Uzumaki Takumi was pleased to see this, too. Even if Uzumaki Kushina's personal wishes didn't matter much in a political marriage, who wouldn't hope for everything to work out perfectly?

"Second Elder, take the Fifth Elder and organize the children, elderly, and infirm. Get them out first. The rest of us will stay and fight!" Uzumaki Takumi methodically directed the elderly and infirm to evacuate first, leaving some behind to hold off the enemy.

"We'll show them that the Uzumaki Clan isn't easy prey! If Iwagakure and Kumogakure dare to take a bite out of us, we'll knock their teeth out!" Uzumaki Takumi said bitterly.

The Lightning-Earth Allied Forces were to blame for all this. Without them, the Uzumaki Clan would still be eating hot pot and singing songs. Instead, they were now being forced to leave their homeland.

After making the arrangements, Uzumaki Takumi turned to Hozuki Shingetsu. "Once we reach the coast, can Kirigakure send people to meet us?"

The Uzumaki Clan alone might not be able to hold out for long, so to ensure nothing went wrong, he asked Hozuki Shingetsu to send word to Kirigakure right away and have them dispatch a welcoming party.

But to Uzumaki Takumi's surprise, Hozuki Shingetsu came back with another suggestion.

"Are you really planning to just leave, Clan Leader? Don't you want to catch them off guard?"

"You mean..." Uzumaki Takumi narrowed his eyes as he watched the confident smile on Hozuki Shingetsu's face. He recalled everything Hozuki Shingetsu had done in Uzushio Village over the past few days and, for some reason, suddenly felt delighted.

"Lord Blue B, Uzushio Village is just ahead!"

Blue B and Hachi stood on a tree branch, gazing into the distance. From there, they could just make out Tenshukaku, rising above the village.

"We've finally made it. The Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu really is renowned for a reason!"

Thinking back over the journey, even the arrogant Blue B had to marvel at the Uzumaki Clan's strength. Their naturally abundant Chakra, combined with the wealth Uzushio Village had earned as a trade hub in recent years, had given the Uzumaki Ninja a whole new way to fight: sending Shadow Clones into battle with Explosive Tags.

As a result, even though only around a hundred Uzumaki Ninja were on the front lines, the Lightning-Earth Allied Forces were often surrounded. Those fearless Shadow Clones made full use of their role as human bombs. Their goal was to restrict the enemy's movements, then set off the Explosive Tags themselves.

What's more, since they were Shadow Clones of the Uzumaki Clan, they were also skilled in various Sealing Jutsu. They rarely used the lethal kinds, instead favoring techniques that restrained their targets and using Explosive Tags to attack.

With the greater range of restraint-type Sealing Jutsu and the Uzumaki Clan's intimate knowledge of the terrain, the allied forces had suffered tremendously.

But the Uzumaki Clan was small, and they had far too few Jonin. This fighting style only had a few tricks to it. Once top-tier ninja like Blue B and Hachi joined the battle, the tide turned decisively. That was why the Uzumaki Ninja had fallen back.

"Lord Hachi, our scouts report that Uzushio Village is deserted. Everyone's headed toward the coast. They're trying to escape!"

Hachi looked east. Smoke hung faintly in the distance, clearly marking where the allied forces' scouts were doing their best to slow the Uzumaki Clan's advance.

So Hachi and Blue B naturally ordered their forces to pursue.

"Everyone, head east! Take the Uzumaki alive!"

The entire force sped up. Despite harassment from a few Uzumaki Ninja, they caught up with the main body of the Uzumaki Clan in less than thirty minutes.

The Uzumaki were crossing a river. Through the hazy mist, they could clearly see the elderly, women, and children already on the far bank, with the youths still making their way across. Uzumaki Takumi and the other clan leaders stood on the riverbank.

"I've finally got you!"

Blue B and Hachi were thrilled. If they could keep the main body of the Uzumaki pinned down, the clan wouldn't last long on the battlefield. They would soon complete their mission and bring the Sealing Jutsu back to their village!

Once their village had a successful Jinchuriki, wouldn't surpassing Konoha be a matter of time?

"Uzumaki Takumi, I respect you as the head of a clan and ruler of a country. Surrender, and I can promise on behalf of Lord Tsuchikage that we'll let your people live! But you must come with me to Iwagakure and hand over your Sealing Jutsu! Otherwise, every last member of the Uzumaki Clan—man, woman, young, and old—will die here today!"

Hachi's heart stirred, and he shouted out.

If he could bring the Uzumaki Clan back to Iwagakure, that would be far better than simply returning with their Sealing Jutsu.

Blue B had clearly realized the same thing. But with all those muscles, he couldn't figure out how to persuade them, so he angrily slammed the ground and shouted, "Same here!"

The Kumogakure Ninja behind him also voiced their support, yelling, "Same!" and "Same!" They completely ignored the Iwagakure Ninja staring at them as if they were fools.

"We're at the designated area. We can begin."

Hozuki Shingetsu glanced at the distance, then pulled a firework from his robes, lit it, and sent it shooting into the sky.

Screee—

BOOM!

A huge Kirigakure insignia blazed in the sky, clearly visible for a hundred miles.

"This is bad! Charge them!"

Though they had no idea what the Uzumaki Clan was up to, Blue B and Hachi sensed danger and immediately ordered their forces to charge.

But it was too late.

Nearly a hundred Kirigakure Ninja suddenly burst out from beneath the great river. Their hands flashed through Hand Seals like butterflies flitting among flowers, and they shouted in unison, "Water Release: Water Shockwave!"

In an instant, some mysterious force seemed to seize control of the river. Its ceaseless current halted for a moment, then the water across the entire stretch surged up into the air and rushed toward the Lightning-Earth Allied Forces like a raging tide!

At such close range, the allied forces tried to retreat, but most of them were still swept into the surging water and struggled to keep their footing.

That wasn't all. After the water fell, dozens more Kirigakure Ninja appeared. They rapidly formed Hand Seals and shouted, "Ice Release: Ice Storm!"

The sudden plunge in temperature froze the river in an instant, trapping the allied forces in solid ice one by one.

Watching from the distance, Hozuki Shingetsu smiled faintly and uttered a single word.

"Explode!"

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

The seemingly frail members of the Uzumaki Clan suddenly sprang to life, straightening their backs as they waved their hands. Kunai rained in from every direction.

As the Kunai flew, the Explosive Tags tied to their ends began to burn fiercely. The Lightning-Earth Allied Forces watched in horror as—

BOOM!

"What a sight!"

Looking at the scene before him, Hozuki Shingetsu couldn't help but exclaim.