First Stage Success, Two Great Ninja Clans Appear

The Uzushio Ninja warships returned from the sea one after another.

As their feet touched the damp earth, the tension of being pursued finally ebbed away, and everyone felt a sense of relief at having made it back alive.

"Lord Uzumaki Ashina, it's the Uzushio Ninja warships; they've reached the island."

Elder Keimei stood on a small hill on the island, pointing toward the rapidly approaching vessels, his voice filled with delight.

The Uzushio Ninja helped the wounded toward the assembly area.

The first wave of battle had been a complete success, and Uzumaki Shori let out a sigh of relief himself.

Seeing Tsunade disembark, he walked over to offer a hand, displaying his gentlemanly demeanor.

Tsunade glanced at the hand Uzumaki Shori extended, rolled her eyes, placed her hand on his, and slowly stepped off the ship.

"I'm going to check on the wounded first. The Mizukage's ninjutsu is still quite potent against genin."

Seeing Tsunade approach with medical supplies, the Uzushio Ninja began to tease her:

"Lady Tsunade, could you stay in the Land of Whirlpools from now on? Our Second Uzukage is still single; we could introduce you to him."

The injured ninja, despite his pained expression, couldn't help but crack a joke, prompting Tsunade to intentionally increase the pressure on his wound.

The injured ninja immediately cried out in pain, though the recovery speed of his wound doubled under the infusion of chakra.

"You're already injured, yet you still won't shut up? Everyone, be quiet."

Tsunade cast a glance at Uzumaki Shori, who had been eavesdropping. Upon being discovered, he immediately fled the scene, a beautiful smile appearing on Tsunade's face.

A genin ran up, looking nervous.

"Lord Uzukage, the Captain of the Guard and the others are at the Command Camp, waiting for you."

Tsunade was busy with her work and had no one to accompany him, so Uzumaki Shori had to go alone. He straightened his armor and walked along a narrow path toward the Command Camp.

Inside the Command Camp, a group of people was engaged in a heated discussion about the recent operation.

"Lord First Uzukage, the Second's command this time was truly brilliant. Of the ten ships, only five remain; we wiped out at least half the enemy. For the remaining two thousand, we only need to take out two each."

Uzumaki Kyokei was the most fervent in his argument.

The First Uzukage accepted the praise for his son with a beaming smile. Suddenly, a familiar chakra signature reached him, and he turned to see his son approaching the camp.

"Stop the discussion! The Second Uzukage has returned victorious!"

Everyone present stood up to welcome him.

"Everyone, please sit. Regarding this battle, we simply exploited the enemy's ignorance of our Rocket Launchers to launch a surprise attack."

"It won't be this smooth next time. Father, your barrier ninjutsu is the best. The island is surrounded by sea; please set up barriers around the camp to prevent the enemy from sneaking in."

"Elder Keimei, arrange for everyone to rest. The enemy will strike again soon, so maintain your strength."

Elder Keimei hurried off to carry out the orders.

As he entered the command room, Uzumaki Shori took his seat.

Orochimaru noticed that Jiraiya, sitting beside him, was staring blankly.

"Is this your first time on the battlefield? Why are you spacing out?"

"I'm just stunned by the power of the Rocket Launchers. Three days of preparation time was too short, yet four hundred of them caused such a massive stir."

"Imagine what four thousand or forty thousand would do. Uzumaki Shori is truly a genius."

Orochimaru looked at Jiraiya with slight surprise and said, "Even an idiot like you considers such things?"

"The Rocket Launchers seem powerful, but do you know what the Five Great Shinobi Nations are? Since the establishment of the one-village-one-country system, we have been the five strongest nations."

"Whether Uzumaki Shori is a genius of weaponry remains to be seen based on his future inventions, but I do acknowledge that he is a genius of sealing jutsu."

The sealing technique that absorbs and stores chakra is similar to the Cursed Seal I am researching; the Cursed Seal stores natural energy. Perhaps they can be integrated.

To help the Land of Whirlpools resist the invasion of Kirigakure, this favor must be utilized well.

Seeing the joyful smiles on everyone's faces, Uzumaki Shori secretly sighed.

The Rocket Launchers were at their most effective during the first strike, and now that they had been used, the enemy would be on guard. They wouldn't be as useful next time; after all, a single Rocket Launcher was only equivalent to a weakened B-rank ninjutsu.

Against experts, it would only serve to drain their chakra rather than delivering a decisive blow.

Mass firing might be effective, but there hadn't been enough preparation time. If there had been enough time to build tens of thousands of them...

The industrial level of the Land of Whirlpools was severely lacking, and materials had been scraped together from everywhere. Once the materials were exhausted, only twelve hundred Rocket Launchers had been produced.

The economic level of the Land of Whirlpools was severely lacking, and the population was also severely lacking.

Uzumaki Shori shook his head, shaking these thoughts from his mind. Now was not the time for such things; he would think about them after victory.

Between the Kirigakure warships, two figures darted across the water at high speed, appearing before the Mizukage before anyone could react.

"Head of the Kaguya Clan, Kaguya Majen, and Head of the Yuki Clan, Minazuki Junhyo, pay our respects to the Mizukage."

Kaguya Majen glanced at the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and said with disdain:

"Lord Mizukage, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen are of low ability and are not fit to serve as your guard. Why not transfer my Kaguya Clan to serve as your personal guard instead?"

"I guarantee it; the Land of Whirlpools is completely unapproachable."

Silence fell across the Kirigakure deck. No one had expected Kaguya Majen to declare the others incompetent right in front of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen stared at Kaguya Majen; had the Mizukage not been present, all seven would have swarmed him to finish him off.

Kaguya Majen remained entirely indifferent to the gazes of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.

"Speed up our movements. We are here to finish off the Land of Whirlpools, not to let Kumogakure swoop in and reap the benefits."

Hozuki Gengetsu showed no interest in managing the internal strife of Kirigakure. Among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, only Hozuki Gensei belonged to his own clan; the other six were selected from commoners.

Control over the Ninja Blades also rested within the Hozuki clan. Without the Ninja Blades, the combat strength of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen would be cut by at least half, so Hozuki Gengetsu had no fear of them betraying him.

Seeing that the Mizukage had completely ignored his words, Kaguya Majen let out a cold hmph in his heart.

As the Hozuki were the largest clan in Kirigakure and the Kaguya the second, the latter—lacking sufficient strength of their own—constantly sought to deplete the former's power.

The insubordination and the Mizukage's refusal to acknowledge him were well within Kaguya Majen's expectations. After all, a fool would have been dragged down from the position of Mizukage long ago. Still, he had to say what he had to say; he could not let a single opportunity to drain the other side's strength slip by.

"Lord Mizukage, the hull repairs can be resolved if I take action, though it will cost ten million ryo."

Hozuki Gengetsu knew Minazuki Junhyo very well; the Yuki Clan were all handsome men and beautiful women who lived incredibly extravagant lives.

Every time they took action, they demanded astronomical sums of money. Helplessly, the Yuki Clan held several seats on the Council of Elders, and as long as they committed no errors, there was nothing he could do about them.

"Settle the bill after we take the Land of Whirlpools."