Night Raid

Mito left without hesitation, and Ashina set out with her.

The siblings split up. One went to fetch reinforcements, while the other escorted the wounded back to the village. Both tasks were equally important.

Ashina wanted to become sworn brothers with Hashirama, but he knew this was not the time. He focused solely on getting the wounded back to the village as quickly as possible, then returning to join the battle.

Once they had driven back the Uchiha and Kaguya Clan coalition, it would not be too late to swear brotherhood with Hashirama.

"The fighting had already stopped, but a Ninjasteel Mine stirred up trouble out of nowhere. Now an even larger war is about to break out."

Shusen was somewhat frustrated. He wanted to return to the laboratory and peacefully continue fusing eyes, not be dragged down by warfare.

But there was no helping it. If he could not even care about his own clan's battles, then he was unworthy of being an Uzumaki clansman.

After considering it, Shusen created two Shadow Clones. One secretly escorted Ashina back to the village, while the other followed Mito to the iron mine—if anything happened to Mito on the way and she could not report the request for aid to her father in time, it would be troublesome. Shusen had always been this meticulous; it would be hard to find anyone in the Fire Country more careful than him.

His real body remained at the Ninjasteel Mine. If the Uchiha and Kaguya Clan main forces arrived early and Hashirama could not hold them off, he would take as much Ninjasteel as he could and minimize the losses.

Time passed, and before dusk, the first batch of reinforcements finally arrived. Tobirama led over a hundred Senju clan members, racing in from the horizon.

"Tobirama, why are you the only one here? Where are Father and the other elders?" Hashirama asked.

"Father and the others were intercepted by Uchiha Tajima. They probably won't make it here today. I was originally tied up fighting Uchiha Izuna, but he suddenly withdrew his troops, so I came here alone," Tobirama said.

Hashirama breathed a sigh of relief. If Father and the others could not come, then the Uchiha's main forces could not come either. There was nothing to worry about.

"Big Brother, take me to see the Ninjasteel Mine first. I've never seen one in my life." Tobirama looked eager.

Naturally, Hashirama did not refuse and led Tobirama into the valley.

When Tobirama saw the mountain-like piles of mineral veins in the valley, he looked like a country bumpkin visiting the city for the first time. His eyes went wide, and cries of amazement kept spilling from his mouth.

He picked up a piece of Ninjasteel and waved it around, instantly falling in love with the smooth chakra flow it gave him.

"With this much Ninjasteel, the Senju clan is rich!" Tobirama said excitedly.

"Not all of it is ours. We still have to split it evenly with the Uzumaki Clan," Hashirama explained. "I already asked Mito to seek aid from Clan Chief Ryū. She should be on the way by now."

Tobirama nodded. He also understood that the Senju clan alone could not possibly hold the Ninjasteel Mine. Joining forces with the Uzumaki Clan was the best choice.

"Even if we split it evenly with the Uzumaki Clan, we're still rich!"

After marveling at it for quite some time, the two brothers left the valley and waited for the Uzumaki reinforcements.

But they waited and waited. Even after the full moon rose high and the night blanketed the land, they still had not seen a single Uzumaki clansman.

"Whirlpool Village isn't far from here. The Uzumaki Clan shouldn't be taking this long," Tobirama said in surprise.

Hashirama also sensed that something was wrong. He frowned deeply. "Could they have run into an accident on the way and been delayed?"

"What a jinx. Called it right away."

Shusen, hidden underground, silently spat in annoyance.

Ryū and the others had indeed run into trouble. After Mito returned to the iron mine and explained the situation with the Ninjasteel Mine, Ryū immediately stopped mining and personally led the main force to support Hashirama.

Unexpectedly, they encountered Kaguya Izui on the way, who was likewise heading to support the Uchiha Clan. Old grudges and new hatred erupted all at once, and the two sides broke into a fierce battle. Like the Senju main forces, they likely would not arrive today either.

Shusen had received all this information from his Shadow Clones.

Hashirama and Tobirama did not know the truth. Worried that the Kaguya Clan might arrive first and launch a night raid, the brothers did not dare sleep or rest. They simply waited grimly outside the valley.

In the blink of an eye, it was the latter half of the night. From the distant mountain forests came the occasional cry of night owls, sounding especially mournful in the vast darkness.

At Uchiha Madara's temporary camp in the wilderness, ten Uchiha clansmen stood watch.

Suddenly, one sharp-eyed Uchiha clansman caught sight of a dark figure darting over from the distance and immediately shouted sternly:

"Stop! Who goes there?!"

"It's me."

Kaguya Wuzhan answered coldly as he stepped out of the darkness.

His expression was blank, but his entire body radiated a chilling, vicious aura.

The Uchiha clansman swept him with his Sharingan. After confirming that he was not an enemy disguised with a Transformation Technique, he lowered his guard and said politely, "So it's the young clan head of the Kaguya Clan."

Kaguya Wuzhan was well-known, and the two clans were allies, so ordinary Uchiha clansmen held him in considerable respect.

"Where is Uchiha Madara? I want to see him," Kaguya Wuzhan said.

The Uchiha clansmen on watch did not dare neglect an ally, so they immediately led him to Madara's tent.

Madara had not slept. He was considering tomorrow's tactics, and he was somewhat surprised to see Kaguya Wuzhan arrive alone.

"Why are you here by yourself?"

"My father was held up by the Uzumaki Clan. He is expected to arrive tomorrow, so I came ahead of him," Kaguya Wuzhan said.

Madara was unimpressed. "What use are you alone? What I need is the Kaguya Clan's main force."

Kaguya Wuzhan fell silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "The information you sent was correct, wasn't it? Uzumaki Ashina is currently with Hashirama Senju?"

"That's right. During the day, Mito and he were the ones who came to support Hashirama Senju."

Madara did not know that Ashina had already left to escort the wounded. He mistakenly believed Ashina was one of the Senju reinforcements.

"Fine, then. I plan to launch a night raid on the Ninjasteel Mine. Will you help back me up?" Kaguya Wuzhan continued.

Madara did not answer. He looked at him as though he were an idiot.

"The main forces haven't arrived. What night raid are you talking about?"

"Uzumaki Ashina killed my younger sister. I must avenge her."

Kaguya Wuzhan's calm voice contained an unmistakable killing intent.

Madara froze for a moment, then found himself understanding him for some reason.

If anything had happened to his younger brother Izuna, he too would have sought revenge against the enemy at any cost.

"Wait until tomorrow," Madara said. "We are undermanned right now. Tomorrow, whether our Uchiha main force arrives or your Kaguya main force arrives, we can launch the final assault."

"I can't wait until tomorrow!"

Kaguya Wuzhan gritted his teeth. "Once the Uzumaki Clan arrives, they will definitely protect Uzumaki Ashina tightly. By then, it will be hard enough just to see him, much less take revenge."

"That is why I am raiding Uzumaki Ashina tonight! Uchiha Madara, consider this my one request. Help me back him up."

Kaguya Wuzhan rarely lowered his head to anyone.

Unfortunately, he had asked the wrong person.

"Two forces are guarding the Ninjasteel Mine. If we launch a night raid now, not only will it accomplish nothing, it will also cost me many clansmen. I will not agree to it."

Madara refused calmly. He might sympathize with Kaguya Wuzhan, but he had always been rational.