At Last, the Land of Fire!

Signal flare?

What happened?

The small countries and other Ninja Village that had originally reaped considerable gains and were preparing to withdraw from the Land of Whirlpools looked up at the signal flare rising into the sky, their faces full of confusion.

Could something terrible have happened?

Before long, a ninja rushed over and reported the whole story.

It turned out that the ninjas from Kumogakure were the first to find the Tail-Locking Seal left behind by Land of Whirlpools, which aroused the covetousness of Iwagakure. The ninjas from the two villages immediately clashed, and Kumogakure was defeated and retreated for a time.

The victorious Iwagakure Ninja had finally obtained the Sealing Jutsu and were about to leave when they were intercepted by Kirigakure.

The Iwagakure Ninja, already suffering heavy casualties from a fierce battle, were no match for the well-preserved Kirigakure. As expected, the treasure was snatched away by the enemy.

After fleeing back to their base in a sorry state, the Kumogakure immediately reported back, accusing the Iwagakure of their actions.

The hot-tempered Third Raikage, enraged to see his Sealing Jutsu stolen, immediately led his army to attack the Iwagakure base.

After a fierce battle, both villages paid a heavy price.

For Iwagakure, it was like mud falling into their pants—even if it wasn't excrement, it was still excrement; they were like a mute eating bitter herbs, unable to express their suffering. In the end, not only did they fail to obtain the Tail-Locking Seal, but they also suffered a great loss for nothing.

Only when he saw the Kirigakure army begin to retreat did Ōnoki realize that he had completely fallen into Kirigakure's trap.

Upon learning the truth, the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, was furious. He flew directly to the Kirigakure's headquarters and, settling old and new scores, blew up all of the Kirigakure's ships in the Land of Whirlpools.

Unable to return home, the Third Mizukage witnessed the destruction of his ships and the killing of his village's ninja.

They were also blocked by the Raikage and Tsuchikage.

This is intolerable! I immediately ordered a battle against Kumogakure and Iwagakure!

Then, the three villages clashed at the port of the Land of Whirlpools.

Upon hearing this news, other countries and Ninja Village were stunned.

Before they arrived in the Land of Whirlpools, they had already discussed how to divide Land of Whirlpools.

Each person gets a specific location; it's all about luck.

Eventually, some villages couldn't hold back and a fight broke out.

"Wow, that's so exciting!"

"Is this Tail-Locking Seal really that fascinating?"

"It actually managed to trigger a war between three villages!"

"Damn, if the Land of Whirlpools is destroyed, won't that trigger Second Shinobi World War?"

"That's hard to say!"

"You know, Konoha hasn't even entered the fray yet."

"Their Third Hokage is no pushover."

"And the Tail-Locking Seal can control Tailed Beast!"

"Besides Konoha, which country or Ninja Village wouldn't want it?"

"If our country didn't lack Tailed Beast, I wouldn't have been able to resist either."

"You should know that once you master this, you can possess terrifying combat power at the level of Tailed Beast."

"Kumogakure possesses the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails- Tailed Beast; Iwagakure has the Four-Tails and Five-Tails; and Kirigakure controls the Three-Tails and Six-Tails."

"Currently, apart from Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki Jinchūriki, who is extremely stable, the other Tailed Beast are either at odds with their Jinchūriki or are in a wild state. If any of these three villages could obtain the Tail-Locking Seal, they would have the assistance of two major Tailed Beast."

"What I have that you don't, that's a double advantage. With the destructive power of the two Tailed Beasts, and by seizing the opportunity to take the Tailed Beast from other Ninja Village, unifying the Shinobi World isn't necessarily a pipe dream!"

Meanwhile, on the eastern coast of the Land of Fire.

Danzo, along with Hatake Sakumo and others, stood on the coast, gazing towards the Land of Land of Whirlpools.

"Danzo, our teacher sent us to guard this place, wasn't it to go and support the Land of Whirlpools?" Hatake Sakumo asked, his brows furrowed in confusion.

"Heh... Sakumo, you're still too young." Danzo smiled faintly, turning his head to look at him. "The Lord Hokage's orders are for us to guard the east coast and wait for an opportunity to rescue the refugees and orphans from the Land of Whirlpools."

Did he tell us to charge in headfirst and fight the Allied Shinobi Forces's ninjas to the death?

"Furthermore, it's unrealistic for just the few of us to withstand so many enemy ninjas."

Danzo paused, his gaze deep. "Furthermore, think about it: is it better to maintain an ally far overseas, or to give Konoha another powerful ninja clan? That would be more in the village's interest."

After saying that, he turned around and quietly gazed at Sakumo.

"This..." Hatake Sakumo was momentarily speechless.

Yes, it would be even better if the Uzumaki Clan could join Konoha. Besides, perhaps the exchange between the two countries that the teacher strongly supported was a foreshadowing of what's to come today...

Now 24 years old, Hatake Sakumo is no longer the tool-type ninja who only knew how to charge into battle. Over the years, under the tutelage of Kagami Uchiha, his vision and perspective have changed dramatically.

Seeing Sakumo expression, Danzo felt a sense of relief.

Kagami always took every opportunity to teach Hatake Sakumo, a disciple on whom Kagami Uchiha placed high hopes.

As Kagami's close friend, it's best for him to express some of the darkness. As for Kagami Uchiha, let him maintain his righteous and noble image and be a Hokage standing in the sunlight.

Just then, several swaying ship silhouettes appeared on the horizon.

"A ship is coming!" The Konoha Ninja on duty along the coast instantly became alert, gripping their weapons and gazing out to sea.

The ship drew closer, its hull covered in knife marks and burn marks, its planks broken and leaking, tossing and turning in the surging waves, as if it would be swallowed by a giant wave at any moment.

The moment everyone saw what was on the ship, the entire coastline fell into a deathly silence.

There were no high-ranking elders from the Land of Whirlpools on the ship, only some young members of the Uzumaki Clan, covered in blood, dressed in tattered clothes, and looking terrified.

The Uzumaki Clan, once peaceful and Shinobi World for its Sealing Jutsu, is now reduced to a pathetic state of fleeing for their lives.

This caused a collective sigh of regret among the crowd.

Before long, the ship struggled to reach the shore, its deck creaking and groaning under the strain.

A slender figure with red hair was the first to stagger off the ship.

Her hair was disheveled, her face was deathly pale, her white dress was soaked with blood, and her delicate body was covered with abrasions.

Her once bright and lively eyes were now filled only with lingering fear and barely held-back tears.

It was Kushina Uzumaki had just escaped the catastrophe that destroyed her country.

Her legs were weak, and she could barely stand. Every step seemed to take all her strength.

Behind them, the few surviving Uzumaki Clan helped each other, shakily walking off the wrecked ship. Looking at the unfamiliar coast of the Land of Fire Konoha ninja army standing in neat rows ahead, a faint glimmer of hope ignited in everyone's eyes.

They finally escaped.

They finally set foot on the only land willing to accept them: the Land of Fire.

Kushina lifted her tear-streaked face, her gaze sweeping over the group of Konoha Ninja in front of her, finally locking onto Danzo and Hatake Sakumo at the very front.

Her lips trembled, her voice hoarse and choked with sobs, carrying the despair and helplessness of a fallen nation's orphan, as she softly uttered, "Konoha... I've finally seen Konoha's ninjas..."

"Our homeland is being invaded by other countries, please help us..."

"Danzo, this..." Hatake Sakumo, standing to the side, looked at the weakened Kushina with a pained expression and a heavy tone.

Danzo's gaze swept over the devastated and terrified survivors of the Uzumaki clan, then settled on the trembling Kushina. His expression remained unchanged, his tone steady and decisive:

"I understand. In that case, someone take our allies from the Land of Whirlpools down to rest and receive medical treatment. Once they are better, send someone to escort them back to Konoha."

As soon as he finished speaking, his tone suddenly turned stern. "The rest of you, follow me into the tent for a meeting!"

Several medical-nin from Konoha immediately stepped forward, gently supporting the exhausted Kushina, and led all the Uzumaki orphans away slowly.

Watching the group of surviving members of the Uzumaki clan stagger away, their frail and lonely figures disappearing into the distance, Danzo stood alone on the shore, his gaze deep and thoughtful, silently pondering:

With so many surviving Uzumaki Clan, there should be enough to rebuild a completely new Uzumaki ninja clan in Konoha.