When the people in the City saw the Enemy Forces retreat, they could hardly believe it at first, wondering whether they were hallucinating. Once they realized it was real, delight spread across every face, followed by overwhelming exhaustion. Most of them could not help sinking to the ground.
Uzumaki Zhengxuan nearly lost the strength to remain standing himself, but he held his ground and slowly steadied his breathing until he finally felt a little better. He ordered those who still had some strength left to restore order, then walked to the City wall and looked out with wide eyes.
Bodies lay scattered across the distance, along with the scars left by powerful ninjutsu. The sight alone made Uzumaki Zhengxuan dizzy. Who knew how long it had been since the Land of Whirlpools had faced anything like this? Even during the First Shinobi World War, no one had set foot on its soil.
Precisely because of that, the leaders of the Land of Whirlpools had fallen under the illusion that they could protect their country on their own. Even when they became aware of dangers beyond their borders, they failed to take them seriously enough. Those within the country who saw the need for change lacked the power to bring it about and could only act in secret.
Now, that illusion had vanished without a trace. It was not just Uzumaki Zhengxuan; the dignitaries in the Capital had probably realized by now that the Land of Whirlpools could not survive alone against a great nation. Even with an ally nearby, a country with no land connection to the mainland could not necessarily receive immediate aid.
The Uzumaki Clan, which ruled the Land of Whirlpools, possessed a powerful bloodline and Sealing Jutsu, but lacked the military strength to stand on its own.