Uchiha Izuna had not wasted these past few days either.
Together with the Ino-Shika-Cho, he had not only prepared a large stock of ninja tools, but also found the so-called "Jashin Cult" somewhere in the Land of Hot Water.
Izuna pretended to join the Jashin Cult, using his status to hoodwink its high priest.
To spread the greatness of "Jashin" in the Land of Fire, the high priest personally led thirty "powerful" followers to escort Izuna and his party.
That was half the Jashin Cult's strength in the Land of Hot Water.
The high priest was no fool. Though he knew full well that Izuna was most likely using him, he was using Izuna too.
All he needed was for someone to see him enter the Land of Fire alongside Izuna.
As long as the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan did not make a concerted effort to suppress the Jashin Cult, even if Izuna refused to cooperate,
he still had ways to make the Jashin Cult take root in the fertile soil of the Land of Fire.
To avoid giving Uchiha Tajima any excuse to fly into a rage and target the Jashin Cult, the high priest had not performed Izuna's initiation ceremony in the Land of Hot Water.
Thus, Izuna had not yet suffered Jashin's mental corruption.
After learning what Izuna had done, Nara Yoshihiro could not help seeing the Uchiha Clan's third young master in a new light.
Even someone as clever as he was, facing the Uzumaki Clan-a clan with an elite jōnin at its helm, over two hundred shinobi, and a reputation as the "Shinobi World's foremost sealing clan"-
might not have done any better than Izuna.
By then, several barriers had already been set up along the Land of Whirlpools' coastline.
The moment anyone entered a barrier, Mito Uzumaki, stationed in the small fishing village, would sense it.
This fishing village was none other than the "Spy Village" Jing Xiu had slaughtered.
For some unknown reason, Mito Uzumaki had chosen this place as the command post for the "Uchiha Encirclement Campaign."
Although Uzumaki Ashina was there as well, he offered neither suggestions nor opinions.
"Mito, you will have full command of this operation!"
"This is a contest between your younger generation. The future belongs to you!"
"I believe that my daughter, the daughter of Uzumaki Ashina, will be no weaker than anyone-not even Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju, the 'Shinobi World's Twin Stars' whose abilities have been praised to the skies."
Mito's feelings were deeply conflicted, and Uzumaki Ashina's words made her even more cautious and meticulous.
Mito Uzumaki carefully studied the coastal map in her hands, and a sudden, striking gleam appeared in her eyes.
She had just raised her head to seek her father's approval when Uzumaki Ashina waved a hand. "I already told you-even I will follow your orders on this mission!"
Mito seemed to steel herself for a momentous decision. "Father, I've always felt there was more to the slaughter in this fishing village."
"Although everyone here was a spy from the Land of Water or the Land of Iron, even if they had to die, they should have died at the hands of our Uzumaki Clan."
"Yet now they've died under such mysterious circumstances, and our Uzumaki Clan hasn't found even a scrap of intelligence."
In Mito's view, aside from the Land of Lightning shinobi whom the current evidence seemed to implicate, the forces capable of eliminating the fishing village's spies were those of the three nearby minor nations.
The Land of Hot Water, the Land of Bears, the Land of Crafts, and the Uchiha who had only recently departed.
Yet Mito had remained hesitant. After all, it had taken everything she had to track down those Land of Lightning shinobi.
On many occasions, she had only caught those fleeting clues through sheer luck and a mixture of guesswork and intuition.
Uzumaki Ashina seemed to see his daughter's doubts. "Mito, remember that sometimes, what you see and hear may be exactly what the enemy wants you to see and hear."
Mito Uzumaki looked thoughtful. "In that case, Father, please lead a force south yourself and block the routes from the Land of Hot Water to the Land of Crafts and the Land of Bears."
Tobirama Senju came over just then. "Mito, I have an idea. Rather than spreading our forces across multiple locations and relying on luck, why not seal off their escape routes and force them into our trap?"
"Turning a passive position into an active one-that's the best approach!"
Though Mito had always thought Tobirama Senju was extraordinary, the depth of his scheming at just nine years old stirred a trace of fear even in her.
Still, Tobirama's suggestion did benefit the Uzumaki Clan.
Although the Uzumaki Clan had agreed to Tobirama Senju's request and intended to strike at Uchiha Izuna and the others on their diplomatic mission to the Land of Hot Water,
if the Uzumaki Clan gained nothing after mobilizing so much manpower and so many resources,
sooner or later, it would become a pawn of the Senju Clan, ultimately fading away into the long history of the Shinobi World.
That was why Uzumaki Ashina intended to take action personally. First, it would tell the Senju Clan that the Uzumaki Clan took this alliance very seriously.
Second, he could use his strength as an elite jōnin to intimidate the neighboring minor nations.
Though the Uzumaki Clan's strategy of deploying forces at multiple points seemed somewhat clumsy, it would not only maximize their chances of successfully intercepting and killing the Uchiha,
but also allow them to expand the Land of Whirlpools' territory in the process.
The Land of Bears and the Land of Crafts both lay south of the Land of Whirlpools, and Hoshigakure in the Land of Bears and Takumi Village in the Land of Crafts were both highly distinctive powers.
If Uzumaki Ashina's influence could extend directly to those two places,
he might be able to exploit the fishing village massacre to squeeze considerable profits out of both powers.
Tobirama Senju's suggestion was certainly good, but it only served the Senju's mission, not the interests of the Land of Whirlpools.
After some thought, however, Mito decided she could not afford to offend Tobirama Senju completely, so she assigned four chunin squads to him.
"Tobirama, these are all the forces I can spare at present."
"If you still feel that isn't enough to be safe, then I can only accompany you myself!"
Mito's offer was clearly more courtesy than anything else, yet Tobirama Senju actually nodded. "Then please bring your subordinates and join me, Mito!"
Mito Uzumaki froze for a moment, but quickly realized that Tobirama Senju feared he would be unable to coordinate and command these Uzumaki chunin effectively because of his young age.
That was why he had asked her to accompany him.
Uzumaki Ashina looked at Tobirama Senju, then at Mito Uzumaki. "Mito, your arrangements are already flawless."
"Since Tobirama needs your help, how could you, as his elder sister, not do your part?"
Tobirama Senju thanked Uzumaki Ashina outwardly, but inwardly, he was somewhat dismissive.
He took Mito's squad, the other four chunin squads, and his own guard squad-a total of six squads.
Together, the twenty-four of them arrived at the most dangerous place in the Land of Whirlpools: the "Uzumaki Sea."
The Land of Whirlpools had taken its name from this very stretch of sea.
The surface of the Uzumaki Sea resembled an enormous whirlpool, constantly swallowing the surrounding seawater.
At a particular time each year, the Uzumaki Sea's gigantic whirlpool would even swell to dozens or hundreds of times its size.
"Tobirama, apart from this rocky island, there's nowhere here to stand. Are you planning to set an ambush here?"
Mito Uzumaki was deeply curious about how Tobirama Senju intended to make the Uchiha come here willingly.
And how did he intend to use the forces at his disposal to lay a trap and wipe out the Uchiha?
Tobirama Senju nodded to his guards, and an ordinary little girl, pale-faced and pitiful-looking, was brought onto the rocky island.
The instant Mito Uzumaki saw the little girl, her expression turned extremely ugly.