At the same time—
Along the Fire Country's coastal border facing the Land of Water,
Konoha's strongest reinforcement unit had already arrived.
And far across the open sea, two enormous fleets moved silently toward the Land of Whirlpools—
One flying the banner of Kumo, the other of Kiri.
This time, Konoha had resolved itself:
They would protect the Uzumaki Clan. No matter the cost.
The great ark-ship cut across the sea with impossible speed.
Normally, even with manpower rowing, a ship of this size would take six to seven hours to reach the Fire Country.
But with coordinated shinobi support—
It took barely one hour.
On the deck, many red-haired refugees from Uzushio stepped off at last.
"Whew… finally the Land of Fire."
"I wonder if they'll welcome us…"
"Whatever happens, let's just find a place to settle for now."
Among the three thousand evacuees, there were both civilians and shinobi families—
adults and small children alike.
Even with the Hokage promising aid and negotiations with the Fire Daimyō,
anxiety shadowed every face.
Only after the entire first batch had disembarked did Uzumaki Makoto gather his squad for a short rest.
They would need to recover—because the shinobi maintaining the load-bearing barriers would soon need to swallow soldier pills to replenish chakra for the next voyage.
Step, step, step—
As Makoto stepped off the ship, movement rustled from the forest.
Everyone turned toward it.
A squad in green flak jackets emerged—Konoha's border forces.
At their front were a black-haired Hyūga man, and a woman with scarlet looped hair buns.
Konoha shinobi saluted:
"Lady Mito! Lord Yun'ya!" ×N
"Mito…? Could that be—?!"
Makoto's face stiffened in disbelief.
The woman smiled gently and returned the greeting—
then turned toward Makoto.
Uzumaki Mito walked forward.
Makoto swallowed.
"She should be… nearly sixty."
"Sixty-one," she answered calmly.
Her Byakugan escort couldn't hide his awe.
"You're one of the current Uzumaki jōnin, yes?"
Makoto nodded shyly.
Mito smiled, patting his shoulder.
"Very good."
"What's your name?"
"U-Uzumaki Makoto."
Mito chuckled softly.
"No need to be shy. I may look youthful, but I'm an old woman already half in her coffin~"
Makoto stared at her flawless skin and youthful face and had to suppress the urge to gulp again.
Mito and Hyūga Yun'ya exchanged a nod of understanding.
Yun'ya immediately stepped forward to organize the refugees into lines for border inspection.
To prevent infiltration, every Uzumaki refugee had to undergo physical contact checks—
Hyūga clan members personally performed them.
Because only an enemy spy would be forced to use chakra defensively during such contact.
In normal times, three thousand inspections would take hours—
but here, with shinobi efficiency, it took almost no time at all.
And the real secret?
Mito, cloaked in Nine-Tails chakra,
could sense malice and intent with perfect clarity.
A glance.
A gesture.
And Hyūga operatives knew exactly who to seize.
Soon enough—
two enemy spies disguised as civilians were dragged out.
Mito sighed.
"Three thousand people… and already two spies. There will be many more in the later waves."
She looked toward the immobilized infiltrators.
"Hand them over to the border interrogation unit."
"No—NO—!! Please! Don't send us there! Mito-sama, spare us!!"
Their screaming changed nothing.
Konoha operatives hauled them off for interrogation.
Once the deck was clear, Makoto bowed.
"Lady Mito, I'll head back for the next group."
"Mm. Thank you, Makoto-kun."
Mito waved gently toward the massive ark anchored at shore.
Makoto clenched his fist with renewed resolve—
He would tell the Uzukage that Mito herself had come to the border.
Later — When the Uzumaki Were Gone
Hyūga Yun'ya approached quietly.
"Ahem… Mito-sama, the sea breeze is cold. Please, rest at the camp."
He respected her deeply—
not only for being the First Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails,
but for choosing to enter the battlefield at her age.
Mito shook her head.
"Yun'ya."
"Let me stand here a while longer."
"This may be the last time I ever look toward my homeland."
"Lady Mito…"
Yun'ya felt a sting in his eyes.
Behind them, more evacuees continued arriving on the Fire Country coast.
Uzushio Island grew emptier by the hour, save for a few stubborn elders who refused to leave.
This was the final evacuation wave.
The First Squad's mission was complete.
Their payment included a small B-rank reward and an extremely rare S-rank commission—
75,000 ryō per squad.
A day's work.
A day's sudden wealth.
Kaito, Nagashi, and Might Duy boarded the next ship, feeling the sea breeze against their hair.
"Finally over," Kaito murmured.
Their part in the war was done.
The next stage was far beyond a genin's reach.
Upon landing at the Fire Country coast, Kaito saw her—
Uzumaki Mito.
Nagashi burst forward excitedly.
"Grandma!!"
He hugged her tightly.
Kaito and Duy bowed respectfully.
"You've done well, Nagashi."
"It wasn't hard, Grandma! But—why are you here?! It's dangerous!"
Mito only smiled and ruffled his hair.
"Grandma has work to do."
"You three go rest. Don't worry about me."
Nagashi's expression darkened.
Even as Kaito and Duy pulled him away, he glanced back over and over.
The uneasy feeling in his heart only grew.
On the way to camp, he asked:
"Kaito-nii, Uncle Duy… are you sure Grandma will be okay?"
Kaito nodded.
"Of course. Lady Mito is the Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails. She'll be fine."
Duy slapped his chest proudly.
"Trust her, Nagashi! Our mission now is to escort the Uzumaki back to Konoha."
The identity of the First Jinchūriki was impossible to hide—
Hashirama had never concealed it, and Kushina's hair and name made secrecy even harder.
When Kushina was kidnapped by Kumo, Mito had already been too old to sense chakra properly.
Even Kaito felt uneasy—but a ninja's path was like this.
You cannot stop someone who chooses to protect others.
Whether friend or foe.
Night — Witness to a Final Battle
A shadow clone drifted over the sea, ten kilometers from Uzushio.
KRRRRR—BOOOOM!!!
A blinding light tore the night sky.
A blast like a nuclear detonation.
The Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb.
"…What a brutal battlefield."
"But fortunately—"
"I'm only a genin. Just here to witness a legend's final battle."
The clone didn't dare approach further.
But even from afar, he felt the clash of Kage-level chakra.
Within Uzushio's borders—
The Mist's morale wavered.
The Third Mizukage prepared to intervene personally—
When their sensor-nin suddenly cried out:
"A Jinchūriki has entered the field!"
The Tailed Beast Bomb was aimed dead center at the Mist fleet.
If the Mizukage dodged, every Mist shinobi maintaining barriers and Water Release on the ships—
and those already landing ashore—
would die instantly.
Even if survivors lived—
with no ships left, they would be hunted down by Konoha.
Standing on the deck, the Third Mizukage tried to muster his strongest Water Release to block the Tailed Beast Bomb.
He failed.
But he did reduce part of the blast.
Barely.
His body—
what was left of it—
was like a crumbling corpse.
Crack… splatter—
Meat and bone scattered across trees, shoreline, and sea.
Everything in sight was red.
Mito had hidden until the Mizukage appeared—
then struck with the Tailed Beast Bomb.
"It's over."
"Your Mizukage has fallen."
"Surrender now!"
Shhhhh—!
Konoha and Uzumaki reinforcements rushed in after dealing with the Kumo squad.
Mist-nin looked up—
And saw a sight like Gai's team surrounded by the Seven Swordsmen.
Enemies everywhere.
Forests, cliffs, all filled with opposing shinobi.
"Damn it! Lord Mizukage!!"
The explosion had killed not only the Mizukage—
but also the elite guard on the deck.
The youthful-faced kunoichi, Yagura, caught the dying Mizukage in his arms.
If not for the simultaneous Water Release barrier cast by eight elite jōnin of the guard,
the entire Mist fleet would have been obliterated.
Now—
Only five jōnin and fewer than two hundred Mist-nin remained alive.
"Y-Yagura…"
"Lord Mizukage! I'm here!"
Yagura, overwhelmed, gritted his teeth.
He hadn't expected a Nine-Tails Jinchūriki to join the war.
Kumo had promised their Raikage would support the battle—
Yet they sent only one unknown jōnin squad.
Two jōnin, two special jōnin, and a hundred chūnin.
Mist, meanwhile, had sent almost everything they had—
Twenty-plus jōnin.
Four hundred elite chūnin.
Only to be massacred by Konoha and Uzushio forces—
and then struck by Mito's Tailed Beast Bomb.
The Third Mizukage used his final breath:
"The village… Yagura… it is yours now…"
And died protecting the last remnants of his army.
"DAMN YOU, KONOHA!!"
"I, Yagura, will remember this hatred!"
"Next time we meet— I will repay you a thousandfold!!"
He wiped the tears and blood from his cheeks,
accepted the dying Mizukage's succession—
And took command.
"MIST ARMY—RETREAT!!"
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