Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi came to a sudden realization—
Far away in the Land of Lightning, at a coastal city known as Wangchao Coast,
a chakra-powered ship bearing the emblematic character "Cloud" cut through the sea.
This was currently the most advanced power-driven vessel among the nations.
It could carry over fifty people. Operating it required one person at the helm, while others continuously supplied chakra to increase speed. The ship had three speed settings—First Gear, Second Gear, and Third Gear.
Each additional gear required one more chūnin-level or higher ninja to provide chakra output, ensuring the power core wouldn't overload or suffer damage.
At this moment, the ship—representing Kumogakure—was filled with Cloud ninja wearing blue-and-white fitted vests, some additionally clad in custom brown plate armor.
Among them stood a towering man with thick body hair, bare-chested, his powerful muscles fully exposed.
His presence was clearly different from the others. Several jōnin-level guards stood at his side.
"Target," the man said calmly.
"The Yougu Mountain Range."
"Yes!" ×N
The Yougu Mountain Range was an unnamed continental region bordering the Lands of Lightning and Water. Two small civilian nations were currently at war there, but along this fringe mountain range—where the terrain was steep and treacherous—almost no civilians ventured.
Aside from ninja, few dared to enter, making it an ideal location for negotiations between major villages.
As the man's words fell, the ninja aboard shifted into their roles as crew, operating the power ship and setting off from the coast.
—
Meanwhile, Kirigakure deployed a large sailing vessel of its own.
The Third Mizukage, accompanied by his Shadow Guard, also departed toward the Yougu Mountain Range.
The negotiations between the two villages would decisively determine the fate of the Land of Whirlpools—
Yet the Uzushio ninja remained completely unaware.
Half a month passed quietly.
During that time, Kumogakure and Kirigakure finalized their negotiations deep within the Yougu Mountain Range.
The agreement was simple and brutal:
Whatever could be taken from the Land of Whirlpools belonged to whoever seized it.
No attacks were permitted between the two villages' ninja.
Additionally, the Fire Daimyō had already terminated all cooperative agreements with the Land of Whirlpools.
Neither the Land of Lightning nor the Land of Water had any formal cooperation with Uzushio to begin with—so there was no need to consult their respective daimyō.
War was imminent.
—
A week earlier, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already made his decision.
He dispatched a new team—four jōnin, assigned an A-rank mission—to conduct in-depth talks with the Land of Whirlpools.
Today, that team finally returned to the village.
Their intelligence now lay on the Hokage's desk.
Bang!
"Shinichi—did Clan Head Hozuki really say that?"
Before the desk, Hirata Shinichi bowed as he reported. Beside him stood three clan jōnin:
A Sarutobi clan jōninA Hyūga branch-family jōninA Nara clan jōnin
"Yes!"
"This matter… Elder Danzō's actions were indeed going too far."
Shinichi couldn't even imagine how Danzō had the nerve to demand ten Uzumaki children, intending to drag them into Root as his personal tools.
"I understand," Hiruzen said slowly.
"You've all done very well. Without you, the village might truly have lost a close ally."
He took a deep breath and looked at the other three.
"Rōsuke. Yunya.
And Shikaku—thank you for your hard work."
Hiruzen's gaze lingered on Nara Shikaku, Hokage advisor and current head of the Nara clan—a man whose raw strength wasn't exceptional, but whose mind was indispensable.
"The rest of you may leave.
Shikaku, stay."
"Yes!" ×3
Once the office door closed and footsteps faded away, Shikaku's expression sharpened.
"Hokage-sama."
"The seas around the Land of Whirlpools are likely hiding a large number of Water Country ninja."
"From the looks of it—"
He paused, his tone growing heavy.
"The Uzumaki clan's situation is almost certainly exactly as described in that scroll."
"They've been targeted by Kirigakure."
"Heh," Hiruzen let out a bitter chuckle.
"Just like someone who once served as the bodyguard of the First Mizukage, Byakuren."
"Devious to the extreme."
"Then what should we do?" Shikaku asked.
"Inform the current border commanders of the situation and restore Konoha's sea outposts for defense?"
Hiruzen's expression darkened. After a moment's thought, he shook his head.
"If things are truly as the scroll describes, Konoha simply cannot dispatch an elite force of over a thousand ninja."
—By "elite force," he meant chūnin and above, with dozens of jōnin leading them.
Shikaku frowned.
"True. Based on my inquiries, Uzushiogakure likely has only around five jōnin."
"Even if they're hiding numbers, it wouldn't be much more."
"As for their younger chūnin…"
"In my opinion, their combat quality is far inferior to the chūnin trained by Konoha."
"Oh?" Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. "How can you tell?"
Shikaku twitched at the corner of his mouth, recalling those curious, unguarded faces.
"They're too naïve."
"As if they've never witnessed the cruelty of war—or rather,"
"They've never even taken on high-level missions."
—In other words, they'd never carried out killing missions.
"Hah…"
Hiruzen sighed deeply, his mood growing heavier.
He had always known Uzushiogakure's combat strength was lacking.
Back then, he'd even welcomed that fact—it meant they posed no threat to Konoha's standing.
But now, facing a two-nation pincer attack aimed at Uzumaki bloodlines and Uzumaki sealing techniques—
Giving those up would mean helping the enemy perfect their sealing arts and obtain perfect jinchūriki.
That kind of aiding-the-enemy behavior was something Hiruzen would never tolerate unless he had completely lost his mind.
He closed his eyes and thought for a long time.
Finally, he opened them again, his gaze sharp and resolute.
"Now that the intelligence is confirmed," he said,
"inform Clan Head Hozuki and have them evacuate from the Land of Whirlpools."
"Or rather—"
"Have the Uzumaki members with lower combat ability relocate temporarily to Konoha."
"At the same time, Konoha will dispatch support forces and attempt to help them hold their ground."
Shikaku's mouth twitched.
Being a jōnin really is a life of endless trouble…
Still, he accepted the mission—now downgraded from A-rank to B-rank—to relay this intelligence.
—
On his way back to the Nara compound, Shikaku happened to run into his old partner—
Yamanaka Kaji.
Along with Kaji's team—
Shikaku's son, Kaji's son, and Akimichi Chōhiro's son.
Seeing this, Shikaku immediately found the perfect candidates to help carry out the B-rank mission.
"A mission? Dad," Nara Shikaku Jr. (Shikaku's son) groaned, rolling his eyes,
"We literally just got back from a B-rank mission. Are you trying to kill us?"
Beside him, Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Chōza nodded in full agreement.
The three of them were from the same graduating class as Yūhi Ryūun and Shiranui Kumo-ma. They had become chūnin a year earlier than Ryūun and now specialized in A–C rank missions with Yamanaka Kaji.
"I don't want to trouble my dear son either," Shikaku said with a light chuckle.
"But right now, among all the teams in the village—"
"Yours seems to be the only one with time."
Shikaku Jr. looked utterly done with life, hands clasped behind his head, wishing desperately for a couple days of rest.
And then—
The pineapple-haired boy's eyes landed on a team that had just finished a D-rank mission and was heading off to eat and rest.
"Hey! Isn't that last year's Team One?!"
"Dad—I think they're perfect!!"
—
With his sharp hearing and keen perception, White Star suddenly felt a strong sense that someone was about to screw him over.
He turned his head—
And saw a pineapple-haired teenager enthusiastically talking to a middle-aged man with the exact same pineapple hairstyle.
"…Nope. I need to leave. Now."
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