The Land of Whirlpools would be destroyed without a fight.
Though he had long known that these despicable invaders wouldn't be driven away by mere words, hearing the Mizukage's disdainful tone still infuriated the Uzumaki clan.
Join Kirigakure? Heh, everyone knew the hidden implications.
They would probably kill all the adults and elders, leaving only a few children for reproduction. The newborns would then be brainwashed, because no one would trust them otherwise.
Damn it, he was about to roll up his sleeves and fight without a second thought, to show them the pride of the millennia-old Uzumaki clan, when a calm Uzumaki clansman beside him stopped him.
Brother, don't be impulsive. We can't afford the losses. We must follow the commander's plan.
Uzumaki Kai secretly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. How cunning this Mizukage was. As a clan with a history spanning millennia, how could they surrender so easily? This was an insult to the Uzumaki clan. Fighting to the death was their ancient creed.
He had almost lost control. No wonder Lord Jun had reminded them so many times.
"Despicable invaders, leave this place." Uzumaki Kai shouted loudly at the unmoving Kirigakure ninjas. Though he knew it was futile, he still followed Lord Jun's plan...
The Uzumaki clan had to put on a show of fighting to the death.
"Hahaha!!!" Hozuki Gengetsu laughed scornfully.
"The weak have no right to negotiate with Kirigakure. Surrender, Uzumaki clan."
If they truly surrendered, it would be convenient. Kill the stubborn old fools, and the innocent children left behind could be raised as a new clan for Kirigakure.
Moreover, they would be the Uzumaki clan, with vast chakra and vitality, perfect as jinchuriki. Kirigakure had just imported two precious tailed beasts from Konoha and hadn't found suitable hosts yet!!
This would also deal a heavy blow to Konoha. What would they do when it was time to relocate the Nine-Tails? The Uzumaki clan would belong to Kirigakure.
However, Hozuki Gengetsu knew this was impossible. A clan that had survived for millennia wouldn't surrender so easily.
...
"It has begun."
Uzumaki Jun looked at the distant forest where explosions kept ringing out, along with dazzling chakra. He knew that the Uzumaki clan and Kirigakure had now clashed.
At the same time, he glanced at the landing point of Kirigakure's forces. What a massive fleet. As expected of a maritime powerhouse.
He wondered if their ten people could dismantle all of Kirigakure's ships. This move was crucial. If they could inflict severe damage on Kirigakure's fleet, their chances of victory would greatly increase.
After this, he didn't believe the high-ranking officials and clans of Kirigakure would be willing to fund the Mizukage to rebuild the fleet.
As long as they saw that invading Uzushiogakure would bring no profit and only heavy losses, even Hozuki Gengetsu's position as Mizukage would become unstable.
And...
A cold smile appeared on Uzumaki Jun's face. He wondered how the Kirigakure ninja would react when they realized that no matter which Uzumaki ninja they killed, they would only hear a "pop" as they turned into mist.
In the end, all these seemingly different Uzumaki ninja were actually just shadow clones. Would their faces turn green?
"There are about a hundred Kirigakure ninja guarding the fleet," the clan leader said, holding a telescope. "Should we act now?"
If they struck now, the main force would already be distracted by the rear. They would only need to deal with a hundred enemies.
Their main goal wasn't to kill the Kirigakure ninja but to destroy the ships. If they were careful, it should be manageable.
Uzumaki Jun thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Not yet."
The war had just begun, and the Kirigakure ninja in the rear were likely still on high alert. They needed to wait until their guard was down to maximize their gains.
After all, destroying over a hundred ships wasn't easy. Even if they couldn't destroy all of them, taking out eighty percent would make things difficult for Hozuki Gengetsu.
Moreover, having two people draw enemy fire while the others threw oil bottles would be challenging. Underwater movement was out of the question. As for the sky...
Uzumaki Jun thought for a moment, then took out something he had prepared.
"What is this now?" the clan leader and the elder asked curiously, watching as Uzumaki Jun pulled out two large bamboo baskets from his ninja pouch.
"This?" Uzumaki Jun sighed. This was a cheat item for transmigrators, though it was a bit crude. Making it had been troublesome, as finding airtight fabric in this era was difficult.
Yes, this was a hot air balloon.
Fortunately, very few could fly in this era. Apart from the flying fortress of Uzushiogakure, the Third Tsuchikage's Light-Weight Boulder Technique, Konan's paper ninjutsu, Deidara's explosive art, and other special techniques, the ninja world was still mostly grounded.
The ninja world was essentially a high-level martial arts world. Apart from chakra manipulation and ninjutsu, travel still relied on running, and communication was mostly shouting.
Flying was extremely difficult, limited to jumping, double jumps, or triple jumps. Of course, this excluded beings like Kaguya and other extraterrestrial entities.
"This is called a hot air balloon."
...
"It seems the Second Mizukage and the others have begun," a Kirigakure ninja said, leaning against the ship's bow and looking toward the direction where the troops had departed. "Are we just going to wait here?"
"We'll wait until the main force finds a place to set up camp and moves the supplies. Then we'll leave," another Kirigakure ninja said casually, smoking. "We'll come back when the supplies run low."
"At this rate, we might not even need to return. With this much time, the Mizukage could've already crushed Uzushiogakure," a ninja lying on the deck said. "The Uzumaki clan only has the elderly and the weak left now."
"Exactly. The Mizukage will wipe out the Uzumaki clan in no time."
"Without a Kage-level fighter or a tailed beast, a village can't possibly..."
"What the hell?!"
Suddenly, the ninja at the bow shouted.
Then...
"Boom."
"Roar."
A blinding light shot into the sky, accompanied by an earth-shaking explosion that made the entire island of Uzushiogakure tremble.
"What's happening?"
"Explosive tags. So many explosive tags!"
"Is the Mizukage alright? Did they fall into a trap?"
"Impossible. The Mizukage is too strong!"
"What should we do now..."
"Shut up! Follow the Mizukage's orders!" the commander of the fleet guard shouted, silencing the panicked murmurs. "Have faith in the Mizukage. It's just a bunch of weaklings!"
"Right, right. With an explosion like that, the Uzumaki clan must be wiped out already."
"We're strong. We have the Mizukage leading us."
"And we have a tailed beast. So many elite ninja."
"..."
However, as the Kirigakure ninja argued, the one lying on the deck suddenly noticed the sun being blocked. He muttered in confusion, "What is this?"
No!
The ninja on the deck sat up abruptly, staring at the strange object in the sky. "What is that?!"
...
Two hours earlier...
"Pop."
Another one.
"Pop."
Again...
"What the hell is going on?" the Kirigakure ninja growled impatiently. "Why are they all shadow clones?"
"Pop."
Though they weren't strong, they were annoying. After so long, they hadn't killed a single real Uzumaki ninja. Were all of them just shadow clones?
Hozuki Gengetsu frowned as another wave of shadow clones disappeared around him. What was going on? Why were they all clones? With a casual jutsu, he wiped out another group, but more kept coming. What were the Uzumaki planning?
"Pop."
Another batch of shadow clones vanished.
"Hm? What's this?" The Mizukage noticed something in the dirt—gray slips of paper.
"Explosive tags!" Hozuki Gengetsu shouted in alarm. "It's a trap! Retreat!"
"Now!" Seeing that the enemy had noticed, Uzumaki Kai knew it was time. He yelled, and all around, the voices of the Uzumaki clan echoed.
"Now!"
"Now!"
"Now!"
"..."
Hand seals were formed.
"Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags!"
"Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags!"
"Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags!"
"..."
A scorching wave of fire erupted, followed by a deafening explosion.
"BOOM!"
The entire land of Uzushiogakure seemed to shake.