Is the Hidden Mist Village Unable to Fight Back?

Facing the current situation, Gengetsu Hōzuki had a thought in his mind that he didn't know whether to voice or not. He had eagerly led a large force to invade, but everything had just begun when they fell into a trap. And then... half of them were taken out by others. It didn't matter, they were just cannon fodder anyway. He could push out a few scapegoats when the time came. One couldn't carry it all, so two would do. As long as he conquered the Land of Whirlpools, it would be fine. 

But...

"The fleet was almost entirely destroyed?!" Gengetsu exclaimed, clutching his chest with his right hand as he looked at the fleet commander in front of him. This was really too much to bear! Furious, he grabbed the commander's collar and shouted, "What were you all doing?"

Over a hundred ships, how could they all be gone just like that? The fleet had over a hundred elite Jonin-level ninja! Even if they faced two hundred elite ninja, they should have been fine! Could it be that they encountered Kage-level opponents?

The other villages?

"No, there's still one ship left," the fleet commander said carefully.

"Hm?" Gengetsu frowned. "What's the situation?"

Helplessly, the commander could only explain. Something about regular water not being able to extinguish the flames, only an ice shield could douse them. Strange objects were floating in the sky, and everything came raining down from above. In short, it was a disaster caused by both natural and human forces. It wasn't that his subordinates didn't try hard enough; the enemy just had powerful techniques! The commander estimated that they had fallen into a trap and suggested retreating quickly!

Someone was trying to mess with the Village Hidden in the Mist!

After hearing the commander's words, Gengetsu frowned and asked, "So the only one left is that guy from the Yuki clan?"

Your boss had worked so hard to seize the position of village leader and wanted his own clansman to inherit everything. But in the end, you ruined it all? It's not your fault? No, it's not your fault, is it my fault then? It's better than losing everything. Having one ship left is useless, it only gives my tenure as village leader a bad reputation and increases the prestige of the Yuki clan.

"Where is Nezumi now?" Gengetsu asked expressionlessly.

"He left," the commander said. "He said the ship was too severely damaged, so he planned to return to the village to report and resupply."

"..." What did he mean by severely damaged? It was completely destroyed, wasn't it? And resupply? Resupply what? The feudal lord would never give them money to build another fleet! Nezumi hadn't accomplished anything and had destroyed the entire fleet. Who would trust him now?

Gengetsu knew that when he returned this time, it would likely be disastrous. Yuki Nezumi had already taken the lead in returning to the village to control public opinion. Moreover... the devastating losses suffered by the Village Hidden in the Mist were really his fault, since he had initiated this war of aggression.

"..." This absolutely couldn't be the Uzumaki clan he knew. Those idiots from the Uzumaki clan definitely couldn't be that clever. Someone must be manipulating them; otherwise, where would they get so many explosive tags? He hadn't received any intelligence about anyone purchasing that many explosive tags.

Gengetsu didn't know that Ryuto had stockpiled that many explosive tags over several years.

"Bang--!"

Suddenly, a huge sound rang out from the camp, accompanied by violent shaking.

"What's going on?" Could it be an enemy attack? Gengetsu stormed out of the tent angrily. Was it the Village Hidden in the Mist that couldn't fight back, or had the Uzumaki clan become arrogant after winning twice against a small island nation that dared to provoke them?

"Report, it's the Uzumaki ninja," a Mist ninja said respectfully. "They used explosive tags, and we've already arranged people to go..."

However, before he could finish speaking, the Mist ninja who had gone out returned to report, "They were just shadow clones. They scattered after throwing the explosive tags."

What did this Uzumaki clan want to do?

The Mist ninja were puzzled. A few explosive tags probably hadn't even landed before being blown away. Even with the massive amount of explosive tags from before, they wouldn't have any effect if the Village Hidden in the Mist was prepared!

Did they think the Five Great Ninja Villages ate vegetarian food?

However, before Gengetsu could order them to go down and stay on alert...

"Bang--!"

The sound of more explosive tags rang out.

"What does the Uzumaki clan want to do?" Gengetsu roared angrily. "Are they setting off firecrackers to celebrate a shop opening?" Did the Land of Whirlpools really have that much money? "Capture them! We must capture the Uzumaki clan members. Also, send out ninja to search the surrounding area. We have to find the Uzumaki clan members."

Who came up with this annoying hit-and-run tactic using shadow clones?

"Yes!!"

...

"Someone's coming out," Ryuto said, holding a telescope. "It seems Gengetsu can't stand it anymore and plans to find the Uzumaki clan members."

In this situation, anyone would be unhappy!

Being harassed repeatedly by explosive tags.

"What should we do now?" the clan leader asked. The Village Hidden in the Mist had deployed several hundred people. If they were all taken down, it could be troublesome.

"Hmm?" Ryuto frowned, thinking. A team of four, although there were several hundred enemies, when spread out there wouldn't be too many since the Land of Whirlpools was a decent-sized island. But taking them all down wasn't very realistic. "Take them down slowly. Arrange ten people per team, just stall them. Split out twenty more, all Jonin-level, one team at a time to take them down."

"Yes!"

...

"Captain, what's the situation?" Ebby pushed up his glasses and asked his captain, who looked gloomy.

"It's nothing," the captain said with a smile. "We've received a new mission to go out and detect where the Uzumaki clan is hiding."

"Then..." Ebby still asked worriedly. After all, because of their mistake, the Village Hidden in the Mist had suffered such great losses. As the vanguard captain, how could Horikoku Takeshi not be affected?

"Don't worry," Takeshi patted Ebby's shoulder, glanced at Tayu's sullen mood beside him, and sighed. "I know you dislike war and don't like seeing your loved ones and friends disappear before your eyes. It's an awful feeling."

"But..."

"Don't show that emotion in war." Patting Tayu, he then called out, "Assemble and move out."

Tayu was stunned, thinking the captain would lecture her, but he said nothing. It seemed...the situation wasn't as simple as the captain claimed. There was more to it.

But Tayu opened his mouth and didn't say anything, lowering his head and following behind.

...

"Move out," Uzumaki Kai said, looking at his clansmen. "Remember Lord Ryuto's arrangements." He knew the mission wasn't as simple as stated. Many unexpected things happened in war, and perhaps some of them wouldn't return this time. Sighing, he said, "Protect yourselves, don't blindly engage head-on."

"Yes!"

Ryuto still had shadow clones following and observing the Mist ninja's camp from afar, hoping Gengetsu would stay calm and not lose a few people before howling to unleash the Tailed Beasts for an all-out assault. After all, the Village Hidden in the Mist was a major power; losing a few people was no big deal to them, right? Just a trifle!

As long as they could stall, victory would absolutely belong to the Land of Whirlpools in the end.

"They've started moving out in the back," the clan leader said. "The clan elders and clan leaders have also joined the move."

"Yeah," Ryuto nodded. He knew the elders and clan heads couldn't sit still, as their ill-advised decisions led to this situation. They must feel insecure and guilty, so he had to protect them too. Otherwise, even the clan leader might have fled.

The Uzumaki Clan never feared death.

"System."

(End of chapter)