You are surrounded

The Hidden Mist Village's ships officially arrived at the shores of the Land of Whirlpools. Led by their respective team captains, each squad carefully set foot on the territory of the Land of Whirlpools.

"It seems the citizens of the Land of Whirlpools have already started evacuating," Ebby adjusted his glasses and crouched down, picking up the scattered luggage on the beach. "It's just not known how many people are left in the Land of Whirlpools now."

"Evacuating?" The team captain's face revealed a cold sneer. "Heh, surviving is not that simple, especially..."However, he didn't finish the sentence, glancing at Tayu, whose mood seemed a bit low, and shouted loudly, "Tayu, this is a time of war."

If you indulge in idle thoughts during wartime and get caught by the intelligence personnel, you'll be in trouble. Moreover, in this period, a gloomy atmosphere is highly contagious. If someone needs to take the blame, you might be the one thrown under the bus, but you can't handle it!

In that case, your team captain like me would also have to bear the consequences.

"Yes..." Tayu pursed his lips and responded indifferently.

...

"The Hidden Mist ninjas have landed," the clan leader put down the binoculars and said, "Do we really not need to capture them?"

"It's not the right time yet," Ryuto Uzumaki shook his head and said, "We need to let them see the determination of the Whirlpool Village ninjas to fight to the death. Only then will the Hidden Mist Village send in their main forces for an invasion." He gave a cold laugh, looking at the Hidden Mist ninjas below. "That's when we might be able to capture most of the Hidden Mist ninjas."

They dared to invade the country of the reincarnated individual. They truly don't know what's good for them. If they succeed, how would he inherit the country, marry a beautiful and wealthy woman, reach the pinnacle of power, and rule over the citizens?

Keep in mind that the reincarnated individual's trump card—the system—hasn't even been activated yet!

As for the evacuation, Ryuto Uzumaki had considered it, but unless it was absolutely necessary, he wouldn't execute it. After all, in the Naruto story, only a handful of Uzumaki clan members managed to evacuate and escape, and their lives were extremely difficult. Take Kushina's mother, for example—well, it's not clear if it's actually Kyoko, but these two women ended up as... well, never mind.

As for Kushina's father...

It's too horrifying to contemplate!

If there's no mention of foul play, Ryuto Uzumaki won't believe it. After all, no matter what, the Uzumaki clan was a major clan, and the Land of Whirlpools was a nation. For them to be almost entirely wiped out while fighting on their home soil and with allies' support, there must have been some covert operations by other ninja villages waiting for the Uzumaki clan members to evacuate, capture them as Jinchūriki, and eventually have them eliminated by Konoha. After all...

Only one Jinchūriki was needed, the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.

And let's not forget, the over fifty-year-old Madara Uchiha was lurking in the background with his Rinnegan, looking for someone to inherit his powers!

"Can we..." The clan leader's voice was low as he said, "Can we really succeed?"

"Shut up," the elder shouted loudly, then sighed and looked at Ryuto Uzumaki, saying, "If in the end... well, just abandon the Land of Whirlpools and leave this place!"

"Go to Konoha! Don't think about revenge; just keep the Uzumaki clan alive."

Although Ryuto Uzumaki didn't know if they could succeed, he still showed a faint smile and said, "We will definitely be victorious."

As for fleeing to Konoha?

Please, that's simply impossible; we might as well die on the way.

"Hahaha—, that's right," the third elder saw that Ryuto Uzumaki remained calm even in such a situation and laughed heartily. "To hell with it, damn the Hidden Mist Village."

"Exactly, exactly, we will definitely succeed."

"It's just the Hidden Mist Village, what hasn't the Uzumaki clan faced in its thousand-year history?"

"We'll give Konoha a good slap in the face and settle the score with them later."

"Hahaha." The elder saw that everyone was laughing boldly under Ryuto Uzumaki's smile and shook his head. "I was wrong; the Uzumaki clan will definitely achieve glory."

The Uzumaki clan never feared any challenge.

However, no one noticed that Ryuto Uzumaki's fist was clenched tightly in his sleeve, and his cold gaze was fixed on the neighboring Land of Fire, the home of Konoha.

"Konoha! Heh heh!!"

...

"Be careful!" The Hidden Mist team captain noticed something amiss in the forest ahead and shouted loudly.

Immediately, the Hidden Mist ninjas cautiously raised their swords, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings, forming a circle of enclosure, listening to the "swish" sound of the wind blowing through the trees.

It seemed they had noticed something was wrong!

It was too quiet!

"Whirlpool Village ninjas, come out!" The vanguard commander, the Hidden Mist team captain, frowned and shouted towards the forest.

"Swish, swish!!"

Suddenly, numerous ninjas from the Whirlpool Village, wearing Whirlpool forehead protectors, emerged from the surrounding trees, bushes, and grass.

The Hidden Mist ninjas frowned, cautiously observing the increasing number of Whirlpool Village ninjas, their hearts pounding, realizing they were surrounded.

"Hidden Mist, you are not welcome here. Leave!" One of the Whirlpool Village ninjas, standing on a tree, shouted at the Hidden Mist ninjas below. "The Uzumaki clan is a peace-loving clan, and we do not wish to provoke war."

(Damn it, if it weren't for Lord Ryuto's orders, we would have already attacked. Why are we even talking to you?)

"We're just here to observe, not to start a war," the Hidden Mist ninja responded, feeling a tinge of disdain upon hearing the Whirlpool Village ninja's words...

Peace-loving?

Weren't the Uzumaki clan members the ones active on the battlefields of Konoha, with their vast chakra reserves, exceptional sealing techniques, and incredible vitality that ordinary people could never possess?

Upon hearing the Hidden Mist ninja's words, the Whirlpool Village ninjas felt a certain phrase on the tip of their tongues, but they hesitated to say it...

Just observing?

Is this an insult to the Uzumaki clan?

They might have a bad temper, but their intelligence was not lacking!

Fully armed and bringing a large force for "observation"? Who would believe that? But the ninja still shouted in a low voice, "Leave this place."

Seeing that the Whirlpool Village was becoming impatient, the Hidden Mist team captain shouted loudly, "Attack, break through the encirclement."

(End of chapter)